K-pop superstar Lee Doo-na (Bae Suzy) leaves showbiz behind to live a normal life, retreating to a house in Seoul where she meets newly arrived student Won-jun (Yang Se-jong). <\/span><\/p>\n This being a K-drama, they fall in love\u2026 and Won-jun takes <\/span>a lot <\/span>of showers.<\/span><\/p>\n It\u2019s not that simple, however. First, Won-jun\u2019s high school crush Kim Jin-ju (the excellent Ha-young) arrives at university. <\/span><\/p>\n Then, as Won-jun and Doo-na appear to work it all out, Doo-na\u2019s manipulative manager Park In-wook (Lee Jin-uk) works to split them up and bring Doo-na back to K-pop stardom \u2013 to the point that Doo-na\u2019s management company threatens legal action, while Won-jun devolves into an uncomfortably jealous K-drama clich\u00e9.<\/span><\/p>\n That all comes to a head in the final episode, with <\/span>Doona! <\/span>concluding its emotional story of letting go and the importance of community with Won-jun and Lee Doo-na torn apart \u2013 or does it?<\/span><\/p>\n While the love triangle in <\/span>Doona! <\/span>looms over the series for most of its runtime, <\/span>the series <\/span>is about a group of friends coming together under one roof and being best buds. But, as real life seeps in during later episodes, the group splits.<\/span><\/p>\n Doo-na returns to showbiz as a solo performer and Won-jun continues his studies. <\/span><\/p>\n Jin-ju, having shed the cute bob that marks her as the third-party in a K-drama love triangle, jets off to Brazil, while I-ra (Park Se-wan) shacks up with the taciturn Koo Jung-hoon (Kim Do-wan). <\/span>And Seo Yun-taek (Kim Min-ho) finally teaches women who feel unlucky in love how to get back out there.<\/span><\/p> Miserable as Won-jun is, because that\u2019s his personality by this point, things appear to be moving smoothly for everyone \u2013 until Jin-ju comes to visit. She catches up with Won-jun and mutual pal Kook Su-jin (Joo Yeon-woo) in the latter\u2019s seafood restaurant, showing them her photos of the US and Brazil. <\/span><\/p>\n Jin-ju then slides over to a photo of her and Doo-na from when Doo-na toured Brazil, pushing Won-jun into an even more sullen mood.<\/span><\/p>\n Later, the gang reunites at the old house. It\u2019s rundown and covered in vines, and Jung-hoon wonders if it will be demolished. <\/span><\/p>\n As they reminisce about their time there over beers, Yun-taek tactlessly complains that the gang isn\u2019t complete without Doo-na, earning a reprimand from I-ra and a depressed look from Won-jun.<\/span><\/p>\n As he bundles them into a taxi, however, Won-jun returns to the house to retrieve his jacket, only to find Doo-na waiting for him, and the two share a bittersweet catch-up over drinks.<\/span><\/p>\n Doo-na asks how the gang are and, finally, whether Won-jun has listened to her music. We never hear the answer. Instead, we cut to Doo-na entering her empty, lifeless flat and breaking down.<\/span><\/p>\n She later rushes to Won-jun\u2019s apartment and confronts him, trying to break through his defences and demanding he apologise for treating her so coldly. He admits he regrets ending their relationship every day and they both confess to missing each other over a tearful hug. <\/span><\/p>\n It feels like there may be a reconciliation, but no\u2026 that\u2019s it.<\/span><\/p>\n We next see Won-jun, suited and alone, interviewing for a job before a glimpse of Doo-na\u2019s flourishing solo career.<\/span><\/p>\n Doona! <\/span>comes to an end with Doo-na in Japan, walking into a mall and past screaming fans. <\/span><\/p>\n Inside, Won-jun peruses a bakery with an older colleague \u2013 apparently on a business trip. As Won-jun exits, he just passes Doo-na, who is walking the other way. <\/span><\/p>\n But when he points his superior in the right direction, Doo-na turns, looking for the source of the voice, and clearly recognises Won-jun, though he never turns to meet her gaze.<\/span><\/p>\n She walks away, Won-jun apparently oblivious, and the credits roll.<\/span><\/p>\n It\u2019s a refreshingly bittersweet ending to see the leads not end up together at the end of a K-drama. However, if you were watching closely, you will have realised that this isn\u2019t the case at all.<\/span><\/p>\n The first important thing to understand, which might only become clear in the final episode, is that <\/span>Doona! <\/span>isn\u2019t playing out in the present. <\/span><\/p>\n Rather, it\u2019s Doo-na\u2019s recollection, which is signposted at the end of episode 1, when her voiceover repeats the texts Won-jun sends her in episode 9. It\u2019s a reminder that the flow of time as we see it in <\/span>Doona! <\/span>might not be definitive.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n This brings us to the short scenes that preface most episodes. In the first, Doo-na looks over a train crossing with a smile, while in the second it\u2019s Won-jun doing the gazing. That scene is presented from a different angle in episode 6, with Won-jun and Doo-na looking at <\/span>each other <\/span>across the crossing. The scene is repeated again in episode 7.<\/span><\/p>\n It would be easy to dismiss these brief moments at the end of the opening credits and overlaid with the series\u2019s title as part of the opening sequence. In fact, they all take place after the final scene in episode 9. We know this because they\u2019re all set in Japan. <\/span>The show goes through great pains to remind us that Doo-na is due to tour Japan, something we see at the end of the final episode. <\/span><\/p>\n Won\u2013jun wears the same outfit in the prefacing scenes of episode 8 and 9, as he does in that final mall scene, confirming they\u2019re in Japan \u2013 if, that is, all the signs being in Japanese and the latter scene showing Won-jun and Doo-na meeting by a lake with the base of Mount Fuji sloping in the background wasn\u2019t enough of a clue.<\/span><\/p> Doona! ending explained<\/strong><\/h2>\n
What happens to the gang?<\/strong><\/h3>\n
What happens to Doo-na and Won-jun?<\/b><\/h3>\n
![\"Bae](\"https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2023\/10\/doona-netflix-6cbb253.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C413\" "\\"doona")
\n<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture>\n<\/div>Why didn\u2019t Won-jun and Doo-na get together?<\/b><\/h3>\n