Lies Hidden In My Garden Ends With Kim Tae Hee And Lim Ji Yeon Living Their Own Lives Happily | Recommended Kdrama

Lies Hidden In My Garden finally ended with Joo Ran finally owning responsibility of her own life and decisions. Up until the very end, I wasn't sure what exactly was running through her head when she was executing the plan with Sang Eun against her husband because obviously, she too, was still confused on what she should really do. She was basically trying to figure out things while on the spot, whether she should help out her husband or stick to the original plan with Sang Eun? 

When Joo Ran asked the question as to why he killed Soo Min, it felt like she was trying to find a justification to the decision she was already inclining to which is going to the original plan with Sang Eun. She wanted affirmation that she's doing the right thing because she couldn't decide fully on her own. She doesn't trust herself yet. So when Jae Ho finally showed his true colors in front of Joo Ran, she finally stood for herself, probably out of fear for her life that made up her mind. In the end, she pushed her husband down the stairs when an opportunity came. 

If I'm being honest, I hate Joo Ran throughout the series. I really understand the frustrations coming from the viewers commenting on my posts in our FB page. I find it really funny but this ending episode made me realize and remember that... Joo Ran is really not mentally stable. Her final statement as the defendant in court made me more understanding of her kind:

Joo Ran's final statement as the defendant:

"I lived in a house with a garden. It was a house with a garden that looked big, well-maintained and green from the outside. But even before the stench began to come from the backyard, I was living in fear that others might see my anxiety. I just hoped that they saw me as a woman living in a house in the highest place and with the biggest garden. During that time, in our backyard, a girl was murdered by my husband and my young son even after witnessing it had to keep his silence and endure his agony for his weak mother. If I had seen who my husband really was a bit sooner, if I had been able to convince my husband sooner, if I had been living my life on my own instead of relying on someone to protect me, maybe things could've been different. That's what I regret. 

Also it took too long for me to realize what Id protect was not my family but my anxiety. I've been wanting to escape so badly. I deeply regret it."

Joo Ran had been suffering in anxiety for a very long time to which she succumbed on relying to others to ease her mind from whether she's doing the right thing or not. She puts her trust on others because that's what made her mind at peace. And that's what made her so dependent on everyone around her, specifically on her sister, reason why she got totally lost in her life when her sister died. She has no one to rely on when her sister died, their mother seemed unreliable so that's probably why Joo Ran's mental health worsen. That's when Park Jae Ho took advantage of the situation and entered the scene, proposing to Joo Ran and offering her to be her sole guardian now that her sister is gone. Proposal while holding a funeral? That's when you should know that the guy has some hidden agenda. A very wicked one. Turns out that Park Jae Ho is a psycho that's looking for a woman that couldn't decide for herself. Someone that has strong dependence on something in order to live. That's Joo Ran for Jae Ho.

Joo Ran living and relying on Jae Ho throughout their marriage, Joo Ran lost herself and became weaker as a human being. For someone living with her, witnessing her fragile state, I'd definitely get annoyed with her and might resent her. I fully understood where Sung Jae was coming from now when he exploded during his dinner with Joo Ran. Exclaiming that she was too weak. 

Thankfully, Joo Ran met Sang Eun. Sang Eun showed her how to make big decisions in order for her to live. That big decision though that I'm referring to was killing her own husband. Joo Ran asked her before executing their plans together against Jae Ho whether she regretted that decision and Sang Eun said yes she regretted it but she saw it as to saving 2 people, herself and the baby. She was looking at the positive side despite the dark crime she did. That talk was definitely an eye opening for Joo Ran in taking a big leap towards taking responsibility of her life. 

In the end, she decided to be responsible of her actions. Taking punishment in killing her husband, in protecting Sung Jae and the friend that inspired her, Sang Eun, with her testaments. Decisions after decisions, Joo Ran no longer cared about regrets because at the end of the day, it was her who decided things for herself. And that's the beauty of living your own life, being able to direct your own life to the path where you wanted to take. At this point, she no longer wanted to be a prisoner of her mind and her husband, she wanted to be herself and that's enough to continue on living even with lots of regrets. 

I honestly am very happy with this ending. Joo Ran made a decision to live her for herself but after she comes clean of her crime while Sang Eun chose to burry her dark secrets in the past and continue on living for her child. One decides to live morally clean while the other didn't. They're the opposite personality wise, but they both impacted each other's life. And I am glad, that despite them not hanging out personally, in their mind they still think about each other as they moved forward. Their relationship? According to Sang Eun's response to the visitation paper, they're friends and I love it for them! I'm happy that they found the will to live now that they're free from their cruel husbands. Yay!

Should I recommend this drama? Definitely! I enjoyed it very much!