Our pill-pushing quintet might have become a public sensation, but this week we learn that the truth goes far beyond the night of the murder. Has it all been an elaborate revenge scheme? Or is it a game of cat and mouse, played to the death? The more clues, the more questions, and the more we learn about our house and its secrets, the deeper into the past we have to go to find our answers.
EPISODES 5-6 WEECAP
If everyone gave In-ho a sleeping pill, and no one knew he was allergic, where does the true mystery lie? Our sleuthing cousins return to the start of the clues, and rethink the five letters that started it all. Was the letter-writer among the culprits? It’s the only solution the girls can think of, and they start suspecting their own parents in order to unravel the mystery.
Our household attends In-ho’s funeral mass, and it serves to provide one of many new tidbits of information we get this week: In-ho had previously suffered from an allergic reaction to sleeping pills, and guess who knew about it? Sul-young. And guess who purposefully left it out of his medical files, and common knowledge? Sul-young. Add in some scenes of her poking around her evil laptop at secret files, and I’m more suspicious of her than ever. And so is Bit-na.
Bit-na is pretty strong as she continues to confront Sul-young over her suspicions, and we’re following her every step of the way. However, Sul-young has lots of tricks in her bag, and every time Bit-na comes at her, she expertly turns the tables and goes right after Bit-na’s (pretty damaged) psyche. “The more you provoke me, the more pain you’ll inflict on yourself,” she warns Bit-na creepily — and we see it in action. We learn a little more about Bit-na’s childhood, and get glimpses of past incidents where her mother seemingly left her behind, or when Sul-young left her to struggle while swimming in the ocean.
The acting in this drama has been top-notch, but there’s something about the encounters between Sul-young and Bit-na — they have this edge to them that makes for an exciting watch! It’s also interesting how the drama takes this near-panic attack that Bit-na’s been pushed to, and uses it to lead to our second important reveal this week. The imposing grandfather clock at the end of the hall holds secrets, much like every door, painting, bookshelf (and person!) in the house. While the chances of walking up to a clock and uncovering secret CCTV might seem a little far-fetched, our drama makes this moment so strong and surreal that I believed everything I saw.
The grandfather clock holds our twist: the night of his murder, it was In-ho that tiptoed around the hallway and delivered the mysterious letters that were the catalyst for his own demise. Our cousins are naturally shocked and horrified, and interestingly, Sun suggests they share this news with their parents — not because she trusts her father, but because she doesn’t. His scam artist thinking could help them.
The girls uncover yet another secret, though, while trying to investigate Sul-young. They pounce when she finally leaves her room, and among the files on her laptop, find an image of the map to the safe that was printed on the incriminating letters. But how was Sul-young involved in the letters? She won’t say a word yet.
Onto the next twist! This time we dig into Hae-joon a little bit more, and again, I so appreciate the careful layering of this drama — what we thought was him wiretapping the house out of suspicion and greed turns out to be so much more. We’ve seen Bit-na’s past coming to haunt her, and now it’s Hae-joon’s turn. Fifteen years ago, we learn that he and his father (In-gook, of the mysterious In-Gook Foundation) visited In-ho. Little boy Hae-joon stays in the car; hours later, his father’s body is dragged out by In-ho and his friend Jung-wook. Ahh!
The evidence from this seemingly accidental murder is held on an old recorder that Hae-joon’s presumably been searching for. He’s pretty good at snooping around, and after nosing around Mrs. Park, discovers the secret room where she’s been stashing stolen goods for 20 years. Good grief, everyone in this drama has a dirty secret! Hae-joon finds the recording and learns the truth about what happened while he waited in the car that night: it was Jung-wook who killed his father. Hae-joon is broken, as expected, and runs off in a rage with revenge on his mind and a switchblade in his hand.
I really like how this drama turns on a dime, and takes us along for the ride. Last week we had totally written off Hae-joon as a greedy lowlife — this week we learn that his “devotion” to In-ho was deeply rooted in heartbreak, and the need to uncover the truth about his father’s death. Suddenly, we have a whole new lens through which to view his story. Hae-joon isn’t the only example, and this drama excels at passing us notes under the door, so to speak, and then giving us a whole new something to think about.
We’re left with two more twists as our episodes close — first, that Bit-na was also up and about the night of her father’s murder. We haven’t been privy to this information before, and it’s like a giant question mark: have we been trusting Bit-na too readily? Gulp! Second, it’s confirmed that Sul-young and Jung-wook are in cahoots, and there’s some crazy plan that’s been playing out, and it seems mighty nefarious.
When we end our episodes this week, Jung-wook dresses up, goes on TV, and claims that he’s been In-ho’s ghost painter for the last 20 years. It’s quite the moment, and as usual, we’re left with more questions than anything. How involved has In-ho been in this entire plot? Was he trying to smoke people out with his letters and hoax, or was this all an elaborate assisted suicide scheme? In a final clue, we see In-ho in flashback stating that, “A true artist is made after his death.” While I’m sure there are more twists in store for us during the final week, I think that statement will have a lot to do with how our mystery plays out.
