Duel: Episode 2

by odilettante

The clock is ticking as our detective tries to find his missing daughter, but the person all the evidence points to may actually be the one person who could potentially help him locate her. It comes down to a choice of cold, hard evidence or a gut feeling that goes against all logic, and it’s a choice that is not easy to make — especially when someone’s life might be at stake.

EPISODE 2 RECAP

The episode begins with a flash-forward to some point in the future, where Deuk-chun arrives at a crime scene and tries to force his way past his team of detectives. They attempt to convince him to leave, reassuring him that it’s too dark to identify the victim, but he screams that he should be able to see her face as he struggles to break free from their grasps.

Then back to where we left off in the previous episode, with Deuk-chun throwing himself through the plate glass window so he can continue to chase after the mysterious hooded man. Despite his efforts, he loses him, and when he returns to the first man that he handcuffed to the trash can, he demands to know where “his twin” and accomplice went.

The man insists he doesn’t know anything, and Deuk-chun tells his team of detectives who arrive just then to look through the bus station for a man that looks just like this one, but wearing a black hoodie. The detectives race around the terminal, checking anyone who looks suspicious, but there’s no sign of the hooded man.

Meanwhile, Deuk-chun pleads with the young man to call his twin brother and offer an exchange — Deuk-chun will let him go if they give him his daughter back. But the man insists he has no idea what’s going on and he only found out he had a twin just today. Deuk-chun presses his gun against the man’s temple, desperately warning him that if he doesn’t try calling his twin, then he’ll kill him.

The young man is saved by the other detectives who hurry to apprehend him and disarm Deuk-chun. As they drive him to the station, he continues to insist that he didn’t do anything, and in fact he has no memory of anything, either. All he knows is that he received a note with Deuk-chun’s name on it and a bus ticket to go from Busan to Seoul. He thought if he found Deuk-chun, then everything would be explained.

As one of the detectives pulls the note and bus ticket from his pocket to determine if he’s telling the truth, a hairpin that looks awfully similar to Soo-yeon’s falls out from the pocket, unnoticed. The detective points out that even though the note and ticket backs up his claim, it doesn’t explain how Deuk-chun saw his face that night in the ambulance, or how his hand is hurt in the exact same manner as Deuk-chun said the kidnapper’s was.

The young man continues to insist it wasn’t him, even if he can’t explain anything, and Deuk-chun gruffly tells him that if he tries to deny it one more time, he’ll kill him. That’s enough to shut him up, and he notices the hairpin that fell out of his pocket. He carefully returns it to his pocket before the detectives see it.

But when one of the detectives grabs him by his collar, repeatedly demanding where Soo-yeon is, the young man finally loses it and screams he doesn’t know. He throws his handcuffed arms around the detective driving the van, attempting to choke him.

The van swerves wildly as the detectives try to gain control of the wheel and free the driver from the young man’s grasp, and they crashes into a construction site. No one seems especially hurt, but the young man realizes it’s his chance for escape and flees the scene.

Deuk-chun runs after him, chasing through the streets to an office building, where the young man sprints up the flight of stairs. There’s no where to go but up, and Deuk-chun eventually arrives on the rooftop to find the other man standing on the ledge, staring down at the city below. Deuk-chun points his gun at the younger man, telling him to get down unless he wants to get shot.

But the man screams that he should just shoot him because he feels like he’s going insane. When Deuk-chun begs him to tell him where Soo-yeon is, he sadly says that he doesn’t remember anything. He starts to lean back to fall over the side of the building, but Deuk-chun grabs him.

He’s not allowed to die until he tells Deuk-chun where Soo-yeon is, yet the young man continues to insist it wasn’t him. Deuk-chun drags him back onto the rooftop, but as he does so, the hairpin the man was holding goes flying. Deuk-chun picks it up, recognizing it as the one he gave Soo-yeon. That means the man does have something to do with the kidnapping, at least in Deuk-chun’s view, and he grabs his gun, once again pointing it at the man’s head.

The man continues to tearfully insist that the only memories he has are of waking up in Busan a couple of days ago and then, after falling in and out of consciousness, a bum handing him a bus ticket to Seoul. He arrived in Seoul hoping someone would explain what was going on. He insists he has nothing to do with the kidnapping, even as Deuk-chun cocks his gun and demands to know where Soo-yeon is or he’ll kill him.

He stares into the scared and confused face of the culprit, and after a moment, Deuk-chun drops his gun.

With the suspect once more apprehended, Deuk-chun returns to the police station and confronts Jo-hye, demanding to know why she gave him fake money, potentially endangering Soo-yeon’s life. She cooly reminds him that it doesn’t matter — even if he gave them a million dollars, the kidnapper wouldn’t have let Soo-yeon go.

Deuk-chun angrily says she cares more about money than saving his daughter’s life, but Jo-hye tells him that as of now, the police are officially removed from the case. The detectives protest that it’s illegal for the prosecution to take over. Jo-hye instead points out that it’s actually illegal for a victim to be in charge of his own case, but she’s been lenient until now. She wants to find Soo-yeon just as much as he does — Soo-yeon is important to her, too.

They start interrogating the young man. But there’s not much to go by as of yet, since he doesn’t have any ID or any idea who he is. Deuk-chun tells Jo-hye that there’s an accomplice that looks just like him — a twin. They take samples of his DNA and fingerprint him, since that ought to be one way to figure out his identity.

In the interrogation room, Jo-hye reiterates that, if what little memories he has is true, then he was in Busan when Soo-yeon was kidnapped. But she doesn’t believe him, and demands that he tell her where Soo-yeon is or he’ll end up spending his life in jail. She knows he did it — he left his DNA at the scene of the crime, and soon the test results will prove that he was there.

In the meantime, she’s surprised that there’s no database match on the fingerprints. Doesn’t matter, though, since all they need to do is prove that those fingerprints were also found in the ambulance. She also dismisses Deuk-chun’s claim that there was a “twin,” confident that the fingerprint analysis will prove the man they have in custody is the real culprit. After all, even twins have unique fingerprints from each other.

The most pressing concern, though, is how to find Soo-yeon. It’s already past the vital 48 hours, after which the odds of finding her alive drops down to 5%. If it goes past 72 hours, then it’s nearly 100% likely they’ll find her dead. It’s been 52 hours so far — they don’t have much time left.

Deuk-chun carefully goes through all the CCTV footage from the bus station, desperate to find a glimpse of the hooded man. But after hours of searching, he and his team still haven’t found anyone in a black hoodie. Unfortunately, only the CCTV outside of the building was working — none inside the terminal.

Even more hours later, they still can’t find proof the man ever entered or left the building, which continues to spread doubt that there is really a twin. Deuk-chun’s hooded man is caught on CCTV, though, except he’s changed into a light jacket and baseball cap, avoiding detection.

Returning home, he tosses down the briefcase full of money, and a flashback reveals that he was the one who had blocked in Deuk-chun’s car at the hotel originally, giving him an apologetic wave through the tinted window as he drove off. The other man is sitting in the police station’s holding cell as fragments of memories start to come back to him — including seeing someone with his own face.

It’s morning, and Deuk-chun has been up all night looking through the CCTV footage. The other detectives return to the station, curious to hear about the DNA results. It’s a perfect match to the DNA from the blood that was found in the ambulance, and the fingerprints match the only set of unknown fingerprints from there, too. Deuk-chun is shocked, since he’s convinced it was the other twin.

But he’s the only who’s seen the twin, and he sounds like a raving lunatic as he tries to persuade Jo-hye that there was someone else. She sighs as she tells Deuk-chun that he has no proof, and that all the evidence points to the man they currently have in custody.

Deuk-chun is desperate enough to save his daughter that he drops to his knees and pleads with Jo-hye to do whatever it takes to find her. She agrees to hold off on the arrest for now, and sets up a lie detector and brain wave test for their culprit.

They attach electrodes to his head and monitor his pulse as they show him selected images, the first being Soo-yeon. There’s no reaction detected, and even when the graph jumps slightly when they show him the ambulance crime scene, it’s not out of range of anyone who’s squeamish at the sight blood. However, when they show him a picture of the syringe that was used to drug Deuk-chun, he has a definite reaction as he remembers someone that looks like him using a similar syringe on him.

The last image is of two identical pictures of himself, and he starts to actively freak out as he recalls waking up in a hospital bed with his own face staring back at him. He also has memories of being in a hospital and someone with a bloody ear. The cops can only stop his screams and panic by drugging him, but Deuk-chun takes his reaction as proof that he has a twin brother.

However, Jo-hye is more interested in the fact she can use his reaction to the syringe as more proof that he’s the kidnapper they’re after, and requests a warrant for his arrest. Deuk-chun realizes that she only agreed to the brain wave testing as a way to shut him up, but she insists they did their best, and they have to go by the results they got.

Besides, they have to focus on finding Soo-yeon. But Deuk-chun angrily asks if all she wants is to find a dead body. Then he starts to yell that his daughter is still alive, but it might be more to convince himself than Jo-hye. Barely containing his rage, he vows to find his daughter first and then he’ll come back to kill Jo-hye.

He stops to visit the mysterious young man who’s still in the holding cell, and tries to confirm that he saw his twin, like Deuk-chun did. But the young man despondently says it doesn’t matter anymore. Deuk-chun pleads with him to at least try and remember where Soo-yeon is, but the man says he wishes he was the one who kidnapped her just so he could tell Deuk-chun and live the rest of his life in peace. But it wasn’t him.

He does admit that he now remembers seeing his twin brother prior to last night at the bus station. As Deuk-chun pleads with him to try and remember more, he’s forcibly dragged out by the cops who had only given him a minute to spend with the arrested man. His team has to come rescue him after he makes a scene, screaming to get more information. He sincerely apologizes, though — he was simply caught up in trying to find his daughter.

But when they’re leaving the station, he overhears one of the officers describe the young man’s wound as caused by a knife — except Deuk-chun knows it came from the edge of the metal gurney in the ambulance. The officer is confident that the wound is too clean-cut, so it had to have been made on purpose.

The hooded man (who is no longer hooded, but sipping coffee in his fancy home) looks down and studies the ragged cut on his hand. Yep, this is the “Bad Clone.”

Deuk-chun’s passed out on the sofa at his station, finally getting the sleep that he’d been ignoring in his pursuit to find his daughter. All the other detectives get a message that a young girl’s body has been found, and everyone looks knowingly — and worriedly — at each other. The other chief detective (the one who was taking bribes) barges in and demands everyone to get a move on, but Deuk-chun, blearily awake, demands to know what’s going on.

The other chief detective awkwardly tells him that they just wanted to make sure he got some rest, so he’s not needed on this case. He avoids mentioning what it is they’re going to investigate, and Deuk-chun soon falls back asleep.

He later wakes up to Soo-yeon patting him on the shoulder, smiling as she tells him that he should sleep more comfortably. But when he reaches out for her, she fades away. He then sees the news report about the body of a dead girl.

This brings us to the moment where the episode began, with him desperately trying to push past his men at the crime scene so he can identify the body himself. But the other chief detective refuses to let him see the body, adding that he’s pretty sure that it’s not Soo-yeon. Just “pretty sure?”

Deuk-chun isn’t comforted by those words, but when it’s revealed that the girl had an old burn scar on her foot — something that Soo-yeon doesn’t have — Deuk-chun can finally relax in weeping relief that it’s not his daughter. They’re still no closer to finding her, though, and in a quiet moment after he returns to the station, he wonders if she’s still alive.

The other chief is confident that she is, especially since she’s proved she’s not the type to die easily by fighting through her sickness. Deuk-chun is worried that he hasn’t heard from the kidnapper, but Chief Jang points out that he wouldn’t, since the kidnapper is now behind bars. Despite the DNA and fingerprint evidence, Deuk-chun isn’t convinced the culprit that’s been arrested is the same guy who attacked him in the ambulance.

The “Good Clone,” who is really just the Lost and Confused Clone, settles into his jail cell. He’s at least alone for now, with plenty of time to try and remember who he is. Not alone is the head of the gambling den, Man-choon, who agreed to confess to kidnapping the five-year-old girl. Unfortunately for Man-choon, his cellmates are rival gangsters, eager to get some revenge.

One of Deuk-chun’s men warns him that Jo-hye’s accelerating this case, and that the Good Clone will be moved to another jail away from the city because they don’t want Deuk-chun visiting him. Frustrated that they trusted the prosecutor, the detective adds that Jo-hye had no intention of looking for Soo-yeon in the first place.

But Deuk-chun vows that he will find his daughter. Even if it means he makes a fool out of himself, he’ll find her, no matter what. After he hangs up, he studies the unlit cigarette in his hand, and then tosses it aside, remembering the promise he made to Soo-yeon. Just then someone behind him hits him over the head and knocks him out.

Soo-yeon is in a bed, hooked up to all the usual machines and IV drips that one would find in a hospital, except she’s in a secret medical room where Bad Clone monitors her vitals. She wonders where she is, and where her father is. Bad Clone tells her to go back to sleep, but she weakly points out that she can’t sleep if she’s not sleepy. That’s okay, he’s got some medication that will help with that.

Deuk-chun also wakes up, but he’s tied to a chair in an abandoned building while Man-choon’s gang stares at him. Man-choon’s right-hand woman says it’s time for them to call in a favor. Man-choon is also scheduled to be transferred, and if he goes, then the gang will have nothing left. They need Deuk-chun to save their boss.

Bad Clone leaves his secret medical room and enters his living quarters, where he finds the guy the police had stopped with the golf bag (which contained nothing but golf clubs). Golf Bag Guy asks about the girl, hoping that they’ll get “good results.” He adds that “the boss” intends to trust Bad Clone, but one never knows when “the boss” will change his mind.

Bad Clone tells Golf Bag Guy that he doesn’t appreciate these unannounced visits — he feels like he’s being watched. Then he asks if they should get started, and Golf Bag Guy picks out a photo of the person they’ll apparently start with. Doing what, who knows yet, but it probably isn’t a good thing.

Meanwhile, Good Clone has nightmares as he huddles in his jail cell, remembering vague flashes of experiments being done to him. He’s woken by a warden informing him that he has a visitor. Of course it’s Deuk-chun, who apologies that he hasn’t been himself lately due to his worry about Soo-yeon. Even so, he’s somehow managing to eat and sleep, just like normal — that makes him crazy, doesn’t it?

Even crazier is his belief that Good Clone is not the kidnapper, but he’s also convinced that Good Clone and his “twin” planned the whole thing, but Good Clone lost his memories and the other one fled with Soo-yeon. He wonders if it makes Good Clone angry, knowing that his twin is safe and free out there.

Later, the prisoner transfer gets underway, with Good Clone, Man-choon, his gangster rival, and a couple of other prisoners being escorted to the new prison. Man-choon’s right-hand woman follows the bus, and Deuk-chun also zooms up, honking his horn to get Good Clone’s attention.

He’d asked Good Clone to help him find Soo-yeon if he helped Good Clone escape. All he wants to do is to meet the real kidnapper face-to-face. On the bus, Good Clone buckles himself in, as he and Man-choon anticipate what’s going to happen next and brace themselves for impact. Deuk-chan forces the bus to slam on its brakes, causing it to roll. It ends up on its side with the windows broken, allowing for escape.

Deuk-chun hurries to help Good Clone from where he dangles from his seat, while Man-choon’s gang helps their injured boss to his feet so he can make his own escape. At least he won’t have to worry about the rival gangsters, since it doesn’t look like they survived the crash.

Back in his car with Good Clone, Deuk-chun speeds along as cop cars chase them. Thanks to Deuk-chun’s handcuff key, Good Clone frees himself from his cuffs and then holds on tight as they race across the bridge. But another set of cop cars are headed their way, blocking them in. Deuk-chun skids to a stop, trapped in the middle of the bridge.

Deuk-chun carefully raises his arms in surrender as he exits the car, and Good Clone follows his lead. He asks Good Clone if he trusts him. Good Clone: “No. I only trust what I can see.” But Deuk-chun grabs him anyway and they jump over the side of the bridge into the water far below.

COMMENTS

I am loving these chase scenes. It makes me feel like I’m watching a summer action blockbuster. I was definitely getting The Fugitive vibes from that prison break, and now I half-expect Jo-hye to give a speech about how she wants everyone to do a “hard-target search of every gas station, residence, warehouse, farmhouse, henhouse, outhouse and doghouse in that area.” Unless she can find someone else to take the fall for the kidnapping, that is. Then again, I’m beginning to wonder if she really does want to find Soo-yeon, or if maybe Good Clone is her true target. Maybe she’s working for the same people Bad Clone is working for. If she likes money and prestige as much as I’m supposed to assume she does, I shouldn’t be surprised that there’s something more nefarious going on. I know she’s here to be the antagonist, anyway, so her motives are clearly suspect.

Even so, I still enjoy watching her work, if only because her immovable cool-headedness is in such direct contrast to Deuk-chun’s outbursts of emotional desperation. She may have questionable motives and/or goals, but I can’t fault her logic. I was actually relieved when she pointed out that Deuk-chun shouldn’t be in charge of investigating his daughter’s kidnapping, anyway, because it’s clear he’s too distraught to think clearly. Also, even though we know that Bad Clone is the real suspect, the fact that all the DNA evidence — with no proof that there was ever a “twin” — means I can understand why she’d automatically arrest Good Clone. Heck, even Deuk-chun’s loyal team is starting to wonder about him and his insistence that there was someone else when there’s not one bit of proof, and he’s undoubtedly ruining any further trust thanks to the aiding and abetting someone who is now officially a fugitive on the run.

At least we’re starting to get hints about the clones, which I will continue to call Good Clone and Bad Clone until the show finally decides to give them names. I have to wonder, though, if there have been other clones that have gone before. Those brief flashbacks make me think that Good Clone could have been one of many experiments — maybe he’s not even the only one! Or maybe I’m just desperately hoping for some complicated Orphan Black type of conspiracy. But why would they send Good Clone to Seoul? Was it just to make sure someone other than Bad Clone took the fall for the kidnapping? And why would they need to kidnap Soo-yeon in the first place?

Obviously it has to do with the super special (and expensive) stem cell treatment. Maybe I’m a bit unclear on the timeline (this show does love to jump around with its flashbacks and flashforwards), but it was my understanding that Soo-yeon hadn’t received the treatment yet and was on her way to get it when she was intercepted. But was she actually intercepted after getting the injection? Because right now that’s the only thing that makes sense, is that Bad Clone — and Golf Bag Guy and whomever the Big Boss is — would want to monitor her. If this injection can cure leukemia, then obviously it’ll be not only a gold mine, but change the course of medical history. And I’m just assuming that the stem cells must come from the original source of the clones. Which could be Bad Clone, who might be Original Human for all I know. I am relieved that we have proof Soo-yeon is still alive, though. Not that I really doubted it, but it’s still reassuring. I need my spunky twelve-year-old to live and maybe one day grow up to be Miss Korea! Or whatever she wants to be, but at least for her to have the chance to grow up!

Overall, I’m totally sold on this show. There’s enough promise of mystery — one with many layers and depth — to keep me engaged as we try to figure out what’s really going on, along with Deuk-chun and the poor clueless Good Clone, who was apparently literally born yesterday — or at least a few days ago. The action scenes have also been well done and kept me breathlessly glued to my screen, and I’m eager to see what new games of “chase” they’ll come up with each week. Plus the cadre of characters with their muddy motivations and morally questionable actions, who make me want to draw up “good vs. bad” lists to figure out which side they’ll ultimately end up on. I love characters who are smothered in shades of grey and aren’t simple cardboard cut-outs of “hero” and “villain.” Not to mention that we’ll surely be faced with such existential questions about the meaning of life, and the power to create life. At least I hope we will, because why bother to have clones if you aren’t willing to ponder what it means to be uniquely human?

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