DNA Lover- (Final) Episodes 15-16

Oh my God, I can’t believe I made it to the finish line!

First things first, a correction from last time: the priest’s "arsonist twin" is actually a brother, not a sister. Makes sense, since they’re identical, but it really doesn’t change anything for the story. It seems the show was trying to make a point about two people with the same DNA turning out completely different, but it didn’t exactly deliver any profound revelations.

Now, back to the chaos where we left off: So-jin has been kidnapped and taken to a creepy greenhouse—home to the bad twin’s fire-starting flowers. Yeon-woo, of course, rushes to the rescue, but soon after he finds her, he’s knocked out and tied up alongside her. Classic.

Here’s where the bad twin spills his tragic backstory. Turns out, the twins were raised by their mom, but Yeon-woo’s philandering dad showed up during their teenage years, promising to divorce his wife and be with them. He never followed through. When young Yeon-woo reveals to the twin that their mom’s boyfriend is already married, things spiral out of control. The bad twin, in a fit of rage, pushes his mom, accidentally starting a fire that kills her. He’s blamed Yeon-woo and his dad ever since, and has been on a revenge mission ever since, even killing Yeon-woo’s dad and his latest girlfriend. Through all of this, Yeon-woo learns that his mom wasn’t the one who started the deadly fire—she was trying to save her husband.

Tied up together, Yeon-woo apologizes to So-jin for pretending to be her DNA match. He confesses that he came to save her because he cares about her, not because they’re destined. His honesty brings So-jin to tears, but before they can process anything, the greenhouse goes up in flames. Naturally, they escape, but Yeon-woo injures his hand while saving her—bad news for a surgeon. Kang-hoon shows up just in time to help them, and the bad twin meets his end in the fire he started.

At the hospital, Yeon-woo undergoes surgery, but his hand will never fully recover. So-jin, feeling guilty, asks him not to leave for the U.S., thinking it’s her fault he’s going. Yeon-woo, however, is still determined to go for a fresh start with his mom. Before they leave, his mom wakes from her coma and gives him some final advice, admitting that it wasn’t love that held her back in life, but resentment. She encourages him to stop fearing love.

Cue the inevitable airport race! So-jin, spurred by Mi-eun, dashes to the airport to catch Yeon-woo before he leaves, but she’s too late. Cue the tears and heartbreak as they’re forced into a painful separation, with no idea when they’ll see each other again.

Meanwhile, Kang-hoon and Mi-eun, the ultimate supportive friends, decide to let go of the people they love, realizing it’s time to move on. They start hanging out, going to movies and dinners together, and honestly? I’m totally here for it. These two are my favorite characters, and they deserve happiness with each other.

As for So-jin, she has a total change of heart about love. She decides to forget about DNA and fate and start trusting her feelings. She realizes that she ran away from Yeon-woo first, scared of being hurt. But now, she’s ready to take the risk, even if it means suffering through heartbreak.

Fast forward one year, and we find Yeon-woo back in Korea, working as a doctor in the countryside. Fate brings him and So-jin together again when she delivers test results to his clinic. His hand has changed his practice, but he’s finally found passion in his work. And what does So-jin say? She confesses she went to the airport the day he left.

Later, they cross paths again at the beach where they once spent a vacation together. So-jin tells him she let her DNA lover go because of him. She’s not asking him to take responsibility, but she wants to restart their relationship, no matter how risky it might be. She loves him, not her DNA match. And, in a moment of long-awaited clarity, Yeon-woo finally says he loves her too.

In a voiceover, So-jin sums it up perfectly: “We might find ourselves hurt and uncomfortable, but we decided to start again. Instead of DNA or fate, I’m going to try believing in love.” And with that, the drama wraps up, leaving us with a final message about love, fate, and taking risks—even if it means getting hurt.

DramaZen's Opinion

And that’s a wrap—though, let’s be honest, we could’ve gotten here at least four episodes sooner.

Throughout the series, the show teased us with intriguing ideas, only to drop them without exploring them fully. Some of the best moments involved deeper topics like polyamory and the "player" mindset. And, to be fair, the finale did give us a solid conclusion on one of those fronts. In Mi-eun’s final scene, she openly admits to her audience that she’s no longer polyamorous, but she’s not exactly monogamous either. She’s searching for something else. Her realization? “It’s impossible for someone who can’t love even a single person properly to love multiple people.”

Wow. That’s probably the most profound insight of the entire drama, and it’s a perfect resolution for Mi-eun’s character. From the beginning, her lack of emotional attachment was her defining trait, and I appreciate that the show didn’t flip her philosophy on love just for the sake of a happy ending. It dug into her specific issue, without making it a commentary on polyamory as a whole, and that’s a nuanced take we rarely see. Nicely done.

But all that said, I won’t miss this drama. I didn’t love it. In the end, it definitely wasn’t a match for my DNA.