Tell Me What You Saw Episode 10 Recap

Tell Me What You Saw Episode 10 “Decalcomanie”

A man runs away and up a set of stairs. Someone punches him and he falls.

Man Bok explains an employment agency is a front for smuggling. But the CEO is a bit unstable.

Genius profiler Oh Hyun Jae (Jang Hyuk) bursts into the employment agency. He announces he’s there to talk to CEO Cho. He dispatches the minion that blocks him. CEO Cho stands and recognizes Hyun Jae from his police exploits. Hyun Jae asks what 4-7-8-9 means. CEO Cho orders his men to dispatch him. Instead Hyun Jae dispatches them. CEO Cho waves a knife. Hyun Jae grabs his head and pounds it into the table. He asks what does 4-7-8-9 mean. CEO Cho claims not to know. He remembers one of CEO Cho’s men slipped out the back.

Jang Hyuk does his own fighting. Yes, he’s that good.

Hyun Jae blocks the man’s car. He asks what the numbers mean. The man admits he overheard Dae Sik mention the numbers in a conversation. He doesn’t know where Dae Sik is. Hyun Jae orders him to find out what the numbers mean. Hyun Jae leaves.

Cue Intro…

Detective Cha Soo Young (Sooyoung) and Detective Yang Man Soo arrive at the scene where a body was discovered that morning. Detective Cha observes the scene. The body is wrapped in plastic. Detective Cha murmurs the man was young. Detective Yang sees the body was dragged from another location.  Detective Cha observes small parallel cuts on the neck of the body. Detective Yang points out the location was between two cities making it fall in RIU’s hands.

Back at the station Detective Cha says the victim, Shin Ju Yong, was 27 and without family. We see it was the man the black car picked up last night. Death is blow to head. They discuss the cuts on the body. Detective Lee Ji Min reports there was a suspicious black car in the area. Senior Chief Choi Hyung Pil bursts into the room and wants to know why Hyun Jae has been missing for 3 days. Team Lead Hwang Ha Young (Jin Seo Yeon) says she’ll report to Senior Chief Choi in private. Senior Chief Choi tells her he won’t wait long. Team Lead Hwang follows him out of the room.

The team reviews other cases with similar characteristics. Detective Yang finds a case with a survivor.

Detective Lee meets with Senior Chief Choi. He hasn’t found anything about the numbers. Senior Chief Choi tells him to be determined and get creative. Senior Chief Choi tells him to support the organization. Detective Lee wants to be a detective first before the organization. Senior Chief Choi tells him find out what the numbers men even if he makes it up.

Team Lead Hwang and Detective Cha discuss needing Hyun Jae’s house. Detective Cha offers to summarize the case and take it to Hyun Jae’s lair.

Detective Cha arrives in Hyun Jae’s lair but no one is there. She puts in the “direct to Hyun Jae” earbuds. She briefs him on the case. She says they need his help. She leaves a copy of the case file. She leaves his lair.

Detective Yang briefs the case with the surviving victim. Unfortunately, she doesn’t remember the details due to the trauma. Detective Cha suggests she meet with her.

Detective Cha heads into the coffee shop to meet the victim. She puts in the “direct to Hyun Jae” earbuds and tells him she’s heading in. She doesn’t know Hyun Jae is listening. Detective Cha enters and sees a barista Ju Yong with the victim’s name, Lee Yoo Mi. Detective Cha orders a drink. She watches barista Ju Yong work. Barista Ju Yong makes a latte for a customer. He makes a clicking sound with his jaw. She starts at the sound. She flashes to her abduction. She hands the man his latte. Detective Cha observes the victim is traumatized. Hyun Jae doesn’t respond to her. Detective Cha talks to barista Ju Yong and tells her the police need her help. Ju Yong say she can’t remember anything, can’t help, and has nothing to so. She asks barista Ju Yong to flip over her ID. Detective Cha says that’s her mother. She says they share losing their mothers young. Detective Cha shares she wants to tell her mother she stayed strong. Detective Cha believes barista Ju Yong’s mother would want her to say the same. Ju Yong cries. She wonders if catching the culprit will make her feel better. That gets Hyun Jae’s attention.

Excellent question! Will catching the culprit make a victim feel better? Will it solve Hyun Jae’s anguish and Detective Cha’s desire to have her mother rest in peace?

Hyun Jae calls Detective Cha. He tells her he wants to speak with barista Ju Yong.

Detective Cha brings barista Ju Yong to Hyun Jae’s lair. He tells her to describe her memories. The woman remembers being grabbed from behind, being held blind folded in what seemed like a basement, begging for mercy, hearing a strange sound (we see it’s the murderer making the clicking sound with his jaw), then murder is interrupted when he gets a phone call and leaves. The woman managed to escape and can’t remember anything after that. She sobs. Detective Cha vows to catch the killer.

The team reviews the case similarities. Hyun Jae arrives. He states all the victims lived alone, had just gotten a job or were seeking employment. These loners gave the killer time to dump the bodies and have a window of time before the bodies were found. The team is redirected to find more similarities.

Manager Won, a top manager at Wonseo, meets with his friends to enjoy a bottle of wine. Another friend arrives to deliver a proposal. The friends say it’s mean to employ a former friend as an assistant. The assistant struggles to open the bottle of wine for the men. He leaves with all deference. The friends say he was always a loser. Manager Won promises to crush him soon.

Later in his office, the murderer searches recent Wonseo applicants and finds barista Ju Yong. He smiles and says bingo.

Barista Ju Yong receives a text that her Wonseo application has been accepted. She’s thankful.

Detective Lee reports that all the victims had interviews at a Wonseo related company and died 7-10 days later. The only interviewer in common was Manager Won. Hyun Jae offers to interview Manager Won. Detective Cha goes with him.

When they arrive to speak with Manager Won, the assistant says he’ll inform his boss first. Detective Cha and Hyun Jae meet with Manager Won. Detective Cha says she has questions about cases. He scoffs the common thread of interviewing with Wonseo means nothing. Hyun Jae points out Manager Won met and interviewed all the victims. He assures Manager Won these questions are part of their investigation. He stands and notices all the wine items in the office. Manager Won says he recently bought a winery and likes to have things his way. Manager Won declares wine enthusiasts never forget a wine. Detective Cha lays out the victims. Manager Won claims not to remember them. He tells the officers to leave as he has an interview that afternoon. Hyun Jae and Detective Cha hear Manager Won yelling at his assistant as they exit the office.

On the elevator Hyun Jae says Manager Won believes he’s better than everyone. Detective Cha wonders if he is a sociopath. They get off the elevator and don’t see barista Ju Yong come into the interview room across the lobby. Manager Won and his assistant interview Ju Yong. She admits she’s worked part time jobs the last two years. Manager Won does things that triggers her memory of the near miss. He stares at Ju Yong enjoying her obvious mental torture. He asks if they’ve met before. She doesn’t think so. He smiles. She exits the interview unsettled.

Manager Won asks if Ju Yong has interviewed with the company before. The assistant says he’ll check. Manager Won pulls on the assistant’s tie and tells him to go home. Ju Yong sits on the steps and realizes the sound Manager Won made was the same sound she heard two years ago. She calls Detective Cha, just as she’s about to speak someone comes up behind her and grabs the phone. She screams. The call ends. Detective Cha returns the call but the phone is off.

Detective Cha rushes into Team Lead Hwang’s office where Hyun Jae is an informs her of the situation. The team is worried when the cell phone’s last location was Wonseo. They believe she’s been kidnapped. Team Lead Hwang directs Detective Yang and Detective Jang to go to Wonseo and search. Detective Lee is directed to track the cell phone. Hyun Jae asks if Detective Cha saw anything odd at the last murder site. She remembers a wine cork labeled with the same winery Manager Won purchased! Hyun Jae remembers a wine opener style that could have made the parallel cuts on the victims. Team Lead Hwang declares Manager Won used his authority as HR director to pick his victims from applicants.  Detective Lee reports Manager Won’s car’s location. They head out to intercept.

Manager Won drives angry.

Detective Yang reports barista Ju Yong isn’t at Wonseo and neither is Manager Won. Hyun Jae doesn’t believe Manager Won is fleeing knowing the police would be after him. Hyun Jae remembers the assistant also had the wine opener style on his desk. He tells Detective Cha to remember everything about the assistant’s desk. Detective Cha remembers braces on the assistant’s desk. He recalls barista Ju Yong’s statement about the noise. Hyun Jae declares the assistant is the killer. Hyun Jae explains the assistant hates and admires Manager Won. He’d kill victims to gain power and leave marks with the wine opener to frame Manager Won. Hyun Jae says the noise the victim heard was the assistant’s braces.

Manager Won finds his assistant at the company retreat location sitting as his desk. He doesn’t know the assistant put powder in an open bottle of wine just before he got there. Manager Won berates his assistant for having him followed and hits him with photos. The assistant hits back. He throws Manager Won to the floor. The trapped barista Ju Yong (tied up) watches as the assistant hits Manager Won again and again declaring today he will die. She grabs at broken glass to untie herself. Manager Won begs forgiveness. The assistant continues to hit him. Barista Ju Yong unties herself. She opens the door to her cage. The assistant tells Manager Won that today he will die by drinking poisoned wine. The police will assume it is suicide. Barista Ju Yong leaves. The assistant gets the bottle of wine. He forces some down Manager Won’s throat though it isn’t easy.

Team Lead Hwang, Detective Cha and Hyun Jae arrive. Detective Cha directs them to a building whose picture she saw on the assistant’s desk. They head to the building.

Manager Won is feeling the effects of the poison. The assistant chuckles he has one more fun thing to do. He tells Manager Won that a murder victim is what the police will find when they discover him. Manager Won spits up blood. The assistant is thrilled. Then he notices barista Ju Yong is gone. He yells at Manager Won.  He grabs a hammer and starts to pursue her.

The trio arrives at the building.

Ju Yong tries to find a place to hide.

The trio searches the building.

The assistant follows the same route barista Ju Yong takes. He enters the room she’s hiding in banging the hammer on the walls.

The trio finds Manager Won. Team Lead Hwang says he’s dead. Hyun Jae sees the ropes from barista Ju Yong on the floor. He follows the path she took.

The assistant searches for Ju Yong. He smiles in anticipation of finding her. He talks loudly knowing she’s watching him. He enjoys heightening the moment he discovers her. He grabs her and declares she deserves to die. He chokes her. Hyun Jae arrives and shines the flashlight in his face. He declares it’s all over. The assistant swings his hammer. Hyun Jae grabs the hammer and hits the assistant. He taunts the assistant about the pain and fear he’s feeling just like his victims felt. He asks the assistant if he wants to live. The assistant does. Hyun Jae swings the hammer and lets it hit right next to the assistant’s head. He raises the assistant with the hammer. He tells him to go.

My blood thirst enjoyed that!

The assistant runs into Team Lead Hwang. She arrests him. Detective Cha enters the room and takes the sobbing barista Ju Yong in her arms. The assistant grins. Detective Cha stares at him. Team Lead Hwang is riveted by the blood on Ju Yong’s bare feet.

Flashback…a woman’s feet injured in the same way. Someone asking if the woman is okay.

GREAT! The door to Team Lead Hwang’s story opens a crack.

Manager Won’s body is removed via gurney. Team Lead Hwang brings the assistant outside. Detective Yang reports they found the black car the assistant used for the murders. Detective Jang takes the assistant and puts him in the police van. Detective Yang can’t help but notice that Team Lead Hwang is transfixed by the assistant. He tells her to go home and get some sleep. Team Lead Hwang says she’s okay.

Detective Cha brings Ju Yong out with Hyun Jae following them. Ju Yong thanks Hyun Jae for saving her, for finding her with the tracking bracelet he gave her when she visited his lair.

Flashback…Hyun Jae hands the tracking bracelet to Ju Yong and promises he’ll come and save her.

Flashback…Ju Yong hides from the assistant and turns on the tracking bracelet. Hyun Jae is notified as he’s searching for her and heads her way.

She thanks Hyun Jae. She bows and he bows to her.

Detective Cha helps her into the police car. She tells barista Ju Yong that they never could have caught the assistant without her bravery in spite of overwhelming fear. She thanks her. Detective Cha asks what Hyun Jae told her on the phone in the coffee shop to get her to agree to see him.

Flashback…Hyun Jae shares that he lost himself when he lost someone he cared about.  “I pretend to be okay around others but I’m not okay. I try and put up with the pain that never ends.  But I’m miserable. You may be going through the same thing. If so, you have two choices. Endure the pain and be miserable like me or find yourself even though it will be a struggle”.

EMPATHY!!!!

Detective Cha looks at Hyun Jae. She remembers him at the crime scene. She adjusts the murder victim’s hands. She asks Hyun Jae why they are always too late. Detective Cha says she wants murderer to face the wrath of god. Hyun Jae tells her there is no wrath of god only the punishment of people. Their job is to chase and catch criminals. Detective Cha says she wants to comfort the families of the victims. She’s glad she became a cop. Hyun Jae agrees. He’s glad she became a cop.

Excellent scene! Hyun Jae is coming out of his shell of pain and interacting beyond catching the killer and those that aided that he must find the series. Loving the relationship between Detective Cha and Hyun Jae that is growing out of respect and trust.

Team Lead Hwang stops at a light driving home.

Flashback…a bound woman looks up and begs for help. There’s blood and a tooth(?) on the floor.

The next day Team Lead Hwang asks Hyun Jae is he’s found about the numbers. He asks about Senior Chief Choi. Team Lead Hwang says Senior Chief Choi has been quiet. Hyun Jae finds that odd. Team Lead Hwang asks why Hyun Jae worked hard on the case. Team Lead Hwang says he thought the victim could be someone’s family. Team Lead Hwang looks pensive.

I’m am loving this! Hyun Jae is quoting Detective Cha! Team Lead Hwang’s past is coming up.

Detective Lee recalls his encounter with Senior Chief Choi.

Flashback…5 years ago after the accident at an intersection…Senior Chief Choi tells Detective Lee to get rid of evidence list about the intersection. Senior Chief Choi says it’s the last piece of evidence. Detective Lee asks why the one item on the list is being deleted. Senior Chief Choi tells him to take care of it and keep his mouth shut. As directed, Detective Lee eliminates the last item from the list.

Detective Lee looks at the printed evidence list from the accident at the intersection. Bus card is one of the items.

I love the idea of Detective Lee finding his person power to stand up against Senior Chief Choi.

Team Lead Hwang finds the evidence list on her desk! She sees photos of that night. She watches Detective Lee leave for the evening. She studies the list.

Hikers led police to a dead man hanging from a tree.

Team Lead Hwang enters Senior Chief Choi’s office. He asks why she’s there. She tells him she has the list of items from the accident at an intersection. She says the list item on the list was erased. She wonders why and if it was crucial to identify the peppermint candy killer. She looks into Senior Chief Choi’s eyes and wonders if the person that erased the item knows who the peppermint candy killer is. Senior Chief Choi chuckles that she has a vivid imagination. Team Lead Hwang says since Senior Chief Choi was in charge of the case, she thinks he has the evidence, the last item on the list. Senior Chief Choi asks what she wants. Team Lead Hwang offers to share what she knows about the number (4-7-8-9) if he’ll share his information.

Color me surprised Team Lead Hwang went directly to Senior Chief Choi. No way she trusts him. No way she’d betray Hyun Jae.

Hyun Jae arrives at psychiatrist hospital per information that the Gang leader’s son and triple murderer, Ha Tae Sik, visited. He tells the receptionist he’s there to see the patient in room 4789. She informs him only the guardian can see the patient in that special room.  Hyun Jae sees a portrait on the wall of Ji Myung Heon with the born and died dates below it. Hyun Jae muses the special room’s number is in honor of the founder of the hospital. The receptionist concurs. Hyun Jae checks the floor map where the room is.

Hyun Jae scales the hospital walls (literally). He retrieves a swipe ID from a pocket from a uniform.

Hyun Jae swipes into the hallway where groans and screams of the patients can be heard. He walks down the hallway to room 4789. He calls Team Lead Hwang and tells her 4789 is the VIP room at a psychiatrist hospital. He enters the room. The man from the end of the previous episode stands at the window. Hyun Jae sees the numbers written all over the walls. Hyun Jae sees the patient’s name Eom Soo Tak (age 37). Hyun Jae says his name. The man turns and asks if it is time for his medicine.  He sees it isn’t the doctor. He grabs Hyun Jae by the throat and puts him against the wall. He yells he’s not the guy. He demands to know who sent him. Unfazed, Hyun Jae gently slaps the man’s cheeks and says Ha Tae Sik. The man back away and repeats the name.

My Thoughts

Terrific episode. Writers Ko Young Jae and Han Ki Hyun keep building the backstory of the accident. That’s the story we all care about. That’s the story that rivets me. If Senior Chief Choi has the last item on the list, does it reveal who the peppermint candy killer is? Has Senior Chief Choi used this to manipulate the peppermint candy killer? If the peppermint candy killer returns then does Senior Chief Choi believe he’ll lose power because something will be revealed about what he did during the investigation 5 years ago? The statute of limitation isn’t over for these murders. Writers Ko and Han didn’t make us wait to reveal what 4789 meant. If the man in the room is Ha Tae Sik, what does that mean? I liked that Writers Ko and Han are leveraging past cases to build the path forward in this series. Even if the case isn’t riveting, there is a nugget that pushes the overarching story forward. Speaking of which, the bad boss with the murdering assistant was an okay story. What matters is it provided more tangible proof of Hyun Jae’s empathy and helping others overcome the pain he is trapped in. I loved the question barista Ju Yong posed – will catching the culprit make a victim feel better? Will catching the culprits resolve Hyun Jae’s anguish and Detective Cha’s desire to have her mother rest in peace?

Genius profiler Oh Hyun Jae (Jang Hyuk) found the mystery location from the clue 4-7-8-9. Hyun Jae touched my heart when he saved barista Ju Yong. I noticed he sent Detective Cha in a different direction so he could save barista Ju Yong. Then to learn he promised her that. Then to learn he shared his pain with her. Then to learn he offers her two options stay stuck (like him) or free herself. Lovely! The moment when he told Detective Cha he was glad she became a cop a sweet moment too. Hyun Jae wasn’t referring to how her skills would help him catch the culprits but rather that she was enriching his life. Finally, he called Team Lead Hwang straight away when he found out what 4789 was. Hyun Jae has honor and ethics. Jang Hyuk is working his magic with this scarred character.

Detective Cha Soo Young (Sooyoung) is a touchstone. Hyun Jae is drawn to her. Team Lead Hwang pairs up with her too. She’s life affirming. The best part of this show is that all three leads – Hyun Jae, Team Lead Hwang, and Detective Cha are scarred from traumatic events and fighting to find resolution to hopefully live a fuller life.

Team Leader Hwang Ha Young (Jin Seo Yeon) offered a deal with Senior Chief Choi. Color me surprised, when she went to Senior Chief Choi and revealed that she had the list. Doesn’t that implicate Detective Lee? Then we she offered to trade information, I wondered what her angle was. No way she trusts Senior Chief Choi. I refuse to believe that she’d sell Hyun Jae out for her own purposes. Granted he would have done that to her in the beginning of the series, but I don’t think he’d do that now. Finally, we got two brief snatches of the pain from her past. A woman calling for help. Of course, I want more details.

I rate this episode as terrific, 9 on a 10-point scale.

 

About KJT (aka kjtamuser)

Asian drama fan. I watch and blog dramas on https://kjtamusings.wordpress.com/.

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