Remember—Son’s War: Episode 12

by odilettante

The enigmatic Dong-ho is finally starting to let his stripes show as he begins to make clear — to the viewers, at least — what side of this battle he’s truly on. Everyone digs deeper into their respective cases, which may not be so different as they seem on the surface. Il-ho Group’s corruption and greed spans generations and families, but at least we can have some hope that our heroes are finally able to take advantage of the cracks that are beginning to show as they chip away at Gyu-man’s support structure.

EPISODE 12 RECAP

After Gyu-man’s slap-to-the-face and fake apology (which is more of a threat), Dong-ho returns to his swanky Il-ho Group office with his assistant Sang-ho adorably indignant on his boss’s behalf. He laments that, once upon a time, Dong-ho would have never tolerated being treated like that. But Dong-ho is confident that karma will come back to bite Gyu-man. I think that karma could use a little help, but let’s hope it’s true nevertheless.

Over lunch, Min-soo and his father express their gratitude for Jin-woo’s turning the tide in the trial. At Min-soo’s declaration that he’s just glad that his father didn’t follow through on his suicide attempt, Jin-woo admits he’s envious that they still have each other. He thinks back to when his father had asked “Lawyer Seo” to tell his son that he misses him every day. Aw, gonna make me cry again.

Min-soo interrupts his thoughts, telling him that he’s surprised it was the opposing lawyer who recommended he seek out Jin-woo. He shows Jin-woo’s business card that Dong-ho gave him, and Jin-woo’s surprised because he didn’t realize that’s why Min-soo sought him out.

Speaking of Dong-ho, he’s busy going through documents that his assistant dug up about Chairman Nam and the microwave factory explosion. He’s discovered that the president of Seo-kwang Group died in the explosion. He gets in touch with the detective who originally investigated Dong-ho’s father’s accident, and he brings Dong-ho even more suspicious information — the chairman of Seo-kwang Group was the direct rival to Il-ho Group, and after the Seo-kwang chairman died, Il-go Group stepped in and took over the project.

Any evidence that might indict Chairman Nam was destroyed in the fire, but the detective points out that it looked like Dong-ho’s father was running away from someone after disobeying orders. Also suspicious is that the prosecutor on the case was none other than Prosecutor Hong. Things seem pretty shady, and as the two men discuss the case, Gyu-man’s new spy lurks around the corner, keeping a close eye on Dong-ho.

Spirits are high at Jin-woo’s office as his team cheer and drink to their success in the courtroom. Boss Ajumma senses there’s a little connection between the tipsy In-ah and Jin-woo, and she manages to drag a drunk and hilariously clueless Lawyer Song out of the office, protesting at her sudden insistence that they need to leave to catch the bus. Like, right now.

A tipsy In-ah is happy to crack open another can of beer, but Jin-woo tells her she’s probably had enough. She’s surprised by his use of the informal and casual “you,” playfully reminding him that she’s so much older than he his (twenty-eight to his twenty-three years), and demands he call her “noona.” When he refuses, she jokingly pulls him into a headlock until he laughingly surrenders: “noona!” Aw, if only these two could be this happy (and tipsy) forever and ever.

Gyu-man’s spy reports back to Joo-il, telling him about Dong-ho digging into his father’s accident. Joo-il seems surprised that not only is Dong-ho investigating that old case, but also that it’s related to Chairman Nam. He warns the spy that he can’t tell Gyu-man about any of this.

At the Nam villa, Dong-ho politely apologizes for losing face today in the courtroom, promising that it won’t happen again. It’s the least he can do, after all, considering how Chairman Nam took in both him and Joo-il. Afterwards, Joo-il takes him out for a drink — more like orders him, really, since Dong-ho doesn’t seem willing to spend time with his so-called father figure right now.

Joo-il warns Dong-ho to stop investigating Chairman Nam, but Dong-ho seems more suspicious that Joo-il knows what he’s up to. Did Joo-il know about his father’s involvement with Chairman Nam? He says that if he did, he wouldn’t allow Dong-ho to go work for the man who killed his father. But that was then, and this is now, where Chairman Nam is Joo-il’s boss. So if Dong-ho wants to get to the chairman, he’ll have to go through Joo-il first.

Dong-ho stands to leave, reminding Joo-il that he was like a father to him. Joo-il says that just because he’s like a father, it doesn’t mean he really is Dong-ho’s father. Fine with Dong-ho — it’s now time for them to part ways. Oh, and Joo-il had better tell the lackey who’s been following him to back off — if Dong-ho sees him, he’ll kill him. He downs his drink and then strides out of the restaurant without looking back.

Assistant Sang-ho is delighted to be back in their old office, sighing with joy as he thinks it suits them much better than Il-ho Group’s larger and fancier — but heartless — high-rise. Dong-ho also sighs as he remembers all the encounters he had with Jin-woo in this office, back when Jin-woo had begged for his help and then dumped out the backpack of cash he’d won through gambling. That was also back when Dong-ho had confidently promised he would bring Jin-woo’s father home.

When Sang-ho asks his boss how long he’s going to continue hiding his claws until it’s the right time, Dong-ho’s brow furrows and he tells Sang-ho they’ll have to wait a little longer in order for those “hidden claws” to become more effective. But he adds that he’s almost there. Thank goodness, because I was beginning to think you didn’t have any claws left at all.

As Min-soo’s father excitedly starts to tidy up his factory in anticipation of them winning their case and thus allowing the it to reopen, Min-soo thanks Jin-woo by giving him a copy of the factory’s employee list, just like Jin-woo had requested.

As he looks through it in his office, In-ah asks him why it’s so important. He tells her that the most trivial things are the most important, and she laughs as she remembers that those were exactly the words he’d told her that day they first met, when she had accused him of stealing her wallet. But he just stares at her blankly, obviously with no recollection of that day. Her smile fades, and she tells him that he’s working too hard lately, so let her know if there’s anything she can do to help.

Jin-woo tries to cover the awkward lapse of memory by asking her about her investigation into Prosecutor Hong, and even though In-ah cheerfully updates him, as soon as he turns away, her face falls. She knows something’s not right with these lapses of memory.

Detective Kwak barges into Prosecutor Hong’s office, begging him to find a way to convince Gyu-man that what happened was an accident, a slip of the tongue while drunk. But Prosecutor Hong is clearly cutting off ties, telling him that detectives are a dime a dozen and he’s easily replaceable. If Detective Kwak really wanted to be dedicated to Gyu-man, he should have known that he had to be on guard 24 hours a day — no “slip of the tongue” allowed.

As he’s going through the files on his desk, handsome judge Seo-gyu finds the case file of Jung-ah’s murder. He remembers In-ah’s passionate declaration that Jin-woo’s father was innocent and sits back in his chair, thinking. Later, he intercepts Yeo-kyung — she’s in her prosecutor robes, having just come from a trial, but she pleasantly greets him, surprised that he’s so interested about the fact she was on the jury for that old murder case.

He just wants to know what she thought about if, considering he was the judge for the retrial for awhile. Of course, she believes that Jin-woo’s father is guilty, as per the ruling and the evidence — isn’t that what Seo-gyu thinks, too? But instead of answering, he just thanks her for her time and continues on his way, leaving her as bewildered as before.

Seo-gyu’s investigation hasn’t gone unnoticed, and Prosecutor Hong reports to Gyu-man of the judge’s interest in the case. Gyu-man’s reaction is of mild surprise, and I get the feeling there’s one friendship that isn’t going to last much longer.

In-ah and Jin-woo find Seo-gyu waiting for them at their office. He explains that even though the retrial is officially over, there seems to be more about the case that is difficult to explain — such as the taped confession that was thrown out of court, the flawed investigation, and the sudden change in judges right before the verdict.

Hesitating, In-ah speaks up, admitting that she’s always believed that Jin-woo’s father was innocent because she saw the footage of the real culprit confessing to the crime. Seo-gyu is surprised that such footage exists, asking if Jin-woo saw it, too. He did, of course, and when Seo-gyu asks who it was, he’s even more surprised when Jin-woo tells him it’s none other than Gyu-man. Well, at least we’re all starting to get on the same page.

In his comfortable old office, Dong-ho is lost in thought as he studies a photo of his teenage self with his father. He keeps replaying the day of his father’s traffic accident in his mind. Sang-ho bursts in, reporting that they are indeed being tailed. Dong-ho knows that Gyu-man is suspicious of him so he has to win against Jin-woo to avoid further scrutiny, but it’s clearly not an easy decision for him to make. I love how loyal Song-ho is as he promises to do anything Dong-ho asks him to, no matter what.

As Jin-woo and his team dive into their work, In-ah’s father arrives with pizza (because how else are we gonna get our weekly dose of product placement), and, to In-ah’s surprise, Mom. Everyone is delighted to enjoy their dinner while In-ah follows her mother around as she nags her daughter about her messy habits. It’s sweet because it means they’re back to their old relationship — no more freezing each other out.

Mom, in her gruff-yet-tender way, warns In-ah that if she’s really going to become a lawyer, then she won’t be able to forgive In-ah unless she becomes a lawyer of substance. None of this flashy attorney who’s just in it for the money nonsense — she has to become a lawyer with integrity and heart. In-ah tears up at this mother-and-daughter reconciliation, and maybe I do, too. *sniffle*

Dong-ho tracks down the factory manager who used to work for Seo-kwang Group, and Dong-ho promises that if he testifies, he’ll make sure the man’s sick daughter will get the best care possible. Meanwhile, Jin-woo is gathering evidence that the microwave explosions weren’t due to defective light bulbs.

Over a business lunch, Gyu-man introduces Joo-il to the chairman of an electric company that just merged with Il-ho Group. It’s an opportunity for Joo-il’s business to expand, and they toast to their future success. But the toast is short-lived as Detective Kwak barges in, demanding to know how Gyu-man could just abandon him after all his years of loyalty. He threatens that he won’t go down without a fight — or at least blabbing a few secrets that will put Gyu-man and his cronies in jail.

Of course, that just won’t do, and Detective Kwak is dragged out. He’s tied up and left to dangle in the same warehouse where he’d coerced a confession from Jin-woo’s father and where he’d attempted to kill Jin-woo. Gyu-man smugly just watches him dangle, warning him that this time it’s “for real.” But it looks like there’s something hidden in the corner — a camera, to be exact, and it’s filming everything.

In-ah tracks down Jung-ah’s mother and obtains a box of Jung-ah’s most treasured items that her mother just couldn’t bring herself to throw away. She carefully goes through each item, respecting the memory they hold, but when she reaches the calendar and reads the appointments on the day of Jung-ah’s murder, Assistant Ahn’s business card flutters out. Evidence!

As Assistant Ahn makes his way to the office after hanging out with Sang-ho (their bromance is so random but so adorable), he’s stopped by In-ah who holds out the business card, asking if he contacted Jung-ah for a singing job. He slaps the card out of her hand, denying any knowledge. But Gyu-man spots them, and when he asks what In-ah said, Assistant Ahn just says it was nothing — something about the Miso light bulb company, but he didn’t talk to her.

Late that night, Jin-woo answers the knock on door to his office — it’s Detective Kwak, bruised and bloody and looking like a lost puppy.

In-ah’s had a handwriting expert analyze Jung-ah’s father’s suicide note, and it looks like it was definitely forged, which means his suicide was actually a homicide. She takes the evidence to Prosecutor Tak, along with her findings about Prosecutor Hong. It’s enough to convince him to take action.

Jin-woo’s new tactic is to track down the victims of the microwave explosions, but it’s looking like a dead-end as the husband of one of the victims kicks him and Lawyer Song out of his wife’s hospital room. Dong-ho seems to have the same idea and arrives at the hospital right at that moment. When Jin-ho asks why he made sure Min-soo would find him, Dong-ho says it’s so they could meet up in court. In order to win against Gyu-man, Jin-woo will first need to win against Dong-ho, and that’s not going to be easy.

As he and Lawyer Song leave the hospital, mildly dejected that talking to witnesses isn’t panning out, Jin-woo sees the factory manager with his sick daughter. Over a cup of coffee, Jin-woo confirms that Dong-ho has already talked to him, and promises that he’ll pay for the daughter’s hospital bills if the factory manager admits that he committed perjury regarding the Miso light bulb factory.

Aha, so this factory manager was there back when it was part of the Seo-kwang Group, which is why Dong-ho is interested in him, and then stuck around to help build Miso into the factory that is today, and is why Jin-woo is trying to track him down. That might also explain the thirteen-year relationship between Miso and Il-ho Group, but it also means Jin-woo and Dong-ho are hoping to convince this guy to help them vindicate their respective fathers’ deaths.

Gyu-man’s smarmy buddy marvels at the new presidential office, and when Assistant Ahn enters to hand over some documents, he points out that he was given a vague greeting that may be polite for two old classmates, but certainly not fitting for an assistant to a friend of the president of the company. If you wanted to make me hate you even more, well, good job, dude.

Assistant Ahn keeps his cool while Gyu-man literally forces him to bow a full ninety-degrees, but the way he balls his fist makes it clear he doesn’t appreciate being treated like a lackey. He lets it all out over friendly drinks with Seo-gyu, slurring his complaints that Gyu-man doesn’t even know how much leverage Assistant Ahn truly has — if he just opened up his mouth a little bit, Gyu-man’s life would be over. This makes Seo-gyu recall Jin-woo’s confession that they saw video evidence of Gyu-man admitting he killed Jung-ah.

During a charity event where Gyu-man helps out at a soup kitchen, it’s clear that the Nam family public persona of being generous and compassionate is at odds with everything we really know about them. When he gets a message on his phone, Gyu-man steps out of the serving line to open it — it’s the video from the hidden camera when Detective Kwak was strung up in the warehouse, and where Gyu-man had bragged with his own mouth that he’d ordered Detective Kwak to kill people for him.

He then gets a phone call from an unknown number, and surprise, surprise, it’s Jin-woo calling to see if he watched the video. He smugly tells Gyu-man that it’s only just a preview of what’s to come, and Gyu-man loses his cool as he literally flips a table (covered with food for the homeless) in his rage. His PR team is gonna have to work overtime to cover that up.

Apparently, that night when Detective Kwak came to see Jin-woo, he gave him a copy of the video. Detective Kwak told Jin-woo that he doesn’t care what happens to him, but he wants to help Jin-woo take down the people who’ve abandoned him. The enemy of my enemy is now my friend, so to speak.

In-ah’s found out that another Il-ho appliance failure is tied to a specific electric company — the same company that Gyu-man introduced Joo-il to, with hopes that they’ll create a beautiful partnership. Just like with Miso, the refrigerator factory was destroyed when it was “proven” that their cooler supplies were faulty, even though an independent investigation showed there was no problem with them at all.

Meanwhile, Prosecutor Tak has called in an internal audit crew for a search and seizure of Prosecutor Hong’s files based on proof of illegal activity. Prosecutor Hong believes this is a sign of mutiny, and warns him that the consequences will be dire. But Prosecutor Tak just smiles as he tells Hong that he’s the one who should be worried. But of course Prosecutor Hong puts in a call to Gyu-man, warning him of the audit and putting the blame on In-ah.

Lawyer Song and In-ah have been trying to meet with the chairman of Il-ho Group’s electric company with no success. When they finally interrupt him as he’s walking through the lobby of his building, he brushes them off once he finds out they’re on the defense team for the Miso light bulb factory.

Leaving his office, Dong-ho gets into his car and drives off through the parking garage, seemingly unaware that he’s being closely followed by Gyu-man’s spy. Except he slams on his brakes, causing the spy to stop suddenly right behind his car — and get boxed in by Sang-ho pulling up right behind them.

Ordering him out of the car, Dong-ho then grabs the spy by the lapels, asking if he paid attention to Joo-il’s order to stop following him. Instead of keeping to his promise of killing him, he just gets in a few punches — this is his last warning.

Jin-woo’s finally makes time to see his doctor, who chides him for taking so long in between check-ups. His memory ability isn’t a gift — it’s a disorder, and if he abuses it too much, it could have dire consequences. He’s got about six months, maybe a year, before he’ll lose his ability to remember.

Standing alone on a bridge, Jin-woo stares out over the city, recalling the painful struggle of seeing his father look at him and not remember that he had a son. His screams of helpless frustration echo across the empty bridge.

Back at the office, In-ah goes into Jin-woo’s secret room to do some work. When she hears someone enter the secret room, she assumes it’s Jin-woo, but is surprised to discover it’s actually Gyu-man. Uh-oh. He stares at the wall filled with notes and pictures of everyone related to the Il-ho Group and Jin-woo’s father’s case, marveling at all the research they’ve done.

Then he slowly advances towards In-ah, telling her that she probably knows him even better than he knows himself. Meanwhile, an emotionally drained Jin-woo slowly walks back to his office.

COMMENTS

I’ve been pretty chill with all these crazy plot holes and convenient confessions and so forth because the show has been entertaining enough and I’ve yet to get bored. But to actually hear the doctor say that Jin-woo’s got maybe a year left of memory, perhaps less if he “over works” it, nearly made me laugh. It’s not that I didn’t know it was coming, but actually hearing it in words just made it seem a little, well, ridiculous. I know, I know — it gives us a set time to work against to put pressure on taking down Il-ho Group sooner rather than later, but still, “you only have six more months of memory left” is a warning I expect more from my hard drive than my doctor.

I was actually surprised at how low-key most of the episodes have been about Jin-woo’s hyperthymesia. Except for perhaps the first few episodes, where the reveals of how detailed and precise is his memory were through some neat camera work and special effects, most everything has been subtly implied. I wasn’t sure at first if the show was going to treat it like some sort of super-power where each case would be magically solved due to Jin-woo’s amazing memory, but I’ve actually enjoyed that his memory skills have just been this sort of side-note. Convenient, yes, but not the main deciding factor in his cases (well, not all of them, at any rate). So now I’m kinda bummed that we’ll be getting even less of his amazing memory vision.

But maybe with Jin-woo’s continuing memory loss, it will require Dong-ho to finally — finally — start using his claws. I’m still convinced he’s been playing the long game when it comes to Il-ho Group, but now that he’s discovered the corruption goes even deeper than he knew — so deep it even got his father killed — I’m pretty sure we’ll see the tiger start to fight back. At least I hope so, because lying low hasn’t been doing him many favors, and now that he’s severed his ties with Il-ho Group (and Joo-il!), I’m expecting lots more swagger and flashy suits. At least something that tells me the old Dong-ho is really back.

Really, I’m just looking forward to seeing how many people will eventually join Jin-woo’s side. Like Seo-gyu! Gyu-man may be an old classmate, a peer, and even a “friend,” but sometimes there are just people you can’t fully corrupt, no matter what. Or maybe I just need to believe that there’s some goodness left in this crazy corrupt world beyond the reach of Il-ho Group.

I think we might also get Yeo-kyung to decide to join the side of “truth,” but her appearances have been so brief lately that I’m not even sure why she’s still around — probably to suddenly provide fodder for some important reveal later on. Considering how she’s so easily dismissed by her father and deemed unimportant to the business, I could almost root for some sort of coup in taking over Il-ho Group from her brother. I say “almost” because other than being a brief foil for Jung-ah earlier on, she really hasn’t done much. Which is a pity, because I feel like she ought to have some sort of clue about what’s going on with her family and the company, especially now we’re over half-way to the end. But I’ve spent more words on her in this paragraphy than seconds she appeared in this episode, so perhaps I’m expecting too much.

At any rate, thanks to the beautiful lighting and lush color schemes (which accounts for at least 76% of my enjoyment), and actors who are able to fully commit and sell me on their characters (and look gorgeous while doing so), I’m happy to wait for whatever craziness will unfold as our heroes continue their fearless trek to the truth.

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