Recap Korean Drama "Shadow Detective (2022)" Episode 3

Right from where the last episode kept us as well as Taek-rok hanging off the cliff, the new episode picks up on the moments between the hooded figure and him. While the detective thinks that the anonymous person is out for his blood, he ends up getting him up instead and once he is, he bolts into the dark woods.

On the investigation scene, possibly the remains of Han Se-young are recovered by the search party, and the murder weapon is also found beside them. Journalists and reporters circle the perimeter for answers as to why the investigation for a cold case had picked up again. Meanwhile, her mother makes it to the scene as well. She’s been looking for her for the past ten years and now her remains are finally discovered above the Stone Tower, where her mother went looking for her during the winter but had to give up because of the frozen ground.

Taek-rok outs his part in fabricating the evidence to catch Choi Kyo-il which ultimately led them to close the case. Later, at the station, all detectives gathered around and discussed the intriguing resurfacing of the ten-year-old case. Jin-han takes back his initial allegations against the veteran and advises that they should rethink their strategy for Hyun-seok’s murder as, except for circumstantial evidence, there’s no solid proof against their colleague. Detective Sung-a is surprised to see Jin-han go back on his words.

The regret of not having found the young student, Han Se-young, back in the day creeps up on Taek-rok’s conscience, adding yet another scarring ghost of the past to his inner torment. At the same time, the no-caller ID launches its act again. Taek-rok assures him that he won’t die before catching him.

Shaming him for his deeds, the hooded figure promises to remind him of all his sins and that they’re now partners and in it together, holding a joint investigation just like Taek-rok couldn’t have found the girl without him. Bringing up Hyun-seok, on the other side of the phone, he adds that Taek-rok is responsible for his junior’s death because he kept quiet about his corrupt ways for too long.

After the call, he looks into his therapist’s gallery of photographs, all capturing him from behind. Other than that, a web novel she’s working on is opened on her computer. One of the dialogues therein reminds him of the last message left by the caller. Once his therapist walks back into the room, he asks for her phone and confirms that she isn’t the caller after all. He proceeds to ask her about the dialogue and his photos, to which she adds that the former is something he says often during his hours of therapy and the latter are her references to complete her illustrations for the web novel.

In addition to this, she also mentions that he should receive a thorough examination as he tends to succumb to his guilt, and isn’t fit to be working with the police. Yet somehow he’s managed to complete thirty years but now he’s exhausted himself and can’t go on further. Nevertheless, the caller’s voice keeps haunting him in the light of day and he can’t choose to back down now.

Chief Gwang-su sits in for a late lunch with his respectable friends who are quite insensitive in discussing how bitter Hyun-seok was with them and insinuate other things that the Chief finds uncomfortable to hear. Taek-rok sets out to find the location of the ‘Friend’ and just as he’s on the lookout he gets a call from him again. His next mission on a deadline of 24 hours is about catching the real culprit of the arson case for which Yang Ki-tae was falsely accused. Finally, the no-caller ID is discarded as Taek-rok saves the number as his ‘Friend’.

Coming back to his residence, he approaches the next-door neighbor Ki-tae but it doesn’t look like he’s home. Being the detective he is, he unlocks the door on his accord and is shocked to find a mystery board veiled behind a curtain, crossing out Chief Hyun-seok. The detective catches hold of Ki-tae once he’s back and raises questions about the board. Ki-tae reveals that he met the Section Chief days before his murder and demanded he state his innocence.

As soon as he mentioned reaching out to Taek-rok, Hyun-seok got agitated and told him to stand his ground and that he’ll manage and help sort everything out. Ki-tae also adds that Hyun-seok’s demeanor scared him. Taek-rok starts probing into what actually happened, and that’s when Ki-tae discloses that he’d been framed by the Section Chief in the past and the victim was probably loaded with money to keep it under wraps as well.

Applying for a retrial isn’t feasible so he pleads Taek-rok again to help him out. Asking Ki-tae to stay put, Taek-rok gathers all the links listed by him on the board. On the other end of the road, Detective Bae keeps a watch on Taek-rok and Gwang-su at the community center later.

Taek-rok calls Sung-a and asks if Jin-han still suspects him, once she clarifies that he’s opted for a different approach, the older detective asks him to lend his people for a day’s investigation. Eventually agreeing to the request, he asks for a detailed explanation of the matter later. While Taek-rok, with Sung-a’s assistance, starts rehashing the arson case, Jin-han digs into the leads of Hyun-seoks’ case.

Shadow Detective Episode 3 Ending
Jin-han and Detective Han interrogate the taxi driver who drove Taek-rok back to his residence on the night of the murder. They start considering the likeliness of Taek-rok being framed and Jin-han asks Han to look further into the Chief and his surroundings discreetly.
Sung-a and Kyung-chan try their hand at appealing to the tastes of the people living in the slums in order to get some insight into the arson case’s victim’s current status. Simultaneously, Detective Han and Jin-han drive through the Chief’s locality, with the former revealing that their town of Geumo revolves around the Chief, with him being like the sun. He also adds that the Chief and his confidants are basically untouchable in these surroundings. Thereafter, it’s also divulged to the viewers that Jin-han had been listening in to conversations held between the Chief and his allies earlier at the restaurant.

Connecting the ties of the past, Taek-rok narrows down the possible suspects of the arson case to Chief Seo’s son and the hospital director’s son, and the only one needed to confirm the actual perpetrator is the victim himself. However, that’s another dead-end Taek-rok must deal with as the victim was reported dead three days ago.

In an investigation taking place on the parallel end, Detective Bae checks out the security footage from two months ago to keep tabs on Chief Hyun-seok.
Dismayed by the failure, Taek-rok returns to Neoul Gosiwon where the ‘Friend’ has left him a conspicuous package, which he’s afraid to open but once he does after much consideration, he finds a meal for the night inside. The ‘Friend’ extends the deadline to the next day and confirms that the meal isn’t poisoned. Taek-rok asks Ki-tae about working under Cheon Kiduk and tells him to ping him if Mr. Cheon tries to reach out again despite having cut ties earlier.

Jin-han arrives at Taek-rok’s quarters, Neoul Gosiwon, but before he reaches the veteran, someone else has already silently broken into his room, with a knife in hand.

Shadow Detective Episode 3 Review
“It’s a world where the haves are the only ones who prosper”, Detective Han lays this harsh reality down in the second half of the episode, and it reflects the tonal theme of the series, which it’s gradually expanding upon with every episode. With a strict no-nonsense demeanor, each episode of Shadow Detective is treading into the space of a dreadful reality that is submerged in our own. Calling out corrupt leads, the new additions to the police force are actually on the same page as the older counterparts, some of whom are still as authentic as ever and wish to attain justice for those who can’t themselves.

Taek-rok’s character, presented as a grumpy middle-class man, is one of those familiar figures caught and entangled in the web woven by authoritative and dishonest higher-ups. He doesn’t have much to fall back on, even the quarters he’s living in are not what he must’ve envisioned for himself despite having contributed 30 years of his life to a job that doesn’t even guarantee his (or even his family’s) safety. In him, we find a substantiated representation of a man who’s cornered by his life’s circumstances, compelled to even break contact with his family.

The only issue I have is with the visuals of the episodes, which tend to get a tinge bit darker, thus, rendering us unable to view the screen with comfort at some junctures. Except that, everything else is falling in place with all characters being utilized as needed and their dynamics building up with the rest while the mystery takes care of itself and captivates our senses.

Shadow Detective Episode 3 Recap and Review: Every End Has a Beginning and Vice Versa
This episode particularly made me feel for Taek-rok. Being the veteran detective, he’s often left alone in the dark with his thoughts and scars while having to deal with a past that has obviously left him traumatized. The series, though slightly at the moment, is also bringing up the need for therapy for detectives, and it’s something we can all do with too. Unbottling a box of past horrors isn’t a pretty sight and no one should have to deal with its aftermath alone.