Summer Strike: Episodes 11-12 (Final)

Summer Strike: Episodes 11-12 (Final)

by Unit

Whatever our feelings about the show are, summer is over. It’s time to finally solve the mystery behind the billiard hall murders, and say goodbye to our Angok residents.

 
EPISODES 11-12 WEECAP

To leave or to stay? That is the question which plagues Yeo-reum as the Angok residents turn their backs on her. But Dae-beom arrives just in time to sway the vote to “stay,” and with the billiard hall out of the question, he takes her to his house. Yeo-reum is kept up at night by thoughts of her visit to Geun-ho at the detention center, and it bothers her because his statements don’t add up to his alleged crime.

Dae-beom and Yeo-reum begin to investigate Grandmother’s murder — without the Geun-ho bias this time — and their first port of call is the crime scene. Yeo-reum is hesitant to head down to the billiard hall with Dae-beom due to his trauma, and truly, he breaks down when they arrive. But he braces up soon enough, thanks to his grit and Yeo-reum’s presence beside him.

Inspectors Yeo-reum and Dae-beom begin to poke around, and the first thing that stands out to Dae-beom is the graffiti. Geun-ho has astigmatism, and he lost his glasses some days prior to the murder, so how could he have scribbled so clearly on the walls? It’s obvious that the real assailant was trying to mimic him, and worse, the assailant was probably lying in wait for Yeo-reum but Grandmother had shown up instead.

Just when they begin to wonder who the killer is, the realtor MR. KWAK (Kim Hak-sun) shows up to announce that he has just bought the building, and my Spidey senses start to tingle. But so far, Mr. Kwak has been one of the “good” guys in town, and he even helped Yeo-reum out with cheap rent on the billiard building. Plus with a police officer son, KWAK MOO-CHUL (Park Ji-hoon), he’s not the type of person you’d give a second glance at when searching for a murderer.

But it’s always the ones who hide in plain sight that are the hardest to suspect, and once Yeo-reum and Dae-beom sniff Mr. Kwak out, the fearless idiots confront him and Moo-chul — who, as it turns out, is actually Sun-ah’s killer. Sigh. I mean, I get the idea, but who confronts a murderer with just a taser for protection? Things could have gone sideways for Yeo-reum regardless, and I’m not even going to start with Dae-beom who was defenseless against Moo-chul. And no, taping the confrontation in secret does not count as protection.

Then again, the Angok police department has proven to be kinda incompetent so I get why Yeo-reum and Dae-beom acted alone. Or maybe the department was handicapped by their fellow killer cop — and his CCTV footage which conveniently showed Geun-ho entering the building when in reality, he was beckoned in as a scapegoat by a cleverly hidden Moo-chul.

With the confrontation recordings now submitted as evidence, the police finally get a professional to work through Geun-ho’s statement, and Geun-ho also picks Mr. Kwak and Moo-chul out of a line up. Apparently, Mr. Kwak and Dae-beom’s father used to be friends, but they fell out after Mr. Kwak refused to corroborate Dae-beom’s father’s alibi for the day of Sun-ah’s murder. Kwak just wanted to cover up for his son, which is why he also killed Grandmother.

With a father like that, I see why Moo-chul was such an ass as a middle-schooler. Waltzing into the billiard hall to tease and bully Sun-ah until he accidentally shoved her against a shelf and took her life. Unfortunately, while the incident served to draw the murderous father and son duo together, it tore Dae-beom and his own father apart. In the present, Dae-beom goes to apologize to his father for suspecting him, and while there’s no clear resolution on that front, it’s at least a start.

Speaking of zero resolutions, Jae-hoon leaves for the U.S. shortly after getting into an argument with Bom over a friend of hers who recently returned from juvie. It started out with petty jealousy, until Jae-hoon began to really feel like he meant nothing to Bom since she kept blowing him off to spend time with the other guy. In reality, it’s purely platonic, as Bom just owes her friend big time for getting arrested instead of her when she turned on her bullies in the past. But really, we did not need this self-sacrificing storyline because Bom’s life is already complicated enough as it is.

To compound Bom’s problem, the annoying culture of forcing people to drink against their wish strikes when her father is forced to break his sobriety with his work colleagues. He could have chosen to be an honorable father and leave the bar, but no. One shot became two, and drunk dad eventually flees with the family’s entire savings. A devastated Bom actually attempts suicide, and I just…damn! This drama really went there. Thankfully, Yeo-reum arrives just in time to save her, and I’ve never been more relieved. Phew!

Happiness is found in the little things. And while it has become increasingly difficult for me to believe that happiness can be found in Angok, Yeo-reum decides to remain there on a permanent basis. She rents a room at Bom’s house and takes up a job that allows her to work for just a few hours each day, so she can have more time for herself. The girls even collaborate on a webtoon, and I’m pleased to see that the drama circled back to Bom’s artistic side. Dae-beom also resumes work on his theory, but without the greedy professor this time. Yaay!

Our big couple have no regrets staying back in Angok, and as for the little couple, Jae-hoon also returns from the U.S after reflecting on what he really wants in life: to marry Bom. I legit paused the drama here to have a good laugh, because this is so sweet in an unrealistic way. But hey, I’m happy he’s back because it means we get a happily ever after for all four of my favorite people in the show!

The entire drama should just have been like this: the two couples enjoying their best stress-free life in a cozy town. Instead we got a murder mystery that took away the relaxing factor, a town full of unlikable characters, and redemption arcs that somehow didn’t feel earned — for instance, I still don’t like either Ji-young or Geun-ho’s parents.

I’m never going to forget the rush of catharsis I felt while watching the drama’s first two episodes, and the gradual descent from cathartic to barely above tolerable is such a shame. For a show that advertised itself as “healing,” I feel more duped than healed. But I will wrap up with Yeo-reum’s ending quote which I actually liked:

“This really is enough. I still haven’t figured out how I should live my life, but this is good enough. I shall live.”

 
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Source: Buzz Pinay Daily