Pandora: Beneath the Paradise (2023) Episode 3

Episode 3 of Pandora: Beneath The Paradise starts with Tae-ra recalling how she got bitten by a feral dog and lost an ear. She was running away with her brother and was captured by Yoo-tae. Then, she was introduced to Director Kim Seon-deok who took away her brother. Director Kim Seon-deok insisted that she trains hard and does everything she asked if she wants to see her brother again.

Tae-ra became No.50 and focused on being the best trainee in hopes of reuniting with her brother.  The next time she met her brother, she realized that Director Kim Seon-deok lied to her and took her brother away to train him to become an assassin.

Back in the present, Director Kim Seon-deok and Tae-ra meet again in Jae-hyun’s office where he is announcing his presidential candidacy. Tae-ra insists on knowing what the director is planning regarding her husband and daughter and warns her not to get close to her husband. Director Kim Seon-deok laughs sarcastically and says that it will be a tragedy if Jae-hyun lost his dream to be president because of Tae-ra’s past.

As Tae-ra leaves to check on Ji-woo, Jae-hyun introduces her as his wife and the media turns their interest to her. Later, Jae-hyun asks what happened to Tae-ra after seeing a wound on her neck. Tae-ra claims she had a minor accident and inquires why Jae-hyun never told her about his decision to join politics. Jae-hyun says that he was under the impression that she will trust his decision and Tae-ra leaves to take their daughter home.

Jae-hyun remains behind and celebrates with Do-jin and Sung-chan. Jae-hyun asks them to trust him and they promise to take care of Hatch. Do-jin asks him to try and convince Tae-ra. Jae-hyun heads home and tries to talk to his wife. Tae-ra is worried about her past and thinks it will affect him.

She tries to explain her worries but Jae-hyun insists that she is a good woman and will protect her to the end. Their daughter interrupts their conversation and Tae-ra lets it slip that she is curious about Director Kim Seon-deok. Jae-hyun explains that the director is helping the company and leaves to take their daughter to bed.  Tae-ra remembers she left her car behind when she fought with Yoo-tae and decides to return to the scene.

Elsewhere, Hae-soo is on a call with Joon-ho. Joon-ho is updating her about their informant who was kidnapped, Ms Jung. Hae-soo believes something happened when Ms Jung was taken. After the phone call, Do-jin talks to her and apologizes for being inconsiderate about her father’s case. He also tries to lie to her that she misunderstood what happened with the earrings. Hae-soo tells him that she doesn’t care what it was but he better not get caught or she will send the divorce papers to his father’s office.  Do-jin insists she can trust him and she hopes he means it.

Hae-soo soon gets a message on her phone leading her to Tae-ra’s abandoned car. There she meets Tae-ra and worries that she got into a car accident. Tae-ra asks her not to worry and tries to get her to leave but Hae-soo insists on knowing what’s going on. As they talk, Tae-ra spots a man on a bike and realizes they put a bomb in the car so she moves to protect Hae-soo.

Hae-soo drops Tae-ra home and thanks her for saving her. She assures Tae-ra that she loves her and asks her to stop keeping secrets from her. Tae-ra feels guilty and hopes she will soon find out who gave them this fate. She calls the director and visits her at the hospital for a confrontation.

Director Kim Seon-deok congratulates her for surviving and marrying a competent man like Jae-hyun. She is curious why Tae-ra is protecting Hae-soo and even offers to hire her back. Tae-ra accuses her of trying to cover up their crimes by killing her and Hae-soo. Director Kim Seon-deok clarifies that Tae-ra was the one who first visited the hospital with Hae-soo. She is under the impression that they wanted to attack her.

Tae-ra tells her that she lost her memories 15 years ago and has no clue who gave her the new identity. She explains she only got her memory after visiting the hospital. The director is not sure she is telling the truth. Tae-ra warns her again not to get close to her family. She tells the director she is yet to forgive her for what she did to her and her little brother.

In a flashback, we see a young Tae-ra on a motorbike with her little brother trying to escape with Yoo-tae hot on her heels. They get into an accident and Yoo-tae runs over her little brother. Tae-ra rushes to help him and is hit by the car and thrown off a cliff. She then falls into the water.

Remembering this, Tae-ra feels like killing the director but she needs her to find out who ordered the hit on Hae-soo’s dad. She leaves behind a diamond necklace as payment for the information and asks the director to investigate. Later, Director Kim Seon-deok calls someone and asks them to contact Hae-soo.

The next morning, Hae-soo runs into Jae-hyun and expresses her concerns about Tae-ra’s safety. She asks him to look into hiring a bodyguard for his wife. Jae-hyun is shocked to hear Tae-ra’s car was in an explosion and a suspicious man broke into their house.  He leaves to meet Do-jin and Sung-chan for a climbing excursion. While there, he shares the good news that Director Kim Seon-deok will help help to carry out the human trial phase of their research. This is what they discussed when she visited his office. His two friends are elated to hear the news. To celebrate they decide to visit Kyo-jin who is the motivation behind the project.

At home, Do-jin’s parents get into a fight because of the mom’s conversation with Kyo-jin. It is strange because Kyo-jin seems like a simulation, he is not really there. The dad thinks the mom is being selfish and torturing Kyo-jin more. The mom thinks he is giving up on their eldest son.

On the other side of town, Hae-soo meets with Director Kim Seon-deok to ask about Ms Jung. She is shocked when the director tells her that Ms Jung is their patient who suffers from a mental illness. The director even takes her to see Ms Jung in her room. Ms Jung is too heavily medicated to speak and can’t answer Hae-soo’s questions. After Hae-soo leaves, Director Kim Seon-deok brings Ms Jung to her office and questions her. Ms Jung confesses that she was ordered to contact Hae-soo by Uhm Sang-bae.

It turns out that  Uhm Sang-bae is Do-jin’s father right man. He is currently carrying out an order for Jang Kunmo who wants him to keep an eye on Jae-hyun and find Yoo-tae.  He wants to find Jae-hyun’s weekends and also control his philandering son.

Tae-ra also visits Yoo-ra’s store and finds Uhm Sang-bae’s contact card. She later decides to visit Doctor Kang and is surprised to learn the doctor resigned. She tries to get his personal information but the receptionist refuses to help her.  A car alarm sounds and Tae-ra leaves to find someone on a motorbike driving off after setting her car alarm off.

At the broadcast station, Hae-soo shares her disappointment with Joon-ho about Ms Jung being a fake informant. Joon-ho confirmed that the director wasn’t lying. Her boss interrupts their conversation and informs them that the top headline has been changed to focus on Tae-ra’. The media and citizens alike are curious to know who she is.

Tae-ra arrives at the gate of their residency to find herself surrounded by journalists. A man on a bike rescues her and drops her home. Jae-hyun informs her that the man is her new, Cha Pilseung. Tae-ra says she is not comfortable with the arrangement but Jae-hyun tells her it is for her safety.

Jae-hyun later goes to Sung-chan’s and Do-jin and Sung-chan offer to lend him Hatch’s PR team before he hires his campaign team. They also offer to monitor online posts on Tae-ra for the time being. Something falls but they ignore it and continue with their conversation. It turns out that Yoo-ra is in the house.

As Do-jin and Jae-hyun leave Sung-chan’s house, Yoo-ra reveals herself to Do-jin. He asks her why she changed her number and is angry that she intentionally left her earring in his house. He tells her that they are done. He points out that she should be careful and take better care of Tae-ra as Jae-hyun is running for president. Yoo-ra says that she is done taking care of Tae-ra and wants to live her life. Do-jin insists that they are still over and warns her not to mess with Hae-soo.

Yoo-ra goes back in and we learn she has also been secretly seeing Sung-chan. He even wants them to be open about their relationship and get married. Yoo-ra tells him that they can publicly announce their relationship after the election. Later when Sung-chan sleeps she roams the house looking for something.

Later that night, Hae-soo gets a package in her car. Within this, there is a photo of Tae-ra with Yoo-ra and another lady. There is also a note asking her to contact the real Tae-ra’s friend Sophie who lives in France. The person was kind enough to give her Sophie’s number on the note. Hae-soo is surprised to learn that Tae-ra might be a fake.

The next day, Pilseung plays with Ji-woo and Hae-soo visits Tae-ra. She tells her that her old friend Sophie sent her a photo. Tae-ra tells her she doesn’t remember Sophie and after her accident, she got a face surgery and lost her memories. Hae-soo had already spoken to Sophie and she starts getting suspicious after seeing Tae-ra’s ears. She leaves hurriedly and Tae-ra gets a message to confirm her plastic surgery later that night.

Night rolls by and Jae-hyun spots Dr Hang trying to delete the Red files. Sadly, the project was not successful and Red developed complications after the launch. Jae-hyun knew this and has been hiding the truth. He is also the one who planned to have Red killed by conniving with the man sent by Myung-rok.

He is adamant that no one should find out and takes out the hard drive to get rid of the evidence. He throws it into a fire but someone picks it up before it is destroyed. In a new twist, the hard drive ends up with Kunmo who shows it to Do-jin.

In the meantime, Tae-ra visits the hospital for her ear surgery and Hae-soo follows. She realizes that Tae-ra has the same ear injury as No.50 and begins to wonder if  Tae-ra was involved in her dad’s murder.

The Episode Review

Pandora has delivered another fascinating episode full of thrills and intrigue with just the right dash of mystery. It turns out Jae-hyun is not the good boy we thought he is, and Sung-chan will be so hurt when he learns the truth about Red’s death.

Yoo-ra keeps tangling herself in many lies and sooner or later, it will all catch up with her. She is using Sung-chan to find something and it is probably related to Hatch. Is she working with Jae-hyun to delete Sung-chan’s files on Red the night Red died?

I am looking forward to what Hae-soo will do once she confirms Tae-ra is a fake. Things are about to get interesting, let us see what truths the next episode will unfold.