"Black" Episode 17 recap

Finding out the truth we have already known does not make it easier for our Reaper dearest, and 444 has a lot of deeply personal things to tackle in the penultimate episode of "Black". A lot happened on that fateful night when the children became involved with Wang Young-choon's search for the tape and coming to terms with it all, but also with some dire new information is not an easy feat.
My feelings for episode seventeen are more mixed than they have ever been for "Black". A lot happens, but with most of it being already known, the appeal in them lies in the satisfaction and sadness of our titular protagonist finding out. Unfortunately, this is where a few things take away from the otherwise solid dramatic enjoyment. Song Seung-heon's acting limitations are one, but the way the episode concludes is the bigger culprit.

"Black" has been a very busy and often outrageous show, but it has never gone overboard into ridiculously contrived territory. Ha-ram's (Go Ara) sudden guilt as the shooter of her childhood sweetheart is unnecessary for the poorly developed romance, it is unnecessary for her own development and Black's. If the writer wanted to make this too tragic for the inevitable separation coming up, they did not need to bother. This relationship is doomed enough already.
There are things I am still curious about, but the plot holes that now surface and the truths behind some older threads now tied are deflating. Our mystery doctor not being Soo-dong (Park Doo-sik) would be one of them. Nicely played on behalf of the series, but unless this ultimate runaway has a unique reason for doing what she has been doing, her inclusion in this is essentially just for revealing the past to Joon (Song Seung-heon).

Leo's (Kim Jae-young) information on it also feels a bit forced now. We barely got to know his true self, but he is suddenly a master detective. The subplot of Man-soo's (Kim Dong-jun) mother is also not the stuff of some hidden villain, which just makes Wang Young-choon's hook one without a bait at the end. For a mystery so carefully woven, a lot does not quite fit without another culprit behind it.
That being said, perhaps there are stills some answers waiting for us. My hope would be that the finale will focus a bit more on Ha-ram, because she has kind of been missing from what essentially started as equally her story. It would be nice if we could get some answers for some of the loose ends, but after Choi Ran-I's previous work, I will take a sensible ending after an emotional episode.
"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'