The People Who Disappeared
Episode 13 of Blind starts with Sung-Joon realizing that Jung In-Seong (Yoon-Jae) is our killer in disguise. He arrives in the hospital room with Sung-Hoon powerless to stop him. Crazy Dog shows up too, immediately demanding to know where Number 13 is. He removes Sung-Hoon’s oxygen mask and presses him for answers. He suddenly realizes he’s just passed Yoon-jae and charges out, scrambling down the stairs to find him. And of course, he comes up short. Sung-Joon shows up to find In-Seong’s mum but she’s back home making food. Of course, this isn’t actually her son, as Yoon-Jae has hijacked his life. Further flashbacks show Yoon-jae promising to kill In-Seong’s mum if he ever gets out as revenge for her abandoning and leaving him to the horrors of Hope Welfare Center. So what actually happened? Well, In-Seong was left at the bench while his mum went to “use the bathroom” but she had a change of heart and decided to go back. Of course, it’s too late as the Hope Welfare group snatch him up and resign him to an awful fate. Yoon-Jae is now on a vengeance mission, deciding to kill all of those who have wronged the kids. For now though, he doesn’t kill In-Seong’s mum. Back at the hospital, Sung-Joon asks Sung-Hoon just what’s going on, and brings up the black bag inside his car. Sung-Hoon was intent on trying to catch the real killer, and he kept it quiet that it was Mr Baek who killed Jung Man-Chun all those episodes ago. Mr Baek was searching for the culprit too and he used that to his advantage. He was tailing the suspect in secret, and the black clothes in his trunk were a way of disguising himself from being seen. Sung-Joon also confirms who the suspect was that stabbed him – Yoon-jae. This immediately steps up the investigation, as the police attempt to find the real In-Seong, unbeknownst that he’s going by the name of Yoon-Jae again. Crazy Dog is also on the hunt too, and upon learning who Yoon-Jae is, decides to try and set a trap to find him too. However, it’s Jo Eun-Ki whom he contacts first. He sends a picture to her, confirming that her mother is being held hostage. She’s forced to come alone and make sure the cops don’t follow, turning off the tracker on her phone. She’s not working alone though, as his chef accomplice picks her up in a taxi. Given Yoon-Jae also has Producer Bae stuffed in a barrel and kept hostage, Sung-Joon goes over the list of victims and begins to understand that everything is connected. It would seem as if everyone is being gathered in one place for some reason. Sung-Hoon and Sung-Joon check Eun-Ki’s place and find the sketchpad from Number 45. The numbers 2, 4 and 0 are all circled. Sung-Hoon realizes this is the location for the vacation home and race up to try and find them. However, there are explosives wired up outside and a drum nearby with a gift inside. That happens to hold a dead body instead. Yoon-Jae watches on a camera nearby and remembers Yoon-Jae’s words about “that house” and realizes they’re in the wrong place. This isn’t the right address and is in fact another way of gameplaying. Sung-Hoon believes (correctly) that the real hostages are being kept at Hope Welfare Center. Yeom Ki-Nam is there too and he’s outsmarted by Yoon-Jae, who has him locked up alongside the other victims and Crazy Dog too. The latter sports a busted ankle as a result of Yoon-Jae setting him a trap and having his leg caught in a bear trap. All of these guys have been gathered together for Yoon-jae’s game. He wants one of them dead in 10 minutes. If everyone is still alive in that time though, he’ll detonate the bomb. Eun-Ki encourages them not to fall for this, pointing out that he’s a serial killer and can’t exactly be trusted. Unfortunately, Minister Na immediately thinks they should sacrifice one of their own. In-Seong’s mum volunteers, Yoon-Jae is fine with that, and of course it’s Crazy Dog who decides to do the deed and kill her. Remember the Shaman? Well, she’s the same woman from the flashbacks who saw the kids and did nothing. She recognizes Crazy Dog, as all the intricate ties between these characters starts to come to light. As for Producer Bae, he was actually going to run a story about Hope Welfare Center but Minister Na convinced him not to. But then Baek knew all about the missing kids but as he was making a tidy profit, decided to stay quiet and feign ignorance. The group turn against Baek but he uses the Shaman as a human shield like a coward. He immediately points the finger at Crazy Dog, calling him a bigger scumbag. The fact that he took over 20 kids for his awful Welfare Center is deplorable… but there’s a bigger twist to come. It turns out Eun-Ki is actually Crazy Dog’s daughter. Eun-Ki is shocked, and even more so when Yoon-Jae shows up at the door and taunts them, breaking the news that her mother was raped by Crazy Dog. Eun-Ki is called away by Sung-Joon showing up at Hope Welfare and seeing them all locked up. Yoon-Jae arrives when his explosives fails to detonate, only to find everyone gone from their cells. Sung-Hoon is standing before him… and Sung-Joon suddenly shows up next to him with a gun pointed at his head.
The Episode Review
Everything is set up nicely for the climax to this thriller, which has really flown under the radar this year. The episode does a great job moving from mystery into thriller territory, with Yoon-Jae’s motivations stemming from doing what he deems to be righteous actions in punishing those responsible for the horrific deeds at Hope Welfare Center. This gives the killer a lot of motivation, and a believable one too. The ending certainly leaves the door open for the rest of the season, and it remains to be seen exactly who will come out of this on top. Yoon-Jae may well have one more secret up his sleeve. Will Sung-Joon and Sung-Hoon get a conviction? We’ll have to wait and see!
