Warning: This article contains major spoilers for the ending of Weak Hero Class 2.
Weak Hero Class 1 ends at the beginning—of the webtoon, that is. The final scene of the coming-of-age action drama’s first season is the first scene of its source material. In it, introverted teen Si-eun (played in the drama by Park Ji-hoon) arrives as a new student at Eunjang High School, and is almost immediately targeted by class bully Choi Hyo-man (Crash Landing on You’s Yoo Su-bin).
Unbeknownst to Hyo-man, Si-eun is not someone to be trifled with. At his old school, Si-eun beat up the boys responsible for putting his friend, Su-ho (Choi Hyun-wook), into a coma. He may be a bird-boned bookworm, but, when necessary, he uses the same brain that makes him a top student to inflict precise harm against bullies much larger than him. It was only Si-eun’s former friend, the misguided Oh Beom-seok (Hong Kyung), who was spared retribution for his part in Su-ho’s severe injuries. Wracked with guilt over Su-ho’s injuries, Si-eun enters Weak Hero Class 2 determined not to let another friend suffer a similar, gruesome fate.
In the webtoon, Si-eun’s traumatic backstory is told through a series of flashbacks. For the live-action K-drama adaptation, director-writer You Su-min and executive producer Han Jun-hee decided to make that backstory an entire, eight-episode season in Weak Hero Class 1. “The original webtoon is a straightforward and intuitive school action story, where Yeon Si-eun seems to almost clear one stage at a time, like a game,” You tells TIME of the decision. “If we followed that storyline from the beginning, I didn’t think we could create a complete story, and I thought we had to first address how Si-eun and his friends got close and then drifted apart in order to complete the narrative.”
This frees up Weak Hero Class 2, which releases on Netflix today in its entirety a month after the first season arrived on the streamer, to focus on the main plot of the webtoon, without losing any of the complexity or weight of Si-eun’s past. Let’s break down the major plot points of the new season, the climactic ending, and what could be in store for a possible Season 3.
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Si-Eun’s new friends in Weak Hero Class 2
“[Si-eun is] riddled with trauma [at the beginning of Weak Hero Class 2], but he still wants to make new friends,” Park tells TIME of his character. “I was curious if that would actually be possible for him, emotionally.” While Si-eun is initially resistant, fellow students Park Hu-min (Namib’s Ryeo-un), Seo Jun-tae (XO Kitty’s Choi Min-yeong), and Ko Hyeon-tuk (Uprising’s Lee Min-jae) eventually break through Si-eun’s defenses to become his new friends.
Park Hu-min, or Baku, is considered the strongest fighter at Eunjang. “I don’t find him very skilled in fighting, but he’s just a natural-born very strong person,” Ryeo-un says of his character. “He’s got very hard, strong punches, and instead of going for the more precise skills, he just deals a very big punch to someone or just makes him fly out of his way.” Baku’s protection has kept Eunjang from falling under the violent control of the Union, an alliance of gangs based in the local high schools. When the season begins, Baku is out of school due to suspension, allowing the Union a chance to get their claws into the Eunjang student body.
Ko Hyeon-tuk, also known as Gotak, is Baku’s best friend and fellow member of the basketball team. His background in the martial arts makes him good in a fight. “He’s a former taekwondo athlete, so he knows how to use his legs, so he’s got really good kicks,” says Lee. “That’s something that sets him apart from the other guys.”
At the start of the season, Jun-tae has been coerced into acting as the Eunjang bullies’ errand boy. He initially steals the students’ phones, per Hyo-man’s orders, but is inspired by Si-eun to stand up for himself and others. “[Jun-tae is] not a good fighter, but he’s got skills,” says Choi. “He knows how to take a punch and not make it feel too hurtful … While he might not be a good physical fighter, I think he has his own means in helping out in a fight, in a bigger sense.”
How does union leader Na Baek-jin know Baku?
While much of Weak Hero Class 2 is concerned with the formation of Si-eun’s new friend group, it takes place within the violent pressures of the Union. The Union is run by teen Na Baek-jin (D.P.’s Bae Na-ra). Brilliant and ruthless, Baek-jin is almost impossible to beat in a fight.
Baek-jin shares a complicated relationship with Baku. The two became friends as boys when Baku saved Baek-jin from bullies, teaching him how to fight back. Because of this, Baku feels responsible for the hurt Baek-jin has caused with those skills. Meanwhile, Baek-jin still wants to be Baku’s friend, using threats against Baku’s newly formed friend group to temporarily force Baku to join the Union, mid-season.
“I wanted to emphasize strong dramatic elements within the story,” You told TIME of his decision to tweak Baek-jin’s backstory. “To do so, the buildup of the characters’ relationships had to be done well, and the basic setting had to be well-established. Baek-jin and Baku’s story seemed appropriate to emphasize the theme of our series and add strong dramatic elements to the storyline.” Thematically, the fractured friendship works well in a story that is so much about the joys of friendship and the pain of a camaraderie betrayed.
In the final episode, it is revealed that Baek-jin has been donating the money he makes from his criminal consortium to an orphanage. It is implied that Baek-jin grew up there, as the woman who runs the place and accepts Baek-jin’s donations, seems to know him personally. She is worried about where Baek-jin is getting the money.
Weak Hero Class 2’s ending: Si-Eun’s master plan
Weak Hero Class 2 builds to a massive showdown between the members of the Union and the Eunjang student body. The two groups meet on a muddy basketball court, and fight. If the Union wins, then Eunjang will join the Union. If the Union wins, then Baek-jin will disband the gang, leaving Eunjang in peace.
Before the fight, Si-eun uses his smarts and study skills to come up with a plan. First, he recruits Geum Seong-ju (When Life Gives You Tangerines’ Lee Jun-young), Baek-jin’s right-hand man in the Union. Seong-ju likes being part of the Union, but he likes the “fun” of violence more. He jumps at the chance to cause greater havoc, agreeing to leak financial records.
Si-eun asks Choi Hyo-man to spread the information to the Union’s lower-level members, and the Eunjang bully agrees. He just wants to be a trusted part of someone’s plan. News of Baek-jin taking tens of thousands of dollars out of the burner account spreads discord among Baek-jin’s ranks, who are only in it for the money. On the day of the fight, the Union force’s numbers and determination are diminished.
Unfortunately, Seong-je knows no loyalty, and agrees to beat up Si-eun for Baek-jin on the morning of the fight. He lures Si-eun to Baek-jin’s bowling headquarters, claiming there is more evidence there that could help take down the Union for good. Si-eun manages to escape, with Jun-tae’s help, but he is late to the fight.
In the meantime, Baku has given it his all to face off against Baek-jin. “This is not why I taught you,” he tells his old friend, before going for his arms and shoulders again and again. The two are well-matched, but Baek-jin eventually comes out on top. Everyone thinks this is the end, and that the Union has won, until Si-eun shows up. He puts on his brass knuckles, and goes for Baek-jin’s legs.
Si-eun knows he cannot win against Baek-jin, but he can last until Baku has the strength to get up again. “How wide is the margin of error, asshole?” Baek-jin asks Si-eun, once he understands that Baku’s focus on his arms and Si-eun’s focus on his legs was all part of Si-eun’s plan. “We’re in it,” Si-eun, teeth bloodied and almost tapped out, tells him. “We’re in my margin of error.” Baku gets back up, and takes out an exhausted Baek-jin once and for all. Eunjang has won, and the Union has lost.
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Staging the final fight
There was a great deal of behind-the-scenes planning that went into the climactic fight, which took roughly a month to film. “First of all, the safety of the actors was the top priority,” says Han. “Since it was an action scene with dozens of people fighting while it was raining, emergency medical staff were always on standby, and we closely checked the actors’ condition between takes.”
Good condition meant not just physically, but emotionally, as the final fight includes some of the most emotionally intense scenes of the entire season. “The actors who had to maintain such overflowing emotions for a whole month must have been very tired both physically and mentally, so we paid close attention,” adds Han.
Ryeo-un says that, while filming was intense, it is the kind of action scene that boys grow up dreaming about being a part of. “All of the actors there were actual actors, not just extras,” he tells TIME. “So they were all very passionate about this scene. And while it was a little bit physically demanding, to be honest, Min-yeong, who didn’t have to take part in that scene, would actually come over to the set to encourage us and to root for us.”
Su-ho and Beom-seok’s Weak Hero Class 2 appearances
Weak Hero Class 1 ends with Su-ho in a coma. The uncertain fate of his best friend impacts Si-eun throughout the season. He often visits Su-ho in the hospital, and confides in his unconscious friend about what he is going through. “To Si-eun, these two are the very first friends he’s ever had, and he really desperately needed them when they came to him,” Park tells TIME of the importance of Beok-seok and Su-ho’s Season 2 appearances. He can’t just move on, not thinking about them.”
In Episode 7, Si-eun imagines a conversation with Beom-seok. Si-eun apologizes to his friend, still wracked with guilt that he couldn’t do more to save him from himself. “When Si-eun is lying unconscious, he looks for Su-ho, and when he’s dreaming, he dreams of Beom-seok who kind of scolds him, saying like, ‘Are you making new friends again?’” explains Park. “So I think these are moments that show how much they mean to Si-eun because these friends still live in his heart.”
In Episode 8, Si-eun gets a call while he is out with Baku, Gotak, and Jun-tae: Su-ho has finally woken up. Wrought with emotion, he goes to see his best friend, bringing along his new friends. “How’s it going,” Su-ho asks Si-eun, like no time has passed. He notices his new friends. Su-ho, who has only ever wanted Su-ho to not be alone, is happy for him. “That’s good to see.” The season ends with Si-eun’s smile.
Who kills Baek-jin? Mid-credits funeral explained
Following the fight, Baek-jin disappears. “Will Baek-jin now get the right answer to the question he had gotten wrong?” wonders Si-eun in voiceover narration. He obviously feels sympathy for the antagonist, despite the hurt he has caused. If Beom-seok is the tragic character of Weak Hero Class 1, then Baek-jin is the tragic character of Weak Hero Class 2.
In a mid-credits sequence, we see Han Jeong-mi (Hospital Playlist’s Jo Jung-suk) approach Seong-je with an offer to replace Baek-jin. Jeong-mi is the leader of Cheongang, the ruling adult gang of the district. When asked, Jeong-mi claims not to know where Baek-jin is but, when we cut to Baek-jin’s funeral, a wreath sent by Cheongang implies that Jeong-mi was responsible for the teen’s untimely death. Presumably, Baek-jin was killed for his failure in leading the Union, and therefore his failure within Cheongang.
Si-eun, Baku, Go-tak, and Jun-tae all attend Baek-jin’s funeral. Baku is particularly distraught at the death of his old friend. “While we kind of grew apart, I think there was a little bit of that friendship left inside of Baku,” Ryeo-un tells TIME. “When we were in that very last fight, when you see me in the action scene, I’m kind of smiling when I’m throwing punches and fighting with him. I think my character felt like he was poking fun with his old friend, like a play date, because they grew up playing together.”
Of filming the funeral scene, Ryeo-un says: “When Baek-jin actually died, my heart was broken, and I was actually quite emotional when I was on set filming that scene, because I am very good friends with him in person as well.” The heartbreaking scene not only teases that there may be more story left to tell, but also reinforces the preciousness of the friendship Baek-jin and Baku once shared. Even lost, first through Baek-jin’s actions and then his untimely death, the value of what it once meant to Baku remains.
“While working with director You on Class 1 and 2, we talked a lot about how this is a story about friends,” Han tells TIME of the series’ ultimate theme. “The concept of friends is familiar to everyone, and we sometimes forget their importance, but in the series, Si-eun also has a line saying, ‘I realized it’s good to have friends.’’ And, like that line, I think it will be a series that you can relate to more when you think about your friends and the meaning of the friends around you.”
Weak Hero Class 3: Will the K-drama have a third season?
While there has been no official announcement about Weak Hero Class 3, another season seems likely, given the series’ success so far. The first season reached Netflix’s Global Top Ten following its release on Netflix, three years following its initial premiere.
However, a third season is no doubt dependent on how Weak Hero Class 2 does. “After the final mixing of Class 2, director You and I had a drink and talked about what it would be like if we were to do the next story, but that’s about it,” says Han. “I think there are definitely stories left that we can do in a fun way, but of course, it depends on how much viewers love Class 2. Of a potential third season, he adds: “If there’s a Class 3, we are ready to cover the period from Si-eun’s third year of high school to graduation.”
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