Ending Ma Tae-hwa’s evil run, Taewon Police and Firefighters work together to secure decisive proof to lock him in the 8th episode of The First Responders.
Making a move to an unfinished business from a heartbreaking case he had, Jin Ho-gae is eager to seal that fight despite his own father blocking his intention.
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The First Responders Episode 8 Highlights
Previously, Ho-gae almost risked his life apprehending Mo Tae-hwa who was escaping with his secretary. Fortunately, Seol was able to revive him before getting a need surgery. Pressed with time, Pil, Seol and Do-jin try to find evidence to keep the villain under police custody because Ho-gae is still unconscious and can’t help in the case.
“You can’t even walk on your own, can you?” All your life, others have done everything for you. Is there anything you’ve done yourself, loser?”
In the nick of time, Ho-gae thinks of a way to buy time and possibility to detain Ma Tae-hwa. He asks NFS scientist Yoon Hong to do a live analysis of Tae-hwa’s gait after picking Seol’s observation that the junkie has a unique walk.
The result finally cracked Tae-hwa’s alibi. Unknown to them, Chief Prosecutor Jin and Tae-hwa’s father are playing Go while talking about the aftermath of Tae-hwa’s evil deed and hubris.
Meeting again for the formal questioning, Ho-gae lets Tae-hwa go through the five stages of grief. He even consoles him adorably when he reached the depression stage. Inevitably, Tae-hwa confessed to his crime and a video recording given by his father supported the story.
“Investigation requires science, but arrest requires an array of art forms.”
Following the arrest of Tae-hwa, Ho-gae and Pil continue the investigation on the hitman who almost killed the junkie. They were led to Daemu Group which seems to be having illegal activities aside from the evil money lending business they are in.
For Ho-gae’s latest imaginative trap, they lured the hitman after commissioning Daemu Group to kill someone. Assigning Chief Baek and Pil as the main actors, they secure the hitman which aided the arrest of Daemu Group’s CEO, Jung Sun-chul.
Getting a tip that a detective at Taewon Seoul station was the culprit who planted the evidence; Ho-gae meets his father who he deduced to have helped Mo Tae-hwa. But his father has a sound alibi as the prosecutor associated with Ma Tae-hwa took the fall of tampering evidence.
Chief Prosecutor Jin reminds his son that he can’t beat him since he’s looking far ahead. His father also reiterates that fiddling with evidence is easy for people behind Ma Tae-hwa.
Albeit not fully pinning down the biggest fish in the elaborate crime case they investigated, Ho-gae and his team go for a celebration that also coincides with Seol’s party after getting a coveted badge for her exemplary work in saving someone’s life.
It turns out her achievement is when she saved Ho-gae who nearly died, if not for Seol bringing him back to life. Spotting Ho-gae alone, Seol affirms she indeed revived him. She tells him to be good to her, but he rebuts that she should not be good to him, since he does not want to feel indebted.
Reasoning that she only did her job, Seol motioned to walk away, but halts her step when she heard him say that he will pay her back since they are “especially related”.
“I never meant to become a good son, but I became one.”
The cheery gathering turns somber when the owner of the restaurant recognized Ho-gae. Furious, she throws bad words at him and even slaps his face. Stepping out of the restaurant, Do-jin and Seol follow and try to unload his emotional pain, to no avail.
The next day, Chief Prosecutor Jin finds his son tending to Hyun-seo’s memorial place. Flashbacks revealed how estranged they had become and it involved Hyun-seo. His father’s connection to Assemblyman Ma Joong-do appears to be the reason why Hyun-seo who is dear to him met her demise.
Before leaving his son, Chief Prosecutor Jin tells Ho-gae to leave the neighborhood. But staring at Hyun-seo’s smiling portrait, he is more determined to do something that would finally emancipate him from the guilt of her death.
The First Responders Episode 8 Musings
Continuously impressing viewers with the featured fresh police procedures in probing crime cases, The First Responders parades modern investigative methods like the live gait analysis, technicalities of blood sample results and so on.
Interestingly, the fast-paced situations tackled by Taewon Police and Fire House still were able to nurture a “special relationship”. However, the pictured love triangle, hopefully, won’t push through anymore and just let these civil servants do their jobs in crime busting and saving lives.
On second thought, if Yoon Hong pushes through her obvious liking toward Do-jin, then we won’t be feeling bad, particularly because he does not have any bad bread and is genuinely nice.
Shaping up to unearth the scar from Ho-gae’s past case in the next episode, based on the fury of Hyun-seo’s grandmother shown in the waning seconds of the series, it would be another brace-ourselves moment.
Now that we have an idea of the relationship between Assemblyman Ma and Chief Prosecutor Jin, we can help Ho-gae find the best detective lightsaber to defy his father. Definitely, we hope there’s a little ounce of fatherly love left for CP Jin. In case there’s none, Ho-gae has supportive people behind him to help accomplish his mission.
Be enthralled at how the police and firefighter cooperate to save lives in dire situations in The First Responders on SBS every Saturday. International fans can watch it on Disney+!
Photos: SBS Drama | SC Disney+
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