Remember—Son’s War: Episode 14

by odilettante

Two steps forward, one step back. It may be slow, but at least it’s progress as our heroic team continues to fight for the side of justice and truth. Some experience growth that give them the confidence to win, others finally realize that this is no longer the time to sit on the sidelines and wait. And perhaps still more are finally beginning to realize that perhaps the Il-ho Group, who carelessly tosses people aside once they’ve outlived their usefulness, isn’t worth such loyal devotion.

EPISODE 14 RECAP

After In-ah finds Jin-woo patiently waiting for his father (*cries*), she returns to the office (after leaving Jin-woo at home) to confirm with Boss Ajumma that Jin-woo’s memory loss is getting worse. They decide to meet with the doctor to learn all they can about his condition.

In the morning, Jin-woo is surprised to wake up in his old room. But the pictures of him and his family remind him that Gyu-man had outed Dong-ho’s father as the one responsible for the traffic accident that killed his mother and brother.

Wasting no time, he barges into Dong-ho’s office at Il-ho Group and immediately punches the other lawyer in the face. He angrily accuses Dong-ho of knowingly keeping the accident a secret from him, and Dong-ho answers by dropping to his knees.

He apologizes, explaining it was a completely unintentional accident that also cost him his father’s life, but Jin-woo is too furious to forgive him. Or maybe he’s too angry to forgive himself for once begging Dong-ho to save his father.

Before Jin-woo storms out of the office, Dong-ho calls out that there’s more to it — Chairman Nam was actually the one behind the accident. It was because of the chairman that both men lost their family that day. That stops Jin-woo in his tracks, and Dong-ho sincerely tells him that just now, he may have knelt and begged forgiveness, but soon he’ll make Chairman Nam kneel and beg forgiveness before the both of them. That’s a promise.

In-ah and Boss Ajumma meet with the doctor, who tells them that Jin-woo’s memory will completely deteriorate within six months. There’s no real cure, and if there aren’t others around to help him once his memory fails, it will be difficult for him. That’s not easy realization for them to process.

Dong-ho finds out that Jin-woo met with Gyu-man last night, and does his own storming into an office, warning Gyu-man to stop prying into his life. Gyu-man is unfazed by this warning (which Dong-ho says could become a threat, depending on what Gyu-man gets up to), reminding him that he and the chairman have all the power. But Dong-ho cryptically warns him that they’ll have to wait and see how far he’ll go.

In-ah’s parents are delighted to find her waiting for them at home, but she’s there to ask her father about a “friend” who she just found out is sick and bad things just seem to keep happening to that person. She starts to cry as she admits that it hurts her to see him like that, but she feels so helpless.

Wise ol’ Dad counsels her to just be herself and remain as normal as possible — if it’s hard for her, imagine how much harder it must be for the friend suffering from a disease?

Boss Ajumma seems to have the same idea as she suggests that In-ah pretend she doesn’t know about the disease. After all, Jin-woo had wanted to keep it a secret from her in the first place, and it’ll just make things easier in his last few months of mental acuity. Jin-woo arrives at the office just then, allowing In-ah her first chance to act “normal” and “clueless,” and she smiles brightly and thanks Jin-woo for the great date last night. Dinner was delicious!

He seems relieved, but as soon as he walks away, his brow furrows as he recalls his dinner invite after buying her the bag, and that In-ah offered to pay. He sighs in frustration as he can only remember up to meeting with Gyu-man, and nothing of his dinner date with In-ah — which was the whole reason behind asking her out in the first place, so he could have memories of her before he lost them all.

Boss Ajumma is concerned about how quickly his memory is fading, but Jin-woo is determined that until Gyu-man is brought to justice in a court of law, he must not appear to be sick no matter how much the disease has taken his ability to remember.

Seok-gyu is busy digging into the old evidence surrounding Jung-ah’s trial, and notes that it’s all circumstantial — there’s no real proof that it was Jin-woo’s father.

Meanwhile, Attorney Hong meets with Joo-il at the jail, and Attorney Hong acts like it’s completely beneath him to have a mob boss as a client. Joo-il points out that they both work for Chairman Nam so they’re actually equals, but Attorney Hong sneeringly tells him that a mere couple of years working for the chairman doesn’t eradicate the decades living as a gangster, and tells him he should just focus on spending his time in jail wisely.

Over a friendly dinner with Gyu-man and Assistant Ahn, Seok-gyu casually asks for another bottle of wine. As the waiter opens it with a corkscrew exactly like the one that killed Jung-ah, Seok-gyu nonchalantly asks if Gyu-man thinks it’s possible to kill someone with the knife part of a corkscrew.

Gyu-man smiles as he says he’s not sure — he’s never tried before. That’s not exactly a reassuring answer, though. But he’s got a question for Seok-gyu: if, say, a friend happened to kill someone — would Seok-gyu try him in court as a judge or cover up for him as a friend?

Seok-gyu decides that the best thing, as a friend, would make sure the friend is tried fairly in a court of law. Everyone is all polite smiles as they sip their wine (except for maybe Assistant Ahn who looks like a deer in headlights), but the truth is plain — Seok-gyu knows and, furthermore, will not protect Gyu-man.

Back to the jail, where Jin-woo visits Detective Kwak to get more intel, promising him that in payment, he’ll make sure Gyu-man gets the cell next to Detective Kwak. The intel leads him to a drug dealer who is the one that supplies the drugs for those big VIP parties, like the one where Jung-ah sang before she was killed. He tells Jin-woo where the next one will be, but it won’t be easy to snag an invite.

Speaking of Attorney Hong, he’s been busy researching into Jin-woo’s life and assets. Our fearless lawyer doesn’t have family left for Gyu-man to use as leverage, and his tiny law firm isn’t worth much, either. Just when Gyu-man is despairing of finding anything that might be used to hurt Jin-woo, Attorney Hong hands over a photo of what he believes to be Jin-woo’s Achilles heel: In-ah. Uh-oh. Assistant Ahn looks as worried as I feel.

Prosecutor Tak gets an invitation to dine with Chairman Nam and Attorney Hong. They’re there to entice him to the dark side, since he’s next in line to be the head of the Prosecutor’s Office and Il-ho Group needs an influential ally there. Just as I’m shouting in outrage at Prosecutor Tak for respectfully accepting the drink they offer, he slams down his chopsticks.

His appetite is ruined because he has integrity, dammit, and he refuses to play by their corrupt rules. After throwing down some cash to pay for his drink because he refuses to owe them anything, he leaves. Yay!

After he does, he gets a call from Dong-ho, and I guess his appetite isn’t ruined that much, because he exuberantly slurps down his humble bowl of soup while Dong-ho looks on, amused.

Prosecutor Tak admits that Chairman Nam tried to convince him to support Il-ho Group. Dong-ho reassures him that he made the right decision in walking out, telling him he’d only regret being tied to them, no matter how comfortable it might seem to have all that money and power backing you. That’s the voice of experience speaking.

Dong-ho tells him he’ll soon have evidence about the Seo-kwang Group factory explosion that will put Chairman Nam in jail, and invites Prosecutor Tak to join him in taking Il-ho Group down. You don’t need to ask him twice.

Despite practicing his speech over and over, Attorney Song is freaking out about his first real solo trial in years, afraid to even enter the courtroom. After all, the last time he tried this, he stuttered so badly that he lost the case for Jin-woo’s father.

But Jin-woo tries to use that motivation — since Attorney Song believes his client (accused of murdering her husband in order to protect her child) is innocent, he can use his words to save her, and in return, make up for what he couldn’t do four years ago.

Time for the closing arguments, and Attorney Song nervously stands. His stutter is still very evident, and when the judge looks like he’s not going to be won over, Attorney Song glances over to Jin-woo, In-ah, and Boss Ajumma seated in the courtroom. They give him reassuring smiles, and gaining his courage, he continues on, gradually losing his stutter as he gives an impassioned plea for his client.

Aw, the trio are so proud of him for eloquently finishing his speech, but they’re even prouder when the judge hands down the sentence — the client will only get two years in prison instead of ten (or more). That’s a win, for both the client and Attorney Song, who now knows he can go to court without stuttering.

The law firm’s focus now shifts to Gyu-man’s smarmy buddy who was there at the party when Jung-ah died, and the one who supplies all the fancy rich-boy party drugs. Okay, fine — we’ll finally give him a name: Bae Chul-soo. He’s Jin-woo’s next target in his effort to get to Gyu-man, and he already knows when the next party will be thanks to the drug dealer’s tip.

Chul-Soo meets with Gyu-man, who’s decided a little Il-ho Group rearranging is in order and asks his buddy to use his company to help secretly buy up stocks. Both of them are rather nonchalant about the actual affiliates that will destroyed, laughingly declaring that it will be fun to see “ants” (as in, the corporate workers) cry out. Assistant Ahn (who made sure to give a full ninety-degree bow when Chul-soo walked in) raises his eyebrows at Gyu-man’s off-hand statement that if one is born an “ant,” then one should just accept one’s fate and die that way.

After leaving Gyu-man’s office, Chul-soo is accosted by Jin-woo in the parking garage. He vaguely remembers in-woo from when Yeo-kyung brought him to the club ‘way back when, and after Jin-woo mentions the footage of Gyu-man confessiong to Jung-ah’s murder, Chul-soo realizes that this is the “bastard” that Gyu-man’s been complaining about.

Chul-soo’s pleasant countenance hardens as he warns Jin-woo that if he thought threatening him would get him to turn on his friend, then he’s sorely mistaken. If he sees Jin-woo’s face again, Jin-woo will die. Ooooookay, clearly you and Gyu-man are two peas in a pod.

It looks like Assistant Ahn is finally starting to crack as Gyu-man asks him to take care of a woman problem for Chul-soo, telling him that he’ll know best how to handle it since he’s a “commoner” and knows how “they” think. Assistant Ahn refuses, pointing out that he’s not Chul-soo’s assistant. Surprised, Gyu-man stands up and then starts to… throttle him? Yeah, that seems about normal for Gyu-man.

Laughing as he “playfully” strangles his assistant, Gyu-man teasingly asks if he wants to die. Finally Assistant Ahn frees himself, and reminds Gyu-man that they’re still friends, and he still has self-respect. Gyu-man seems amused by this, but it also looks like Assistant Ahn might want to start watching his back.

Assistant Ahn calls on his assistant buddy Sang-ho to vent (aw, it’s so cute how he likes to lord his newly discovered “hyung” status), wondering what would happen if he abandoned Gyu-man. Sang-ho suggests he talk to Dong-ho. Ooo, could this finally be the beginning of Assistant Ahn’s defection?

Speaking of Dong-ho, he arrives at the Nam villa to meet with the chairman, who’s called him there to check in on him. Both men are polite, but beneath their words lie a deeper meaning: Chairman Nam knows Dong-ho is digging into his past, and it’ll be best for him to leave it alone. Or else.

Like that’s going to stop him, especially since Dong-ho’s received an audio recording that plainly reveals that Chairman Nam was definitely behind the Seo-kwang Group gas explosion. But Chairman Nam also has his ace-in-the-hole, Attorney Hong, who’s spent most of his career making sure that case stayed buried.

Oh, hey, it’s Yeo-kyung in her regularly scheduled fifteen-seconds of screen time, reminding us that she’s still a prosecutor. Jin-woo calls her office as an anonymous informant about Chul-soo’s upcoming party where illegal drugs will be present.

Meanwhile, Assistant Ahn sneaks into Gyu-man’s empty office, carefully removing the corkscrew murder weapon from its hiding place in one of the decorative statues. That right there is a good reason not to piss off the “ant” who keeps all your dirty secrets.

Just then he gets a call from the devil himself, I mean, Gyu-man, who invites him to have a drink. Assistant Ahn is looking mighty nervous as Gyu-man apologizes, explaining that he’s a little frazzled thanks to Jin-woo, but he thinks of Assistant Ahn as his real friend. Once Jin-woo is taken care of, Gyu-man promises he’ll promote Assistant Ahn.

At the jail, Dong-ho visits Joo-il, and it almost seems like they’re back to their old familial ways until Dong-ho point-blank tells Joo-il that once he gets out of jail, he’ll have to decide if he’ll go to Chairman Nam or Dong-ho — it’s one or the other, because he can’t be loyal to both.

He warns Joo-il that he’s about to take down Il-ho Group, and despite Joo-il’s remonstrance that everything he’s done has been to protect Dong-ho, the attorney calmly tells him that no matter what, he’s all in — it will be the fight of his life. As he stands and thanks Joo-il for everything he’s done, there’s a catch in Dong-ho’s voice. Joo-il stares in astonishment as Dong-ho leaves, their jovial father-son bonding a thing of the past.

It’s the night of Chul-soo’s party, and Jin-woo’s little team needs to be able to catch Gyu-man in the act of using illegal drugs so they can begin to reveal the truth about him (and Il-ho Group). Attorney Song is the least recognizable face, so he’s assigned the task to physically infiltrate the party. Jin-woo hands him a pen that is also a recording device so he can take footage of Gyu-man. Aw, he’s so adorably excited to use a “as seen in the movies” spy device.

Yeo-kyung is furious that the “anonymous tip” about the party that came directly to her office has been handed off to the narcotics team. She decides to take matters into her own hands by calling up some detectives and telling them to get ready, because she’s going to need them for a job.

Attorney Hong visits Joo-il, who’s surprised by this unexpected middle-of-the-night visit. But he’s there to pass on a request from Chairman Nam: get rid of Dong-ho. Attorney Hong tells him that they’re past the point of no return, counseling him to worry about saving his own skin instead of being loyal to the past.

Dong-ho returns to his old office and sits down in his chair, going through that same debate — letting go of the past and making sure he can live to enjoy the present. But he pulls out all the evidence he’s stock-piled about Il-ho Group and decides that it’s time to finish it.

Sang-ho is as surprised as I am to see Dong-ho dressing himself in a simple black suit, but he cryptically tells his assistant that since blood will be shed, how can he wear a white suit? I just hope it’s not going to end up becoming his funeral suit.

At Chul-soo’s party, Attorney Song (minus his Coke-bottle glasses) has snuck into the club while In-ah and Boss Ajumma keep a look-out from a car parked out front. Jin-woo tells them to call him as soon as the detectives arrive, and he goes to investigate the parking garage.

Attorney Song tries to casually record with his spy-pen as Chul-soo tips some white powder into his and Gyu-man’s glasses. The two men knock their drinks back, and Chul-soo tries to ask him about Jin-woo babbling on about someone Gyu-man killed.

But whatever drug was in Gyu-man’s drink was extra strong because he starts to stagger, shouting for the music to be turned off. He demands to know why Chul-soo is bringing that up, calling him a bastard — as in, a legit bastard, the illegitimate son from a mistress.

The two men start to fight just as the detectives pull up to the club, and In-ah calls Jin-woo to let him know they’re here. Meanwhile Gyu-man knocks Chul-soo to the ground, yelling that not all “silver spoons” are the same (that is, being born with a silver spoon in your mouth, aka born to wealth and privilege). Attorney Song keeps carefully filming with his spy-pen despite the sudden police raid that sends all the party goers scattering.

Yeo-kyung is surprised to discover her brother there and she confronts him, but he begs her to get him out of trouble by using her prosecutor status. She just watches him stagger along the hallway to his secret exit route, stunned to see him tripping out like that. Attorney Song carefully follows behind, but he loses Gyu-man after he slips through a secret door, calling for his car to be brought around.

Meanwhile, Dong-ho personally hands over his resignation letter to Chairman Nam. He warns the chairman that he’s bringing back the Seo-kwang case, reminding the chairman that his father died because of it. He refuses to continue to bow his head to the enemy that killed his father. Oooooh, I like that look of serious determination.

Gyu-man’s car peels out of the parking garage and Jin-woo calls for back-up, warning his team that he’s getting away. Yeo-kyung and the other detectives help to block the car in, but when Jin-woo rushes up to open the door, everyone is surprised to see Assistant Ahn emerge from the car instead. As the detectives and Jin-woo are distracted by Assistant Ahn’s diversion, Gyu-man staggers out to the street where his car is parked and drives off.

COMMENTS

On one hand, finally everyone is making firm decisions about where they stand. And by “everyone” I mostly mean Dong-ho, who, at this point, is the only one that really matters, especially since it looks like he’s been stock-piling evidence and it just took one final push to get him to decide to officially stand his ground against Il-ho Group.

On the other hand, this episode felt like it was mostly filler that really didn’t do much to advance the plot or even give us too much by way of characterization. Sure, I’m a little excited at the prospect that maybe, just maybe, Assistant Ahn will finally turn against Gyu-man, but I’m not sure we’re quite at his breaking point. Not yet, at least. Considering he holds the defining proof — the actual murder weapon, which probably still has finger prints (or at least DNA) on it — he’s definitely a pivotal asset for either team. I’m reasonably convinced that he’ll help take down Il-ho Group (if nothing else for petty revenge after the years of mistreatment from his so-called “friend”) but I feel like it might be one of those last-minute reveals.

I did like some of the character moments, though. Seeing Attorney Song redeem himself after the terrible way he started out in the first episode was exciting, since I have hope that he’ll be able to be an awesome lawyer for the underdog, perhaps taking charge of Jin-woo’s law office after the whole “rapidly deteriorating memory” thing finally happens. I want to know that Jin-woo’s law firm will continue even if he’s no longer there. Part of me is still holding out for a miracle cure because this is Dramaland and anything can happen — or at least a “cure” that lets Jin-woo have more normal memory capabilities instead of his hyper-detailed ones. The other part of me has no idea what this show is really trying to accomplish in the end but at least it’s been a fun (if tragic) ride so far.

This whole thing with the party drugs, though, makes me suspicious. I can’t decide if the show will convince us that Gyu-man killed Jung-ah while under the influence of narcotics (which could make for an appropriate defense argument, should Attorney Song’s footage come to light), or if perhaps there might be a surprise and we’ll discover that Chul-soo is more guilty than we think. I know I found him suspicious since the beginning, but then it seemed the show was insisting Gyu-man was the murderer. Or maybe I’m just trying too hard to find deeper connections and clues that don’t really exist. At any rate, Gyu-man is definitely eeeeeeeeeeeevil (he did rape Jung-ah and has at least attempted to murder other people, whether by his hand or by hiring someone) and deserves to pay for all his crimes over the years.

Really, I’m just impatient for the next few episodes to air, since I think we’re nearly prepped for that final battle in the courtroom. I want both Dong-ho and Jin-woo to get the closure they need on their parents’ deaths, and for the whole corrupt Il-ho Group with their seemingly endless power and privilege to come crashing down. I’m not even sure if life in jail would be enough for them, but I do want to see Gyu-man come face-to-face with all those “ants” he’s crushed over the years. Let’s just hope some of them are fire ants who will eat him alive.

RELATED POSTS

• Remember—Son’s War: Episode 13
• Remember—Son’s War: Episode 12
• Remember—Son’s War: Episode 11
• 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