Summary
Memories of the Alhambra episode 8 is the best in the series so far, bringing some emotional impact and gathering good momentum in the story.
This recap of Memories of the Alhambra Season 1, Episode 8, contains spoilers. You can check out our thoughts on the previous episode by clicking these words.
Since the one year jump, Memories of the Alhambra has converted into a whole new series entirely. The repercussions of the augmented reality game are genuinely coming to light, rather than filler episodes to show off the visual effects and throw the audience down false paths. Memories of the Alhambra episode 8 revealed the aftermath to Yoo Jin-woo’s (Hyun Bin) deception on Jung Hee-joo (Shin-Hye Park) regarding the disappearance of her brother.
I was not prepared for the emotional impact both characters resonated through the screen. Jung Hee-joo looked gut-punched at the idea that Yoo Jin-woo has no conscience whatsoever. As she stood in the rain, screaming down the phone at him asking why he is leaving, it was difficult not to feel sorry for the character that mostly feels like she has accepted dirty money. Revert your minds to the earlier episodes, Yoo Jin-woo bought her hostel for an insane amount of money, but in reality, he was purchasing the license for the game while keeping it hidden from Jung Hee-joo that her brother is missing.
The question we must ask – is Yoo Jin-woo as selfish as he looks? The answer is no. Memories of the Alhambra episode 8 balanced the idea that he is merely misunderstood and the consequences of his actions and others have diluted his ability to show his feelings. His actions speak louder than his words, as he did everything he could to make Jung Hee-joo understand the situation. It’s particularly interesting that he takes a fond interest in her grandma and sister because his long-term objective is to be in her life, and not push her away as he is doing now.
Memories of the Alhambra episode 8 also confirmed that the cryptic programmer Jung Se-joo (Chan-Yeol Park) had a sidekick called Marco, a drug addict that got involved with the wrong people. The disappearance of Jung See-joo is directly linked to the murder of Marco, but Yoo Jin-woo is convinced the programmer is still alive.
Meanwhile, the company executives are still cleaning up the mess of sensationalist news surrounding Yoo Jin-woo, who has decided to delay the launch of the new game until he finds Jung See-joo. His theory is if he succeeds to get to the same levels of the founders, answers will be revealed. Unfortunately, despite overwhelming evidence that Cha Hyung-seok’s (Park Hoon) non-player character is not a hallucination, the company will attempt to remove him as CEO. The consequences of that move will become clear.
Memories of the Alhambra episode 8 ends with Yoo Jin-woo calling Jung Hee-joo, telling her not to fly the plane to Barcelona to try to find her brother as he believes he may have the answers. He has reached level 90, and a bird flew down to him and left him a message from “master”, who is Jung Se-joo.
Episode 8 was the best episode yet, in a series that is finally gathering some good momentum.
