Chief Detective 1958: Episodes 5-6

by lovepark

A new age. A new time. While the world ushers in a new decade, some things remain the same. Villains still exist, corruption runs rampant, and the law isn’t always enough to get the bad guys. Thankfully, our heroes haven’t changed either, and until they resign, they will devote their lives to locking up crooks to make the world a safer place.

 
EPISODES 5-6

The next case for unit one starts off close to home when the adopted grandson of the rice cake lady gets murdered right outside their shop. They were the first people to welcome Young-han into the city, so when he finds the young man’s body brutally stabbed, things become personal. Noticing the other merchants shake in fear at the mention of the murder, Young-han knows the gang did it and takes matters into his own hands. With his team in tow, they break into the gangster’s hideout, a flurry of fists, kicks, and wooden planks. Young-han confronts their leader, Viper, in a one-on-one match, and though the latter unsheathes a sword in the middle of their fight, Young-han whips out the other man’s belt and beats him with it.

Though Young-han is convinced that Viper did it, he has no evidence to support his claims. His rash actions lead his team into trouble as the superintendent threatens to dismiss them for abuse of power. Chief Yoo steps in on his boys’ behalf — his time with the special forces gave him enough dirt to ruin the superintendent’s career — and he gives them another chance to solve the case properly this time. Learning from his mistake, Young-han approaches the murder as a detective rather than a vigilante, and after promising the grandmother to catch the culprit, he earns her permission to perform an autopsy on her grandson.

While science gives them clues to deduce Viper as the murderer, Young-han turns to more superstitious methods to gather concrete evidence. A recent cult has swept the city, and one of their fervent believers is Viper’s underling. Manufacturing some “accidents” — a broken mirror here, a falling sign there — they manage to convince their target that a spirit is cursing him. In order to appease this ghost, the underling inadvertently leads the officers straight to the murder weapon. All that’s left now is to arrest Viper.

What should have been a simple wrap-up turns into a logistical nightmare when underworld leader Lee Jung-jae blocks all warrants against his men, including Viper. With their hands tied, our heroes realize how corrupt the justice system is, but if their country won’t help them catch criminals, then they’ll have to turn to another one. Calling in a favor from their case in the second episode, Young-han and his crew interrupt Viper’s big ceremony and start a brawl. One tenacious man keeps grabbing Viper who kicks him in return, but as it turns out, the man he hit is a U.S. soldier. This has now become an international crime, and Lee Jung-jae cuts Viper loose to fend for himself.

Once Viper is behind bars, Young-han turns his attention to bigger fish, and since he’s already gotten on the underworld leader’s bad side, might as well go for the jugular. With his band of homeless helpers, Young-han and his team intercept Lee Jung-jae’s smuggled U.S. goods, and the repercussions are astounding. Not only does it hurt Lee Jung-jae but it also gets his conspiring military officer fired, too. It’s a huge win for the team, and things only get better for Young-han when he asks Hye-joo to marry him and she accepts. They hold a wedding with all their friends blessing their union — except Ho-jung who weeps as he sends his unrequited love off — and the show skips a few years to land in 1961.

Actual clips of real-life events play on screen to signal the age of a new decade, a new government, and a new “future.” A handful of gangsters, Lee Jung-jae among them, are executed as a show of force, and while it should be good news, it leaves Young-han feeling conflicted. It doesn’t help that the police haven’t changed — they’ve arguably gotten worse — and now their holding cells are filled with political dissenters rather than actual crooks. Fortunately, unit one remains the same, giving the higher-ups a headache with their antics and blatant insubordination.

The world is still unfair, though, since the superintendent gets promoted to deputy director, and in his place, he appoints an even worse fellow: the disgraced military officer who worked with Lee Jung-jae. For his first act in his new position, the deputy director orders the new superintendent Baek Do-seok to get rid of Chief Yoo, and the superintendent carries out the crime without a single complaint. He’s equal parts spineless and merciless, willing to bark on command and kill people in the same breath.

Chief Yoo is left in critical condition and possibly crippled for life, which causes his team to seek revenge. They assume Lee Jung-jae’s gang did it since their boss recently died, but none of the underlings they interrogate harbor any ill will towards their chief. Coupled with the precision of the attack, Young-han realizes that someone much closer to them wanted their chief out of the picture, and things start to click when he sees the new superintendent for the first time — it’s the man from his nightmares. The superintendent recognizes him, too, and the animosity is mutual.

With the help of Officer Bong Nan-shil (a frequent patron of Hye-joo’s bookstore), the team learns about Chief Yoo’s secret efforts to bring down their old superintendent. Alas, his meddling caught the ire of a powerful, pro-Japanese group that wanted him gone. Despite figuring out the culprits, it would be reckless for them to arrest the deputy director, but does that stop Young-han? Of course not. Taking a page from his chief, Young-han marches to the deputy director’s office by himself and drags him out in handcuffs.

As expected, Young-han ends up arrested, instead, and Superintendent Baek accuses him of mutiny. Just as things look dire for our stubborn detective, a familiar voice interrupts, asking if they need a witness testimony. It’s the chief, saving the day once again with his impeccable timing!

Wow, where do I even start? So much happens this week, and while I usually enjoy a fast pace, I actually wished the show slowed down a bit. Granted, there’s only four more episodes left, and with so much ground to cover, it makes sense that the creators went with a breakneck speed, even if that choice might be to their detriment in the long run. As of now, it feels like the first five episodes were part of one arc (aka, the Lee Jung-jae storylines), and episode six seems to be the start of a new one.

For the most part, I enjoyed the first half of the show with its contained cases and episodic nature. They were fun and a bit wild, despite the heavier topics. However, since the show favored humor over solemnity in its tone, it did make it difficult to emotionally connect with characters and feel the impact of their losses. It also didn’t help that the Lee Jung-jae plotline ended on a whimper — an easily stolen truck reminiscent of Episode 1 but with less danger — and all the threats and posturing didn’t amount to much. The underworld leader then died off-screen partly due to keeping with historical accuracy, leaving me wondering why the show wasted so much time establishing some sort of nemesis-relationship between Lee Jung-jae and Young-han that never took off.

There’s a definite tonal shift with Episode 6, and the introduction of Senior Superintendent Baek feels like a glimpse at a new “big bad.” Rather than focus on one case and solve it in the same hour, the show explores police corruption in more depth. While this topic has always been part of the show, it was often treated as ancillary — something the heroes had to overcome in order to catch the criminals. However, it’s now become the plot, and I’m curious to see how the rest of the show will unfold.

Episode 6 was also decidedly less funny, which fits with the overall atmosphere of the current setting, but I do miss the craziness of the first half. Hopefully, the coming episodes will strike a balance between seriousness and fun as it traverses across a tumultuous period in Korean history. Given the era, I wouldn’t be surprised if the show takes a darker turn, but having seen these characters in 1958, it would be a shame if they lost some of that snake-wielding, leg-biting, chef-dressing wackiness they once had.

 
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