REVIEW: ‘The Impossible Heir’ Episodes 11-12

Over the course of The Impossible Heir, all of the drama and intrigue has been leading up to answering this singular question. Who will be the heir of Kango Group? The Impossible Heir Episodes 11-12 spend their time wrapping up storylines. While these final episodes provide a clear ending, it becomes more apparent how much of a disservice the writing has done to the actors and their respective characters. With that comes the sad realization of what could have been.

The Impossible Heir Episode 11 picks up where the previous episode left off, with Han Tae-Oh (Lee Jae-Wook) intervening in Kang In-Ha’s (Lee Jun-Young) attempt to murder Kang Joong-Mo (Choi Jin-Ho). Tae-Oh leads In-Ha away, and he warns In-Ha not to go further with his actions. But In-Ha can only focus on taking over Kango and being on top. Tae-Oh reminds In-Ha that he couldn’t have gotten to where he is without his help and influence. He warns In-Ha to be careful or else. This threat pricks at In-Ha’s self-doubt, so he makes concentrated efforts to ensure no one can usurp his power.

First, In-Ha focuses on Mo Gi-Jun (Kwon Hyuk). He calls him in prison, where they discuss what’s happening next. Gi-Jun admits he’s afraid, knowing that he’s all but guaranteed the death penalty. Not long after, a guard leads Gi-Jun outside, where he’s stabbed repeatedly. He is presumed dead. Thus, one less obstacle for In-Ha.

Tae-Oh is working quickly to move forward with his Gold H Investment company. In a flashback, as is par for the course with The Impossible Heir, Tae-Oh reveals Gold H to Joong-Mo. It is here we learn that the company exists to protect Kango from outside parties. This is a wise plan since Joong-Mo’s health has been wavering throughout the series. Hoping to get a leg up, Joong-Mo’s second son, Kang Seong-Ju (Lee Ji-Hoon), requests a meeting with Gold H’s CEO.

Gold H poses a threat to In-Ha’s path to becoming Chairman. This is clear when he approaches Kango’s rival, Park Sa-Jin (Nam Myung-Ryul), with his concerns. With Gold H threatening to overpower this rival’s own holdings, he threatens to leave In-Ha. Their relationship hangs by a thread, showing that In-Ha, despite his best wishes, has little to offer outside of his name.

As the sharks circle around Gold H, Tae-Oh is ready to reveal his involvement. In-Ha, Seong-Ju, and the ever-ambitious Jang Geum-Seok (Kim Ho-Jung) wait to meet the CEO of Gold H together. Their surprise is palpable when Tae-Oh shows up. Not realizing the situation he is in, In-Ha threatens Tae-Oh again after their meeting. But the scales of power are already tipping. This is most apparent when Geum-Seok invites In-Ha to dinner, where Tae-Oh awaits him. It is here that In-Ha makes the ultimate worst decision across the board – to weaponize Tae-Oh’s past against him.

In The Impossible Heir Episode 1, Tae-Oh and his mother are on the run. Domestic abuse plays a massive part in their separation, but their lies save their lives and land Tae-Oh’s abusive father, Han Kil-Su (Choi Byung-Mo), in jail. In-Ha arranges for Kil-Su’s early release, and a convenient text message reveals his wife’s location. Needless to say, through In-Ha’s interference, Tae-Oh’s mother conveniently dies. Fulfilling his plot-pushing role, Kil-Su is never seen or heard from again.

Geum-Seok tries to play her hand, arranging a press conference to propel Seong-Ju forward as a beacon of hope for Kango. Anticipating this, In-Ha submits criminal evidence against her, which leads to her arrest. With no other obstacles in sight, In-Ha takes the stage to reveal that he will be acting chairman of Kango. Unfortunately, it doesn’t last long. His decision to callously sacrifice Tae-Oh’s mother to dispatch his enemy comes back to haunt him.  But when you treat everyone around you as disposable, karma has a funny way of punching back.

The Impossible Heir Episode 11 ends with a now not-so-shocking dramatic cliffhanger. In-Ha is arrested before another press conference. As the police officers surround him, Tae-Oh comes out. In some of actor Lee Jun-Young’s best acting in the series, his face contorts viciously to reveal peak villain energy.

The Impossible Heir Episode 12 starts with a flashback again to explain how the story ends with In-Ha’s arrest. Tae-Oh mourns his mother. Her note to him advises him against holding onto rage and to move on. This prompts him to take down all the pictures in his room, signifying perhaps that he’s done with his crusade. This moment reads too convenient for him to make this decision suddenly. The cracks in the writing and characterization are now gaping as the series starts to wrap up its storylines. Either way,  In-Ha has to pay somehow.

Meanwhile, Seong-Ju visits Geom-Seok in prison to inform her she can’t keep pursuing her dream anymore. It’s a rare act of characterization for a character who, for the most part, has been underutilized and underdeveloped. This moment would land home more had Writer Choi Won actually worked to develop the characters. This note applies to many decisions that take place in Episode 12.

How In-Ha is arrested? It has nothing to do with Tae-Oh. At least, not fully. It has everything to do with Park Sa-Jin’s daughter, Park Jin Gyeong (Ban Eun-Se). She reveals her concerns about In-Ha by revealing how his late brother tormented her. This knowledge is not the greatest sell, but due to plot magic, Sa-Jin agrees to help her. This involves him arranging a meeting with Tae-Oh, where they arrange a deal so long as Sa-Jin backs away from In-Ha.

There’s no way In-Ha is getting out in The Impossible Heir Episode 12. Jin Gyeong saves Gi-Jun after his assault, revealing a key witness to In-Ha’s crimes. Coupled with footage placing In-Ha at the scene of In-Ju’s murder, there’s no escape. It is here where events escalate in a whiplash fashion. In-Ha is tried. His father petitions to have In-Ha’s surname removed, thus removing his claim to the family line. Joong-Mo is revealed to have come out of his coma and is leaning even more on Tae-Oh.

By the time In-Ha receives his life sentence, the light has faded from his eyes. Tae-Oh shares parting words with him in jail, leaving behind a photo of In-Ha, Tae-Oh, and the barely-present, Hye-Won (Hong Su-Zu). Despite everything, Tae-Oh reminds In-Ha of their friendship. Needless to say, it’s no surprise that In-Ha hangs himself in this episode. He’s lost everything, and he has no one to blame but himself.

Tae-Oh is, unsurprisingly, the “Impossible Heir.” The episode ends with him fulfilling the Chairman’s dream. Seong-Ju is happy being in a more subordinate position, while his sister, Kang Hee-Ju (Choi Hee-Jin), has decided she needs to get away from it all and pursue her own life. This is another out-there decision made, but, at this point in the episode, it’s just assumed to be a happy little wrap-up. Hye-Won doesn’t appear to be in a relationship with Tae-Oh. Instead, she’s pursuing her own career. Ultimately, everyone still remaining is living a life that pleases them. If only the journey to reach this endpoint was more fulfilling.

The Impossible Heir Episodes 11-12 take great leaps to make the story end as it does. It doesn’t matter if there are plotholes or if a character completely changes to achieve some arc. There is a checklist the writing moves through, and if the journey requires completely manipulating secondary characters to push the plot along, so be it. Unfortunately, it results in lazy, convenient writing that does little to justify to the viewer that The Impossible Heir was worth watching.

The actors try their best to make the material work. Actors Lee Jae-Wook and Lee Jun-Young have consistently had the best material, and this still remains the case in The Impossible Heir Episodes 11-12. Both play off one another so well. Even at their characters’ most fractured, all the hard work from their performances pays off in these final episodes. It’s such a shame that even with the better material provided, it’s not enough to save the storyline.

The Impossible Heir Episodes 11-12 do little to justify the series’ existence. The ending is convenient for convenience’s sake, with little done to make things pop. Instead, viewers are left racing to the finish line as the writing scrambles to the bitter end. The potential for the series to be great has always been there, but instead, we’re left with a disappointing finish.

The Impossible Heir Episodes 1-12 are now available on Disney+ and Hulu.