When Four Hands, Two Sonatas launched in late August, the Korean drama presented as a traditional coming-of-age melodrama about two, piano-obsessed teens at a hyper-competitive arts high school. In his first role following his military service, Song Kang (Sweet Home) stars as Kang Pi-o, the perfectionist grandson of a renowned maestro whose mother pushes him to be the very best. And in his last role filmed before he enlisted, Lee Jun-young (When Life Gives You Tangerines) plays Choi Jeong-yo, a scholarship student and musical prodigy who worries more about keeping his alcoholic stepdad safe from loan sharks than finishing first in prestigious contests.
When the two are paired together to play “four hands,” or a piano duet on the same instrument, their different backgrounds and priorities put them at odds. However, their love for music wins out, and the two develop a life-changing friendship. As the 12-episode series progresses, and the story jumps nine years into Pi-o and Jeong-yo’s adulthood, Four Hands, Two Sonatas morphs from a coming-of-age story into a psychological thriller in which trauma, misunderstandings, and obsession combine to place the future of these talented musicians in question.
Through it all, Pi-o and Jeong-yo’s intense, often tender relationship serves as a throughline, bringing many viewers to question if the Netflix series qualifies as a boys’ love (aka BL) drama. Let’s discuss how Four Hands, Two Sonatas’ ending answers some of these questions. The first chapter of Four Hands, Two Sonatas’ story comes to a head in the Czech Republic, where teenaged Pi-o and Jeong-yo are among a handful of teenage musicians from around the world who are competing in the Prague Harmonie International Competition.
After years of cruel dismissal from his grandfather, Kang Seung-woon (Jung Jin-young), and relentless pressure from his mother, Kang Ji-hye (Yoon Se-ah), Pi-o doubts his talent. He has decided that if he does not win this competition, he will quit piano forever. He begs Jeong-yo to compete because he wants to prove, once and for all, that he can beat his best friend.
Jeong-yo, who wants Pi-o to be happy, agrees to enter the competition. Meanwhile, Ji-hye does not think that her son can beat Jeong-yo. Not only does Jeong-yo have an emotional connection to his music performance that Pi-o struggles to find himself, but Pi-o has injured his pinky in the leadup to the final performance, thanks to his obsessive practicing.
Faced with the possibility of her son giving up piano forever, Ji-hye decides to hire two men to abduct Jeong-yo, ensuring that he cannot compete in the final performance. However, the abduction goes wrong, and Jeong-yo is shot in his attempt to escape. Not only does he not show up for the final performance, but he disappears completely and is presumed dead.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
