Open Thread: Stranger Episodes 7 & 8

Welcome to the Open Thread, everyone! I just love this scene of Shi Mok and Yeo Jin eating together, and just had to have it headline our post today. Don’t they make such a  perfect pair? 🤩

Here are our usual ground rules, before we begin:

1. Please don’t post spoilers in the Open Thread, except for events that have happened in the show, up to this point. If you really need to talk about a spoiler, it is possible to use the new spoiler tags, but please know that spoilers are still visible (ie, not hidden) in the email notification that you receive, of the comment in question.

We have quite a few first-time viewers among us, and we don’t want to spoil anything for anyone.

2. Discussions on this thread don’t have to close when newer threads open, just so you know! But as we progress through our group watch, please keep the discussions clear of spoilers from future episodes, so that future readers coming to this thread won’t be accidentally spoiled. Does that make sense?

Without further ado, here are my reactions to this set of episodes; have fun in the Open Thread, everyone! ❤️

My thoughts

Episode 7

It’s all so murky.. is what I’m thinking, as I finish this episode. I feel like Show always shakes things up so thoroughly, that while I’m watching – as in, long before I even get to the end of the episode – I already feel like I don’t quite know which way is up.

This episode, I’m rather fascinated by the Chief Prosecutor, especially when he thinks back to how everything (meaning, all the bribery and shady dealings) had started with a sense of obligation after someone else had paid for his meal and a round of drinks.

He also talks about how a big network is a source of power when you’re starting out in the lower ranks, but increasingly becomes a weakness, the higher you go.

That’s such an interesting way of looking at it, honestly. I hadn’t thought of it that way.

Of course, this reasoning only really applies if you have something to hide, right?

And our Chief Prosecutor definitely appears to have at least a few things that he’d like to keep hidden, judging from the intent way he tells his secretary to do background checks on all the section chiefs and higher.

He’s clearly looking for dirt on these people, and I suspect it has more to do with gaining leverage, than with actually removing corrupt people from within the system.

The curious thing, though, is how the Chief Prosecutor destroys that leather wallet, which appears to have been a gift from the man who had bought him that initial meal. I’m guessing that it had been some kind of bribe, from the context.

It’s really interesting to me, that the Chief Prosecutor seems to have such a deep hatred for what it represents.

How intriguing, then, that he’d kept it all this time, despite it holding such negative emotions for him, and also, that he’d destroy it, now that he’s about to officially move into his new Chief Prosecutor’s office.

Does this mean that he’s held on to it, to spur himself towards bigger things, and now that he’s Chief, he finally feels like he’s conquered the Achilles heel that it represents?

Also, from the way the Chief Prosecutor thoughtfully surveys Prosecutor Seo, as Prosecutor Seo desperately states his case for why Park Kyung Wan is the culprit that they’re looking for, and wonders why Prosecutor Seo is so desperate to close the case, it makes me think that perhaps the Chief Prosecutor might not be involved in either murder, after all.

The other character that I find fascinating, this episode, is Prosecutor Seo.

Lee Joon Hyuk is playing him in a manner that feels more and more theatrical and bug-eyed, as we get deeper into our story, such that sometimes I feel like Prosecutor Seo is in his own makjang, while everyone else is in a parallel, much more restrained sort of drama.

I really have to wonder at the acting and directing choice, because I know for a fact that Lee Joon Hyuk is capable of much more restraint. Why make Prosecutor Seo so OTT..? I feel like he’d be just as effective, if he were being played more low-key.

By the time we reach the end of the episode, I’m more confused than ever, about Ga Young’s mobile phone. Since we see Prosecutor Seo still in possession of it in our closing scene, and trying to plant it as evidence in Park Moo Sung’s house, doesn’t this mean that he’d thrown a decoy into the water?

And if he’d thrown a decoy into the water, doesn’t that mean that he basically went out and performed an elaborate show, where he pretended to search the crime scene, then pretended to throw that decoy pack of cigarettes, before actually throwing a decoy phone into the water? It’s enough to make my head spin. 🤪

Also, he’s exceedingly horrible to Yeo Jin, on that bridge, Ugh.

He really seemed to relish bullying her, with the way he threw the stuff in her face, and then ordered her to pick it up. UGH. I can’t help wondering where all of this is coming from.

As in, has he been made to feel subservient and less than, so much, that when the opportunity presents itself for him to be the oppressor, he can’t help but savor it..?

Prosecutor Seo’s turning out to be way more forward-thinking and wily than I’d given him credit for.

I mean, his attempt to set up Park Kyung Wan as the murderer is pretty meticulous, down to powering up Ga Young’s phone after Kyung Wan’s interrogation, so that he would be able to conjure up a plausible story, of Kyung Wan powering up the phone after his interrogation, in order to remove “evidence.”

And to add to the murky mix that we have going on, we have that attempted murder of Ga Young, as she lies in the hospital. From the glimpse of the elegant high heels and the short-haired silhouette, I can’t help wondering if this is Mrs. Chief Prosecutor.

Circumstantially, the shoe fits..? After all, not only does she look the part, she would want to punish her husband for his philandering ways. And, she would, at the same time, want Ga Young silenced. Hrm…

All that said, I really did enjoy watching Shi Mok and Yeo Jin working together, this episode. They don’t spend a great deal of time in the same frame, but this tag team sort of set-up, where they tip each other off on a regular basis, is pretty great.

The last time, Yeo Jin had tipped off Shi Mok that Prosecutor Seo wouldn’t be in his office, and that’s how Shi Mok had managed to search his office.

And this time, Shi Mok’s the one who tips off Yeo Jin, that Prosecutor Seo’s on his way out, and that’s how Yeo Jin’s on the alert to first hide herself, and then tail Prosecutor Seo.

I also like the detail that even though Prosecutor Seo has several tricks up his sleeve in the form of decoys, our little investigative team isn’t too shabby either.

I was really quite pleased to realize that Shi Mok had also asked Detective Jang to tail Prosecutor Seo, as a back-up.

Of course, that does turn out to be rather futile in the end, since the phone they’d fished out of the water had turned out to be a dud. But still, just the idea that they’re thinking ahead and working together, pleases me.

In particular, I love that little beat where Yeo Jin teases Shi Mok about being angry, and then, proceeds to do a sketch of his angry expression, while blithely ignoring his protests, that he’s not angry.

Hee. It makes me happy to think that Yeo Jin’s starting to understand Shi Mok, more or less against his wishes, and is casually leaning into it and becoming familiar with him, never mind what he thinks.

I find it so endearing, that Shi Mok doesn’t throw those drawings away, even though they’re rough sketches torn out of her notebook, that are given to him almost as a joke.

Instead, this episode, we see him actually studying the drawings, and trying on a smile, in a bemused, experimental fashion. He doesn’t quite know what to make of it all, but he seems at least somewhat open to the idea that he does have feelings, and I like that.

This episode, I’m starting to get the sense that Prosecutor Young might actually be nursing some kind of crush on Shi Mok. There’s something about the way she talks to him, especially when she barges into his apartment, that comes across as her being a bit desperate for his approval and trust.

Plus, she looks rather deflated, and even a little bitter, when she points out that he wouldn’t care about what she does there, no matter what. That definitely smacks of some kind of unrequited affection, wouldn’t you say?

As we close out the episode, I’m ridiculously pleased that Shi Mok and Yeo Jin catch Prosecutor Seo in the actual act of trying to plant Ga Young’s phone as evidence against Kyung Wan. YESS. The wily fox get one-upped, after all of his elaborate scheming this episode, and I love it.

Is his claim that the Chief Prosecutor is behind the murder true, though? I mean, on the one hand, it looks plausible, because we see the Chief Prosecutor deleting what looks like evidence from his computer.

On the other hand, that could all just be a dramatization of Prosecutor Seo’s accusation – and that accusation could be yet another decoy, in a desperate attempt to get himself off the hook?

Episode 8

It’s beginning to come together in my head, that every episode, Show changes tack and explores the probability of someone else being the culprit, than the person whom we’d just been convinced was the culprit, in the episode prior.

The only reason this approach works, is, of course, because so many of our characters have such questionable backgrounds, that it’s not that difficult, to spin a motive and a set of circumstances, that would lead us to believe said new person is likely the culprit that we’re looking for.

The deeper I get into this show, the more it becomes clear to me that a lot of people in this drama world have things to hide.

Even Team Leader Choi, who had earlier seemed to me to be only involved in a reluctant sort of way, makes me think that he’s pretty much as dirty as the next dirty cop, with the way he beats up Park Kyung Wan so badly, that a cover up is needed.

At the same time, the problem is clearly systemic.

That beat, where Team Leader Choi and Detective Kim sheepishly tell the Police Chief that they’d thought that this was what the Chief had meant, when he’d told them to get a confession out of Park Kyung Wan, no matter what it took, reminds me of a somewhat similar scene in D.P. (Deserter Pursuit), which I finished recently.

[VAGUE HIGH LEVEL MINOR SPOILER FOR D.P.]

Basically, the idea is that the orders to resort to violence are never given directly; they are hinted at, and the subordinates are expected to know what to do.

BUT, if anything goes wrong, the supervisor’s going to turn around and say that he never gave the order. And that really does seem to be the dynamic at work here, too, doesn’t it?

[END SPOILER]

In this sense, I don’t tend to blame Team Leader Choi as an individual for being cruel, as much as I blame the system for being rotten. Yeo Jin is completely right on this point; regular folks who seem perfectly decent, can end up doing terrible things, because the system has taught them that it’s ok to do so.

This episode, I don’t know how much I believe the idea that Prosecutor Seo is innocent. I mean, just because he doesn’t actually kill Prosecutor Young when she tests him by blackmailing him, doesn’t prove anything, does it?

In fact, the violently aggressive way he reacts when he gets that text from her, makes me think that he absolutely has something to hide. Otherwise, why would he rush to the crime scene, and attack Prosecutor Young?

Personally, I don’t buy Prosecutor Young’s explanation to Shi Mok, that Prosecutor Seo’s reaction proves that he’s not the culprit.

Plus, there’s always the possibility – which Prosecutor Young points out herself – that he could have been working with an accomplice.

If he’d had an accomplice, then it doesn’t mean anything, does it, if he personally didn’t kill Prosecutor Young? Also, how can she forget that he came thisclose to actually killing her, with the way he was strangling her?

I don’t get Prosecutor Young’s explanation, and therefore, Shi Mok’s suspicion, that Prosecutor Young’s too keen to have the culprit be proven to be someone from the Chief Prosecutor’s family, makes me sit up and take notice.

After all, Prosecutor Young does have a motive to take down the Chief Prosecutor.

Also, why would she put herself in such danger, just to test Prosecutor Seo? That doesn’t seem quite normal to me – unless she has a vested interest in this case..?

I’d almost guess that Prosecutor Young might be the whistleblower who brings the bribery case to light at the end of the episode, but she looks genuinely puzzled at the way everyone’s rushing around like headless chickens, so.. I guess it’s not her, then.

One of Show’s consistent highlights, is the way Shi Mok and Yeo Jin continue to become closer and better at working together.

I like that even though Shi Mok himself thinks that they should abide by the cover-up of Kyung Wan’s mistreatment while in police custody, so as not to create unnecessary trouble, he takes Yeo Jin’s angst over this seriously.

I mean, he may not feel the same way she does, but he respects her frustration and passion enough, that he gets Kim Jung Bon involved, so that Kyung Wan’s mistreatment can come to light, without them having to risk Yeo Jin being taken off the case for being a whistleblower. That’s win-win, to my eyes.

I love that when Shi Mok thinks that he’s figured out who the whistleblower is, he calls Yeo Jin right away. Ahhh! This is so unlike how he’d used to react around Yeo Jin, where he’d basically ignored her and gone about his own investigations, and she had to badger him for answers.

Now, he’s the one calling her? I love that.

And I love the beat where Yeo Jin changes her order from udon to ramyun, just because Shi Mok said so, and then waters down his ramyun broth because she deems it too salty. She’s so cheerfully, casually familiar with Shi Mok, and he just lets her.

I also love the little thing where she holds up the bottle of soju questioningly, and he gives her a quick shake of his head. Is it weird that I’m so thrilled at the fact that they’re familiar enough with each other, to communicate without words now? 🤩

And! There’s the cute moment when Yeo Jin playfully tells Shi Mok that she doesn’t trust him at all, and Shi Mok leaks an actual smile, without even realizing it. Eee!!! I love it, So Much. 🤩🥰

How interesting, though, that Yeo Jin talks about her theory that the culprit is someone who’s personally suffered because of all the bribery – and then we basically cut to Kim Jung Bon greeting Kyung Wan upon his release the next morning.

It does make sense, plus, Kim Jung Bon’s still on my Suspicious List, so maybe Yeo Jin’s hit the nail on the head after all?

And, what is this about Shi Mok being selected to investigate all his colleagues for corruption? I mean, objectively, I’d say Shi Mok would do a good job, but surely the Chief Prosecutor has a deeper agenda to this?

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eda harris
eda harris
1 year ago

“justice, ambition, greed, sin” – shi-mok. that actually describes and sums up this drama and could have been the subtitle of it.
prosecutor seo in his own makjang (i learned this korean word just recently and it always makes me smile – such a rich, funny sounding – you just want to roll it with your tong, word) – KFG, i was cracking up reading it and it made me giddy, but o so true! i was super suspicious of him from the beginning, it felt like dirt is dripping all over him and i do not find it humorous his play with bulging eyes, it’s more like what is this about and does it really fit into this drama.
but my cat is back in play, celebrating the mouse seo is busted. finally the cat has at least ONE mouse in a trap, good enough for now. huge satisfaction. although i must admit i underestimated him, he figured out a lot of shi-mok’s and yeo-jin’s way of thinking and planning (throwing the cigarette box, then a fake phone and finally planting evidence to supposedly close the case), that is pretty smart and unexpected from him. but for once he has the taste of his own medicine.
i found it also satisfying that shi-mok figured out that yeo-jin is not just a partner, but she’s IRREPLACABLE – his words. that is a big achievement for both of them, and the highest status for anybody in shi-mok’s world. and he is actually able to voice it to her, another achievement for shi-mok and their relationship in general.
there is one thing that i kind of do not understand. why did shi-mok say that if yeo-jin opens her mouth in regards to the beating, young mr. park will be locked up for months?

merij1
merij1
1 year ago
Reply to  eda harris

why did shi-mok say that if yeo-jin opens her mouth in regards to the beating, young mr. park will be locked up for months?

That was his cynical take on the Realpolitik of the SK criminal justice system. If threatened, the police would retaliate against young Mr. Park to keep him out of the public eye.

It would be a lose-lose across the board, since Yeo-jin would also be punished and would be taken off the case. (And she, after all, is irreplaceable to him!) So he comes up with an alternate plan for Park that doesn’t involve her.

Last edited 1 year ago by merij1
eda harris
eda harris
1 year ago
Reply to  merij1

that explanation seems reasonable. thanks. i did not thinks of sk criminal justice system. i wonder if it’s just a korean thing, do not know enough of any other systems, but do know that corruption is everywhere, ugh.

Novi Purnomo
Novi Purnomo
1 year ago

Oh my gosh I am so excited to find this blog!! I love love stranger but not many of my friends crazy about it like I do hahahaha..

I found that Prosecutor So def likes ShiMok. she flirts and sometime throw rude comments to get his attention. she somehow wanted an emotion from him, even if its anger. However Shi Mok clearly have no feeling whatsoever towards her. So I found its a one sided thing that actually makes things interesting to the relationship between ShiMok and Yeo Jin ❤️

manukajoe
manukajoe
1 year ago
Reply to  Novi Purnomo

Welcome to the group watch!

Novi Purnomo
Novi Purnomo
1 year ago
Reply to  Novi Purnomo

I was going to write Eun Soo but dont know why I wrote prosecutor so instead🤣

merij1
merij1
1 year ago
Reply to  Novi Purnomo

@NP: Welcome to our extended family!

Elaine Phua
Elaine Phua
1 year ago

Sorry a minor detail, if you look closely at your screenshot, Si Mok was eating udon and it was bad, that’s why he told Yeo Jin to order ramyeon. And yes I love how she casually asked the ahjumma for water and we think it’s for her to drink but then she pours it into his udon soup to dilute it for him. Such a buddy thing to do!

Timescout
1 year ago

Seo Dong Jae or The Weasel, as he’s affectionally called, in his bug-eyed glory is a character most of us ended up being quite fond of. I’ve always seen our Weasel as a sort of comic relief but as with all of the chracters in Stranger, there is more than meets the eye when it comes to Dong Jae as well.

I don’t think the attack on Prosecutor Young was something that would happen in normal circumstances. Yeah, Dong Jae is kinda volatile but he doesn’t seem like someone who’d loose his cool quite that badly if it was business as usual. As it is, he’d just lost his backer, so there doesn’t seem to be anyone he could rely on to help him out and things are going from bad to worse fast. He’s very much aware that he’s skating on thin ice, any random thing can make him plummet through, so he must be pretty stressed out and starting to panic a bit. But he wouldn’t be The Weasel if he didn’t find a way out from this situation as well. Just wait and see. 🙂

Elaine Phua
Elaine Phua
1 year ago
Reply to  Timescout

Yes I’m finding Seo Dong Jae very amusing indeed. The last role I saw Lee Joon Hyuk in was Are You Human Too where he was much more dignified haha!

MC
MC
1 year ago

Ok urgh, dont know where my comment went to but I wanted to say that Eun Soo is so interesting… who is she really? Is her newbie, innocent vibe just an act? Does she really like Shi-mok? Yes I know ep 7 implies so (and some of that hyperawareness when hiding with Shi-mok in Prosecutor Seo’s office also is proof to the attraction) but there’s been times she has been so rude to Shi-mok, pretty much baiting him to try to get a reaction out of him – not sure if that’s how she interacts with guys she likes or what. Their conversations are so full of tension and chemistry but differs so much from Shi-mok and Yeo-jin (which is comfortable and familiar) – this two seem like they might end up fighting or kissing, lol. It’s a very unpredictable, volatile sort of situation when they’re together.

Anyhow if my comment comes back feel free to delete this!

Elaine Phua
Elaine Phua
1 year ago
Reply to  MC

Agree, sometimes her rude comments have even come across as demeaning or insensitive of his condition. Like, of course you won’t mind me being rude right, since you don’t feel emotions?

merij1
merij1
1 year ago
Reply to  MC

MC, I’m responding to both your comments — here and below — regarding Prosecutor Young (Young Eun Soo).

My impression is that as a young rookie she is still insecure at times.

She’s smart and well-educated, she’s attractive, she has a personal agenda here and she’s extremely determined about it. At the same time, she’s still just barely an adult and her family recently suffered a significant loss of standing due to a well-publicized scandal.

So what we’re seeing is her flipping back and forth across that all-important line of confidence. You know how in these shows people often ask something along the lines of, “yes, but do you have the confidence to do this?” Half the time she does; the other half she’s shaken by self-doubt.

Testing whether she really is as attractive as she sometimes thinks is just another piece of that. Being attractive to men doesn’t directly support her agenda, but feeling attractive is a source of strength that feeds her overall sense of confidence. Lashing out at at a stern father-figure like Shi Mok — mildly, but still rude — for not responding to her as a woman also comes from that place of self-doubt and fear.

This is not a game for her. It’s very, very real and incredibly important. And she’s not sure she’s up to the task.

Last edited 1 year ago by merij1
MC
MC
1 year ago
Reply to  merij1

Oh yes that’s a good summary for her. She’s like a little kitten playing amongst the tigers and while determined, is in dangerous territory. What you say makes sense. Thanks for sharing and I can’t wait to see what else she and everyone else does!

eda harris
eda harris
1 year ago
Reply to  MC

i like the kitten and the tigers. sounds just right.

MC
MC
1 year ago

Ok these 2 episodes were as twisty and intriguing as usual, and I can’t trust anyone except our dynamic duo. I really wonder what is everyone’s part in this show.

But can we talk about Prosecutor Young Eun-soo?? When we first met her she seemed like a young, hapless, slightly ambitious girl and look where we are now. She’s so wonderfully layered and complex – what a well-written character (and show, but that’s a given!) I really really cannot figure out what she wants apart from figuratively giving it to the Chief Prosecutor Lee and presumably his family. What is with putting herself into danger and when she gets released from Prosecutor Seo’s chokehold all she says is something like ok it wasn’t you right? And believes it. What a strange reaction to have.

Also I’m side tracking but Jung-bon is really so … creepy, he seems nice but he seems like one of those still waters run deep fellas. Same goes for Chief Prosecutor Lee’s wife who looks like she tried to kill Ga Young but who knows if its her? Either way she seems like a placid pool of water with swirling undercurrents beneath. Also I can’t get over Prosecutor Seo’s bug eyed look. So strange.

But back to Eun-soo. I wanted to talk about her interactions with Shi-mok. Ep 7 we see her stating her interest in him when she visits him at home (and before too, when she and he were hiding at Prosecutor Seo’s desk and she seemed a bit hyperaware of his nearness and him covering her mouth). And I don’t know about you but I certainly do NOT go around dropping by my colleagues’ homes multiple times on multiple nights just to chat or borrow clothes or anything like that, let alone my male, senior colleague. So its clear that she likes him.

But where did that come from? I wonder if it’s because he’s nice to her? I mean, before he was nice to her (stopping Prosecutor Seo as he mishandles her and drags her out of the office when he realises they’ve searched his office), she seemed rather rude to him, trying to bait and needle a reaction out of him. Things like saying he had no feelings, another time, when he said something like why are you pouring salt into my wounds and she replied along the lines of it would only hurt if you had a wound. So back then if you’d told me she had a crush on him I wouldn’t have seen it. So I wonder where did it come from – is it because he “saved” her? But yet at times she seems so singleminded about destroying Chief Prosecutor Lee that I wonder if all this is her trying to seduce/ butter up Shi-mok to help her and if it’s all real And why did the camera linger so long on her hanging up his washed sweater and the sleeve flopping off the rack? And what’s with the English song she sends to him?

Honestly sometimes when they are together I feel lots of sparks and tension – I just can’t quite decide if it will lead to kissing or fighting. Very different from his vibe with Yeo-jin which is so familiar and comfortable (and I love how far they’ve come!) Ah, all the mysteries!! I dont know what’s up with her (and same for everyone else, essentially but right now Eun-soo intrigues me the most).

eda harris
eda harris
1 year ago
Reply to  MC

i think eun-soo with her female radar can detect something going on with shi-mok’s emotional state or lack of it. i feel she’s trying to flush out at least some kind of emotions from him, positive or negative, so she can use it to her advantage and to help her with her final goal, whatever it is (not clear yet). but she strikes me as intelligent, persistent, sneaky, skimming – she’s the real fox, willing to do whatever it is that will help her. is she a killer, somehow i do not think, she would not have the physical power, unless an accomplice (may be old ex-boyfriend?). still doubt it. but very curious what is her role in all of this? she’s definitely one of the most interesting characters in this drama for me (also her exotic looks add to the secret undertones of her character – perfect casting). and i think that she might be also checking the temperature whether something romantic can occur, but that is not her primary intention. to sum it up, i think she makes shi-mok her project.

merij1
merij1
1 year ago

So now you’re probably getting a sense for my lens adjustment advice a few weeks ago.

It’s not that there aren’t legit clues to ponder. It’s that so many of them turn out to be red herrings. “Who dunnit?” doesn’t feel like it was set up as a cat and mouse game you are expected to solve. Sure, you might guess correctly, but that would be as much luck as attention to detail.

On the other hand, you have these other ongoing puzzles which are definitely worth your time:

What the hell is going on with Prosecutor Seo? What kind of a human being is he?

Ditto for Chief Prosecutor Lee. And rookie Prosecutor Young. And so on, right down the line.

“Who dunnit?” is a straightforward mechanical question that will eventually be answered. But even if I spoiled you on the answer now, these other questions would still be worth your time.

Last thing I’ll say is that because of their chosen profession as prosecutors or police detectives, the context for most of these people’s life choices is SK’s criminal justice system. (Plus the usual backdrop of income inequality, the power of chaebols and so on.)

How each of them chooses to navigate it, individually or with a shifting team of partners they learn to trust, is what I think the show is about.

Well, that and whether Shi Mok will ever be allowed to finish his meals. ‘Natch!

Last edited 1 year ago by merij1
Shahz
Shahz
1 year ago
Reply to  merij1

Just to say I kept thinking throughout the series will someone let the poor man eat🤣

MC
MC
1 year ago
Reply to  merij1

Hahaha I’m guessing maybe at the end of the season he gets to finish his food? At least he could eat though :p

Thanks really for the lens adjustment, it helps. I have given up on figuring out whodunnit but I’m just enjoying the ride this show takes us on. And I want to know indeed what is everyone’s backstory and motivation. That’s the real mystery!

Trent
1 year ago

I’m with you, I kind of love their increasingly comfortable non-romantic partnership. And Yeo-jin continues to be a real delight: ingenuous, optimistic, refreshingly straightforward, with a strong moral compass. This role makes obvious why Bae Doona gets so many accolades.

I do think Prosecutor Young has a vibe for Shi-mok…not exactly pining for him, but get the sense she would be open to his advances if he were ever interested in making any? Also, that was insanely risky to basically try to just bait Prosecutor Seo into violence. What if he had been willing to go all the way? Congratulations! You proved…something. Too bad you’re dead! (my respect for Shin Hye-sun continues to climb; this could hardly be more different than roles in Still 17 and Mr. Queen, but she’s totally believable here).

MC
MC
1 year ago
Reply to  Trent

Oh yes I soooo love their non romantic partnership and friendship and just… being two kindred souls, maybe. They just get each other so much and so well. Love it!

j3ffc
j3ffc
1 year ago
Reply to  Trent

Oh, she was definitely flirting with him, big-time (“I can pull off anything [clothes], can’t I?”)…

Spoiler
And she can.
… but I keep thinking it’s more along the lines of her trying to use him than actual attraction.

Last edited 1 year ago by j3ffc
wonhwa
wonhwa
1 year ago
Reply to  Trent

I really could watch an entire show of just Shi Mok and Yeo Jin hanging out together doing nothing in particular.

manukajoe
manukajoe
1 year ago

Great points KFG! I think that Chief Prosecutor gave Si-mok the job as a “Hospital Pass” – i.e. a job that will end him up in hospital.

Ep 7 Ha ha they tricked us with the ghost scene!
It’s getting complicated and I’m losing track of who’s deceiving who. 
Ep 8 “Please become a sacrificial victim this time.” – ha ha ha this exchange was so hilarious!

Si-mok says that Seo Dong Jae might be a lot more rational than Young Eun Soo thinks (after Seo strangles her). So we might have Seo Dong Jae appearing to be emotional but inside is actually a sociopath, contrasting to Si-mok who is outwardly a sociopath but inwardly has some kind of heart. 
So Young Eun Soo used a stun gun on Kim Ga Young? She’s telling Si-mok that Seo didn’t do it, but what she’s really doing is reverse psychology, to protect herself. That’s my guess.