Pinocchio · Season 1 · Episode 20 · 15 January 2015
S1E20 Episode 20
THE MOMENT The confrontation in the newsroom that forces every character to account for the cost of the lies that shaped their lives.
The finale delivers on the show's thematic promise - the reckoning between media accountability and personal justice - while resolving the central romance in a manner audiences found satisfying. Critics cited the finale as a rare K-drama ending that honoured the intelligence of its setup.
Full episode analysis below. Spoiler-light verdict above.
Updated
Pinocchio Season 1 Episode 20 aired January 15, 2015 on SBS as the finale of a 20-episode series that earned IMDb 8.0. Jae-Ha Kim called Lee Jong-suk's performance 'powerhouse acting' and Park Shin-hye 'his equal in every way'; Coffee and Irony called the series 'a jewel, giddily romantic and constantly surprising.' The finale delivers on the show's structural premise: the reckoning between media accountability and personal justice that the series had been building since the premiere's broadcast scandal. The newsroom confrontation that closes the series forces every character to account for the cost of the lies that shaped their lives, and the show does not offer an easy verdict on the journalist character whose coverage destroyed the Choi family. Critics noted the finale as a rare K-drama ending that honoured the intelligence of its setup - the romantic resolution is present but secondary to the thematic one, which the show earns.