Lookout: Episodes 29-30

by TeriYaki

True to form, Lookout approaches its finale with an intense pair of episodes that are equal parts suspenseful and heartbreaking. The Lookout team has come a long way together, but their work isn’t quite done yet—their biggest challenge yet may just be a spoiled, psychotic teenager with a frightening smile.

 
EPISODE 29 RECAP

Se-won runs to the school’s roof in alarm, worried that Shi-wan’s note means that he plans to end his life. When she looks inside a utility room, the door is locked behind her. As she pounds on the door and yells for help, a caution sign is added outside to keep people out. Shi-wan laughs to himself as descends the rooftop stairs.

At Suji’s interrogation, Do-han insists that her crimes were a result of his manipulation. He claims that he used her while she was a fugitive in order to get his revenge on Chief Prosecutor Yoon.

Soon-ae follows Do-han into the hallway and informs him that because of his very public confession, he won’t be taken into custody. He asks about Suji and learns that she will be detained because she was an escaped fugitive. Soon-ae reminds Do-han that he will be busy while the prosecutor’s office and police department are investigated.

Soon-ae admits to Do-han that after the events of the past year, she finally understands him. She asks Do-han if his plan is complete, but he reminds her about Shi-wan. Soon-ae shares that he’s scheduled for questioning and that she’ll be the one to take care of him.

No matter where she stands, Se-won can’t get a signal on her phone, and we see that a cell phone jammer was set up near by to block any service.

Shi-wan returns to his classroom, where his friends inform him that their teacher called his house because he was missing. Shi-wan asks about Se-won on his way out, and his friends mention his recent consideration towards her. He smiles, pleased that they fell for his ruse.

Outside, Shi-wan breaks away under the pretense that he needs to look for Se-won to return her things. In reality, he finds some isolated trash cans and adds her backpack to the pile.

On their way to the police station, Shi-wan’s mother asks why he skipped class. He lies that something came up, something even his father couldn’t do. His mother asks what he’s up to, but Shi-wan just answers with one of his smiles. His mother warns Shi-wan to stay out of trouble and considers him the more worrisome problem now that his father can no longer protect him.

Kyung-soo reports to Bomi that Suji is inside the police station. They realize that she turned herself in, and Kyung-soo deduces that he should follow her example. Bomi points out that he’s never been connected to any crime, but Kyung-soo argues that that doesn’t mean he’s in the clear.

In front of the police station, Kyung-soo looks into a CCTV camera and forms a heart with his hands while he performs an impromptu dance for Bomi. She can’t help but laugh, but Kyung-soo finishes his public display with the serious promise that he’ll see her again once he’s out of prison, when they won’t have to hide anymore.

In a touching exchange, Kyung-soo and Bomi pledge that whoever gets out of prison first will wait for the other. Bomi asks Kyung-soo to give her some time to close down the agency so that she can join him, but she suddenly discovers that the security cameras at the school have been turned off.

Kyung-soo has a bad feeling when he sees Shi-wan and his mother arrive at the police station and mutters, “I wanted to live righteously, but I still have things to do.” He informs Bomi that he’s headed back to the agency.

Suji is in the hallway at the station and sees Shi-wan walk to an interrogation room. She’s understandably troubled when Shi-wan smiles at her, but that’s when Soon-ae appears by her side and promises to expose Shi-wan’s guilt.

Shi-wan is questioned about Yoo-na’s fall, and is reminded that a witness claims he followed the girl before that day. Shi-wan claims that they became close, but Soon-ae notes that would mean that he would have played with Yoo-na, not just follow her.

Shi-wan’s mother objects when Soon-ae confirms that the witness is Do-han. She blames him for the rumors about her husband, but Soon-ae explains that his testimony corresponds with Shi-wan’s movements at the time.

Pressed for an answer, Shi-wan claims that he wanted to protect Yoo-na because she was always alone. A confident Soon-ae smiles as she asks Shi-wan about the drawing that shows him pushing Yoo-na off the rooftop. Shi-wan doesn’t seem too concerned and challenges Soon-ae about her source: is it Suji, or perhaps Se-won?

His mother protests that they can’t believe the victim’s mother after she broke into their house. Soon-ae asks again about the drawing, but Shi-wan denies that it exists.

Do-han enjoys the chance to feed his father at the hospital while the priest witnesses the scene from the doorway. He sits with Do-han in the lobby and shares that Lee Shin-hyuk regained consciousness as soon as Chief Prosecutor Yoon’s hearing was over, as if he sensed what had happened.

The priest asks about Do-han’s plans, and he admits that he asked someone else the same question. He recalls his phone call with Suji during the hearing, when she admitted that she would have to pay for her actions. Do-han replies, “I should pay for what I did,” and the priest looks down with a sigh.

Back at the agency, Kyung-soo determines that someone unplugged the school’s CCTV cameras from the recorders. He isn’t sure what to do with Suji gone, but then he remembers that Do-han wasn’t arrested and suggests that they call him. Bomi hesitates, worried that Suji would object because of Yoo-na, but Kyung-soo reasons that now’s not the time to dwell on that.

Kyung-soo calls Do-han at the hospital to explain their suspicion that Shi-wan is up to something. When they add that Se-won is missing, Do-han agrees to hurry to her school.

Shi-wan’s mother asks their lawyer if there’s enough evidence to reopen the case. Soon-ae asks to search Shi-wan’s room, but her phone rings before she gets an answer. Shi-wan watches Soon-ae closely as she ignores the call, and when her phone rings again, he urges her to answer it.

Soon-ae excuses herself as Shi-wan allows himself a tiny smile. Se-won’s art teacher informs Soon-ae that she missed her drawing lesson. Soon-ae starts to worry when she can’t get in touch with Se-won, so she requests to have her daughter’s phone traced.

Se-won slams her body against the door and then pounds and kicks it as she yells for help. She finally drops to the floor, exhausted and drenched in sweat. She uses the light on her phone to examine her surroundings and discovers what looks like a small music box. When she opens it, a device inside emits a flashing light and beeps. It’s a bomb.

Do-han arrives at the high school and tries to call Soon-ae. When a security guard walks by, Do-han produces his prosecutor’s ID and asks to look around. He’s escorted to the room where the CCTV cameras are monitored and verifies that the cameras were disconnected from the recorders.

Do-han shares the news with Kyung-soo and Bomi, who inform him that Se-won hasn’t appeared on any CCTV footage near the school or her home. Bomi adds that she discovered that Shi-wan spent time on a computer that the CCTV cameras didn’t cover. Do-han heads for the computer room to help Kyung-soo access the school’s server.

When Soon-ae learns that Se-won’s phone can’t be located, she makes another call and determines that her daughter was at school all day. Soon-ae looks at Shi-wan through the two-way mirror just as she receives a photo of her daughter. That’s followed by a text, “I’ll give you an hour to bring Jo Suji… Otherwise your daughter dies.”

Soon-ae glances at a smiling Shi-wan and answers a call from Do-han. He explains that he’s at Se-won’s school because he suspects Shi-wan is up to something. Soon-ae is about to confide in him, but after another glance at Shi-wan, she promises to call Do-han later.

Once Do-han’s in the computer room, Kyung-soo instructs him to turn on the computers that are in the camera’s blind spots. Do-han asks Kyung-soo to determine what websites Shi-wan visited along with his search histories.

Kyung-soo pinpoints the computer that Shi-wan used and determines that he often used his father’s login to access the justice system’s database. Shi-wan researched all of the cases that were linked to the team, from the Kim Woo-sung case to Lee Shin-hyuk’s espionage case. Kyung-soo looks at Bomi in alarm when he realizes that Shi-wan even knows the address to the hideout.

Soon-ae enters the joint team headquarters and approaches a detective. Before she can say anything, she gets another text, “If you tell anyone, your daughter will die right away… You have thirty minutes.” The detective notices Soon-ae’s distress, but she demands to know Suji’s location and learns that she’s back in interrogation.

Alone, Suji can’t forget Shi-wan’s smile. The detective walks in, and Suji asks if Soon-ae is with Shi-wan. He explains that he just saw Soon-ae at headquarters, and she looked as if she was out of her mind.

Soon-ae bursts into Shi-wan’s interrogation room and dismisses the other detectives. She sits across from Shi-wan and shakily asks what he did after school. His mother protests that it has nothing to do with the case from a year ago, but Soon-ae pounds on the table for Shi-wan to answer her.

Shi-wan replies that he came straight to the police station with his mother, and then adds that Se-won wasn’t around when he left school. He smiles at Soon-ae as he asks, “Isn’t Se-won your daughter?” His mother looks on as he continues, “You shouldn’t be here right now. Jo Suji regrets that she wasn’t able to save her daughter. I hope you won’t regret your choice.”

With the steady beep of the bomb in the background, Se-won admits that because she was so lonely, she was happy when Shi-wan appeared. She recalls the times that he was kind to her and confesses that all she wanted was a friend like everyone else. Se-won weeps as she asks, “Why are you doing this to me?”

Do-han sits at the school computer that Shi-wan used, which is now linked to Kyung-soo’s computer. They see that Shi-wan recently searched homemade bombs, and Kyung-soo explains that a bomb made with butane, nails, firecrackers (oh no, that’s what they were for!) and timers can kill. Kyung-soo then discovers Shi-wan’s scheduled messages, and the team learns that not only is he after Se-won, but he wants Suji as well.

Do-han confirms that Soon-ae was the recipient and that she received the first message just before he called her. When Kyung-soo questions why she didn’t mention it to him, Do-han fears that she plans to follow Shi-wan’s instructions. Do-han asks the team to locate and monitor Soon-ae as he leaves the school before he calls Detective Ma and learns that Soon-ae said she was headed for the prosecutor’s office with Suji.

Just outside of the station, a huge smile spreads across Shi-wan’s face when he sees Soon-ae drive off with Suji. Just then, Do-han gets out of his car and has his back turned when Soon-ae drives away with Suji.

 
EPISODE 30 RECAP

Suji is alone when Soon-ae enters the interrogation room. Suji looks uneasy when she’s told that she’s to be moved and searches her friend’s face, but Soon-ae avoids her gaze.

Do-han speeds along as he recalls the threatening photos and texts that were sent to Soon-ae, who still won’t answer his calls.

Shi-wan smiles as Soon-ae drives away with Suji just as Do-han runs up and demands to know where his phone is. Do-han recalls his meeting at Chief Prosecutor Yoon’s house, when the boy refused to relinquish his phone, even though it had been used to monitor his movements. Shi-wan had explained to his mother, “I can use it for something else.”

Do-han confides, “I know what you did with that phone.” Shi-wan just smiles and wonders if Do-han is in a position to question him. Do-han continues, “I heard you’ve befriended Se-won recently. When you get close to someone, there’s always a reason. That was the case with Se-won, right? That’s why you’ve befriended her.”

As his mother looks on, Shi-wan just flippantly asks, “And?” She urges her son to leave with her, but Shi-wan ignores her and challenges Do-han, “So what?” Do-han labels Shi-wan cowardly and weak because he won’t go after Suji himself.

Shi-wan’s face twitches as Do-han continues, “I would’ve done it myself. But you can’t do that, because you don’t have that type of courage.” Shi-wan’s face trembles with rage as his mother grabs his arm, but he suddenly snaps at her to stay out of it.

Shi-wan retorts, “I’m scared? Says who?” Do-han accuses Shi-wan of hiding in his father’s shadow, but the boy explains that he’s about to do something that his father could never do. Do-han suggests that Shi-wan should leave innocent people alone and asks for Se-won’s whereabouts.

His lip trembling, Shi-wan takes a menacing step towards Do-han, but then he suddenly laughs. He asks, “Did you want me to get angry? I guess you thought you could provoke me to get the answer you want.” Do-han warns Shi-wan that he won’t receive legal consideration as a minor unless he ends his plan immediately. Shi-wan just checks his watch and admits with a laugh, “The game is too fun to stop now.”

Shi-wan steps even closer to Do-han to add, “Whether she will save her daughter or Jo Suji, I can’t wait to find out.” Do-han promises, “I won’t let things go your way,” only to be told that he’s already been drawn into the game. Shi-wan smugly suggests that Do-han should hurry to save Suji since he has less than twenty minutes. Shi-wan starts to walk away, but then he adds confidently, “Dad may have been fooled by you, but I won’t be.”

Se-won stumbles back to the music box, which still beeps steadily. This time, she sees a timer counting down from nineteen minutes and realizes that the bomb has been activated. She returns to the door and pounds it in alarm until she collapses. Se-won looks at a photo of her with her mother and asks, “You will come and save me, right?” And then, she faints.

Soon-ae drives as Suji calls her mother. Suji shares that Soon-ae promised to find out the truth about Yoo-na’s death, and her mother asks her to tell Soon-ae that she’ll never forget what she’s done for them.

A tear escapes as Suji passes along her mother’s gratitude. Mother and daughter make plans for Suji’s eventual release, and they share a tearful goodbye before they hang up.

Suji wipes her tears and asks to make one more call. Eun-joong is surprised to hear from her, but Suji explains that she wanted to thank him for everything that he’s done. When he tells her that he just did his job, Suji replies, “Doing your job is the hardest thing to do.”

Suji promises to buy Eun-joong a drink once she’s released. Eun-joong is confident that Suji will receive a light sentence and reassures her that he and Soon-ae will visit her mother in the meantime. Suji thanks him again before she says goodbye.

After their call, Eun-joong looks out of his office window as Chief Prosecutor Yoon is escorted to a waiting prison bus in handcuffs, his arms tied down with rope.

Eun-joong enters his father’s interrogation room after being summoned and sits across from him. He’s there as a concerned son and reminds his father to eat, even if it’s difficult. Justice Kim can’t look his son in the eye when he’s asked if he left the cell phone and password with the understanding that Eun-joong would take them. His father ignores the question and insists that he’s in a hurry to pay for his crimes.

Unsettled, Eun-joong explains that he will be the one to investigate Chief Prosecutor Yoon’s corruption. He calls in another prosecutor and bows to his father, who finally looks up to watch his son walk away.

Suji thanks Soon-ae for the use of the phone and, when asked if she needs to make any other calls, declares that she’s done. When Suji looks out the window and asks where they’re headed, a sob escapes from Soon-ae. She passes Suji the keys to the handcuffs and explains that they have to make a stop. Suji understands her desperate situation and lowers her head to compose herself before she removes the handcuffs.

Kyung-soo checks in once he’s at Se-won’s school. Do-han lists a number of places to search, but Kyung-soo reminds the others that Shi-wan knew he was under surveillance, so would Se-won really be at her school?

Bomi is certain that Se-won never left because she can’t find her on any CCTV footage. Since the signal from Se-won’s phone can’t be located, Do-han suggests that Kyung-soo should check the basement and rooftop first.

When Bomi locates Soon-ae’s car and verifies that she’s with Suji, Do-han wants to know where they’re headed.

At the same time, Suji and Soon-ae both wipe away their tears as they continue wordlessly to their destination.

At home, Shi-wan’s mother sends him upstairs to rest. He changes clothes and retrieves the phone he used to send the threatening texts from its hidden spot. Shi-wan asks himself, “Shall I start the game for real now?” and walks out of his room.

Kyung-soo reports that he found nothing on the roof, but then notices the door with the warning sign. He pounds on the door and yells for Se-won, who weakly answers, “I’m here.” Kyung-soo tells Bomi that he doesn’t think Se-won is on the roof before proceeding to ask her about Do-han and Suji.

Bomi informs Do-han that Soon-ae turned down an alleyway. We see Soon-ae parking her car at a deserted building, and when Suji starts to ask a question, Soon-ae tells her to come with her. Bomi monitors their movements as Do-han realizes Shi-wan’s plan was a setup. When Soon-ae pulls Suji into the building, Bomi urges Do-han to hurry.

Shi-wan’s mother delivers a snack, but finds her sons’s room empty and learns from the housekeeper that Shi-wan left to visit a friend.

Shi-wan has his eyes on his phone as he enters a storage room, pleased to see that all the “players” have entered. Soon-ae gets a video call from Shi-wan, whose smile is just as creepy on the small screen, and she’s ordered to take Suji to the edge of the floor. Suji asks if the caller is Shi-wan, but Soon-ae apologizes before she explains that she has to kill Suji, or Se-won will die.

Suji asks where Se-won is, but Soon-ae shrieks that she only knows that she’s locked up somewhere with a bomb. Shi-wan orders them to be quiet and tells Suji to walk. Shi-wan holds up a second phone and shows Soon-ae that she only has three minutes to follow his instructions.

Meanwhile, Do-han arrives at the building and runs up the stairs.

Soon-ae grabs Suji’s hand, but she pushes the record button on the phone before she follows. As she stands at the edge of the floor, tears well in Suji’s eyes as she nods to Soon-ae. Soon-ae holds up her phone to show Shi-wan that Suji is in place. He orders Soon-ae to aim her gun at Suji, and when she does, Shi-wan mimics her motions and explains that she will be his avatar.

Do-han races up the stairs as Shi-wan explains that Soon-ae is to shoot after he counts down from five. Suji urges Soon-ae to do as Shi-wan says and braces herself as the countdown begins.

At the end of the countdown, Soon-ae screams in anguish as she drops to the ground and apologizes to Suji. As she kneels, Soon-ae begs Shi-wan to kill her instead and spare Se-won, but Suji cries out that Soon-ae’s pleas only make Shi-wan happy.

Suji looks her friend in the eye and sobs that her greatest regret is that when Yoo-na was scared and needed her the most, she wasn’t there. As a mother, Suji knows that she would have done anything to save her daughter, even if it meant killing Soon-ae. Suji urges Soon-ae to do as Shi-wan wants, since he targeted her from the beginning.

When Soon-ae hesitates, Suji screams, “Think of Se-won, who must be looking for you!” Do-han takes the last flight of stairs as Soon-ae picks up her gun and phone. When she aims the gun at Suji, Shi-wan smiles and utters, “Yes, that’s what you should do. Don’t let me down again.”

Do-han reaches the floor just as Soon-ae’s gun goes off. Frozen, Do-han stares at Suji, who sways as she turns her eyes toward him.

 
COMMENTS

I think I need a moment to catch my breath. What a way to enter the final week of what has proven to be a consistently well written and acted drama. The level of tension rose throughout these two episodes as they prepared us for what promises to be an intense finale. The hour was peppered with conversations that felt like final goodbyes, and I’m not confident about any of the leads at this juncture.

Parent-child relationships were at the center of these two episodes, both the good and bad kind. It was touching to see Do-han so happy to care for his father, at long last able to acknowledge that he was Lee Shin-hyuk’s son. Eun-joong’s heart must have broken when his father couldn’t admit that he wanted his son to turn over Detective Nam’s phone and password. Suji reached out to her long-suffering mother in what she believed to be a final goodbye. Se-won and Soon-ae found themselves at the center of the most awful game, hoping against hope that they’ll be together again. And finally, there’s Shi-wan, who proved himself to be the most unfilial son ever. As devoted as Do-han is to his father, Shi-wan revealed that he is the complete opposite and has nothing but contempt for both of his parents. It would be more upsetting, but they actually deserve it. Ugh, what a terrible family.

Shi-wan has had far too much sick fun at the expense of others, and it’s finally time for his comeuppance. He’s so twisted that I’m not even sure if all of his deadly intentions have been uncovered yet. Every heartwarming exchange made me fearful for the Lookout team, from Kyung-soo and Bomi’s promise to wait for each other, to Do-han’s confession that he’s ready to pay for his misdeeds. And of course, Suji ended up with a gun aimed right at her, all because Shi-wan’s mother never took responsibility for her monster of a son. Why should Do-han suffer torment because he didn’t save Yoo-na while Shi-wan’s mother continues to insulate her son from punishment time and time again? The person who’s ultimately responsible for Yoo-na’s death is Shi-wan’s mother. Yet again, while she tries to clean up her son’s messes, innocent lives are at risk as Shi-wan plays his deadly game.

Kim Sun-young delivered a powerful performance as Soon-ae unraveled from scene to scene. Her dilemma, to either follow the bidding of a psychotic teenager and kill her friend or allow her daughter to become the casualty of a bomb, is enough to threaten anyone’s sanity. Lee Shi-young matched her intensity as the two mothers worked together to keep another child from Shi-wan’s clutches. But the exchange that ultimately gripped my attention was between Do-han and Shi-wan.

Do-han did his best to bait Shi-wan and discover what he did with Se-won, even though it became all too clear that there’s no way to reason with him. Do-han was rightfully stunned when the realization set in that Shi-wan possesses no humanity whatsoever. Their confrontation in front of the police station became very personal when Shi-wan refused to be brought down the way his father was, and Do-han revealed that he’s equally determined to stop him. Their clash promises to be both terrifying and devastating—it may be that Do-han is the only one who has any hope in stopping Shi-wan, but just what will it cost him?

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