After a long search, the truth about Head Coach Bae, the “White Wolf”, is finally revealed, and secrets begin to unfold.
Haenam Seo Middle School loses their spot to be the main school after the draft matches, and Coach Yoon fulfills his promise with Coach Chun. The revelation of the past comes just in time to save the team from Coach Chun, and expose the malpractices that still exist at the present. Several farewells are also made in the latest episode.
Marcie Line watches Racket Boys on Netflix
Episode recaps: 01 & 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 & 06 | 07 & 08 | 09 | 10 | 11 | 12
Racket Boys Episode 12 Key Moments
“You all did your best. So let’s not blame other people.”
Hwasun Middle School becomes the main school after Hae Kang loses in his match. The atmosphere of the team becomes tense, and Yong Tae feels guilty because he shared information with Eun-ho. Coach Yoon cheers them up saying that it was only the main school that has been decided, and they can still individually earn their spot through the singles matches.
Coach Yoon spots a cigarette in the gym and reprimands the team of the dangers of smoking. The boys suspect Yong Tae of smoking since he is frustrated with what has recently happened. Later in the episode, it is revealed that Yong Tae is not the smoker suspected.
“Don’t try to fix it by yourself. Just believe in them.”
Coach Yoon calls Head Coach Bae for advice with the team’s tense atmosphere, but Head Coach Bae tells him to just believe in the boys. Yong Tae avoids Hae Kang even though Hae Kang said to him that it’s okay.
Se Yoon and Hae Kang deliver food that his mom cooked to the 90-year-old grandmother in the village whom they also call Big Gran. She notices that Hae Kang looks down, and asks him about it. She assures him that she’ll keep his secret since she is mute. Hae Kang expresses his frustration about what happened with him and Yong Tae.
Inspired by what the daughter of Big Gran said, Hae Kang and Yong Tae meet under the Willow Tree of Truth, and they become honest with each other. They express their real thoughts and feelings about what happened, and Hae Kang tells Yong Tae to forgive Eun-ho despite what he did. They then reconcile with each other.
“I enjoyed all the perks of being an adult, but I didn’t take any responsibility. It was embarrassing.”
Jung In Sol loses in his singles match with Hae Kang, and four from their team except In Sol earns a spot as a player for the National Juniors Sports Festival. Training begins with Coach Chun, and Coach Yoon follows his order not to step foot in the gym.
Coach Chun becomes abusive to Yong Tae and Eun-ho for having single parents and being poor. Coach Yoon receives a text from Head Coach Bae, and he shows it to Coach Noh in the badminton supplies store. Coach Noh unveils the truth that it was not Head Coach Bae who beats up students. He describes the coach and says that he recently got back in Korea from abroad.
Coach Yoon connects the dots and realizes it was Coach Chun whom Coach Noh was describing. He rushes to the gym and asks for help from In Sol’s dad. He arrives in the gym just in time and protects the boys from getting beaten up. Head Coach Bae also arrives in the gym and frightens Coach Chun. Through the help of In Sol’s dad, the people involved in the incident from the past are disciplined.
“My job is done here. I’m leaving now. Get ready to say goodbye.’ No farewells are like that.”
On their way home from buying pulbbang (Korean pancake dumplings), the daughter of Big Gran receives a call and hears that her mother is about to pass away. She asks Mr. Hong to drive faster, so she could arrive there on time.
Coach Yoon’s van breaks down and says it was still functioning okay in the morning. He says he was not aware that it was already in a bad shape, and it might be the last of the van that night.
Later that night, they attend Big Gran’s funeral and see how it’s like a party because of the noise. They see Coach Ra serving at the funeral, and they wonder why. A flashback as to why Coach Ra answered that her worst moment was winning in the Asian Games is shown. Coach Ra cries on their way home, and the boys’ and girls’ badminton team gives her a hug.
“When she passed away, it felt like the world was ending. But life moves on, I guess.”
The city couple reads the will to the children of Big Gran, and it turns out she left all her assets to her youngest daughter who stayed with her until the end. The money from the funeral is the only one left for Big Gran’s remaining three children.
The elders talk about how the city couple helped Big Gran in settling her assets without receiving anything in return. Big Gran is revealed to have left lands and cars to several people. Coach Yoon is one of the people who received Big Gran’s gift of a new van.
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“It’s the same in the city. Right. There are some things people are curious about. How big your house is and what car you drive.”
The woman in the city couple brings side dishes to the daughter of Big Gran, and she shares stories about Big Gran when she and her husband were helping her write her will. The woman asks for the name of Big Gran’s daughter, and it is revealed to be Shin Song-hee. The woman in the city couple also introduces herself as Shin Phil-ja.
Song-hee is amazed at Phil-ja as nobody asks for her name in the countryside. Phil-ja agrees it’s the same in the city, and they become friendly with each other.
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Racket Boys Episode 12 Musings
A lot of events happened in this episode, and the things viewers were curious about are finally answered. Coach Chun was really frightening, and no one would have expected that he was the coach from 10 years ago.
Viewers may feel relief after Head Coach Bae’s name is cleared, and people who were liable are punished. This teaches viewers that rumors are not absolute, and it’s better to see people how they are just like how the boys from Haenam Seo believed in what they have seen in Head Coach Bae.
Big Gran’s death brings new life to the village, and it’s heartwarming to see how she prepared everything before her death. She has been a blessing to everyone in the village before and even after her death.
Besides death, Big Gran’s story about her assets shows the sad reality of how money is more important than family. Such was exhibited in how the city couple never asked anything in return after helping her. However, her children, who never visited her, were only eager for the assets she left even though they were still mourning.
For the first time in the series, the woman in the city couple and the daughter of Big Gran are named. The introduction of their names is symbolic because usually characters are introduced with their names at the beginning of the series. The series was well-crafted enough to represent the exchange of names as the mark of the time the ice is broken between the two women who used to be hostile with each other.
At the end of episode 12, the culprit who smokes in the gym of Haenam Seo is revealed. Viewers shall look forward next week to what his motives are. Other than that, we shall continue to see how the team will prepare and perform at the upcoming competitions.
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Watch the new episodes of Racket Boys every Monday and Tuesday on SBS. English subtitles for international fans are available on Netflix.
Photos: SBS
