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The Midnight Studio: Episodes 10-11

With his grim fate looming ever nearer, our photographer has to make a choice: accept what seems inevitable, or fight for the chance to live against all odds. And if that weren’t difficult enough to wrestle with, he and his loved ones also have to face painful truths about their pasts — many of which are far more intertwined than anyone might have guessed.

 
EPISODES 10-11

The Midnight Studio: Episodes 10-11

Now that Yoon-chul has found his way to The Midnight Studio, we get his full backstory — at least, what he knows of it. Desperate to help fund his sister’s upcoming wedding, he’d reluctantly agreed to act as lookout while two accomplices robbed a vacation home. When they didn’t reemerge, he ventured inside and found them dead on the floor. Despite having been at the crime scene for less than five minutes (not nearly enough time for him to have murdered both men), Yoon-chul was arrested and indicted in record time.

This was the case that rookie prosecutor Bom was pressured to close quickly and without question. That didn’t sit right with her, though, so she posted the whole story online in hopes that her fellow prosecutors would not unjustly punish someone who had yet to be proven guilty. As we’ve already seen, her higher-up, Prosecutor Lee, demanded she apologize and retract her post, and she walked out instead.

Given everything he’s been through, Yoon-chul carries a ton of pent-up resentment. Multiple times, the team has to work together to talk him down from killing someone and bring him back to his right mind — all while battling their own inner demons. For Bom, that means facing Prosecutor Lee again and reopening some of her past trauma (plus, she’s still angry and hurt that Ki-joo didn’t tell her about the curse).

For Ki-joo, it means confronting the truth that his uncle Ki-won is dead, since it was Ki-won who led Yoon-chul to the Midnight Studio from the netherworld. Ki-joo insists he’s fine and that he expected this, but when he’s alone, he breaks down. If Ki-won couldn’t escape the curse, what chance does he have?

The Midnight Studio: Episodes 10-11

See, for most of his life, Ki-joo has been resigned to his eventual fate. As he explains to Bom, he focused more on securing a less excruciating death than on finding a way to survive. But when the cat-killing spirit (which is actually many spirits in one entity) catches up to him and all seems lost, all he can think about is wanting to see Bom one last time. And when Bom shows up in the nick of time to rescue him with the power of the Safe Zone, Ki-joo promises that from now on, he’ll fight for his own life with everything he has.

With little time before Yoon-chul needs to pass through the Gate of the Dead, the team puts pressure on Prosecutor Lee and a detective who helped smooth over Yoon-chul’s murder. They trick the two into admitting their complicity while the ghosts record the conversation, and then Ki-joo swoops in to spook Prosecutor Lee with the evidence — and with some ghostly activity, courtesy of his assistants and Yoon-chul.

The Midnight Studio: Episodes 10-11

Then Ki-joo does what he does best: convinces Yoon-chul’s sister to meet Yoon-chul one last time at the Midnight Studio. She brings their mother, too, and the three resolve their respective feelings of guilt in a tearful send-off. Just before his final photo, Yoon-chul thanks Bom for everything she’s done for him, and she promises to make Prosecutor Lee apologize to him, one way or another.

Also seeking some semblance of closure this week is Nam-gu, who watches as his wife, JIN NA-RAE (Han Groo), packs up their home and moves back in with her mother. He’s saddened to see her handling everything on her own, only to realize she’d been doing just that during their entire marriage. He was so committed to his job that she rarely saw him — and when they did get time together, he was always falling asleep — and she didn’t dare call him when he was out for fear of endangering him. The florist, on the other hand, was attentive, reliable, and made her feel less alone. It may not excuse her affair, but Nam-gu certainly didn’t uphold his end of their wedding vows, either.

Na-rae is slowly picking up on the signs that Nam-gu’s ghost is lingering around her. And elsewhere, Ji-won also connects the dots between the random people helping her lately and the infamous office ghost, whom she has finally learned was the guy who (she thought) stood her up. The next time Sung-ho possesses someone to give her an extra hand, she uses a talisman to (temporarily) trap him in the person’s body so she can finally get some concrete answers — and ask him for that date they never got to go on.

Meanwhile, the investigation into Prosecutor Lee continues. Our team knows he orchestrated the vacation home murders, but not why. Eventually, Nam-gu finds a connection: one of the murdered thieves once caused a fatal car wreck, and Prosecutor Lee helped him avoid the full consequences. And wouldn’t you know it — the victims were a couple and their 12-year-old daughter, the latter of whom was in a coma for two months following the accident.

That’s right: Prosecutor Lee wrecked Bom’s life twice over (at least). Though stricken by the revelation, she insists on accompanying Ki-joo to scope out the tunnel where the accident occurred. She doesn’t trust his driving (honestly, same), he might need the Safe Zone, and anyway, she figures revisiting the scene might trigger some buried memories of what actually happened there. She’s right, but she’s not prepared for the intensity of the resulting flashbacks — or for what they reveal to her. The person who pulled her from the wreckage was Ki-won, and while he was trying to call for help, another car (or perhaps the same one?) mowed him down.

The Midnight Studio: Episodes 10-11

This week was heavy on the emotions, so I’m grateful for the few moments of levity it gave us. Like Bom asking for a more personal nickname than “Safe Zone” and Ki-joo oh-so-proudly amending it to “Safe Person!” Which I think is just the sweetest thing, even if she didn’t seem to appreciate it quite as much as I did. But that, I think, is one of the most beautiful things about their relationship: they really are each other’s safe place, no matter what. Regardless of how much they’re struggling individually or as a couple, they’re always there for each other to offer words of support and to help keep the literal and figurative demons at bay.

I’m sure it’s not a coincidence that the two souls Ki-won sent to find Ki-joo (Yoon-chul and coma ghost Bom) were both connected to Prosecutor Lee, though now I’m wondering if there’s an even bigger connection there that he’s trying to communicate. We still don’t know how he ended up at the tunnel that night, or the details of how and why he transferred the camera — and the scar — to Bom. But one thing is sure: he has unfinished business, and not being able to visit the Midnight Studio isn’t stopping him from reaching out.

The Midnight Studio: Episodes 10-11

 
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Man, all of these stories are so sad. This poor guy just wanted to walk his little sis down the aisle. You can tell how much this little family loved each other too. I'm happy that poor Yoon Cheol was able to move on in peace, but they should have had more time together. Didn't the other families get to have dinner??

I had always thought dowry was commonplace only in India. Depressing to see other countries have it too.

Though it was probably obvious, I suspected it was Lee Hyeon-oh from the start and feel rather like a detective myself. And on the contrary, I expected Lee Hyeon Oh to be connected to Bom's accident the moment you mentioned his name and her accident in the same sentence. I wouldn't be surprised if he was the one driving the car that killed her parents too. Either way, the ghostly Uber ride of terror should have lasted longer...

It's kinda heartwarming that his uncle is helping people find justice even in the afterlife. He's what the kids call a "real one." Even at the end, Uncle went out doing the right thing. Also, why was he at the tunnel? Is there a deeper kdrama conspiracy or was he just passing through?🤨

Speaking of Uncle Dearest, that was amazing acting from Joo Won when he saw his uncle appear before him. The fact that he was ready to just leave Korea to spare Bom the pain... While Bom doesn't want to lose a single person... While her friend possibly has terminal illness...The emotions, the dialogue delivery... 10/10, will cry again.

I'm glad for the nuance, but Baek's wife could have still talked to him. Like, your own complex prevented you from doing so, and then you chose to cheat. Now, based on the preview, I guess she thinks Ghost Baek is psychologically torturing her. Don't think these two ever understood each other, tbh.

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Oh, just had a thought here. You know what the women connected to our side ghosts have in common?

They are both in "relationships" with absent men.

Of course, one is/was married to a man who promised to be more present for her--and he was not in life, and then he also died, leaving her truly alone. The other was simply "ghosted" on the first date--but now, after he's dead, she's trying to connect with him, even though that does seem, well, more than fruitless in terms of long-term companionship.

I see rosy days ahead (pun intended) for our flower arranger, and I stand by my prediction for the "office couple's" longer-term relationship as ghosts (found below).

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I'm not a fan of men who go after married women. Lavking boundaries and character.

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im so irked like does he not even have lines as a ghost? there needs to be a Ghostal Workers Rigths Union

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I had so much to say, I didn't get to say: Yes, I knew she'd point out that he has her saved as Safe Zone. Yes, the Safe Person thing was cute and funny. And, it's really sweet of the sick friend to help Deputy Go find peace and move on.

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After the cancer, the fact she worked very hard and her boss is a jerk, Ji-Won deserves to find love with someone who is alive. I think her relationship with Sung-Ho as friend could have been fun but not a love story.

Nam-Goo was a good cop but sadly not a goot husband. He made his wife very lonely. But I wonder why she doesn't seem to work.

Bom was unfair with Ki-Joo. She was the one who insisted again and again, not him. But at least, it didn't last! Now she understands how the save place is important.

I'm not sure how the drama can last for 5 more episodes.

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Also not very fond of this Jiwon/Seongho love line progression! It’s totally clear this will lead up to the biggest heartbreak yet - for both (or for the viewer, ha!). Though I do wish for him to find some peace of mind about it, since he’s so very hung up on her. But considering the (partial) healing process she’s miraculously gone through (what was that all about?! Cannot be coincidence, right?), I do so hope she just stays alive happily. But I really couldn’t say where this will go…

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Friendship / communication / closure is all fine but BOTH need to move on ... separately!! 🤷‍♀️🙀

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100% agree with your first two paragraphs. I really appreciate Ji Won and she deserves better than a ded man.

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Maybe it will turn out that he's just in a coma.

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I don't think so. Everybody said he died by overworking not that he was in the coma.

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I was joking, but to get that joke one has to have watched Delivery Man, a fate I wouldn't wish upon anybody, since the experience risked turning me into an evil spirit with coal black eyes.

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So now a HEA comes with a side of coma!?

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Ah! Oh okay then, never mind. 🙈

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💯 agree with all points. Seems like they are going to drag out the comeuppance of the Minister. So some other plot line which is so not required now. 🙄

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Its at this point in these fantasy dramas that I start thinking: okay, time to wrap it up. Take a last picture of the Nam-gu with his wife and have them apologize to each other; have Sung-ho permanently occupy some brain-dead body, or something, and unite him with Ji-won (rather than the alternative, have Ji-won die from a return of the cancer); explain why the prosecutor is evil, connect him with the cat killing ghost and have the ghost haunt him the rest of his days; and then have Ki-joo return the camera to the uncle ghost who takes it back to the grim reaper in the netherworld, and unite him happily ever after with Bom, who returns to the prosecutor office. That's an easy, no rush episode right there, the show is done, and everyone is satisfied, another pleasant if somewhat insubstantial kdrama in the books.

But no, there are 5 MORE EPISODES! There's going to be some kerfuffle with that annoying policeman, who apparently has so much time on his hands that he's wandering around illegally searching property based on a slight suspicion from looking at a blurry video; then there will be some sort of ridiculous return to the Joseon era to explain the cat-killing evil spirit, plus the evil prosecutor will temporarily triumph and have Bom kidnapped or nearly killed, and finally there will be some last second issue with the curse that may or may not have Ki-joo die. And then of course every episode will have a lot of semi-explanatory flashbacks, which will largely be repeats but will add one missing detail.

Meanwhile, viewers like me will be trapped in the curse of 5 more hours in this darn ghost studio before heading to the heaven of watching Blood Free, a satisfying action/adventure mystery about cultured meat, simply because I can't leave the unfinished business this show without a photo of me and the ending credits.

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Pretend DB therapy time for @hajca!

🎓Why, our most cherished DB ajusshi, can you not leave things unfinished?

🎓Why are you seemingly compelled to offer convincing, but endlessly frustrating and unsatisfying, predictions about how dramas will end (especially in fantasy dramas--including time-slips!!)?

🎓Somewhat more importanly, why are you so often right in your predictions?

Are you in a coma somewhere and your ghost is writing commentary on this here k-drama fan site?? Should we start investigating?

@dylanrodrigues42 has shown herself to be quite the ghost detective above, and I dabble in that skill too...should we organize a search party to find your comatose, but living, avatar??? Now, I don't know what we'll do when we find you, but I guess you're going to find out!

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@attiton You and @dylanrodrigues42 could easily find my comatose body via the loud snoring I emit dozed off while watching the show Nothing Uncovered, but I don't think you need to worry. My predictions are based on the hope that if I write them on Dramabeans, I will be hurled back in time to prevent them from happening. Unfortunately, any changes I'm able to make in one show then happen to another show, a fantasy time-slip rule that leaves me in limbo, sinking through endless depths of cost fallacy.

But now I've confused myself with metaphorical kdrama references, so let me return to my daily routine of playing random scenes from Queen of Tears and squeeing.

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My predictions are based on the hope that if I write them on Dramabeans, I will be hurled back in time to prevent them from happening.

Yeah, that's a load of bull. But, OK, sure.

Queen of Thrones on random, huh? That sounds like Emotional Russian Roulette. You never know how you'll react, and it might be devastating...

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Up until now we have been in pretty safe hands with show, episodes have been well paced and issues have been smartly resolved so I can only hope that this will continue. The overarching storyline has also been steadily progressing however @hacja I suspect you are not far wrong in some of your predictions. ps enjoying your snarky comments...

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👏👏👏👏👌
tbh can't really say I disagree with even one single word.

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Did anyone else think initially that it was Creepy Stalker Ghost (when he was alive) who found Bom in that car and not Samchon? Upside-down it was hard for me to tell. That would have put a whole new spin on things... Clearly it was not him, but for a minute I thought we'd reached "Inception" levels of interconnectedness.

I know that it seems like our main story arc doesn't have five episodes left, but I'd sort of be OK with a few more unconnected ghosts-of-the-week...or ghosts-of-the-week connected to our side ghosts.

Also, I'm not bugged by way the fates of our adorable office couple are playing out. For myself, I'd be OK if they both died and went off together into the ghostly sunset. This is a fantasy drama, and we all do die--so it would be a just-fine ending for me if they both got to be together in the eternal bliss of the afterlife.

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I don't want Ji-Won to die. She survived her cancer for now and she deserves to be happy! And she's Bom's friend who already lost a lot of people.

And they will be reincarnated, it's not like they will be together in the death...

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I get that you don't want Ji-won to die. I hear you. She will eventually, though. And it would not bug me, however, if she did it in relation to this other lonely ghost, in service of the story about the existential loneliness of human existence being presented by this piece of fiction.

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If they had a strong love relationship, it could have been romantic (and sadistic)... but it's not the case at all. For now, it was quite one sided.

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Sooooo many connections! Can I just say how relieved I am that Bom said right away that the car crash was her family? In another drama she would have kept quiet and gone to the scene by herself without warning anyone and passed out alone or something. This was refreshing.

I thought at one point we wouldn’t get a reunion with samchon but now I’m feeling more hopeful about it! I love that he’s been sticking around even though he can’t enter the studio (and even though that’s a pretty tragic situation for him) and I hope he and his nephew get to meet again.

My hope for Ji-won and Seong-ho is that they get to go on the date they originally planned, and then he gets to move on (so that he doesn’t become an evil spirit) and she gets to move on to another person. Closure for everyone and tears all around.

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Perfect resolution for all. 💯👍

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I wasn't surprised that Prosecutor Lee was dirty, kinda feels like given due to how he treated Bom but I wasn't expecting him to planned out a murder and a fall guy like this. Oh man, one of things I'm starting to get really jaded about is these class and social differences that let people like Prosecutor Lee use, mistreat, and screw over the powerless. It makes me want ghostly retribution or a crossover with shows like vigilante or leverage haha.

So I'm guessing Prosecutor Lee was the actual drunk driver but then go around and hit the uncle is like wow. Maybe a ghost/evil spirit took the wheel for that one.

I don't really fault the wife for her affair in this case. I'm kinda curious why the police officer even wanted to get married in the first place when he prioritized his job over her. People didn't even know she had a husband and she was basically living a lonely life. It's sad; it's good that she realized enough was enough and was gonna ask for a divorce cause she needed more than what he was giving her. Their situation also makes me think how cheating, whether emotional or physical, isn't always such a black & white thing for people.

Not sure how dating between a ghost possessing/overshadowing people and the friend is supposed to work or how I'm supposed to feel about it.

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Oh I forgot to mention that it seems Yoon Chul's sister kinda lucked out by not getting married to that asshat of guy and his toxic family. I'm wondering why he even wanted to marry the sister if he looked down on her and her family so much. Was he feeding some kind of ego complex or something?
We can already imagine the types of things he and his parents would say to and about the sister if they had gotten married. He's such a jerk.

I really do not understand the deal with giving exes wedding invitations. I've seen this a few times in Korean stuff (one that I remember was a webtoon) and I'm so confused why. If the ex goes to the wedding, people judge, mock, and criticize them for it. If the ex doesn't go, do they look petty or insecure by not accepting the magnanimous invite? Like maybe they're still into their ex.

It seems like it's just a final way of hurting an ex and for what? Why? Especially if the inviter was the person who broke up with them in the first place?

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Thanks for the recap! Every time I tune in to this show, I'm not sure whether I'm going to finish the episode. Why? I love the FL and the side characters. I just like the ML less and less every week. Is it the character? I think it's the actor. He looks uncomfortable. This week his reaction times seemed a little slowed down. But maybe it will all pick up again next week.

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