Twenty-Five Twenty-One (스물다섯 스물하나) is a Korean drama TV series directed by Jung Ji-hyun and starring Kim Tae-ri, Nam Joo-hyuk, Bona and Lee Joo-myung, alongside other cast members. The series has 16 episodes. Twenty Five Twenty One episode 11 has a runtime of 75 minutes.
Netflix describes the series as:
In a time when dreams seem out of reach, a teen fencer pursues big ambitions and meets a hardworking young man who seeks to rebuild his life.
– Twenty Five Twenty One Episode 11 recap contains major spoilers –
Twenty Five Twenty One episode 11 starts with a chair. Min-chae wonders why her mother is repairing an old chair instead of making a new one and Hee-do tells her that it was made by her father and until he was alive, the three of them always had fun. However, after her father passed away, her mother got busier and she eventually got used to being by herself. As Hee-do narrates this story, we are transported to her and Yi-jin spending time with each other on the beach where she tells him that her hanging out at the beach is weirder for her – she’s used to being alone.
However, all of this serious conversation results in Hee-do losing the game and getting hit by Yi-jin. I mean, the rules are the rules, come on. Of course, Hee-do isn’t someone who takes it lightly and she stomps away, annoyed at him… only to chase him with rocks. It’s hilarious watching the two act like teenagers. I love the vibe. We can only imagine the pain as we hear him cry out and the thud of the rock. This is proved later as we see a bruise on his forehead. Don’t support violence but it’s too cute to take offence.
It is also adorable to see Hee-do, Yi-jin, Yu-rim, Ji-woong and Seung-wan spending time together as if they were besties forever. I love it. Plus, Hee-do signing up to get Yi-jin’s picture – I am here for it. Anyway, at training, Yu-rim wonders how she will go for Ji-woong’s concert after Coach Chan-mi asks them to attend, regardless of their suspension. As Ji-woong plans to ask Yu-rim out at the concert during the encore, she tells him the bad news that she won’t be able to attend.
Later, Hee-do and Yu-rim have a moment of catching up as Hee-do asks her why she was so mean to her when she is, in reality, so nice. Yu-rim tells her that she knew her from way before and has been thinking about beating her since the day Hee-do beat her. However, she felt bad that Hee-do wasn’t doing well enough for them to compete again. Then one day, Hee-do transferred to her school and told her that she was her fan. Although at that point, she was a gold medallist, she was still scared of her, just like how she was when she was younger.
That night, Yi-jin and Hee-do go out to dinner. She asks him why he is buying her dinner at such an expensive place and he tells her that he got promoted, essentially, and that he wouldn’t be where he is without her. She picks the most expensive mean and they discuss keeping their memories safe for the future and buying lottery tickets later. It’s adorable stuff and the things that they talk about are so relatable and heartwarming that it will keep you smiling throughout. It’s just light-hearted, innocent and loving fun.
Anyway, Hee-do excitedly waits for her mother to go with her to repair her precious chairs made by her father. However, as is the norm with her mother, she comes home late after spending the night drinking with her colleagues and chatting with Yi-jin. And, tackling an emergency. Either way, Hee-do is left to sit at home and take the chairs herself later on. As one of the chairs break, she is left heartbroken and her mother coming back home doesn’t help. They fight but it seems Jae-kyung is at the end of her rope when it comes to surviving through the helplessness that she is feeling.
Yi-jin later finds an inconsolable Hee-do who is unable to find the chairs that her father made. Apparently, her mother threw them away. I mean, regardless of what you’re going through, leaving your daughter alone for almost all of her life and throwing away something that they like really is A+ parenting. Or, so we think. Yi-jin helps her in her efforts to find the chair but, sadly, is unsuccessful.
Yi-jin tells Hee-do that although he does find Jae-kyung pretty cool, the fact that her professionalism comes at the cost of their heartaches makes him reconsider his thoughts. Either way, Yi-jin asks her to make the same chairs that her father made. It would be a good exercise for her and something her father would be proud of. As Hee-do ignores her mother and learns carpenting, she also trains hard with Yu-rim and they secretly attend Ji-woong’s concert.
Yi-jin shines during this segment, with playing the guitar with Ji-woong and being on-air to motivate the students as finals approach. It’s a heartwarming few moments as the five of them stand there are watch the fireworks going off. Yi-jin later signs his name under Hee-do’s picture, with both of them opting to get a copy of each other’s photos.
Later, as Hee-do chokes up when she realises that her mother dropped off the chair at the carpenter’s who is teaching her. Apparently, she left a lot of requests to fix the chairs and the guy mentions how it must be very important to her. She is further shocked to realise that her mother remembered about her plan to go to the cemetery to her father’s grave. Things seem to be looking up for the pair, as Hee-do witnesses her mother breaking down in front of her father’s grave.
In a heartbreaking scene, and a first for Jae-kyung, she breaks down and tells her daughter that she does miss her husband very much. But she wanted to wait till Hee-do was grown up to tell her that. Hee-do tells her mother that she misses him a lot too and the pair end up hugging each other, crying.
Back in the present, Min-chae bears witness to her drugged up mother and grandmother confessing how much they care about each other after both get colonoscopies.
Final Thoughts: Twenty Five Twenty One episode 11
Will we finally witness how the mother-daughter duo came to be on better grounds? Yes, I think this is the start of their relationship becoming better. Although I don’t condone Jae-kyung’s actions at all, it’s still nice to see them finally starting to understand each other and Jae-kyung accepting her faults and making an effort. It goes to show that she’s not made of stone and has some redeemable qualities. Plus, when you get to see their relationship in the present, you know that she did something right at some point to better her relationship with her daughter.
Ah, what an episode. I love watching the happiness among the group! It also makes me super anxious because whenever things go too well, something will definitely mess it up. Will it be in the next episode? Who knows. Either way, this episode is full of sunshine with a few showers. I am thankful for breather episodes where everything goes well because they give me hope. Hee-do and Yu-rim’s relationship improvement has proven to be such a factor in Hee-do’s personal happiness – you can see it in her eyes.
Meanwhile, Yi-jin continues to be absolutely adorable and a boyfriend worth having. He’s compassionate and thoughtful and makes for a really sweet guy. Hopefully, they don’t change anything major about him. I think his relationship with Hee-do and his personal struggles go very well. And the way his trajectory is going with Hee-do’s makes me feel like it’s going to be an interesting watch.
Twenty-Five Twenty-One is streaming on Netflix.
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