After watching True Beauty on Viu, I went back to Netflix for my 67th K-Drama series — Sisyphus The Myth. Before I proceed, let me just give a briefer about Sisyphus the man the title is based on. Sisyphus is a king in Greek Mythology who cheats death a few times in an attempt to escape his mortality. This pisses off Zeus, who punishes Sisyphus. In Hades, Sisyphus has to push a boulder uphill only to have it roll back down when he reaches the top. This is a vicious cycle that goes on forever.
Sisyphus The Myth stars Park Shin Hye in her most action-packed role yet. She plays Kang Seo Hae, a twenty-something girl from the dark and dreary post-nuclear war future. Seo Hae travels in time to 2020 to prevent the war from happening. For this, she has to find the creator of the time machine, Han Tae Sul.
Han Tae Sul is a wealthy genius who Seo Hae eventually falls in love with. He joins Seo Hae in her quest to prevent the war.
But there is someone who wants the war to break out, a mysterious man known only as Sigma. It’s now a race between Sigma and Seo Hae + Tae Sul as to what will happen next.
Okay so from hereon out, spoilers abound. I’ll try to explain the ending as best I can based on actual events in the series.
If you’ve watched Sisyphus The Myth, the vague ending probably left you wondering what happened. After all, everyone “dies” in the finale and then all of a sudden, Tae Sul and Seo Hae are together on a plane holding hands. Before I share my interpretation of the ending, consider the following points:
- In the finale, Tae Sul chooses to shoot himself to put an end to the vicious cycle of war and time travel. According to Seo Hae, war breaks out because Tae Sul invents the time machine. Seo Hae can’t bring herself to kill Tae Sul so Tae Sul decides to sacrifice himself instead.
- If Tae Sul doesn’t invent the time machine, the nuclear war never happens. That said, this version of 20+ year old Seo Hae will cease to exist. The Seo Hae that Tae Sul knows is the product of the nuclear war and the time machine. Therefore, Tae Sul killing himself means Tae Sul also eradicating the Seo Hae he knows and loves. Both of them will cease to exist.
- In episode 11, Tae Sul goes into Seo Hae’s past to try and save her. To do this, both Tae Sul and Seo Hae’s bodies are left in the present while their consciousness visits various pockets of time. In one such time pocket, Tae Sul finds his brother Tae San. Tae San tells Tae Sul that this is where he has been hiding all this time so Sigma and the Control Bureau can never find him. He also tells Tae Sul that when Tae Sul goes back to the present, physical world, they will most likely not see each other again. We see Tae San’s body in a vegetative state in the present. If their physical bodies die, their consciousness can never go back, having no vessel to return to. This is why after getting shot with the serum, Seo Hae goes back and wakes up but finds that Tae Sul is dead to the world.
- Tae Sul tells Seo Hae to find him no matter what before shooting himself. After he dies, we see Seo Hae slowly vanishing.
- The Greek Mythology version of Sisyphus has the main character doing the same thing over and over again in vain. Had Tae Sul chosen to build the time machine and retain this version of Seo Hae, it would just result in a vicious cycle where post-war Seo Hae would keep coming back to try and change things.
Considering all the above points, I think what happened in the end is this:
Tae Sul, having discovered that it’s possible for one’s consciousness to exist in a particular pocket of time (episode 11), concludes that he and Seo Hae can be together while saving the world if he kills himself. In the present, real, and living world, they can never be together without the rest of humanity dying. But leaving their physical existences behind can free their consciousness so like Tae San, they can “hide” in a particular pocket of time. This is why Tae Sul awakens in the plane, where the series started. Only this time, Seo Hae is beside him. He told her to “find” him and she did. When the camera zooms out, we see that the plane isn’t real. Much like the pockets of time they visited in episode 11, the plane is one such pocket. It’s a happy ending of sorts where Tae Sul and Seo Hae can be together at that point in time — before the time machine was invented and after Seo Hae goes back to 2020. After all, according to the series, what’s important is not where, but when.
I’ve tried looking through all the Sisyhus The Myth ending explained posts and none of them make sense so I’m inclined to stick to my theory.
Dang, Park Shin Hye is my new action hero.
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This makes sense! Thanks for sharing your theory, Ro! ☺️
Yay thank you!
My guess is that the uploader is still somehow created again. Hence the ending where sigma from the future has that book of evil plans. Something happened in between tae sul getting shot and him ending up on that plane with girl that the writer didn’t reveal yet… sequel? Perhaps
Your interpretation is the best I’ve read so far. I also thought the plane wasn’t real. It’s almost implying they’re in some type of “heaven” with the bright light shining in the end.
That’s a great prediction. Thanks! this gives me some closure
I also find the answer to the ending. And I am thankful I came to this vlog. Well I believe it is an open ending so that we, the viewers will end it according to how we want to end it. The best part is that in the end they are still together alive. Even if it is in a time pocket or it is history repeat itself.. but Ill go with the thought that Tae-san continue the uploader just to bring back his brother. After all He has the blueprint.
And Tae san said to his brother that I will do everything just to keep Taesan. After all, uploader invented just to go back to what you left behind. ❤️ but honestly, it gives me a headache
I understand but I wanna know how seo hae travel in pocket of time
I mean tae sul shoot himself not to make uploader n if the uploader is not being made then how seo hae travel to tae sul’s pocket of time in airplane
If they meet again in this multi universe on board the airplane they shouldn’t know each other
I’m more inclined to think it was more of a dream
like the drama Alice borderland I mean he wakes up on a plane he looks over and sees The girl he was just dreaming about Being mental he goes for his meds and then realizes the girl in his dreams is there why should I take the meds
Thanks. This does make sense..I feel more sense then those who suggest it is a hallucination as a hallucination just doesn’t make sense since Tae sul said many times to find him before he shot himself and Seo Hae also acknowledges she will find him before she disappears.
I guess the one wild card is the fact that Tae San has woken up , the blue prints do exist and it is possible he will create the uploader to bring his brother back. He did say earlier in the series he is willing to do anything to make sure Tae Sul is safe. This allows the creators of the show to have a sequel if they do wish.
I just hope one day the directors, or screen writers or even the lead actors will tell us what happened at the end as everything we have are just theories … convincing theories mind you.
This is provided they have not killed Tae San’s physical body… because the last time he is seen, he is surrounded by the Control Bureau. The time pocket that Tae Sul and Seo Hae reunite in is also the same time Tae San comes back to 2020 (he crashes into the pilot’s window which causes the plane to fail) so it’s also possible that all 3 will just exist in this timeframe. 🙂
Actually, you do see that Tae San wakes up in that room, hooked up to a fluid bag in that control bureau room with all the screens. But he was alone, no one was in the room with him, unlike previously when he had all those guys with guns surrounding him. I would assume that everyone working for sigma at the bureau disappeared as well since his henchmen at the church disappeared unless they were part of the current time line. But I doubt they’d kill Tae San without orders from Sigma to do so after he awakens.
I like this theory a lot. Makes sense! I just also am curious how they could have gotten their consciousness to go to that pocket of time. I thought they’d have to be shot with the drug to sort of send them back, and that if their physical body is gone, then their consciousness would also die and stop wandering like a ghost. Isn’t that why Sigma threatened Tae Sul with his brother’s physical body and that he’d harm it if he didn’t spare current Gil Bok??
Agree with the last paragraph of your comments. I confused about those points if using the explanation in this blog.
This is where the recurring quote that what’s important is not where but when comes in. I’m guessing when their consciousness transcends the normal flow of time, they can meet in a particular moment where both of them once existed — and that is the plane. While Tae Sul is on the plane, Seo Hae had already arrived in his timeline. That was the part where their existences intersect — Seo Hae coming back to Tae Sul’s time after the war, while Tae Sul actually still exists. As we have seen in past scenes, Tae Sul’s parents continue to exist by the seaside with the younger versions of Tae San and Tae Sul — but they can’t really go elsewhere. It might be the same for Tae San and Seo Hae, they can only co-exist in the plane since that was where their existences once intersected. This is probably why there is no mention of a destination or indication of any future activity, all they do is hold hands and close their eyes. They just want to be together and they can’t really do this elsewhere except at that point where they both once existed.
Brilliant! Thank your for your comment. It cleared things up further for me!
My guess is that the uploader is still somehow created again. Hence the ending where sigma from the future has that book of evil plans. Something happened in between tae sul getting shot and him ending up on that plane with girl that the writer didn’t reveal yet… sequel? Perhaps
Your theory is most logical, as you said the real key is the fact they make it obvious the plane is not real
I like your theory and would like to know how their consciousness would be able to go outside the “time and space” realm. If he has died and she truly never existed; how can they reunite on the plane in that new pocket of time?
Hello, this i why they had to meet in one such pocket where both of them once existed — while Tae Sul is in the plane which is also about the same time Seo Hae arrives in 2020. Tae Sul has not killed himself yet. This is their “when”.
this is why almost all series and movies with time travel are complete nonsense; if there are temporal lines, then every time travel must cause the existence of a different temporal line and people just don’t disappear! They just continue to exist . If you kill yourself in the past, you don’t disappear. The same if you kill yourself in the future. You simply changed your temporal line and no, you just can’t go back and forth in the same temporal line if you don’t wanna break every single physics rule.
I just found your explanation and I can say that it is a great theory! It was so awesome I added it in my list of possible endings in my own post (see: https://j.mp/sisyphusthemyth ).
I did not put much weight on their travels in-between worlds since it was poorly explained. For one, they initially explained that when they’re trapped there, they are travelling through different parallel worlds, but in episode 11 Tae Sul and Seo Hae only travelled through time (from their past to their present).
Your explanation made episode 11 logical, a pocket universe which also perfectly fits the ending in the finale episode. Great ending you’ve presented! I love it!
Mabuhay and Shalom!
yeah it fuckin hurt me that they said its only hallucinations, and i think it again, why tae sul lean on seo haes shoulder if its only hallucination? it stressing me out and btw fo you think they have another season? because of the past sigma idk forgot his name, in the end he draw a kid and go home and there’s a weird and mysterious notebook where all happends are in there, he even copy tae sul outfit heck what does that mean, writer really left us behind confused
I think they are trying to show that Sigma is Sigma no matter how the scenario plays out and so eventually he will still end up obsessed with Tae Sul and trigger a similar chain of events…. hence the title Sisyphus.
Ok, I’m a bit miffed, because it sounds like I watched a final episode that was altered. They zoom out, but do not show that the airplane is fake as you describe. Also, unless you excluded it for some reason, a couple minutes showing that Sigma is really not ok, and preparing for season 2 I assume, has been added on.
They don’t show the plane as outright fake but I kind of got that impression since they showed the area in front of the two leads bathed in white light, so I’m assuming it’s not a real setting.
What is your take on Sigma’s ending? Just an obsession? Or a twist?
Given the title Sisyphus, I think the ending shows that no matter what happens Sigma is Sigma. He is the same person and so even if he starts out differently he will eventually end up obsessed with Tae Sul and so the entire cycle will repeat itself eventually.
I have a question….after Tae Sul gets the injection and goes to the in-between to find Seo Hae he ends up at her elementary school. There he speaks with a young boy who tells him he looks sick and should go to a hospital. No one else can see Tae Sul or respond to him except Seo Hae. I really thought this could be a key in future episodes since it seems like an inconsequential interaction and doesn’t move the plot along UNLESS this kid/situation will factor into the story line in the future. So I guess my question is, what was so special about that kid that he could see and interact with Tae Sul when the in-between was just supposed to be memories?
Did you forget that the guardian of the code is Tae Sul’s brother? Tae Sul died in a timeline. It returns to the starting point. His brother woke up, so the upload code, which was hidden with him, is at Sigma’s disposal. I believe that Seo Hae, who appears on the plane, is not a hallucination, nor a result of imagination, she is real and is fulfilling her promise to find Tae Sul again, in a new attempt to avoid the war.
agree with this. if its all a hallucination or a dream what was the point of Sun waking up in the end. tae suls brother is the key.
These explanations are so helpful! I think I get what the writers were trying to do now, it just unfortunately still doesn’t make sense. (Not the fault of the theories, I think it’s just that the writers didn’t quite get it right. Here’s why:
1. Mind-meet. If it were their consciousnesses were finding each other in a pocket, their unconscious bodies would need to be alive somewhere and they aren’t.
2. Souls-Meet. No one mentioned souls in an afterlife, but that white gleam might suggest that moment as a heaven for them (though who wants to spent an eternity stuck in an airplane, even first class, I dunno.) But, it could be that- they are both dead and their souls find each other.
Except:
2-a. How could their souls find each other if in the exact same moment in time they are actually walking around still alive (her as a kid)?
1-a. Even if they aren’t souls and we ignore the unconscious bodies somewhere issue, earlier Tae Sul found her in her / his memories, so if that were the case here, a second Tae Sul from the memory should be on the plane recording the Ramen guy. He isn’t. There’s just one Tae Sul.
So, for now let’s say it isn’t either of those…
3. Real+ Real / Imagined. If Tae Sul on the plane is fully really real the we are seeing the events unfold where his brother doesn’t fall from the sky with a suitcase.
3-a. But it if he’s a Tae Sul where the events haven’t happened yet, he shouldn’t recognize her at all, right? Hallucination or not, she’s a stranger at that moment in time. She would know him, and does say his name, but he shouldn’t know her at all because he hasn’t met her before/yet. But he seems to faintly recall and then fully remembers her, and rather than take his medication he decides to be happily unmedicated, suggesting that he doesn’t care if she’s real or not, he’s just happy she’s there. The problem here is, that doesn’t make sense in his timeline. His memories couldn’t have been merged with future him so he would remember her because he never had the experience where he meets her because the uploaded literally never happened/s. How could he recognize her?
3-b. As a side note on the is she physically real on the plane question- I don’t think the fact that he is able to lean on her is any indication of her physical existence either because the scene is from his unmedicated perspective – I’d only be convinced if a flight attendant spoke to her and handed her food or something.)
3-c. Let’s say she is actually there and real. How??? Any already transported versions of her would also disappear so she couldn’t have found and boarded his plane, and they couldn’t have already been a couple in this re-written universe because she’s in elementary school and he’s 40 or something.
What number are we on, 4?
Okay reason 4. As someone already mentioned, non-disgruntled artist Sigma still is a little bit disgruntled because he already painted and kept the bleeding eyed Tae Sul painting and has the little booklet- either because future Sigma has left it for him (which again doesn’t make sense unless there are events we haven’t yet seen for a sequel) or because he’s writing it out for himself, which leads me to the biggest unresolved issue in all of this.
SIGMA SAID HE CAN CREATE THE FUTURE AND ANYTHING HE DRAWS, HAPPENS.
This was for me the most intriguing part of the story and it is never tied off as a possibility. So, if he still has some resentment issues and still can make the future bend to his will, maybe he creates a new version of events and maybe the uploader happens and that’s how she does physically get on the plane.
Sisyphus.
(Except for the problems I already outlined with that, above.)
4-a. To really solve this I’m not sure why no one went to Sigma’s childhood home and took care of him as a little boy and protected him and made the other children stop bullying him. Isn’t that the real solution to Sigma? I mean he foretold all of it as a child. If he draws different pictures then different things happen.
4-b. I realize it doesn’t solve the resentful best friend issue. (I don’t care enough about that storyline to fix it tbh.)
5. It was all a dream. If you think about it, Tae Sul is sitting on a plane with his girlfriend, doses off, dreams a very imaginative nightmare about the nuclear holocaust, the dangerous potential of a device he’s working on, and how he should be more grateful to his brother. It’s super scary, but he faces each of his fears, then wakes up, happy.
He had a propensity for drug addiction so he has the pills, but because he’s happy in love and finally faced and worked through his issues in the dream he doesn’t need the drugs so much or maybe his awful nightmare scares him into going cold turkey and he lives sober from then on and is a kinder more generous person moving forward( but decides not to make his sugar cube teleporting machine just in case.)
(That last one is an ending that actually makes sense. I don’t think it’s what the writers intended, but it resolves the plot holes.)
i agree that it all being a dream makes a lot of sense and surprisingly i feel satisfied with that. either way i ended up really enjoying this show even with all its plot holes
I have a question in episode 16, why and how did the the thugs in the church vanished?
New time flow. The past was altered when Seo Hae’s father found Sigma and draped his coat on him. This changed the future in which the thugs would never exist.
See my post below yours for an explanation about the final scenes.
Han Tae San waking up would possess the code and uploader plans (uploader already built anyway). Han Tae San would then make it possible for a future Seo Hae to travel back to meet Han Tae Sul. Han Tae San was the observer of the events involving Han Tae Sul & Seo Hae; enough to witness the “find me” promise. And then fulfill it on behalf of his brother.
The plane scene is confusing. However, carefully watching it resolves the issue.
The beginning of the time bubble is the scene in the plane. Probably also when either Han Tae San or Seo Hae arrived before waking up.
Everyone was after the plans for the uploader they thought was locked in the safe by Han Tae San . Yet, Eddie Kim built the uploader as seen in the last episode. Eddie did not need the plans. What was needed always the code.
What Han Tae San did have? That was hidden? The plans of the uploader with the code. Or just the code itself. Han Tae San was shown to be unconscious, traveling through time while a prisoner of Sigma. Just as when Han Tae Sul went after Seo Hae when Seo Hae was trapped in time. Han Tae San was able to watch his brother and Seo Hae the entire time. And Sigma and probably everyone else.
The uploader exists, as built by Eddie Kim. Han Tae San finds Seo Hae in the future established after Han Tae Sul shot himself… and lays the bread crumbs for Sao Hae to travel back in time to meet and fall in love with Han Tae Sul. With bread crumbs just as when Sigma left the bread crumbs with Han Tae Sul & Seo Hae to meet and fall in love.
The scene on the plane is confusing. The camera never pulls back far enough to show the other passengers, as the scene closes with the sun shining through. There is a blonde passenger in the row behind them. Yet the camera never pulled back far enough to show her. The other passengers still exist. They are simply never shown on camera again, instead the focus being on the happy couple.
It was Han Tae San who made that possible. After he woke up. Completed the uploader with code. And simply waited for Seo Hae to grow up. Obviously, Seo Hae was sent by Han Tae San well before the scene on the plane. However, the original time bubble (or paradox) – as mentioned above – began at that point. It was the presence of Seo Hae on the plan with Han Tae Sul that confirmed that the paradox had been resolved. By establishing a new time flow from that point on. A future, from that point on, that would not even see Eddie shoot Seo Hae; where Han Tae Sul would never shoot himself.
Han Tae San would also know about Sigma & Eddie Kim after the time bubble had been dealt with. Both antagonists would not present a threat again. By Han Tae San sending Seo Hae to the past, Seo Hae would be the one of only two copies in existence in the final scene on the plane – herself and Han Tae San.
Forgot to add.
Han Tae San would be the new Sigma – except without the complicated scheming that Sigma had to go through. Quantum & Time would be the new Control.
Purpose? So that Seo Hae and Han Tae Sul would meet and fall in love. As seen on the plane in the end. Probably have kids, etc.
So when Han Tae Sul shot himself the future changed and that is what made everybody disappear. The Sigma we see at the end is the version where he didn’t control an army because those from the future never came back to present day.
I like your explanation but it doesn’t explain Sigma’s last scene. If I were a writer of the show and wanted a second season, I guess you’d need someone to travel in time when Tae Sul was alive to restart the Tae Sul So Hae love story. Technically, Tae Sul wrote the uploader code to go back in time to kill Sigma even though Tae Sul said he wrote the code to only work once. It’s possible someone, Sigma and/or Eddie Kim, find a way to get the code to create the uploader and go back in time. Just a thought.
I don’t know if you are replying to me or not. I rather liked the explanation in the article also.
Sigma’s hated HT Sul from childhood, hated the people of the world. By the last scene with Sigma, he is shown painting children and imitating HT Sul (though probably not out of admiration). A thorough transformation of Sigma.
As for the notebook? That, I don’t have much thought on except to agree with you about a possible 2nd season.
As for restarting the Seo Hae and HT Sul love story… that was Han Tea SAN after he awoke. Remember, HT SAN was drifting through time much like when Seo Hae was when she had to be rescued by HT Sul. HT SAN would have seen everything as when Seo Hae witnessed HT Sul’s time when she and he were trapped in time.
HT SAN would have been the only person to keep those memories after HT Sul shot himself to attempt to reset the time flow. That was not when the time flow was reset. The actual occurrence of resetting the time flow was the final airplane scene with Seo Hae and HT Sul when HT Sul dropped the pills and pillbox.
HT SAN was always about his brother (HT Sul) and brotherly love. SAN wanted to see his brother succeed in life. The bond between the brothers was showcased throughout the series. Much like the bond between HT Sul and Seo Hae. As HT SAN, after awakening from wandering through time, only he would have remembered everything that occurred in the now extinct time-flow. Only HT SAN would be able to find an adult Seo Hae in the future and use a completed uploader with code (since he possessed the code or both) to “lay the breadcrumbs” for Seo Hae being present on the plane in the final plane scene. All because of brotherly love.
If you were not replying to me, please read my post and I hope you enjoy.
as sad as it is i don’t think that the seo hae on the plane at the end is really her and its all a creation of tae sul’s mind because he was surprised to see her there but she was acting natural like it was no big deal for her to be there. in saying this tae sul was also shot in the head and his body didn’t disappear so i don’t see how its possible for any of this to be happening in the first place. honestly i kinda feel like the writers just put this in to give the viewers a happy ending without it making any sense.
– They needed Tae Sun as he had the blueprints to finish the uploader and he hid in the one place they couldnt find him, which means in season 2 he will as he woke up. His “quest” will be to bring his brother back (which he will do anything for, even risk a war?) and he will need Seo Hae to do so.
– Sigma said your body needs to physically be there (alive) to be stuck in the past, so neither Seo Hae nor Tae Sul can be stuck in the past. When they did they where looking at themselves, so this cant be true as one is dead and other dissapeared and they would be stuck forever (and they had to be there before the scene in the church where both ended)
– Tae Sun has seen everything, as he said he will watch and allways be there, so he is the only one to remember a future that doesnt exist anymore, he will know the danger Sigma and
– The fact the painting with evil Sigma still exsists means he will turn evil again, taking shape of Tae Sul means he will find a way to the uploader (as he still wants to be first to use it, since his past didnt change (those early drawings). He has the book, which told him where to find the uploader, but also about the controlbureau etc. He is the “planner” and this book the start of his new plans (as in restarting a loop, learning, logging and making those plans again)
– why tae sul remembers seo hae has me puzzeled, as what we seem to see is the start of a new and different loop, as first time he stepped in and filmed the guy complaining about his cold food and also wore the same cloths. It is the same flight yet this time it wont crash, unless someone elses body will appear in thin air and hit the plane. (Like a refference to the start yet at the same time make the 2nd season indicate different direction). Unless this plane ride isnt the start of their new adventure, but still, they way he looked indicates he knows the alternate timeline. Really far fetched: perhaps Tae Sun finds a way to show them both the previous loop? Just like Seo Hae and Tae Sul where able to see eachothers past. If Tea Sun wants to convince Seo Hae, showing her would do that.
– Sigma = Sisyphus?
Meaning it will never end? 😉
Also you cant go back to the child Sigma as you need a downloader for it and it only exists in the time where Sigma travelled back too first. (They do not explain who or how this downloader was created, only the fact there is an up- and downloader)
Also if Sigma is Sisyphus, it would explain why he can see the future (see myth) and why he dresses up as Tae Sul (as he will know Tae Sun made the uploader/ will make it)
Side note, Sigma also said “fun things are different” and Seo Hae said “this time I will make it work”. Which I think indicates an eternal loop, which is why Sigma tricked Seo Hae and Tae Sul every step of the way (as a plan being perfected every loop)
They broke it, meaning a different loop will start as Sisyphus is bound to an eternal loop, as this is his curse.
I just have one question. I couldn’t seem to find an answer. I mean when they wander in different timelines like what happened in episode 11, it is said that they wont be seen by other people of that timeline. But, when Tae Sul first arrived to search for Seo Hae and bring her back, he was able to ask those kids in the hallway (?) So if both in the end were just wandering in that timeline, the stewardess wouldn’t have been able to see him.
Something to ponder: Tae Sul said he had written a code that the uploader could only be used one time before the couple stepped into the uploader and vanished. When did that version of Tae Sul and Seo Hae go to? Remember there were two versions of the couple existed in the church? One version must have gone down to use the uploader, while the other, we saw Tae Sul killed himself. Gosh, when a plot involved a time-traveling genre, it’s so mind-boggling.
Thank you, it makes sense. He reaches foer his medicine when he sees so hae. He just drops it and doesn’t care. If it’s a delusion he wants to live in it. Reminds me of the ending of the movie inception.
It is a sci-fi and it has an open ending where everyone can see things differently.
Just pick the ending you like and interpret how you like it and stick to it whatever makes you happy.
Keep in mind of the following things before you pick an ending:
1) It is a sci-fi so everything is possible.
2) It is Korean (most of series or movies are sick or have bad ending so keep in mind worse case scenarios are there).
3) Keep in mind the movie title: “sisyphus” in translation going back to the greek methology it means eternity. And the series also refer to this greek metholody, because we have seen a painting from sigma referring to move the ball like in the greek methology.
Facts about the series that we can’t deny:
1) Time machine will always exists, because the younger version of sigma can see the future and since they where children he mentioned that Tae Sul will create one.
2) Since the time machine is not avoidable Tae Sul brother will always be seen as a lunatic and die that day when he try to talk with Tae Sul.
3) The key to all this is Seo Hae who is far in the future and i able to reach Tae Sul to warn him or even warn her self using her pink notebook.
So if we want to choose a good ending we could say the following:
Seo Hae write what happens in her pink notebook and make a note to her self, her dad and Tae Sul to stop the time machine build and leave her necklace to her parents in front of the younger version of Seo Hae so they can see the proof she is not lying when the necklace will merge it self in front of the eyes of her parents. After this she turn her self in to the control bureau.
Dong-ki convince Tae Sul what he is capabel of creating a time machine and that he need to stay away from this idea and explain to him that he must save the world.
Also telling him to change his attitude for stop being arrogant and stop forgetting the birthday of Eddie Kim and help him for a love story with Seo-jin so that he will always be happy with Tae Sul as a friend.
Then handing over the pink notebook and saying to him not to open it for another 12+/- years and that he need to give it back in person to Dong-ki home and then meet the legal age of Seo Hae to fall in love with after they share their stories that her dad will tell and show in her pink notebook and ask to the young Seo Hae to recall the magic day of the necklace phenomena. Dong-ki will also catch Sigma, because Seo Hae shared his location after all she know after so many travelings.
Above story confirms: “what’s important is not where, but when.”.
Since there is no time machine build anymore and Sigma is caught the future Sigma is gone and the world is saved. The older Seo Hae is gone including the whole control bureau. Sigma will always hate Tae Sul, but he is mental and suicidal so eventually he will kill him self since there is no war anymore that stopped him for killing him self.
Only downside that is not fixable is preventing his brother from dying.
Thats my ending hope you enjoy.
Sigma ending; Remember how Mr. Park at the Asia Mart said they could drop anything anywhere they wanted, i.e. the coffee cup with the EMP into his house. I think there was two uploader/downloader and Mr. Park had the smaller one that could only send small objects. Hence the book that Sigma has at the end, the future Sigma could not send himself back so He sends information, his diary, back to himself to grow into the villain in the present time. Tae Sul and Soe Han are in Limbo waiting to be pulled back in Season 2, I hope…
Added Note; Just remembered when Tae Sul was on stage and shot at, he had just sampled the UpLoader device,,, this could be the one Mr. Park had…
I want to first say I really enjoyed the show, so you know I’m not hating on it when i simply say that I believe the internal logic of the whole plot is either broken (poorly written/thought-through) OR is purposefully irrelevant to a dream of love over hate. I actually believe the latter, that this tale is meant to be more allegorical.
the subtitle of the show is “Myth” – this isn’t sci fi, it is fantasy. It is not waking reality, but allegorical dream – it doesn’t have to make LOGICAL sense, only emotional and spiritual. There is a central theme of selfishness and regret for the past. The time machine can only go backwards, and even after the end of the world, people don’t go back to stop the war, they go back to fix their own problems – even choosing to go back to days before the war, instead of years before, to the moment of their greatest regret, and demonstrated by the cop-control-immigrant coming back to his mothers death. That guy, to me, was a part of what Seo Hae went through on her own path – to win, no matter what, she had to forgive him for the awful things he did to her – again, letting go of the past to move forward, or be trapped forever in a cycle of regret
The ending is a sign that Tae Sul has let go of the regret of his brothers death, and has moved beyond selfishness, having chosen the world over himself. His reward for spiritual growth is the love he never believed he could have, and so chose to deny even wanting.
Sigma is the physical representation of the selfishness of regret. If you don’t move forward, you will never change, trapped in a loop of selfish regret.
There was a time in storytelling before Canon was a thing, and stories could be accepted as allegories. Too much today do we try to pull apart every story for a logical consistency. Instead, Sisyphus harkens back to the age of folk tales, with legends of why the sun is always chasing the moon.
Again, just my take on it, and how i choose to interpret not just the end, but the whole show. Plot holes aren’t relevant in a myth 🙂
Having said that, i just wanted to point out to those who wondered, Sigma has the notebook at the end because he was still the sigma who was held at gunpoint, and heard everyone around him talk about what he was going to do. It’s his own notes of what he saw and heard.
So i think what u said about the pocket of time makes sense . Cuz the shots they took before they got into the uploader looked just like the one he took when he was going to save Soe Han… Which would make sense cuz otherwise he would be alone after saving the world, so existing out of time is a solid solution. And the notes that sigma had are what he heard when held at gun point and i believe its a display at his unfixable delusional state wich has now converted into an obsession with Tae in the form of adoration vs hatred.. if thrs a season two i think it will be kinda like Altered Carbon.. new people new plot.
I’m stuck in the infinite loop between the “day he locked her in the bunker” and the day they get saved in the church by the snipers.
After being saved in the church by their future selves, Tae Sul and Soe Hae use the uploader (with “one time code”) to go back in time to save another TS+SH. Presumably that TS+SH left to do the exact same thing, before what I’ll call the BOK DRAMA: The long argument where Soe Hae gets shot in the belly by Bok and Tae writes a bunch of code, then shoots himself in the head.
I would expect that by the time that whole BOK DRAMA plays out, the TS+SH that were just saved minutes ago run back to the uploader to write the “one time code” to go back to the day he locked her in the bunker.
SO despite people saying the pair can’t be on the airplane in the other world because there are no live bodies, that isn’t necessarily true. There is always a living TS and SH in the loop described above, so maybe when one version of the pair die in the church (one dies, one disappears) perhaps at that moment somehow the two living dopplegangers are the ones who end up on the plane, and not the pair that died in the church.
Could you please try to explain the rest of it? Why was Sigma still acting like he wanted to destroy Tae Sul? Maybe because of the confrontation in his apartment days/weeks prior? It’s not like he’ll be able to time travel without the uploader. What was the point in showing us that he’s still crazy? I feel like there was more to follow that wasn’t explained. Do you know if there will be a Season 2?
Sigma was like Eddie Kim. Both felt they were in Tae Sol’s shadow and that he had acted arrogantly towards them. When Sigma tells Eddie he and Tae are like Tesla and Edison, I think he is also talking about himself. Tae was the only one who showed Sigma any kindness and them turned his back on him. That ate Sigma up more than the kids beating him because he already experienced beating and not being wanted. What Tae Sol did was perceived by Sigma to be more cruel because he offered him kindness and then took it back. Tae Sol’s reading of the critiques also hurt because Sigma felt his life had some value when he found out someone wanted his paintings and then snatched away that value when Sigma found out it was only because Tae Sol was trying to find him. The extra effort of asking art critics was one more screw of failure. He tried to kill himself but then the bombs went off and he was on his home for 2 or so months. The ending to me seemed like he switched psychosis from “everyone deserves to die” to some form of imagining himself to be Tae Sol, like a split personality.
Odd note of randomness is I liked Sigma’s eerie paintings. Tae Sol’s reading of the critiques also hurt because he felt his life had some value when he found out someone wanted his paintings and then snatched away that value when Sigma found out it was only because Tae Sol was trying to find him. The extra effort of asking art critics was one more screw of failure.
The cover of the Eorbes magazine that Sigma reads at the end says Autumn 2020 Volume. The autumn equinox is usually September 22. And since the cover implies that Han Tae Sul is still alive in the same universe that Sigma has Seo-Hae’s father’s notebook with all the notes from the series. If he’s alive, of course, it means Seo-Hae could be too, and not a hallucination or the plane seen be purgatory.
I am not sure if people mentioned Tae Sul’s partner, who was still at the church. Remember, Tae Sul started back up the uploader, then killed himself. Anyone who was part of the time travel would disappear, but his partner didn’t disappear. Tae Sul kills himself technically at an age when he created it or at least had a prototype. He didn’t kill himself before he created it, which would be the only way it couldn’t be created. Remember, Terminator had to go back to a specific point in time. Things only changed after that point. In every timeline with Tae Sul and Seo Hae, they are almost the same age. In every timeline where he had a choice, he chose to save her. The right choice would have been to let her die and to not turn on the uploader. The 9 year old Seo Hae would grow up and only be 15 or so years younger than Tae Sul. His brother would also be alive and he could have tried to be the better human being that he said he wanted to be. Tae Sul could have taken accountability for his arrogance, or perceived arrogance that also gets this ball rolling. Also Tae Sul’s brother couldn’t recreate the machine. He said he didn’t have his brother’s talents. Tae Sul also divulged that his brother drank. I don’t think anyone would have faith that he could actually build it. As the previous post also points out, the magazine was dated with Tae Sul on the front so the day he died would be the day he died at the church. There are just too many timeline pieces that don’t add up. Tae Sul tells Sae Hae it isn’t a matter of where but when. When they go back Eddie Kim is in the uploader room. The last thing he knows is that he has to get the uploader working. When he can’t, his only option is to force Tae Sol to do it . That is why he ends up at the church but Sigma’s body had disappeared. Why not tell him Sigma was dead? Everyone in the bunker disappeared because their first timeline didn’t end in nuclear fall out. Eddie Kim still wouldn’t have gotten the Chairman’s daughter but he told her earlier he only wanted to be in her presence. He still had a chance to fix things. Ultimately, there would never be a time within reason that both Tae Sol and Seo Hae would be around around same age. She would be the one to have to die. Even the plane didn’t make sense because she would have been 9 years old. The adult Seo Hae would have disappeared. She and her father that you see in the last episode would be the only ones to disappear and go back to their original ages.
Sorry I meant to add that the unconscious storyline would be hard for me too. The adult Seo Hae should have ceased to exist when Tae Sul killed himself. The 9 year old wouldn’t have any memories of him as a romantic partner. The ending as a consciousness only makes sense if Tae Sol could have managed to upload their consciousness without their bodies. His was dead in the church and Seo and her father disappear . Eddie was with Tae’s body.
Thanks for sharing your ideas on the ending. I just finished the series on Netflicks and liked it a lot. There were some problems, but for a time travel tale, I thought it was pretty well done since it can get very hard to tie up loose plot strings. I think the writers intended to tie them all up and made an effort. But the ending I think was intensionally vague for people to interpret how they wanted. First question: Who is Sisyphus? Han Tae Sul or Sigma. imho, It’s Han Tae Sul. Therefore, imho, he is not in a peaceful death on the plane. He thought his death was the only way to end the cycle, he thought he was smart. But death was not an escape. He is back at the start of the cycle on the plane hallucinating Seo Hae instead of this brother this time, and he chooses to not take the pills because he wants her memory to haunt him as the process begins again. He is happy and smiles. This is the happiness ending he could hope for, as someone who is cursed for eternity for inventing time travel. He is the Sisyphus and has cheated death with time travel and doomed forever to be trapped in a time loop. His memory is in tack while everyone else’s can be reset (unless they touch themselves from another timeline or send directions to their other selves). The pieces may change, but it will repeat anyway, no matter how smart he thinks he is to beat it. My lingering question is how did Seo Hae truly get swept into it the first time? imho, Han Tae Sul was cursed back when as a child he figured out time travel but didn’t the technology or resources to build it yet. This is also when Sigma was created. So thats the true start of the cycle. In all plots of this type, with a cursed character, the only solution is Love. (fyi, Love is the only way to break the curse and/or release the cursed from their pain. So I think that’s what the writers were doing here.) I don’t think there will be a 2nd second season. All around, I enjoyed it alot.
Thanks for this explanation. It’s so clear and easy to understand. This made me finally get the ending. I’m watching it right now
Ok.. I’m a little concerned about their two dead bodies lying side by side in the grave, where she finds the pink notebook . So according to the date line they didn’t survive very long in that world. I’ve followed the rest of it, but I keep coming back to those bodies!
Thank you! The explanation makes perfect sense. They kind of found a way to “elevate” to another kind of existence.
Since Sysyphus cheated death and got punished, allowing himself to die would be the only way out.
I always wondered why Sigma could see the future already as a child. Did the older Sigma go back further in time somehow to give his younger self the notebook?
About the greave: I am thinking either Sigma or Eddie placed their bodies in the grave together with the notebook to ensure that Seo Hae goes back in time. Not sure about that…
it makes sense but still i am confused that in ep 11 when they travel through time pockets. People were not able to see them then how in airplane the hostess comes and says to Tae-sul : ”Here’s your water,sir.”.
I loved your theory because it do make sense in every aspect. But can you please share your thoughts on the very last part where sigma returned to his house after finishing a child’s portrait at a park and try to mimic Han Tae Sul in the mirror?
Gang Seo-Hae is doomed to repeat a task she will always fail at, she is the Sisyphus character. Her task is to save Han Tae-Sul and prevent the war. The series covered just one of these cycles, as stated by many characters during the series. In this cycle the war was prevented but Tae-Sul dies and so the cycle is reset (the rock rolls down again). From that point on everything starts again, only this time she first meets Tae-Sul on the plane, or before. The Sigma and other characters that we see are different alternative versions to the ones before. We’ve already been shown that elements of the cycle can be changed but Seo-Hae is always doomed to fail.
This would mean that the final scenes in episode 16 were just the start of another cycle.
This is how it makes sense to me anyway.
Your explanation makes a lot of sense.
Love your explanation. I love Sisyphus The Myth. Even with glaring holes in the plot.
Couldn’t any one of them pack a change of cloths?
Didn’t Seo-Hae ever think of killing the original Seo Won Juin 2020, he had no guards guarding him. By the way, Kim Byung-chul is the best evil doer I’ve ever come to love to hate. Kim Byung-chul characterisation. Also Lee Joo Won playing Seo Won Ju as a child really had the creep factor rising, and giving me heart palpitations.
Kim Byung-chul characterisation of Seo Won Juin /Sigma was just superb. Award winning acting there.
It’s actually much more simple.
The actual myth, Sisyphus ends in this way: Happiness and the absurd are closely linked, suggests Camus. They are both connected to the discovery that our world and our fate is our own, that there is no hope and that our life is purely what we make of it. As he descends the mountain, Sisyphus is totally aware of his fate. Camus concludes: “One must imagine Sisyphus happy.”
Therefore, the end of the show, Han Tae Sul is Sisyphus… and we must imagine him happy… it’s not real, but we must imagine him so… because the myth instructs us to.