Fly Dragon: Episode 9

by lovepark

The legal system has failed once again and ruined the life of an innocent man. However, it’s not too late to fix past mistakes. Our ragtag group of heroes have assembled to fight for justice, and with brawns and brains on their side this time, their opponents had better watch out.

 
EPISODE 9 RECAP

Copying Sang-man’s catchphrase, Tae-yong brags to Sam-soo about his brilliant plan and then thanks him for helping him repent these last few days. He pinches Sam-soo’s cheek to show his appreciation, but Sam-soo reels back from his touch, perturbed by the uncharacteristic behavior. Tae-yong also mentions that he contacted Attorney Hwang, and the two of them cheer to boost their morale.

Commencing the first part of the plan, Tae-yong visits Sang-man to ask if he’ll join the team. Using Doo-shik’s unfair bill to their advantage, Tae-yong intends to represent him in this lawsuit and use it as a platform to question the Osung case ruling. Sang-man wonders if the court will even allow this to work, but Tae-yong tells him that anyone can take the easy route.

His response reflects Sang-man’s own attitude when he first tackled the case, and he warns the younger lawyer that no one will recognize his efforts. To that, Tae-yong asks if Sang-man devoted his life to the case for recognition, and the ex-detective smiles back.

While Tae-yong meets with Sang-man, Sam-soo visits Doo-shik at his workplace and finds them getting ready for a demolition job. Sam-soo yells at Doo-shik for ruining his chances if he goes and urges him to consider his family. Doo-shik raises his fist at Sam-soo, but instead of hitting him, he slaps himself on the head.

He accuses Sam-soo of acting like he knows what it feels like to be associated with a murderer, and Sam-soo admits that he doesn’t know what Doo-shik went through. However, he does know what his son is feeling since his mom murdered someone. He condemns Doo-shik for only caring about his own pain and turning a blind eye to those around him. The people trying to help him right now have risked something, too, and Sam-soo shouts at Doo-shik for throwing away a once in a lifetime chance.

Even after hearing Tae-yong’s plan, Sang-man refuses to join since it would hurt his juniors. Tae-yong argues that Doo-shik’s innocence should be their top priority, but concedes to the ex-detective’s decision if he’ll accompany him to the crime scene one last time. Before he heads out, he calls Sam-soo to make sure he’s ready, and Sam-soo invites Doo-shik to meet the man who put his life on the line for him.

Once they arrive at the intersection, Tae-yong pretends to misremember all the details in order to buy some time. When Sam-soo walks towards them with Doo-shik, Sang-man mistakes him for a new bodyguard, but as soon as Doo-shik introduces himself, Sang-man furrows his brow and leaves feeling betrayed.

Doo-shik calls after the detective, and Sang-man stops to tell him that he’s retired. When he turns around for a second time, Doo-shik falls to his knees and begs for his help. His present-day apology mirrors the one from his past, and Sang-man roars at him to stop being sorry when he’s done nothing wrong.

As Doo-shik cries for him to help his son, Sang-man kneels in front of the framed man. He apologizes for not being able to free him all those years ago and then apologizes on behalf of the officers who harassed him. After pulling Doo-shik onto his feet, Sang-man tells the group that it’s time to go… catch the criminals!

Right then, Attorney Hwang joins them at the crime scene, and now the team has assembled! Commemorating their first meeting, Tae-yong introduces each of them (to which Sam-soo complains about his lame introduction, heh), and he declares themselves a team like no other. Going over the game plan, Tae-yong and Attorney Hwang will work on the lawsuit, Sang-man and Doo-shik have to find new evidence for the retrial, and Sam-soo will prepare for a full-scale media war.

Attorney Hwang asks why the others aren’t dressed for photos, and Tae-yong tells them that they’re going to reveal their faces and make their presence known. Once they change into more appropriate attire, Sam-soo takes the photo, but the others call him to join since he’s part of the team, too.

They celebrate over food and drinks, and Doo-shik thanks them for helping a stranger like him. Attorney Hwang tells him that they are just doing their jobs, so he doesn’t have to feel indebted. Sang-man also thanks everyone for this opportunity to work again and promises to do his best. Raising his drink for a toast, Tae-yong cheers that they’re risking everything on this one percent chance of winning.

Addressing the elephant in the room, Sam-soo asks Doo-shik if he really saw the murderer, and he tells them that he saw a person but not their face. Thus, when the officers kept pressuring him to describe the culprit, he simply recalled a familiar face.

Flashing back, the detectives started to suspect Doo-shik when he ran away, and with their chief hounding them to finish up the case, they ignored protocol and went to capture him in Seoul. Dragging him to a motel room, the officers stripped him down to his undergarments and forced him to “find” the murderer in the phonebook. They kept beating him with their fists as well as any object lying around, and the others’ inhumane actions made the youngest officer flinch.

The group can hardly believe Doo-shik’s tale, and the poor man apologizes again, blaming himself for what happened. Tae-yong tells him that it isn’t his fault, and Sang-man excuses himself from the group after hearing his story.

On his way home, Sang-man gives a call to the head detective of the original case (who has now become chief), and asks if he remembers acting like a bastard at Paradise Motel. Chief Ahn doesn’t understand his question and incorrectly assumes that Sang-man is alluding to his marital affairs.

Back in the restaurant, the others ask about his demolition work, and Doo-shik tells them that he ended up helping Boss Kim for three months after he got out of jail. The reason he quit, though, was because he ended up destroying his mom’s workplace.

During one of his demolition assignments, Doo-shik and the gang destroyed everything in their path, ignoring the cries of the shop owners. One woman came swinging a raw chicken at Doo-shik, and he gawked at the sight of his mom. Once she calmed down, she told Doo-shik to find another job, and right then and there, he quit.

Tae-yong asks if that person is his step-mom, and Doo-shik confirms it. After his dad passed, he went through a rebellious phase, but she stayed by his side through thick and thin. Attorney Hwang tells him that clearing his name is repaying her, and he nods.

Walking out of the restaurant, Attorney Hwang wraps her arms around the guys and shares some of her tweaks to Tae-yong’s plan. She wants to stab the higherups in the back with this case, so instead of publishing the article right away, she suggests getting the records first.

Sam-soo calls it a genius plan, and in typical fashion, Tae-yong praises himself for being such a good judge of character (pfft). Attorney Hwang reminds them that confidentiality is of the utmost importance, and they agree to keep their lips sealed.

During the ride home, Sam-soo thanks Tae-yong for all his help, and Tae-yong notes how the reporter grew up into a fine person. He grabs Sam-soo’s hand, but Sam-soo pulls away, looking disturbed by the sudden intimacy.

Changing topics, Sam-soo calls Yoo-kyung to use his favor and asks her to look into the past judges on the Osung case. She asks what she gets in return, and he promises to accept her next time she wants to quit.

Tae-yong continues working at the office, and as he reads Sang-man’s notes, he learns about the ex-detective’s late son. Meanwhile, Sang-man calls his daughter to assure her that even if he shows up on the news, he’ll be fine.

Jin-shil finds Sam-soo working late into the night, but in reality, he’s sleeping in front of his laptop. Waking up, Sam-soo tells her that he needs a homerun for Doo-shik’s sake as well as his own. Though she’s supportive of his goals, she reminds him not to overexert himself since that would make her sad.

The day of the third proceeding arrives, and Tae-yong tells the judge that he wants to go over all the facts of the case. He agrees that Doo-shik should pay if he killed the truck driver, but he asserts that his client is innocent. The judge is baffled at their attempt to challenge an eighteen-year-old criminal case in a civil court, but nevertheless, he accepts their request for two new witnesses.

Sang-man takes the stand first, and with his honor on the line, he tells the court that Doo-shik is not the criminal. When the judge asks how he can be so sure, Sang-man tells him that the records support his statement.

Doo-shik’s mother is up next, and the judge asks why she didn’t get a lawyer if she thought her son was innocent. She tells him that only those that can hire lawyers think of getting one in the first place. Attorney Hwang asks if she ever visited Doo-shik while he was detained, and she tells them that no one would allow her to see him.

While she couldn’t do anything for her son, she recalls one thing she did do, and confesses to making chicken for the detectives. Back when Doo-shik was arrested, Mom dropped by the station to hand the officers some food she prepared. She asked to see Doo-shik, but by then, he was transferred to the prosecution. Though it was of no use, she still handed the pot to the officers in charge, hoping that her little bribe might help in any way possible.

Back in the courtroom, Mom mentions how this is the first time she told anyone this story since she was afraid of being charged with bribery. The judge asks why she shared it after keep it a secret for all these years, and she tells him that she will accept her punishment if it means clearing her son’s name.

As their final defense, Tae-yong and Attorney Hwang present examples of cases where rulings were overturned in civil courts, and they ask for permission to access the case records. The judges calls both legal teams forward, and though the plaintiff’s representative wants the case over quickly, he understands the gravity of the situation and defers to the judge’s ruling.

Once everyone resumes their seats, the judge announces that the top priority for any court is the truth, thus he will grant the defendant permission to access the records. The team cheers for their first victory, and Tae-yong winks back at them as they give him a thumbs up in return.

Outside the courthouse, Doo-shik’s mom bows to the attorneys and feels shy in front of these educated people. Attorney Hwang tells her that education means nothing, and Tae-yong adds that he never graduated college, which puts her at ease. Doo-shik asks if she got the pot back, and she tells him that it was empty the next day. She’s sad to hear that her son never got any, and Sam-soo scowls at the audacity of the officers.

Receiving a call from Kwi-hyun, Sam-soo steps away from the group to answer, and hears an earful from him. Kwi-hyun criticizes his article for being boring and orders him to utilize the sensational nature of the case. Adding to the mounting pressure, Tae-yong reminds Sam-soo that they need the article published by tomorrow night.

Though Sam-soo promises to get the article ready, his long face worries Tae-yong, and he asks what’s bothering him. Sam-soo tells him that hearing the mom’s story dampened his mood, and Tae-yong silently thinks back to Sam-soo’s own family troubles.

Rather than go home, Sam-soo plans to visit his mom tonight, so Tae-yong pops into a convenience store and comes out with herbal drinks for his mom. Sam-soo wonders how he paid for this, and Tae-yong tells him that he would have bought something nicer if he had time.

Sam-soo crouches outside his mom’s room until she comes back from work, and when she sees him, she asks if he’s here to pay her back. While they eat cup ramyun, she asks why he’s here if he’s not returning her money, and he says that he missed her.

He brings up her case and asks if she appealed. She doesn’t know what that is, and Sam-soo does a spit-take, spewing noodles everywhere. Just like Doo-shik’s mom, his mom also didn’t know how the legal system worked and couldn’t hire a lawyer. Smiling at Tae-yong’s gift, his mom appears content with her life, and Sam-soo takes his anger out on her, upset that she’s so happy over such a simple gift.

That night, as they lay in bed, Sam-soo asks if it isn’t suffocating living here, but she tells him that it’s better than jail. Despite how terrible it was, she also remembers jail as the first time she ate food someone else prepared, and Sam-soo covers his eyes to hide his tears.

He asks why she stabbed her boyfriend so many times, and she tells him that she was scared. She thought she was going to die that day, and we flash back to the events that led up the murder. The boyfriend chocked her, demanding money, and then grabbed a knife to kill her. Right then, Sam-soo cried for her outside the door, and the boyfriend threatened to kill her son.

Sam-soo tells her that he was outside that day, but was unable to open the door and ran away instead. He wonders if everything would have been fine if he opened the door then, and apologizes, blaming himself for what happened.

In reality, Mom grabbed the knife after hearing her boyfriend threaten to kill Sam-soo, but she lies to her son, telling him that she had already committed the deed by the time he arrived. She says that he did nothing wrong, and Sam-soo turns away to wipe his tear.

When he wakes up, he finds a note from his mom and a few bills for a meal. Alone in her room, Sam-soo faces the door, and bracing himself, he grabs turns the doorknob. After all these years, he’s finally able to open it, and what greets him on the other side is a new day.

With the documents in his hand, Tae-yong calls the rest of the team to start the next stage of their plan. Sang-man begins stirring things up on the police side of things by calling Detective Bong (the youngest member of the original team), and at a café, Sam-soo writes the article on the Osung case. Memories of Doo-shik’s mom as well as his own act as the driving force behind his writing, and once he submits it to Kwi-hyun, he has his junior in tears this time.

Meanwhile, Yoo-kyung works on Sam-soo’s task when CEO Moon calls her to his office. He has a new assignment for her to cover, and Yoo-kyung instantly recognizes it as a sponsored article. Since it’s better than her current task, Yoo-kyung accepts, but as she returns to her desk, Chief Shin calls her over. She found Sam-soo’s recent article, and as they read it, their eyes grow wide.

The original officers also read the article, and Chief Ahn calls Sang-man to complain. Clearly enjoying himself, Sang-man tells him that investigations are secret and asks why he’s so nervous. Detective Bong also saw the article and looks glum when he meets with Sang-man.

Sam-soo’s article makes it way to Prosecutor Jang who calls Sam-soo in anger, and even Legislator Kim hears about the news. He calls Justice Jo to warn him about another retrial looming in the distance, and the justice learns that Tae-yong already accessed the case records. One step too late!

Before parting ways with Detective Bong, Sang-man asks his junior one more time if he really didn’t go to Paradise Motel. Detective Bong promises that he didn’t, and Sang-man believes him since he trusts him. He reminds the detective that he only took him back when he got the search warrant for the knife, but when Sang-man leaves, the detective looks torn.

Reading the case records, Tae-yong and Attorney Hwang are firmly convinced that Jae-sung is the criminal, and as they work, Yoo-kyung drops by on Sam-soo’s request. Seeing the attorney there makes Yoo-kyung feel out of the loop, and she decides to leave early, citing a busy day tomorrow. While the two attorneys continue their research, Yoo-kyung looks over the pamphlet for her upcoming article and sighs.

The team assembles again, and Sang-man compliments Sam-soo’s writing. Attorney Hwang asks how things are developing on his side, and Sang-man tells them that the police should be responding soon. All that’s left is finding the knife and Jae-sung, and Attorney Hwang points out that Tae-yong and Sam-soo can use their specialty: brawns over brains.

On the television, the news covers the volunteer awards ceremony Yoo-kyung is also attending, and as the second-place winner comes on stage, Doo-shik looks at the screen and freezes. When Sang-man sees the man as well, they both recognize him as Jae-sung. Tae-yong points out that the name is different, but Doo-shik remembers that face: it’s Lee Jae-sung.

 
COMMENTS

The details of Sam-soo’s story have been revealed, and it’s a tearjerker. All this time, Sam-soo was traumatized by the murder scene not because of what his mom did, but because of what he couldn’t do for her. He blamed himself for not opening the door and saving her because in his mind, he could have stopped things from spiraling out of control if he had the courage to intervene. What made their interaction and story heart wrenching, though, was Mom’s response. While Sam-soo thought he caused the murder by not opening the door, the truth was the opposite. By not opening the door, he was able to live, and it was Mom’s choice to kill her boyfriend.

In the end, the crux of the scene for both of them was still Sam-soo, but from her perspective, it’s a very different tale. His is one mired by regret and guilt, but hers is one of choice and action. In that moment, backed into a corner with very few options, Mom made the decision to protect her son at all cost. Even if that meant killing a man and going to jail, she made that sacrifice for Sam-soo. However, she doesn’t tell him this part of the story because she doesn’t want to burden him with even more guilt. Her son already thinks that he could have stopped it from happening, so if he learns the truth that she stabbed her boyfriend in order for Sam-soo to escape, this truth could break her son. Blowing my worries about the casting away, the director did a great job utilizing the actors in this scene, and I’m so glad Sam-soo got his much-deserved son-mom bonding moment. It was also a great way to end the scene with Sam-soo opening the door, signifying the start of his healing. Using Sam-soo, the show tells the audience that even after all the hardship and worries, sometimes taking the first step is the scariest because what waits on the other side might be a brighter future.

Besides Sam-soo and his mom, the episode seemed dedicated to misplaced guilt and apologizes. Sang-man feels responsible for his juniors’ mistakes, and though he, himself, may have no fault, he feels guilty for what happened because he was part of the system that failed Doo-shik. Then there’s Doo-shik. The poor man never gets a break, but one of the saddest things about his character was his internalized shame. Though he did nothing wrong, police brutality and years inside the criminal justice system has made him blame himself for what happened. Doo-shik may know that he’s innocent, but the world has made him believe that he holds some responsibility for what happened to him because he’s uneducated and poor. However, just as our team of heroes tells him over and over again, there’s no reason for him to apologize or even be overly thankful for their help. I love how our team doesn’t expect recognition or gratitude from Doo-shik because it’s their job. While they aren’t the direct cause of this mess, they’re part of the system like Sang-man is to the police, and as a result, they’re taking responsibility and helping him. While Tae-yong is our hero and champion, the show doesn’t necessarily glorify him or the justice system. The true protagonists of each case end up being the clients and those who help move the case forward.

Last episode, I wrongly assumed that Doo-shik had no one in his life, but all this time, he had a wonderful mom who was always by his side. Though her circumstances prevented her from helping him, she still tried her best to be there for her son, and it broke my heart to see her bow to the officers who beat her son. Even if he’s not related to her by blood, she was still his mom, and I loved how Doo-shik treated her that way as well. While it’s not necessarily a major part of the show, there’s also a message about family and how they can come in different forms. Love isn’t always the same from household to household, and blood doesn’t automatically mean family ties are formed. Through all the different characters, we see how family is a choice, and love is based on action.

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