A photographer runs the studio that's been in his family for generations... but there's one catch: the studio only opens in the wee hours and their clients are not humans, but spirits.

Spirits... appropriate for the wee small hours.
So a bottle of soju walks into a bar photo studio...

What really struck me this week, though, is just how many of this show’s characters have suffered not because they were personally targeted, but simply as collateral damage in someone else’s scheme to get whatever it is they want.

Amazing insight, @mistyisles. It completely reframes how I understand this week's episodes. Spot on. I keep thinking about what purposes "being a ghost" and/or "believing in ghosts" have been serving in this drama, and "giving meaning to tragedy" or "giving meaning to pain" seems to be front and center, especially given what you've noticed. That doesn't bode well for an HEA, but maybe the painful set-up will be enough to earn us at least two people who can be happy, and alive, in the present.

Given Detective Lee's role, everything certainly does seem to fit together at this point. Each character is introduced for a reason, all fitting jigsaw-like into a single narrative puzzle. I can see that being tedious for many--but not so much with me right now, as we've had so many loose ends over so many dramas recently that this tightly-packaged narrative feels like a relief.

Also, I was super happy that we were "off-by-one episode" this week, because I really would have been relatively upset if I had to wait a week after episode 12 to see episode 13...

When he showed up as a ghost/temporary ghost, I had to double check what episode I was on cause I couldn't believe they "killed" him with episodes left. I don't think I ever expected him to be killed off in such a way; I figured it would be like Hotel Del Luna where all the deaths happen in the final episode.

The evil ghost and the evil cop look so similar, I thought it was the same actor playing the two roles.

I knew drunk driving was involved in Bom's parents death but why did I never consider a son being involved? It totally makes sense he was covering up for his son and not himself.

Not entirely clear about the camera and Bom. What "wish" led to her getting the scar and being able to bring the camera to Ki Joo?

I rolled my eyes and gagged when the chief prosecutor (or whatever his new title is) was all aghast about his son's *latest* murder. "I raised a murderer. Let's cut ties" as if the son didn't kill FIVE before that point.

The guy only cared about his own reputation meanwhile others were beneath him and expendable. It's so infuriating the injustice people have to go through.

Because I like things like this, it made me chuckle when Bom described Deputy Go as a "pale version of Joo Won" haha
But then I was thinking do they look alike?! I don't think so so then I ended up falling down a rabbit hole of thinking Bom was just having fun lying to her friend since she can't see Deputy Go.

I honestly wouldn't know how to describe him aside from the glasses & short hair.

On the other hand, if I had to describe Ki Joo, it would a shorter version of Rowoon haha

Ooof @mistyisles, your last paragraph is very well put. No notes.

Thank you @mistyisles for this thoughtful and beautiful recap. I lost interest in the drama and was only watching for the bean but your recap made me excited again.

The detective being a complete psychopath was a little bit of nowhere like the fact he's the son of the prosecutor.

I was disapointed they connected the death of the uncle to Bom's parents and the big villain because I thought it was connected to his arc and nephew but he was just in the wrong place at the wrong time.

I want to know more about the camera. What happens if he died? He doesn't have family, so who will continue it? Now, the issue is the villain ghost will be able to get in the studio but what will be the consequences?

Thank you for such an amazingly perceptive recap.
The skilful writing and how all things are connected really shines through this week. The original couple episodes set up a hook each week to keep us on bated breath and reel us in next week. The only way we have been able to survive this live watch is with these odd episode sets and *previews*. 🙈 😊 Can't wait for our birthday invite which is now deferred till next week.

The amusement park date was so beautifully shot. Given the lighting I'm sure they would have shot it over a number of days. To maintain that same emotional charge would have been very challenging to shoot. My respect for the cast and crew!! 🙌

The Law Minister's son reveal was a well set up twist. Hidden in open sight with an organic link to the story that we knew till then. It did not seem as irritating as an intentionally withheld critical  information (which it totally was) but was a well-timed reveal.

Looking forward to celebrate Ki-joo's birthday party next week. 🥳 🎊 🎉 🎂 🎁 💝

I didn't get the use of holding the candle. Is that a thing that happens in Crash Landing on You or is it related to ghosts? Was it just a means for Jiwon to instantly recognize him since he did something that stood out?

Woah, what a set of episodes. After wondering how they’d “fill” these upcoming ~6 eps, I wasn’t exactly prepared for the showdown to start already! Detective Lee being the main villain really took me by surprise, too. It totally makes sense that the minister wouldn’t have been murdering those people himself (I was wondering the whole time what his role would play out to be, because I thought he wouldn’t get his hands dirty himself, and suspected there would be some political scheming involved - but no!). Having to clean up after his son seems more plausible. It’s also interesting, that the son’s character wasn’t “explained” by him being possessed by that evil spirit from the very start. He murdered those people because he himself chose to. 🫣 (And yikes, those scenes were graphic.) So, I’m still wondering if that evil spirit possessing him now is just taking advantage of the fact this plot is already neatly in place, or if there will be more to be revealed about this after all…

With 3 more eps to go, I’m really hoping they will get into solving the whole curse business next!

Also loved the scenes in the amusement park, they were beautifully shot. 🫰 Plus the blind date of Go & Jiwon was very interesting, with him possessing all those people and her just rolling with it. Chapeau, girl! 😂

I'll be honest, I wasn't that enthralled with ep. 12-13. It felt like very standard kdrama crime/serial killer/evil ghost fare. I wasn't bored and I was interested in seeing how things ended up, but I wasn't *excited*. There's only so many times you can watch a MC flee an evil murderer down a staircase. The following scene with the slaps felt like it came out of a slapstick comedy, that I really liked XD

Other things I liked: 1) YES, no matter how improbable it is, Deputy Go and her friend are the cutest couple 🥺 Bom's bestie also has the best quips. "did I make your heart flutter?" "yeah, it made my heart sink."
2) I love how casual the main couple's skinship is. it's natural to a new relationship, e.g. all the impromptu hugs or kisses.

"Joo Won is my ideal type" I just know Joo Won put that line in there himself

I also genuinely didn't see the twist coming, tho I thought the cop was a bit suspicious from the start. And it was really affecting for Ki-joo to just show up as a ghost when Bom was waiting for him. Another layer of sadness for me is that poor Yoon-cheol really considered the prison hyungs his friends and the whole time they were setting him up as a fall guy before getting their own incompetent selves killed...

Forgive me if I'm forgetting something, but can every ghost can touch and hold physical objects? I thought only the Midnight Studio part timers could?

Maybe it's because of my own personal prejudices but I still think the infidelity arc is overwrought and unnecessary. I'm agreed that Baek was a terrible partner but that doesn't absolve Na-rae or justify an HEA with a homewrecker in Germany. it all feels like Divorce Attorney Shin material tbh.

A day may come when I get to see Ahn Chang-hwan as a character who is not at least slightly murderous, but it is not this day. Maybe it's because I watch this drama with a warm glow of comfort covering me and not really prompting me to examine things too closely, but I did not at all see that coming. @mistyisles is right that the connections make more sense now! I'm curious if his arrest will stick and the evil spirit will have to find a new host (minister of justice, anyone?) or if he'll slither out of his absolutely obvious wrongdoings for long enough to continue wreaking havoc. I joked in the WWW post about the number of connections, but especially in light of this new info, I honestly really like the level of artistic unity happening in this drama. It feels intentional, and like the writer knew where they were going, which is comforting in a different way than all the tropes.

Sung-ho and Ji-won's date was so cute. They would have hit it off so well if they had actually gotten to meet! I'm glad their kiss got interrupted though. Shouldn't do that with a borrowed body. Save it for the photo!

I registered today just so I could tell you this is an amazing and thoughtful review - thank you!!!

I am really enjoying this drama, more than I expected to. Joo Won is a great actor - he has knocked it out of the park time and time again. I truly bought his sadness, loneliness and befuddlement. It is also pleasantly distracting that he reminds me of Suga/Min Yoongi, so it's fun to think about him in this role. There has been some clunky writing and papering over of plot holes, but that's kdrama for you. I'm really eager to see how this all ends!