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Red Moon Blue Sun: Episodes 13-14

Who is Red Cry? That’s the question of the day, especially since the mysterious Red Cry seems to know a lot of secrets that no one else could possibly know. Which means Red Cry’s identity should be easy to discover, right? Except, of course, nothing on this show is ever easy, especially when things are not quite what they seem.

 
EPISODES 13-14 RECAP

So-ra’s mother suddenly blurts out to Ji-heon that “Red Cry” made her do everything. She tearfully explains that she first encountered Red Cry on an online forum for mothers.

She had complained in a post about her husband beating her and that she was afraid her husband would end up killing her and her daughter. Red Cry sent a private message, telling her that she shouldn’t allow herself to continue to be beat up — that it’s her fault because she kept forgiving her husband.

So-ra’s mother originally had planned to commit suicide, but didn’t have the courage to go through with it. That’s when Red Cry sent her a message that there’s one particular death that would make everyone happy. Hint, hint.

Even though she hated her husband, she still couldn’t go through with the murder — he was still the father of her child. But Red Cry went ahead with the fake suicide, anyway.

Ji-heon demands more information about Red Cry, clearly not believing So-ra’s mother’s statement — it’s not like she’s had the best track record with telling the police the truth so far. Ji-heon says that they’ll investigate her claims, but the primary murder suspect is still So-ra’s mother.

As Eun-ho draws the little girl that Woo-kyung describes, she realizes that she knows who the little girl in the green dress is — or at least she knows that the little girl is someone she’s met before.

Eun-ho says that he can relate to the feeling of being certain you know something, but have no idea where or why you know it. He describes a dream he frequently has where there’s a desk he recognizes, but doesn’t know why. He’s pretty sure it’s from a memory that he doesn’t want to remember.

That’s when he realized that, if you try hard enough, you can erase certain things from your memory.

At the nursing home, Mom gives Se-kyung a haircut. When Woo-kyung arrives, she tells Mom that there’s space in a cheaper shared room, but Mom insists that they can continue to afford the private room for Se-kyung. Woo-kyung points out that they don’t know how long Se-kyung will be in her comatose, vegetative state, but Mom insists Woo-kyung’s father left enough money for them to get by.

As Woo-kyung marvels at all the care Mom does for Se-kyung even though Se-kyung isn’t her birth daughter, Mom grumbles that Woo-kyung never seems to let her forget she’s a step-mother. Woo-kyung wonders if there were any photos kept of her birth mother, but Mom says that their father got rid of them when he remarried.

Then Woo-kyung shows her the drawing of the little girl in the green dress, asking if Mom recognizes her. Mom stares at it, but says that it’s ridiculous Woo-kyung is still so hung up on this little girl. As they lean Se-kyung over to wash her back, Se-kyung is forced to face the drawing of the little girl. Se-kyung blinks a few times in a way that, despite her vegetative state, makes it seem as though she recognizes the little girl.

At the police station, Ji-heon and Chan-wook argue about how impossible it will be to track down Red Cry through the anonymous chat app, so they’re stunned when Soo-young hands them the membership information from the mother’s forum, revealing that Red Cry is actually Ji-hye. Um, say what?

Considering that Red Cry registered on the site two months after Ji-hye died, the culprit must have stolen Ji-hye’s information. Ji-heon argues that Ji-hye’s information was used on purpose, since the name “Red Cry” comes from the same poem that was written on the back of Ji-hye’s photo.

Red Cry actually contacted a few women on the forum, all who had abusive husbands that hurt their children, but they cut off contact when Red Cry suggested murder. All except for So-ra’s mother.

Ji-heon presents all this information to Captain Hong, adding that poetry was found next to So-ra’s father’s body and Hye-sun’s body. The way the people died might have differed, but the motivation and poetry links them together. Captain Hong is finally forced to admit that it looks like they’ve got a serial killer on their hands.

However, he warns Ji-heon that if the public find out they’re trying to track down a lunatic who kills criminally abusive parents, the public will side with the killer and it will make their investigation that much harder. He orders Ji-heon and the rest of the team to find the killer ASAP — but to do so quietly.

Woo-kyung visits So-ra’s mother at her home to present her with small gifts from the children’s center. Woo-kyung cautiously asks if So-ra’s mother tried calling her again, and the woman admits she wanted to make sure Woo-kyung was okay — in case Woo-kyung was arrested.

She confesses that she told the police all about Red Cry, and the two women stare at each other in confusion as So-ra’s mother says that she assumed Woo-kyung was Red Cry, since Woo-kyung was the one who told her about the forum in the first place.

Woo-kyung has no idea what she’s talking about, but So-ra’s mother is adamant. Red Cry knew things that she had only told Woo-kyung. But Woo-kyung insists she doesn’t know what the woman is talking about. So, then, who is Red Cry?

Watch the video

Aren’t you Red Cry?

 

Ji-heon and his team set up their new command center in an unused basement storage room. They have to keep their investigation secret even to the other detectives, which means everyone else thinks they’re working on real-estate fraud. How exciting!

The results come back regarding Ha-na’s parentage, and thanks to the DNA Ji-heon stole from the beer can, it proves that the creepy dog butcher really is Ha-na’s father.

When Ji-heon visits the man to tell him about the DNA results, the man howls in exasperation. Ji-heon tries to get him to explain how he supposedly didn’t know about Ha-na, especially when his wife never went anywhere or had friends — implying that the man must have locked up Ha-na and abused her.

The man brazenly says that Ji-heon doesn’t have any proof. He gets a little cocky as he asks if Ha-na said anything about him, seeming to know full well that his daughter doesn’t speak. Grinning, the man suggests that they bring Ha-na to him and ask her themselves.

Ji-heon consults with Woo-kyung about Ha-na. Woo-kyung says that children are susceptible to suggestion, especially if a threat is involved, so even if Ha-na saw her father, she likely wouldn’t say anything. Ji-heon realizes that the “Don’t say a word or I’ll wring your neck” threat must have been something Ha-na’s father told her, and takes Woo-kyung’s case-file notes to try and set up a restraining order.

Woo-kyung shows Ji-heon the drawing of the little girl in the green dress, admitting that she recognizes the little girl. Not completely — she doesn’t know who the girl is, just that it’s someone from her past.

Ji-heon’s impressed by the skill in the drawing, and Woo-kyung says Eun-ho drew it. Ji-heon’s demeanor grows frosty when he hears that name, since he still considers Eun-ho a suspect. Woo-kyung wonders if she’s a suspect, too, and Ji-heon confirms that she is — but he says it in a pleasant way, as though it’s not a concern and a mere formality.

But she asks him about the internet forum and the name “Red Cry.” Woo-kyung also recognizes that the name is taken from “The Leper” poem, and Ji-heon says that the identity of Red Cry was revealed to be Ji-hye. That seems to surprise Woo-kyung.

When she gets home later that night, Woo-kyung searches the forum for all of Red Cry’s posts, then screws up her courage to send a private message to Red Cry: “I’m Cha Woo-kyung. Do you know me?”

In their secret basement room, Ji-heon and his team search through all the IP addresses connected to Red Cry’s account, but they only ones they could trace were from public PC rooms. After that, it’s a dead end. It seems hopeless, but Ji-heon hauls out the evidence boxes from Ji-hye, Doctor Park, and So-ra’s father’s deaths.

As the days go by, the team goes through all the evidence carefully, Ji-heon reading the hate mail Ji-hye received while she was in jail. Eventually he finds something of interest.

The big question about Ji-hye’s death was how Doctor Park convinced her to go the amusement park that night. If they can solve that, they might figure out the key that connects all the other cases. What they do know is that someone was in her room before she died and left the poem on the photo — that someone could be Red Cry.

From the pile of hate mail Ji-hye received, Ji-heon’s narrowed it down to five possible suspects who gave Ji-hye their contact information.

Soo-young reveals some interesting info she’s discovered, too, which is that in one of Doctor Park’s last photos taken the day before Ji-hye died, a car is shown stopped outside Ji-hye’s house. Doctor Park wasn’t the only one watching Ji-hye.

Tracing the license plate number, Soo-young tracked the car to none-other than Woo-kyung. Dun, dun, dun!

Watch the video

When the consultant is the suspect

 

Ji-heon and Soo-young visit Woo-kyung to ask her why she stopped outside Ji-hye’s house that day. Woo-kyung muses that she saw Ji-hye taking out the trash, and she just stopped to watch such a notorious public figure for a few minutes.

She explains that she takes that road a lot, since it’s on the way to her sister’s nursing home. Soo-young demands information about the nursing home and her sister’s condition so that she can verify it. Ji-heon asks what happened to Se-kyung that she ended up in such a vegetative state. Despite Woo-kyung’s peaceful demeanor, her hands clench as she tells him that Se-kyung got in a car accident two years ago.

Ji-heon says it must be difficult for Woo-kyung to take care of her sister, but Woo-kyung insists it isn’t. After all, it must be much more difficult being bedridden and trapped in a body that can barely breathe on its own.

Ji-heon refuses to accept her explanation, reminding her that whether it’s a needle prick or being stabbed by a knife, both injuries hurt. He knows that she wouldn’t counsel her clients to pretend their pains, however small, don’t matter compared to someone else. So why is she insisting she has no right to feel her own pain?

Since Woo-kyung’s story about driving by Ji-hye’s to visit her sister checks out, Ji-heon and Soo-young leave the children’s center. Ji-heon marvels that Woo-kyung seems to hide her emotions so well.

Soo-young disagrees — she thinks Woo-kyung is screaming with her entire body, which is why Soo-young is so uneasy around Woo-kyung. Only small children or the very ill and damaged scream with their bodies like that.

Woo-kyung visits Se-kyung — this time without Mom around. Woo-kyung holds her sister in her arms.

Suk-woo’s mother continues to be more focused on her attempts to make money than the loss of her child. When she gets another loan payment notice, she calls Woo-kyung, who apparently did send her 5,000,000 won like she had asked for.

But now the woman — still being bombarded with threats to pay back her loans — says that the loss of her son isn’t worth the equivalent of a measly 5,000 dollars, so Woo-kyung should send her a little more money. Just 3,000,000 won, that’s all, and she’ll never bother Woo-kyung again. Woo-kyung hangs up on her.

The woman then marches down to the children’s center, where she asks Eun-ho, who’s replacing a railing, where she can find Woo-kyung. Eun-ho seems unimpressed by the woman and stubbornly refuses to help unless she tells him what it’s about, but in the end it doesn’t matter because Woo-kyung finds her there, anyway.

In Woo-kyung’s office, Suk-woo’s mother pulls out all the stops to try and get Woo-kyung to give her more money. She threatens, she pleads, and then she says that, if she gets the money, she’ll forgive Woo-kyung for the accident.

The word “forgive” seems to trigger something in Woo-kyung, because she starts to methodically slap the woman upside the head multiple times until the woman runs away.

Her fingers trembling, Woo-kyung sits down at her desk, seemingly in shock by what she’s done. Just then, she gets a message from Red Cry that says, “Of course I know you” with a little smiley emoticon.

Back in their basement command center, Chan-wook and Soo-young are convinced that Woo-kyung must be the culprit they’re looking for since she’s connected to all the cases. But Ji-heon says they need to step back a bit — it’s not Woo-kung who’s connected to all the cases, it’s the children’s center at which Woo-kyung just so happens to work. Their culprit is likely connected to the children’s center in some way.

Just then, a worried and distressed Woo-kyung shows up to their office, telling them about the message she received from Red Cry.

If the information Red Cry knew about So-ra’s mother was something she had only told Woo-kyung and no one else, then Woo-kyung must have told someone. But Woo-kyung insists that she keeps her cases confidential, and didn’t even discuss So-ra with her colleagues out of respect for So-ra’s mother’s wishes.

Ji-heon’s in full detective mode as he peppers Woo-kyung with questions, but Woo-kyung says that there’s no one around her that she suspects or that’s been acting suspicious. But she’s still worried that — and wondering if — Red Cry is someone near her. Ji-heon wants to know why Woo-kyung sent a message to Red Cry in the first place, and Woo-kyung hesitates before admitting it’s because it’s like Red Cry knew her thoughts.

Even though she remained a professional counselor for So-ra and her mother, Woo-kyung secretly thought their lives would be better if So-ra’s father died. If she were in So-ra’s mother’s shoes, she would have killed him herself. She might not have been able to say these words, but Red Cry did — and then actually put the words into action.

Suk-woo’s mother is first delighted to see an array of gifts from her adoring fans, then annoyed and disgusted when they’re all just snacks and lingerie — nothing useful that she can use to pay off her debt. She opens another package that only has the note: “The poop of sorrow, a meal of poop.” (Which, to no one’s surprise, is a line of poetry — it’s from Choi Seungja’s poem, “You, Who I Cannot Save.”)

She cautiously opens the container, then shrieks and flings it across the room when it looks like there’s a dead animal inside. Except it’s just a stuffed toy cat, but realistic enough to send a menacing message, although the staff just brush it off as a joke.

Ji-heon updates his evidence board with all the connections to Woo-kyung. She certainly does seem to be in the middle of it all. Meanwhile, Chan-wook and his puppy-like exuberance track down something suspicious — one of the phone number’s found in Ji-hye’s hate mail belongs to a registered phone that was only used once.

That one call was the day before Ji-hye died, and it was from a payphone near Ji-hye’s home. They trace the owner’s information to a woman named Min Ha-jung, who doesn’t seem to be particularly remarkable.

Ji-heon and Soo-young go to the woman’s clothing shop and her first reaction at seeing them is to worry that it’s a tax audit. Ha. She doesn’t recognize the phone number, so they ask if her information was stolen. The woman starts to worry, but Ji-heon’s distracted by a notice in the shop about Everybody’s Child — which was the same protest group against Ji-hye that Woo-kyung was a part of.

Woo-kyung finds one of her old childhood friends, and they both awkwardly admit that they don’t really remember each other, despite apparently spending all their time together as kids. Despite the photos from the album, and what Woo-kyung’s father used to tell his daughter, the woman insists she never went to Woo-kyung’s house or played with her when they were children.

The woman thinks that Woo-kyung must be confusing her with another little girl, laughing off the fact that memories can get muddled as you get older.

Ji-heon asks Ha-jung about Everybody’s Child, particularly Woo-kyung’s involvement. Ha-jung cheerfully tells them that Woo-kyung was only a part of the protest for a short while until her sister got into an accident. Then Woo-kyung left and, as the woman puts it, “went crazy” and even quit her job.

Ha-jung’s teenage daughter arrives and Ha-jung happily greets her before shooing the girl upstairs to study. Beaming, she boasts to the detectives that her daughter is the top of her class in one of the best Gangam schools.

As the detectives leave the shop, Ji-heon decides Ha-jung is acting suspicious. But Soo-young believes Ji-heon is letting his burgeoning friendship with Woo-kyung get in the way of analyzing the facts. Suddenly Ha-jung’s daughter runs up to the detectives, telling them not to believe anything her mother says.

Suk-woo’s mother gets another threatening message from one of her loan sharks, then flounces into the street — and straight into the speeding path of a Truck of Doom. The truck drives off, but Suk-woo’s mother staggers to her feet, only to collapse again on the side of the road.

Woo-kyung shows her not-childhood-friend the drawing of the girl in the green dress, asking if she remembers the little girl. The woman stares at it in surprise, then looks at Woo-kyung: “Isn’t this you?”

As memories of the little girl in the green dress crouching and crying from an unknown older woman flicker in her mind, Woo-kyung adamantly insists it’s not her, although I’m not sure who’s she’s trying to convince — her friend, or herself.

Watch the video

Your deadly wish is my command

 
COMMENTS

Another body, another line of poetry, another day in the life of Red Cry.

I’m still on the fence with Woo-kyung. There’s definitely a darkness in her, and I could certainly believe that, in a blind rage, she might have done something terrible in her past (perhaps even be the one responsible for sister’s vegetative state) — but it would still require a level of disassociation so extreme I can’t imagine how she’d be able to hide it all these years. But there’s something being hidden, whether Woo-kyung is fully cognizant of it or not (all those clues about memories being manipulated must be leading somewhere, right? Woo-kyung’s childhood might not be all that she believes it to be, if her childhood “friends” barely know her).

Based purely on Se-kyung’s millisecond blinks as she faced the drawing, I’m now convinced that the little girl in the green dress is Se-kyung, who’s somehow essentially astral projecting herself to Woo-kyung, helping her find ways to save kids when Woo-kyung couldn’t save her own sister. Or something like that (don’t worry, I’ll probably have another theory in the next episode, based on whatever teasing tidbits the show decides to give us). Then there’s the fact that Woo-kyung’s father kept so many photos of Woo-kyung’s supposed friends, but got rid of any photos of his first wife. That’s strange, right? Wanting to let your child relive her childhood, but without any memory of her birth mother? There’s something shady there, and I need to know more!

But first I suppose we have to figure out why Woo-kyung — or the children’s center — seems to be the linchpin to all the deaths. I keep talking about the plot of the show (just because there’s so much of it!) but I’d like to take a moment to give my respect to Nam Gyuri’s ability to subtly portray Soo-young’s hypersensitivity to body language. It’s something I picked up on a few episodes ago and wasn’t sure if I was just imagining it, but when she started to talk about Woo-kyung “screaming with her entire body,” I realized that Soo-young really does have a strong sense of what people’s bodies are really saying, when their lips are saying something else (which is why she knew Ji-heon was still mad at her, despite him reassuring her that he was fine).

This is also interesting because being hyper-aware of body language is also a sign that Soo-young very likely was abused as a child. When you don’t know if a parent will suddenly go from friendly to terrifying, you have to use all your senses to deduce how someone is feeling, gaining an almost sixth sense of the undercurrent of someone’s emotions. Perhaps that’s also why Soo-young seems so emotionally distant — you can’t get hurt if you don’t let anyone know you can be hurt. Or why she hates not knowing what’s going on, because only when she has all the information can she can craft a plan for survival. Or why she prefers to obey orders and follow protocol, instead of trusting Ji-heon’s off-the-rail instincts. These are such minor details, but fairly common in children who have been abused, which makes me applaud the production team for doing their homework and Nam Gyuri expressing those subtle cues.

Anyway, I can’t blame Soo-young for not trusting Woo-kyung, because I’m still not sure that I trust Woo-kyung, either. But I trust Ji-heon and his ability to solve cases, no matter what, despite his apparently boring childhood and the fact that he doesn’t seem to be haunted by any trauma (at least, not yet).

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Thanks for the recap, @odilettante!

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I love the cops in this drama. They're really good. "Ji-heon says it must be difficult for Woo-kyung to take care of her sister", he's so right and she doesn't want to admit it. It's like Soo Young who saw that Woo Kyung is hiding her feelings.

I have the feeling that the dad taught her memories to Woo Kyung, who was who, where they lived, etc. But why ? And why the mother looks like to know the truth or a part of it but says nothing.

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When the storage room was being converted into their new command center I appreciated the detail that went into it. I kept thinking how competent they all seemed and I appreciated the drama's efforts to not create caricatures of law enforcement. My only quibble was Woo-kyung being allowed inside the room. Isn't this a secret investigation in which she has been identified as a possible suspect?

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I think the issue of WK being allowed inside is going to be a major issue later on, especially with Soo-young. It's clear Ji-heon isn't thinking rationally when it comes to her. Though he does seem to see and understand her almost better than she does...

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He has been a very perceptive counselor to her. I really like the character he portrays, he gets emotionally involved but is not a typical "hot head" drama cop

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Not only do I hope Woo-kyung is not the serial killer for her own sake, but also because I dont want to see Ji-heon suffer a deep blow. He genuinely cares about her and like @katrina mentioned he has been "a perceptive counselor." However, Soo-youngs observation of Woo-kyung was absolutely was chilling.

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Yeah she's a mess I'm just hoping not a killer. Fingers crossed

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Same here. Really hoping it's not her.

But... it would be quite interesting to see JH's interactions with WK if she does end up the killer...

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I don't know if it will be an issue. She already knows that the killing are linked because she made this supposition because of the poems. If she's Red Cry, it looks like a split personality so I'm not sure that the fact she saw the office can help her as killer. And I think Ji Heon didn't let the possibility that Woo Kyung is Red Cry out.

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That is what I thought when they let WK enter too, but then I thought where else could they have interrogated her (however mild the interrogation) without anyone else finding out?

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Something terrible happened to her family, and birt mom was involved? Like there is no photos of birth mother, just WK, her sister and dad. Maybe there was third sister? Because if it was WK or her sis, she would recognize the girl watching family photos.

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Yeah, it's weird to think that she doesn't recognize her own face or her sister's face. She didn't see it on the pictures but her step-mother seems to know the young girl. It sounded as an excuse the fact that dad threw away the mum pictures for his new wife... (not sure if it was in this episode...)

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Even though I suspected the little girl might be Woo-kyung an audible grip escaped my mouth when her childhood "friend" said it was her. If it is her and she doesn't recognize herself or have pictures laying around when she was that age I'm afraid something terrible must have happened to her when she little.

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But she has a photos of herself at that time, and she doesn't look like that girl in green dress in them.

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I thought the photos were of her a little older. Considering everything we know I couldn't put it past her father lying about who she was in the photographs.

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Ooohh... what a revelation! Woo-kyung's comments to Ji-heon earlier about how susceptible a child could be suddenly took a different meaning after that possible revelation. I wonder for whom was her father fabricating Woo-kyung's memories for. Because the "looking at the photo album" ritual was clearly him trying to plant a non-existent memories inside her head. Suddenly, I also remembered Mom's weird comment about Park Ji-hye back in eps 1&2 about understanding the woman who has no other choice than to do what her husband said. Is it possible that Mom is speaking from experience? Maybe she tried to protect her children as best she could by obeying dad's not-so-kind orders?

But while I suspected an ugly childhood for Woo-kyung, it still disturbed me how much the little girl knew about all these murders. And how the Red Cry seemed to be, as Woo-kyung phrased it, able to read her mind. It's scary how horrible people died when Woo-kyung wished it to be. And from the last scene, it seems like once again, karma happened to terrible person exactly like what Woo-kyung's rage-induced vision showed us before.

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This show does such a wonderful job keeping me on my toes. All the murders lead back to Woo-kyung, but then there's always a plausible explanation why she is linked to them. Then there's the possibility that it could be someone from the children's center, but who?

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I'm getting the feeling that Red Cry is a person in Woo-kyung's vicinity, not necessarily someone she is close to.

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he doesn’t seem to be haunted by any trauma (at least, not yet).

"not yet"

Truly getting into the spirit of this show :)

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At first, I thought WK is the one who pushed the green dress girl (GDG) but it seems like she is actually GDG? My theory earlier was GDG is her sister but I don't think that is correct anymore. Except I don't understand why dad implemented false memory to her? Is WK adopted? as a replacement to original WK? Seems far-fetched but with this show, I dunno..

Someone commented, I dont remember who or where tbh.. about SY always in her jacket, all zip up and wonder if that say something about her.. That makes me look back all SY's scene and realize...yup...she always all bundle up and not showing any emotions either... and the way she read WK body language, I hope it is because she is trained, and not from experience.. I feel like everyone in this drama is damaged, well except for JH, but like you said...at least not yet..?

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I think he was trying to erase bad memories by implanting the normal, childhood memories most people have. WK always mentioned how her father was kind.

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That is likely true the way she keeps herself bundled up. But after finding out that kdrama sets are often not heated or at least not well, I tend to notice how many layers are worn.

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Yes! I'm actually glad they seem to in proper clothing yknow.. layer up, comfy shoes, definitely appropriate to the season and characters but after reading that comment, I end up wondering whether it is because of the season or they try to tell me something thru it..
I'm so easily swayed...lol

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Probably a little of both. The people who put this drama together are great at the details.
I just remember watching a scene from the new Meteor Garden and feeling so, so sorry for the actors because you could see their breath. It certainly did a lot to ruin the image of wealth they were trying to portray in the leads family home.

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Thank you for the insightful recap, @odilettante. The characters are basically so mysterious; like we may not be able to trust Woo-kyung as she could be a truly a different person when she's in a range. Same thing with Eun-ho.... He may be sweet and nice; but I believe he may have something we don't know yet.

Last but not least, even if that the Dog Breeder is Hana's father based on DNA test, I don't him to finally become her guardian. That man is so perverted, and we don't really know what he did to Hana's mother....

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I'm hoping the same thing. His insistence in meeting Ha-na is worrisome. I almost wished that had never done the DNA test.

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It's clear that he's an unfit father ( mean look at his property), but I don't know Korea's laws about children returning to the parents. Let's hope not...

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No, they did that test not to return the daughter but to try him for the child abuse case. So, after the test they need a testimony or direct evidence of abuse. So, they have to set up a meeting. And if confirmed they will file a case against him.

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The father has possibility to "fabricate" her memory in order to erase some memories....

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Thank you @odilettante for the recap. Your analysis made me discover another layer to Soo-young. I knew there had been a trauma of some kind (clearly), but you put into words what I instinctly believed so thank you!

Also that slap felt so satisfying!

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Yep the slap was a wake-up call to Suk-woo's mom to stop bothering Woo-kyung for money, but it also seemed creepy to me because it showed how much Woo-kyung may have been abused.

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It was creepy for me, because she was absolutely emotionless during it, like she wasn't there as the moment. If she was enraged it wouldn't be that scary, but she was almost mechanical?

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It was definitely a trigger response because it appeared like she was mimicking a parent who hit a child harder after the child begged for mercy. And after the incident, Wookyung didn't seem to make sense of her action.

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Okay this show is making more and more confused because the hints we have so far just thickens the mystery. Usually we get progressive leads in solving the main mystery in crime procedurals but this show is more akin to concealing.
I think all the leads have something to do with children. Woo-kyung, Eun-ho and Soo-young appear to have been abused as children. And I'm guessing there was a child between Ji-heon and his ex Yeon-joo because in episodes 3-4, after he learned about her affair with Min-seok, he said to her to consider Wookyung and her daughter and she angrily told him not to mention children.
All the leads are excellent in their portrayal. I've never seen Nam Gyu-ri act before but she is really awesome showcasing the complexity of Soo-young who might look like a rebel but she is a firm rule follower and very analytical. I am really interested to know her background because unlike the other characters, she doesn't have somebody she knows outside of the cases or work.

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I wish they explore JH past more, we didnt get anything beyond that flash back it feels like his ex was their to connect JH and WK and take her husband out of the picture at tbe same time and that is it.

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I really hope that isn't the case. But we still have plenty of time for them to come back into the picture. I want at least Ji-heon to have a fully background story.

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My guesses: 1) SY has a history of (sexual?) abuse which explains why she responds disproportionately to perceived physical threat from men.
2) WK is both a small child (the one she is hallucinating) and very ill and damaged. I am also starting to think she might be Red Cry - even if she has no recollection of it. The girl in green dress telling her things that she shouldn't know is bringing up stuff from her subconscious. Either she is super-intuitive and unaware of it, or she knows things because she is responsible. Tentative diagnosis: multiple personality disorder brought about by childhood trauma - something to do with her bio mother but unclear what happened exactly; her dad brainwashed her either because he wanted to hide some horrible secret and/or as a way of protecting WK (possibly from herself).

Alternatively, the writer is injecting again some wishy-washy magic elements in a story that does not need any, a la Achiara. Hope it turns out to make logical sense and that it's not a case of deus ex machina. In her past work the writer was particularly good at constructing sympathetic 'villains' and I have been liking the portrayal of mental illness here so far.

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I wonder if they will mimic Village in that they present a likely suspect early on then spend alot of time throwing you off the scent by introducing a whole bunch of likely suspects just to circle around and make the initial guy the one. I still liked it though.

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Thought of that too - the caretaker kid does give a very Aggassi-like vibe (child-like, yet a psychopath).

I only watched Achiara very recently so my brain keeps making all sorts of parallels. Like the central conflict being mothers and daughters. Also that the punishment (at least in the first two cases) is directed at the weaker females who are themselves victims rather than the men who are primarily responsible. I did like Achiara a lot. even though I could never warm up to Han So-yoon (there's something fundamentally wrong with a teacher who instead of jumping to the aid of a distraught student just sits behind and analyses their responses, and her self-righteousness was irritating). By end of it I sympathized with some of the villains a lot more than the official good guys (the older policeman was cool though).

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Yes, just when you thought he was going to go the I'm to tired for this sh** all a sudden he is all in!

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Talking about the writer's other works, I think Achiara and Red Moon, Blue Sun are similar in a way that they depict social problems like the former talks about mistreatment of women and small town politics and the latter is about child abuse. The writer seems to put a lot of elements into the plot and tries her best to liven up the mystery. But in Achiara,so many things happened, so to me it felt like the main case ended up with less focus. However, the writer seemed to organize her ideas better in Red Moon, Blue Sun because the writing seemed smoother.

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I give the writer kudos for that. Most k-dramas won't even come close to many of the social problems. Or maybe it is a bit of self-censorship by the networks?

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I think it's just that the Korean public is uncomfortable with such issues so writers don't have the courage to depict them and even they do, I think they prefers their dramas to air on cable, but I believe the perceptions are slowly changing. The reviews for Red Moon, Blue Sun are favorable in spite of its ratings.

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I suggest watching Mother even though it was a remake it was wonderful in talking about a mother-child bond and the social issue of adoption n Korean and child abuse.

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I am not convinced that WK is Red Cry. But so many clueless clues that are not really clues but maybe fake clues or maybe real clues or...

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So first of all, this is the drama that kind of made me want to catch up with these last 6 months' Kdramas, so really, kudos because that was not easy.

It is great. It is exactly what it is supposed to be. Thriller, mystery, crime, drama(tic), everything is smoothly put together. And on top of it all, complex characters and a very interesting theme that is not so badly handled : child psychology/child abuse and trauma (I know something as.... I work in the field). It's not perfect but the work is enough for a drama.

Now on to the characters :

I keep talking about the plot of the show (just because there’s so much of it!) but I’d like to take a moment to give my respect to Nam Gyuri’s ability to subtly portray Soo-young’s hypersensitivity to body language.

I find Nam Gyuri's portrayal of the character rather uneven. I would describe it as stiff most of the time, and lacking of charisma. The character is supposed to be extremely sensitive yet very defensive emotionally. I'd say there could have been a more fitted actress of the role to be honest. She's doing an okay job in my opinion.

Kim Sun Ah and Lee Yi Kyung are really good, though.

Anyway, I've already watched the recent episodes and.... as a good mystery drama once again it does the job : it is getting more and more troubling, and I freaking love it!

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Kum Sun-ah is great! I haven't seen her other work before, but I now realize why everyone praises her acting. And I'm really enjoying Lee Yi-kyung's performance as well. He's very versatile. His character in Welcome to Waikiki is so different. He's definitely one to watch.

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Also, it'll be interesting to hear your views on the psychological aspects since you're more familiar with the field than the average person.

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Yes, I am always so impressed with an actor having a good sense of comedic timing....
I've heard somewhere that comedy is really the hardest to act, and once you master it you can do anything. And here we are with him also being good at a dramatic role. I can't wait for his future projects.

As for your second comment, yes I am specialized in the field, I rarely talk about it though ^^
I will in time share my point of view, haha!

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I didn't know that about comedy. Really interesting and does make sense.

Can't wait for your future insights!

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I don't find Nam Gyuri believable because she is so frail looking, and very, very thin, the action scene are low energy so it's hard to me to buy her as a though as nail cop with attitude.

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Okay, here are some of my random theories and notes about important points:

-Green dress girl is Woo-kyung
- WK was abused by a woman, perhaps her biological mother
- An older child may have had a role in this (I thought her sister, but she's younger), as shown at the end of one episode where green dress girl is pushed by someone a bit taller than her
- Dad was trying to protect WK by 'erasing' her bad memories with false ones he showed in photo albums
- Something happened and WK did something awful (her mom seems almost scared of her and blames her for dad's death and sister's state)
- WK has connect to Red Cry but isn't that person herself (if Suk-woo's TOD scene was Red Cry, it couldn't have been WK since she's meeting with the shop owner)
-Soo-young was abused as a child

Wow, I'm really getting into this drama now.

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Green dress girl is Woo-kyung. I agree
WK was abused by a woman, perhaps her biological mother. I agree, and not agree. I think it was her father. Her subconscious made up a story to protect her from breaking down.
WK has connect to Red Cry but isn't that person herself. Yes and No. My guess is WK has DID. Her other personality commits
vigilante style murder for abused children, but she is not responsible. She is just a victim.

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Honestly, I think anything is plausible still at this point. I do think WK could have DID but just still hoping that she's not the murderer. She's already quite interesting as she is now.

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"despite his apparently boring childhood and the fact that he doesn’t seem to be haunted by any trauma"
My gwaaaad don't say that. You will jinx it. I am almost sure that Jiheon also has got some kind of past just that he survived it better than others. His hesitation to his gf's pregnancy news was not because of his insensitivity but something deeper.
In this drama full of traumatised and twisted people, I want Jiheon to be something that signifies that people can still be 'normal' after going through shit.
There could be the tendency to cross the line but its still possible to not to stray.

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I've been dying to know more about Ji Heon just because it seems like there's absolutely nothing strange about him. There's gotta be SOMETHING. In this kind of drama, I'd be surprised if there isn't.

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Big thank you to @odilettante for recapping this series bc rn they're all I've goooooott *sobs*.

Okay. So, on the one hand, I'm glad to see some of my theories turned out right:
- They are making 'Suspect WK' a plotline, and JH is firmly on her side.
- Red Cry definitely knows WK, has access to her workplace, and is deliberately trying to rattle her (and possibly, imo, frame her because of a vendetta).
- OG Red Cry was a mother of an abused child, albeit not the mother I thought (though we still have to wait and see for current Red Cry).

On the other hand, my 'Girl in the Green Dress = Woo Kyung's memory of her sister when they were younger' theory may have been sunk. I'm still not fully convinced though. WK's supposed childhood friend starts out saying she barely remembers WK and they certainly never played together as kids, only to do a complete 180 when she sees the drawing, immediately claiming the little girl is WK? That, to me, is confirmation that the little girl is anyone but her.

Personally, I've still got my money on WK's little sister, with one change to my original theory: it might be a little sister different from the one who exists today. WK's comment on how devoted mum was to her comatose step-child raised a red flag for me. I'm starting to think WK's current dongsaeng is her half-sister and her full blood sister --the girl in the green dress-- met some unfortunate fate in their childhood and has thus been wiped from the family's albums and WK's memory.

And then we have Red Cry. I'm firmly and forever in the 'RC /=/ WK camp' if only because, like I said before, I'm 99% sure RC is behind the little boy dying the way he did, and WK's most deranged side wouldn't hurt an innocent kid. I'm thinking RC has WK's workplace bugged, if not her house and personal phone, which is how they knew everything. And, again, the fact that everything is connected to WK only indicates to me that RC is connected to her / deliberately leaving traces of connections to her to frame her.

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It's similar to my theory! But I think that birth mom might be responsible for whatever happened to the girl in green dress, and WK father tried to erase that memory . WK stemom know about but she doesn't want to bring it back, because it must be something truly horrible.

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I agree step-mum knows what happened and is trying to keep it under wraps, but as for the culprits, tbh my main suspects are step-mum and dad. Like the fact that step-mum feels so resentful/frightened of WK seems to be irrational, considering that from their interactions it’s clear WK has always been grateful/cowed in front of her.

So I’m guessing step-mum’s negative emotions actually stem from feeling defensive and guilty, like she deserves punishment for something, and that’s why she’s always on the edge around WK. Like, she did something terrible that she feels guilty about, that she’s afraid of WK remembering, and that’s why she keeps blaming WK for what happened to her dad/half-sister because she -at least subconsciously- feels like WK was taking her revenge for what happened to her full sister.

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Or maybe step-mom feels on her toes around WK, because of whatever happened to WK because of her birth mom, she couldn't bonded with her? She seems very caring of comatose sister, and her good bond with WK daughter. Or maybe she knows something about WK that make her keep her distance?

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And I forgot to mention that the investigative team's maknae Chan-wook's presence is like a ray of sunshine. I don't mind the darkness of "Red Moon, Blue Sun" but the character's friendliness and curiosity light up the atmosphere and his knowledge of modern technology is a helpful addition to the investigation.

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Plus the way he annoys the heck out of Ji Heon. Keeps this drama from being too dark

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This!!! Plus his acting is so good that I found myself saying stop before Ji Heon does because he builds up the anticipation before delivering the results. He is like an annoying younger brother. Ha

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Woo-kyung is so tightly wound "screaming with her entire body" is frighteningly accurate.

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As soo as she said that, I said, yess, that is precisely what she is doing. Kim Sun Ah is AH-Mazing in this role.

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Exactly. I haven't been able to finish any of her re ent dramas so I am thrilled that she got this part.

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The dog butcher guy is a really great actor, because when I watched this episode, I hated that guy and was disgusted by him with every bit of me.

This show keeps me guessing, and I can feel the sensitivity of this whole situation in that I struggle now to point fingers or voice my suspicions. Because anyone can be guilty, either of the real crimes or of the ultra sensitive suspicions that come from cases related to children.

And this is pretty clever, in a way, because it makes me focus on the people I know are 100% guilty of something bad: the parents of all these children. Watching Suk-Woo's mother be the worst kind of negligent, mercenary human being who translates the tragic death of her child into monetary sums to temporarily hold off loan sharks makes me froth inside. Looking at the dog butcher as he intentionally wound Ji-Heon up to the point that he looked near tears was so hard.

Our murderer is faceless, and this is making me look to the devils I can see. They're seriously ugly.

I'm worried about Woo-Kyung. I feel like there's a big attempt by all parties close to her to cover up something in the past. But I'm not sure anymore if it's something that was done to her, or something she did. It would be a twist in the tale if all the secrecy was to protect her and cover up for her own actions for her benefit, instead of hiding something she was a victim of.

Ji-Heon's getting a little attached to her in spite of himself, right? He was so uncomfortable with questioning her at her office, and looked genuinely empathetic and awkward when he heard about her sister. If Woo-Kyung really is a suspicious person, things are going to get much harder for him.

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He's white knight, he sense her vulnerability and want to protect her, even if don't want admit it to himself or anyone who asking.

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And the Truck of Doom strikes again! She had that coming.
That time when the three diablos come together to investigate Red Cry in incognito mode makes me happy.

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Also, I have no courage to come up with theories so I'm just gonna go with the (rough, turbulent, unpredictable) flow.

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Several notes, some of them will make me seem like a horrible person.

- Suk Woo's mother deserved both being slapped and hit by the car. That being said I hope she rehabs well, gets the therapy she needs and becomes a better person and parent. Same goes for Suk Woo's father.

- I think the girl in the green dress is some WK knows and that was close to her. I still think it's possible that it is her sister, just not the one with the locked in syndrome. My new theory is the child has to do with her bio mom, her bio mom may have abused WK, which led to WK abusing the little girl. WK accidently killed the child and the only way for WK's dad to protect her mind was to make up memories for her. This explains the green dress. More on this in the next episode's recap.

- I just love this show!!!

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Thank you for the recap, odilettante! Great analysis on Soo Young.

I think Woo Kyung is not Red Cry, but I'm wondering why RC is framing her so hard. What is their connection? He/she must have access to her workplace files. Something about the director makes me suspicious of him.

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The director really seems like a well meaning oaf most of the time -- it would be super interesting if he were actually much smarter than he's been letting on!

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It seems pretty clear to me the little girl with green dress is none other than Woo-kyung herself. She is also the one that committed all the murder.

It's not that she has a dark side or hidden secrete; she has DID (Dissociative Identity Disorder). That is only explanation I can see that makes any sense with all the evidences. She suffered from this condition due to extreme abuse from either her dead father or step mother in her childhood. That's why her memory on her childhood is totally messed up.

Person with DID almost always have at least one hidden violent personality. That personality of Woo-kyung becomes angel of vengeance on child abuser.

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I may add with DID, different personalities do not communicate with each others, and unaware of others existence. sometimes, a piece of memory may be privy to only one personality, however, it is also possible they share the same memory. It is a very complex disorder.

This is why child abuse is a crime that should be at same degree as rape or murder. This crime can leave a HUGE carnage to the society. In many societies, even today, it's frequently carried out in the name of "Tough Love". It is sanctioned in the name of "Tradition" teaching children obedience for easy governance.

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To lighten up, yes we watched Kill Me, Heal Me, also a shorter and more suspenseful version is Karthik calling Karthik.

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Isn't it quite obvious that N's character is Red cry? He literally lives in the children center which is woo kyung's workplace, he has come to know more and more about her by episode 8, also what struck me most was how he was quite receptive to what was happening when the dead child's mom came to woo kyung asking for money. And right after that, the woman gets hit by WTOD. I know that the cop still suspects him but rest of the people are not bothered at all, so this allows him to roam around acting as the vigilante. He also has all the motives that work for red cry. He is empathetic towards children, tends to play with them a lot, has a whole workshop built with toys, and sketches of children, so I think it has to be him.
About woo kyung, somehow it still bothers me how her stepmom slapped her and then instead of getting mad, she kept apologizing. The whole scene was quite odd, and it brings me back to the lady cop's statement that woo kyung has been reacting with her whole body. All these years she has actually suppressed the hardships she has been going through and now she's at the verge of collapsing. And it makes me think that the stepmom is responsible for her childhood trauma. Her sister also reacted to the little girl's portrait so all of these points back to her childhood I guess.

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Thanks @odilettante! This was the one recap I really wanted to read first thing I got back from vacation!!!

@fay17 About the childhood trauma of Woo Kyung,... I'm thinking that any mother figure might set off WK's 'little girl trauma' if there's anger or signs of abuse. I'm starting to guess that WK's own birth mother may have started the abuse. Whether her step mother continued in any kind of abuse is not certain, but she is certainly cold and unloving towards WK. That attitude in itself may be considered abuse when directed unceasingly at a person from childhood.

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Eun Ho (Hakyeon's character) is a possible suspect that could be red cry -- the reason he might not be is the fact that it would be...a little obvious? He's so suspicious from an audience perspective that it wouldn't be surprising, and this writer usually uses lots of twists to keep the audience guessing.
He still might be involved -- but I think the real red cry will end up being someone who doesn't come off as suspicious!

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The least suspicious person is Ji Heon himself ... and when he asked Ha Na who the murderer was, she pointed at him!!! LOL!

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ikr!!! wow if the twist were that extreme I don't think I could ever recover

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It is interesting that most of viewer still do not believe little girl with green dress is WK and she is most logical Red Cry candidate. At this point, there is almost no logical explanation the script can pull off other than WK is Red Cry. She was a victim of child abuse that resulted in a psychological disorder of split personalities. One personality is wrathful and kills child abusers.

Society is like a person with DID; it has a self protect mode which insists ONLY the one that pulls the trigger is the villain, we not responsible. This will ensure collective conscience stay quiescent. No matter how we look at it, we don’t want a genuine caring person like her to be a villain. We feel uneasy when we have to rationalize the one that pulls the trigger is not necessary the villain but a victim; the society is the villain.

If she does turn out to be the Red Cry, she is NOT a murderer, she is a victim. People with DID does not aware there is another ego, her abuser and a society that tolerates such behavior by their silence and blind eyes are the real perpetrator. How is a child who protects herself from a mental breakdown a murderer?

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We're being led into thinking that Woo-kyung has multiple personalities, aren't we ? Someone mentioned this theory some episodes back, and now it seems like a strong possibility.

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