Wanted: Episode 8

by TeriYaki

Hye-in proves just how resilient she really is in her quest to bring Hyun-woo home safely. As public criticism builds, a new threat makes the task of saving Hyun-woo even more challenging. Both teams have to work hard to figure out how all the missions are connected, and find themselves looking to the past to find that link.

 
EPISODE 8 RECAP

Following Jung-ho’s surprise announcement that Wanted has been cancelled, Hye-in confronts him in the hallway. At his suggestion they talk in his office, Hye-in gives him a hard slap in the face as her answer. Jung-ho grabs her by the wrist and drags her into his office anyway, and in a defiant move, Hye-in smashes a cup and demands to know why he canceled the show.

Hye-in finds out that that Jung-ho received a generous investment offer from China in return for canceling Wanted. Jung-ho defends his decision, deeming it the right time to stop the show. Hye-in wonders if Jung-ho cares about Hyun-woo at all, but he tells her the show was an impossible project from the beginning.

The production team meets to consider broadcasting alternatives. Hye-in joins them and Dong-wook notices the red marks on her wrist as she voices her determination to continue broadcasting from UCN, planning to use Jung-ho’s tactics to get what she wants. She knows he fears losing the network, and her words cause Joon-gu to recall how he was set up by Jung-ho in that business deal/lawsuit. Hye-in vows to find something to use against Jung-ho, but Joon-gu stays quiet.

Hye-in goes through Jung-ho’s home office, looking for something she can use against him. She searches for a secret panel but finds one of Manager Kwon’s surveillance cameras instead. Hye-in reaches out to him through an email, telling him she’s in immediate need of his help.

The Wanted team is in a meeting when another production team walks in, ready to take over their room. Dong-wook objects, but Jung-ho is right behind them. He tears down the show’s sign outside the door to make the cancellation official. He then explains the network has to prepare a new show to please the new investors.

Captain Jung speculates to Detective Park and Dong-joon that the show’s cancellation may turn out to be a good decision. Captain Jung asks about the new investigative team. Dong-joon says they are joining it right away, but he’s disheartened that they seem to have given up on finding Hyun-woo.

Detective Park asks Captain Jung to keep Seung-in out of their way just as Seung-in walks into the station. Seung-in tells Detective Park not to worry about him, but they both know he has no intention of ignoring the case. Seung-in asks for Mi-ok, and Detective Park warns him to keep her away from the case as well. Captain Jung puts an end to the bickering while discreetly pointing Seung-in in the right direction.

Jung-ho’s showdown with the production team continues as he orders them out of their room. Reporter Jang makes a grand entrance by taking photos of Jung-ho and making a big show of complimenting him on standing up to the kidnapper.

But then, the reporter changes gears and reveals that he knows about Jung-ho’s investment deal, and that he traded his son’s life for money. Reporter Jang notes such a move makes him look like a pathetic father who cares nothing for his son, the type of person the public loves to rip to shreds. Reporter Jang says he’ll run that as a breaking story unless Jung-ho allows the production team to continue. Jung-ho relents, and gives them until noon the next day to leave.

Seung-in and Young-gwan listen as Mi-ok shares her concerns regarding Hyun-woo’s safety, especially if he is with Na Soo-hyun. Noting that the shipping container held trophies from Jo Nam-cheol, Na Jae-hyun and Ham Tae-young, she theorizes that Na Soo-hyun may have become an accomplice to get revenge for his brother, but he was revealed too soon. Whoever the true culprit is, Seung-in notes that the plan is very detailed. He thinks Jo Nam-cheol wasn’t meant to be punished and Mi-ok agrees, noting that Jo Nam-cheol’s escape caused the intricate plan to go awry.

Na Soo-hyun killed Jo Nam-cheol at the station, revealing his face in the process. He didn’t disguise his voice when he sent proof Hyun-woo was alive, then the boy managed to escape. Mi-ok thinks the mistakes were made to look as if they were part of the plan, but are actually proof of how the plan is unraveling, creating a crisis for Na Soo-hyun. Mi-ok fears they can’t be sure of the kidnapper’s next move if the show doesn’t continue. Seung-in and Young-gwan decide to find Hye-in, believing the kidnapper will somehow contact her.

Manager Kwon finally calls Hye-in, and she explains she needs the video file from the camera in Jung-ho’s office. Fearing he might be caught by the police, Manager Kwon instructs her to meet him at a mall. Dressed in baggy clothes and a hat to disguise herself, she meets him to ask for the file. He gets angry, accusing her of not caring about him. She points out that she doesn’t have time for niceties, and reminds Manager Kwon that he promised to help her find Hyun-woo.

As soon as she has the video file in her hands, Hye-in promises to call Manager Kwon again and rushes off. Overcome by the encounter, she pauses to collect herself, but Manager Kwon suddenly grabs her wrist. Hye-in lets out a terrified scream as she falls to the ground. Seung-in and Young-gwan are close by and hear her, leading to a chase scene through the crowd. But Manager Kwon still manages to get away.

Hye-in is alone when a clown approaches her to offer a helping hand. He then insists on giving her a bunch of balloons, along with an envelope. Hye-in opens the envelope to find a new photo of Hyun-woo holding that day’s newspaper and a second photo of Jung-ho walking alongside a young woman. On the back of Hyun-woo’s photo is the sixth mission: What is President Song’s relationship with this woman? Get him on the show to explain it himself.

While questioning the clown, Seung-in shows him a photo of Na Soo-hyun, asking if he ordered the delivery. The clown can’t identify him positively, but thinks it’s the same person. Young-gwan wonders how a delivery for Jung Hye-in didn’t cause suspicion, asking the clown if he watches TV. A lightbulb goes on and the clown calls the show “fun,” but then backpedals when he sees the detectives looking uncomfortable. As the trio turns to leave, the clown sneaks a photo just as Hye-in looks back at him.

Dong-wook asks Bo-yeon about the video files from Jung-ho’s office. She reports nothing special about his conversations. Thinking Bo-yeon might have missed some subtleties, Dong-wook asks for a thorough report so he can review the conversations himself.

The production team meets to figure out how to get Jung-ho to reinstate the program. Joon-gu can’t look Hye-in in the eyes, so she gets suspicious and asks if he knows something. Dong-wook recalls the exchange between Jung-ho and Joon-gu when Hyun-woo was first kidnapped. Joon-gu volunteered to be the producer for Wanted, and told Jung-ho to find someone else to be responsible for the lawsuit. Joon-gu finally comes clean and tells the team about the paper company that Jung-ho set up to protect the network. Since this is their only lead, the team agrees to look into it further.

Mi-ok circles a date on their team’s whiteboard: July 12, 2009. That day ties everything the kidnapper is trying to expose together. It was the night that Na Jae-hyun and Ham Tae-young met. The next day, Ham Tae-young was dead from a supposed car accident, and Na Jae-hyun went missing. Seung-in thinks the kidnapper’s motive was Na Jae-hyun’s case.

Mi-ok agrees, because the show started when Jo Nam-cheol was paroled. The team builds a timeline of the case — Na Soo-hyun began working at the cafe two months before the kidnapping, Ji-eun met Park Se-young one month later, and Ji-eun was abducted three days before Hyun-woo. Young-gwan notes that Han-sol’s father from the first mission and Dr. Ha from the second mission aren’t connected to the key date. That leads Seung-in to think that Park Se-young, Lee Ji-eun, Professor Kim and Dr. Ha must somehow be connected to that fateful day from 2009.

In a similar meeting, the production team tries to identify the woman in the photo with Jung-ho. Hye-in wonders why the kidnapper has targeted Jung-ho, and believes that determining the relationship between the mystery woman and Jung-ho is the key to the newest mission. Hye-in leaves to look for the woman, and since she wants to go alone, Dong-wook gives her a small camera and instructs her to film anything important.

Pretending Jung-ho locked his keys in his car, Hye-in gets a locksmith to unlock it. Once inside, she looks through his GPS destinations and copies an address.

Meanwhile, Seung-in and Young-gwan meet with Park Se-young’s mother to inquire about his activities in 2009. Seung-in asks about any strange behavior, and Park Se-young’s mother recalls that a year earlier, her son started building a bomb, but gave up when he hurt himself, which explains that burn on his arm. But like any mother, she stresses that her son still had good in him.

Seung-in and Young-gwan ask to see Park Se-young’s room again. Even though the room was searched after his suicide, Seung-in finds a USB stick and a piece of paper with one word written on it: Loadagun.

The production team is at work when Detective Park and Dong-joon walk in. Detective Park informs them they are all under investigation. Insisting they each have something to gain from working on the show, Detective Park is confident the motive for the kidnapping will be found in the team. To prove that there’s been a shift in the investigation, Dong-joon turns on the TV to the police commissioner’s press conference announcing the end of the police department’s cooperation with UCN. Detective Park takes Dong-wook for questioning while Dong-joon starts with Joon-gu.

Seung-in checks the USB found in Park Se-young’s room and slams his laptop shut. Mi-ok takes the laptop and views the file herself as Seung-in explains that it’s hidden camera footage taken by Manager Kwon. Mi-ok wonders if Manager Kwon gave the footage to Park Se-young. Not understanding why Park Se-young had the footage, Seung-in promises to investigate the connection.

Young-gwan points out that Manager Kwon and Park Se-young were both Hye-in’s stalkers. He takes another look at the word that accompanied the USB, Loadagun, and wonders if it could be a user ID. Young-gwan guesses that if Park Se-young sent the footage to that person, it could lead them to the kidnapper.

Following their lead, Seung-in and Young-gwan take the clue to the cyber investigations department and ask for a search of that user ID on Park Se-young’s hard drive. The cyber detective tells them there was evidence of a foreign chat room with a server located in Central Europe, which will make getting the ID difficult.

Detective Park questions Dong-wook, and asks about the footage of Jo Nam-cheol’s body. Dong-wook admits he filmed it, but Detective Park can’t understand how he could do that when his good friend was hurt. Dong-wook explains that he called for an ambulance and filmed while he waited for help, knowing they would need the footage for the show. However, Detective Park insinuates that Dong-wook murdered Jo Nam-cheol so the news could air during the show.

Dong-joon grills Joon-gu because he was with Jo Nam-cheol when he was murdered. With a nervous tap of his hand, Joon-gu insists he didn’t see anything. Dong-joon wonders if Joon-gu and Na Soo-hyun could have been accomplices, but Joon-gu points out he had no motive. Dong-joon still wants him to check out his phone.

As this goes on, Bo-yeon interrupts Dong-wook’s interrogation to tell him that their set is being dismantled.

A young woman opens her front door to find Hye-in on her doorstep. Hye-in looks over the woman’s shoulder and sees evidence of a male visitor. Hye-in pushes her way into the apartment and opens the bedroom door to see the back of a man tangled in the bedding, asleep.

Back at the studio, Hye-in introduces an episode of Wanted with her usual reminder that everything seen on the show is real. It’s footage with the set that was just disassembled, so it looks like an archived show. Dong-wook and Writer Yeon are in the control room, and replay Jung-ho’s announcement about the show’s cancellation.

Hye-in explains that the footage just seen was of her husband on the previous night’s show. (Wait. What?) Hye-in shares that the announcement was a surprise to everyone, including herself. She acknowledges that Hyun-woo is still with Na Soo-hyun, and that ending the show would put his life in danger.

Joon-gu is interrogated by Detective Park and Dong-joon about the paper company that Jung-ho formed to protect the network from legal blame. Joon-gu is confused because he told the detectives about that when Hyun-woo was first kidnapped. The detectives remind him they are now investigating everyone tied to the show, and tell Joon-gu that they will be questioning him all night.

Hye-in continues on-air with an explanation that Jung-ho has confirmed the show will not be cancelled after all. She understands people might think his behavior had to do with him not being Hyun-woo’s biological father, but she calls Jung-ho a loving father and a strong husband. “This is a live show that has Hyun-woo’s life on the line. So, why would he try to cancel it without talking to me about it?”

Hye-in explains the sixth mission led to them to understand why Jung-ho was forced to cancel the show. The mission appears onscreen, accompanied by the photo of Jung-ho and the mystery woman. Suddenly, we go back in time to ten hours earlier when Hye-in entered that bedroom and discovered the sleeping man, who turned out not to be Jung-ho. Hye-in asks the mystery woman about Jung-ho, and she replies, “A married man buys a woman an apartment and drops by. He gives her living expenses. Isn’t it obvious?” As she speaks, Hye-in trains her hidden camera on the woman.

The footage from that encounter appears on the screen behind Hye-in in the present, and she identifies the mystery woman from the photo as Ms. Kim. Hye-in provocatively wonders if discovering her to be Jung-ho’s mistress was the point of the mission. Hye-in tells the audience that the show’s team checked into her background and found something odd.

It is now nine hours before show time, and Writer Yeon finds a secluded spot to call Hye-in. She has news of a second paper company in addition to the one Joon-gu knew about. The mystery woman is listed as a board member and her name is KIM SO-HYUN. We swing back to the present, and Hye-in explains on-air that the paper company was created by Jung-ho, and that every month, money was deposited into Kim So-hyun’s account.

Reporter Jang bounces into the control room to greet the team. Dong-wook scolds him for interrupting while they are on the air, telling him to stick to their meetings. Reporter Jang protests that the show is the real thing, and he doesn’t want to be excluded. But the reporter leaves when one of the assistants does to offer that assistant payment in return for a favor.

Hye-in reports that everyone attached to the paper company could be traced to one person, except for Kim So-hyun. Eight and a half hours earlier, Bo-yeon found evidence of a phone call between Jung-ho and the commissioner, just before the announcement of the show’s cancellation. In the present, Hye-in thinks the target of the sixth mission must be the police commissioner.

Six hours before show time, we find Seung-in, Young-gwan, and Mi-ok looking into the paper company’s employees and their connections to the police commissioner. Kim So-hyun has no obvious connection, causing Mi-ok to wonder if she is his mistress. Seung-in reviews the reasons behind the previous missions — child abuse, illegal clinical tests, murder — and thinks the commissioner must somehow be connected to what happened seven years ago. Mi-ok agrees, because the commissioner ordered Jung-ho to stop the show and found him the new investor, noting that he must have something to hide. Now it’s a matter of finding out how the commissioner and Kim So-hyun are connected.

Jung-ho is in his network office when the commissioner barges in, demanding to know why the show is talking about the paper company. Looking at his watch, Jung-ho excuses himself and promises to be back soon. He invites the commissioner to wait in his office and watch the show.

Hye-in’s coverage of the paper company continues with a photo of Police Commissioner LEE TAE-KYUN appearing on the screen behind her. Hye-in then reviews the three people tied to the sixth mission — Song Jung-ho, Police Commissioner Lee Tae-kyun, and Kim So-hyun — and wonders how they are connected. She reminds the audience that the mission stated that Jung-ho was to come on the show to reveal his connection himself. Jung-ho joins Hye-in on the set while the commissioner watches from his office.

Hye-in invites Jung-ho to explain his relationship with Kim So-hyun. He first clarifies to the viewers that he loves his wife and never betrayed her. Hye-in guides the talk back to Kim So-hyun, who implied she was in an illicit relationship with Jung-ho, and asks him to explain the apartment and living expenses. He says there is a man he once respected who needed help in hiding Kim So-hyun, a child from an extramarital affair. This man was unaware of her existence until four years earlier, when her dying mother contacted him.

The paper company was formed to hide his support for Kim So-hyun. Hye-in asks Jung-ho for the identity of the person, and he names Police Commissioner Lee Tae-kyun as that man. Kim So-hyun is watching the show from a studio dressing room when Bo-yeon arrives to escort her to the set. Bo-yeon reminds Kim So-yeon that she doesn’t have to go on the air, but the girl insists she’s fine.

Dong-wook orders the set to prepare for Kim So-hyun’s appearance. The control room assistant takes out his phone to record what is being said in the room, presumably for Reporter Jang. Writer Yeon is against having Kim So-hyun go on camera, but Dong-wook says the girl came to them on her own. They argue back and forth, with Dong-wook pointing out that they are allowing Jung-ho to go on the air to pretend he is a good person, and they’re revealing the commissioner’s secrets. Dong-wook tells Writer Yeon she should worry more about Hyun-woo.

Jung-ho explains that the commissioner ordered him to end the show because of public criticism. He claims he had no choice, and appears emotional as he speaks Hyun-woo’s name. Hye-in cuts him off to state that the sixth mission is now completed. She then introduces Kim So-hyun to confirm Jung-ho’s story, resulting in the commissioner having a meltdown in Jung-ho’s office before he makes a call.

The call goes to Jung-ho’s phone and he answers it, speaking to the commissioner on camera. He extends an invitation to the commissioner to join them on set to speak to the people himself.

Seung-in, Young-gwan, and Mi-ok watch the show at the police station. Mi-ok thinks they should be at the station if the commissioner is there, even though they aren’t allowed to investigate the case. Seung-in notes that the commissioner stopped the investigation into Na Jae-hyun’s case, making him the only one who knows what happened between him and Ham Tae-young.

The police commissioner joins Hye-in, Jung-ho, and Kim So-hyun on the set. He denies everything Jung-ho said about him: “As a policeman, I have my honor to protect. As a father, I have my family to protect. I will fight back against all of these vicious lies.” He then denies that Kim So-hyun is his daughter.

Hurt by his denial, Kim So-hyun agrees he can’t be her father, because what kind of father would do this to her? She details how he gave her an apartment and made her live there like a prisoner, but she trusted him because he was her father. She tries to walk off the set but fails, overcome by her grief. We see that four hours earlier, Hye-in asked Kim So-hyun about her life. She stopped short of asking her to appear on the show, but told the girl to think about how she wants to live.

The commissioner also collapses to the floor, right behind his daughter. Jung-ho looks away as Hye-in looks straight at her husband. The ending credits list SG Group as the show’s sponsor. Afterward, Jung-ho recalls a meeting he had three hours earlier with Hye-in’s brother-in-law.

As Hye-in walks off the set, she recalls her own meeting with her brother-in-law five hours earlier. She asked for his help to get the show back on the air. He told her he tried, but an aggressive investor beat him to it. Hye-in asked him to acquire UCN by offering more money than the current investor. Hye-in knew he had the power to make the acquisition, and asked him to consider how this could help him in the future. She stresses that he could realize his desire to buy a media company, causing her brother-in-law to praise her business acumen. Hye-in’s strategy was that SG Group would see the acquisition as an unselfish deed to save the son of his youngest brother, which he could use to expand into a new business.

Writer Yeon finds Dong-wook asleep in one of the offices, and leaves him be. The clown from earlier posts his photo of Hye-in online, claiming that he saw the face of the Wanted criminal. Bo-yeon is at the network when she reads his post, and looks concerned.

Meanwhile, the police commissioner lets himself into Jung-ho’s office, and asks why he ruined his life and hurt Kim So-hyun. Jung-ho denies responsibility, pointing out that the commissioner made his choice. Screaming, the commissioner rushes at Jung-ho. Mi-ok, Seung-in, and Young-gwan race to Jung-ho’s office. As Seung-in grabs the doorknob, a gunshot rings out.

 
COMMENTS

This episode delivered the moment I was hoping for, with Hye-in’s shift from participant to player. Circumstances worked against her objective to save Hyun-woo, so she found a way to turn the tables on the main person standing in her way: Jung-ho. From the moment she smashed that cup to the floor in his office, it was game on. Hye-in has always been spirited and determined, but she did as Jung-ho wanted to keep Hyun-woo from SG Group. Now that Hyun-woo’s paternity is no longer a secret, Jung-ho’s usefulness revolves around making the show that is meant to keep the boy alive.

Once Jung-ho pulled the plug on the show, Hye-in was intent on compelling him to reverse his decision, and she played a masterful hand to do just that. Hye-in presented her brother-in-law with a perfect opportunity to help Hyun-woo and himself in the process, proving she can be a shrewd strategist. In delivering that strike, she gained the upper hand over Jung-ho and the network he values so highly. That look she leveled at him at the end of the show revealed that she relished her victory, and what it meant for Hyun-woo. Now Jung-ho will work under SG Group, and the son he so easily threw aside is an heir. Talk about poetic justice.

Hye-in’s victory this episode was not without its costs. Having to reach out to Manager Kwon to get the video from his hidden camera was a dangerous situation, and Hye-in grappled with her fear. Going to confront a supposed mistress of Jung-ho’s took some nerve as well. I just can’t figure out her relationship with Jung-ho, but no matter what’s really going on between them, barging into that apartment with a hidden camera took backbone. Probably Hye-in’s biggest challenge at this point has to be the dwindling focus on saving Hyun-woo. Public opinion is hurting the show and Team Hyun-woo now consists of Hye-in, the production team, and the unofficial investigative team of Seung-in, Young-gwan, and Mi-ok. In spite of those challenges, both teams are proving themselves as they delve further into the circumstances that tie all of the missions together.

I appreciate that this show has been consistently unpredictable. I still don’t have a feel for who the mastermind behind the kidnapping might be and what event from seven years ago could have triggered such retribution. Each week the story twists and turns and this week was no exception. I will admit that the timeline for this episode was a little hard to follow in the second half with that combination of flashbacks cut in with the live show. Trying to keep track of the events that led to the show going back on the air made that gunshot at the end feel like it came out of nowhere. Looking back, it’s not such a surprise, and hopefully the fallout will provide some backstory for Jung-ho. The man is a contradiction. He risks Hyun-woo’s well being by canceling the show, but defends Kim So-hyun on the air as a rebellious young girl. He alternates between cold pragmatism and concern. I want to understand who Jung-ho really is. For now, the burning question is, who was shot in his office and why?

 
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