The fourth episode of Fifties Professionals turns up the heat on all fronts, with Ho-myeong grappling with his conflicting roles as a husband and father and his perilous double life. Criminal conspiracies continue to grow behind the scenes, and several characters find themselves pushed closer to life-changing decisions.
Ho-myeong Has to Pay for His Secret Mission
The episode begins right after Ho-myeong’s violent encounter with In-goo’s men. He manages to overpower the gang members, despite being outnumbered, and stops In-goo before he can escape. But more attackers arrive, and Ho-myeong has to create a diversion by cutting the power to the building and slipping away.
In his hidden pod, he quietly tends to his wounds and stitches himself up, choosing once more to suffer in silence rather than tell his family the truth.
The full price of his secret activities is revealed when he finally gets home. Oran is furious when she finds out Ho-myeong forgot to pick up their son Ji-woo from school. Ji-woo has to walk home by himself, another victim of Ho-myeong’s increasingly divided priorities.
Oran clearly doesn’t trust Ho-myeong anymore, and tries to spin his injuries as a motorcycle accident. His lies keep stacking, and their marriage has cracks.
The decision that changed everything a look back
The flashback is set seven years back in time to a young Ho-myeong talking about his future with Mr. Jo.
Oran was pregnant then, and Ho-myeong had decided to marry her, despite the protests of those around him. This scene tells us how desperate he was to create a stable family life.
The difference is painful to return to the present. Now Ho-myeong knows he is failing to keep his promise to keep his work and his family safe.
Chairman Do Sees an Opening”
Meanwhile, In-goo wakes up in hospital after the attack. Chairman Do pays him a visit and subtly warns him that his recent failures are drawing unwanted attention.
Chairman Do is not worried, but scheming his next move.
He learns more about In-goo’s highly successful beef jerky business, only to find that it is actually being used as a front for smuggling and distributing drugs from China. The huge profits immediately attract his attention.
Chairman Do immediately plots to get rid of In-goo and take over the operation himself, possibly connecting it to his casino business and expanding his criminal empire.
Young-ae Moves Closer to the Truth
Young-ae continues to investigate the murder of Kwon Soon-bok and the mysterious Hwasan sect. Her trail leads her towards Yeongseon Island, a place that seems to be increasingly linked to a series of unsolved mysteries.
Mr. Jo tries to warn her to watch her step but Young-ae is determined to follow the evidence wherever it may lead.
She is standing square in the way of dangerous enemies, because she refuses to back down.
Je-sun, Nam-il Becomes Targets
As bigger conspiracies unfold, Je-sun’s problems only get worse.
In-goo’s men, thinking he is connected to the masked vigilante, raid his workplace for answers. Miss Lee thinks quickly, warning Je-sun just in time to escape before they arrive.
He flees with Nam-il on a scooter, leading to a frenzied chase through the streets. Unfortunately, things get even worse for them when Je-sun soon loses his job and is fired.
They have no stable income and no safe place to live and the situation becomes more and more desperate.
Beom-ryung Finally Connects the Dots
Away from the criminal drama, one of the lighter storylines in the episode is Beom-ryung.
He helped a woman in a rainstorm and the two bonded over classic actor Chow Yun-fat movies. Their conversation goes well and she ends up asking him out to a movie.
For a moment it seems as if Beom-ryung’s luck is finally changing.
But due to circumstances he misses the date much to his disappointment and frustration.
Politics Grows Dirtier and Dirtier
Episode 4 also sees the political conflict around Chief Han escalate.
Han meets with his rival, Candidate Kim, supposedly for a friendly chat. But the meeting soon turns out to be an attempted bribe.
Han offers to fund Kim’s orphanage if he agrees to withdraw from the election race.
Kim is vehemently against the idea, and gets one of the best lines in the episode when she says that politics may be scary, but it’s scarier to let someone like Han get into power.
The exchange suggests that Han’s ambitions are well beyond ordinary politics.
Young-ae Falls into a Trap
One of the most suspenseful sequences in the episode is when Young-ae heads to Heaven Hotel on Yeongseon Island.
She directly challenges In-goo with an old case of espionage concerning events of ten years ago. In-goo pretends not to recognize her accusations, but her investigation is putting him on the defensive.
Chairman Do soon hears about the meeting and begins to pull strings behind the scenes.
He sees Young-ae as a threat to his operation and subtly encourages actions that could silence her for good.
Mr. Jo Hears of a Plot to Murder
Mr. Jo comes to Heaven Capital pretending he needs a small loan. He plants a recording device during the visit in secret.
The bet wins.
In the recording, he hears that In-goo has come to a terrifying conclusion: killing Young-ae may be the only way to protect himself from exposure.
He realizes the threat and tries to reach out to Young-ae desperately before it’s too late.
An Earth-Shattering Cliffhanger
Young-ae leaves to meet Beom-ryung at Hillside Cafe, followed by In-goo’s men.
When Mr. Jo calls with a warning and Ho-myeong rushes to the scene, the damage has already been done.
Witnesses say a group of men stormed into the cafe looking for a woman, before they grabbed her, shoved her into a car and drove off.
The episode ends with Ho-myeong arriving and finding Beom-ryung waiting nearby, setting up what could be a desperate rescue mission in episodes to come.
Review: E7
Episode 4 does a good job of speeding up the series but not losing any character development. Most storylines move along at a good clip, providing a greater sense of momentum than past entries.
The biggest strength is still the internal conflict of Ho-myeong. His secret activities are making it increasingly difficult to maintain a normal family life and the emotional strain is finally beginning to show.
Chairman Do also turns out to be one of the most lethal characters on the show. In-goo acts on impulse, whereas Chairman Do is patient and strategic and will not hesitate to sacrifice anyone for his ambitions.
The last minutes of the episode are tense indeed. It seems that Young-ae has fallen into a trap. The question is, can Ho-myeong save Young-ae before it is too late?
Episode 4 is one of the strongest chapters of the season so far, with multiple storylines converging and multiple characters at critical turning points.