Early Access: Confession E8 (Patreon)

E8. Ok, wow. This worked out to be quite the intense episode. I'd been engaged with Show from the start, but this episode, I felt like I was breathlessly on the edge of my seat, for a good stretch.

I'd had an inkling that our quartet coming together would result in a lifting of our narrative to the next level, but I guess I hadn't been prepared for just how our narrative would evolve, as a result. And, I hadn't been prepared for how quickly our narrative would evolve, either.

Both very good things, just in case that wasn't clear. 😁

I'm so pleased that our quartet wastes no screen time in getting together, and laying out their cards with one another. I'd been half afraid that the pethidine and Seol-hwa pieces would remain in hiding for a while, because it's not really immediately obvious, that these are important pieces of information.

Instead, Show is quick to have that all come out, so that Do Hyun and Chun Ho can connect the dots to the cases they're investigating. I'm also glad that Madame Jin and Yoo Ri are quick to conclude that everything that they've been investigating, is actually interconnected, and that it would be better for them to join hands, and combine their efforts.

This pleased me a fair bit, because I love the idea of these 4 working together, rather than the two teams working in parallel to each other.

I also appreciate that Show remains in touch with the emotional side of things, with Madame Jin feeling especially overwhelmed by the pain of realizing that her son's death might not have been an accident after all.

The line that she utters in the office, that she'd thought that she'd thought she'd never experience anything more painful than her son's death, is so very poignant. Indeed, the only thing worse than losing her son, is realizing that her son might have been killed on purpose.

I'm glad that Madame Jin pushes through the pain, though. Because, as hard as this is for her, and as much as I feel for her, that her deepest wounds have to be opened again because of this, she does deserve to know the truth, and the perpetrators need to be brought to justice. No Sun Hoo deserves that his killers be brought to justice.

We get a fair bit more information this episode, and one of those bits, is the reason why Big Gun had wanted Do Hyun's dad out of the way. With Do Hyun's dad insisting on submitting a report that would unveil his corruption in the purchase of those German attack helicopters, I can see why Big Gun would look for an opportunity to remove Do Hyun's dad from the picture.

It appears that Dad has put a mechanism in place, to have the report released, if anything were to happen to him or to Do Hyun, so where we are right now, Shady Secretary's threatening to harm Do Hyun, but Dad's threatening right back, to release the report. It feels like a very escalated game of chicken, from where I'm standing. 😅

I also wonder how that mechanism works. Surely Dad would have to engage someone to help him with releasing the report, if something were to happen to him or Do Hyun? Has he engaged a lawyer, for example, and said lawyer's task is to monitor the situation, and release the report, if he deems it necessary? I'm definitely curious to know more about how that works.

We also find out that Kim Sun Hee had likely tried to blackmail Big Gun for money, and that's probably how she'd gotten herself killed. From the looks of it, it seems that if Kim Sun Hee hadn't tried to blackmail Big Gun, she would have lived.

Chun Ho doesn't manage to get the information Big Gun, exactly, but he does get a lead, based on the fact that Kim Sun Hee had been transfixed by the news, so I'm hopeful that our quartet will be able to figure out Big Gun's identity soon.

The biggest reveal this episode, though, is that Cho Ki Tak, who's mysteriously disappeared off the grid, is actually Heo Jae Man, the man who had claimed to be Nurse Cho's childhood friend.

Woah. I hadn't seen that coming, honestly. Even though I'd had an inkling that there was something a little off about Heo Jae Man - mostly because he'd appeared sooo effusively pleasant to Do Hyun - I would've never guessed that he was, in fact, Cho Ki Tak.

The way Show teases us in the direction of realizing that Heo Jae Man is actually Cho Ki Tak, is pretty great, I hafta say. It's like the pieces slowly come together, as we watch, and as the realization solidifies, the horror amplifies too, because then we realize exactly how dangerous it is for Han Jong Goo, for Cho Ki Tak to be a prison guard where Han Jong Goo is being held. Gah.

On that note, I just wanted to say, Yoon Gyung Ho does a great job playing the different sides of Cho Ki Tak. When he's being amiable Heo Jae Man, he really does look quite harmless. But in the blink of an eye, when he's channeling Cho Ki Tak, he can look absolutely murderous. Yikes. But also, really well done.

I thought that scene, where Cho Ki Tak goes to Do Hyun's office, was really nerve-wracking, not gonna lie. I was literally holding my breath the whole time Cho Ki Tak was in Do Hyun's office. The way he breaks in so casually, then explores Do Hyun's wall of information, then settles into Do Hyun's office chair, made me think that he was there to kill Do Hyun. Egad.

And so, when we see Do Hyun going up the stairs and getting closer and closer to his office door, I kept willing Do Hyun to stop, and leave; anything except enter the office, because I believed that Cho Ki Tak was in there, ready to kill him.

Gah. The tensionnn. 🙈

In the end, it turns out that Cho Ki Tak's there to deliver a warning, rather than kill Do Hyun, which, PHEW.

Of course, Cho Ki Tak could've just broken in, delivered the warning, and then left, long before Do Hyun's return, but 1, that wouldn't have been quite a nerve-wracking to watch, and I'm sure Show did that (at least in part) in order to keep us on the edge of our seats, and 2, I can believe that Cho Ki Tak's perverse enough, to take pleasure in anticipating Do Hyun's arrival. Perhaps he's sitting there, fantasizing about how pleasurable it would be, to kill Do Hyun..?

The more our quartet finds out, the more danger there is, lurking around every corner. It's excellent dramatic tension, but it also make me watch this show with my heart in my throat. I need our quartet intact and safe!

Another big reveal, this episode, is that behind Big Gun, there's a Bigger Gun, who's a bigger shot. Gah. Just how far does this corruption reach, y'know? It makes me wonder if there's a Biggest Gun, behind Bigger Gun. 😅

The way Show gives us pieces of information, at the end of the episode, is pretty great. There are basically two realizations slowly crystalizing, in our last stretch.

One is, we see just how cruel and violent Cho Ki Tak can be, and therefore, just how much danger Han Jong Goo is in. And the other is, we slowly realize that Cho Ki Tak's assumed Heo Jae Man's identity, most likely after killing him.

I felt such a strong sense of horror and dread, as we see Cho Ki Tak close in on Han Jong Goo, like a predator toying with his prey. The way Cho Ki Tak pursues and pounces on Han Jong Goo really makes me think of a wild animal out for the kill.

I'm bummed that we lose Han Jong Goo, not only because Cho Ki Tak kills him in cold blood, but also because Han Jong Goo's turned out to be an important witness, not only for the Changhyun–dong murder, but for Do Hyun's dad's case as well.

Gosh, with our key witnesses dropping like flies, and our main quartet in actual physical danger because they're snooping in inconvenient corners, the odds are really stacked against them. I only hope that Han Jong Goo managed to leave behind some useful clues, in his final voice message to Do Hyun.

Next episode notes will be out on: Tuesday, 22 Mar 2022!