What to say about a show like this? This is my first review here, and that probably says something as to how conflicted I was, I just had to share.

Wanna start with a shoutout to the visual effects teams, both the CGI and practical effects were flawless and it's a great-looking show. The actors were also really good for what they were given.

Unlike many other reviewers, I won't say "don't watch if you liked part 1" or "avoid at all costs", but I will say: part 1 and part 2 are almost like two different shows/timelines using the same/similar characters, so if you prefer to think of it like that to protect whatever part 1 means to you, I think part 2 is still worth a watch and maybe just think of them as separate beasts. One thing of note for me was that many characters made stupid, uncharacteristic decisions, some making a 180 personality shift from part 1. I also didn't like the chosen portrayal of mental health issues and their interactions with those from poverty-stricken backgrounds, which I feel might increase the heavy stigmas those vulnerable in our communities are already facing.

After this, I will spoil the ending (although most everyone already did), so be warned.

I won't lie and say the ending didn't frustrate me. It was so pointless, so meaningless. Not entirely unexpected, but not satisfying either. Not neat. Not "thematic".

But then I think of the kids from the science school. They had their own characters, their own stories, their own dreams, something they were marching toward. And yet in the story we saw, they appeared briefly and then were reincountered as a bunch of gruesome corpses on the path our heroes were taking. They died horribly, meaninglessly, off-screen. Their bodies were ransacked for loot and they were not buried or mourned by those that encountered them. Was that a fair ending? If we were watching their story, would it have been satisfying?

In real life, when an earthquake hits and 2000 people are buried in rubble, meaninglessly passing away, do they think that was how their lives were going to end? Did that factor into their plans for the future?

In a way, I think this ending was the most realistic ending possible. It was, as loss of life tends to be, brutal and unfair. We're upset because we were with some people on a journey, and that journey was cut short. There was no build up to a great climax, their lives just ended in the dumbest way, and nothing of value was learned or gained.

So yes, the ending was really annoying, absurd, divisive, nonsensical, and a hundred other words connoting something negative. However, looking back on it, I don't mind it so much. If the writers wanted to communicate the futile nature of war, they hit the nail on the head. If they wanted us to reflect on how unfair, wasteful, cruel, horrific, and unnecessary violence like that is, they hit the nail on the head. If they wanted to comment on how our "enemies" are not who we think they are, or that we shouldn't even be thinking of people as "enemies" in the first place, they hit the nail on the head. If they wanted to drive home the point that aliens were never the problem, humans were .... well, that one I find a bit on the nose.

What annoyed me more about the end of the drama, to be perfectly frank, was the complete lack of answers to my questions. One I asked several times an episode - what happened to Won Bin? One I asked many times as well - why would they do that? It makes no logical sense for someone to leave that there, or to do what they did. One I asked almost every scene - how is that still working? Shouldn't the batteries have run out long ago? Why are they wasting all those precious candles when everyone is in bed or in another room? Why are they playing so fast and loose with bullets all the time? They had 800 bullets in stock? They used that in 2 scenes, shooting all around the spheres and not hitting anything. Somehow they have all this ammo still! What are they carrying around all the time? They always say they don't have food or water, but their bags are full? Is anybody going to check on Ae Sol's wellbeing after what was an extremely traumatic assault that everyone witnessed? They are all comforting Bo Ra for a flesh wound, and So Yeon after she fainted, but nobody cared about poor Ae Sol almost being gang-r'd?? How did those 4 at the end survive their multiple gunshot wounds with no medical supplies around and no help? And what happened to Won Bin?

So yes, no shortage of questions, frustration, pity for what might have been an excellent conclusion or continuation of an interesting story, but still I don't regret watching it. Whether they ran out of budget, time, or they couldn't get all the actors on contract to keep filming, whatever the case may be, it's just a shame the ending felt so rushed. I kinda wish it just ended with the bloodbath and we didn't see the couple of scenes after - that was a stupid attempt to give people a somewhat happy/hopeful ending after the brutality of the loss of life, but I didn't really need that. The lives cut short so meaninglessly and brutally spoke for itself. It wasn't a great show plot- or writing-wise, so I can't rate it higher, but for some mindless entertainment it wasn't a total waste.