Heartless City Episode 19 Recap

The above screenshot is my personal favorite from today’s episode. It gives that final touch of humanity to Park Sa’s character that leaves you floored. There’s no way you can’t not feel for the guy.

Onto business! First of all, sorry for the shortage of screencaps but I’ve not downloaded the episode yet and just caught this online so made just a few screenshots to put in just enough life into the recap. Secondly, molly wolly IT’S FINALE WEEK! OMG! As much as I’m anticipating the end, I’m hating that we’re leaving Park Sa Adeul behind after tomorrow! How are we going to survive without a dose of big bad every Mon-Tuesday?

Episode 19 Recap:

Soo Min aims the gun at Park Sa and demands to know why he killed her sister. Meanwhile, in the back there’s a sniper aiming at her.

The scene is too familiar and haunting for Park Sa and as he stands there numb, he’s torn by the similarities to how Kyung Mi had confronted him like this. The scene plays over in his mind and he remembers the very moment Kyung Mi was shot by the sniper. Looking around in the present, he spots the sniper on the roof in a distance behind Soo Min.

Panicking, he turns back to her and holds up his hands, walking forward just as Soo Min holds the gun tighter, not understanding what’s happening. The sniper loads and fires just as Park Sa reaches Soo Min and shoves her out of harm’s way. The sniper reloads and fires but by that time, Park Sa and Soo Min are out of sight, hiding behind the wall. Chairman Jo takes this diversion as the chance to grab the fallen gun and run.

Once behind the wall, without a word, Park Sa just takes her hand into his. He asks Soo Min if she’s not hurt but she’s still digesting what’s happening around them and asks what his deal is. Panting and out of breath, he takes his hand back and turns to her. Telling her to stay there, he makes a run for the door. Soo Min stays.

Seeing that he’s lost his target, the sniper moves to pack up and leave. As he makes his way down, Park Sa’s already out of the building and waiting to catch sight of and intercept him. When the sniper sees him, he makes a run for it but since the place is surrounded by the police, he’s got limited options and soon, Park Sa catches up to him. (P.S. Are the police blind that they don’t see this shady guy with a mask running away carrying what’s definitely a gun? LOL!) A fight breaks out in which Park Sa unmasks the guy, manages to overpower him. Curiously, there is a patch of red now trailing Park Sa’s shirt in the back. Did he take that first shot instead of Soo Min?

He uses the man’s own knife on him as he asks him again and again if he’s the one who killed Kyung Mi and who ordered it. The man seems nowhere close to answering, despite the increasing wound count on his body but before they both know it, a shot is fired from somewhere and the man slumps to the ground, dead. Park Sa also falls to his knees-more from exhaustion and looks around the corner to see the person who shot the sniper. He can make out a profile from afar as the man makes a run for it, but he’s unable to place it. He turns back to the sniper and looks around for clues-anything.

He finds a phone and dials the last number. On the other end, it’s Hong Ki who picks up. Park Sa goes limp from the shock while Hong Ki realizes the silence on the other end might mean bad news and he hangs up. Park Sa clutches the phone and stares at it as he slowly leans against the wall and slides to the ground.

Hyung Min arrives on the scene and asks Hong Ki what’s happened and wants to know why he wasn’t told of the raid. Hong Ki argues that they had no time to lose and if they delayed a bit, everything would’ve been lost. Even Hyung Min looks like he knows that is just an excuse. “It’s a pity that we’ve lost Chairman Jo,” Hong Ki tells Hyung Min, “But at least we found the drug factory!” Hyung Min looks over the drug factory and impatiently looks around.

Park Sa brings Soo Min back to his place and it’s so cute the way they’re both at opposite ends of the room and so conscious about making eye contact. Soo Min’s the first to react and grabbing her bag, decides to leave. Park Sa grabs her arm, holding her back. “You’re in danger.”

She finally turns to him and asks point blank-why? “Is it because I know you? Or because you know me?” Before he can respond, she adds, “I want to know everything. Will you be able to tell me? Why? Why did you save me? My Unni… was it really you?” Incensed by his silence, her tone gets louder, “Why? Why won’t you say anything? I think of you like that-I think of you as my Unni’s killer. Why won’t you answer?”

He holds both her arms and begins by telling her “I’m sorry. I didn’t kill Lee Kyung Mi.”

She can’t hold her tears back anymore and lashes at him-he could’ve told her that sooner, she could’ve even killed him. “I could’ve shot you. If I killed you… if you’d died, how would I have lived?” She breaks down and he simply takes her into his arms, holding her as she cries.

Hong Ki goes to meet Chairman Jo and the two seem to have a history. Jo complains that he’s been having a lot of trouble with the police lately but comments that they can have a good relationship hereon and asks if he agrees. As a favor, Jo asks him to solve a problem for him and return the undercover agents he sent to him-Duk Bae and Park Sa. With that, Jo says they can decide how they can both help each other. In response to that, Hong Ki literally tells him to cut all the bull talk. With an angry expression, he tells Jo he’s finished now-Duk Bae, Park Sa and Hyung Min are all out to get him. If he wants to live, Jo needs to follow what Hong Ki says and help him. Before he leaves, he adds that the only way for them both is to do this together.

And guess who comes to report to Hong Ki next? It’s Gi Chul. Man, I liked you minion! He’s the one who shot the sniper and ran befor Park Sa could identify him. Gi Chul now gives the news to Hong Ki. Hong Ki makes sure Park Sa doesn’t know Gi Chul was the traitor and now realizes Park Sa must’ve been the one who called using that phone. He instructs Gi Chul to go back and ‘not let her go.’

With that, he calls up Park Sa who seems his id on the phone, takes out the battery and throws it away.

Soo Min brings up a first aid kit and helps Park Sa with his wound on the back. As she’s applying medicine (through the shirt?) she thanks him for saving her. By the time she’s done, Park Sa’s asleep. Once again, she thanks him as she takes his hand. “I’m really glad it wasn’t Ahjusshi.”

Soo comes to see Jin Suk (I want these two to pair up) and gives her the latest info on how the factory was discovered. What Soo finds curious though is how Min Hong Ki was able to go to the factory where Safari was headed? She seems to agree and asks about Park Sa but Soo says he hasn’t been able to get to him. So Jin Suk goes t see Park Sa and comes upon to see him asleep on the bed and Soo Min on the ground, also asleep but they’re both holding hands. *heartbreak*

Without a word, she turns and walks away. As she’s walking out, she remembers all the times Park Sa had asked her about Soo Min and Soo Min had asked her about Park Sa, only now realizing they’d already met each other.

That night, Park Sa drives Soo Min off and asks her to go to Hyung Min-he’ll keep her safe. She wants to know about him though since he’s also in danger. “You can stop! You always keep telling me to leave this path but why won’t you quit yourself?”

Turning to her, Park Sa says harshly, “Even if I didn’t kill your Unni, I’m Park Sa Adeul! Go!”

She gets off without another word and he drives away.

Hyung Min updates his staff on the finding of the drug factory and hands out new tasks when his phone rings. It’s Park Sa. He tells her he’s sending Soo Min back. “Don’t send her this way again. Please.”

Hyung Min takes Soo Min to task for ignoring his calls and taking away his gun-which she just returns to him.  She tells him Park Sa saved her and got hit in place of her. “His name is Jung Shi Hyun.” He asks if she knew it was Park Sa from the beginning. She didn’t and Hyung Min shares his suspicion that Park Sa definitely knew Kyung Mi too. Then he tells her it’s all over and that she did a good job. Moreover, he apologizes.

Safari is back at his camp getting treated gangster style for the bullet.

Back at home, Soo Min spends time brooding. Hyung Min leaves her there, asking her to definitely let him know the moment she goes anywhere. She asks permission to go see Jin Suk. He doesn’t want to let her go and asks her to forget that place. She promises it’s the last time.

When she arrives, she doesn’t find Jin Suk anywhere. (Soo Min, what is with that shirt? Blegh!!) Jin Suk calls her up, asking her to come up to her room. Once there, Jin Suk asks her to sit.

Jin Suk simply looks at her for some time before she asks if Soo Min would lend her some clothes. Soo Min is surprised and mutters that Jin Suk’s clothes are prettier. “Right. My clothes are prettier!” Jin Suk whispers. And then she proposes a trip.

Soo Min notices the change in Jin Suk’s behavior but doesn’t say anything on it. And then they’re back at the club? Where did they go? Jin Suk offers Soo Min a drink and Soo Min begins to say something, “Unni, truthfully, I…”

But Jin Suk cuts her off.

“When did it beging? You and Shi Hyun… When did it start?”

Soo Min answers truthfully-before she met Jin Suk.

“Do you love Shi Hyun?”

Soo Min answers “Yes. I’m sorry.” And you can see the tremble in Jin Suk’s hand as her expressions mirror her heartbreak. But she tells Soo Min, “I’m sorry. I’m the one who’s sorry.” As she says that, she bites her lips and tears fall from her eyes. She continues that she hasn’t prepared her heart yet, and asks if Soo Min can give her some time.

Soo Min packs her bags from her room while Jin Suk sits in her room and cries silently.

Park Sa comes by to see Safari and asks what happened at the factory. Safari laughs it off at first but Shi Hyun presses. So Safari asks if Hong Ki sent him undercover. Park Sa disagrees. So Safari tells him Hong Ki was the one who sent him undercover, who left him to fend for himself and who also shot him today. Which makes Park Sa ask again. “Was it really Jo who killed Kyung Mi?”

Finally Safari tells him the truth-it wasn’t Jo. Which means it was Hong Ki. Park Sa feels angry at him for withholding the truth so far, but leaves.

He stands alone at the riverside and remembers all his interactions with Hong Ki and how he was always taken advantage of when Hong Ki would urge him forward again and again by using his mother and Kyung Mi’s deaths.

Hyung Min gets the updated profile on the sniper guy-who was a police officer… and undercover. And the ultimate man behind him… was Hong Ki. Surprise surprise! Hong Ki, your skeletons are so coming out of the closet to bite you soon!

Hyung Min goes to ask Hong Ki about the guy who says he hasn’t seen the guy from quite a while back. He acts surprised to know the man died. Thankfully, Hyung Min seems to see behind Min’s surprised expression. Once he leaves, Hong Ki whispers to himself, “Ji Hyung Min, that bastard!” Lol, you brought him on the team dearie!

Park Sa and Hyung  Min meet up on the rooftop. Hyung Min asks him why he saved Soo Min and Park Sa just shrugs it off, “If she died, I was afraid you’d misunderstand again that I was the one who did it!” Hyung Min tells him about the sniper-confirming he was a police officer and asks if he killed the sniper, but then muses Park Sa wouldn’t confirm it even if he did. Park Sa turns to leave and Hyung Min asks if the sniper was responsible for Kyung Mi but Park Sa says he was unable to find out.

Soo Min goes through old albums from Kyung Mi’s childhood and draws a picture of Kyung Mi together with Shi Hyun. She immediately calls up her orphanage and asks if Shi hyun was ever listed there. The woman confirms it for her, and that he would take care of Kyung Mi while Kyung Mi would always follow him around as if he were her real oppa. He’d always come out to see her and help out when she was in trouble. Moreover, he was responsible for her being a police officer.

Soo Min goes to see Park Sa, where minion is waiting outside in the car. Hong Ki gives the order-shoot her. He follows her inside.

She sees him and bows, apologizing for coming in and then comes closer to talk to him.

“You know Joon Young, right? She likes you a lot, you know. Please take care of her.” Her words seem to resonate with him slightly, but when she turns away to find a place to sit, he aims the gun at her. Even then, he can’t bring himself to fire after all and walks away.

Which earns him quite the scolding from Hong Ki. Hong Ki accuses him of betraying the police- “Don’t forget, you are a police officer!” and Gi Chul vows not to disappoint. (P.S. How many times and how many people has Hong Ki used that line on anyway?)

Hong Ki meets up with Hyung Min’s dad and says he’ll be totally honest about what he wants. He’s got this whole twisted idea of what he wants-something about the prosecutors and police force, saying this country’s already suffered enough thanks to the bad prosecutors that are. (Sorry, even I’ll have to consult subs for this, when they do come out!) But HM’s dad stands for the righteousness of his own department, asking Hong Ki if he thinks the police were the ones who made the world as it is today. Hong Ki concedes, but says they’ll change the method now and he’ll be responsible for it. He asks HM’s dad to keep helping him from that position hereon too. HM’s dad stews once Hong Ki leaves and then calls up Safari. He tells Safari Min lost his last chance, aka kill him too.

So Safari heads out.

His first stop is to come see Jin Suk but he just looks at her back and doesn’t talk so she doesn’t even know he’s there. Later, she calls him up and he answers right there, but doesn’t let anything on and simply chitchats with her before ending on, “I love you” just as he hangs up. Once he’s hung up, he stares at the phone. “I love you, understand?” and proceeds to laugh at himself.

That night, Park Sa dials Hong Ki. Park Sa doesn’t let on that he knows while Hong Ki pretends he doesn’t know either. He asks Hong Ki what he needs to do about Chairman Jo. Hong Ki asks to meet up, saying there’s something he definitely has to talk about.

Once he hangs up, he calls Chairman Jo, telling him where Park Sa will be.

As Park Sa sits in the amusement park, he remembers his childhood with Hong Ki. Behind him, Jo’s men start filing in. Hong Ki you bastard!

Soo Min is still at Park Sa’s place and finds another box under his bed. Inside, she finds the bandage box she’d given Park Sa… along with his police identification. But then her phone rings-it’s Joon Young. She says Gi Chul asked her to pass along a message. As she’s leaving, Soo Min calls up Hyung Min. He tells her he’ll be right there.

Safari watches as Hong Ki leaves his office that night and follows him.

Park Sa cocks the gun in his hand and turns back just as the men start moving in to hit him and starts shooting at them. I know, the betrayal was coming and he knew it, but it still must hurt like hell to actually face it!

Once he’s out of bullets, he draws his sword and starts slicing through the men. He’s finally got one man at his mercy and he’s surrounded on all sides. He moves into kill the man, but his thoughts go back to the sound of the ride in the park when he was little and the sound of laughter. Shaking his head, he draws back.

His hand drops and he looks around as if suddenly realizing where his life stands and how much he’s lost-of everything and most of all, himself. He drops the knife.

Hong Ki hands Gi Chul a gun.

Park Sa just stands there as he’s beaten and finally falls to the ground in a bloody mess. Salvation comes in the form of Safari though, who moves in to defend Park Sa, shooting some of the men down and fighting others.

His arrival somewhat brings Park Sa back to his senses and he tries to get up. Safari fights the guys one after the other until one of them stabs him. Park Sa moves in to take down the guys and help Safari, until the sound of a gun draws him to look back.

“Gi Chul,” is all he can say. Gi Chul apologizes while Park Sa asks him if Hong Ki is the one behind him. Gi Chul only apologizes again as Park Sa moves forward, demanding an answer again and again. Until another gun is cocked somewhere and Gi Chul turns around to see who it is, only to be shot in the head… by Hong Ki.

Shi Hyun sees Hong Ki and Hong Ki aims at him and fires again, but this time, Safari moves infront of him and takes the bullet.

Park Sa kneels by his side, “Ahjusshi” but Safari says he’s okay. He removes a usb and gives it to Park Sa. He’d been carrying it all this time but muses he won’t need it anymore and tells him to use it. He apologizes and asks if Park Sa really came for revenge on him. Park Sa apologizes but Safari tells him it’s alright. Park Sa wants to know why he abandoned him at that time and Safari says he wanted Park Sa to leave lest he followed him onto this path. Once again, he apologizes.

Just then, Soo Min and Hyung Min come running up. Safari asks Park Sa to take him to Jin Suk. “I want to see her!” Park Sa promises he will.

Hyung Min watches as Park Sa picks Safari up.

Jin Suk is surprised to see a bloody Park Sa and Safari limp on the sofa. She asks Shi Hyun again and again what’s wrong but Park Sa just stands there. She finally turns to Safari and kneels by him. In a shaking voice, she pleads with him to get up, again and again. Her voice breaks and tears fall as she begs him not to joke anymore. But however she calls out to him, he won’t wake.

Hong Ki is in his office when his phone rings. It’s Park Sa. Hong Ki tells Park Sa he betrayed the police-hence he tried to kill him and that makes Park Sa smirk-really?

Park Sa tells him there’s something he’s really curious about and wants to know why he did it. Hong Ki asks what he’s referring to and Park Sa asks, “Kyung Mi. You promised to protect her well!” Hong Ki bursts out that it was all to protect Park Sa-she knew him better than anyone, if she uncovered everything, it would all go to waste-him being undercover, Safari, Busan-they would’ve lost everything. “I did it for you. Everything to protect you, YOU UNDERSTAND?”

Park Sa disagrees. He did it for himself and shouts at him to cut it out. “I won’t forgive you ever. So don’t use excuses that it’s a misunderstanding or beg for forgiveness.”

He continues. “Stay right where you are (at that place), I will kill you.”

Hong Ki asks him if he’s betraying him and tells Park Sa to bring it on. “I’ll kill you first.”

“Wait for me!”

“Alright. Come!”

Comments:

Okay, that was one emotional episode. There’s emotional revelations on every end that you can’t ignore-Park Sa finds that the only person he’d believed turned out to be the one person who would turn on him in a flash, Jin Suk finally got the wake up call regarding Shi Hyun, Soo Min finds out the truth about Park Sa/Shi Hyun and the relationship between him and Kyung Mi and we cry over the death of a character we’d rarely thought was good. *Sniff sniff* Where are my tissues?!

I like that the reveal about Hong Ki came early in the episode-it’s a wake up call for Park Sa that definitely would not have worked under any other circumstances-especially not as a last minute reveal. Park Sa needed the time to process the blow, and as we see, it all comes crashing on him at the very end of the episode. And now the true essence of Park Sa comes out as he’s vowed to go after Hong Ki-to avenge Kyung Mi.  In this moment, you see the transformation that Shi Hyun to Park Sa has caused Park Sa to become. However badass Park Sa was, there was little selfless in what he did. It was always in the name of his ‘mission’. But the moment Kyung Mi died, his no-one-messes-with-what’s-mine side came out ever stronger and he let his weaknesses show stronger than before. And now, he’s standing at this spot eight years later and he’s lost everything-he can’t ever be free of Park Sa and he cannot totally return to who he was. Realizing that everything he believed in was a lie-that’s not what sent him over the edge, it’s the realization that the lie was the reason he lost Kyung Mi (and Safari). And he’s now a man with a vendetta-a very personal one. Imagine how much more badass Park Sa can be now that he’s got emotions invested into his mission?

Hong Ki’s imagined himself as a reformist-a robin hood figure except he doesn’t realize how destructive his path is. The way he thinks-all he cares about is the end result, there’s no care for how many bodies he riddles the path with as long as he achieves what he wants. On the whole he probably thought of something good-better prosecutors, policemen=better society, but what gives him the authority to make those decisions? And how can he just play with people’s lives so easily? This disregard for others and the vicious doggedness for one’s own benefit is exactly what keeps him totally NOT a robin hood. You may wanna change society, buddy, but that isn;t done by killing off the people living there!

One thing that had me confused-why pour so many resources into Busan if this was the end game? What did they have that was so important? Then again-what exactly is the end game? What does Hong Ki really hope to achieve? Moreover, why stake everything to find that usb he confronted Safari about? Which begs the question-what’s in that usb? Is it a load of material against influential people that can be used to bribe/control them? Is that why Hong Ki seemed so confident when confronting HM’s dad? The next episode will be answering that question I bet, since the USB in question made quite an appearance today. *Sorry if I don’tt make sense here, I really am confused!*

Now that I’m writing these comments, I somehow end up wishing this point had come a little earlier into the series. That would’ve given us a lot more time, energy and resources to exploit the Park Sa vs Hong Ki dynamic. How awesome if Hyung Min, Jin Suk and Soo Min joined hands with him on this? While this one episode could probably still touch on that area, why not give us a bit more meat on it? In this way, we could probably see more of the Hyung Min vs Hong Ki affair. In my mind, I’m envisioning a scenario where Hyung Min realizes the truth about Hong Ki and that ‘said’ man is behind Kyung Mi’s death but feels powerless at exacting revenge, so he rather works with someone *ahem ahem Park Sa* to make sure to bring the guy down with the very law he (Hong Ki) looks down on.

Jin Suk surprised me this episode-both with her reaction to Soo Min x Park Sa and to Safari’s death. She started as one of the best and strongest characters in the series and has undergone so much change for the better since then! She went from the woman who’d kill Soo without a second thought to the one who chooses to face danger (and possibly death) to save Soo. She’d rather cross hell than allow someone she cares about to face anything bad (Shi Hyun and Soo Min). I still don’t buy her ‘I love Shi Hyun’ facade. For me, that’s not selling. She practically raised the guy. What I’d like to interpret is as her realizing that Shi Hyun’s not just her ‘Shi Hyun’ anymore. She’s never seen him place any woman except her in any regard and has therefore always considered herself special to him-which she is, as a noona and an aunt. But now she’s finding Soo Min and him together and she realizes that he’s moved beyond just her and that if she does love him, it’s totally a one sided road for her. (Yes, I know the logical answer is that she loves him as a guy and needs the time to get over him, but I’m not ruining my taste of the series over this one hiccup and would rather associate another meaning to it.)

Safari-I love that the last act of his life was to save Shi Hyun/Park Sa. He’s practically the reason Park Sa entered this life-however false the pretense, and although he could never make Park Sa turn back or take away that wrong that’s happened from his life, he can make sure Park Sa has a life and the chance to change it for himself. As a character, there’s several beats where I LOVED Safari and none where I’ve totally hated him (exasperated, or annoyed yes, but not hated) and I’m glad that the man got a befitting end to his journey. He couldn’t escape this world himself, but he’s given Park Sa the chance to do just that!

Okay, that’s enough for today-I’m beat and it’s 1:34 am! I still have loads more to talk about-especiall about Park Sa, but that will have to wait till tomorrow’s episode! Goodnight for now folks (although I have to wake back up within an hour for sehri!) See you guys with the finale episode tomorrow! 🙂