although people are speculating that jo would be the endgame, i could totally feel a major secondlead vibes from him ngl(as an avid fan of secondleads+ a jo stan)
reasons:
1. he's portrayed as a "good guy" (in the early chaps) who's inlove with ian
2. doesn't have a sob worthy backstory(at least for now, he's still kinda mysterious)
3. he lacks depth as a character (at least for now, but i think we're gonna see his character develop in the new season, since the previous seasons focused more on the backstory of ian and tj)
4. hes done it, the famous secondlead line "I'll do everything for you"
5. ian still has lingering feelings for tj
6. and most importantly, his family is complete(cs ngl, most love triangles i read the eg has no family for the sake of the "trauma" then the sl has a complete family lmfao)
but in contrast to my belief that jo won't likely be the endgame. if i we're to be optimistic, there are also a lot of reasons that he could highly be the endgame.
reasons:
1. he's the first to be introduced
2. he's portrayed as the "key" that will help ian to escape the gang
3. his character would lose purpose and will be completely useless if he isn't gonna be the endgame(as his purpose in the story is to help ian leave the gang and be free)
4. the story revolves around the concept of moving on, healing, and desire for a new beginning(if ian we're to end up with tj, wouldn't that contradict to what the story is going for?)
5. TJ is someone that ian has to let go in order to achieve the HEALING and FREEDOM he's been wanting(?), unless they're gonna be both broken and tied down repeatedly by trauma bond in the end that is
6. although jo has his own flaws(totally acknowledge that, he's no saint either but he is better compared to ian and tj in terms of their actions as of now) he's still the better option for ian if we're talking about who to end up together
7. he's so breedable
overall, i wish they could all just heal tbh. if i were to be unbiased, i still wouldn't want ian to end up with tj(bcs tj honestly doesn't want what ian wants.) I'd rather have ian end up alone than be tied between tj and jo, find his own freedom, and heal. everyone in this manhwa needs a certain degree of healing not love (esp tj and ian). to add, i think the only way for ian and tj to end up tgt is for tj to leave/give up on the gang which (im 70% sure that he'd choose the gang over ian tbh). and all routes make sense(jo eg, ian ending up alone, and tj eg if its written well) anyways, i vote for ian's happiness!!
Honestly, your take is amazing — super thoughtful and nuanced. I love how you broke down both sides of the debate without just blindly picking a ship. I agree with you on so many points, especially the idea that Wet Sand isn’t just a love story — it’s really about healing, trauma, and freedom.
Jo does have second lead energy right now. He’s kind, a little too “clean,” and lacks the raw emotional mess that Ian and TJ carry. But that doesn’t mean he can’t become more — if season 3 gives him depth (flaws, struggles, maybe even his own breaking point), then he could absolutely step up as a real contender. Otherwise, yeah, he risks being just “the good guy” who gets left behind.
And you nailed it with this: if Ian doesn’t end up with Jo, what was Jo even for? If he’s not the endgame, then hopefully he’s the catalyst for Ian to choose himself in the end — not TJ, not Jo, just freedom. And honestly, that might be the most powerful ending of all. Ian breaking the cycle and walking away from both of them? That’s healing.
Also I laughed way too hard at “he’s so breedable” — not wrong though.
In the end, whether it’s Jo, TJ, or nobody… what matters most is that Ian finds peace. I just want that man to be okay. He’s been through hell.
i wrote a response but somehow disappeared omfg
but i love your response!! i most firmly believe that the whole point of the story will be killed if jo were to be used as a plot device js so ian and tj could get back tgt
and ppl should honestly give jo a chance to build and add more depth to his character, fans are not giving him a chance at all
and imo, if this goes with the tj route, the plot and tj will need to be so so well written for it be convincing
im still so doubtful abt jo being the endgame tho since the author is making it so obvious that the route is leaning more on jo, i have major trust issues and i feel like the author is js doing that to tease fans lmfao
You’re absolutely right — if Jo ends up just being a plot device to bring Ian and TJ together, it would definitely lessen the impact of the story. Jo really needs a chance to develop further, and it’s frustrating that people are so quick to dismiss him without giving him room to grow.
As for Ian, there’s still so much we haven’t seen. His journey is still unfolding, and it’s clear there’s a lot of complexity in his character that hasn’t been fully explored. TJ, on the other hand, is more about his status and connections right now, and that alone can’t sustain his character in the long run. If the story goes in that direction, like you said it will need to be incredibly well done to make it convincing. The potential for all these characters to evolve is huge, and I think it’s essential that we give each of them the space to do so.
i love how you choose ur words well omfg. all i hope for now is jo's character growth I'm tired of seeing him getting hate for being boring and bland ,which i do not agree with
jo and ian's happiness is whay i root for right now, even if they aren't gonna end up tgt
The author is definitely leading us down a Jo route, but it feels like a big tease. Who knows if it’s just to mess with our heads? Either way, I wouldn’t be surprised if it ends up being something totally unexpected.
Thank you! I’m with you on that, Jo definitely deserves more appreciation. It’s clear that he has a lot of depth yet to be revealed, and I’m looking forward to seeing how his character develops.
why are we suddenly diagnosing jo as someone with narcissistic personality disorder lmfao im not a professional, but jo clearly doesn't have npd(based on the journals/articles ive read) he js deals with complex emotions such as anxious attachment issues, emotional dependecy, and insecurity. one of the signs of npd is having no empathy but jo literally emphasized what ian is dealing with which was one of the reasons why he's helping ian??? i mean yeah, hes possessive and manipulative at times but thats rlly not enough to diagnose him with npd omg. i saw the comment below saying "From Predation to Obsession, the Beautiful Portrait of a Narcissist Shaped by His Desire for Power and Control: Joseph Landi" is kinda funny ngl bcs the sentence leaned more on tj than jo from the way i see it, tj was the one who desired to control ian by using his power qnd guiltripping ian js so ian wouldn't run away(not saying that tj has ndp tho). I'd say jo is some1 with savior complex rather than someone with ndp
jo shows deep empathy to ian which by the way is the opposite of a person with npd. His behavior is clingy, not grandiose or entitled. A narcissist would act out when admiration isn’t returned. Jo doesn’t. He grows more anxious, not aggressive or demeaning. Im crying, with how tj stans manage to come to the conclusion that jo has npd when his character already lacks depth than it alrdy is y yall overanalyzing shits
jo becoming unhealthily possessive/manipulative(?) isn't bcs he wants to control and dominate over ian, he FEARS that ian would ABANDON him
well, im open for discussions abt this :)))
1000% yes. Dear lord how have people misunderstood npd so badly?
the side couple was so unnecessary, it honestly just made the whole story worser
how did they not even think of getting woowon into therapy(besides, i wanna see the hot doctor)
Probably cause Asia doesn’t really have a good track record when it comes to taking mental health seriously… but also cause toxic masculinity and learned independence (opposite of learned helplessness).
taeha thinks he's so special omg if he could js stfu. the mc is literally a manwhore, why did he think that he will only fuck with him he ruined it with all his complaining tbh
if i we're in heeseo's position, i would've been so so scared to love and get attached to someone again after seeing how mincheol just suddenly changed and cheated bro(shit honestly would haunt me for years, cause wdym we're tgt for like a decade then all of it js vanished so quickly) it would've made me 100% bitter about love and be a solid men hater