The plot threads are drawing tighter and the reveals are getting bigger as we wind up While You Were Sleeping. Let’s talk about episodes 27 & 28, shall we?

Still flabergasted

We open on the reveal that had me flailing and typing in caps locks like a crazy woman. Here’s a sample: INVESTIGATOR CHOI IS THE AWOL SOLDIER’S BROTHER!!! JAE CHAN AND HONG JOO SAVED HIM!! HE HAS DREAMS TOO!!!!!! ASD;LKJFFK;JASLF;A!!!!

Yes, I may have gotten a little incoherent at the end because I did NOT see that one coming. Not at all. Investigator Choi has been one of those uncertain characters for me — he still hangs out with Yu Beom, who is a complete and total snake (I may have mentioned this once or twice…), and yet he helps Jae Chan and stays by his side and doesn’t jump at the chance to work with Yu Beom for more money. So what are his motivations? We know a few more than we did before, now that his dreaming abilities have been revealed, but I want a more complete story there.

Oh man. I’m reliving the moment when Investigator Choi was running full tilt towards the shipping container to save Jae Chan and Hong Joo and getting chills and wanting to cheer at the same time. As soon as I saw that jacket and those shoes, I *KNEW* it was him. I was so happy! My love for Investigator Choi is completely confirmed. Like Jae Chan, I am absolutely loyal to him now. I’m rooting for him and for everything to work out in his favor.

The IV Drip Killer

Again, our plot threads are laid: Hong Joo and her sunbae take on the story about the re-investigation into the IV drip serial killer case, and the prosecutor’s office divides into two teams, one to handle the shipping container arson and one to re-investigate the IV drip serial killer case to determine if there was a mishandling of evidence. Jae Chan makes the hard decision to work with the re-investigation team instead of taking on the arson, leaving Investigator Choi to handle the other. Whenever anyone in the office questions Investigator Choi’s integrity, Jae Chan is the first one to stand up and defend him. It was touching to see Investigator Choi’s awareness of this, and his deep sadness and understanding that now he’s a suspect if they’re going to investigate it thoroughly.

I yelled at my screen a few times here too — I really wanted him to ‘fess up and TELL JAE CHAN HE DREAMS. But I can see his point — he doesn’t want to look like a crazy person. Jae Chan, being the clever boy he is, suspects something, but the air doesn’t get cleared outright and it drives me a little nuts.

Cute side character hookups

HEY. There are hints of Prosecutor Lee dating someone on the prosecution team (CALLED IT). The writer is making it look like it could be either Prosecutor Shin or Prosecutor Son, but we know better — it’s totally Prosecutor Son. Makes my heart happy.

This shouldn’t be one of my favorite parts, but it is: The serial killer toying with Yu Beom. After his high-handed treatment of Jae Chan and his awful, subversive moves to get criminals off, he had this coming. I like that we see him coming completely undone — I think he had a moral compass at one point, but he’s buried it, much like Edgar Allan Poe’s protagonist in The Tell-Tale Heart. His moral compass is ticking now, making itself heard, and he’s losing his mind. I have to give Lee Sang Yeob credit — he’s done a convincing job of portraying Yu Beom as a cool, confident slimeball with a tortured conscience. I absolutely buy it.

#IHeartBromances

One of my favorite moments comes later in the episode, when Jae Chan realizes that Investigator Choi was a policeman in the same precinct as his father. His refusal to accept Investigator Choi’s resignation touched my heart. I really love the mentor/mentee relationship these two have, and the deep friendship that could result from it.

The Umbrella of Death

We have to talk about that green umbrella too. It’s pretty much its own character now, and has been out traveling. Myung Dae Gu picked it up and kept it with him, and scared Hong Joo out of her wits with it without doing a thing. And then it travels back into Yu Beom’s possession. I like its story, though, because it gave Hong Joo a reason to reflect on her past actions as a reporter, like when she was desperately trying to get a statement from Dae Gu’s dad. Then, as Dae Gu is returning it to Yu Beom, he hears Hong Joo redeeming herself without her even being aware of it. An excellent piece of writing there.

Of course, Yu Beom possessing the green umbrella again is problematic, as is his solution to the re-investigation of the IV drip serial killer case. Murdering Hong Joo with the serial killer’s help? That ticking moral compass is gonna come up and drive you right out of your mind, Mr. Snake. And so we’re left with the final sequence, of Yu Beom believing Hong Joo’s reporter’s bluff of knowing more than she actually does and taking extreme action to keep that knowledge from getting out. Jae Chan and Woo Tak race to the rescue, but that’s not what has my heart pounding. No, what’s causing me the most anxiety is the fact that my favorite Batman is color blind and Yu Beom has a green umbrella and the FEMALE serial killer has a red one. I don’t like where that is headed at ALL.

I’ll be doing my best not to bite my nails until the next episode airs. Until then, drama fans, I remain–

Karie the Maknae

Dramas with a Side of Kimchi