Floating
Episode 9 of Beyond Evil begins with Joo-Won admitting his part in the sting operation. He gives his statement, including an impassioned plea to punish him for his role in all this. With the investigation closed for now, Joo-Won instead goes completely off the grid. Dong-Sik meanwhile watches old footage of Jin-Mook. As he does, he realizes there may well be a clue underground, prompting Dong-Sik to smash up the floor with a sledgehammer. He’s haunted by what’s happened in the past, and desperate for closure. With Jin-Mook dead now, it seems he’s not going to find it. The day draws on and Dong-Sik heads out on patrol with Ji-Hoon. Together, they uncover another gambling run in a touch of Deja vu to the first episode. And just like that chapter, Dong-Sik brings the ladies in for questioning. Joo-Won returns too and introduces himself to the others. He locks the doors this time and comments how nothing really changes. Meanwhile, Jae-Yi turns herself in to the police department. At the main station, she arrives voluntarily to confirm she was near Munju Police Station early in the morning. In fact, she was actually on her way to killing Jin-Mook. The date is November 10th too, which is the date Jin-Mook was actually killed in prism. Only, the death itself was allegedly suicide thanks to a fishing line so it seems she’s in the clear for now. With this interesting turn of events, Joo-Won decides to stay in Manyang for the time being. His Father isn’t exactly pleased at this, and even more so when the superintendent sees footage of Jae-Yi has cropped up. This footage inevitably prompts all the officers to feel uneasy that evening when they’re over at Jae-Yi’s butcher shop. As they all sit down to eat, Ji-Hwa asks Dong-Sik outright whether he was aware of Jae-Yi arriving at the station. He smirks, telling her it would be great if he did because he’d kill Jin-Mook himself. On the back of this, Dong-Sik shows the others the footage of Jin-Mook and, specifically, the segments involving him casually mentioning construction. This could be a clue but then again it may not be. Either way, Jung-Je is the one who may have uncovered something. Given Jin-Mook’s desire to bury his victims, Dong-Sik tries to work out if the site in general is at his hideout. One thing leads to another, and the group head down to the farmland and begin a wide search, digging frantically to try and find any possible bodies. While they dig, it’s Ji-Hoon who once again uncovers a skeleton. This is enough for Chang-Jin to be brought to the station for questioning. He claims he can’t remember Jin-Mook. While Ji-Hwa interviews him, a text message comes in confirming more bodies have been found. Unfortunately, none of them seem to be in their 20’s so it doesn’t seem like Yu-Yeon is there. In a cruel sense of irony, Jin-Mook’s will confirms that Dong-Sik gets to take over all of his property. Dong-Sik visits his Mother in hospital and hears her talking about construction work and the boiler. She immediately starts acting hysterically, claiming her children are shivering with cold. On the back of this statement, Dong-Sik immediately heads into his basement and checks near the boiler. Inside the wall he finds Yu-Yeon’s ring and realizes, to his shock, that she was there this whole time. Meanwhile, Joo-Won follows Chief Nam as he shows up at the butcher’s. He questions her about the station and, more specifically, how she saw him that night. It turns out he too was at the police station around the same time as Jin-Mook’s murder. It’s clear Jae-Yi is afraid of him as he stares menacingly into her eyes. As she asks whether he killed Jin-Mook, he’s suddenly arrested for aiding and abetting by two officers who show up. Just before phoning the police, Dong-Sik receives a call from Ji-Hwa confirming that Chief Nam has been arrested. Not only do they find the fishing line in his drawer, they also find documents too. Is Chief Nam really the one responsible for killing Yu-Yeon? Well, as the episode closes out we see someone planting everything in Chief Nam’s safe. And that someone? Joo-Won.
The Episode Review
Wow what an absolutely despicable man. Learning that Yu-Yeon was “returned to Dong-Sik” in the exact place he’s been conducting his investigation is a horrific sense of irony. You’ve got to feel bad for the guy and the ending is absolutely haunting. In fact, the shock that follows that – with Joo-Won planting evidence against Chief Nam – sets up an intriguing conflict to come in the episodes ahead. Although most of this episode takes on a more comedic tone, I think it was needed after such a heavy set of episodes. However, there’s also a nice touch here with the poetic scenes at the substation with the gambling, linking all the way back to the opening chapter. This really helps show how far these characters have come, and sets up an intriguing second half with an extra layer of mystery. This has certainly been one of the best K-dramas this year, and that ending really does leave the door wide open. Roll on the next episode!
