[Mar 15] “Flex x Cop” Ep 13: Rating, Recap, Review

Even with “Wonderful World” as competition, SBS’s “Flex x Cop” held its ground with an 8.3% rating in episode 13. 

“Flex x Cop” episíde 13: Recap & Review

Recap

A twist occurs when Ahn Bo-hyun, who is dispatched to apprehend a murder suspect, encounters his brother Kwak Si-yang at the scene.

The 13th episode began with the investigation of a death at the residence of Jin Myung-chul (Jang Hyun-sung), the chairman of Hansoo Group and the father of Jin Yi-soo (Ahn Bo-hyun). Concurrently, a scandal involving Yi-soo’s illegitimate child erupted, shaking the Hansoo family with a series of major incidents. 

The episode opened with a mysterious death at Chairman Jin’s house. A man, stabbed in the abdomen, drove himself to Chairman Jin’s residence, desperately climbed over the fence, and collapsed in the front yard, losing consciousness while trying to make a phone call. 

Amid favorable poll results for Chairman Jin over his mayoral election rival Wang Jong-tae (Jang Hyuk-jin), the situation reversed when the man’s body was discovered. Moreover, Team 1, led by Kang Ha-seo, was assigned the case and dispatched to Chairman Jin’s residence, marking the beginning of turmoil.

Yi-soo was dismayed to learn that a death had occurred at his father’s house. Also, it was unclear why the deceased had entered Chairman Jin’s house, and no one in Yi-soo’s family claimed to know the victim. 

Chairman Jin’s wife, Jo Hee-ja (Jeon Hye-jin), showed a hysterical reaction when questioned by Kang Hyun (Park Ji-hyun) and Yi-soo about the case, yet suspiciously asked how the person had died, raising questions. The news also reached Chairman Jin and Jin Seung-ju (Kwak Si-yang). Chairman Jin was greatly flustered by the bad news ahead of the election. On the other hand, Seung-ju, who returned home worried about his mother and met Yi-soo and Kang Hyun, showed a dumbfounded reaction but also gave meaningful glances, adding tension.

Later, it was revealed that the deceased was Han Dae-hoon (Hong Seo-jun), who had already been reported missing. Dae-hoon’s wife (Yang So-min) explained to Yi-soo and Kang Hyun that after their marriage, Dae-hoon continued to fail in business, fell into gambling, and disappeared without contact 6 months ago, claiming no relation to the Hansoo Group. 

However, as the incident at Chairman Jin’s residence made headlines, the media focused on the connection between the deceased and the Hansoo family. In response, Chairman Jin declared to the press, “If his death is related to our family, I will take responsibility,” asserting his and his family’s innocence. Still, upon returning home and facing Hee-ja, Chairman Jin suspected a connection between Dae-hoon and Hee-ja, raising curiosity about the full story of the incident.

Meanwhile, Team 1 identified the suspect and the crime scene through the black box footage from Dae-hoon’s car. Jun-young (Kang Sang-jun) investigated the mountain presumed to be the crime scene to trace the victim’s movements. And Yi-soo and Kang Hyun arrested Oh Gwang-sik (Yoo Il-han), a six-time offender with a history of assault, who was hiding out and had been in Dae-hoon’s car before his death. 

However, Gwang-sik seemed unaware of Dae-hoon’s death. He claimed that he was merely accompanying Dae-hoon to collect a debt for gangsters. And on the day of the incident, Dae-hoon said there was a deal that could pay off 1.2 billion won at once, leading him to follow Dae-hoon to the mountain where thugs appeared and attacked Dae-hoon.

Yi-soo judged Gwang-sik to be a petty criminal, and at that moment, a shocking fact was revealed. The person Dae-hoon called just before his death was Seung-ju. Surprised, Yi-soo immediately sought out Seung-ju to ask if he knew Dae-hoon and mentioned the call records. 

Seung-ju, momentarily flustered, recalled his meeting with Dae-hoon. He claimed that receiving a business card from Dae-hoon at Chairman Jin’s book launch event was the extent of their interaction.

Given the circumstances of the case, Yi-soo couldn't dismiss the connection between Seung-ju and Dae-hoon and repeatedly questioned Seung-ju about their link. Seung-ju firmly denied any knowledge, saying, “Have I ever lied to you even once? Trust me. I don’t know that person at all.” 

However, Yi-soo’s suspicions were not entirely dispelled,. He went to Hansoo Group’s security office to check the CCTV footage from the day of the book launch event.

Returning home with a heavy heart, Yi-soo faced another upheaval. Wang Jong-tae, aiming to fan the flames of negative issues surrounding Chairman Jin ahead of the mayoral election, ultimately exposed Yi-soo’s illegitimate child scandal. As Yi-soo was overwhelmed by the barrage of reporters camped outside his house, Kang Hyun and her mother Mi-sook (Yoon Yu-sun) stepped in to protect him. 

Later, alone with Kang Hyun, Yi-soo received genuine consolation, but the shadow of the successive family-related incidents weighed heavily on him, adding to the sorrow. At that moment, Chairman Jin called Yi-soo to express his sincere apologies for the difficulties Yi-soo faced due to him. Yet, Yi-soo had no room in his heart to accept Myung-chul’s apology. He bitterly remarked, “Did you really not know that this would happen to me if you ran for mayor?” and turned away.

The next day, after analyzing the black box and CCTV footage of Dae-hoon all night, Kyung-jin (Kim Shin-bi) identified a new prime suspect, Choi Hyun-bae (Kim Yun-sung). Hyun-bae had followed Dae-hoon’s car on the day of the incident and had been present at both the crime scene in the mountain and Chairman Jin’s residence. He was very likely one of the thugs mentioned by Gwang-sik. 

Consequently, Kang Hyun and Jun-young immediately set out to apprehend the suspect. After a sleepless night due to heartache and malicious comments, Yi-soo received a text from Jun-young asking, “Aren’t you coming to the cheat key of the investigation?” and joined the arrest team with a pleased smile.

Amidst this, a twist occurred at the end of the episode. As Yi-soo, Kang Hyun, and Jun-young continued their stakeout, Hyun-bae appeared, and Kang Hyun planned to follow him to catch his accomplice. The 3 then ambushed Hyun-bae at a rendezvous in an abandoned building. 

While Kang Hyun and Jun-young chased Hyun-bae, Yi-soo pursued the accomplice. Kang Hyun, who arrested Hyun-bae, was horrified to find a bloodied woman in the trunk of his car. 

Even more, Yi-soo, who had gone after the accomplice alone, was shocked to discover that the person he arrested was his brother, Seung-ju, ending episode 13. Questions about the fate of the close stepbrothers and the identity of the kidnapped woman in the trunk linger, building anticipation for the unpredictable developments in the next episode of “Flex x Cop.”

Review

I wouldn’t be shocked if Seung-ju’s mom had a role in the passing of Yi-soo’s mom. She and her secret partner may have set it up to look like she took her own life. This could be to help Seung-ju take over the family business later. 

I really hope the writers keep Seung-ju good because Yi-soo deserves a happy ending. I’m crossing my fingers they don’t spoil the bond between the brothers. It would be nice to see a drama where the rich siblings get along well.

Plus, I must say, I really like Jin Isoo’s character. He’s very charming even though he’s not perfect.

And is it just me, or is this show surprisingly good? It uses a common theme but keeps it interesting with some twists. I’m hooked. Initially, I thought it would be a simple, feel-good show, but it’s turned out to be much more. The character growth and plot are impressive. While some fans want a second season, I think it should end on a strong note with just one.

(Source: naver.com)