Episode 4 of Cafe Minamdang revolves around the capture of Shin Gyeong-ho and the growing dissension between Nam Han-jun and Han Jae-hui.
Recap
Shin Gyeong-ho is high on drugs and begins to hallucinate and freak out. He runs out of the house where Na-dan and Hye-jun knock him out. They see Jae-hui already there and they rush to let Han-jun that the police have already reached.
Han-jun and Su-cheol use their shaman gear to disorient and then knock out Gyeong-ho’s goons. Once all of them have been taken out, they go up to Cheong-gi and tell him that he needs to tell them the truth about who framed them.
Na-dan finds them and tells them that Jae-hui has reached so they hide Cheong-gi and begin a ritual of sorts to throw the scent off them. Jae-hui asks them what they’re doing there and they simply state that they’re carrying out an exorcism.
The other cops arrive and arrest Shin Gyeong-ho and the others. They also find evidence implicating him in the murder of a woman many years ago.
Han-jun tells Cheong-gi to call his boss so that they can meet him and find out more about the old case. He calls up superintendent Lim, who was a corrupt cop before he left to join Choekang Construction.
When Han-jun, Su-cheol and Cheong-gi reach Lim’s house, they find that he’s being taken to the hospital because of an allergic reaction. Upon further investigation, Han-jun discovers that he was actually poisoned to make it look like he died from shock.
He tells Cheong-gi that he knows someplace Cheong-gi can go to be safe from his bosses who are clearly taking out anyone involved. Instead, he ties him up to an amusement park ride and calls the police, telling Cheong-gi that the safest place for him is in prison.
Han-jun goes to Lim’s funeral but doesn’t find anyone suspicious there until the heir to the Cheokang industries arrives. They follow that up by visiting the hit-and-run victim’s wife and giving her their earnings from the case to help her get on her feet. Jae-hui who was at the hospital witnessed all this.
Han-jun goes and visits Jae-jong’s grave and talks about still trying to find his killer and apologising for not bringing him justice yet.
Han-jun and his team are wondering about what their next case will be. Jae-hui asks for all the files on Han-jun and digs into his past.
Han-jun gets a call from one of their clients who says that there is a ghost in her house. He and Su-cheol go to investigate the place and Han-jun concludes that it is actually two children who have been sneaking in through the sewers.
They find one of the boys but when Su-cheol tries to apprehend him, a bystander calls the police because she thinks he’s hurting the boy. Jae-hui arrives and Han-jun explains the situation, adding that the other boy will be inside the sewer.
Jae-hui tells him to go with her inside and he reluctantly follows. They find the other boy but they also find a dead body wrapped in a white cloth. This particular MO makes them both realize that Choi Yeong-sop is back, the man who murdered Jae-hui’s brother and framed Han-jun.
Review
- The intersection between plotlines tends to get a little confusing and the director could do a slightly better job of focusing on a linear path.
- The dynamic between Han-jun and Jae-hui is fun to watch. Seeing them bicker and the clash of their different personalities adds to the humour of the series.
- With the discovery of a body at the end of the episode, things might be getting a little more serious and the stakes must be getting higher going further.
- Repeating the end of the previous episode from a different perspective at the beginning of the next episode is certainly an interesting approach that adds an extra layer to the story being told.
Rating: 2.5/5
Also Read: Why did Nam Han-jun become a shaman in Cafe Minamdang?