Recap Korean Drama "A Model Family" Episode 3

Aug 12, 2022

Episode 3 of A Model Family begins with Hyun-Woo in hospital. We’re in the past and Eun-Joo pleads with her husband not to become like one of the blood-sucking professors. She wants him to be there for the family but for Dong-Ha, he’s determined to try and better his – and their – lives.

The only way he thinks to do that is through a promotion and, of course, this ties in with him losing that money. This seems to be the turning point for Eun-Joo who becomes disillusioned with her husband.

In the present, Dong-Ha heads to the hospital to get patched up after jumping out the window. He has a nasty gash on his arm but he’ll survive… for now at least. Eun-Joo’s words echo in his mind the whole time, taunting him: “Is there anything you can do right now?”

When Dong-Ha heads back home, he finds police crawling all over his neighbour’s house. Of course, given he’s dead and the money is still missing, Dong-Ha is shocked to learn the guy was selling weed.

On his way to his house, Hwang-Chul stops Dong-Ha and begins asking questions, learning he takes “long walks” late at night but takes his car with him.

When Dong-Ha leaves, Hwang-Chul decides to do a deep dive on the guy and figure out what his history and life is really like.

Joo-Hyun continues her investigative efforts in the wake of all this too, watching the marijuana grower’s house and believing he’s not the man they’re after.

When Dong-Ha calls an anonymous tip in about Hwang-Chul’s place, Joo-Hyun sends several agents in, claiming they’ve received a tip about a missing person. They find nothing inside bur she does learn that Dong-Ha is the one who called in the tip.

Not only that, but Kwang-Chul also seems to have nailed Dong-Ha as the one responsible for takin the money, meaning the noose is starting to tighten around our protagonist’s throat right now.

After this murder reaches the ears of Kang-Jun, he contemplates with Yong-Soo whether to kick Kwang-Chul out of the operation completely, given the issues he’s caused.

Dong-Ha isn’t exactly subtle and takes a look at a house and decides to buy it without even looking around. Learning there’s a large hospital in the area, he tells the realtor that he’s in “a bit of a hurry”, trying to push through the sale so he can move in the following day.

Joo-Hyun returns to her team where she implores them to step up their efforts to try and get the money back. This is integral to solving the Sangseon Ring gig but it’s a race against time, given Kwang-Chul is also after it too.

When Dong-Ha returns to the neighbourhood, he finds Kwang-Chul and his men waiting for him. They grab Dong-Ha and lead the guy out into the woods.

Dong-Ha promises to get all their money back despite losing a quarter of it but they refuse to listen. As Dong-Ha is hooded and thrown in a grave -which links back to the start of episode 1 – Kwang-Chul contemplates what to do with him.

Mulling over a picture of Dong-Ha’s family, he eventually decides against killing him and has his men dig Dong-Ha free. Kwang-Chul demands he pay them back, and now he’s going to be part of their family.

Kwang-Chul recognizes that on the surface Dong-Ha is a model citizen so he’s unlikely to be investigated. Under the hood though, he’s a man consumed by desperation, and with a sick child to boot too, Kwang-Chul believes he could be a valuable asset.

The Episode Review

Dong-Ha’s bad decisions eventually come back to bite him as he finds himself tumbling head-first into this dangerous operation with the Sangseon Ring. Could it be that Dong-Ha is eventually the one who takes the fall for the money and comes face to face with Joo-Hyun?

The show is certainly setting itself up for a dramatic confrontation between these two sides but thus far this has been a solid game of cat and mouse that has enthralled and gripped in equal measure. Sure, the story is a tad contrived in parts but there’s a lot to like with this one, making for a really solid watch thus far. Roll on the next chapter!