Duel: Episode 11

by odilettante

It’s a clash of the clones as Sung-hoon becomes more and more crazed in his pursuit of revenge. Sung-joon continues to deal with the sudden surge of memories, even though the most important memories still elude him, and Deuk-chun realizes there are consequences for his past actions that go beyond anything he could have anticipated.

EPISODE 11 RECAP

We pick up immediately where we left off in the previous episode, with Sung-hoon attempting to choke Deuk-chun as Sung-hoon screams that he asked Deuk-chun for help. A flashback shows tiny Sung-hoon pleading with a younger detective Deuk-chun, and then tiny Sung-hoon being dragged out by a couple of men in black suits.

Sung-hoon blames Deuk-chun for letting him witness the death of someone he loves — Doctor Mom, whom Sung-hoon believes died due to the hit-and-run.

Meanwhile, Doctor Mom informs Jo-hye that she was the one who created the clones — not her husband, Doctor Lee. Doctor Mom tells Jo-hye that the illegal experiment is of course a secret that can never be revealed, so this is completely off the record. Doctor Mom was only this honest because she wants to know how Jo-hye has found out about the clones.

Jo-hye tells Doctor Mom that Sung-hoon and Sung-joon are prime culprits in a kidnapping and murder case. Jo-hye clarifies that one of them is actually the culprit and the other falsely accused, but Doctor Mom is just stunned that both boys are still alive.

Sung-hoon’s attempt to strangle Deuk-chun is thwarted when Sung-joon suddenly knocks the other clone out with a big stick. Gasping, Deuk-chun staggers to his feet, telling himself that he should apprehend Sung-hoon, but Sung-joon reminds him that Deuk-chun should first make sure Soo-yeon is safe, promising to keep an eye on Sung-hoon.

Sung-hoon gets back on his feet and directs his anger at Sung-joon as he demands to know why Sung-joon would stop him like that. Sung-joon shouts that he’s Sung-hoon’s “hyung” and that he finally remembers everything. Sung-joon starts to cry as he pleads with Sung-hoon to stop hurting other people.

But Sung-hoon thinks it’s unfair that he should be the only one who’s in pain. A flashback shows tiny Sung-hoon being dragged to the hospital bed, his little wrists tied down as the doctors cut open his shirt, revealing the marks on his back.

In the present day, the clones continue their fighting, and as Sung-joon blocks Sung-hoon’s punches, Sung-joon grabs the back of Sung-hoon’s shirt, revealing the puncture-like marks on Sung-hoon’s spine. When Sung-joon asks Sung-hoon where he got those, Sung-hoon throws Sung-joon to the ground, ordering the other clone not to touch him.

As Sung-hoon clutches his side, Sung-joon worries about Sung-hoon’s still-fresh bullet wound. But Sung-hoon continues to yell that Sung-joon should leave him alone. When Sung-hoon says he’ll take care of himself, Sung-joon points out that he’s not exactly doing a bang-up job with that, considering Seo-jin and Big Boss were planning to kill him today.

Sung-hoon furiously swings at Sung-joon, knocking the other clone to the ground. Sung-hoon spits out that Sung-joon shouldn’t pretend like he cares, but Sung-joon gently says that he’s Sung-hoon’s brother. Sung-hoon scoffs at that — they’re not brothers; they’re just clones.

With tears in his eyes, Sung-joon wonders what happened to Sung-hoon to make him like this, adding that he thought Sung-hoon had stayed with Doctor Mom. A flashback shows Doctor Mom and tiny Sung-hoon making a run for it from a big black car. As they flee down the road, the car turns around and drives after them. Tiny Sung-hoon’s hand slips out of Doctor Mom’s grasp as he stumbles.

Doctor Mom, looking back at the car that’s now speeding towards them, throws Sung-hoon out of the way and takes the brunt of the hit herself. As she rolls off the hood of the car, tiny Sung-hoon tearfully tries to shake the unconscious Doctor Mom awake.

In the present, Sung-hoon tells Sung-joon that Doctor Mom died. This is a surprise for Sung-joon, and Sung-hoon pulls out the gun that he does apparently keep handy in the back of his trousers. Sung-hoon points the gun at Sung-joon, his hands shaking as he cocks it. Sung-hoon suddenly remembers tiny Sung-joon’s promise to find Sung-hoon, no matter what.

Mi-rae waits and worries about what’s happening until Deuk-chun returns to Sunbae’s safe house, carrying the still-sleeping Soo-yeon. Deuk-chun also has to half-carry Sung-joon inside, too, since he’s so battered and bruised from the altercation with Sung-hoon.

Mi-rae tends to Sung-joon as Deuk-chun settles Soo-yeon into a bed. Sung-joon asks Deuk-chun to leave Sung-hoon alone for right now, begging for a little more time to handle the other clone on his own before getting the police involved. Deuk-chun, remembering the way Sung-hoon blamed him for causing the mess in the first place, agrees.

Soo-yeon finally wakes up, and as she enters the room to see her father there, he runs over and pulls her into a tight hug. They both start to cry as they confess how much they missed each other. Deuk-chun reassures his daughter that everything is going to fine. When he draws back to get a good look at Soo-yeon, she says that she looks ugly since she’s been crying.

Deuk-chun: “Who’s daughter are you?” Soo-yeon: “Your daughter.” Deuk-chun: “How can you be ugly when you’re my daughter? You’re pretty even when you cry.”

He goes on to tell her that he’s just grateful they’re together. Soo-yeon wipes the tears from his face and tells him that he’s the one who looks ugly when he cries. They embrace again, and now I’m the one ugly-crying.

Mi-rae continues to dress one of Sung-joon’s many wounds, wryly telling Sung-joon that next time he should try and fight back. No kidding. But she also knows that Sung-joon wouldn’t fight his younger brother. Proving that she’s still the smartest of the bunch, she points out that it’s odd that Sanyoung just let Sung-joon go so easily, and with Soo-yeon in tow, too.

Hesitating, Sung-joon admits that Sanyoung isn’t just looking for Doctor Lee’s organs, but actually the original vaccination. Mi-rae gets excited when she realizes that this vaccine is also what could solve the rapid-aging issue for both clones, but Sung-joon sighs that he’s not sure who Doctor Lee gave the syringe to.

Jo-hye and her team are deep into their research about Doctor Mom. They’ve discovered that Doctor Mom has been effectively missing since her husband’s death in 1993. Prior to that, Doctor Mom was working on stem cell research in America, but left after Doctor Lee died and dropped off the map until 2005 when she became the head of Sanyoung’s research team.

Jo-hye knows that those missing twelve years are when Doctor Mom was working on the illegal experiment. The only record they have of her during the missing twelve years is a police report two months before she became the Sanyoung’s research director. Doctor Mom was involved in a hit-and-run where she was hospitalized for a month, but the perpetrator’s indictment was suspended, presumably due to some political pressure from the prosecutor in charge of the case.

Oh, and that prosecutor? None other than Woo Byung-chun, or, as we know him, the Chief Prosecutor. Jo-hye’s eyes gleam with surprised delight when she hears this news.

Sung-joon, unable to sleep, keeps thinking about Sung-hoon and the strange marks on the other clone’s back. Flashback to the angry Sung-hoon, yelling that Doctor Mom died. With the gun cocked and aimed at Sung-joon, Sung-hoon suddenly veers and shoots off to the side. He then slowly shuffles away, a dazed look on his face as Sung-joon calls out to him.

Deuk-chun finds Sung-joon still awake, and Sung-joon quickly wipes at the tears in his eyes as he tells Deuk-chun that he couldn’t sleep. It’s the same for Deuk-chun, who sits down by him. Deuk-chun is curious about what happened to the clones when they first separated. Deuk-chun realizes that they were twelve-years-old — the same age as Soo-yeon.

As he washes up, Deuk-chun replays Sung-hoon’s accusation that Sung-hoon asked for help but Deuk-chun didn’t give it to him. Deuk-chun remembers that day in 2005, when a frantic Doctor Mom and tiny Sung-hoon ran into the police station, begging for help.

A flashback shows Doctor Mom pleading for a way for them to get out of town because someone is following them. She can’t explain any more than that, though (because really, how do you explain that you’ve kidnapped a clone from an illegal experiment and are trying to make it to safety without totally sounding crazy?). Deuk-chun doesn’t seem to know whether to trust them or not, but tiny Sung-hoon’s pleading gets the detective to agree to at least look into it.

But soon the not-yet-a-Chief Prosecutor appears, and smoothly pulls Deuk-chun aside to explain that Doctor Mom and tiny Sung-hoon are part of a case he’s working on and are under the delusion that someone is chasing them. Not-yet-a-Chief Prosecutor confides to Deuk-chun that he was transporting them elsewhere, but they escaped en route. He chuckles as he thanks Deuk-chun for helping to find them, and Deuk-chun demurs that he didn’t really do anything.

Doctor Mom, just out of earshot, calls out that Deuk-chun should ignore whatever the not-yet-a-Chief Prosecutor is telling him. The not-yet-a-Chief Prosecutor approaches them in that soothing way that clearly indicates he thinks Doctor Mom is crazy, and gently-yet-firmly escorts her and tiny Sung-hoon out.

Tiny Sung-hoon yells for Deuk-chun to help them, but Deuk-chun, assuming the not-yet-a-Chief Prosecutor must be right, is quickly drawn back into the chaos of the police station as he hurries to follow his detective sunbae.

Back in the current day, Doctor Mom pulls out a photo of her and Doctor Lee. She wonders if she’s made the wrong decision. Flashback to 1993, as a younger Doctor Mom visits Doctor Lee’s memorial. But her weeping is interrupted when Chairman Park suddenly appears.

Once again, back to the present, where Doctor Mom is shocked to hear that Chairman Park is conscious and asking for her. Seo-jin and Chairman Oppa are thrilled that their father is doing so much better, Seo-jin perhaps a little more so as she makes sure Chairman Park knows just how worried she was about him.

Chairman Park offers to grant her any request, and even though she laughs as she says she’ll need to think about it, the look she gives her brother makes me wonder if Sanyoung is about to get a new CEO. Doctor Mom arrives just then, and Chairman Park orders everyone out so he can speak to the doctor in private.

Meanwhile, Deuk-chun dozes off in his chair where he sits guarding Soo-yeon. She wakes up to find her father there, wondering if its a dream. Deuk-chun, awake at the slightest sound from her, reassures her that it isn’t, that he’s there and real. Relieved, she falls back asleep and Deuk-chun steps out to answer the phone.

Deuk-chun tells Chief Park that they should hold onto Director Baek for awhile until they can figure out what’s going on. But Chief Park informs Deuk-chun that Director Baek is gone — there was an order from some high-ranking official that suddenly got Director Baek released.

However, they’ve been able to make a connection from the hospital where they found Soo-yeon, since it’s owned by Seo-jin (so it’s not an official Sanyoung hospital, even if she’s Chairman Park’s daughter). That ties it back to Sanyoung, anyway, and Chief Park finds it odd the people who kidnapped Soo-yeon are the same people who selected her for the stem cell trial in the first place. Deuk-chun asks the detectives to dig deeper into Sanyoung.

At the hospital, Doctor Mom smiles as she tells Chairman Park it’s nice to see him looking so well. Ooooooh, those were exactly the same words he told her as she was recuperating from the hit-and-run back in 2005.

Flashback time! Chairman Park seems more annoyed that his lackeys actually hurt her instead of merely scaring her. Doctor Mom grabs a nearby box of tissues and chucks it at Chairman Park, demanding to know how Chairman Park could force her to make clones of her husband. She showed restraint by not throwing the water pitcher at him, like I would have.

Chairman Park retorts that her amazing hands did indeed create a clone, and it’s not his fault that she didn’t realize it until it was too late. “Too late?” Hmmmm, interesting.

Doctor Mom spits out that she’s not going to work for him any more, but Chairman Park says that she’ll have to if she wants to save Sung-hoon. The clone’s organs have already started their accelerated aging, even though Sung-hoon is only twelve-years-old.

Doctor Mom reminds Chairman Park that he was never interested in the clones before — they were just a way to research stem cell cures. But Chairman Park wants a return on his investment. The clones aren’t human to him — they’re products that were created with his money, and now that there’s only one left, they’ll have to be extra careful how they take care of “it.”

Shocked, Doctor Mom asks Chairman Park what he means, and he tells her that Sung-joon accidentally died while he was escaping with Doctor Mom’s friend. She starts to cry as he sits down and wheedles that, if Doctor Mom creates the vaccine, it will not only save Chairman Park’s life, but Sung-hoon’s, too. What a jerk.

Back to the present day, where the newly healed Chairman Park dashes any hope that Doctor Mom has been holding onto for the past twelve years by telling her that Sung-hoon has run away so she won’t be able to see him. With Sung-hoon gone, so is her motivation for working at Sanyoung — except Chairman Park explains that he’s confiscated all the vaccines she’s made.

Even if she tries to leave and find Sung-hoon, Doctor Mom won’t be able to actually save Sung-hoon. Chairman Park says that Doctor Mom will have to stay at Sanyoung whether she likes it or not. Uggghhhh, I hate him so much.

As soon as he’s freed, Director Baek bee-lines to Sung-hoon’s lair. As Sung-hoon preps a drink, Director Baek carefully removes the gun hidden in one of the drawers. When Sung-hoon turns around, Director Baek aims it at Sung-hoon’s head.

Unfazed, Sung-hoon tells him he’s being rude and should enjoy his drink. But Director Baek demands to know if Sung-hoon is in collusion with Sung-joon, and if this was all a big plan of theirs. Sung-hoon reminds Director Baek that he hates Sung-joon, and muses that Director Baek will be the one getting into trouble for losing Soo-yeon.

But Director Baek points out that they don’t need Soo-yeon since Chairman Park got the real cure. That surprises Sung-hoon, and Director Baek realizes that Sung-hoon must not be working with Sung-joon since Sung-hoon really doesn’t know what’s going on. When Sung-hoon demands to know what he’s talking about, Director Baek gloats that this must be how it feels to be in power, just like Sung-hoon had been with the list.

Director Baek asks if Sung-hoon knows how many times he wanted to kill him, and Sung-hoon casually says that there’s nothing stopping him. Sung-hoon points out that since Doctor Lee’s organs have proven worthless there’s no reason to need the list that only Sung-hoon knows, although there’s clearly a reason Big Boss has been keeping Sung-hoon alive so far. With his trademark Cheshire grin, Sung-hoon deduces that Director Baek must be here without Big Boss knowing about it.

In response, Director Baek shoots him. Or tries to shoot him, because the gun isn’t loaded. Distracted by the empty gun, Director Baek is not prepared as Sung-hoon swiftly jabs him with a fork and easily disarms him. Taking an ammo clip from his waistband, Sung-hoon quickly loads the gun and points it at Director Baek, demanding to know where the real vaccine is.

Meanwhile, Jo-hye and her team are at Sanyoung hospital, requesting to meet with the chairman about an incident that happened twenty-four years ago. As they wait to hear if the chairman is available, Boon-suk reminds Jo-hye that even if they can get any information, the statute of limitations has passed.

But Jo-hye isn’t actually expecting to meet with anyone — she just wants to confirm something. Her phone buzzes, and she smiles as she sees that it’s the Chief Prosecutor calling. Bingo.

Back at the lair, Director Baek tells Sung-hoon that the real vaccine exists in the memories of Doctor Lee. That seems to be a surprise to Sung-hoon, implying that he doesn’t have Doctor Lee’s memories. Interesting.

Director Baek doesn’t believe him, and starts to warn Sung-hoon that it’ll be all over for him soon, but he doesn’t have a chance to finish that sentence before Sung-hoon shoots Director Baek in the head, instantly killing him.

Soo-yeon is showered with gifts from her father’s new friends, as Sung-joon gifts her clothes and Mi-rae shows her how to work her new cell phone. But Soo-yeon still finds it hard to believe that Sung-joon looks so much like the “ajusshi” from the medical basement. Hah, this leads into a discussion about Sung-joon’s actual age (which he remembers now) and appropriate use of banmal and jondemal. Mi-rae is offended that Sung-joon’s been talking informally to her even though he’s younger than she is.

Sung-joon awkwardly tries to extricate himself from the conversation by bribing Soo-yeon with ice cream. Deuk-chun insists that they should go to the hospital first to make sure Soo-yeon is okay, but she protests that she hates the hospital and wants to spend the day having fun with her father.

Deuk-chun finally relents, leaving the hospital visit for tomorrow. In the meantime, they have a fun-filled product-placement day as everyone beams at Soo-yeon’s excitement over tasting Subway for the first time, figuring out how to use the fancy new cellphone Mi-rae bought her, as well as going bike-riding and eating pizza — apparently all the things she couldn’t do before because she was too sick.

Everyone is happy and relaxed as they enjoy their day of fun, thinking the worst is over. Soo-yeon eventually says that the next place she most wants to go is “home.”

When Jo-hye and her team return to the office, the Chief Prosecutor is waiting for them. The Chief Prosecutor tells her that she’s not going on a vacation, but instead she and her team will be transferred to the Special Operations Unit. Jo-hye marvels at the power of Sanyoung that would send the Chief Prosecutor down to her office to see her.

The department switch is very clearly a bribe to make sure she keeps her nose out of business the Chief Prosecutor doesn’t want her poking around in. But instead of the accepting promotion to the Special Operations Unit, Jo-hye asks for Deuk-chun to be reinstated as a detective.

Deuk-chun carries Soo-yeon up the massive hill of steps to their home. She’s convinced that he must have cursed a lot while she was gone. Deuk-chun admits that he did because he was upset, but insists he didn’t drink or smoke. Aw.

As they finally arrive home, Soo-yeon happily promises to make him breakfast. But when Deuk-chun turns to unlock the door, Soo-yeon’s smile fades and she says that she feels dizzy.

Sung-joon suddenly remembers Doctor Lee handing over the real vaccination — to Nurse Ryu.

As Soo-yeon faints, Deuk-chun rushes to catch her.

COMMENTS

I’m as happy as everybody else that Soo-yeon and her father are reunited, but was it really necessary to have fifteen minutes of product placement to celebrate? I know dramas need sponsorships to make money, and I did enjoy the cuteness of everyone finally getting a much-needed break and bonding like a family, but the sudden slow-down took me out of the show. I kept feeling impatient for something else to happen, at least something that would remind that this is a “chase thriller.”

Then again, I suppose it was a good contrast to Sung-hoon, who’s so tightly wound that he’s willing to shoot his only real support (however grudging an ally Director Baek might have been, he was Sung-hoon’s only “friend”). So long, Director Baek of the grabby-hands, we hardly knew ye. Sung-hoon certainly seems to have gone completely rogue now, willing to shoot anything and anyone that interferes with whatever his twisted idea of revenge happens to be. I have to assume that his next target is Sanyoung, but I also know that he still hasn’t forgiven Deuk-chun. Then again, Deuk-chun doesn’t look like he’s forgiven himself, either, although I can totally understand that Deuk-chun would have easily forgotten about one minute out of his life that seemed to have been innocently taken care of by someone else. I say seemed to since there’s no reason Deuk-chun should doubt the word of a prosecutor, even if we know how slimy that prosecutor really is.

I’m not particularly worried that Soo-yeon will be kidnapped again (if she is, that’s a plot-thread that will have been seriously played out), but I do think it’s interesting that she’s showing some sign that perhaps the cure isn’t as good as everyone seems to think it is. Soo-yeon is really the first human test subject they’ve had, but because of her kidnapping, no one is aware of how the vaccination is working — whether it lasts, what the side effects are, etc. While everything seemed to point to her being cured of her leukemia, there’s a chance it was just temporary until the diseased cells found a way to return. Which makes me sad for sweet Soo-yeon, because despite me rolling my eyes at the endless Subway scene, I do really want her to get better and live a long and happy life.

This actually makes me more sympathetic to Doctor Lee, since it seems he knew what was going on and tried to make sure Chairman Park never got his hands on the vaccination (or maybe that’s just what I want to think because who seriously wants Chairman Park to live even longer? Other than Seo-jin, that is). Now I’m left to wonder if Doctor Lee purposefully injected himself, knowing he was in full sight of the CCTV camera, just so it would throw everyone off the scent of the real cure. Was it just poor timing that Byung-joon et. al. decided to choose that night to escape and seek their revenge by killing Doctor Lee and taking his organs? Or were they part of the conspiracy, too, and maybe Byung-joon got a good tip of when to go forward with his attack. Except why would anyone at Sanyoung allow him to walk out with Doctor Lee’s organs if they were so desperate to use them to find the cure? Hmmm. Now I’m thinking that it was all very bad luck and poor timing.

Even though I may be scratching my head over these details, I have faith that my questions will soon be answered. One of the (many) things I love about this show is that all the questions we as viewers have are the same that the characters do. Which means I know that these mysteries will be answered because they’re so obviously part of the web of intrigue that connects all the characters together. Right now, for example, everyone (including myself) wants to know where the real vaccination is, the one that was given to Nurse Ryu. It obviously wasn’t hidden in the documents that Mi-rae found, but it should be somewhere. Or maybe Nurse Ryu used it so it would never be found, and now I have a sudden urge to ask Mi-rae if she’s ever taken a sick day.

I do feel that whatever experiment Sanyoung was doing to poor tiny Sung-hoon (after they retrieved him the night Doctor Mom was hit by the car) must have something to do with the fact that his organs seem to be in apparently worse shape than Sung-joon’s. Not in much worse shape, but enough that he seems to be in more pain than Sung-joon, even though he apparently is younger (whether he’s younger by minutes or days or more is something we’ve yet to find out, but tiny Sung-hoon definitely acted younger than tiny Sung-joon — and even looked a little shorter, too, although I could be convinced that was just due to fancy camera angles). This also makes me nervous about how many clones will survive until the end of the show. Yes, there’s a miracle cure out there, somewhere (we hope), but what if it’s not enough to save both clones? Noooo, I don’t want to think about it! Sung-hoon needs a chance at redemption before his body fails him!

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