“The Ordinary Jackpot” Ending Explained- Does Eun Tae Buy Another Lottery Ticket?

“The Ordinary Jackpot” aired its finale on October 8. Let’s go over the 10^th and final episode and explain the ending!

“The Ordinary Jackpot” episode 10 recap

The episode starts with a very intense meeting between the Hongsung employees and Gwandong. The meeting is so important that the CEO of the other company even sends in stenographers to type everything up and send it to him.

Eun Tae is told he can go wild, which he does. Gwandong tries to make them stumble but Eun Tae does not allow that to happen. He reveals that Mantua, the huge company, would not let it slide if they tried to use backdoor tactics to get into China.

He asks to lower the original commission to 14% for the luxury brands, despite them citing 16%. He also exposes their previous demand of jacking up the prices and tells them they have to match the 14%, otherwise the brands will pull out of their stores. The meeting goes in their favor and they exit it as winners.

The employees who used to work at the Royal Mall come in and apologize to Jun Ho. However, he refuses to let it slide. He tells them he has forgiven them but is not coming back because they betrayed him and stabbed him in the back.

After the grand meeting ends, Eun Tae meets with Seon Hyeok at the top of their old company building. CGM has acquired Gwandong and Seon Hyeok will serve as the CEO there. He even tells Eun Tae they should have a beer together once the dust settles.

Seon Hyeok says he is envious of Eun Tae because he was able to find happiness at work without having to leave it. Eun Tae remarks that he still feels lonely after coming home from work. Saving the company did not feel like saving the world to him, and he ended up missing the employees he worked with.

He asks Seon Hyeok a simple question, do you still buy lottery tickets?

The promotions and the CEO’s gift

A restructuring announcement comes in and our team ends up on top. Eun Tae is now the deputy director and Jun Ho is the manager. However, Ji Hye still doesn’t have her future set in stone. Eun Tae and Jun Ho discuss what they would do if she does not get a full job at their company.

On another day, the CEO of the company shows up at work asking to see Eun Tae. Eun Tae is called up and he is anxious. The CEO tells him he can give him whatever gift he’d like. Eun Tae says he’d like Ji Hye to get fully employed within their department.

However, the CEO says he will fire her. His explanation is that Eun Tae could have changed HR policies or anything else within the power of the CEO, but he only chose to make a contract worker in his own department a permanent one, and that way of thinking was not proper. Thus, his gift for the amazing work in securing the contract is to fire her.

Ji Hye gets the announcement that she has been fired and is devastated. Eun Tae and Jun Ho try to console her, then suggest she work at Mantua overseas in Italy. This is what they had been discussing late at night after the team dinner for their promotions. She sheds tears of happiness and is very thankful for the opportunity.

Eun Tae meets up with Hae Joo and asks her, did I ever thank you? She says, I don’t think so. He thanks her, and she laughs to herself and says he’s changed.

A new day

A new day comes and Eun Tae heads to work like he does every single time. He takes the train, walks from the bus station to the office and stops by his favorite coffee place.

While talking to the barista, he finds out that it was pretty obvious he had won the lottery, and that the barista has won it too. The two discuss whether the money changed their lives for the better, and whether everything changed or nothing did. They say goodbye and promise to meet again tomorrow.

Eun Tae clocks in to work normally. Jun Ho also shows up, and then the rest of the team, including Ji Hye, who we thought had been fired. All of the team members take the elevator together and go up to work.

Epilogue

Eun Tae tries to buy a beer and again, the POS system is not working. The cashier asks how he would like his extra change to be handled. He smiles at the camera as he thinks about whether he should buy another lottery ticket or not.

The end.

“The Ordinary Jackpot” ending explained

Ending Review

This was a cute drama for the most part and I would say I enjoyed it. It’s among the few K-dramas I’ve watched this year.

I don’t know if I particularly agree with the way our leading man tries to frame the ending. Money gives you power, it gives you the ability to do things and to change things for the better. It also gives you the audacity to sort of run wild with what you want to do.

Now, the character we have is someone who is stoic and stuck in his ways. For the most part, he plays it very safe and he’s reasonable, and that in part is how he managed to deal with the jackpot and not spend it all. The entire premise of the drama is based on this, on what such a type of man would do.

I’m not saying that this is wrong. What I’m saying is that him claiming he had it within him from the get-go, that he just couldn’t act on it and that he has always been the same, is just objectively not true. He changed a lot. He became bolder, he became a go-getter. He was so different from his days when he was complacent, quiet and tolerant of his employees and employers. There’s an obvious, stark difference. I don’t like the framing he gave in the final epilogue.

Aside from that, I enjoyed the performances, especially that of the contract worker played by actress Ha Yul Ri.

Overall, I would say it was a fun drama. It’s short, fun and interesting. I did feel that it ran a bit longer than it should have, clocking in at 10 episodes, but I enjoyed it. I don’t think it was too bad at all.

So what did you guys think of the ending? What did you think of the drama? Did you enjoy it or not? Let me know your thoughts in the comment section below.