Remember—Son’s War: Episode 8

by odilettante

Jin-woo is a fugitive on the run as he tries to figure out who actually committed the crime for which he’s being framed. These sorts of situations require blackmail and violence — well, they do if you’re Gyu-man, because how else will he understand that you’re making a serious threat? Meanwhile, Dad’s case looks like a lost cause, but Jin-woo isn’t the type to give up that easily, even if it looks like to the rest of the world that the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.

EPISODE 8 RECAP

In-ah distracts Dong-ho to keep him from noticing Jin-woo’s secret room behind the bookcases. Jin-woo hastily gathers his belongings — mostly stacks of cash — but stops short when he hears Dong-ho point out that even though In-ah cares for Jin-woo, she needs to remember that she’s also a prosecutor who catches criminals for a living.

That’s why she’s here — she’s going to find the ones who framed Jin-woo and send them to jail. She’s not the only who’s worried about Jin-woo. Even if Jin-woo has forgotten about their 50,000 won contract, Dong-ho hasn’t, and that’s why he’s here. But In-ah isn’t about to trust someone who’s already deceived her.

Jin-woo’s escape wasn’t exactly in Gyu-man’s plan, and the corrupt detective promises to find him and bring him back — dead or alive.

Dong-ho arrives at Gyu-man’s office, questioning if Jin-woo’s situation is Gyu-man’s fault. Putting on his most innocent expression, Gyu-man insists it had nothing to do with him, but an annoyed Dong-ho warns him that, as his lawyer, Gyu-man should tell him everything so he can prepare for any situation that arises.

Gyu-Man isn’t worried because he knows that Joo-il will take care of it. You can see the headache begin as Dong-ho realizes that his gangster father figure is involved in the frame-up.

Later, Joo-il admits that it was all Gyu-man’s idea to negate the retrial — all he did was hire a hit-man. Dong-ho is worried about Joo-il getting in too deep. Even when they were gangsters, they never hit the bottom like this. Joo-il sighs — there’s no such thing as “the bottom” for Gyu-man. He’d just keep digging deeper and deeper if he had to, so it’s best for them if Jin-woo is found soon.

Now a fugitive, Jin-woo cautiously walks along the street, but stops when he sees shoe store with a pair of men’s black dress shoes in the window. He’s reminded of the time he bought his father a pair of similar shoes. Dad was so happy, promising to wear them until they wore out. He especially promised to wear them to Jin-woo’s high school graduation, and his military send-off, and his wedding. Aw.

But as Jin-woo turns to continue walking, he sees a few policemen holding flyers with his face on it, asking passers-by if they’ve seen this man. One of the cops looks at Jin-woo suspiciously, and as Jin-woo pulls down his cap to cover his eyes, the cop starts heading towards him. Oh no!

Jin-woo breaks out into a run and sprints through the back alleys, turning over trash bins and anything else that will help block the way behind him. He manages to escape notice by hiding behind an elderly woman pulling a cart of recycling, but whew, it was a close call.

When he arrives at a building that rents cheap study rooms, he demands a room in the corner with no windows, specifically naming the room number. The clerk is mildly surprised, but barely glances at him as he takes the money and hands him the key.

It’s a good thing too, because the television is turned to the news station which is all about Jin-woo and how he’s a wanted man. Jin-woo’s windowless room isn’t a fluke, though — this is the same room he used when he was younger and studying for the bar exam.

Jin-woo should really think harder about his hiding place, since Boss Ajumma easily finds him standing of the roof top of the building, looking out over the city. She knew she’d find him there because she used to manage the place back then, and she’d wondered why he was the only one who specifically requested a room with no windows. But he’d done that purposefully, choosing the room most like a prison cell, in honor of his father.

Aw, it looks like Boss Ajumma’s loyalty began back then, too, when Jin-woo saved her from her abusive husband. His words especially stuck with her: “If I give up on myself, then the world will also give up on me.”

At the courthouse, Seok-gyu watches the news about fugitive murderer Jin-woo and then sighs as he stamps “Denied” on Jin-woo’s application for appeal. Prosecutor Hong is delighted to report that Gyu-man’s plan is working — now they just have to catch Jin-woo as the final piece of the puzzle.

In-ah meets Seok-gyu for coffee and passionately pleads Jin-woo’s case, insisting that since they’ve found another witness, it’s worth reopening the case. But Seok-gyu points out the person who requested the appeal is now wanted for murder so there’s no way the case would be reopened.

At her confident declaration that Jin-woo didn’t kill anyone, Seok-gyu wonders how she’s connected to Jin-woo. She explains that she became a prosecutor because of Jin-woo’s father’s case — she believes him to be innocent and thought that this appeal would show the truth. But, of course, it’s already been denied.

At the jail, Dad is led out into the visitor’s room, and cautiously approaches what he perceives to be an unfamiliar face — Gyu-man. Dad is politely deferential, in his bewildered way, as Gyu-man smugly makes a huge point about how Dad has taken another person’s life, and how nice it must be to have lost all recollection of it.

He then asks if Dad knows what’s happened with Jin-woo, and Dad is bewildered about why he should be concerned about a person he only vaguely knows as his lawyer. When Gyu-man tells him that Jin-woo killed a person, Dad is shocked — his lawyer isn’t that kind of person! But Gyu-man tells him that he doesn’t know who Jin-woo truly is.

Afterwards, Assistant Ahn reassures his boss that no one will know that they visited the jail. Gyu-man looks around, marveling at how anyone could last a day in here — he certainly couldn’t. Assistant Ahn makes a joking comment akin to “if you can’t do the time, then don’t do the crime.” Which is not exactly the best thing to say to Gyu-man, all things considered, and when Gyu-man gives him a pointed look, Assistant Ahn stutters out an excuse to go get the car.

In-ah’s mother is worried about the ramifications of word getting out that In-ah is friendly with Jin-woo, especially in terms of her career. A prosecutor being friends with a supposed murderer won’t look very good. But her father is a little more understanding, encouraging her to ignore what the world says — she just needs to listen to her own heart. Besides, from his experience, everything will come clear eventually, and the truth will be revealed. Aw, I can see where she got her idealism.

She receives a phone call from fugitive Jin-woo and goes to meet him. He believes that this whole situation was a trap for him set up by Gyu-man (well, he’s right about that), and he needs to clear himself as soon as possible in order to continue working on his father’s case. The only way he can do that is by catching the actual murderer.

Boss Ajumma decides it’s time to reveal to Lawyer Song the secret room with all of Jin-woo’s detailed notes on Jung-ah’s murder. Lawyer Song doesn’t understand why there’s so much space devoted to Il-ho Group, but to his disbelieving surprise, Boss Ajumma tells him that Gyu-man was not only the one who killed Jung-ah, but was also responsible for framing Jin-woo for murder.

In-ah’s noticed that the detective has been following her, so confronts him, pointing out that he should be busy finding criminals instead of tailing a prosecutor. She warns him that she will find and punish every single person that is responsible for Jin-woo’s murder charge — including him.

The detective reports in to Prosecutor Hong, warning him that the rookie prosecutor is sticking her nose into business that doesn’t involve her. Prosecutor Hong reminds him that if she finds out their involvement in the situation, Gyu-man won’t be happy.

Boss Ajumma’s packed a few bags for Jin-woo, which he is delighted to receive, but concerned to know if anyone followed her. She hesitates before admitting there was one person…

Aw, it’s Lawyer Song, who rushes over and wraps Jin-woo in a big ol’ bear hug, so happy and relieved to see him again. Among the things that Boss Ajumma brought for Jin-woo is the flash drive he hid in one of the books, the one that contains all the information about Il-ho Group’s illegal slush funds.

Gyu-man is having a cheerful meal with Assistant Ahn and Seok-gyu when he gets a call from Jin-woo: “How does it feel to have framed me?”

As he steps out of the room to speak on the phone in private, Gyu-man demands to know where Jin-woo is. He doesn’t tell him, but he’s actually right across the hallway, keeping a close eye on Gyu-man so he can actually see his reactions during the phone call.

Jin-woo warns Gyu-man that if the real murderer of the ajumma doesn’t reveal himself, he’ll publicly release the slush fund information on the news tomorrow.

Furious, Gyu-man goes to Dong-ho, demanding to know why he didn’t keep a close enough eye on Jin-woo to be aware that he has a copy of Il-ho Group’s slush funds. But Dong-ho calmly reassures him that this means they can track down Jin-woo from the phone he used to call Gyu-man. He’d better, because Gyu-man orders Dong-ho to find Jin-woo — or else.

Gyu-man reports to his father, pleased to announce how well he’s been handling the business, and thus getting his father’s hard-won approval. But just as he’s beaming from his father’s praise, the news station reports that tomorrow an anonymous informant will be releasing news of Il-ho Group’s slush fund. Whoops.

There’s a determined glint in Gyu-man’s eye as he promises his father that he’ll take care of it. Oh, this can’t be good.

In-ah immediately calls Jin-woo after seeing the same news report, demanding to know what he’s up to, but he simply tells her he’s doing the only thing he can do. By threat of blackmail, Prosecutor Hong gets a lead on where the reporter broadcasting Jin-woo’s tell-all will be, and sends out the detective and his men to track him down.

At the same time, Dong-ho and his men are also hurrying to find Jin-woo. Dong-ho’s assistant marvels at Jin-woo’s audacity, but Dong-ho knows it’s coming from the desperation of someone who has nothing else to lose. Both vans race to the motel where the broadcast will be taking place.

It looks like the detective and his team are the first to arrive, and they burst through the doors just as Jin-woo’s tell-all begins to air — but there’s only the reporting crew in the room. They’re actually filming another screen, where Jin-woo is broadcasting wirelessly from another motel. Oooooh, sneaky.

On the broadcast, he tells the viewing public (which includes In-ah, a nervous Boss Ajumma and Lawyer Song, and, of course, Gyu-man) that he’s going to reveal the truth about Il-ho Group and their corrupt and illegal business dealings. “Right now, I will show you Il-ho Group’s ugly naked face.”

Just then Dong-ho’s men burst into Jin-woo’s room and shuts off the wireless feed. Broadcast over. They bind and gag him, and if looks could kill, Jin-woo would be a legit murderer this time. RIP Dong-ho.

It’s a rescue mission, it seems, since Dong-ho intends to hide Jin-woo away at a remote farm until things cool down. When In-ah calls Jin-woo in worry after the feed cut off, Dong-ho simply throws the phone out the van’s window. But there is one phone call that Dong-ho can’t ignore — Gyu-man, who’s figured out that he’s taken Jin-woo.

Dong-ho knows that he has no choice but to take Jin-woo to Gyu-man, and he urgently warns the still-furious Jin-woo that in order to save his life, he’ll need to surrender to Gyu-man, just this once.

In an abandoned warehouse straight out of a gangster movie, Gyu-man arrives to find the bound-and-gagged Jin-woo. Dong-ho hands over the flash drive with the slush funds, and once Assistant Ahn confirms that it’s the original document and hasn’t been copied, Jin-woo takes it and the print-outs and throws them into the handy container of fire.

He then bends down until he’s eye-to-eye with Jin-woo, and with a huge grin on his face, he slaps Jin-woo so hard across the face that he topples over in his chair, knocking himself out as his head hits the ground.

Meanwhile, in Dad’s prison cell where there are post-it notes helpfully labeling everything, he has a moment of lucidity. Flashes of memories of his son come back to him, and he reaches for a pen. Weeping as the memories of the trial and Jin-woo’s visits to the jail crash through his mind, he struggles to write the simple sentence: “To my son: I did not kill her.”

Back at the gangster hide-out, Jin-woo regains consciousness. Gyu-man taunts him about how he’d warned that the next time they saw each other would be in the courtroom, and then reveals that they’re actually in the same place where the detective had forced a confession out of Jin-woo’s father.

Helpless, Jin-woo struggles against his ropes tying him to the chair and screams wordless threats through the tape over his mouth. Riling him up further is Gyu-man’s reveal that he visited Jin-woo’s father, and he asks Jin-woo if a father can still be a father when he doesn’t remember he has a son.

Having poked the bear enough to his satisfaction, Gyu-man removes Jin-woo’s gag, just smiling as Jin-woo screams at him. He smirks as he tells Jin-woo that if he goes to trial for murder, Jin-woo should just tell everyone that he lost his memory, like his father. If he plays innocent like that, then his sentence could be reduced. But if he wants to be near his father, then he’d have to get the death penalty.

But Gyu-nam doesn’t plan to hand Jin-woo over to the police, and tells the detective to handle it as he calmly walks away to Jin-woo screaming out Gyu-man’s name.

After Gyu-man leaves, Jin-woo is surprised when the detective unties the ropes, freeing him. The detedtive tells him to leave, and staggering to his feet, Jin-woo cautiously heads towards the exit. Just then the detective pulls out his gun and aims at Jin-woo, his finger on the trigger.

Assistant Ahn is surprised by Gyu-man’s order to clean up the aftermath, since he thought they were taking Jin-woo to the police. But the gunshot that goes off is enough to clue him in to what kind of “mess” Gyu-man is leaving behind, and Gyu-man calmly tells Assistant Ahn to drive on.

Except the bullet didn’t reach its target because Dong-ho grabbed the detective in an attempt to wrestle the gun from him. He yells for Jin-woo to run while the detective struggles against him, attempting to fire again.

Angry, Dong-ho asks him what will happen to his career if a detective is found to have committed murder, but the detective wants to know how Dong-ho will survive once Gyu-man finds out he let Jin-woo go. Dong-ho retorts that even if he’s paid off by Gyu-man, the detective shouldn’t forget that he’s first and foremost a detective.

As she returns home that evening, In-ah finds Jin-woo sitting on the ground against her family’s restaurant. Aw, he’s like a sad, lost puppy. She takes him in and reveals all the information her team has discovered about past cases where someone was strangled by a wire.

Based on that, Jin-woo is able to narrow down in his memory who was most likely the murderer that day, and he points out that the three suspects In-ah’s team found are actually the same man, just in three different disguises.

Dong=ho interrupts Chairman Nam and Gyu-man’s dinner to speak to Gyu-man privately. He demands to know if Gyu-man’s plan in life is just to kill anyone he doesn’t like, reminding him that a person of his privilege and status shouldn’t be doing disgraceful things. But Gyu-man just chuckles, pointing out that it sounds like Dong-ho is really his older brother.

At Dong-ho’s final warning that Gyu-man should count himself lucky that Jin-woo escaped, Gyu-man — in his trademark quiet-yet-cheerful threatening way — responds that whether or not his decision was a correct one, that is up to him to decide. Yeah, yeah. We all know you’re the one with the power.

In-ah’s hard at work trying to figure out the connections between the “different” suspects, and when she realizes that Jin-woo isn’t answerring, she looks over to see him sound asleep, his head on the table. She gently covers him with a blanket and carefully watches him.

The next morning, she’s the one asleep at the table, surprising her parents as they open the restaurant. Jin-woo is nowhere to be found, but he left behind a note apologizing for borrowing her phone for the day. She realizes that he’s going after the murderer himself and takes her father’s phone to call her prosecution team to help her investigate the neighborhood that they’ve been able to narrow down as the hitman’s.

Dong-ho is also using his gangster connections to track down the hitman, while Jin-woo walks the neighborhood, stopping to ask people if they’ve seen a man with a scorpion tattoo on his wrist. He purposefully ignore ignores In-ah’s attempt to call him.

She and her team also hit the streets, asking people if they’ve seen anyone that looks like their suspect. No one is getting any answers. Dong-ho seems to have found out who the hitman is, and he wants to make sure he gets there first before Jin-woo does something stupid.

A convenience store clerk doesn’t recognize the suspect pictures In-ah shows him, but it just so happens that the next customer has a very obvious scorpion tattoo on his wrist. Wide-eyed at her discovery, In-ah carefully follows him, quietly calling Jin-woo on the phone that she thinks she’s found the suspect.

But when she turns the corner, he’s nowhere to be seen. That’s because he’s behind her, and the hitman uses a brick to knock her out just before she can tell Jin-woo where she is.

COMMENTS

Based on the premise of the show, I wasn’t expecting an action drama. I thought I was going to be watching a legal melodrama, and not, say, The Fugitive. This isn’t really a complaint, because I much prefer to hurtle from one action-thriller sequence to the next than dwell on court case after court case.

Admittedly some of the plot points seem a little convenient to get us from one point to the other, but it’s so entertaining that I don’t care. Some things are confusing, though — is it merely coincidence that Dad’s moment of lucidity happened at the same time that Jin-woo was knocked unconscious? Did he somehow channel his son’s epic memory to gain back a few minutes of his life outside of prison? Or was it merely a poetic juxtaposition and nothing about a deeper connection?

Even so, what’s most important about the show is I really care about the characters, even the ones I love to hate. Is Gyu-man at all redeemable? I don’t really think he is, but he’s such an exciting villain to watch that while I am anticipating — or at the very least hoping for — his downfall, I’m still curious to see how his morally depraved (and proud of it) character will manage until the end. This appeal (or urge to slap him across the face) is no doubt largely to do with the charismatic and gleeful way Namgoong Min plays him, but whatever the reason, he’s fascinating and I’m always wary about what violent stunt he’ll decide on next.

Not that I genuinely believed he’d succeed in killing Jin-woo, because, hey, we’re not even halfway through the drama so you can’t kill off the main character. It’s the psychological warfare that’s the most compelling, and to have Gyu-man use Jin-woo’s father against him in a taunting manner was more cruel, I think, than actually getting someone to pull the trigger.

As for Jin-woo, I really liked that we got a glimpse of the true passionate young man that lurks under that suave lawyer attitude he portrays. The unadulterated rage when Dong-ho stopped the recording and basically kidnapped him, and then having it directed at Gyu-man in the warehouse, was a reminder that while Jin-woo is intelligent and knows how to work the system, he’s still just a hurt young man desperate to save his father, no matter what it takes.

Indeed, for the first time I feel like I’m truly beginning to understand the full title of this drama, “The Son’s War.” This is about Gyu-man desperately trying to seek his father’s approval, Jin-woo desperately trying to save his father from being hanged, and Dong-ho both trying to live up to his promise to live a better life than his father and also protect Joo-il, his current father figure. It just so happens that everyone’s motivations regarding their father’s overlap and intertwine and are at odds with other, and it all depends on who is the better strategist and who can see beyond the next battle. While I know who I’m rooting for, it’s still too early to know who will actually win. If there are any winners in the end. After all, war is hell.

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