All That We Loved (2023) Episode 8

May 28, 2023

All That We Loved episode 8 brings us back to the hallway fight between Yoo and Joon Hee. Grandmother gets called to school but the guys still refuse to say anything. She promises to punish them and apologises in their stead.

Shoot to 2023 and So Yeon, still staying with Dr Go, retires as an actress. He arranges flowers in remembrance of Grandmother and So Yeon recalls the guys selling flowers on the street.

In 2006, after picking them up from school, Grandmother walks home with the two but Yoo says he’s going home to rest, declining an offer of home-cooking. Without the opportunity to smooth things between the guys, she instead heads off to finish flower sales for the day.

In separate rooms, in separate houses, the guys think about their current position. It’s a rainy evening and Grandmother continues to try to sell flowers but she’s not getting very far.

Joon Hee has Yoo’s recurring nightmare of Joon Young in the hospital. Getting up, he realises Grandmother is not yet home. He runs out to look for her, but she’s passed out in the street.

The next day in school, Yoo finds out about Grandmother and races to the hospital. His mind runs through the previous day and he regrets not staying. Joon Hee’s in the waiting area with thoughts along similar lines. The guys agree not to cry, as it would be like giving up on her.

Post-surgery, they hear it was a brain haemorrhage and are left waiting for her to regain consciousness. The two hold a silent vigil, not eating or sleeping.

At the hospital, they eventually talk about cellular memory. Yoo concludes that Joon Hee owes him for free LASIK since his eyes are healed. Joon Hee promises to pay with interest once they get jobs.

Eventually, Yoo’s Dad forces them to eat and also take turns, alternately going to school and waiting in the hospital. Upon his return to school, So Yeon greets Joon Hee. He’s heard she’s leaving and she mentions moving abroad.

At night, Joon Hee studies at home and gets the call from Yoo – Grandmother is gone. Yoo’s parents assure Joon Hee he can live with them.

In 2023, So Yeon notices Grandmother’s necklace, recalling the incident. She asks Dr Go to make the coffee he used to make for Grandmother. She says ‘he’ told her about it.

Back in 2006, Yoo runs into So Yeon in a shop but leaves without saying anything. She runs after him to proclaim she’s not stolen anything but he assures her he already knows.

In 2023, Dr Go and So Yeon are walking at night. He takes her hand saying he’d wanted to do that for a while.

At school, Joon Hee has another spell, like he did pre-transplant.

A month later and Yoo hasn’t heard from Joon Hee. He finds his house empty but there’s a note and Grandmother’s necklace. The missive says he’s gone on a trip. In 2023, So Yeon says that ‘he’ sent her to see Dr Go, and she finally takes him to meet Joon Hee.

The Episode Review

And somehow, this adult grouping seems miscast. The adult Go Yoo doesn’t seem to match up to the youthful version. It stands out more once we meet the adult Joon Hee, who is quite well-matched.

But pairings aside, this closing episode left it to the very last second to confirm Dr Go’s identity. So focused on the misdirection, we don’t find out why Joon Hee left and why he’s returned. Or even why we’ve spent so long trying to figure out Dr Go’s identity.

We don’t get to see the guys much past Grandmother’s death so we don’t really know what happened to their relationship after that. And somehow the less-studious Yoo becomes a psychiatrist who’s still seeking his missing friend… and So Yeon has clearly kept in touch with Joon Hee – another piece left incomplete.

There was an interesting idea here in cellular memory as well as psychological issues like PMS-related kleptomania and impulse control. But they don’t seem to have been explored enough to add colour. In short, the guys were great together but the story lacked cohesiveness. So by the time Dr Go is revealed, it’s lost its impact.