Lookout: Episodes 21-22

by TeriYaki

The tension mounts as the Lookout team prepares to launch the final mission and get justice for their loved ones. Their odds may improve with the addition of a new member, but the only thing we can count on with this drama is that surprises are the norm. The team’s success depends on the final alliances of key figures, but which way will they tip the scale?

 
EPISODE 21 RECAP

Do-han finds his car blocked by Detective Nam’s as he tries to leave the neighborhood where Suji’s mother lives. The detective fabricates a report that Suji was sighted in the area and that he needs to search Do-han’s car. Do-han protests, but Detective Nam insists that he must check for himself.

Luckily, Soon-ae calls Detective Nam and demands to know his whereabouts. Detective Nam’s story that Suji was reported in her mother’s neighborhood is news to Soon-ae, who orders him back to headquarters.

Detective Nam turns to leave, but suddenly opens the door to Do-han’s backseat, only to find it empty. Do-han feigns outrage that the detective could suspect him of harboring Suji. After he gets away, Do-han stops at the end of a narrow street just as Suji runs up to meet him.

Detective Nam calls Chief Prosecutor Yoon to report on Do-han’s activity, that he followed orders and questioned the stakeout detectives about Suji’s mother. He finds Do-han’s sudden departure suspicious, so Chief Prosecutor Yoon asks him to find out everything he can about Do-han.

Back in the car, Suji questions Do-han about the chief prosecutor and he admits that he knows what weaknesses he can take advantage of. When asked about the prosecutor’s son, Shi-wan, Do-han shares that strange things happened around the boy, and sometimes children were hurt. Suji’s voice rises as she asks why he didn’t stop Shi-wan, but then realizes that he couldn’t anticipate what he would do.

Suji asks Do-han if he ever considered giving up, only to be told, “Never.” She echoes his sentiment, even though she sees how sick her mother is from worry. Suji thinks if she quit, no one would remember what Yoo-na went through, which would be too sad to bear. Do-han makes no comment.

Before Suji exits Do-han’s car at the private detective agency, she thanks him for the chance to see her mother. Do-han drives off without a word.

Bomi greets Suji and asks about her mother. She then explains that she reviewed CCTV footage with Kyung-soo and that their leader doesn’t seem so bad after all. Suji confides that she doesn’t think she can ever forgive Do-han, but admits that she can’t hate him either. Suji explains to Bomi that she understood Do-han’s pain even though he didn’t explain it or cry.

The priest walks through the church and sees that the light of the confessional is on. He finds Do-han waiting and warns him that he can’t come here anymore, but Do-han admits that he had nowhere else to go. Visibly tormented, Do-han confesses, “I left Yoo-na to die.”

Do-han explains to the priest that he saw Shi-wan take Yoo-na into that building. The priest counters, “But you didn’t know he was going to kill her.” Do-han knew that Shi-wan was hanging around Yoo-na for a few days before then, but he didn’t know why. Do-han says he did notice that the building had no cameras or security and sensed that something bad would happen.

Torn by guilt, Do-han admits that he had the chance to save Yoo-na, but he hesitated because he knew the encounter might enable him to get closer to Chief Prosecutor Yoon.

Suji tells Bomi that it must have been agony for Do-han to smile in front of Chief Prosecutor Yoon all this time.

As Suji admits to Bomi that she can’t hate Do-han because she understands how he feels, he tells the priest that eventually, he ran after Shi-wan, but he was too late. Do-han weeps as he confesses that because he hesitated, Yoo-na died.

The next day, Suji is parked outside her mother’s restaurant and reports to Bomi that Do-han’s information was correct, and there are reporters congregated outside. Just as Kyung-soo worries about her mother, Suji’s mom walks out to fling salt at the crowd.

Suji sounds proud as she shares that her mother looks too healthy for the reporters to claim that she’s sick. She gets an idea and proposes that they use the chief prosecutor’s tactic on Detective Nam and ensnare him with fake news.

Suji witnesses a detective friend hand an envelope to Detective Nam that contains a family relation certificate for Lee Shin-hyuk. When Detective Nam returns to an empty headquarters, he checks his computer and discovers an article about the missing housewife who returned after ten years.

Detective Nam calls the listed newspaper’s number, which turns out to be Kyung-soo, and pretends that he’s a producer. He’s transferred to the reporter, played by Bomi, who deftly fends off his request to meet with the subject of the article.

Kyung-soo realizes that Detective Nam’s interest means he must know something about his mother and decides to confront him. Suji suggests that they wait for Detective Nam to lead them to his mother, but Bomi has had enough. She advises Suji not to play along anymore and utters the words that Kyung-soo doesn’t want to hear—that his mother was murdered.

Bomi doesn’t want him to get his hopes up, but Kyung-soo lashes out at her, insistent that his mother is still alive. Kyung-soo says it might be easy for Bomi because she’s so cold that she doesn’t laugh or cry easily, but he can’t accept it until he sees his mother with his own eyes. When Suji interjects to agree with Bomi, he storms out of the office in frustration.

Kyung-soo escapes to the roof with the flyer of his mother. He gazes at her photo and smiles as he recalls the birthday celebration when he gifted her with the scarf. Her husband and sons encouraged her to wear the scarf and leave the house to meet with friends, concerned that everyone around them assumed she was depressed.

Soon after, Kyung-soo left school with some friends who wanted to celebrate that their tests were over. One of his companions remembered that Kyung-soo never joined them because of his mother’s mental issues, but Kyung-soo insisted that she had recovered.

Kyung-soo saw his mother approach hesitantly, her birthday scarf around her neck. After they noticed one another, Kyung-soo steered his friends in the opposite direction to avoid running into her, and his mother turned away. When he looked back at her, she sent Kyung-soo an understanding smile. (Oh my, was that the last time he saw her?)

Back in the present, Kyung-soo clutches the flyer and breaks down in tears.

Detective Nam reports to Chief Prosecutor Yoon that Do-han’s mother was killed by someone that they know: Lee Shin-hyuk, the culprit from the espionage case. Yoon is surprised that Do-han is the son of the victim, as it would make more sense if he were the son of the murderer.

Detective Nam warns Yoon about the recent article on the missing housewife case. When Chief Prosecutor Yoon can’t find the article online, he realizes that someone targeted them. Detective Nam promises to check out anyone who knew about the case and ends his recording of the call, which he adds to a long list of recordings.

When Do-han enters headquarters, Detective Nam pockets his phone and leaves. Do-han notices a CCTV camera and gets an idea. He obtains a copy of the CCTV footage for the headquarters office and watches it alone in his car, and learns that he records his calls with Yoon.

Do-han shares his discovery with Suji, who in turn shares that they’ve confirmed that Detective Nam is Venom. Do-han tells Suji that he somehow needs to confirm that Chief Prosecutor Yoon arranged the murder. When Suji cautions him to be careful, he’s taken aback.

Suji watches Detective Nam search a newsstand for news about the missing housewife case. He overhears a live broadcast allege that the police were behind the disappearance of the missing housewife. Detective Nam grabs the phone of some passing women to listen to the report.

The next thing you know, Detective Nam yells into his phone at Chief Prosecutor Yoon, who points out that if anyone had real proof, it would have been turned over to the police. Yoon has an idea who is behind the threat, but in the meantime, he has a job for Detective Nam.

Eun-joong learns that Assemblywoman Chae withdrew her request to reopen Yoo-na’s case. He storms into Prosecutor Park’s office and is told that Assemblywoman Chae wants to meet with him.

Assemblywoman Chae explains to Eun-joong that she still objects to Chief Prosecutor Yoon’s appointment as attorney general, even though she gave him the black box footage. Prosecutor Park argues that the evidence wasn’t sufficient to eliminate Chief Prosecutor Yoon, but Eun-joong counters that he’d hoped it would lead to an investigation.

Assemblywoman Chae confides that they have something better, the testimony of Prosecutor Yoon’s longtime lackey, Lawyer Oh. Eun-joong realizes that the assemblywoman intends to make Lawyer Oh the star of Chief Prosecutor Yoon’s hearing. When Assemblywoman Chae protests that she did her best, Eun-joong dismisses her as a hypocrite and walks out.

Suji calls Do-han to ask if he has an idea why Detective Nam is heading to a rural town. When he hears where she is, he realizes that Detective Nam is headed for his father. Suji reasons that it has something to do with the envelope he received earlier and senses that Chief Prosecutor Yoon is up to something. Suji promises to do what she can to stop Detective Nam.

Before Do-han can decide what to do, he gets a call from Chief Prosecutor Yoon. Eun-joong tries to make a call, but can’t get through. Meanwhile, Suji watches Detective Nam enter the prison hospital where Do-han’s father resides.

Do-han meets with Chief Prosecutor Yoon at his house. He gets right to the point and confronts Do-han about the lie that his father was alive, something he discovered when he checked his background. Do-han explains that his father died when he was young, but he lied about it because he wanted to give the impression that he was raised well.

Chief Prosecutor Yoon accepts Do-han’s apology and acts as if everything’s fine. He then mentions to Do-han that his mother died at the hands of someone that the chief prosecutor is familiar with: the dangerous spy, Lee Shin-hyuk.

EPISODE 22 RECAP

Chief Prosecutor Yoon explains that Lee Shin-hyuk connects Do-han to him and Detective Nam. Do-han thus gets confirmation that the chief prosecutor’s association with Detective Nam stretches back at least as far as the espionage case. Chief Prosecutor Yoon chuckles as he baits Do-han with the news that Detective Nam paid Lee Shin-hyuk a visit today, and suggests that it was a happy reunion.

Do-han’s father looks forward to a visit with his son, but is stunned when his torturer, Detective Nam, sits down across from him.

Chief Prosecutor Yoon laughs at Do-han’s agitation and wonders if he has lingering feelings for his stepfather. He then leans close to ask if he’s actually Lee Shin-hyuk’s son.

The chief prosecutor scans Do-han’s face for a reaction, but is interrupted by a text. Chief Prosecutor Yoon admits that the reunion must not have been a happy one since Lee Shin-hyuk slit his wrists once he returned to his room (This man is just evil).

Chief Prosecutor Yoon grabs Do-han by the chin as he struggles to maintain his composure and charges, “You look like you want to run over to your father right now.” Do-han maintains that his father died when he was young and he never considered Lee Shin-hyuk as his father. Chief Prosecutor Yoon sees the anger in his eyes and believes that Do-han is telling the truth, or that he’s an exceptional liar.

Eun-joong approaches the priest outside of the church, worried because he can’t get in touch with Do-han. Eun-joong says he knows about the priest’s identity and asks him to warn Do-han that Chief Prosecutor Yoon knows who he really is. Before the priest can ask for details, Suji calls, also worried that she can’t reach Do-han.

Suji explains that Detective Nam visited Do-han’s father and then there was some sort of emergency at the hospital. She asks for the priest’s help since she can’t go inside. When the priest excuses himself, Eun-joong wonders if Chief Prosecutor Yoon made his move.

Do-han acts surprised that Chief Prosecutor Yoon could believe that he would change his identity to get revenge. Do-han labels the decision to charge Lee Shin-hyuk with espionage a good one, unless the chief prosecutor has a reason to doubt it. But Chief Prosecutor Yoon doesn’t take his bait.

Do-han finally gets away and calls Suji from his car. She suggests that they talk at the agency, but Do-han loses it, desperate for news about his father. Suji promises to update him at the agency and then watches as Do-han’s father is loaded into an ambulance.

Chief Prosecutor Yoon reviews the footage that Assemblywoman Chae gave him of Do-han rescuing Suji, and admits that he still doesn’t trust him.

Suji meets Do-han on the roof of the agency to let him know his father is at the hospital and is expected to recover. Do-han worries that his father is alone but Suji explains that the priest is with him. He’s determined to see his father, but she stops him and warns that his visit would risk everything that they’ve worked for. That’s why Chief Prosecutor Yoon sent Detective Nam to visit his father in the first place, to draw him out.

Detective Nam reports to Chief Prosecutor Yoon that Do-han isn’t at the hospital, and instead Eun-joong and the priest are there. Detective Nam reasons that the priest must be Lee Shin-hyuk’s son and suggests that they collect DNA from Do-han to confirm his story.

Eun-joong joins the priest in Lee-Shin-hyuk’s room and admits that he feels partially responsible for what happened. The priest acknowledges, “Sometimes, innocent people are harmed.” Eun-joong offers to stay with Do-han’s father, but the priest rejects his help because for now, he’s Lee Shin-hyuk’s son. Eun-joong asks the priest to share Do-han’s plan with him so that he can help.

Suji returns to the roof to offer Do-han a beer and some advice: “Don’t think about anything.” She sits with him and asks about his father. Do-han smiles as he recalls a man who was once unafraid, who always took his side no matter what. He reminisces about nighttime fishing trips where they would gaze at the sky and admits that back then, just being with his dad made him happy.

The next morning, Do-han encounters Eun-joong, completely unprepared for the words that come out Eun-joong’s mouth: “Your father woke up around dawn.” Do-han’s smile disappears when Eun-joong passes on the priest’s report that his father is much improved.

The men move to the roof to talk privately and Eun-joong confesses that he learned the truth about Do-han after he saw the black box footage of him rescuing Suji. Chief Prosecutor Yoon now has that footage and Do-han immediately figures out that Assemblywoman Chae handed it over to him. Eun-joong shares that she claims to have Lawyer Oh on her side, which he knows was Do-han’s handiwork.

Do-han wonders why Eun-joong hasn’t arrested him yet, but he says that his intent is to catch Chief Prosecutor Yoon first. Eun-joong asks why Do-han didn’t report his relationship with Prosecutor Park and Assemblywoman Chae. Do-han admits that he planned to use Eun-joong somehow, and didn’t know that his cover would get blown first.

Eun-joong asks if Do-han is certain that he can bring down Chief Prosecutor Yoon, and Do-han says there is one obstacle left to overcome. Eun-joong asks about Suji, and Do-han assures him that her safe return is part of his plan. That’s all that Eun-joong needs to hear.

Suji sits in her car outside the hospital and calls the priest to warn him that Detective Nam just entered. Inside, Detective Nam pays a security guard for a small ziplock bag and just misses the priest when he returns to the floor. From inside an elevator, Detective Nam requests a DNA test as he holds the plastic bag that contains a few strands of hair.

Se-won sees Shi-wan at school and calls out to him happily. He’s with some friends and glances at a security camera as he ignores her wave, pretending like he doesn’t know her. Later, Shi-wan sits next to her in a computer lab and offers her some juice. He pretends that he didn’t see her earlier and flashes his smile, and Se-won decides that she must have misunderstood the situation.

Soon-ae meets with Eun-joong and is shocked when he announces that he’s turning himself in. She looks comically skeptical as Eun-joong confesses that he sent Suji the information on both the Miseo-dong and Kim Woo-sung cases. Soon-ae reminds Eun-joong that he’s so upright that he intends to arrest the woman he loves, but he insists on his guilt.

Do-han races through the building as Eun-joong sits in an interrogation room. Soon-ae surveys him from behind the two-way mirror with the rest of her team and Detective Ma struggles to accept that Eun-joong was a spy. Do-han arrives and asks the team to leave and Detective Nam gives him a pointed look on the way out.

Do-han demands to know if Eun-joong intends to ruin his career, but his plan is to ruin the chief prosecutor. Eun-joong reminds Do-han that he once warned him that his method would never work against Chief Prosecutor Yoon. He admits that his way isn’t enough and proposes that they work together for once. Eun-joong asks Do-han to catch Chief Prosecutor Yoon and help Suji return home.

Eun-joong offers to bring false charges against himself until Do-han’s plan succeeds, then he wants Do-han to confess. Do-han warns Eun-joong that there’s no turning back and eventually agrees to his plan and growls, “If you really want it that badly, I’ll use you to catch Yoon Seung-ro.”

Detective Nam takes a call as Do-han appears behind him, and explains that he still needs Do-han’s DNA. Do-han approaches to share his latest information—that the last case that Eun-joong leaked to Suji was the ten-year-old missing housewife case. Do-han asks point-blank, “You did it, didn’t you?”

Do-han warns Detective Nam that because of the video on the internet and the confession from Eun-joong, the case will be reopened. He asks Detective Nam if he’s sure that he got rid of all the evidence, but the detective acts clueless.

Do-han warns Detective Nam not to trust Chief Prosecutor Yoon; after all, he was behind Lawyer Oh’s indictment. He whispers that he hopes Detective Nam isn’t caught because of some loose ends.

Do-han informs Suji that Detective Nam will soon be on the move and warns her not to lose him. She encourages him to focus on Chief Prosecutor Yoon since this could be Do-han’s last chance to catch him.

At the agency, Kyung-soo continues to ignore Bomi. He calls Suji to tell her that he’s on his way because he can’t stay at the agency anymore.

Do-han reports to Chief Prosecutor Yoon that Eun-joong turned himself in. He lies that he was suspicious of Eun-joong for some time and had him under investigation, and informs the chief prosecutor that not only was Eun-joong close to Suji, he passed on information to Assemblywoman Chae and the opposition party.

Do-han adds that Eun-joong doctored the black box footage in order to bait Assemblywoman Chae. Chief Prosecutor Yoon realizes that Do-han is probably disappointed that he was under suspicion, but Do-han graciously dismisses any misunderstanding. Do-han verifies that the last case that Eun-joong leaked was the Miseo-dong case. As he leaves, Chief Prosecutor Yoon apologizes, but Do-han says he only wants everything settled between them.

Chief Prosecutor Yoon calls Detective Nam to suspend the DNA test on Do-han. Detective Nam asks if the chief prosecutor has anything else to say, but he has nothing. Detective Nam is uneasy that Do-han thought to warn him about the missing housewife case, but the chief prosecutor didn’t.

Kyung-soo joins Suji just as Detective Nam drives away. With Bomi’s help, they follow him from some distance and avoid detection. Kyung-soo looks visibly tense, unsure of what their investigation will uncover about his mother.

Do-han barges into Chief Prosecutor Yoon’s office unannounced with an urgent matter. He asks if Detective Nam was involved with the missing housewife case, which came up during Eun-joong’s interrogation.

Do-han reports that Detective Nam can’t be located and thinks he left to dispose of the body. He reasons that if Eun-joong passed that information to Suji, she could be on his trail. He worries that if Detective Nam is caught, it would bring attention to Lee Shin-hyuk’s case and the torture that he suffered.

Do-han looks on with a satisfied grin as Chief Prosecutor Yoon calls Detective Nam, who has retrieved a large bag from the woods and is dragging it towards the river. The chief prosecutor warns him to only do what he’s told, and Detective Nam uses that moment to make sure he’s recorded saying that following his orders is why he tortured and killed people.

Detective Nam argues that he will be forced to take the blame if the missing housewife case is reopened, and that Do-han explained what he did to Lawyer Oh. Chief Prosecutor Yoon looks up sharply, as Do-han breaks into a huge smile.

COMMENTS

I get the feeling that our Lookout team is headed for disaster as they zero in on Chief Prosecutor Yoon and Detective Nam. In their haste to realize their goal, I can’t help but worry that the team will suffer a major setback before all is resolved. By the last episode I’d like them to see Chief Prosecutor Yoon locked up forever, but that means that they all need to stick around until the bitter end, and I’m not too optimistic that will be the case. Of course, I’d like to be wrong.

Eun-joong finally joins the team in response to the double-cross from Prosecutor Park and Assemblywoman Chae. He wants Suji to come back, but there’s no way she would survive if Chief Prosecutor Yoon is in power—he’s already tried to have her killed once. Is it wrong that I enjoy how much Eun-joong annoys Do-han? The table has turned and Eun-joong is now the thorn in Do-han’s side. It’s a welcome relief from the angst, but in the end, I hope that Eun-joong develops some respect for Do-han. They’ll need to work together to make sure that Chief Prosecutor Yoon is dealt with.

There was so much to absorb between Do-han’s confession that he saw Shi-wan with Yoo-na before her accident and Kyung-soo’s backstory with his mother. Both of these characters are understandably burdened with profound guilt, and struggle to live with their regret. Do-han has hardly been a sympathetic character, so driven is he to exact revenge. Here again we’re faced with his willingness to exploit Yoo-na for his purpose. What we do learn this time around is that even though Do-han was tempted to use Yoo-na to get close to the chief prosecutor, he came to his senses, but it was too late.

I’m sure that Do-han’s indecision will deem him irredeemable to some, but in reality, it’s a dilemma unique to an undercover operation. Do-han essentially disappeared, unable and unwilling to think or care about anything other than Chief Prosecutor Yoon’s undoing. His horror over Yoo-na’s death proves that he’s not emotionally dead like Chief Prosecutor Yoon, Shi-wan, and Detective Nam. Quite the contrary, his regret continuously eats at him. One thing that he hasn’t considered is that even if Yoo-na escaped unscathed that day, there’s no guarantee that she could forever avoid Shi-wan’s deadly intentions.

That brings us to the team’s last mission, Kyung-soo’s missing mother, yet another innocent person exploited by Chief Prosecutor Yoon. What makes her case so difficult is Kyung-soo’s deep regret over his treatment of his mother. She wore her birthday scarf like protective armor as she ventured out of her house, only to be pierced by her son’s shame. It’s no wonder that Kyung-soo can’t bear to imagine that his mother is dead; he wants more than anything to apologize and make up for the hurt that he caused her that day. Unfortunately, that bag that Detective Nam retrieved was very large and I’m afraid Kyung-soo will have to learn to live with the memory of his final encounter with his mother. Even though he pushed Bomi away this episode, I have no doubt she will be by his side, no matter what happens.

Suji softened a bit towards Do-han this episode and even helped him through his father’s crisis. If she couldn’t forgive him before, his role in Yoo-na’s accident will guarantee that she never will. Even though their experiences are similar—Chief Prosecutor Yoon toyed with Lee Shin-hyuk and Shi-wan taunted Suji—it’s unlikely they’ll be able to overcome Do-han’s tragic temptation. It’s a shame, because what’s even harder than forgiving others is finding a way to forgive yourself.

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