Pandora: Beneath the Paradise (2023) Episode 4

Episode 4 of Pandora: Beneath The Paradise starts with a flashback to 13 years ago when Hae-soo’s mom committed suicide. The media speculate that she might have killed herself after becoming a person of interest in her husband’s murder. Her death drove Hae-soo deeper into depression and she was unable to attend her mom’s burial.

Her situation prompted Do-jin and Jae-hyun to take her to France. They were hoping that she will feel better being away from the intensive media scrutiny back home. This was when the three of them first met Yoo-ra and Tae-ra. They had hired them to be their tour guides. Tae-ra saved Yoo-ra after she tried to commit suicide. She implored her to find something worth living for because she was also struggling to try to remember her past and knows what Hae-soo was feeling.  She told Hae-soo that she was holding on for her sister’s sake so she should find something to hang on for.

Hae-soo recalls this first encounter as she watches Tae-ra at the ear clinic. Meanwhile, Tae-ra receives a message from Director Kim Seon-deok informing her that she knows who turned her into Hong Tae-ra.  She hurriedly leaves the hospital to meet with the director and Hae-soo follows her. The director shows Tae-ra a video of Ms Jung confessing she was working under Uhm Sang-bae’s orders. Tae-ra is confused as to the motive Kungmo might have had to kill Hae-soo’s dad and turn her into Hong Tae-ra.

Director Kim Seon-deok tells her that it is possible that Kungmo planned for his son to marry Hae-soo to deflect any suspicion that he killed her dad. She theorizes that he also set her up to meet Jae-hyun so she can use her as a weapon against him and make her Jae-hyun’s ultimate weakness.

Director Kim Seon-deok also believes that Kungmo orchestrated her memory recovery just in time when Jae-hyun was considering getting into politics. Tae-ra is shocked but her first concern is Hae-soo.  She is unaware that Hae-soo has discovered the truth and is shattered by the betrayal. However, Hae-soo is determined to make her pay.

Elsewhere, Do-jin is shaken by the truth after learning Jae-hyun had a role in Red’s death. He goes drinking and keeps on thinking about his conversation with his dad. According to Kungmo,  Jae-hyun is more conniving than they thought. Do-jin tried to defend his friend but his dad was adamant that Jae-hyun is not to be trusted. Kungmo then asked him to bring Hatch to Kumjo. Sung-chan joins him at the bar and is clueless about what is going on.

The next morning, Hae-soo goes for a run and remembers the first time Tae-ra returned from France and announced that she and Yoo-ra have relocated to Korea. She was glad to have her friend close and that she was with Jae-hyun.  As she remembers, she can’t help but cry and feel betrayed. She decides to take her frustrations and ruin the garden Tae-ra gifted her. She also throws a stone through Tae-ra’s windows and says she accidentally threw it. Jae-hyun notes that something must be going on with Hae-soo and asks Tae-ra to watch out for her.  He also tells Tae-ra that it was Hae-soo’s idea to hire a bodyguard.

Jae-hyun gets a message that Kungmo is asking to meet and he leaves. He meets with Kungmo who confronts him with a video of Red’s final moments and asks him to give up Hatch. Jae-hyun tells him that he has no plans to give up anything. He brings up an old conversation he overheard between Kungmo and Hae-soo’s dad.

On that fateful day, Hae-soo’s dad found out about the fraudulent schemes going on in Kungmo’s construction business. He was disappointed in his best friend and wanted to start an investigation led by prosecutors. Kungmoa desperately asked him to reconsider but Hae-soo’d dad refused. Kungmo threatened him saying that he will make him regret his decision.

Soon after, Hae-soo’s dad was killed and the corruption case against Kumjo was never opened. Ungmo argues that Jae-hyun has no evidence but Jae-hyun asks him how he can be so sure that he has no evidence. This scares Kungmo and Jae-hyun receives a call from Do-jin asking to meet urgently.

Jae-hyun leaves and warns Kungmo that the world would be shocked to learn what he did. He is implying that he has evidence that Kungmo ordered the assassination of the President.  Immediately, Kungmo calls Uhm Sang-bae and asks if he is sure that no one knows what they did. He warns him that if he failed to be anonymous then he will be the one to take the fall. However, Sang-bae is certain that they are off the hook.

In the meantime, Hae-soo is in pursuit of the truth at Hanwool Mental Hospital. She barges in with cameras and a crew to expose Director Kim Seon-deok but her plans fail. Director Kim Seon-deok was a step ahead and covered up her tracks making the crew and Hae-soo look like fools.  Hae-soo leaves but tells the director that she is onto her and asks her to deliver a warning message to No.50. Her boss is furious with her so Joon-ho lies that Hae-soo has gotten an exclusive with Tae-ra. Hearing this, the boss backs off but he wanted to demote Hae-soo. Later, Joon-ho convinces Hae-soo to do the exclusive interview to save her position as a late-night anchor.

Speaking of Tae-ra, she goes to the library to investigate Kumjo construction company. She is followed by Pilseung who helps her hide from Sang-bae. She asks Pilseung to help her research the company. She is rather warm to him and asks for them to know each other better. Pilseung also agrees that he won’t tell her husband what she is looking into.

As they leave, she accidentally pours coffee on him and apologizes. When Pilseung cleans his shirt, we see that he has a number branded on his chest. He is No.105 which means he is working for Director Kim Seon-deok and is Tae-ra’s brother, the one thought to be dead.

On the other hand, Director Kim Seon-deok fires Yoo-tae after he failed to kill Tae-ra. She gives him money and sends him away. Yoo-tae is hesitant to leave but Director Kim Seon-deok leaves him no option.

At Hatch, Sung-chan loses it after learning the truth. Do-jin is also angry and they confront Jae-hyun together. Jae-hyun insists that their project didn’t fail and they can proceed to human trials. He argues that the patch is perfect and Sung-chan is disappointed and asks if he is also planning to kill humans.  Jae-hyun brings up Kyo-jin and says that they ought to try for him. They feel guilty because a few years back they had a bet to ride bikes on some rough roads on a hill. Kyo-jin’s brake failed to work and he got into an accident. He has since been in a coma but there is a way they have managed to create a simulation and act like he is able to have conversations with them.

His mom is especially hopeful that Kyo-jin will get better. She doesn’t trust Do-jin who is not her biological son. Kungmo had an affair and brought him home as his son. No one knows who Do-jin’s mom is and Kyo-jin’s mom suspects that Do-jin hurt his elder brother to take his position as an heir. Do-jin is trying his best to fix his brother and that is why they started the company.

After the conversation, Jae-hyun heads home and introduces his new campaign team to Tae-ra. She is not pleased to learn that they will be working from their home for the time being. Hae-soo also arrives and she makes a cutting remark about whether Tae-ra thinks she deserves to be a first lady.  Tae-ra is confused by Hae-soo’s cold nature towards her but a call from Director Kim Seon-deok clears her confusion.

Director Kim Seon-deok calls and informs her that Hae-soo knows she is No.50 and worries that Hae-soo will pose a threat to them Tae-ra is adamant that she will not get rid of Hae-soo. Tae-ra realizes that Hae-soo has been on to her for a while. Things are amped up when Hae-soo picks up Ji-woo from school without telling Tae-ra.  She takes the kids to dinner and Tae-ra is worried after learning she took her daughter.  Tae-ra blames Pilseung for not taking care of Ji-woo well. He remembers a conversation he had with Director Kim Seon-deok. He is under the impression that Tae-ra abandoned him and hates her. Tae-ra calls Hae-soo but she is evasive about where they are so she tracks her down and they get into a car pursuit.

At the same time, things come to a head between Do-jin and Yoo-ra after Kungmo finds Yoo-ra. She had mistakenly visited Do-jin only to find Kungmo in the house. She begs him to allow her to be happy with her son. Do-jin arrives in time to stop her and his dad slaps him and asks what he was thinking to get together with Yoo-ra.

Yoo-ra admits that she was the one who initiated the relationship. He brings up his past affair and says he won’t have Kyo-jin’s mom blame him for his son’s philandering ways. He orders Do-jin to ship Yoo-ra abroad and he agrees.

Do-jin drags her out and Yoo-ra threatens to expose their affair to Hae-soo. Do-jin warns her not to hurt Hae-soo or he will kill her. Sung-chan watches this interaction and is heartbroken to realize Yoo-ra was playing him. Yoo-ra heads to Sung-chan’s house and starts rummaging about looking for something.  On the other hand, Do-jin’s dad orders him to get rid of Yoo-ra completely and Do-jin responds that he understands. He is angry that Yoo-ra messed with him.

Back at Sung-chan’s house, Yoo-ra is on the phone with someone saying she has searched Sung-chan’s house and can’t find it. Sung-chan arrives to find her discovering what she was looking for. He confronts her and asks her if she ever loved him or simply used him to get her hands on his Hatch research. He thinks that Yoo-ra is doing this for Do-jin. They get into a fight and Yoo-ra runs away.

Outside, it is raining heavily and there is someone chasing her. It is unclear whether it is Sung-chan or Do-jin as the man’s hood is pulled down and it’s hard to identify him.

Yoo-ra runs for her life while trying to call Tae-ra but she is not picking up. Tae-ra is ignoring her calls as she is in a car pursuit with Hae-soo. Yoo-ra thinks she has escaped but her assailant manages to catch her and starts choking her out. Concurrently, Tae-ra gets distracted while trying to stop Hae-soo and is about to get into a head-on accident with a lorry.

The episode ends with a tree burning after being struck by lightning and what looks like Yoo-ra’s leg dangling on a tree.

The Episode Review

This episode was a rollercoaster. We learnt a few things and were shocked to see the ending. The lies and deceit finally got to Yoo-ra but who killed her and why? I don’t think it is Sung-chan but it might be Do-jin or the man who she was working for. Also, what was in the USB drive she took from Sung-chan’s house and why was it important? Who was she talking to on the phone? What did she want to tell Tae-ra when she was being chased? I don’t think she was calling only for help.

Why would Kungmo want Tae-ra to remember who she was? It would be better for him if she never remembered. I don’t think Director Kim Seon-deok‘s theory is right.  She is most probably messing with Tae-ra but Kungmo is still suspicious.

It is sad that Tae-ra is so close to her long-lost brother but he hates her and thinks he abandoned her. Director Kim Seon-deok is truly a master manipulator. I still can’t understand how she got away with training young kids to become killing machines. Someone powerful must be backing her up.

Next week’s episode is bound to get more interesting. Let us know your theories and what you hope to see.