Breaking Down the Emotional Ending of Four Hands, Two Sonatas

When Four Hands, Two Sonatas launched in late August, the Korean drama presented as a traditional coming-of-age melodrama about two, piano-obsessed teens at a hyper-competitive arts high school. In his first role following his military service, Song Kang (Sweet Home) stars as Kang Pi-o, the perfectionist grandson of a renowned maestro whose mother pushes him to be the very best. And in his last role filmed before he enlisted, Lee Jun-young (When Life Gives You Tangerines) plays Choi Jeong-yo, a scholarship student and musical prodigy who worries more about keeping his alcoholic stepdad safe from loan sharks than finishing first in prestigious contests. When the two are paired together to play “four hands,” or a piano duet on the same instrument, their different backgrounds and priorities put them at odds. However, their love for music wins out, and the two develop a life-changing friendship.As the 12-episode series progresses, and the story jumps nine years into Pi-o and Jeong-yo’s adulthood, Four Hands, Two Sonatas morphs from a coming-of-age story into a psychological thriller in which trauma, misunderstandings, and obsession combine to place the future of these talented musician...