'Spellbound' ends on a high note, breaking its own ratings record

tvN's Saturday-Sunday drama series "Spellbound" [tvN]

tvN's Saturday-Sunday drama series "Spellbound" wrapped up its run by breaking its own viewership record in the finale.

The final episode, which aired Sunday, followed Cheon Yeo-ri (played by Park Eun-bin) as she broke free from a long-standing curse and returned to ordinary life hand in hand with her partner Ma Gang-uk (Yang Se-jong), delivering a happy ending.

The finale drew a nationwide average viewership of 7.9 percent, peaking at 9 percent, while the Greater Seoul area recorded an average of 7.9 percent and a peak of 8.9 percent — setting new series highs in both markets. The show also held its No. 1 spot among cable and general programming channels in its time slot for six consecutive weeks. Among tvN's target demographic of viewers aged 20 to 49, it ranked first across all channels — including terrestrial broadcasters — in both the national and Greater Seoul markets.

"Spellbound" also appeared in Netflix's global top 10 non-English shows for five consecutive weeks, consistently ranked among the most-talked-about dramas and drama cast members, and accumulated more than 570 million views in drama-related video content before concluding to wide audience interest.

In the finale, Cheon Yeo-ri, who had fallen into a coma after a traffic accident, returned from the threshold of death with the help of the spirits she had aided and her old friend Kang Ji-hwan (played by Kim Min-cheol).

Having paid the price for her life through Kang Ji-hwan's sacrifice, Cheon Yeo-ri could no longer see ghosts and was completely freed from the curse — touching others no longer triggered any supernatural events. Ma Gang-uk remained steadfastly by her side, deepening their bond.

Kang Min-hwan (Ong Seong-wu), whose every wrongdoing had finally come to light, met a grim end. Having long rejected himself over the label of being an adoptee, he was moved to genuine remorse after hearing his mother Song Hui-won (played by Kim Seo-ra) tell him she had never once stopped thinking of him as family.

Having unraveled every secret — from the truth behind a yacht incident 12 years ago to the origins of the relentless curse — Cheon Yeo-ri and Ma Gang-uk reunited at Siena Hall, where they had once made a commitment to each other. The series closed with the two sharing a quiet, tender moment as they imagined a future together.

"Spellbound" won strong audience support by tracing the journey of Cheon Yeo-ri, a chaebol heiress who can see ghosts, and Ma Gang-uk, a prosecutor terrified of them, as they overcame their fears and became each other's partners. The varied and compelling backstories of the ghosts who served as the thread connecting the two leads were a particular draw.

The cast's performance chemistry, which brought together the unlikely pairing of the occult and romance, also deepened the show's immersive quality. Park Eun-bin convincingly portrayed Cheon Yeo-ri, a woman who chose isolation to protect others, while Yang Se-jong balanced romance and comedy in his role as Ma Gang-uk. Ong Seong-wu, taking on his first villainous role since his debut as Kang Min-hwan, also left a strong impression.

balme@heraldcorp.com