They say the heart of a monster is the heart of a child who never had to grow into a man.

Especially if that child lived a life of powerlessness and abuse and believed that their Mummy would save them only to find out she'd replaced him instead.

Give that child a super-powered avatar and they're going to go mad with the power they never had. It's also why Shin told NSIII to disappear and then two seconds later told him he wasn't allowed to disappear. He don't want NSIII gone, he wants people to choose him over the robot him. He doesn't want NSIII dead, he wants him redundant.

YAYYYY its finally here! Thank you for the recap @lollypip. I completely agree with your comments. And i love your analysis of human shin, or should i say shuman? Is he honestly redeemable at this point? I also love that sobong is strong and smart enough to know roboshin would never hurt her.

Another issue thst still bothers me with this show is how roboshin still insists he doesnt feel any emotions.... when clearly, he is the most human of them all. (Cant he just tell sobong he loves her? I knew he does in his own way but come on roboshin! I believe in you)

Now that is what you call love conquers all..

I love how this show has shown all sides of love, good or bad one.
Parent love- Laura to human shin and nam shin 3. Mr kang to Sobong.

Brotherly love - younghoon and shin and Nam shin 3. I do hope that Nam shin would realize the consequences of what he has done..

Love that does not need any blood relation - David to Nam shin 3

Obsessive love- yena and shin. Though I think Yena is really growing out of her obsession. I am not sure

Love out of gratitude- Younghoon to grandpa shin.

And most of all unconditional love, Sobong and Namshin 3

I love this show so much! There are so manu life lessons especially being human in an inhumane world

That punch from So-bong was oh so worth to see!!! Feels like So-bong is the rep of all NSIII fangirls out there! (Me for one)

P.S. Give KSJ the Daesang already...

I agree that they could just change his face and take away Shin's memories and that problem would be solved. It is unfair that Shinammon knows all the personal information about Shin which was given without Shin's permission, but I don't think it would be a big deal to just erase it. So Bong would probably be on board with having less of the Original Shin in Shinammon :)

This show continues to impress me. Yes, there are a couple of things that frustrate me (I agree with you on the "two Nam Shins" issue, they can exist at the same time out of each other's way with no problem), but mostly, the plot, the pace, the acting, the relationships, it all works for me. I'm scared how it will end, though. Shin scares me, Grandpa too, and Jong-il is such a bastard.
I hope Young Hoon will at last be able to make Shin come to his senses before he commits actual murder, if it's even possible at this point. Poor Young Hoon; he obviously loves Shin and would probably give his life to protect him, but now he has to accept the fact that there might be no saving or redeeming him anymore, he's too far gone in his own hate to be stopped or forgiven. That must be a blow that's difficult to bear.

Side note: can we get just a little more robomance, pretty please? At least one kiss before the show's over?

This episode made me appreciate Kang So-bong more. I love her as RoboShin's friend and love interest but after all the things she did this episode, I love her more as an individual character!

Here are some notable things she did this episode proving how she's physically and mentally strong:

1. When she told OriShin that she will make him pay whether he is real or not.

2. When So-bong was brave enough to stay on RoboShin's side although her life was in danger due to manual mode.

3. When So-bong punched OriShin in the face telling him he deserved it!

4. When So-bong told RoboShin that she's sorry for thinking that RoboShin was a machine for a moment and that she's waiting for him to hug her.

5. When she told RoboShin that she was not afraid of him which made him override the manual mode.

Seriously, So-bong is proving to be one strong female character and I love her for doing the right things and standing for what is right.

I know that many Beanies wanted a redemption arc for Shin, but I'm actually okay with the fact that there might not be one.

The writer has created a character who chooses to use violence (against himself or others) at every point. This has been the case from the very first episode and I appreciate the careful character crafting (even if I might have liked it to be different). What was a very disturbing scene for me in ep1, where he hit So bong so hard that he hurt his own hand, was something that was needed to establish his level of violence - and the writer only had one episode to do that before he ended up in a coma.

Here are the choices that Shin makes:
I need to create a disturbance at the airport. I know, I'll hit my security guard so hard that it actually hurts my hand (oh, okay then)
I need to show everybody that I'm not a robot. I know, I'll smash a glass and make myself bleed (oh, okay then)
I need to show gramps that I won't just be controlled. I know, I'll smash all the paintings until I bleed (oh, okay then)
I need to show So Bong that I'm controlling her RoboBoy. I know, I'll try to strangle her (oh, okay then)
I need to show Gramps that RoboBoy is just a Tin Can. I know, I'll try to kill him (oh, okay then)

It might not be what we wanted to see, but I do love the consistency in that behaviour (seeing as he spent most of the series in a coma and wouldn't have much character growth whilst unconscious) and that, the more the pressure is piled on him, the more violently he lashes out.

As I said, it might not have been what we wanted, but I actually don't mind having this character turn to the dark side. In fact, after how hard he punched So bong in ep 1, I would have found Shin becoming a good character hard to swallow.

That doesn't mean I don't want some sort of satisfying outcome for him of course. Some anger management training and freedom from the company together with YH will do nicely.

At least Shin is finally going after the person who caused all that pain (by using Nam Shin III which is totally wrong). Shin lashed out at everyone who had his best interests at heart but never Jong-Gil or the Chairman.

Like "Dude, they are the reason you are in this position in the first place."

Though using a robot who wears his face is probably not a smart move. If he had killed the chairman, Jong-Gil could have locked up human Shin for murder and then taken the company. But Shin never struck me as the rational type.

With 2-3 episodes left, I am not sure if we will have a redemption arc for Shin. Maybe if Mom finally puts her foot down and knocks some sense into her son.

The problem with two Shins coexisting:
human Shin is hurt by the very idea of roboShin's existence, not just the practicalities of having a better version of himself hanging around ready to replace him. It's a reminder that while he was crying in a room alone missing his mum like crazy, but still trying to be brave for her sake, his mother was smiling happily to another child.

Shinnamon is also a living proof of what his life would have been like had his mother chosen him instead. That's why no matter how hard he's pushing for his destruction, when push comes to shove he prevents the other Shin's suicide.

Rational? not really... Understandable? I think so.

It is twisted, but Shin is using manual mode to wreck with that image of the boy that would have been... and hating his mother, grandfather and himself in the process. I also think it's a test of sorts - he's showing his worst possible face hoping that someone will love him regardless.

KSB is that person for Shinnamon - she looks into the eyes of a killer-mode robot and says I am not afraid of you, come back to me. [sure she knows that this is not really her Shin behaving horribly but still...]

It goes against instinct and logic but the only thing Shin would actually respond to is a proof of complete loyalty. That's why he's forcing all his loved ones to chose between Shins. That's also why I understood to some degree why YH and mum were enabling his bad behavior. But Shin does not trust people so he does not completely believe their show of loyalty in any case; so he ends up pushing it too far

Thanks @Lollypip for the great recap! Regarding your comments about the two Shins not being able to coexist, it also bugged me a bit, because I could also think of many possibilities to make it happen, haha! But there are a couple of things that may justify this situation: firstly Nam Shin thinks the robot has stolen the love of his mother from him for 20 years and that even now she loves the robot (and he's not wrong), and that will not change even if the robot changes faces or leaves. Also, Nam Shin III is property of grandpa and now grandpa wants to give the company to him, so is it really possible for the robot to run away and hide when granpda literally owns part of him and has his brain stored in the PK building? And human Nam Shin wants to destroy grandpa above all things, and he knows that NS3 is the apple of his eyes now. I see that Nam Shin has strong reasons (given his current mindset) to destroy NS3. I also want the two Nam Shins to be able to coexist and I think there are so many options for that.... the main (and maybe only) obstacle is what Nam Shin thinks of the robot.

This episode was great as always and increasing the tension even more (if that is possible). I cried a river with the separation of NS3 and So Bong. He is a lost puppy without her and the way he couldn't resist to go back to her even when he was scared of hurting her...he standing 20meters from SB not daring to approach made my heart sink. And then Nam Shin stole the precious moment and NS3 memories. 😭 Just hope that we are given a happy ending after all this stress and pain, haha!!

I want to wack Shin with a watermelon but then he might kill me so that's out of the plan. I understand why he's so emotionally wrecked and ruined but at least get your act together and do something for the better not just trying to sabotage everything when you could be nice and sweet like Nam-shin 3. Okay I know my thoughts aren't exactly in place right now since I'm in a whirlwind of emotion. I just wish we'd get a good grip by the last few episodes and hope it won't let us down. :)

Thank you for recapping this drama, Lollypip! I'm having fun catching up on all the previous recaps. Your comments, as usual, are always on point ! <3

Nam Shin continuing his path of vengeful wrath by using and abusing those around him keeps making him less and less redeemable to me. Am I crying a tear when Grandpa finally shuffles off this mortal coil? Nah. Grandpa was an abusive asshole who's mostly reaping what he sowed. But allying himself with Jong-Gil and harming and alienating everyone around him is completely on Nam Shin. His crappy childhood is a mitigating factor but it doesn't change the fact that he has become an abuser himself.

And I am not buying the argument that he had no choice but to become like this. He could have not done a number of things, but no he feels the world owes him and he's going to make everyone pay.

Thank god people are slowly standing up to him. Or you know, clocking him in the face (kang so boooong <3333).

I am so glad Kang SoBong isn't putting up with his bullshit at all and is 100% on NS3s side and keeps telling him NS is not in the right at all.

I wonder where Young Hoon is going to end up, because to me it seemed like he was definitely harboring feelings for Nam Shin that were more than brotherly and I was wondering why he was sticking up for Nam Shin like this but even he seems to be wavering now.

I loved the analogy of Shin being the child who would want his favourite toy destroyed rather than let anyone else have it. I personally feel that rather than having a version of the Stockholm Syndrome, Young Hoon is like a partner in a relationship who thinks that they can help the other heal from all the hurt they have faced by staying on their side and helping them in whatever they do. Roboshin being told that he did not have the right to even disappear shattered my heart. I fear OriShinal is too far gone to be redeemed

this episide is the turning point we will never see him be redeemed. The writers decide to make him a villain. But nevertheless.. Those of raree moment when they are showing human Nam Shin vulnerability. Omg I'm weak. He is crossing thr line, but the writers is humanized him.

Seriously each episode of this drama has been a rollercoaster ride and I gotta applaud SKJ for doing such a fantastic job in portraying his characters. It's crazy how they have the same face but I absolutely adore the sweet cinnamon role nam shin 3 is while I despise and fear human shin with all my guts and couldn't care any less if he gets run over by a truck again.

Thank you for the great recap Lollypip! Wow, this was a great episode for our main couple… although also a heartbreaking one.

It's a little strained, but I'm willing to accept the rationale offered by So Bong in an earlier ep when NS3 asked if he should change his name: given NS's current emotional state, where would it end? One of the other comments mentioned deleting NS 3's memories of NS's personal life, and I was like--no that's a violation! immediately. As we see this episode, NS 3's experiences have all taught him to be the person he is. He deserves to keep his memories, just as David or So Bong (also people who know a lot more about NS than he'd prefer) do. I can understand why So Bong thinks he deserves to keep his face and name too--he's had them ever since he was first made. Twins have the same face as well: it's not an unearthly unimaginable thing. Of course it's all super complicated since NS 3 was literally made in NS's image, but I can see why So Bong is intent on protecting NS 3's personhood in all ways. And before this episode, Young Hoon wanted to protect NS's health by having NS 3 fill in for him half the time, so they still needed him to have NS's face.

I was with David however when he once again suggested flight to the Czech Republic, though manual mode would still have been an issue! And once again I'm thankful to AYHT for its complexity with character work, as with Ye Na and standing up to NS. I was glad Ro Ra got to confront David, but I hadn't considered that David found out it was Grandpa later--still a violation, still colluding with her child's kidnapper, but I can understand more the temptation with the money spent and the deed done to waver and fail.

I don't think Young Hoon has Stockholm Syndrome, unless it's with Evil Grandpa. I read NS and Young Hoon as being mutual victims of abuse, clinging to each other in a storm--which has led to an obvious strong, if unhealthy, attachment. Young Hoon, by being made dependent, centralises Grandpa and the company too much. He's also been trained by continued abuse that passive endurance of pain is both a way to live, and a way to express love. While NS has been trained by abuse to react to bad feelings with explosive destruction of himself and others--the futile raging of a captive, considered valuable (hence his kidnap) and wanting to smash all that was given value by his abuser. Both those responses are now playing out in horrific ways in the real world--YH is letting NS do awful things, and NS's powerless frustration was not helped by being given power over another being and thus so many lives. I was utterly furious with NS this episode, but I see how it's all happening. That said, no matter how hard it may be, the cycle of abuse has to be broken. There's no excuse for the multiple attacks on So Bong, and as you say, Lollypip, NS is creating a self-fulfilling prophecy: relentlessly doubting love, then testing love. Fear leads to doubt leads...

Okay now i'm very clear about one thing that writer have zero interest in making human couple, i thought somewhere on middle of the drama that human shin replace the robo shin and he will fall in love with so bong and in that way he will finally receive and realize true love and all his hatred will be gone because i have great sympathy with him but the writer turning him in complete monster . But its okay the story is about robo-human love story , so it is digestible otherwise it will become really hard to believe(i mean human like the robot is one thing but how the robot??? never mind as i'm from science background overthinking is a habit.LoL

Thank you for your recap and comments, LollyPip! After letting these episodes marinate, I've realized that the show's title is really a question that should be asked of Chairman Nam, Nam Shin, and Seo Jong-gil. They are such flawed individuals that I would be tempted to say that they are not human. Or maybe that they are humanly imperfect.

We finally learned what happened to Shin's father. He died trying to escape from imprisonment in a long-term care facility where he was held per Grandpa Evil's command. The old coot doesn't have relationships, he has hostages. It occurs to me that Nam Jung-woo's incarceration foreshadowed Shin's refusal to let Nam Shin 3 disappear after forcing him to act against his programming.

This is my cue to recall that Chairman Nam's abusive treatment of his son, grandson, and the two orphans he assigned them as competitors and whipping boys (Seo Jong-gil and Ji Young-hoon), is the root cause of Shin's destructive behavior. In warping Jong-gil into his own image and likeness, Chairman Nam has truly created a vengeful monster. Interestingly, Young-hoon is cut of very different cloth, but is nonetheless damaged. He's a hostage, too, and is enmeshed with his charge. Gramps has also abominably treated his daughter (and traumatized her son), his daughter-in-law, and future granddaughter-in-law. The man is truly a fount of equal-opportunity misanthropy.

As @cloggie so aptly points out in http://www.dramabeans.com/2018/08/are-you-human-too-episodes-29-30/#comment-3281552, Shin has engaged in physically violent behavior from the very beginning (punching bodyguard So-bong at the airport, and harming himself on numerous occasions). Then there's the verbal and mental abuse he dishes out whenever he feels like it. His hatred of NS3 makes him appear downright rabid.

Young-hoon was recruited to be a professional enabler, and he has done an admirable job of riding herd on a headstrong, if frustrated, rebel. Now that Shin has gone off the deep end, it may be that the only way to rein him back in is to practice detachment with love and get the heck out of Dodge City. Subjecting himself to his charge's emotional volatility is not doing his own mental health any good. Removing himself from Shin's sphere (after freeing NS3 from his namesake's control) until he starts acting like a decent human being – or honorable robot! – might just be the consequence that gives Shin incentive to clean up his act. Young-hoon has never been free to vote with his feet, and it's high time he did so. Standing aside to allow Shin to face the consequences of his actions without anyone rescuing him will be a tall order, but it is ultimately in Shin's best interest. Young-hoon will have to tell him explicitly why he is leaving, so that Shin knows precisely how his behavior has alienated his friend. Otherwise it's merely one more instance of counterproductive abandonment.

I just had to say what I felt about this show. I agree with Lollypip's review to some extent and the writer is really doing a great job at creating such a brilliant arena where humans and their greeds, desires, insecurities have been exposed and mapped in quite a realistic manner. But the last two episodes have been extra stressful and tiresome. Cause it seems like there has been an attempt to prove that humans are worse than robots. Although I do see that shin has been applying some really pathetic tricks so far in using nam shin III like an object and turning him on and off in a cruel manner, there hasn't been any attempt made in understanding why he's behaving this way. I know it's easy to judge and we do that quite a lot, but it's also important to see where shin is coming from. He has been trapped in a household he didn't want to be a part of and has been abandoned and threatened by grandpa to never leave the home or else his mom's life would be at risk. To live all his life that way and then to see that his mom made his replica to make her life less miserable, it must have shocked him to the core. So I am not totally writing him off at this stage.
Just sadly, I wish this drama was a bit longer, cause so far we only saw robot nam shin's story. It would have been more compelling if half of the story was about human nam shin too lol. If I also dare to say that to be honest, I was more intrigued by original nam shin, cause let's admit it, humans are capable of having more complex emotions, than robots, per se. So as much as I love robonam shin, he's not multidimensional, as human nam shin, and it was kind of wonderful to see all those negative and positive emotions that motivate him, drive him. Like Lollypip I also don't understand why there is this need to omit one of these boys and it seems like the writer has been trying to put nam shin III as nam shin's archenemy but shouldn't this battle rather be between nam shin and his grandpa? Who 'is' after all the master planner of all these evil mind games?
To me it seemed like nam shin should not be all that low, the boy who at the age of 8 had the maturity to perceive that to save his mom he must lie to her, I feel that he can't be that inhuman who would try to destroy nam shin III at all cost. He should have more heart and should actually see that there is more sincerity in the acts of these people who are trying to save him. The things that have been done by his character, to me it seems like it's not in his character tbh. Somehow the projection of his character has been wholly negative and this is where the writer focused from the start, without giving any explanation why. He has been made the usual villain, without any need to explain his actions.

I did wish that at some point the writer made everyone face their inner demon and let them question if they are human actually or not, but now it seems like all the efforts are been focused on this selfish jealous attitude of...

I think it's really interesting to compare the reaction of SKJ's human character in this show to Jang Keun-suk's characters in Switch. The initial premise is almost identical: there's a hit that doesn't quite work and someone's injury has to be concealed and their work continue uninterrupted; in steps a double. In that case the injured party was a good person without a lot of trauma while the double was ... well, shady but with a good heart. And they ... COOPERATED. Right now Shuman is such a piece of crap he's making his grandpa - who has ordered hits on people and imprisoned his son (which lead to his accidental death) look "not QUITE so bad." If he'd actually killed some people using remote control Shinnamon Roll, he'd definitely have stolen the top villain crown.

It’s not just that NS3 exists that bothers Nam Shin, it’s that NS3 is what he could have been. NS3 gets the baggage, but he doesn’t let it define him. He recognizes the people around him, and appreciates them. These aren’t traits exclusive to AI. Nam Shin could have looked to Young Hoon as a person to whom he could be himself, completely. He could have looked to Ye Na, or protected and nurtured his cousin the way he wasn’t. But he refused to. He had a choice, and he chose and continues choosing to be a spiteful, violent, being.

Self-determinism is a defining trait of what it means to be human. When NS3 had that stripped from him, and recognized the lack of it, I think a kind of fatalism entered his coding. He’ll never be human, because he’ll never have the choice to live or die.

So Bong is, hands down, frigging 👏🏾 👏🏾 👏🏾. That punch? The promise (not a threat, bih). She is ride or die, and I am here for it.

I don’t think the show believes the world is too small for both Nam Shin and NS3 to live. They are just following human reactions to AI, in its various expressions, Nam Shin and So Bong representing the extremes of that reaction spectrum.

Simply hoping human Shin comes back to his senses & we get a happy ending.
This was too stressful. *Grabs heart*

I'll wait to see how next week goes, but as of now I'm not sure that Nam Shim deserves to get any type of happy ending as he just tried to commit intentional homicide (and doesn't feel any remorse for his actions). Perhaps after he spends 10 years in jail, I'll feel different (or perhaps next week will give me a reason to support a wannabee murderer). Would have preferred that his efforts be focused on just destroying the company not killing folks.

This week...directors and screenwriters kept playing with my feelings! Well here are some stuff I noticed:

1) Pain as a form of connection/empathy: I think NS hurts other because he seeks empathy. In some ways, he wants NS3 to understand his pain and suffering. NS3 is "fake" for that reason - inability to truly understand NS. NS3 comes close to empathizing NS after "killing" SB and Gramps. I think NS will stop his monstrous ways once someone "connects" to him emotionally.
2) Individuals as their own judge: NS knows his actions are bad. Gramps knows his actions are bad. Seo Jong-Gil knows his actions are bad. Why do they do it still? Because they justify it with their desires. Are desires really bad...?
3) Humans as monsters: When you desire too much, does it make you a monster? NS desires empathy so he continues to hurt himself and others. Gramps desires keeping his company at the top so he manipulates and threatens. Jong-Gil desires the Chairman position so he kills and lies. Are they truly monsters?
3) Tears as salvation: I saw this in last week's episode. Can't help but continue to see this as more foreshadowing. Will NS3 be the one to comfort NS' tears...if that is, NS has any more tears left in him?
4) Notion of free will: How much free will is yours when you're trapped/helpless? Are you still you even if others control you? Writers seems to say that your feelings determines your will.
5) Metaphor of Toy: NS3 is a toy in this episode and this notion of taking and stealing continues. Can the humans in this show learn to share, compare, and negotiate with each other in terms of how they feel and think about certain things/one another?
6) Revelation of Truths: NS has decieved himself too long. YH, Gramps, Jong-Gil, Ro Ra, David..everyone has decieved themselves but it seems that NS3 was able to reveal the truths to them. Will he do that with NS3?
7) Glimmering of Hope: NS' momentary softness: not killing NS3 and reflecting upon that scene, gives me hopes that NS still clings onto humanity....

And with that note, I am just hoping for an ending that answers the question, "Are you Human too?"

my heart, my heart my heart my heart :( i almost gave up on the drama partway because i couldn't stand what homosapien Shin was doing to our poor Roboshin. i refuse to call the former 'human' because, well, as the show's title so rightly questions - 'Are You Human?'. The answer is pretty much NO.

also, Are You Human Too? filming locations - ep 15 (29/30)

- Overpass Itaewon-dong: seeing So-bong as an 'error' (http://bit.ly/kdl-overpassitaewon)
- Jochiwon Boxing Gym: Champion gym (http://bit.ly/KDL-boxinggym)
- Meet You All Tower (rooftop): the confrontation

More Are You Human Too? locations on koreandramaland.com :)
(http://bit.ly/kdl-areyouhuman)

It just dawned on me the real reason I'm having trouble with this show lately: human Nam Shin is too evil and robot Nam Shin is too good. They are extreme examples of what humans really are made of.

I think Human Shin is not completely bad. Trying to commit a murder is his last crossing the line, But He is not a serial killer who doesn't have conscience yet. Heck, In this episode alone, we get the glimpse of the writers try to humanized him. From showing his past try to defend YH, which indicate he is enable to showing care to people he cherish (Though in a wrong way), Or he is preventing NS3 from Jumping (he is geniunely scare and didn't expect NS3 will reach to that decision), after that, Nam Shin is becoming soft again. But when he is starting to sign change of heart, someone is trying to provoke him he is back to his revenge again (From YH threatening him and SJG provoke). I think he is just someone who only know how to respond the bad side of human, and trying to ignore the good side in them.

Isaac Asimov must be spitting bullets here. Show is ignoring the first law of robotics--a robot must not harm a human--and that is a huge science fiction no-no. Perhaps our wonderful NSIII understands that, or perhaps it's just love, but that last moment in the episode brought me to tears.