"Tunnel - Drama" Episode 15 recap

The clock is ticking as Mok Jin-woo keeps Jae-i alive while he tries to get the location of his fountain pen out of her. The police team mobilizes every person they can get without making the investigation open. Unfortunately, a closed investigation does not help when the killer has a direct line to their office. The team must understand Jin-woo's past to find his location and time is running out.
Given how the episode ends, I am guessing that Gwang-ho (Choi Jin-hyuk) will return to his timeline and change the present after all. That is unless they pull a different time manipulation in the form of editing and Gwang-ho's realization of Jin-woo's (Kim Min-sang-I) plans happened early enough to barge into Jae-i's (Lee Yoo-young) home just in time to save her. I can see both possibilities working out just fine, since we do have time on our side.

Perhaps a new future for Jae-i will be a better option, however, because I know I would sure love to forget how much of an idiot every person in my life is. The sheer obtuseness of our detective team is painful to watch. From taking so long to consider how Jin-woo had inside information to their lack of security for the only person who got away from him since the late Kim Yeong-ja, it is a bit too frustrating for comfort to see how conveniently slow they are.
The ony thing I will give them is that Mok Jin-woo is a difficult person to figure out. Even Jae-i, who latched onto the standard parent hate as motivation has not hit the mark quite right. Jin-woo did not seem to have hate towards his mother, but rather a great need to excuse her fate, which must have hit him hard, as a product of her lifestyle. I do wish we would go deeper into his growth as a serial killer, but Korean drama likes its villains simplistic.

The episode is pretty straightforward compared to others in the series and while mostly action-based with a little backstory for Jin-woo, it is an enjoyable one. The showdown between Jae-i and Jin-woo during her kidnapping is intense because its participants are charismatic and the position of power between them keeps changing. Two good actors can do a lot to keep things interesting.
With one episode left, I feel that we will not get much more backstory and time travel explanations. I am guessing Jin-woo will be arrested, whether Jae-i lives or dies. The latter will determine whether Gwang-ho goes back or not, but if he does then he has the option to prevent the present we know. It might feel bad to lose the people we have journeyed with throughout the series, but if it is for a better present, then it is a welcome ending.
"Tunnel - Drama" is directed by Sin Yong-hwi and Kim Seong-min-I, written by Lee Eun-mi-III and features Choi Jin-hyuk, Yoon Hyun-min and Lee Yoo-young.
Written by: Orion from 'Orion's Ramblings'

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