Class of Lies: Episodes 13-14 Open Thread

by Saya

Aaah isn’t it fun when everything goes wrong for the bad guys? I really enjoy how this show is a good balance of catastrophe and comeuppance; it always keeps things entertaining. Despite all the death and violence, this isn’t a show you need to take too seriously.

It lagged a bit last week, with some weird pacing issues, but it’s full steam ahead now, with perps to pin down and dark glowers to wipe away. Bring on finale week, I’m ready for some payoff!

 
EPISODES 13-14 WEECAP

Just as the bent detective is about to bump off Han-soo, Beom-jin intercepts and quietly threatens the man. Oh, he killed Lee Tae-seok? Of course he did—it’s not like Assemblyman Kang would do it himself.

Beom-jin manipulates Han-soo’s emotions and gets him to lie that he witnessed Lee Tae-seok flee the scene of Soo-ah’s murder. I rather believe that what he says to Han-soo (that he liked Soo-ah) is totally true, and at least one earlier flashback suggests that.

We later get a brief insight into how he got his first inkling of something between Soo-ah and his dad, when she repeated something his father said about a painting, that Congressman Yoo had also said to his son. If Beom-jin really did like her, doesn’t that make everything he found out even worse? Passion and rage might be standard ingredients of murder, but damn if it isn’t still compelling.

Han-soo’s still reeling from the news of Soo-ah’s death, and it’s easy for Beom-jin to exploit that. Thus, when Moo-hyuk arrives, Han-soo tells him to shove off, and refuses to have any further truck with him.

It’s an unexpected development that throws off Moo-hyuk’s plans. Forced to take another tack, he goes to find ex-boss Lee Do-jin to get his license to practice law restored. But instead of bending to Lee’s demands, he turns the tables on him, threatening to expose damning recordings of his corruption. Lee accedes to Moo-hyuk’s terms, but unfortunately for Moo-hyuk, having his license back doesn’t help getting Han-soo back.

Back at school, Beom-jin sticks close to Tae-ra. Since her scandal blew open, she’s been receiving cruel messages and even death threats. Unsurprisingly, Ye-ri is at the center of the harassment campaign, and ruthlessly doxxes the other girl.

In growing despair, Tae-ra even texts Beom-jin that she wants to die. Uh-oh, I SEE WHERE THIS IS GOING, especially since Tae-ra reports to him what Moo-hyuk had shown her. She tells Beom-jin that she confirmed his alibi, adding, “Don’t worry, I won’t tell him you left [the movie] in the middle.” Nooooo!

Moo-hyuk, meanwhile, takes Won-seok out for a date, hee. Okay, really, he’s trying to re-enact the night of Soo-ah’s murder, to see whether it was possible for Beom-jin to leave the cinema, do the deed, and return, all within the span of the movie (while letting Won-seok take a much-deserved nap). It easily fits in the time, and it matches everything they know. They guess the time he was caught on CCTV the week before her murder was him doing a test run. Creepy.

While Moo-hyuk re-enacts one murder, Beom-jin gets busy with another. He lures Tae-ra to a deserted rooftop and just like that, he pushes her off. Well wow. I did not think the show would go there, but I guess there’s no doubt about Beom-jin now. I thought it would be disappointing and too easy, but it’s actually really not. The problem of how to nail him is really a difficult one, and knowing his identity doesn’t take away from the suspense.

What’s interesting in the aftermath of Tae-ra’s murder is how shaken Beom-jin is. I guess he didn’t actually want to kill her, but circumstances forced his hand, which is exactly the unravelling of him you want to see. This is Beom-jin hurtling down to rock-bottom, desperate to get everything back in control, but losing it by the moment.

When Moo-hyuk confronts him, Beom-jin loses it completely and tells Moo-hyuk that he killed Tae-ra with his meddling. It’s strange to see the usually driven Moo-hyuk grow so solemn and troubled after that, and I think Beom-jin isn’t entirely wrong about Moo-hyuk playing a part.

His investigation wasn’t wrong, nor were his objectives, but he wasn’t really concerned about the human cost of what he was doing. Maybe he shouldn’t be, but when you have a dead girl who didn’t need to die, if you were part of what led her to that rooftop, even if you didn’t push her… you do have to ask yourself some serious questions.

Back at school, the students who formerly harassed Tae-ra turn contrite, leaving flowers and notes of support on her desk. Beom-jin turns on Ye-ri and calls out her hypocrisy, reducing the girl to angry tears. Oh you two really do deserve each other.

Meanwhile, there’s an emergency staff meeting with all the teachers, where Teacher Jeon brings out her usual nauseating patter about keeping things quiet. But So-hyun has enough and stands up, refusing to be complicit any longer. One by one, teachers rise, until even the principal rises and agrees. He pledges an open enquiry into the school and Teacher Jeon is livid. Good. You deserve to die choking on your own bile.

Moo-hyuk drags himself out of his funk, thanks to So-hyun’s fierce encouragement. Without Tae-ra’s testimony now, they decide to try convincing Han-soo one more time. So-hyun brings him all their findings, which he rejects at first. But then he starts going through the case notes, and finally calls in Moo-hyuk.

The thing he’d wanted to tell Moo-hyuk before was that he found out who had been seeing Soo-ah: No surprises, it was Congressman Yoo. The boy struggles with his memories of Soo-ah. He tells them that she’d wanted out, and that she promised to come back for him. She’d asked him to mail an envelope to the orphanage, which contained something she claimed would protect her. He also admits that seeing Lee Tae-seok flee the scene was a lie at Beom-jin’s instruction.

Moo-hyuk latches onto a detail: that Beom-jin had told him to say he saw Lee Tae-seok escape through the back door, a detail only the murderer could know, since the back door doesn’t obviously lead anywhere. And they’ve got what they need.

Moo-hyuk lays a trap. He calls out Congressman Yoo with the promise that he can reveal Soo-ah’s killer. Once they meet, he tells the congressman that Beom-jin knew all about his secret trysts with Soo-ah since he’s been spying on dear old dad. He predicts that the boy himself will show up any minute… and yup, there’s Beom-jin now. But it takes Moo-hyuk spelling it out to the congressman before it sinks in: “Soo-ah’s murderer has arrived. Now. Here.”

God, I love devious Moo-hyuk. His smug face is his best face, and his smirk is a perfect barometer for how I feel about the show’s endgame. With just one week to go, we gear up for all the many things to hit the fan, it is the purest satisfaction to watch Team Moo-hyuk line up all their ducks, ready for the final showdown.

P.S. Can we also have more Ki-hoon, please.

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