The Defects – K-drama Episode 1 Recap & Review

The Review Geek

3 days ago

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Episode 1 of The Defects Season 1 starts with a flashback to 2011. The episode introduces us to two men driving to what looks like a run-down warehouse. One of the men asks Tae-sik to take care of something and promises him good money. He asks if Tae-sik is curious about the job, but Tae-sik insists he doesn't want to know. He only wants the job to pay his mother's hospital bills.
Shortly after, we see Tae-sik drag a big black bag and put it in a big metal cylinder. He is about to add a cement mixture when the bag moves. Upon opening the bag, Tae-sik is taken aback to see a young girl begging him to spare her life. He pulls his gun and fires a shot.
Presently, a young woman makes her way downtown. She enters a closed bathhouse and cooks noodles for her younger siblings. There are currently four kids secretly living in the bathhouse. They have surveillance cameras everywhere and monitor the police radio. One of the girls, So-mi, is sulking and wants chicken instead of noodles. To cheer her up, A-hyeon promises to get them chicken.
The kids sneak out of the bathhouse, and Tae-sik is immediately notified of their movements. He is tracking them with his phone. To get money to buy chicken, the kids infiltrate an illegal gambling house. They start a fight with the guards while two of the kids, So-mi and Joo-an, open the safe.
After an intense fight, the kids win, but they only take enough money to buy chicken. They leave the gambling house before the police arrive.
After getting their beloved chicken, the kids get a message from Tae-sik, asking where they are. They hurry back home, where Tae-sik is waiting to train them. As they shoot at their targets, each kid relives the moment his or her adoptive parents betrayed them. They envision shooting their parents and getting revenge. Based on their memories, these kids suffered a lot at the hands of these parents. Later, Tae-sik warns them not to leave the house again if they don't want to endanger all their lives.
So-mi lashes out at Tae-sik, blaming him for their sad existence. However, A-hyeon reminds her that they all wanted to live, and Tae-sik saved them. Later, Tae-sik talks to A-hyeon and shares his plan for the kids. He wants to send them out of Korea, where they can start a new life.
He already organised a small boat to take the kids away soon. He asks A-hyeon to wait for the call patiently. He promises that he will join them once he wraps a few things up.
The next day, Tae-sik talks to his boss to see if they could get more business. Tae-sik suggests going behind Director Jung and contacting the higher-ups about business expansion. His boss refuses, noting that it will be dangerous and they don't know who the higher-ups are.
Elsewhere, we see a woman, Se-hee, visit a children's home and have a meal with the kids. On the other side of town, Jung-hyeon kills a reporter who was onto their child trafficking business. In the meantime, A-hyeon rewatches old videos of Se-hee advising parents on how to show affection to their kids.
The scene cuts to Se-hee at her daughter's school. Se-hee is pleased with her daughter's progress at the school. However, another woman is displeased by her son, Si-woo's progress. The teacher informs Si-woo's mom, Min-joo, that her son is not a mathematics genius, and is unlikely to join the Mensa maths class.
Min-joo is disappointed with Si-woo and makes plans to return him. A call is made to Se-hee, but she subtly hangs up so as not to alert her daughter. Se-hee uses her daughter to get more information about Si-woo. On the other side of town, Tae-sik's boss asks him to take care of Si-woo's refund. He leaves Min-joo's voice recording with Tae-sik and heads out.
Poor Si-woo asks his mom to take him to play, not knowing she is organising his death. Min-joo calls her husband and convinces him it is for the best to abandon Si-woo. She asks him to drop by and play the act of a concerned father once Si-woo goes missing. Without missing a beat, Min-joo waits for Si-woo to be taken before pretending her son is missing.
Tae-sik takes Si-woo and plays for him the recording of his mom's call to the higher-ups. He promises to keep Si-woo safe and breaks the sad news of his parents' betrayal to the 11-year-old boy. His boss calls to check how things are going and says he will be there shortly. As he is running out of time, Tae-sik drops Si-woo near the bathhouse and gives him instructions on where to go.
Unfortunately, Si-woo sees a payphone and calls his mom. He believes Tae-sik is lying, but after hearing his parents' reaction to his call, he breaks down and cries. He realises that Tae-sik was not lying about his parents wanting him dead. At the same time, Tae-sik texts A-hyeon, informing her of Si-woo's arrival.
After hearing from Si-woo, his parents call the higher-ups to ask what is going on. Jung-hyeon calls Tae-sik's boss and asks for Si-woo. Tae-sik boss quickly drives to the warehouse and finds Tae-sik wrapping things up. Tae-sik plays cool and acts like Si-woo is already in the cylinder.
Unfortunately, Jung-hyeon and his men show up, too. Jung-hyeon kills Tae-sik's boss and demands to see Si-woo's body. Tae-sik quickly takes Jung-hyeon's gun, and a gunfight ensues. Tae-sik manages to take off, but Jung-hyeon and his men follow him.
A car chase ensues with Jung-hyeon actively trying to hit Tae-sik's car off the road. At the bathhouse, Si-woo safely arrives, and the kids warmly welcome him. They do their best to cheer him up, but Si-woo can't stop crying. Over the radio, they hear news of Si-woo's disappearance. They ask Si-woo if he contacted anyone, and he confesses to calling his mom.
A-hyeon quickly leaves to save Tae-sik, but she arrives too late. She watches in horror as Jung-hyeon succeeds in pushing Tae-sik's car off the road. The car rolls a few times before blowing up.
In the epilogue, we go back to the night Tae-sik rescued A-hyeon. She gave him a handkerchief with her name tag. Later, Tae-sik brought her to the abandoned bathhouse. A-hyeon immediately decided that it would be her new home and settled in. Soon after, Tae-sik brought more kids, and they became a family. They even took pictures and enjoyed dinners together like a real family.
The Episode Review
If you are looking for a light, fun show, this is not one of those. This show deals with heavy themes such as child trafficking, child abuse, sexual abuse, and many more. It will be an emotional rollercoaster that will tug at your heart. Brace yourself!
This episode introduces us to our protagonist A-hyeon, Tae-sik, and the other kids. Their adoptive parents returned them for disappointing them in one way or another. For Si-woo, his parents were offended that he was not a mathematics genius. For this, they abandoned Si-woo and ordered his execution. The kids are simply toys that they used to their advantage, and once they are done, they are disposed of. Their disregard for human life is astounding. Frankly, it makes our blood boil. These people didn't deserve to be parents in the first place.
The plot aside, we have to talk about the acting. It is nice to see Dex in another main role. This may be the first episode, but he is pulling off this cold character well. His UDT training comes in handy in the action scenes, and we look forward to seeing this new side of him.
Of course, he is joined by the talented Jung-ah. We are used to seeing them in Fresh Off The Sea, and their dynamic here is quite a change of pace. The rest of the cast, including Jin-ah and Na-eun, are winning us over with their stellar performance too. Overall, The Defects is starting on a high roll. Hopefully, the show will maintain this pace throughout the 7 remaining episodes.