365: Repeat the Year: Episodes 11-12

by LollyPip

Put on your thinking caps, guys, because a lot happens in this episode and it requires a lot of concentration to keep it all straight. Once again, our detective and his new “partner” manage to unravel a lot of what’s been happening to them, but every knot they untie just causes more knots to form. They’re getting closer to the truth, but a late revelation will have them questioning everything they know about their reality.

  
EPISODE 11 RECAP

Florist Hye-in calls Hyung-jo to tell him that the latest flower basket order is intended for her own shop. He and Ga-hyun rush to the shop, and Hyung-jo calls out to Ga-hyun just in time to save her from being caught in the explosion when the shop bursts into flames.

Sadly, Hye-in is found dead inside the store. The EMT on site explains that there was a gas leak, and that it appears Hye-in passed out from the gas and suffocated before the explosion happened. Ga-hyun wonders why this happened to Hye-in when she didn’t reset with them, and Hyung-jo says that the person who ordered the flowers will know.

They confront Shin, who of course claims to know nothing of any of this. Hyung-jo shows her the video of her assistant, Ji-hyun, sending the flower basket, and we see that she’s also the one who gave the card to the foreign man to put in the locker. Ga-hyun mentions the quotes on the cards from the book Pieces of Destiny, and Shin says that Ji-hyun gave her a copy of the book.

Unfortunately (or conveniently?) Ji-hyun quit her job at Jian Clinic yesterday. Shin says she was flustered because Ji-hyun has never quit in any other resets. She swears that Ji-hyun knows nothing of the reset, but Ga-hyun points out that if she knew to target Hye-in, then she knows what happened before the reset. They’re interrupted by Young, Shin’s daughter, who runs in to hug her mommy.

Of course, Ji-hyun isn’t home, and CCTV shows her leaving her apartment with luggage late at night. Hyung-jo asks about her at the clinic where she volunteers, and he learns that she started volunteering there on January 14th, three days after the reset. The nurse also confirms that Shin used to work there as a psychiatrist, so Hyung-jo talks to one of her former coworkers.

Ga-hyun goes to the cafe and tells No-seob that she saw him and his wife watching the flower shop from across the street after the accident. He’s reluctant to say why they were there, and he asks if they know what caused the explosion.

He confesses that he decided to bring his wife home from the sanitorium for a few days to spend time with her in case he’s going to die soon. She’d slipped away while he was paying for the taxi, and when he found her, she’d said something strange — that she had “set it on fire” and now they would be okay. No-seob had assumed it was one of her delusions, but then the flower shop was destroyed in a fire.

Shin’s former coworker, Dr. Kim, tells Hyung-jo that she lost touch with Shin when she quit the clinic three years ago. She’s surprised to hear that Shin runs Jian Clinic, since she assumed Shin would never work as a psychiatrist again after she blamed herself when her best friend committed suicide.

When they compare notes that night, Ga-hyun shows Hyung-jo that she found documents proving that Shin bought Jian Clinic on January 14th, after the reset. He’s got phone records showing that Shin and Ji-hyun first contacted each other on January 11th, the same day as the reset, which means that Shin lied about having known Ji-hyun for years.

Jae-young calls Hyung-jo — Ji-hyun’s phone has been turned on and he’s tracking it. They catch up to Ji-hyun at the bus station, and she says that she just delivered the cards like Shin told her to do. She tells them that she doesn’t know who the travelers are or why they’re dying, but what she does know is that Shin is capable of anything: “It’s as if she knows the future.”

Meanwhile, Shin meets with Dr. Kim, who reports that she said what Shin told her to say but that they’ll soon learn it was a lie, and discover the real reason why Shin quit the clinic. With a tight little smile, Shin says it doesn’t matter.

Hyung-jo and Ga-hyun go back to Jian Clinic, but there’s a sign on the gate saying that it’s closed for the foreseeable future. Shin is driving with her daughter somewhere, and she tells Young that they’re not moving again, they’re just playing hide and seek.

The travelers get together at No-seob’s cafe, where Ga-hyun tells them that Shin has a daughter. It seems strange to them because most mothers would want to see their child grow up, yet Shin says she’s reset the year many times. Ga-hyun says that she doesn’t know why Shin chose them, but there must be a reason.

In private, No-seob tells Ga-hyun that his wife has worsened and no longer remembers him. He says that he doesn’t believe they met by coincidence, which reminds Ga-hyun that Yeon-soo told her that Shin brought them together on purpose.

She and Hyung-jo take down everything from their old evidence board, and instead write out everything they know about each traveler’s death. With it all written out, Ga-hyun realizes that they confirmed the deaths of all but one traveler — Young-gil, the man who supposedly died during the reset.

Hyung-jo bribes his traffic cop friend to look for records of Young-gil’s accident, but his name isn’t on the list of traffic-related deaths for January 11th. At Young-gil’s apartment, Hyung-jo runs into a man who looks exactly like Young-gil, but it’s actually his identical twin brother, Young-soo.

He explains that Young-gil’s death wasn’t registered because he was told he had to settle his brother’s debts first, but he couldn’t afford it. Hyung-jo shows Young-soo a picture of the travelers, but Young-soo says that he and Young-gil were rarely at home at the same time, so his coworkers would know better than him.

At the trucking yard, Hyung-jo finds a man who says that Young-gil died because they switched routes that day. In fact, he’s still driving Young-gil’s truck, since his own was totaled in the crash that killed Young-gil.

Jae-young tells Jung-tae that Shin has a daughter, and guesses from his reaction that he already knew. He asks what Shin is up to, but Jung-tae refuses to say without more money. Jae-young reluctantly pays up, so Jung-tae tells him that good people don’t die for no reason, and he asks if Jae-young is scared he’s next.

We’re shown that Jung-tae had decided to work with Shin for fear of her disclosing his reason for resetting. She’d told him that the task she wanted performed is difficult, but she’d promised to pay him handsomely.

No-seob finally confesses to Hyung-jo about what his wife said, but Hyung-jo reassures No-seob that the cause of the explosion at Hye-in’s flower shop was due to her cooler malfunctioning, and that his wife had nothing to do with it. No-seob is worried that someone might be causing all of the deaths, but Hyung-jo and Ga-hyun don’t have any more information.

Ga-hyun’s manager, Seung-min, visits her to discuss her decision to take a hiatus. He says that the company blamed him, so Ga-hyun reminds him that she sent enough stories for a few months and promises to tell his boss that she’s doing this for personal reasons.

Later, Ga-hyun gets a call from Se-rin and goes to her apartment. Se-rin is distraught, having decorated her place and set out fancy food for a housewarming party with her boyfriend, but he couldn’t make it. She tells Ga-hyun that she moved out of her parents’ place because she’s always alone anyway, and she wanted to live next door to Young-woong.

Se-rin tells Ga-hyun that she feels like a real unni because she’s so pretty and smart. Ga-hyun jokes that she gets that a lot, but Se-rin says it must be hard to always have to be the best. She admits that she read up on Ga-hyun and saw that she gets anxious when she’s not the best, and says that she’s come to understand that even those who seem like winners at life still have problems.

Ga-hyun happens to notice a bottle of sleeping pills on Se-rin’s windowsill, but she doesn’t mention it. Later she catches a taxi home, and nearby, Jung-tae watches Se-rin go back inside.

EPISODE 12 RECAP

Each of the travelers receives a card from the Jian Clinic, and they all say the same thing: You will be the star of the guardian and light the dark. Ga-hyun finds the quote in the book, but it’s across from a painting of a forest. Ga-hyun complains that the painting beside Hye-in’s quote didn’t have anything to do with her death, and the quotes don’t seem to mean anything, either.

Looking closer, Ga-hyun notices that the date is March 27th (3-27), and the page that the quote is on is Chapter 3, Volume 27 (3-27). She checks, and all of the other quotes are also on pages that correspond with the date of the person’s death. It’s already 8 p.m., but according to the card, someone will die today.

They confirm that the other travelers are okay for now, except for Jung-tae, who can’t be reached. Hyung-jo goes to his place, but all he finds is a notepad with a torn-off page. He uses a pencil to make a rubbing, and when he sees the last thing that was written, he runs out in a panic.

It’s almost 10 p.m. when Se-rin calls Ga-hyun, scared because she thinks someone is following her. Ga-hyun tells her to get inside her apartment, but when she approaches her door, Se-rin freezes in fear — Jung-tae is there waiting for her.

Sure enough, Hyung-jo had seen Se-rin’s name on the notepad, and he speeds across town to her apartment and meets up with Sun-ho there. Ga-hyun gets there first, and when she enters Se-rin’s apartment, she finds Jung-tae about to strike Se-rin’s already bloody face, and her boyfriend Young-woong unconscious on the floor.

Ga-hyun screams and Jung-tae takes off, only to run into Hyung-jo and Sun-ho at the elevator. While Ga-hyun calls for an ambulance, they chase Jung-tae out of the building and into an alley, where they finally corner him. Sun-ho catches up to Jung-tae first and grapples with him, and when Hyung-jo arrives, he finishes the job and Jung-tae is taken into custody.

After Jung-tae is hauled off, Hyung-jo turns to Sun-ho. Oh no, he’s just lying on the ground, unresponsive. Hyung-jo screams, reliving his nightmare all over again.

Ohthankgoodness, Sun-ho is okay, he just has a broken leg and a banged-up face. He reassures Captain Heo and Soon-woo as they fuss over him, but Hyung-jo leaves the room, badly shaken. Ga-hyun finds him and tells him that luckily, Se-rin’s wounds also aren’t too serious.

He fusses at her for leaving her house on a night when they expect one of them to die. Ga-hyun says that she’s scared of dying, but she’s more scared of watching someone die, because every night she dreams of them asking why she didn’t save them. Hyung-jo pouts that he’s already lost one partner and doesn’t want to lose another, and Ga-hyun is touched that he thinks of her that way.

She notices that it’s past midnight and none of the travelers have died. Hyung-jo confronts Jung-tae in the interrogation room, and Jung-tae claims that he’s innocent. Hyung-jo slams him against the wall, but Jung-tae just chuckles weakly that “that wench was determined to set me up.”

In the morning, Ga-hyun tells Se-rin about how the messages sent to each traveler relate to the date of their death. Se-rin relates how she came home to find Jung-tae waiting, and how he grabbed her and pulled her into her apartment. She says that he hit her repeatedly, and that when Young-woong heard the noise and came to see what was wrong, Jung-tae knocked him out.

Later, Hyung-jo tells Ga-hyun that she probably saved Se-rin’s life, and that Jung-tae swears he did nothing to Se-rin nor did he receive any orders from Shin to hurt her. He sighs that it feels like they’ve been given a test with no answers, and the person who gave out the test has disappeared.

Eventually Jung-tae is transferred to the prison, and when he steps out of the station, there’s a woman in the parking lot watching him. Jung-tae suddenly looks ashamed, and he tries to hide his cuffed wrists while at the same time watching the woman for as long as possible.

Time passes, and though Shin has seemed to vanish, life moves on for the remaining travelers. Sun-ho goes back to work, and Soon-woo and Sa-kyung finally admit their feelings for each other. Se-rin and Young-woong make plans to travel together, while Jung-tae struggles to adjust to prison life. The travelers keep meeting up regularly, even Jae-young, though he tries to pretend he doesn’t really care. Occasionally, Hyung-jo drives to Jian Clinic, but it remains closed.

Then one day, seven months later, a body is found floating in a river. He’s identified as Jang Jin-ho… the man who switched routes with Young-gil on the day that Young-gil died. He actually went missing seven months ago, on March 27th. Oooooh.

Hyung-jo takes this information to Ga-hyun, confirming that her theory about the quotes and the pages of the book coinciding with death dates was correct all along. He calls together the travelers and reminds them of that first phone call from Shin, when she mentioned the train derailment as proof of her time-traveling ability.

He believes that Shin sent those cards and flowers, and that she knew the dates that the travelers would die for the same reason — she knew of their deaths in the previous timeline. Jae-young reminds him that they were all alive when they first met, but Ga-hyun says that Shin probably observed them and knew what would happen to them in advance.

They’re all shocked when Shin walks into the cafe like she hasn’t been gone for more than half a year. She announces, “That’s right. All of you were dead,” and then she laughs like it’s the funniest thing she’s ever heard.

  
COMMENTS

Wait, what now? They were dead?? I mean, I guess it’s no more farfetched than the fact that they traveled backwards in time, but in all my theories, I certainly never saw that twist coming. And just like every twist and revelation in this show, this reveal answers many questions, while raising even more. For example, it makes sense now how the flowers came in advance of the travelers’ deaths — because Shin knew how and when they would die, even the accidents. But what’s the intent of the flowers, are they supposed to be a warning? Why would Shin bring dead people back in time, only to let them die again?

And what about the guy whose death date got a card sent to the travelers, even though he wasn’t one of them at all? Hyung-jo said something about Young-gil possibly being alive and dying with his friend on that same day, but right now I have no idea what he means by that. There’s no evidence that Young-gil is alive other than the fact that his death wasn’t registered, and why would his brother and his friend lie about Young-gil being alive? Hopefully, this will make more sense as we learn what Shin means by saying that the travelers were all dead.

My biggest questions are regarding Ga-hyun and Hyung-jo, who managed (it seems) to change their fates. They didn’t receive flower baskets, so I’m wondering why that is. Is it because those incidents aren’t what killed them in the first timeline, and their deaths are still to come? And if so, how will their changed fates affect their deaths in this timeline? But the primary mystery is, what is Shin getting out of all this? How is she benefiting from bringing dead people back in time and allowing them to die again? There must be something, because the way she laughed when she told the travelers the truth was gleeful and triumphant.

And did Jung-tae attack Se-rin, or is it true what he claims and Shin set him up? I want to believe him, because while he’s not a good guy in the slightest, he’s never been prone to violence on his own. But if it wasn’t him, then why wouldn’t Se-rin have said so? And if it wasn’t Jung-tae, then who was it, and how was Shin involved? I just can’t guess her motives or what she’s gaining from this at all, and I swear, it’s giving me anxiety. I need more answers! I do have another theory involving something that might have happened two resets ago (for Shin anyway), but it’s pretty out-there, and my theories keep getting shot down. So this one I’m going to keep for myself, but I can’t wait to see next week’s episodes to find out if I’m right!

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