Red Swan: Episodes 9-10 (Final)

by starrygazer

What a rollercoaster of a drama this has been! I’m almost sorry to see it end, but any more episodes and it would have been too ridiculous. This melodrama has been fun and superbly acted. And now, let’s get into the final two episodes and see just who is behind all of this backstabbing and murder.

 
EPISODES 9-10

Our crazy yet greedy Chairwoman Park has called a council with her sons, Yong-kook and Yong-min, to decide what is going to happen with the money left to Wan-soo from Chairman Kim. Yong-kook reminds them both the money isn’t theirs – they should stay out of it and let Wan-soo use it for a good cause. This riles up Yong-min who spits out that he will never let that happen, and he’ll report them for the slush fund activities and get them locked up before he gives up on that money. Yong-kook is incensed now, and he barks that Yong-min isn’t even part of the family – yikes – and brings up Chairman Kim’s murder. Chairwoman Park is suitably surprised, but Yong-min’s reaction is to deny knowing anything… Very suspicious!

We gain a little insight into Yong-min’s character when his wife barges into his office and throws him against a cabinet. Yong-min has been using her father’s business stocks to buy up shares in Hwa-in, and she is livid – demanding a divorce. There is a real nasty side to Yong-min when he produces pictures of her affair (which he knew about might I add) to blackmail her father into giving him the stocks. Yong-min has met his match with his wife because she tells him to return the money or she will report him — and he can send the pictures to the press. It doesn’t matter to her because they ARE getting a divorce. (These two are totally meant for each other.)

It’s very unsettling when Yong-min goes to see Mr. Han after his argument with Yong-kook. Yong-min wants to make a plan for the money, but Mr. Han asks him why he killed Chairman Kim — wait — what?! You knew? Yong-min just continues on that he will kill Wan-soo to get the foundation from her, but then he realizes what Mr. Han just said. Yong-min says he didn’t kill Chairman Kim — he just dropped down dead. (Yeah, okay buddy that was very convincing.) Mr. Han has a flashback to the night Chairman Kim died, and Yong-min was standing over his bloody corpse with a blood drenched gold bar in his hand. Uhhh.

Trying to appease Chairwoman Park, Mr. Han goes to see her because she has a plan. Chairwoman Park’s idea is to a) have Hyun-soo launder the slush fund money for them (which will help keep Wan-soo quiet) and then b) for Hyun-soo to “take his own life” over the guilt. Mr. Han could not seem more disinterested in this plan and gets up to leave. Chairwoman Park says that Yong-min will get a small percentage of the money and they should be happy with the scraps. This really shows how she perceives both Mr. Han and Yong-min — servants that should be happy with what they’re given.

Over in camp good-guys, Do-yoon, Wan-soo, and Hyun-soo are discussing what to do with the ledgers. Do-yoon points out that this is too big for them to handle alone; they should hand over the ledgers (proof of illegality in Hwa-in) to the prosecution. Hyun-soo disagrees saying if Wan-soo gives the ledgers to the prosecution they won’t believe her and she will probably get into an “accident.” Hyun-soo rightfully points out that they don’t link the slush funds to Mr. Han or Yong-min so it wouldn’t be of any help anyway, but he wants to handle it himself because they need new evidence. They do need more evidence, but I have a bad feeling about this — especially as they leave the conversation telling each other to be careful.

A very nervous Hyun-soo turns up at the Han River to hand the ledgers over to Mr. Han, it’s a good thing Do-yoon is hidden close by using a body cam to record the whole exchange. As soon as Mr. Han gets there Hyun-soo calls Do-yoon so he can hear the conversation. Hyun-soo possibly overplays his hand here asking Mr. Han a series of questions about the slush funds, and if Mr. Han will leave Wan-soo alone if she does as he asks. After Mr. Han takes the ledgers and leaves, Do-yoon takes a breath and his eyes off Hyun-soo for a moment. Long enough for Agent Jin to swoop in and fatally attack Hyun-soo. Do-yoon chases her and manages to stab her in the back (literally), but she gets away.

Do-yoon manages to get Hyun-soo to the hospital but he dies during surgery. To make matters worse, now Do-yoon has to go and tell Wan-soo. Wan-soo is understandably upset, and you can’t help but feel for her. Yong-kook turns up at Hyun-soo’s funeral, and seeing this softer side to Yong-kook really makes him more relatable. We also see Hyun-soo’s wife give Do-yoon a USB (what Hyun-soo said he would make sure Do-yoon got if anything happened to him) and Do-yoon asks the widow for one more favor…

Meanwhile, Mr. Han has called the prosecution and handed in the ledgers all incriminating Chairwoman Park. They turn up to deliver her summons, but no one at the Grand Palace can get in touch with Mr. Han. He turns up the next day whistling a happy tune and telling Chairwoman Park he has everything handled. Mr. Han has released more pictures to the press about Wan-soo’s “affair” and how they are linked to the slush funds to try and take the heat off Chairwoman Park. Mr. Han is turning into a real villain now; some of these events are starting to make sense.

Hiding from reporters at a hotel after her temporary release from the prosecution, Chairwoman Park and Mr. Han are having a glass of wine together. Chairwoman Park asks Mr. Han why he killed Hyun-soo. Mr. Han replies *ice cold* that Hyun-soo embezzled funds, gambled, and loan sharks killed him. I think I just got shivers. Chairwoman Park continues to ask if she is safe; she tells Mr. Han that she trusts him because they have a child together even though she couldn’t give Yong-min much. The cruelty and delusions of grandeur of Chairwoman Park come to the forefront when Mr. Han asks why Yong-min couldn’t have taken over the company: she laughs in his face and asks who would let their concubine’s child take over their company. Meow!

After Chairwoman Park’s arrest at the hotel, we see Wan-soo asking Do-yoon why he asked her sister-in-law to report Mr. Han. Previously, Do-yoon had taken the USB and planted it in Mr. Han’s safe, because they had no direct evidence against him that hadn’t been obtained illegally. Do-yoon wanted the prosecution to find it in Mr. Han’s belongings.

When the prosecution turns up at the Grand Palace, Do-yoon lets them in, and once Agent Jin sees what’s happening, she tries to flee. When Do-yoon catches up to her there’s a great fighting scene — the choreographed fights have been brilliant throughout this series. Do-yoon apprehends her and hands her over to the police, avenging Ju-hyuk in the process. *Claps hands*

The dastardly deeds of Mr. Han continue when we see him digging up the gold bar covered in Chairman Kim’s blood. *Gasps!* (Did he really keep leverage against his own son?) Mr. Han goes to see Chairwoman Park where she is being questioned and threatens her with this evidence. Chairwoman Park lunges for him when she realizes he is behind all of this and asks him what she did to deserve this. (She really doesn’t know…?) Mr. Han tells her having a child with her was revenge for treating him as less than human, so if she wants to hide her dirty little secret (Yong-min being a psycho and a servant’s child), she should plead guilty to the contract killings.

The character growth of Yong-kook is still building when we see him decide to fully support Wan-soo, even if it means cutting Tae-ra and his son out of his life for a while. Yong-kook goes to see his son and asks him who he wants to live with, and his son says he will stay with his mum because she has no one while Yong-kook has a family. It’s a really touching moment where they hug and cry and promise to meet up when the child becomes an adult. There were tears flowing when I saw this scenem— Yong-kook is becoming more human by the second.

At the Grand Palace of Doom (which should be its proper name), Yong-min has gone postal. Everything is unravelling for him and Yong-min has decided it would be a good idea to dismiss the staff and go and get the rifle. As the audience we aren’t sure who the target is, but I’m not sure even Yong-min knows. Just as Wan-soo leaves the building, she is greeted by Yong-min waving his rifle around. Mr. Han runs in and some very harsh words are spoken between all three men. Mr. Han tells Yong-min to give him the gun he will do it – kill Yong-kook – who up until now hasn’t been taking this threat very seriously. Yong-kook rushes Mr. Han, knocks the gun out of his hands, and fights with him just as Yong-min shoots twice – hitting Yong-kook with both shots.

Rushing in from outside, Wan-soo goes over to Yong-kook and she’s hysterical. Yong-kook’s dying words to her are that he always loved her, he just didn’t know how to express it. Okay so I’m a complete sobbing mess now — Yong-kook was really growing on me. Mr. Dastardly Deeds himself – Mr. Han – tells Yong-min that Wan-soo killed Yong-kook. He instructs Yong-min to erase the CCTV footage and leave. Then Mr. Han calls the police and wipes down the gun. The Commissioner General gets a phone call about a murder at the Grand Palace when Do-yoon is with him — they had been clearing the air about Ju-hyuk’s death, and the Commissioner General wanted Do-yoon to come back to the police force. After hearing the news, Do-yoon races off to the Grand Palace and manages to talk to Wan-soo before they take her in for questioning. Wan-soo tells him it was Yong-min, and Do-yoon thinks he will still be on the scene.

On the search for Yong-min, Do-yoon checks the CCTV footage, but he has already wiped it. Yong-min’s car is still there, so all the staff are looking for him. Do-yoon finds him and subdues him, ordering the staff to bring him plastic bags to cover his hands to preserve any gunpowder residue. Another win for team Do-yoon! Do-yoon presents the evidence that Wan-soo is innocent to his police colleagues and she gets released. Yong-min is sent to prison. *Cheering and whooping all round*

Our villain Mr. Han has become the new CEO of the Hwa-in Group. Don’t you just hate it when the bad guys get a win? But Do-yoon hands over the bodycam of Hyun-soo’s attack to the prosecutors, and this along with the contents of Mr. Han’s safe finally gets him arrested. This proves Mr. Han gave the order for the contract killings apparently (there are a few plot holes here and there, but I’m bearing with it).

With Mr. Han’s apprehension, Chairwoman Park is released (just on the contract killing charges not the embezzlement) and she goes to see Yong-min in prison. Chairwoman Park warns him not to trust Mr. Han and explains what she knows. This infuriates Yong-min, who goes and attacks Mr. Han in the prison yard. It seems we’re supposed to feel a pang of empathy for Mr. Han here, but I just don’t.

Now that everything is over, Do-yoon goes to see Wan-soo and hands her his letter of resignation. Wan-soo doesn’t want him to leave, but he says he’s going back to the police and he thanks her for helping him avenge his friend’s death, and then they… shake hands. (Yes, really.) There is a mellow hug before they part ways – but that was it.

For a little more wrap-up, we jump one year later. Wan-soo is making good on her word, volunteering and taking plenty of supplies to Africa. She is clearly using the money the way Chairman Kim wanted her too. On her way in the airport, Do-yoon shows up with his luggage and a volunteer’s vest, so he’s going with her. Yay! (Yay?) And with that we close our drama.

What a whirlwind this show has been, with lots of twists and turns and a little romance thrown in. There were some characters I would have liked to have seen fleshed out more (I mean, what happened to Mr. Park?) and there were some plot holes as big as my fists, but I’ll take it. This show has been crazy, all over the place, and for me, downright fun.

 
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