Lee Jae-wook and Lee Jun-young starring drama The Impossible Heir season 1: Ending explained

Lee Jae-wook and Lee Jun-young concluded their roles in the Disney+ Korean drama The Impossible Heir on April 3, 2024. The plot follows the rise of Tae-oh, In-ha, and Hye-won as they climb the ranks to achieve success in the major leagues.

The main focus of the show revolves around Han Tae-oh (Lee Jae-wook), who makes a decision to help his friend Kang In-ha (Lee Jun-young) become the next chairman of the company. However, In-ha is not the legitimate heir to the chaebol, and Na Hye-won (Hong Su-zu), who they encounter, decides to join them in pursuit of personal gain. This causes Tae-oh’s journey towards success to be filled with mixed emotions as he has to sacrifice his relationships with his family, friends, and love in order to attain wealth and status.

Despite its intricate plot, multiple subplots, and poor editing, viewers have been disappointed by The Impossible Heir for not being innovative or captivating. In the end, Han Tae-oh’s rise to power and becoming the “impossible heir”of Kangoh Groups was the only highlight. Despite this, the drama received a low audience rating of 2.9 stars and a score of 6.9/10 on IMDB.

The Unexpected Twist at the End of Disney+ K-drama The Impossible Heir

In the 12th episode of The Impossible Heir, Han Tae-oh finally achieved his long-awaited goal of becoming Chairman of the Kangoh Group. Despite facing numerous obstacles, he persevered and successfully protected the conglomerate from Kang In-Ha’s schemes, ultimately leading to In-Ha’s imprisonment for his wrongdoings.

In episode 12, Tae-oh visits his mother’s grave after her passing, having lived a life that was constantly controlled by fate. He finds solace in the company of Na Hye-won (Hong Su-zu), who presents him with a letter written by his mother before her death. In the letter, she implores Tae-oh to move on from the past, release his pain, and let go of his desire for revenge.

Before the shareholders’ meeting, Kang Seung-ju (In-ha’s stepbrother) visited his mother, Jang Geum-suk, in jail. He confided in her about the dissatisfaction and hardship he had experienced as a result of her greed, and encouraged her to relinquish her ambition to gain control of the company.

At the shareholders’ meeting in episode 12 of The Impossible Heir, it was revealed that In-ha had been arrested by the police. He was accused of the murder of Kang In-ju, his older stepbrother, and ordering the assassination of Mo Gi-jun. However, Jin-gyeon shared that her past trauma with In-ju had led to her struggles with drug addiction.

Myung-jun played an audio cassette that exposed In-ha (Lee Jun-young) as the killer of his stepbrother In-ju, and revealed that he had let Gi-jun escape punishment. Additionally, Joong-mo instructed for In-ha’s last name to be changed from “Kang”to “Baek”as he was the illegitimate son of the owner of Kangoh Group. In-ha was sentenced to life in prison by the judge during his trial for his crimes.

Following their final encounter, Tae-oh (Lee Jae-wook) and In-ha (Lee Jun-young) met one last time. Tae-oh presented In-ha with their graduation photo with Hye-won as a token of their 15 years of friendship before parting ways. This photo, a symbol of their once unbreakable bond, was tarnished by In-ha’s greed, but neither of them took responsibility for their actions and apologized.

The finale of The Impossible Heir sees Na Hye-won working for the President, while Kang Hee-joo (Choi Hee-jin) opts for a vacation abroad. As the drama comes to a close, viewers are left with the tragic image of In-ha taking his own life in prison, while Tae-oh reflects on his journey and feels a sense of accomplishment.

Tae-oh concludes by glancing at Hee-joo’s holiday photos on his phone and beams with a warm smile as the finale draws to a close.

The Impossible Heir, which has 12 episodes, can be streamed worldwide on Disney+ and will not be renewed for a second season as the last episode satisfactorily concluded all the characters’ storylines and arcs.