Pio and Jeongyo debut “Nemesis,” the product of nine years of friendship, competition, and revenge, on the penultimate episode of Four Hands, Two Sonatas.
In this episode full of heavy emotions and important conversations, Pio finally gets his flowers. But the success of a flawed artist comes at a price, and retribution is coming for everyone in Episode 11 of Four Hands, Two Sonatas.
The following article contains spoilers for Episode 11 of Four Hands, Two Sonatas.
The rightful pianist
Pio tells Jeongyo he’s the only one who can do “Nemesis” justice. He knows that Jeongyo clearly wrote it with him in mind from the start, when they were still friends, before it evolved into something written out of hate. But Jeongyo won’t budge, saying it’s his song and he gets to choose who plays it.
Meanwhile, the agency is ready to drop Pio because they lost a lot of money from the recording that fell through. Jaein insists that Pio doesn’t deserve this as he was suffering from Jeongyo’s intense methods. She says she’ll quit the company if they don’t renew his contract.
Taking matters into her own hands, Jaein tries to talk to Jeongyo. She demands to know the real reason why he’s being so harsh to Pio, the only friend who tirelessly searched for him for years, but her words fall on deaf ears. Jeongyo is resolved to take Pio down.
The flawed artist
After seeing the way he acted towards Pio, Seungwoon is rethinking his decision to make Jeongyo his successor. Seungwoon and Jeongyo have a conversation on whether flawed artists can or deserve to make great art. Seungwoon says artists must be flawed to make art, and the gravity of their crimes will be judged as long as their art survives.
After their discussion, they hear Pio playing “Nemesis” with renewed life. Pio again pleads his case, saying he wanted to show Jeongyo himself how much he’s changed. Even Pio’s replacement pianist tells Jeongyo that he knows someone else is meant to play this piece.
Mr. Kim shows up again, knowing that Jeongyo is faking his amnesia. He offers to help Jeongyo take revenge on Pio, but Jeongyo sharply declines, saying that no one can mess with Pio except him. The next day, Jeongyo shows up at Pio’s place early in the morning to tell him he can perform “Nemesis,” though it doesn’t mean forgiveness.
Judgment day
On the day of the performance, Pio puts his whole heart into playing an immaculate rendition of “Nemesis,” both technically perfect and emotionally captivating. Everyone stands up to celebrate him – Jihye, Jaein, Hyunsoo, Seonju, and even Seungwoon. Jeongyo himself concedes that the piece was meant entirely for him.
After the performance, Pio returns to the stage. He confesses that he was behind Jeongyo’s abduction nine years ago. The police come to collect him for questioning, and he is banned from seeing anyone.
The true culprit
This whole time, Hyunsoo has been pushing Jihye to confess, but she keeps putting it off. After Pio’s confession, she rushes to the police station but it’s no use. Pio has already erased proof of her involvement from his phone and has given evidence that it was him.
In her agony, she thrashes and yells, once again blaming her father for not acknowledging Pio and driving her to the breaking point. She even goes to tell Jeongyo the truth herself and beg him for forgiveness, but he doesn’t believe her.
Jeongyo manages to convince the police to let him meet Pio. He lashes out at Pio for ruining his plan and taking the decision out of his hands. Pio simply tells him that he’s too talented to waste his time on revenge and that he must let his hatred go.
True emotions
News of Pio’s alleged crime spreads across the world, eventually reaching Martin Vogel. To convince him that Pio really cared about him, Vogel gives Jeongyo an audio recording from the day that they met the kidnapper. Jeongyo listens to it and hears Pio completely distraught upon learning about his supposed death. He realizes that Pio did not give hush money to the abductor, but was actually going to pay him for more information.
Jeongyo returns to the music arcade, where he finds the sheet music he lent Pio nine years ago. Beneath his original note to Pio (“I’ve memorized everything. Take it if you need it!”), he finds a short reply written in Pio’s handwriting – “Come back, Jeongyo.”
Apologies
Pio gets released because of this newfound evidence and Jeongyo’s statement that he’s innocent. Jaein, the one person who’s always been by his side, comes to meet him. They apologize for blaming and hurting each other.
Jeongyo tells Pio that he should’ve told the truth from the start, but Pio says that even though he didn’t act on them, he had thought about getting rid of Jeongyo as well. He says these are the thoughts of someone who always comes in second place.
Jihye turns herself in. She and Pio talk about what they’ve been through and how they both had a hand in making each other the way they are. Jihye wanted to show her son off and so she pushed him too hard, while Pio wanted to make his mother proud and always yielded to her wishes even if he knew they were wrong. Jihye tells her son to let her go and focus on his music.
The episode ends on Seungwoon directing his last rehearsal with his orchestra, before suddenly collapsing.
Thoughts and What To Expect Next on Four Hands, Two Sonatas
This was a stunning episode in practically all aspects. Dramas tend to get cheesy and predictable near the end of their run, but every minute of Episode 11 felt earned and deserved, with the highlight being the performance of “Nemesis.” Even those with no knowledge of classical music would feel the sheer power and emotion behind it, and how satisfying it was to see Pio finally be celebrated and affirmed, something he’d been chasing after for years.
Moments away from our last episode, most external conflicts have been resolved, but the heavy feelings still remain. Both our leads seem resolute in their decisions to give up music, which once brought them so much freedom and joy. We can only hope they find happiness (and each other) again before we close the curtain on Four Hands, Two Sonatas for good.
Source: tvN Drama
