Are You Human Too: Episodes 33-34

by LollyPip

Things begin to change for Nam Shin-III very rapidly after his big announcement, but not everyone is happy about the changes he’s enacting. Shin in particular is primed to fly out of control, but he’s lucky to have people willing to do anything it takes to save him from himself. But in the end, it’s up to Nam Shin-III to stop Shin’s rampage, and he may not be able to live with the collateral damage that results from their confrontation.

 
EPISODE 33 RECAP

Nam Shin-III narrates that Shin has used him as an avatar, wounded him, and played with him like a toy. As we see him choking both Chairman Nam and So-bong, he thinks, “I can’t do this anymore. This isn’t who I am. It’s time to stop pretending to be the human Nam Shin. There’s no need to hide. Because I’m not human. ”

He starts with telling Ho-yeon that he’s a robot, and he needs her help. He approaches the Medicar programmer next, who’s mostly figured out that the “Shin” at the office is two different people. He shows up at the company shareholder’s meeting to announce that he’s a robot named Nam Shin-III, and he created the Medicar.

We back up to the day before the meeting, when So-bong, Young-hoon, and Reporter Jo meet up to plan their strategy. So-bong is worried, but Reporter Jo argues that Nam Shin-III’s existence will be exposed eventually, so they may as well do it now and control the information getting out.

She releases an article about Nam Shin-III at the same time as his announcement at the meeting. Nam Shin-III is all over the news, especially once it’s confirmed that he was the one who saved all those people from the burning club and stopped the out-of-control M-car during its dangerous test drive.

Back at the meeting, Young-hoon steps forward to tell the shareholders that Nam Shin-III’s creation was funded by an organization started by Chairman Nam. Shin looks dumbfounded as Young-hoon continues that Chairman Nam believes that artificial intelligence is the wave of the future.

Jong-gil tries to bring the focus back to Shin, saying that Shin has already received Chairman Nam’s company shares, but Ho-yeon pipes up that Chairman Nam changed the contract. She happily announces that Chairman Nam’s and her own shares actually went to Young-hoon, giving him control of the company.

Young-hoon tells the shareholders that it was done on the condition that he operates PK Group with Nam Shin-III’s AI technology as its core. He says that he’s only the agent — the true business manager will be Nam Shin-III himself.

Shin grows angrier and angrier, until his eyes roll back and he nearly passes out right on stage. Ye-na helps him out of the room, and Ro-ra follows them.

One shareholder objects, so Nam Shin-III steps off the stage to bow respectfully and tell him to say whatever he wants, because he has no feelings to hurt. He takes the man’s hand and tells him his blood pressure and heart rate are too high, and the other shareholders decide that they want to hear Nam Shin-III’s side.

Moving back to the stage, Nam Shin-III says the Medicar will do what he just did — assess the driver’s state of health and act accordingly. The lights go out as he tosses three small metal cubes onto the floor. They emit light that forms into a 3D hologram of M-City, a futuristic city where “the environment, accidents, and illnesses are completely regulated.”

Nam Shin-III continues that in movies, artificial intelligence always attacks and takes over humans. He says that he’s that artificial intelligence, but he has no desire to compete against, attack, or rule over humans. He says, “I meet their inadequacies and learn their sensitivity. To me, M-City is a place where humans and I can cohabitate. I want to be with humans. Will you join this impossible dream of an artificial intelligence?”

There’s a long silence… then the room erupts in applause.

Shin grows even more upset to find his doctor in the hallway, waiting with an ambulance. When the meeting adjourns and Young-hoon comes out, Shin punches Young-hoon and demands an explanation, but Young-hoon just keeps walking. Shin staggers again, and this time he lets himself be led to the ambulance.

Alone in the meeting hall, So-bong asks Nam Shin-III how he feels to have shocked the world. He says it’s enough that he doesn’t have to pretend to be human anymore, but that he’s worried about her, being a human who’s close to a robot. He tells her not to make their relationship obvious, but she wants to know why he’s asking her to lie now that he’s telling the truth.

She says that she likes liking him, which makes him smile. He says that he has something to confess only to her: “If I had remained with Shin or Young-hoon, I would’ve broken the rules and hurt people. I was able to protect my identity thanks to you. I was able to become what I am because I was with you. It’s a relief that I’m your robot. I’m your robot, So-bong.”

So-bong says that she likes the sound of that, and prompts him to say what comes next… “I like you. I like you so much I could die.” She adds that she guesses that liking and dying don’t apply to him, and she takes his hand to face the public.

They’re mobbed by reporters as soon as they exit the building. One asks what kind of relationship they have, and without a word, Nam Shin-III turns to So-bong and grabs her in a hug. He lets go, gives her an adorable grin, then leads her to their car. Ha, that answers that.

Dad, Joint, and Robocop are watching that exact moment on the news when So-bong and Nam Shin-III arrive at the gym. Robocop faints, and Dad asks why Nam Shin-III came here after dropping the robot bomb. Nam Shin-III says this is the only place where the people won’t hate him, and Dad sighs heavily, then tells Nam Shin-III to go start cleaning.

Shin wakes back in the hideout, and Ro-ra gives him a ticket to the Czech Republic and begs him to leave with her. He tears up the ticket and flops back in bed with his back to her, his mind on what he sees as Young-hoon’s betrayal.

The surprises aren’t over yet — Jong-gil laughs wildly to find an announcement posted that he’s been fired. He finds Young-hoon in Chairman Nam’s office and sneers that he’s scarier than Jong-gil himself, having turned on Shin when he never turned on Jung-woo (killing him doesn’t count?).

Young-hoon only calmly tells him to leave, but Jong-gil holds up his phone with the video of Nam Shin-III attacking So-bong in the elevator, snarling that he’s no hero. Young-hoon says that that video won’t save him, because nobody can tell if that’s Nam Shin-III or Shin.

He admits that he did all this prepared to make Shin into a criminal if he has to, then invites Jong-gil to sit in the chairman’s seat one time before he goes, like he’s always wanted. Jong-gil almost attacks Young-hoon and has to be removed from the building by security, screaming that he’ll kill them all.

With Nam Shin-III’s identity as a robot revealed, everyone wants to know who invented him. He visits Ro-ra when she calls him and apologizes for doing all this without telling her first. She says it would have happened eventually, but that he and Shin can’t live in the same place anymore, so she asks him to go back to the Czech Republic with David.

Nam Shin-III says that he knows his announcement hurt Shin, but that there are things he had to protect even if it hurt others. He says he hopes that Shin can accept that he looks like him, since this is how Ro-ra created him, and it’s the only way they can accept each other.

Ro-ra guiltily confesses that she installed a kill switch in Nam Shin-III, and that she planned to activate it when Shin woke. He forgives her for trying to protect her son, saying that he would do anything to protect So-bong the same way. Ro-ra reveals that So-bong was the one who convinced her not to use the kill switch.

He leaves, and wraps So-bong in a hug as soon as he sees her. He says he wanted to hug her even if she didn’t cry, and she hugs him back, liking the sound of that. He tells her that his mother told him about the kill switch and thanks her for stopping Ro-ra from using it.

They visit David, who gives the kill switch to Nam Shin-III, its rightful owner. On their way out, David slyly tells So-bong that tomorrow is the day Nam Shin-III was made — his birthday, so to speak.

Shin’s doctor asks Young-hoon why he seemingly turned on Shin when he used to be so loyal. Young-hoon says that he would do anything to bring Shin back to his senses, and this was the only way. Doc seems a bit disappointed that Young-hoon didn’t develop a sudden desire for success, but Young-hoon says that neither he nor Shin are like that.

Sadly, he adds that Shin thinks PK Group was taken from him because he’s angry with his grandfather. He says that when Shin calms down and realizes what he really wants, then he’ll help him, even if what he wants is the company. Doc isn’t sure if that will happen any time soon and tells Young-hoon that Shin left the hideout.

Young-hoon is right to be worried, because Shin soon marches into Chairman Nam’s nursing home, screaming at the reporters who ask if he’s Nam Shin-III. Chairman Nam mistakes him for Nam Shin-III and calls him his masterpiece, saying that the world will respect him for what he’s created. Sneering, Shin asks if he intentionally gave his shares to Young-hoon.

Unfortunately, Chairman Nam still believes he’s Nam Shin-III pretending to be Shin. He warns, “Watch out for Shin. He may come to kill me someday. He can’t find out about the kill switch.” Shin pretends to be Nam Shin-III and asks about the kill switch, and learns of Ro-ra’s plan to destroy Nam Shin-III when Shin woke.

The realization that his mother planned to destroy Nam Shin-III shakes Shin, but he’s gratified to hear that there is a way to get rid of the robot. Still affecting Nam Shin-III’s persona, he asks who has the kill switch, but Chairman Nam only says that it’s safe in his head.

Shin remembers seeing David taking a box out of the server room (Nam Shin-III’s “head”), and orders Ye-na to give him David’s number. She refuses, scared to watch him destroy himself, so he grabs her phone. He finds a video someone uploaded of Nam Shin-III walking into Dad’s gym, carrying the kill switch, and grins.

EPISODE 34 RECAP

So-bong’s dad orders Nam Shin-III up in the morning and asks if he’s sensitive to moisture in any way. When he finds out he’s not, they head for the sauna. Nam Shin-III is mystified why anyone would find being hot and sweaty “refreshing,” and Dad marvels that he really doesn’t sweat.

When they’re done in the hot room, Dad shows Nam Shin-III how to crack a boiled egg on his head, but Nam Shin-III cracks too hard and smashes his egg. HA, his little face. Dad redirects him to some seaweed soup, telling him that it’s what people eat on days like this, though he doesn’t explain what he means.

As they eat, Dad asks if Nam Shin-III really likes So-bong. Nam Shin-III answers that protecting her is his first rule, which Dad accepts as confirmation. Nam Shin-III asks if Dad’s worried about So-bong liking him, and Dad snaps that it keeps him up at night, but that it may not even last long.

Nam Shin-III tells him that he can’t speak for So-bong, but he doesn’t change. Dad says that he might, since he was modeled after a person and is developing even now. He sighs that people change and machines rust, so just to worry about how he feels today… “Like and hate to your heart’s content, so that you won’t regret it later.”

That seems to resonate with Nam Shin-III, and he says he needs to go somewhere. He finds a jewelry shop and buys a heart pendant almost identical to the one So-bong gave him, and Dad grudgingly allows that he knows how to return a woman’s love.

Nam Shin-III says that when he gives the pendant to So-bong, he’ll learn what it is to like and hate to his heart’s content. The shop owner tells Dad that his son is a warm person, but Dad barks that he’s not his son, then mumbles, “He’s my future son-in-law.” So cute.

Shin has Ye-na drive him to the gym, then waits for So-bong to leave. He goes in to look for the kill switch, and while he’s gone, Toady pops up with some goons, who grab Ye-na and drive away with her.

Inside, Shin goes into Nam Shin-III mode when Joint and Robocop assume he’s the robot. He manages to fool them, and after they leave, he searches until he locates the kill switch in So-bong’s room. He’s recognized as Nam Shin-III by little Maibo, but he just knocks the tiny robot to the floor and leaves with the kill switch.

He’s surprised to find Ye-na gone — she’s been taken to her father. He tells her that he’s keeping her confined because from now on, she can’t be allowed to see anything he does, calling it his last kindness to her. As soon as he’s gone, Ye-na calls Ro-ra to tell her that Shin has the kill switch, unaware that Jong-gil is listening through a bug in her room.

At a restaurant, Nam Shin-III starts to give So-bong the pendant he bought her, but Dad stops him. So-bong and Reporter Jo both notice them signaling each other, but Nam Shin-III turns on the charm and compliments So-bong until she forgets she was suspicious. Sneaky little cinnabot.

He gets a text from Shin ordering him to answer his call in a few minutes, alone. He makes the excuse that he’s going to look for Joint and Robocop, and as soon as he leaves, the others race to decorate the table for his birthday.

Nam Shin-III does run into Joint and Robocop outside, who are shocked to see him here when he was just at the gym wearing different clothes. They go inside and Nam Shin-III takes Shin’s call. Shin says he was at the gym, and that he’s right across the street with the kill switch. He tells Nam Shin-III that he’ll die today, and that if he doesn’t want So-bong hurt, to come with him.

Nam Shin-III asks for a few minutes, then goes back inside to find his party all set up. He watches So-bong smiling and laughing, looks at the pendant he bought her, then leaves. Outside, he tries to call Ro-ra, who doesn’t answer. He calls a taxi, but So-bong stops him from leaving.

She asks if he’s going to see Ro-ra on the day she made him, and he nods. So-bong takes his hand, blinks, and calls him a liar, but says she’s just sad that he’s leaving, since they made a party for him. She tells him to come back, then takes the pendant from his pocket and says that Dad told her about it.

She asks Nam Shin-III to put it on her before he goes, and as he complies, she says, “Let’s stay together for a very long time, until the very end, okay? I can’t live without you now.” Nam Shin-III stares at her for a moment, then kisses her.

When he backs away, So-bong dives into his arms. Nam Shin-III says to her, “I love you, Kang So-bong,” then he jumps into another taxi, leaving her stunned and happy.

Shin waits for Nam Shin-III to track him to an abandoned building. He shows himself and asks Nam Shin-III if he said his goodbyes, then says that if Nam Shin-III begs, he may change his mind. Nam Shin-III retorts that Shin won’t, telling him to just press the button if he’s going to.

Shin objects to being told what to do, but Nam Shin-III continues. He challenges Shin to end his rage and to stop hurting people, and just press the button: “It started with me, so end it with me.” Shin opens the kill switch box and prepares to push the button, but a voice calls out, “No!”

It’s Ro-ra, who rushes to Nam Shin-III’s side and begs Shin not to do this. Nam Shin-III tries to make her leave before she gets hurt, but Ro-ra argues that she’s trying to protect both of her sons. She calls to Shin to come down and talk this out, and to take his anger out on her, not Nam Shin-III.

He snarls that she just lost her last chance to get her real son back, then slams his fist onto the kill button. Nam Shin-III stiffens and his eyes flash red as his system begins to shut down. He collapses to his knees and uses the last of his strength to tell Ro-ra to leave, and the last word he says before he goes unconscious is a sad little pleading, “Mom…”

Ro-ra pulls a small, black chip from her pocket and places it into a compartment in Nam Shin-III’s neck. She says it’s her birthday present to him and pleads for it to work, and suddenly the system shutdown begins to go in reverse.

Unfortunately, Jong-gil has been watching the whole time, and he approaches the kill switch as Nam Shin-III is powering back up. Nam Shin-III looks up at Ro-ra and says that he can’t move, but she tells him he will soon, and that she’ll stay with him.

But at that moment, Jong-gil flips a switch that causes some equipment to fall from an upper floor. Ro-ra sees the danger just in time to push Nam Shin-III to safety, but she’s crushed under the weight. Nam Shin-III regains control and rushes to Ro-ra, gathering her into his arms. He says this is his fault, but she gasps that it’s her fault and apologizes for breaking her promise to leave the country with him.

Cradling his face in her hand, she tells Nam Shin-III that she was truly happy when she made him. She asks him to tell Shin that she’s sorry for leaving him alone again, then she dies in his arms.

Still unseen, Jong-gil calls the police to report that the robot killed a person.

COMMENTS

Wow, poor Nam Shin-III has two people that tried to kill him in the space of a minute, poor guy. He’s got a lot to do in the final hour if he’s going to make everything right again, to bring Jong-gil to justice and do something about Shin. Jong-gil just needs to die or be locked away forever, and I’m honestly not sure if I’d accept any sort of redemption for Shin after he’s tried to kill two people and a self-aware robot. I’m still hoping, though, that he can somehow find a way to stop being such a miserable person, if only because Ye-na and Young-hoon love him so much and believe he can be a better person.

I loved the kiss in this episode, because while it’s technically the third time Nam Shin-III and So-bong have kissed, it’s their first kiss as a couple. The first was Nam Shin-III taking control of a bad situation, and the second was So-bong proving how not interested she was in him. But this kiss actually meant something, and was such a sweet confirmation of Nam Shin-III’s true feelings for So-bong. I’d noticed that he seemed careful not to initiate much skinship even after So-bong confessed (beyond the obligatory hugs) which made sense since he’s been so worried about how So-bong will be seen by society, being in a relationship with a robot. Even before he said he loves her, his kissing her said so many things — that he cares for her, that he trusts her to make her own decisions about being with him, that he doesn’t mind the world seeing their true relationship.

But let’s talk about his confession! It’s the first time Nam Shin-III has admitted that he’s experiencing any emotion, and for it to be love for So-bong just makes me melt. We’ve known that he has feelings (in his unique Cinnabot way) for a long time, but Nam Shin-III has never truly believed it. I still think he just didn’t realize he had feelings because he was always told that he didn’t have them, so it makes me happy that he’s accepted the truth and even told So-bong how he feels. And he didn’t qualify his feelings or try to explain them, just spoke his truth to her. How could she not love him back?

On a darker subject, I’ll admit that the idea of M-City feels very dangerous to me, not because of the chance that AI might turn on its makers and attack like in the movies, but because it feels intrusive to have a whole city that keeps such close tabs on its inhabitants. For the sake of the show, I’m going with the premise that it will be fine because Nam Shin-III will be in control, but it seems much too easy to use people’s health issues against them (I’ll stop there or risk getting too political). I do think it’s awesome that Nam Shin-III is so willing to be the AI in charge of M-City, because at least we know that he does have humans’ best interests at heart. He’d be great at it at least, because he loves humans and because of his rule not to hurt them — he’d be a very good caretaker of such a city.

I’ve been worried from the beginning that someone would die before the end of this story, and I think we all naturally assumed that it would be either Nam Shin-III or Shin. I was even bracing myself for the chairman to kick the bucket, especially since he’s so frail now. But I never expected Ro-ra to lose her life, especially not while saving Nam Shin-III’s, though I respect that she redeemed herself by sacrificing her life to save the son she nearly killed. What I’m most worried about now is how Nam Shin-III will react to this, and how guilty he’s going to feel that he couldn’t do anything to save his mother. He may even go after Shin, and I certainly expect him to go after Jong-gil, but I trust his love for So-bong and humanity in general to keep him from doing something unforgivable.

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