Are You Human Too: Episodes 27-28

by LollyPip

They say you are your own worst enemy, and for Nam Shin-III and Shin, that phrase takes on a whole new meaning. Nothing can placate Shin’s fury over a robot daring to live his life, and as his anger grows, he’s becoming the single most dangerous threat to Nam Shin-III’s survival. It’s starting to look like there’s truly only room in the world for one Nam Shin, but which one will come out of this unscathed still remains to be seen.

 
EPISODE 27 RECAP

We see a flashback of little Shin telling his mother that he wants to live with his grandfather. In voice-over, Shin tells us that this was the first lie he ever told, but it was okay because it was for Mom.

When he was older, he’d seen Young-hoon get hit by his grandfather when Shin got in trouble, but Young-hoon had lied that he was fine. Shin had tried to run away that night, only to find himself surrounded by Chairman Nam and his men. Chairman Nam had told him to go if he wanted, but had reminded him that his mother’s safety depended on his staying.

Right then, Shin had vowed that he would stay, but only until Chairman Nam died. He had cultivated a fake playboy persona, probably so that nobody would take him seriously. At one point, Chairman Nam and Jong-gil had discussed the fact that Jong-gil was recognized by a nurse, who somehow knew that Jung-woo, Shin’s father, didn’t commit suicide.

Chairman Nam told Jong-gil to keep his voice down, but Shin had already overheard them. He’d confronted his grandfather, smirking that something fun would happen soon, then had staged the scene that allowed him to slip onto a plane to the Czech Republic, determined to find his mother and learn the truth about his father’s death.

To himself, despite what he told Ro-ra, he admits that he also wanted to see his mother. But when he’d seen Nam Shin-III on the street, he’d thought to himself, “Did you leave me and make that robot? Without any thought about how I’ve lived?”

So after waking and finding out that that robot was living his life, he’s furious enough to attack him with a wrench, gouging two deep gashes into Nam Shin-III’s face. Nam Shin-III turns to So-bong and smiles, as if reassuring her that he’s okay.

Ro-ra runs in, aghast to see what’s happened, and Shin is furious that Nam Shin-III turns around when she calls out, “Shin-ah!” He grabs Nam Shin-III, screaming that he’s the real Shin.

Chairman Nam reveals to Young-hoon that he knows about Nam Shin-III, and that in fact, he created a foundation to sponsor his upgrades when he first learned she made a robot that looked like Shin. Young-hoon goes into damage control mode, apologizing for bringing the robot in to replace Shin, insisting that Shin knew nothing about the plan.

The chairman says it’s okay, because he was always afraid another company would pass PK Group, so he saw the human-like robot as a way of cementing PK Group’s position. But he adds that when he met Nam Shin-III, he started thinking about the best person to succeed him.

Young-hoon reminds him that Shin is awake and almost fully recovered, and asks how he can compare him with a robot. The chairman asks if he’s never thought that Nam Shin-III is better than humans, and Young-hoon can’t honestly say that he hasn’t.

So-bong waits anxiously while Ro-ra fixes Nam Shin-III’s damaged face. He reassures her that he’s fine, but she still leaves crying. He gives Ro-ra a tiny smile, and she gets back to work.

Ye-na tries to placate Shin, insisting that he didn’t scare her with his outburst and saying that he must have been very stressed to do that. He tells her to stop moping at him, and he calls Young-hoon to say that he can’t stand Nam Shin-III and wants to take his life back. To his surprise, Young-hoon agrees, but he says they’ll have to take turns since Shin isn’t completely recovered.

Once Nam Shin-III is fixed, he finds So-bong, and they go for a walk hand-in-hand. Ro-ra sees them leaving and goes back inside to Shin, who snaps at her, asking if she’s mad he broke her son. She tells him to break Nam Shin-III even more if it makes him feel better, explaining that she only made Nam Shin-III because she missed him.

He tells her to drop the act, because he knows she’s doing all this for Nam Shin-III. Ro-ra asks tearfully what she can do to get closer to him, but he just snarls that if she wants him to feel better, she can wait another twenty years for him, like he did for her.

Nam Shin-III wonders to So-bong if Shin might feel better if they had different names. So-bong argues that he may have been made to look like Shin, but he’s had the name Nam Shin for twenty years. She asks if he would change his face, too, and reaches up to touch the spot where Shin damaged him. She says that even with the same face and name, he’s nothing like that jerk Shin.

She meets with Young-hoon, who tells her that the chairman knows Nam Shin-III is a robot. He says that he’s known all along, so this won’t negatively affect Nam Shin-III. But he adds that he can’t tell what Chairman Nam is thinking, and he’s worried Chairman Nam won’t let Nam Shin-III go even after Shin resumes his life.

He tells her of his plan to alternate Shin and Nam Shin-III, to get Shin back to work as soon as possible. He asks So-bong to protect Shin on his days at the office, and in return, Young-hoon will help her protect Nam Shin-III.

The following morning, Young-hoon tells Nam Shin-III that Shin is going to work today. Nam Shin-III worries that Shin will hate what he’s done in his place, and Young-hoon admits that this will be difficult. He thanks Nam Shin-III for what he’s done for them, and Nam Shin-III congratulates Young-hoon on his apparent success.

Little Hee-dong goes to his grandfather’s rooms all on his own, saying that he should greet his grandfather even if he’s scared. Chairman Nam smiles like an indulgent grandpa, then he suddenly snarls angrily and grabs Hee-dong, calling him “Shin” and asking if he’s been crying for his mommy again.

Hee-dong wails that he’s not Shin and flees from the room. Chairman Nam looks confused for a moment, and at the sound of Hee-dong’s tears, he cringes. Hee-dong runs to Nam Shin-III and tells him what happened, and Nam Shin-III says that if he comes to his room later, he’ll give him a gift that will protect him.

Nam Shin-III confronts Chairman Nam, asking if he’s pretending to have dementia again and scaring Hee-dong. Chairman Nam says wearily that yes, he was pretending, but Nam Shin-III grabs his hand and knows immediately that he’s lying. The chairman orders him out, warning him not to say anything.

Instead, Nam Shin-III tells Chairman Nam to calm down, because getting upset is bad for his health. Chairman Nam takes deep breaths as he’s told, and Nam Shin-III promises not to tell anyone in exchange for Chairman Nam’s promise to see a doctor.

Shin isn’t happy to see So-bong waiting for him at the office. He complies with Young-hoon’s plan, though he tells Young-hoon in advance to pay her well so she doesn’t complain about how he’ll treat her. She takes a call from Nam Shin-III, who’s spending the day at her dad’s gym and already missing her. Dad notices that Nam Shin-III dressed down today, and mentions that he learned the real heir has returned, seeming a bit less irritated by Nam Shin-III’s presence today.

Things are much more tense at the office, where everything seems to make Shin angry. Even the nameplate on his desk reminds him that a robot is using his identity. He dismisses So-bong and goes through the books on his shelves, clearly looking for something. Young-hoon brings him the specs on the M-car, seeming to suspect Shin is up to something.

Dad dresses Nam Shin-III in a velour tracksuit, and Joint and Robocop marvel that he still manages to look like a supermodel. Dad grumbles that it’s because he’s not human, then backpedals and is all It’s just that he’s got long legs!

He tells Nam Shin-III that he’ll have to earn his keep since he’s not a chaebol anymore, and directs him to start cleaning. Joint and Robocop wonder how Nam Shin-III will manage all that cleaning alone, and plan to go out and help him after taking a break. But Nam Shin-III comes in and says he’s finished already, and they run to see the entire gym sparkling like a diamond.

NC3 cheerfully offers to take care of any other chores, but Robocop complains that that would be a human rights violation. Dad counters, “What human rights?! It’s robot rights.”

At the office, Shin is annoyed when a team meeting starts late because everyone is so relaxed around him. They’re optimistic about getting a permit to make the new and improved M-car, and Shin is surprised to hear that he personally handled the hacking situation. They assume that he’s going to pay for lunch again, but he snaps that they seem to be here to play.

The suspicious programmer notes that his personality has changed again, and he bravely asks if Shin has a split personality. Shin stands to give him a piece of his mind, but he stumbles and grabs his head, shoving So-bong away when she tries to help him.

 
EPISODE 28 RECAP

Shin goes back to his office and starts flipping through books again. Eventually he finds a business card, but the number written on the back is disconnected. Shin staggers again, dropping the card and grimacing in pain.

So-bong finds him, and she says she’ll take him to Ro-ra, but he says he wants to go home. She says he can’t go there yet and tries to call Young-hoon for backup, but Shin tells her to do her job — getting him back in his own life.

They run into Jong-gil on their way to the car, and Jong-gil notices that Shin is sweating and welcomes the “real Shin” back. He asks if Shin is rushing his return because of what he said about Nam Shin-III being better than him, and Shin confirms that he wanted to see if it’s true.

After Shin leaves, Jong-gil drops his meek demeanor and brags to Toady that Shin took his bait. He says he hasn’t changed at all, still emotional and predictable like his father.

Meanwhile, Nam Shin-III is called to the chairman’s office, and learns that Chairman Nam saw a doctor and almost certainly has dementia. The chairman says wryly that this is punishment for living a messy life. Nam Shin-III says that he didn’t tell anyone as promised, then asks how the chairman was aware he knew of his dementia.

Nam Shin-III asks if Chairman Nam knows the truth about him, and whether Ro-ra told him, but Chairman Nam says that Ro-ra doesn’t know. Nam Shin-III extrapolates that if the chairman knows he’s a robot, then he also knows Shin was in a coma, and asks why he didn’t visit him.

The chairman says that he’s more interested in Nam Shin-III, and Nam Shin-III says that Shin would be hurt to hear that. Chairman Nam asks if NC3 wants to stay here with So-bong and his mother, because if he does, then he can have it all. Nam Shin-III says that robots have no ambition, especially for taking things from others.

Young-hoon finds Shin’s office in a shambles and notices the business card that Shin dropped, which is for a long-term care hospital.

When Hee-dong goes to Shin’s room as Nam Shin-III told him, he finds a huge replica of his favorite robot waiting for him. He’s thrilled, and he gives Shin a huge hug when he walks in, only for Shin to shove him away.

At least he tells Hee-dong to keep the robot, but the rejection makes the boy cry. Once Hee-dong and Ho-yeon are gone, So-bong tells Shin that he can’t seem to change too drastically, but Shin objects to the idea of acting like ”that thing.”

Nam Shin-III takes Chairman Nam home and tucks him into bed, and Chairman Nam tells him again not to tell anyone about his dementia, not even Shin. NC3 says he’ll follow the rule not to break a promise, and Chairman Nam says that this is why he likes him — he’s close to being the perfect human being he’s always imagined.

Nam Shin-III runs into Shin on his way out, and Shin hides him around a corner when Ho-yeon approaches to yell at him for how he treated Hee-dong. He gets mean when she tries to pass him to see her father, and lucky for Nam Shin-III, she leaves in disgust.

Shin asks Nam Shin-III why he’s still staying in his room when he told him not to, but Nam Shin-III politely refuses to say. He says that this was his home too, and tells Shin not to be mean to Hee-dong again.

Just to get at Nam Shin-III, Shin says that So-bong is with him today, and that people should be with people. It works, and Nam Shin-III is stunned silent. Shin says he should pretend to be Nam Shin-III just to mess with her, threatening to hold her hand and kiss her.

Oh no, he went too far. Nam Shin-III’s expression goes cold and he steps towards Shin menacingly, but So-bong shows up in time to stop anything else from happening. Nam Shin-III flashes her that sweet smile, making Shin scoff in annoyance.

So-bong and Nam Shin-III only get a few minutes alone, but they’re happy to see each other. So-bong tells Nam Shin-III to go on home ahead of her, needing to stay to help Shin adjust quickly. She asks Nam Shin-III to go on a date with her tomorrow, and he eagerly accepts.

Young-hoon goes by the long-term care facility and learns that nobody there uses the number written on the back of the business card. He asks for the numbers of former employees and leaves is card, and the attendant says he’s the second person from PK Group to show up that day. Young-hoon shows him a picture of Shin and confirms that he was there.

Standing on the patio, So-bong remembers losing her locket in the pool and Nam Shin-III finding it for her. Shin catches her grinning and correctly guesses who she’s thinking about. He asks why she’s the only one who doesn’t confuse them, and when she says she can tell them apart by looking, he snorts sarcastically that it’s the power of love.

She asks why he hates and harasses Nam Shin-III, who always puts Shin first. Shin asks how she would like it if something showed up with her face, wearing her clothes, then acted like her and stole her father, and if everyone even said that thing was better than her.

A short while later, Young-hoon finds Shin throwing away any of his clothing that Nam Shin-III wore. He takes over, telling Shin to rest, which suddenly makes Shin feel bad. Young-hoon admits that he didn’t think about how Shin would feel when he woke up, and tells him that everything he’s feeling towards Nam Shin-III is because of him.

Instead of responding, Shin notices an empty shelf, and Young-hoon says that’s where Nam Shin-III’s batteries were kept. Shin asks about Nam Shin-III’s manual mode, saying he’s just curious, but Young-hoon doesn’t seem to believe him. He advises Shin not to try and bear everything alone, because he still has him.

In the morning, Young-hoon gets a call from David that Ro-ra is very ill. He tells Shin he should go see her after work, but Shin just snorts and tosses his briefcase to So-bong. Again Young-hoon thanks her in advance for what she’ll put up with today.

Shin excludes So-bong from today’s meeting, snapping that a mere bodyguard doesn’t belong there. He notes that the M-car team looks uncomfortable and asks sarcastically if they can’t work without So-bong. The meeting is about the M-car’s safety test, and its ability to switch to auto-drive when its driver experiences a medical emergency.

Nam Shin-III does go to see Ro-ra, and he watches over her while David muses that he’s a better son than Shin. Ro-ra mutters Shin’s name in her sleep, and David says that the Shin who cares about her is here.

Nam Shin-III pulls David aside to tell him that Chairman Nam revealed that he knows he’s a robot. He asks what his relationship is to Chairman Nam and why he lied to Ro-ra, so David explains that they needed money to make him. But Nam Shin-III accuses him of lying to him and Ro-ra for money. He tells David to stop saying he gave birth to him with his heart: “I don’t need a dad who lies to his family.”

Neither of them is aware that Shin is nearby, and heard their conversation. He knows now that his grandfather knew Nam Shin-III was impersonating him while he was in a coma.

So-bong waits for Nam Shin-III for their date, having gotten all girl’d up in makeup and a dress. Hilariously, Nam Shin-III walks right past her, pretending not to recognize her, but at her pout he grabs her hand with a giant grin. So-bong drags Nam Shin-III to a fortune teller, who says that Nam Shin-III doesn’t have a living person’s fortune, but instead is full of metallic energy.

They stop to listen to a man playing a piano on the sidewalk, and So-bong asks Nam Shin-III if he plays. He notes her disappointment when he says he doesn’t, so he quickly scans his database for several instructional videos on how to play the piano, then steps up to the instrument and plays a song for So-bong.

So-bong gets lost in the romance of the moment, but then she notices that there’s a crowd gathering, and several people are recording Nam Shin-III’s song. She stops him and asks him to take her to a movie. He buys some popcorn and tries it, but says he can’t taste it. He feeds some to her, and when she says it’s sweet, he asks, “Because you’re with me?” Ha, So-bong pretends to gag at the corny line.

The movie is a sad one, but despite it being Nam Shin-III’s first time in a theater, he spends the entire time watching So-bong, fascinated by her emotional reaction to the film. When she cries during a sad scene, he whispers that her tears are sparkling as they fall.

He steps out for napkins to dry her face, and as the movie continues, So-bong is shocked to see tears welling up in his eyes. Oh no, it’s Shin.

Shin turns to So-bong, and in a perfectly calm voice, says, “You said you’d never confuse us.” We see Nam Shin-III sitting unresponsive in Shin’s car, his watch battery missing from his wrist.

 
COMMENTS

Okay, let’s be fair… So-bong didn’t get them confused! Based on their clothes, it was Nam Shin-III who was with So-bong until he stepped out to get napkins, and as soon as Shin came back, it only took So-bong a minute to realize they’d been switched (and in a dark theater!). I don’t really understand why Shin is so bound and determined to prove that Nam Shin-III isn’t him, because everyone who’s important already knows that Nam Shin-III was only pretending to be him in order to protect him. Shin has gone way beyond grumpy coma patient and is now well into villain territory for me, because anyone with a tiny bit of sense and emotional maturity would be able to see that Nam Shin-III was never (and still isn’t) trying to steal his life. Shin is just being a petulant child and lashing out for no good reason. That doesn’t mean he’s not dangerous — he’s extremely dangerous, and I’m scared for what he could do to Nam Shin-III.

That said, I actually loved the plan to have So-bong hang out with whichever Shin is at the office that day, mostly because it let Nam Shin-III spend time with her dad, and their interactions are never not hilarious. Dad is such a grump about Nam Shin-III’s very existence, not to mention his worry about how So-bong might suffer because of her feelings for him, and Nam Shin-III is just so unrelentingly cheerful, which makes their scenes so cute to watch. It’s great because Nam Shin-III never gets annoying, he’s just always so happy to be doing whatever he’s doing at any given time, even if it’s cleaning the entire gym in a matter of seconds. I hope we get to see some more of that.

I’m very concerned that Chairman Nam seems to actually be showing signs of dementia, even more so than I was when we first thought he was losing his memory. Now that we know Chairman Nam has secretly been NC3’s sponsor, his involvement is much more critical, because without his money, Nam Shin-III will be in trouble if he suffers any more damage or needs future upgrades. Chairman Nam isn’t a good person by any stretch of the imagination — let’s not forget he was involved in his own son’s apparent death, his grandson’s kidnapping, and probably Snake’s death as well — but Nam Shin-III, David, and Ro-ra need him to be of sound mind at least until he sets up some sort of inheritance, or something similar, for Nam Shin-III.

But speaking of Chairman Nam, I have to wonder… is it possible that Shin’s father is still alive? Putting together the clues in this episode, it looks as though Shin overheard a conversation about Jong-gil being recognized by a nurse, which had something to do with Jung-woo, and that he learned something that sent him to seek out his mother for answers. The card for the long-term care facility makes me think that Jung-woo didn’t truly die, but somehow ended up either physically or mentally damaged and was sent away, while everyone was told he died. I did think it was strange that Ro-ra wasn’t told anything until after her husband was supposedly dead and cremated, so there was no body for her to identify. I won’t be surprised at all if Jung-woo isn’t dead after all.

I appreciate how much Nam Shin-III stood up for himself in this episode — So-bong told him to stop being a slave and make his own decisions, and he’s really taken that to heart. He doesn’t ask if he’s doing the right things anymore and just does them, and he doesn’t look for approval for what he says and does. He didn’t even back down when Shin got mad about Nam Shin-III being in his room, but pointed out that it was his room for a while, too. I even liked his confrontation with David where he told him that he doesn’t need a father who’s a liar… he’s starting to set boundaries for the people he lets in his life, and determining for himself what kind of people he wants to surround himself with, rather than just liking anyone who gives him attention. He’s gaining a lot of confidence, and while I miss his wide-eyed, innocent expression that only So-bong gets to see these days, I do love that Nam Shin-III has stopped trying to be what he thinks others want him to be, and started becoming his own person.

 
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