The fallout from last week isn’t good, either in the sexual-assault-turned-accident case, or the original murder case. Having the moral high ground doesn’t help when your opponent has no morals, and an alibi can only save your skin if the person who can give it is willing to step forward.
EPISODE 9 WEECAP
If Sol B and Ye-seul were mirrors last week, this week Seung-jae is the one who is being asked to risk his own reputation to save Jong-hoon’s, and once again, no one is as brave as poor Ye-seul. Why does this poor girl have to endure so much? Thankfully, Ye-seul didn’t get pinned with a murder charge, although the downside of that is that the worm who abused her is still alive, and still double-teaming her with his evil father.
I wanted to throw things at the screen when I saw Ye-seul apologizing on her knees, although I know it’s realistic given the extent of the trauma and gaslighting she’s been subject to. But I was just so angry on her behalf.
I’m very glad she has Eun-suk and the study group on her side, validating her feelings and her agency—and arguing for self-defense, yes! The reveal at the end of the episode that Jong-hoon will be defending her was 100% predictable, but I didn’t care. It was GREAT.
ASSEMBLYMAN GO (Jung Won-joong) is emerging as the Big Bad in this series, and his villainy is a little over-the-top, but he’s certainly raising my blood pressure as much as his wastrel of a son, so points for effectiveness. By now, he has it in for so many of our major characters it’s getting a but ridiculous. I count Jong-hoon, Sol A, Dan, Ye-seul, probably Joon-hwi too. There’s a rather unbelievably large web of connections between all these people—and surprisingly, I find that enjoyably silly rather than a flaw in the show.
This time, it’s Seung-jae’s turn for a moral crisis, and despite Ye-seul’s belief that he’d rise to the occasion, he doesn’t end up being able to make the kind of sacrifice it would require to own up to the truth. And yet, what’s the point of him refusing to testify for the sake of his unborn child? Now that he’s been found out, he can’t really think that this won’t come out just because his professors like him.
On the contrary, his blank exam paper almost seems like a cry for help—an unspoken plea for them to expose him because he doesn’t have the courage to do it himself, knowing how it will affect his family.
Still, they did him a kindness by giving him a chance to come clean first; Eun-suk’s speech was pretty clear that he should confess primarily for his own sake. Testifying for Jong-hoon was a chance to partially redeem himself, but he can’t escape consequences regardless. (And I imagine he’ll crack soon anyway—he’s clearly overwhelmed with guilt.)
We got only one episode this week due to a preemption for the Baeksang Art Awards, so we have the rising tension of an odd episode without the release that usually comes in an even one, making it feel a bit off balance. But I’m looking forward to seeing Jong-hoon wipe the floor with Assemblyman Go’s army of lawyers next week. That can’t be too much to hope for, given all the blows our protagonists were dealt this hour.