Lookout: Episodes 27-28

by CandidClown

Get ready for some sucker punches and big reveals as Lookout takes us on one heck of a rollercoaster ride. I can’t believe we’re already at the penultimate week — I’m so nervous about what’s going to happen that I can’t even think about what I’ll do when it’s over. We’ve finally made it to the big showdown that everyone has been waiting for, but, like most things in life, it doesn’t really play out as smoothly as we’d hoped.

 
EPISODE 27 RECAP

At the attorney general hearing, Do-han swears in as a witness against Chief Prosecutor Yoon. Assemblywoman Chae starts off the questions by asking Do-han why he’s testifying when it could have a negative effect on his career. He responds that he has broken the law on Yoon’s orders, and can no longer go against his conscience.

Assemblywoman Chae asks Do-han to elaborate, and he states that Yoon manipulated the cases regarding Bomi’s family, Kyung-soo’s mother, and Yoo-na’s death. Do-han explains that for the first case (Bomi’s family’s murder), in the interest of supporting a presidential candidate, Yoon had allowed the suspect — a US soldier — to leave the country so as to prevent an international alteration.

Yoon’s defense is in disbelief at the accusation that Yoon would manipulate the law for political reasons, and so they call in their own witness: Lawyer Oh. Do-han’s former boss enters to take his seat on the defense side and, after a loaded glance at a glaring Do-han, Lawyer Oh testifies, “What he said is not the truth.”

Amidst the rising murmurs from spectators, Oh waxes poetic about Yoon’s unfailing dedication to the law, and claims responsibility for failing to catch the culprit in Bomi’s family’s case. He even has the nerve to “apologize” to the victim’s family. At Lookout HQ, Bomi barely contains her rage as she yells that that wasn’t a real apology.

Sensing a dead end, Assemblywoman Chae switches tactics and asks Do-han about his affiliation with Detective Nam. He replies that Yoon had ordered the detective to kill the fugitive Jo Suji instead of arresting her. Do-han claims to have been a part of it, and states that Suji was a hindrance to Yoon’s career as she kept bringing up his old cases.

This causes quite a stir, but when Yoon’s defense requests proof supporting this statement, Do-han has to admit that the only proof he has is his word and memory. Even Assemblywoman Chae cringes a bit at that, and the defense yells at Do-han for baseless accusations.

Do-han argues that everything to do with Yoon always ends without evidence, thanks to people like Detective Nam, who clean up his messes. He brings up how Nam murdered Lee Eun-ja, Kyung-soo’s mom, on Yoon’s orders, and when Detective Nam was caught disposing of the woman’s body, Yoon strong-armed Nam into suicide by threatening the detective’s family.

Yoon speaks up to calmly insist that Detective Nam was nothing but a corrupt police officer and that he had only ever advised Nam to follow the law. Yoon claims that he’s “heartbroken” over the detective’s death, but agrees that his misdeeds still need to be investigated.

As Yoon testifies, we see Soon-ae watching the broadcast from a hospital room. In the hospital bed behind her is a prone figure also watching the television, but we can’t see who it is.

Back in the hearing, the judge reminds both Do-han and Yoon that they can be charged with perjury for lying, but both stick to their opposing statements, each claiming that they’re telling the truth.

Assemblywoman Chae then leads Do-han into the subject of Yoo-na’s case, and Do-han states that her death was not an accident. He says that Yoon’s son, Yoon Shi-wan, murdered Suji’s daughter, then the chief prosecutor ordered Do-han to cover it up. Yoon jumps in to counter that the case did not have enough evidence, and chastises both Do-han and Assemblywoman Chae for bringing up a minor’s name in a public hearing.

Yoon addresses the entire assembly to swear that he never used his power for his own gain, and has always stayed faithful to “this nation and its people.” As he speaks, we see flashbacks of Do-han’s father’s torture and Yoon interrogating Kyung-soo’s mother, belying his virtuous assertions.

It’s a pretty speech and the assembly is moved, until Do-han breaks the silence to say, “May 5th, 2016. Yoon Shi-wan took Detective Jo’s daughter, Jo Yoo-na to a rooftop, and I witnessed the incident with my own eyes.” His announcement is met with shock, and the Lookout team stares at the TV.

Yoon’s defense demand to know if this means he is admitting to aiding and abetting a murder. With a dead look in his eyes, Do-han concedes, “Yes. I could have stopped Yoon Shi-wan from committing a murder. I could have stopped Jo Yoo-na from dying. However, I did not do that.” Wide-eyed, Suji gazes at the TV in shock.

The courtroom erupts at Do-han’s statement, and the hearing is adjourned until the next day so that Do-han’s testimony can be investigated.

At the hideout, Kyung-soo worries about Do-han implicating himself in such a public forum, but Bomi (with a side-glance at the mute detective) notes that it still won’t be enough to earn Suji’s forgiveness. Looking too calm, Suji asks Kyung-soo to pull up the security footage they sent her a year ago of Shi-wan taking Yoo-na up to the roof. Kyung-soo guesses that she wants to check and confirm if Do-han really did watch Shi-wan take her daughter.

Eun-joong finds Detective Nam’s phone and password in his father’s drawer. He immediately confronts Justice Kim, demanding to know why he hasn’t returned the phone to Nam’s family. Justice Kim hesitates before saying that he’s been too busy to give it back, but Eun-joong brings up the passcode that he would have no reason to have.

At Justice Kim’s silence, Eun-joong admits, “The reason why I respected you is not because you lived a perfect life without making any mistakes. It was because you always strived for perfection.” He adds that he hopes his father didn’t make an even bigger mistake while trying to erase another one.

Justice Kim promises to bring the phone back, but when he takes the cell from Eun-joong, he puts it right back in his desk drawer. Unknown to him, Eun-joong watches this through the crack in his father’s door.

Assemblywoman Chae confronts Do-han outside the courtroom, furious at him for bringing up accusations without any proof and for putting her career on the line along with his. Do-han assures her that he’ll make sure she’s left with the least damage, but she wants to know if Do-han’s claims about Shi-wan are true. He admits that the only evidence he has are the victims, making Chae scoff.

Kyung-soo brings up the footage of Yoo-na and Shi-wan, but the feed cuts off before it shows if Do-han was actually there. Suji leaves, gritting out that she needs to confirm if Do-han really stood by as her daughter was killed.

At the hospital, the priest is visiting Do-han’s father when he gets a call from Eun-joong. Eun-joong is sitting in his father’s room with Detective Nam’s phone in hand while he says he needs to meet with the priest.

Suji tracks Do-han down to the church where he sits numbly, clearly waiting for her to find him. She immediately demands to know if he truly just watched Shi-wan take her daughter. He quietly answers that it’s true. Suji yells at him, demanding to know why he did nothing then, only to admit to it now.

Do-han dully replies, “Because I can’t forgive myself. I can no longer make any excuses.” Suji scoffs at that and asks if he thinks he’ll be forgiven now, accusing him of confessing just to make himself feel better. Do-han says nothing, just accepting her rage, and Suji swears that even if Yoo-na were to come back to life, she will never forgive him.

Suji storms out of the church and runs into the priest outside the door. She glares as him, saying he’s just the same (as Do-han). Suji starts to walk away when he calls her back — however, we don’t hear what he says.

Reporters are swarming outside the Yoon household while Shi-wan and his mom watch the news. Yoon returns home, and Mom anxiously asks if Shi-wan will get into any trouble. Yoon just blandly answers that they’ll find out tomorrow and heads to his study. After he leaves, Shi-wan actually starts laughing, as though the “something fun” that he’s been waiting for has finally arrived. Mom gapes at her son, horrified.

In his study, Yoon peers out at reporters swarming his front gate, then makes a call to someone, asking about a call log and telling whoever’s on the other end to bring a “report” to the hearing tomorrow. Yoon makes one more call afterwards, phoning Justice Kim to request Detective Nam’s phone.

Upstairs, Shi-wan sits at his desk and sends Se-won a simple text, but he gets no response. He smirks and opens a wooden music box on his desk, letting a single, creepy refrain play before closing the lid.

Se-won gets Shi-wan’s text, and she nervously thinks back to the hidden drawing in his room. We flashback to the scene and this time we get to see the small glimpse she had of his picture: It shows a bird’s-eye view of the town, and on one of the rooftops, there’s a small depiction of Shi-wan watching Yoo-na plummet off the building.

Soon-ae arrives home, and a terrified Se-won rushes out to meet her mother. She tries to stutter out the truth, but her mom interrupts to answer her phone. Soon-ae starts yelling at whoever is on the line to make sure that “he” doesn’t change his mind, then quickly apologizes to Se-won and rushes out, leaving her daughter looking even more distraught.

Bomi finds Suji in her room and asks if Do-han really did witness her daughter’s death. Suji listlessly answers that he did. She says that after Yoo-na died, she brought a gun to a high school to murder Shi-wan, and would have done anything to avenge her daughter.

Suji monotones that Do-han was probably the same way – willing to do anything to prove his father’s innocence. As tears start to fall, Suji admits that what’s really driving her crazy is that she can actually understand Do-han’s reasoning.

The next day dawns, and both Do-han and Yoon arrive in front of the court house, glaring at one another through the cloud of reporters.

Assemblywoman Chae meets with Do-han before the hearing, warning him that she will hold him responsible for the things he’s done wrong. Do-han muses that if he could really be held accountable and pay for his mistakes, then he hopes he can be forgiven.

Eun-joong catches his father as he leaves the house. Justice Kim tells his son that he’s going to return the detective’s phone, but Eun-joong looks doubtful.

The hearing commences, and Yoon’s defense asks why Do-han had been watching Shi-wan the day he took Yoo-na to the rooftop. Do-han answers that Shi-wan has been known to physically and mentally abuse other children, though his family has always paid to cover it up.

The defense demands to know why Do-han did nothing to prevent Yoo-na’s death, but when he stays quiet, they accuse him of making the whole thing up.

Meanwhile, Soon-ae is driving someone, saying they’re almost “there.” Again, we don’t see who it is.

Back at the hearing, Do-han explains that the only way he could expose Yoon’s crimes was to get close to him and become a whistleblower. He then reveals how his father, Lee Shin-hyuk, was an innocent man who Yoon tortured into confessing to espionage. Yoon immediately denies the claim, saying that there was no torture, and they had a key witness, Lee Eun-ja (Kyung-soo’s mother).

Do-han continues with his story, telling of how he had finally persuaded Lee Eun-ja to revoke her false testimony at a retrial. Growing emotional, Do-han is visibly holding back tears has he says that it took ten years for the son to become strong enough to protect his father. However, Lee Eun-ja disappeared, the retrial was cancelled, and now Lee Eun-ja’s body has been found.

Impassioned, Do-han argues, “Chief Prosecutor Yoon has let a culprit who killed a whole family go, and incited the murder of Lee Eun-Ja who wanted to tell the truth. Yet he states that it was for the law and the nation.” He concludes that in order to stop him, the only way was to become a part of his crimes.

Everyone is quiet when Do-han finishes his testimony, then Yoon comments that it’s a beautiful story, but it’s all false. Going into full prosecutor mode, Yoon announces that Lee Shin-hyuk is not Do-han’s father, and shows the court the blood test (that Suji doctored) denying any relation between them. He continues on to state the all the cases Do-han brought against him were inconclusive due to a lack of witnesses.

Do-han tries to insert hat Yoon made sure Lawyer Oh or Detective Nam removed the witnesses, but Yoon shuts that down by asking for solid proof, which Do-han can’t provide. Knocking down each of Do-han’s arguments, Yoon then shows the surveillance footage of Shi-wan taking Yoo-na up to the roof, and points out that Do-han is not on the video. He even goes so far as to accuse Do-han of tampering with the footage himself so he could use it to support his own theory.

As Do-han silently rages, Yoon tells the court that they have been fooled by a talented and paranoid young man, saying that Do-han’s pretty story of filial revenge is a delusion that exists only in his mind.

Things are looking pretty bleak, and in the hideout, Suji tells the others that she has to leave and runs out before Kyung-soo and Bomi can ask where she’s going.

Yoon wraps up his presentation, and the judge moves to conclude the hearing. However, just before he can pound the gavel, the courtroom door opens. Everyone turns around, and who should enter, but a living, breathing Detective Nam.

 
EPISODE 28 RECAP

Detective Nam strolls into the hearing, and everyone stares at the supposedly deceased man. Bomi gasps that he was alive, then we rewind forty-eight hours to when the paramedics carted the “dead” Nam past Do-han. Turns out they were able to save him, and Do-han had asked Soon-ae to report that the detective died. He had explained that it would be the only way they could catch Yoon, and he almost begged her to keep his recovery a secret.

Soon-ae did tell the truth to Detective Nam’s wife while also revealing all her husband’s crimes. She honestly told her that Nam was facing thirty years in prison, and so she had encouraged her to persuade him to cooperate for a lower sentence. Soon after, Soon-ae released the statement that Nam had died.

In the hospital, Do-han had tried to convince Nam to testify against Yoon to protect his family, telling him that the only way to really protect his family was to put Yoon away. But Nam was convinced that his family would be safest if he were dead, and refused to testify.

Filling in some timeline gaps, we see that when Yoon had condemned Detective Nam at the hearing, it was Nam watching the TV with Jin-ki standing guard. After seeing Yoon publicly denounce him, Nam had requested to talk to Do-han. Jin-ki had phoned Soon-ae, which was the call that interrupted Se-won from revealing the truth to her mother.

When Do-hn arrived, Nam had asked if he could live as a human being again. Do-han answered that while he may have lived as trash for Yoon, he still has a family to protect.

This finally brings us back to the present, where a stunned assembly (and Yoon) watch Detective Nam take a seat next to a grinning Do-han.

After delivering Nam, Soon-ae steps out to take a call from Suji. While driving, Suji asks if Soon-ae remembers her promise to arrest her after everything is finished. We get yet another flashback to when the priest had stopped Suji outside the church last night. It seems that Eun-joong had taken Detective Nam’s phone (or at least made a copy) from his father’s desk and passed it on to the priest, along with the password.

The priest gave it to Suji to use at the hearing, claiming that the police were watching him and Do-han too closely for them to hand it over.

Back in the courtroom, Detective Nam testifies that on Yoon’s orders, he arrested and tortured Do-han’s father, then abducted and murdered Kyung-soo’s mother when she wanted to retract her false testimony.

Yoon finally loses his cool, yelling that the detective is lying because he holds a grudge against him. Nam yells back this it’s the truth, and he can prove it, since he recorded every conversation he had with Yoon.

Regaining his composure, Yoon smoothly tells the opposition to produce the recordings. However, just as Do-han starts to smile, we hear Soon-ae whispering frantically on the phone with Jin-ki. It looks like Justice Kim did return the detective’s phone, but all the recordings have been erased and the phone was “lost.”

Do-han’s and Nam’s faces fall, and Yoon’s defense is up in arms, yelling at both the detective and prosecutor for their lack of evidence. Yoon looks back at them with the smuggest expression, and we flash back to his previous call, when he’d asked someone about phone records. Guess we know now what he was checking on.

While the defense panel yells, Soon-ae steps out to return Suji’s call. She reports that she’s on her way with Nam’s phone, but Soon-ae tells her that it’s no use since the messages were erased and warns her away. Unfortunately, she hangs up before Suji can tell her that she has the real phone with her.

Desperate, Suji calls Kyung-soo and instructs him to hack into Nam’s phone, than asks if there are any broadcasting vans near the hearing.

In the courtroom, Do-han hangs his head. The judge is just about to call the hearing to a close, but suddenly, Detective Nam’s recordings start playing over the speaker system. (Yes!)

Everyone freezes to hear Yoon’s voice admit to instructing Detective Nam to torture and kill, as well as to “finish off” Suji. As recording after recording plays, revealing all of Yoon’s instructions and backyard dealings, Yoon spins around in shock to see a smiling Do-han staring back at him.

Sometime later, the courtroom has emptied until only Yoon and Detective Nam remain sitting in their seats. Soon-ae and Jin-ki come in and formally arrest Yoon for instigating murder. As Jin-ki escorts the would-be attorney general out, Soon-ae steps up to Nam. He asks her to watch over his wife and son, and sincerely apologizes to her “for everything.”

Yoon and Nam are led through a throng of reporters into matching police cars. Soon-ae watches them drive away, then turns around to see Suji standing right behind her at the base of the courthouse. Soon-ae tries to tell her that she shouldn’t have come, but Suji seems at peace when she tells her that she’s keeping her promise today (to turn herself in). From the top of the courthouse steps, Do-han watches Suji’s surrender.

At the Yoon household, Shi-wan’s mom is informed that her husband is currently under investigation, and Yoo-na’s case is being reopened. Mom calls Shi-wan at school to tell him that he’ll have to come down to the police station. Shi-wan seems to realize that something happened to his father, then he spots Se-won. The girl freezes at the size of him and spins around, running into a courtyard.

Shi-wan follows her out, and puts on a dramatic show of looking tormented. He pleads with her, pouring on the waterworks and sniffling that he’ll tell the police what he did to Yoo-na. He adds that although he knows he doesn’t deserve it, he’ll still beg for Yoo-na’s family’s forgiveness.

It’s a brilliant performance, and Se-wan looks slightly swayed, but she manages to weakly stammer that she can trust him before running off. Shi-wan watches her go, and the tortured-soul visage fades into an apathetic stare. Damn. Someone get this boy an Oscar… and a straight jacket.

Soon-ae bring Suji in for an interrogation, and Suji quickly admits to all her crimes and accepts punishment. Soon-ae promises that she in turn will make sure that Yoon and Shi-wan both pay for their wrongs as well.

Their interrogation is interrupted when Do-han comes in, requesting to be cross-examined with Suji. Do-han immediately starts accepting the blame for all of Suji’s transgressions, revealing that he arranged for her escape one year ago and that he used Suji’s anger at Shi-wan to manipulate her into following his orders.

Neither Suji nor Do-han will look at one another, but each one tries to take the blame for Suji’s actions. Do-han gets the final word though, by saying that Yoo-na’s death was because of his inaction. Suji doesn’t deny it.

Yoon has his own interrogation with Prosecutor Park, and it’s rather chilling. Seemingly accepting that he can no longer lie, when Park asks if he instigated Lee Eun-ja’s murder, Yoon replies:

“There’s something kids like you don’t know. One woman’s life doesn’t count. We can’t do wrong. We have no faults. We cannot admit to any. If we’re found at fault, the trust people have in us will fall. We must prevent that at all costs.”

Incredulous, Park asks about the innocent victims. Yoon answers that their deaths were terrible for the individuals, but it was an “inevitable choice” for the bigger picture. He calls them sacrificial lambs and calmly states that he holds no personal grudges against them. Wow. Just, wow.

Se-won returns to homeroom to find a note from Shi-wan on her desk. It’s another “apology,” in which he says that while it won’t clear his name, he’ll “take the same way out that Yoo-na did.” Se-won immediately dashes up to the roof, frantically searching. She doesn’t find him near the railings, but spots a side door.

Se-won opens the door to an engineering room and cautiously heads into the dark space, using her phone for light. When she steps further into the shadows, the door slams shut behind her. She whirls around and starts pounding on the door, calling out Shi-wan’s name.

Outside, we see someone locking the door with both a deadbolt and padlock, then put up an “Out of Order” sign. As Se-won desperately calls out from her dark tomb, Shi-wan casually strolls away, grinning.

 
COMMENTS

Why you psychopathic little creep! I didn’t know it was possible to be simultaneously freaked out by a character and super impressed with the acting. I haven’t seen Solomon Park in anything else, so I don’t know if he’s that good an actor, or if he just found his stride in this role, but dang, boy. I’ve actually become more invested in his storyline than that of his father – at least the kid shows some facial expression. As the weeks counted down, I reluctantly gave up on finding out how Shi-wan became so twisted and just accepted that he was a born sociopath.

But that scene where Shi-wan picked up the music box is making me both excited that there might actually be a story, and worried that there isn’t enough time left to tell it. Hopefully Yoon will stay nicely locked up and we can spend the next two/four episodes unraveling what makes his son tick. Oh, and saving Se-won, too, I suppose. Though really, who wanders into a dark room located on top of a building when there’s a boy roving around with a penchant for chucking people off rooftops? I know teenagers and common sense don’t go hand in hand, but good grief.

I have to admit that I was actually a bit disappointed with the directing and storyline of this episode. We’ve waited seven weeks to see Do-han snare his greatest enemy, but all the flashbacks made it difficult to follow what was going on. While I always enjoy a good flashback, and I appreciate that we got the behind the scenes looks into the big reveal, there were just too many time jumps that took place in high intensity moments. It made it so that by the time we returned to the present, the emotions that had been building were kind of derailed, and the scenes didn’t pack quite the punch I was hoping to feel.

Still, given the high level of directing and all around show quality that Lookout has given us, I can write off one zig-zaggy plot. My favorite part is still the chemistry between characters, and I was not disappointed with the moments between Suji and Do-han. These two have always been opposite sides of the same coin, and it was fascinating to see that even when they are livid with each other, they still understand one another.

Do-han’s acceptance of Suji’s rage, and her reluctant understanding of him revealed an underlying mutual respect and recognition that’s impossible for them to ignore. They’ve both done wrong (to themselves and others), and they realize that they’ll have to pay for the crimes they committed for their revenge. But I do believe that it’s in each other that they’ll find the strength to one day learn to live again. Because this can’t be the end for them. Just like Kyung-soo and Bomi, they have to find out what comes after all of this.

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