"Black" Episode 5 recap

The sordid past built by the very human shadows of Moojin gets a grand reveal, but there are many things in need of explanation in both layers of reality. Ha-ram is determined to save lives, but her actions may cause great problems for Black and the entirety of the underworld. Meanwhile, Gwang-gyeon's past connections lead him directly to a person with a very important role in current happenings.
The plot of the past thickens and the late Song Jae-geun's (Choi Bum-ho), but also Chunsu (now Royeol) Insurance's involvement becomes clearer. Oh Man-ho (Choi Min-cheol) could not look more evil unless it were stamped on his forehead, but we have multiple players after multiple people, so things are not as simple as they seem. We also have the hospital director to think about, who may be going it solo for his own reasons as well.

Clara is the person of interest right now, however. She either ran or knew of the front for child exploitation and Moo-gang's/Joon's (Song Seung-heon) involvement with this part of Moojin life has now been established. We still have the mystery of Black's (Kim Tae-woo) memories, however. The simplest explanation is that the children are Moo-gang and Man-soo (Kim Dong-jun), but the series keeps presenting these as Moo-gang's memories a bit too eagerly. Could Moo-gang be the younger child? Could Black be either?
The developments we have on the supernatural front are not encouraging for Ha-ram's (Go Ara) wishes or very life. If the underworld's plans cannot be foiled then her efforts will always fail and her life will eventually end. Yet Black's confidence is the kind that is built to be torn down and it is ripe for the type of messages such stories like providing. Humans should be kind and save each other, we can do it if we try and the like, that is. The current standalone case and any consecutive ones will drive those messages in.

At the same time "Black" has been quite forward and often cynical over the cost of human life. There is no sugar-coating in its portrayed suffering, its latest child victim having escaped sexual assault aside, but this feels more like a move to avoid disturbing potentially sensitive audience members. An odd choice, given Moojin's past. I am curious how far the series will go with this honesty over bad outcomes.
Then we have the scent of romance in the air and while not in any way pronounced or even conscious on Black's side yet, the teasing is definitely there. As far as dysfunctional relationships go, this would be a big one. My hope is that it will at least be used as a tool for portraying the importance of human life through Black's growing sympathy and respect for what his job entails.
"Black" is directed by Kim Hong-seon-I, written by Choi Ran-I and features Song Seung-heon, Go Ara, Lee El and Kim Dong-jun.
Written by: Orion from 'Orion's Ramblings'