Beyond Goodbye

Presentation

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Overview

Synopsis

Saeko is in a happy relationship with Yusuke. But on the day he proposes, he dies in a bus accident. His heart is transplanted into Kazumasa. Though Saeko and Kazumasa don’t know each other, the two meet and unexpectedly bond.

My Opinion (No Spoiler)

There are dramas that are meant to entertain, others to reflect on life. Beyond Goodbye falls into that second category. First off, let me warn you. If you’re expecting a grand romance, don’t watch this drama. You will be disappointed because that’s not the point of the show. Instead, the plot focuses on a simple question: what would happen if you were given a second chance to say goodbye? To answer that question, the show offers a variety of perspectives. It’s easy to put yourself into each character’s shoes and see the situation with their lenses. It also makes the whole story more emotional and complex. The connection between Saeko and Kazumasa is so endearing, moving and heart-wrenching. Emotions are palpable and that’s exactly what makes the drama beautiful. The direction and cinematography also participate. Poetry is everywhere from the snowy landscapes in Hokkaido to the Hawaiian coffee plantation by the sea. Beyond Goodbye relies on a fragile bond that can break people involved, as much as it can heal them. The drama is an ode to life and a remedy to grief that you should enjoy at your own pace. I wholeheartedly recommend it.

Analysis

The setting
Hokkaido
Hawaii

Fateful encounters

The dilemmas
Saeko
Naruse
Miki

Saying goodbye

Symbols
Jacksons 5’s ‘I Want You Back’
Listening to one’s heartbeat
Yusuke’s plant
The boots and umbrella
Coffee
Train
The rainbow

The ending

The setting: Beyond Goodbye takes place on 2 continents, 2 islands to be more precise. Both locations are linked to encounters and events that connect the leads. Hawaii and Hokkaido form a cycle of life, death, meetings and goodbyes.

Hokkaido: In Japan, the intrigue takes place north of the country in Otaru on a majestic county named Hokkaido. Saeko (Kasumi Arimura) lives in the countryside, surrounded by beautiful landscapes, the seaside, and nature. The drama begins in the middle of a cold winter, as Yusuke and Saeko are on a bus ride to the deep countryside. The harsh winter will be synonymous with grief and loss for Saeko, when she gets into a bus accident that causes her fiancé’s death. Opposite to her, another character is suffering from the cold winter period. Kazumasa is sick, hopeless and desperately waiting for a heart transplant. He feels as if his end is near, and tries to hold on as much as he can. While Hokkaido is a place of loneliness and desolation for Saeko, it becomes a place of rebirth and hope for Kazumasa. Yusuke’s death allows him to get his heart transplant which offers him a second life. But in both cases, it is a place of memory. Saeko is reminded of her happy days with Yusuke and his proposal, when Kazumasa spends a good time with his family in his wife’s apple orchard. The scenery of northern Japan perfectly conveys the feelings of sadness and grief, but also of hope and renewal, as the sun and the spring season return.

Hawaii: The American island is the reverse of Hokkaido in the drama. It’s a sunny place where Saeko’s happiness was at its peak. There, she met Yusuke for the first time and immediately fell in love with his free spirit. Later on, she flies to Hawaii to resource herself and have some time to think. She’s overwhelmed by Kazumasa’s presence in her life and his uncanny resemblance with Yusuke. Their close relationship doesn’t help either, so she just decides to put some distance between them. For Kazumasa, Hawaii is a bittersweet place. It’s the first place he visited with his wife after his heart transplant. But it will also be his last travel. Indeed, his body is rejecting the transplant and so he’s about to die. If Hokkaido can be seen as a place of emotional turmoil for both leads, Hawaii is the opposite. It’s an island that provides them with serenity and peace. It’s a place of goodbyes: Saeko can finish her grief thanks to Kazumasa who embodies Yusuke. They get to do together all the things she couldn’t do with her beloved. Meanwhile, Kazumasa finds comfort and peace with this last travel. He can repay his debt towards Yusuke and let him go. That enables him to put a final point to his relationship with Saeko and go back home to his real family. Hawaii helps him unburden his heavy load of emotions and die at peace with himself.

Fateful encounters: There are a series of fateful encounters that are intrinsically connected with one another in the drama. The first one is between Saeko and Yusuke. Following her burn out, Saeko finds comfort in coffee and thus decides to start anew in a coffee company. While on a business trip to Hawaii to canvass a prestigious coffee plant owner, she meets Yusuke at the airport. She’s obviously upset because she didn’t manage to convince the owner of the coffee plantation to work with her company. Yusuke sees her in her chair, feeling down and thus decides to cheer this stranger up. He goes to the public piano and starts playing ‘I Want You Back’ by The Jacksons 5. Music grabs Saeko’s attention who locks eyes with Yusuke. They then have a chat over coffee to discuss their current struggles. All the while, they realize that they actually share one common point: their love for coffee and how it saved them at one point in their lives. Though they didn’t plan on meeting again after their time in Hawaii, fate reunites them in Hokkaido. Saeko’s company supplies the coffee beans to a coffee shop owned by Yusuke’s friend. This coincidental meeting rekindles the spark between them and they start their relationship. After Yusuke’s death, Saeko is devastated. The brutal loss of her soon-to-be fiancé shakes her to the core. She retreats into her shell and tries to grieve the best she can by going back to her ‘normal’ daily life. But fate has something else in store for her. Indeed, Kazumasa’s appearance in her life is like a second chance. They first meet coincidentally in the train, as they live in the same neighborhood. Later on, they notice that they are both interested in coffee and share a coffee break with all the passengers when the train is suddenly stuck on the rails. Their connection grows deeper when Kazumasa joins the project of opening a coffee shop at the university he works for. Saeko’s company is called and she’s assigned to the project. Though this may seem like these encounters are random at first, the leads discover that fate may have a part to play. Kazumasa’s heart transplant unlocked Yusuke’s memories. The teacher ends up having new tastes and new feelings. He’s drawn to coffee – that he couldn’t bear before – and feels like an invisible force is pulling him towards Saeko. After a while, both characters uncover their uncanny connection. They even share the content of the letters they had written to each other (as donor and receiver) to prove their identity. From then on, the line becomes blurry. Saeko is obviously pleased to know that her fiancé’s heart saved a life and that he’s still living somewhere close to her. Kazumasa is grateful for this new life, but also wants to comfort Saeko and help her grieve. Neither is really sure if their feelings are their own (Kazumasa) or if they are directed towards the right person (Saeko). The end of the drama reveals that fate had indeed chosen Kazumasa from the beginning. One day, Yusuke and Saeko were surprised by a pouring rain and thus took refuge under a shop awning. They were giggling and laughing in the rain, enjoying the moment. Kazumasa was standing next to them at the corner of the street, which made his presence unknown to the couple. He was waiting for his wife to come pick him up. When she arrived, Kazumasa stormed into the car, but he handed over his boots and umbrella to Saeko and Yusuke. This small gesture is the first and only encounter the trio ever had, but it surely locked their fate for good. I would also assume that that’s the reason why Yusuke chose to use Kazumasa’s body to get close to Saeko, but that can never be too sure. In hindsight, all these elements connected together show how fate played a part in story. Unbeknownst to them, their lives were deeply intertwined from the beginning.

The dilemmas: The entanglement between characters inevitably lead to many dilemmas that, I think, we would all have if we were put in characters’ shoes. I, myself, tried to think from each character’s perspective and it was not really easy to gauge where to put the limit, when the line was crossed, or even how to deal with all of these emotions. The drama’s greatest strength is its capacity to make you wonder what you, viewer, would do in characters’ stead. This is especially the case for the 3 following characters.

Saeko: Try to think as if you were Saeko. Imagine that your fiancé, whom you loved with all your heart, suddenly dies in a brutal accident while protecting you. Your future together collapses and your present becomes dull. As you’re trying to recover from the sudden loss, you meet someone new, whose personality resembles a lot that of your beloved. Things they say, their behaviors and even their tastes are similar. You also feel comfortable and at ease around him though he’s a perfect stranger. The geographic proximity makes it also easier for you to cross paths with him, and thus you start discussing of everything and nothing. This insufflates small joys in your daily life that you had lost. He makes you want to get up in the morning and go back home quickly at night to catch the train with him. You know perfectly well he’s married, but you’re not looking for romance. You just found a friend with whom to unburden your repressed feelings. Now, imagine that this man has received the heart of your fiancé. That, for this reason, this stranger is reminding you of your lost lover. Worse, that this stranger remembers everything about your love story with your fiancé. He knows every little thing about you, recollects happy moments you lived with your fiancé, and even makes you remember them. If you were in that position, wouldn’t you want to keep the stranger close to you? That’s exactly Saeko’s dilemma. Can she keep on using Kazumasa as a substitute for Yusuke? Can she keep on having a relationship with a man she doesn’t know only because he has a part of her lover inside? Is it okay to want more? Is it fair to take Kazumasa away from his family only for her own selfish gain? Should she come between Kazumasa and his wife who longed for his recovery? These are the questions Saeko constantly has in her mind. In the end, she eventually decides to put an end to her relationship with Kazumasa because she’s too emotionally involved. She also knows that it’s not fair to his wife. Kazumasa is just influenced by Yusuke’s personality, but he’s not him and will never be.

Kazumasa: Try to think as if you were Kazumasa. Imagine that you have finally received a heart you’ve been longing for for decades. Now, you can breathe properly, run, exercise and start a new chapter of your life. It’s finally time for you to be with your family, far away from the hospital, and repay the debt you have to your wife who’s taken care of you all this time. This heart is your second chance and you want to seize it. But when you think everything’s going to be fine, you start having flashes. You see places and feel emotions that are not part of your own memory. At first you believe these are dreams, so you dismiss them. But these flashes become scenes, as if you were living them for real. On top of that, you feel yourself slowly changing. You start liking things you didn’t like (such as coffee), do things, and say things you’d never think about before. But you dismiss all that again. You convince yourself that this is due to the heart transplant. Now that your brain is not on survival mode, you’re finally discovering your actual personality. Are you really? Shortly after that transplant, you meet a stranger on the train. You see her several times and feel the urge to talk to her. What started as small remarks on the train ends up becoming a connection that then turns into a relationship. You feel at ease with her, as if you knew everything about her already. One day, you discover that your new heart belonged to her dead fiancé. The memories that you recall, the new tastes that you have, and your sudden attraction to this woman is all due to this heart. You may be the one controlling your body, but that dead person controls your heart and feelings. You’re confused and lost, as you can’t seem to be able to tell what emotions, memories, feelings are yours and what are his. At the same time, you feel grateful for this new chance at life and empathetic towards the woman who was left behind. You see that she’s struggling and deeply affected. You want to help her move on and heal, because she doesn’t deserve to be in so much pain. She’s also kind and benevolent. You know that because you’ve met her, but your heart also confirms it. In that position, should you listen to your head or to your heart? That’s Kazumasa’s dilemma. Should he keep on living his life as if nothing happened? Or should he follow his heart’s desires and help Saeko overcome her grief? The feelings he has, are these his or Yusuke’s? Is it ok to keep on getting closer to Saeko when his wife is waiting for him? Kazumasa’s questioning comes to an end when he receives his sentence from the doctor. The reason why Yusuke’s feelings are heightened is because he’s rejecting the transplant. He knows that he’s not going to make it. His heart is giving out and he will die sooner or later. Still, Kazumasa makes the decision to fulfill Yusuke’s wish. He goes to Hawaii and puts his life at risk to offer Saeko her last moments with Yusuke. He gives her the opportunity to finally say goodbye by doing all the things she could not do with him such as living together, listening to his heart. Plus it’s in Hawaii that Saeko lets go of Yusuke for good, where their story started 4 years ago.

Miki: Try to think as if you were Miki. Imagine that you’ve battled with your husband’s health ever since your relationship started. Through the good and bad times, you’ve always been there. You prepared yourself to say goodbye every day, yet remained positive and optimistic in his presence. Your life revolved around hospitals, treatments, moments of hope and desperation. One day, you receive the call you’ve desperately been waiting for. Your husband is finally going to receive a new heart. Your life is finally going to change. You’re finally going to begin a new chapter together. Or so you think. You’re excited and ecstatic. Your parents and siblings rejoice as well. They feel happy to see you happy at last. But things don’t go as planned. When your husband returns home, he’s slightly changed. At first, you think that it’s because he can do more things now and you dismiss the problem. But his tastes, his behavior and personality start to diverge from what you know. The more time passes by, the further away he is from the man you fell in love with. Then you discover the reason. Your husband’s heart apparently controls him more than he controls it. Worse, it’s pushing him towards a female stranger. Can you actually believe this situation? Can you accept that a stranger would be slowly but surely taking your man from you? You can’t even get mad because there’s no affair technically speaking, and neither protagonists want to be involved – they’ve not chosen this mess, fate propelled them into it. You’re not even sure if it’s fair to blame them for that. That’s Miki’s dilemma. Can you let your husband get closer to a stranger? Can you support him in his ordeal and understand his choices? Can you support him in his decisions even if you’re against them? Do you love him more than your own happiness? I honestly believe that Miki is an amazing character. She’s been by Naruse’s side all along. Even through his sickness, she always loved him. Out of love, she gives in and lets him go to Hawaii, unsure whether or not he would return. Still, she wants Saeko to understand the sacrifice her husband and herself are making for her. She’s sacrificing her own happiness in order to give Saeko a change to say goodbye. In the end, Miki is thanked for her good actions. Kazumasa goes back to her because this is where he belongs. He then finishes his life amongst his family, while they are collecting apples at the orchard.

Saying goodbye: The main theme of the drama is, as the title suggests, about saying goodbye. Saeko lost her fiancé in the most brutal way. She never got a real chance to part with him properly, making the grieving period even more difficult for her. Therefore, she’s given a second chance at saying goodbye. At the end of the drama, Kazumasa flies to Hawaii where Saeko has fled to. He knows that his heart can give out anytime, but still decides to seize this opportunity to fulfill his last mission. During their last few days together, Naruse does all the things Saeko has always wanted to do with Yusuke, but didn’t get the chance to. He even allows her to listen to his heartbeat, or should I say Yusuke’s, one last time. Even before, Kazumasa provided Yusuke’s mother with some closure by visiting her with Saeko. Subtly, they conveyed their final goodbye. Though it seems like Saeko is the only one benefiting from this relationship, both Kazumasa and Miki are actually given a second chance at goodbye. Thanks to his new heart, Kazumasa got more time with his family. He also didn’t have to die in a hospital. Instead, he put all his things in order and left peacefully at his family’s orchard, surrounded by all the ones he’s ever loved. As for Miki, she gained precious moments with Kazumasa. She was able to start her grief at peace, knowing that she had tried everything she could to save him and that he had passed away happy. The way I view it is quite simple. The transplant was just a way to allow Miki and Saeko to say goodbye and overcome their grief. Death is not tough for those who die, but it’s quite painful for those who remain. From that perspective, it’s clear that this was a chance for both women to part with their lovers properly and not the other way around.

Symbols: I think the drama is even more beautiful when you take a closer look at all the symbols that are scattered in the plot. Many are subtle, but they bring poetry to the story. I’ve counted 7, the lucky number, that are worth mentioning in my opinion.

Jacksons 5’s ‘I Want You Back’: First of all, there is Jacksons 5’s iconic song ‘I Want You Back’ that Yusuke plays on the airport piano in Hawaii. When he meets Saeko for the first time, she seems upset and disheartened. Her business meeting with the island’s Japanese coffee producer didn’t go well. Seeing her sitting in her chair, while patiently waiting for her flight, Yusuke makes it his mission to cheer her up. So, he starts playing the famous hit on the piano. This not only lightens Saeko’s mood up, but it also seals their relationship. After Yusuke’s death and Kazumasa’s heart transplant, they coincidentally end up in Hawaii at the same time. Kazumasa passes by the airport piano and is mysteriously drawn to it. He‘s never learned how to play, but his fingers just naturally find their place on the keyboard. Like Yusuke before, Kazumasa’s performance makes the entire airport dance. It also attracts Saeko’s attention, who believes Yusuke has come back and rushes to the piano. Unfortunately, Kazumasa and a very shocked Miki have already left when she gets there. Though this song could’ve remained as a simple symbol of Yusuke’s love and presence in Saeko’s life after death, the drama gives it even more meaning in the last episode. Shortly before Yusuke entirely vanishes from Kazumasa’s body, the latter is able to explain why Saeko’s fiancé chose that song. As Saeko was in a sad mood, Yusuke wanted to make her smile. So, he wrote the letters “Smile” on the piano and played an unknown melody that would follow those notes. Then he’d switched to Jacksons 5. The fact that Kazumasa is able to reproduce that unknown melody and tell Saeko its meaning behind is proof that Yusuke lives in Kazumasa and conveys his final words. He wants her to smile even if he’s not here anymore. A few seconds after that, Yusuke’s memories completely disappear from Kazumasa’s body.

Listening to one’s heartbeat: As part of Yusuke and Saeko’s routine, she would lie on her lover’s chest and listen to his heartbeat. Even during the accident that cost Yusuke his life, he protected her until the very end. Both ended up in a close embrace in which Saeko’s head laid on Yusuke’s chest, close to his heart. When Saeko discovers that Kazumasa has been transplanted with her fiancé’s heart, she is allowed to listen to it a few times. The first one is when they reveal their identity as donor and organ receiver. The second is when Kazumasa visits her in Hawaii and gives her the chance to listen to Yusuke’s heartbeat one last time. This heartbeat is a way to showcase Yusuke’s presence and to appease Saeko’s grief.

Yusuke’s plant: I think Yusuke’s plant is a symbol that life goes on, despite everything that you go through. The sad moments will pass and be replaced by good ones. Whilst alive, Yusuke had purchased a coffee plant. His dream was to see it grow in his friend’s coffee, but despite the care and love he provided it with, cherries never blossomed. After his death, Saeko and Yusuke’s friend kept on nurturing it in loving memory of their family. Some time after Kazumasa is gone and Saeko has finally managed to regain control over her life, the plant unexpectedly starts blossoming. Yusuke’s wish to see it grow and bloom is now fulfilled. Life has succeeded in thriving through hardships. This is a perfect metaphor to display Saeko’s journey. She’s had very tough times, but she made it.

The boots and umbrella: The boots and umbrella and a symbol of Saeko and Kazumasa’s entangled fate. Even they can’t believe it when they realize that they had actually met long before they were struck by this twist of fate. While Saeko and Yusuke were happily waiting for the rain to stop, giggling, and enjoying their time together, Kazumasa was waiting for his wife to come fetch him and listening to the couple’s innocent bickering. When Miki arrived, he offered Saeko and Yusuke his boots and umbrella, so they could make it back home. This was a way to thank them for the entertainment they provided him with.

Coffee: Coffee is the main theme of the drama that unites pretty much all main characters. Saeko’s life changed after her burn out. She was lost and didn’t know what to do after quitting her job. One day, she stumbled upon a delicious coffee and had a revelation. It brought her back to life in a way, so she decided to pursue a career in that field. She wished people would get better by drinking good coffee. Her job is the reason that gets her to Hawaii in the first place, and it’s the one element that binds her fate to Yusuke’s. Indeed, both lovers have had similar experiences with coffee. It’s also the first beverage Yusuke offers her when they meet. Later on, coffee becomes a catalyst for Saeko and Kazumasa. First, he discovers that he appreciates coffee when he couldn’t drink it at all before surgery. He becomes passionate about it. He buys tools to make it manually and even gets involved in the opening of a coffee shop at the university he works at. This project makes him meet Saeko officially, though they had already bonded over a cup in the train. Coffee requires patience and resilience to make it of good quality. It’s like life in a way. You need both these qualities to make it through and become stronger.

Train: The train is the place where Kazumasa and Saeko connect. Each morning and evening, they take the same train to commute. Coffee is the reason why they strike a conversation. But later on, they share their daily routine and discuss many personal things. Kazumasa is a good listener and Saeko a good speaker, so the dynamics work perfectly. Their journey on the train is their little secret. It’s their way to reunite in a neutral environment where they can pour their heart out without fearing judgement.

The rainbow: After their last goodbye in Hawaii, Kazumasa goes home to his wife to spend his last moments. Meanwhile, Saeko remains in Hawaii to clear her mind. She’s fully aware that she’ll never see Kazumasa again and has accepted it. She’s also said goodbye to Yusuke and thus can begin her healing process. While working on the field, Saeko suddenly sees a rainbow in the sky. At that same time in Japan, Kazumasa draws his last breath. That rainbow is a sign from Naruse who says goodbye to Saeko. The rainbow is generally a symbol of peace and harmony (Kazumasa is at peace in death). It’s also a bridge that connects the world of the living and the dead. In a way, Kazumasa is a bridge between Saeko in the living realm and Yusuke in the underworld, like he was a connector while he was still alive. He’s now joining Yusuke up there while keeping an eye on Saeko down here.

The ending: I thought the ending was really pure and genuine. In the last scenes, Miki and Saeko have sort of become ‘friends’. They can now understand each other because they both have lost the person they loved the most in the world. They also support each other in their grief. Like I said before, the hardest is for those who are left behind on earth and have to deal with the pain of losing someone. Both women understand that and bonded over that common experience. There’s no resentment, only understanding.