Remember—Son’s War: Episode 11

by dramallama

Jin-woo’s loss only makes him stronger, and we see him making bolder moves to put the baddies away. In the process, Jin-woo meets another son who’s the mirror image of himself: a desperate young man trying to protect his father. Much like Dong-ho, Jin-woo pays it forward to help this son and father; but he’s killing two birds with one stone by also unveiling the true faces of his enemies. Stick around — we finally get some gratification, and I’m feeling (crossing my fingers) that there’s more to come.

 
EPISODE 11 RECAP

Jin-woo thinks back to all his memories with his father — happy, sad, and painful. Dad’s urn is placed next to the rest of the family, and Jin-woo vows through his tears, “You don’t need to be in pain anymore, Dad. I’m not done yet. I’m going to prove your innocence, so watch over me.”

One month later. Jin-woo visits Doctor Lee, who’s been imprisoned for perjury. Doctor Lee warns Jin-woo not to plot revenge against such an immeasurably powerful opponent, but Jin-woo has other ideas. He’ll be charging Doctor Lee with all the malpractice suits, extending his prison stay to at least thirty years. Jin-woo tells him to experience the humiliation as he rots away in prison and leaves with a cold smile.

Jin-woo crosses off Doctor Lee on his wall of targets and looks to our other quack prison doctor next. As the prison doctor gets dragged away in rage, we see that Jin-woo followed the quack’s money trail and passed on his findings to Seok-gyu. He trusts Seok-gyu’s sense of justice (he’s the son of a civil rights lawyer) and belatedly thanks him for accepting his father’s retrial.

The prison doctor roars with indignation, but Jin-woo doesn’t flinch.

Next up: Detective Kwak. Jin-woo traces calls to find Detective Kwak’s next corrupt move. He sits in his car with a smirk, ready to bring him down.

Prosecutor Hong and Dong-ho face each other in court, and Dong-ho seems feistier now. He calls out Prosecutor Hong for submitting wrongful evidence, and they go back and forth with charges. Omg, is Dong-ho back?!

After the trial, they meet in the parking garage and shake hands with a smile. Prosecutor Hong compliments their teamwork, saying that that court seems more like a game now that they’re playing off of each other. Nooo, my glimmer of hope just died.

In an interview, Gyu-man credits his business insight for the company’s recent successes and claims to think of his company and its partners as family. Secretary Ahn jerks at that lie and mutters under his breath.

Gyu-man unexpectedly finds Dong-ho in his office with an update on the lawsuit. He reports that everything is going smoothly, and when Gyu-man asks about Jin-woo, he deflects by claiming that he’s been too busy at the firm to keep track of him.

Dong-ho tells him not to worry and leaves with a smile, but Gyu-man still doesn’t seem convinced. He tells Secretary Ahn to keep an eye on Dong-ho, since someone who betrayed once can surely betray again.

In-ah’s mom refuses to contact In-ah, even with her dad insisting that she try to understand In-ah’s difficult decision. It seems like In-ah got her obstinacy from her mom.

When Gyu-man and President Nam arrive at the company, one of the protesters runs towards them and dumbs a box of lightbulbs on the ground. He claims that his company shut down because of Il-ho Group and begs them to withdraw the lawsuit. But the man gets dragged away from security, and they continue into the building. Daddy reminds Gyu-man that he’s the face of Il-ho Group now and tells him to take care of these cases swiftly.

In-ah’s mom waits outside Jin-woo’s law firm, hesitating to go in. Jin-woo finds her as he’s returning and apologizes on In-ah’s behalf. In-ah’s mom hands him a packed lunchbox and asks him not to tell her daughter that she stopped by.

In-ah eats ramen with kimchi, commenting to Jin-woo that it tastes just like her mom’s. After a moment, she figures that her mom stopped by, and Jin-woo encourages her to head home. In-ah plans to but not before she can proudly hand a business card to her mom.

It’s the end of the day at Il-ho, and Dong-ho and his assistant are amazed by a young man still standing his ground in silent protest. Dong-ho approaches the protester and sympathizes with the struggles he and his father must be experiencing with their long-time company suddenly forced to shut down. He passes on a business card and says that this would probably be the only place where he could find help.

Dong-ho walks away, reminding the young man to take care of his father. And when the young man looks at the business card, we see that it’s for Jin-woo’s firm.

Prosecutor Hong summons Prosecutor Tak to shelve the indictment in an upcoming case. Prosecutor Tak argues that he has the evidence and witness lined up for the indictment, but Prosecutor Hong reminds him that while this is a favor, it’s more importantly an order from a superior.

Officer Bae meets with Dong-ho to discuss some details about his father’s car accident. He admits that something feels off with Dong-ho working at Il-ho because Dong-ho’s father was somehow connected with Nam Il-ho before he died. And Nam Il-ho had encouraged this case to be closed quickly.

The young protester arrives at the firm with a request to meet with Jin-woo. Boss Ajumma tries to politely decline his request, but he insists that he needs Jin-woo to defend him.

Jin-woo “coincidentally” runs into Detective Kwak at the restaurant he tracked down, and they greet each other with smug smiles. Detective Kwak mocks Jin-woo’s persistence in trying achieve justice, but Jin-woo doesn’t look discouraged. He tells Detective Kwak to look forward to the good news.

Detective Kwak joins his appointment late and takes his encounter with Jin-woo as a joke. As they continue the conversation, we get a close of up the cat decoration with a suspicious cut-out eye.

Prosecutor Tak visits In-ah at the firm and gives her some files on Jung-ah’s father’s death. There seems to be more to the story, so In-ah goes investigating at the police department.

While Detective Kwak makes a presentation to the police chief about a recent suspect, Jin-woo suddenly enters the room waving around a USB. He claims to have really important evidence, and the police chief seems curious enough before Jin-woo gets dragged out.

Jin-woo implanted a camera into the eye of the cat decoration himself, and the recording reveals incriminating evidence of bribery and a biting insult about Gyu-man’s anger management. The enraged police chief orders an investigation and report, with no other words necessary to shame the detective.

After the room clears out, Jin-woo tells Detective Kwak, “There’s a verse in the Bible: …’your sin will find you out.'” Detective Kwak gets a call, and Jin-woo foreshadows his looming future with some hints that he may have planted some extra evidence in the detective’s files to guarantee an indictment.

In-ah visits Jung-ah and Jung-ah’s father’s memorial, and a letter written by Jung-ah’s father catches her eye. She decides to get a handwriting test for the suicide note and the letter, which reveals that the handwriting does not match.

Detective Kwak hastily meets with Gyu-man to beg for help. But Gyu-man doesn’t seem too willing to help, especially after being called a worthless bore with anger management issues. Gyu-man plays the clip of the insult, and Detective Kwak trembles with anger and fear.

Dropping to his knees, Detective Kwak begs for mercy, but Gyu-man knows of no such thing. He kneels alongside the detective and pushes his head further to the ground, explaining, “Not all people are the same. People like you barely survive crawling on the ground, and there are others, like me, who have no concept of crawling.”

Gyu-man warns the detective not to consider betraying him now because he may just kill him. Sounds more like a promise than a threat.

In his alcove, Jin-woo wonders what was more shocking: abandonment from the police chief or from Gyu-man. In-ah figures that he dug his own grave and received just punishment from both. She updates Jin-woo on the fake suicide note and their case against Prosecutor Hong. With what they’re gathering, they’re sure to get on his tail.

Seok-gyu eats dinner with Prosecutor Hong to ask him about the original trial for Jung-ah’s murder. He found it suspicious that Gyu-man’s property wasn’t thoroughly investigated after the murder, even though it was in close proximity to where the body was found. Prosecutor Hong argues that the case is over and that their killer has already passed away; everything should be settled.

As expected, Jin-woo denies the new case request, but the young protester insists that only Jin-woo can properly defend his innocent father. The son’s defense for his father makes Jin-woo hesitate for a moment before he goes on his way.

While driving away, Jin-woo thinks back to his first encounter with Dong-ho, blocking the road to persuade him to take his father’s case. This son’s desperation to save his father was just like his. He ends up calling Lawyer Song to look into the Miso Lightbulb case.

Meanwhile, Gyu-man orders Prosecutor Hong to finish off the case and asks Joo-il to find a good replacement for Detective Kwak.

Jin-woo approaches the young man in front of Il-ho, who is passing out flyers about the Miso’s innocence, and offers to defend the company. When Jin-woo meets father and son, the father comments on Jin-woo’s young age but still trusts him, since he’s offering his services despite their powerful opponent.

After finding out that Jin-woo is defending Miso, Gyu-man tells Dong-ho to prove his loyalty through this case. Dong-ho takes the warning lightly, claiming that you never know how life will unfold. Gyu-man decides that he can’t trust Dong-ho and attaches Joo-il’s underling to follow his every move.

Jin-woo takes a tour of the lightbulb manufacturing space, where the son describes his confusion with the sudden accusation by Il-ho that they were the reason for the lens explosion accident. They’ve had good relations with Il-ho for the past 12 years, and he claims that they’re innocent.

As Jin-woo heads out, he runs into In-ah. They walk back to the firm together, but Jin-woo veers off in the wrong direction. In-ah wonders if Jin-woo has been working too hard lately, but Jin-woo covers up his mistake by lying that his mind was wandering.

Back in his office, he takes his medication and goes back to work.

Dong-ho looks through the Miso lightbulb accident and presumes that this can’t be the only accident of its kind. He orders his assistant to look for companies other than Il-ho that have experienced similar accidents.

The court officials seize all of the company’s equipment, and Joo-il plans to send in his team next to scare the Miso company owner. He tells his underling to watch over Dong-ho carefully and report to him before telling Gyu-man anything if anything suspicious were to happen.

Jin-woo tells the Miso son and father that he can’t stop the audit. Their only method is to prove the company’s innocence and receive compensation from Il-ho. Jin-woo encourages them to eat, since staying healthy and strong is also important in fighting for their innocence.

Gyu-man complains to Seok-gyu that companies are attacking him in the interest of money, but Seok-gyu gives him a stern warning that the smaller companies can sue Il-ho back. He tells Gyu-man to have a plan in case this happens, but Gyu-man takes offense to this supposed accusation. The air gets tense, so Secretary Ahn tries to ease the tension by trying the end work talk. But Gyu-man condescendingly tells him to keep his nose out of their business.

Joo-il’s men block entry to Miso, so the father tries to break through to defend his company. The son jumps in to protect his father from getting beaten, and the mercenary men show no mercy.

As Jin-woo’s team look into other possible causes for the lens explosion, Jin-woo receives an urgent call from the son and immediately drives to the company. He finds the entrance blocked by the men and accuses them of illegally blocking entry into a company that they have no jurisdiction over.

The father stands at the edge of the building and watches the police arrive. When Jin-woo arrives on the top of the building, the son tries to convince him to step away from the edge. But the father turns around and admits defeat: He can’t tolerate this hardship any longer.

Apologizing to his son, the father takes a step towards the very edge. But Jin-woo takes a step in as well, telling the father that the loss of a family member is too painful. He shares the story of his own loss of Dad one month ago and argues that this would be too cruel to his son, who came to him insisting that his father was innocent.

The father decides to step away from the edge and faints. His son, Min-soo rushes towards him, and the father apologizes profusely. Jin-woo breathes a sigh of relief.

In the hospital, Jin-woo thinks back to his devastation after losing his father. Min-soo thanks Jin-woo for saving his father and also tells him that he wants to give up the trial. He never knew that the law was so cruel to powerless people. Jin-woo refuses to give up and tells Min-soo that in order to protect his father, he must become stronger.

As Jin-woo leaves the hospital, he runs into Dong-ho. Jin-woo smirks at Dong-ho’s challenge to face off by the law in court. Coming from him, it sounds like a joke, since they both know how dysfunctional the justice system is. But before Jin-woo leaves, Dong-ho tells him that the law is the only thing to rely on, no matter how distrustful it is.

Before they enter court, Jin-woo and In-ah encounter Gyu-man and Dong-ho. Gyu-man greets the two with a smug smile, but it’s quickly wiped off his face when Jin-woo vows to put him on the stand, and In-ah tells him to get his life together. Ohh, bold.

Min-soo and his father enter the courtroom, and Gyu-man comments to Secretary Ahn that these powerless people are making a fuss. Dong-ho watches Jin-woo look through his case files and shows a proud smile.

Dong-ho examines the first witness, the electrician who investigated the cause of the explosion. The electrician claims that he is certain that the bulb was the cause, even when In-ah cross-examines him with other possible causes for the explosion.

But In-ah’s got more. The electrician has worked 20 years for Il-ho, and his electric companies are located in Il-ho Group buildings. In-ah claims that an electrician contracted under Il-ho can only be biased and that his report cannot be used as legitimate evidence.

Dong-ho tries to refute In-ah’s point, but Jin-woo gets up to elaborate. Since the electrician runs a subcontracted enterprise under Il-ho, it makes sense for him to be sensitive to Il-ho’s agenda. When Il-ho decided to hand all responsibility for the blame to the electrician, the lightbulb company shut down, and all the employees lost their jobs.

Jin-woo then targets Gyu-man, quoting him on his claim that all of Il-ho and its partnered enterprises are family. But they will soon reveal that the only family that exists for Il-ho is their bloodline. Gyu-man looks noticeably irked while Dong-ho looks upon Jin-woo with a slight smile.

After the hearing, both sides exit the courtroom, and Gyu-man immediately slaps Dong-ho across the face. Everyone looks shocked, and Gyu-man apologizes in the most insincere way ever (oops, my hand slipped). Jin-woo looks upon with confusion.

Gyu-man tells Dong-ho not to take it to heart and asks if he’s angry. You mad, bro?

 
COMMENTS

Yes, please be mad, Dong-ho! You aren’t going to win against an insane man without getting a little crazy yourself. That’s what I found so effective with Jin-woo’s assertive approach to punishing those who had wronged him and his father — he got a little crazy and adopted some of his enemy’s tactics. Evil genius against evil genius makes things a bit fairer. Of course Jin-woo gets more credit for getting rid of his obstacles and enemies legally (not Gyu-man’s preferred way of getting rid of annoyances), but the effect is the same and possibly more powerful.

By turning Gyu-man’s allies into enemies, Jin-woo only needs to do half the work. Gyu-man will take care of cutting ties and further isolating himself from those who had helped him maintain such a squeaky clean record. He’s too blinded by his own entitlement to see that he’ll ultimately have no supporters to clean up after him.

It’s this major oversight that makes Gyu-man so fun to watch. He’s got close to no idea that he’s disarming himself because he’s learned that people are disposable. Unfortunately for him, people are not just tools and could easily come back to bite you in the ass. I’m patiently waiting for all the demons he created to come back to haunt him.

Dong-ho is the number one mystery of this show. I can’t tell what he’s actually been doing during all these episodes, but the show wouldn’t be complete without him. We’re not privy to his motives and thoughts, so we can only guess what the hell is driving him. One moment he seems happy to be all for the money, and the next, he’s encouraging Jin-woo to fight the corruption. It surely is Dong-ho’s appeal to be opaque, but there’s always that clear underlying guilt for abandoning Jin-woo and Dad. I do think more insight into his father’s accident would reveal more about Dong-ho, but the uncovering of his father’s accident is so slow. I’ll just let that slide so I don’t get too impatient.

Though I’ve gotten used to the pace of the show now, I wonder how much the show could benefit from a faster plot. I know in my head that there’s a lot at stake, but I don’t really feel the thrill or intense gratification that tells me so. The cast definitely makes up for the sluggish pace by drawing out the intensity of certain moments and drawing me in with their characters. I would have more to complain if the cast weren’t so spot on, but for now, I’ll take my weekly doses of pretty tears and crazy eyes.

RELATED POSTS

• Remember—Son’s War: Episode 10
• Remember—Son’s War: Episode 9
• Remember—Son’s War: Episode 8
• Remember—Son’s War: Episode 7
• Remember—Son’s War: Episode 6
• Remember—Son’s War: Episode 5
• Remember—Son’s War: Episode 4
• Remember—Son’s War: Episode 3
• Remember—Son’s War: Episode 2
• Remember—Son’s War: Episode 1