'Sisyphus: The Myth' Ending Explained: Ridiculous plotline with an unimaginative portrayal of time paradox
'Sisyphus: The Myth' until the very end doesn't explain the time paradox that Tae-sul (Cho Seung-woo) manipulates. Sure, they travel within the time loop to help themselves, but by the end of it, it becomes clear that there is no way Tae-sul could really end up with Seo-hae. Not in the present where Seo-hae is still a child. In the run up to this, we see Tae-sul come up with a brilliant plan - to travel within the time loop that Seo-hae had created for an outcome that Sigma could not expect, or be aware of.
He teleported himself and Seo-hae to the past to create an alternate line of events which helps him save Seo-hae and her friend who died as well. Not just that, he also managed to kill the Sigma from the future, save the man who became Sigma in the present so that he doesn't harbor hatred for Tae-sul too. It seems like everything worked out for the best, and he is just about to say goodbye to Seo-hae but she doesn't disappear.
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'Sisyphus: The Myth' Episode 16: Self-obsessed Tae-sul's plan might not be to sacrifice himself
Just when you think that maybe she will survive this and so will the others who came through the uploader, Eddy, Tae-sul's jealous partner, ends up shooting Seo-hae. He does the exact same thing that Sigma did a few moment ago - blackmail Tae-sul into completing the code for the uploader. Initially, Tae-sul considers doing just that to save Seo-hae, but when he sees Seo-hae on the floor bleeding, an epiphany strikes him.
It is only in the last few minutes that Tae-sul realizes, it is his death that could really stop the uploader from being made as there is no reality where he would choose to not make the uploader if Seo-hae was at risk. While he managed to win over Sigma with his creative time traveling ways, he was not able to beat the new villain who cropped up in Sigma's place.
It was as if not one decision that he would make would lead to stopping the war from happening in the first place. Unless of course, he himself was not present in the equation. Without him, there would be no uploader, and a nuclear weapon would not be sent from the future to the present to start a war with North Korea either. Without him, his brother, Seo-hae's family in the present among others could not survive without having to lose their loved ones.
So he shoots himself, and Seo-hae also disappears from the realm as she wouldn't exist anymore. Neither would anyone else who had come from the future on the uploader. If the show had ended here, it would have still made sense. However, what comes after Tae-sul decides to shoot himself is ridiculous. For instance, the scene of Tae-sul in a flight with Seo-hae next to him, as he gets some water to take his pills - the ones that help him from hallucinating? This scene either indicates that it is wishful thinking, or that Tae-sul survived the gunshot wound and now hallucinates about Seo-hae. So what really happened here is a promising plot turned into a tragedy.
All episodes of 'Sisyphus: The Myth' can be streamed on Netflix in the US.