Summary
Episode 1 brings an intriguing, gloomy return to the popular k-drama with a new, highly suspicious case on the character’s doorstep.
This recap of K-drama Netflix series Stranger season 2, episode 1 contains spoilers.
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The opening of Stranger season 2, episode 1
It’s definitely a foggy start, especially with the downbeat narration that discusses the endless cycle of finding the truth. It’s March 2019 and Si-mok is driving through this dense fog and it’s barely visible. Mr Lee rings him and asks why he is late; Si-mok requests for the environmental guard at his location.
Somone has drowned
In the sea, a couple of people have drowned and Si-mok turns up at the scene. The police drag out a dead person. The friend of the dead person is there and he looks shocked — it was their first trip starting college; he’s clearly regretting going into the sea drunk with his friends. The mystery starts here…
Drama at the National Police Agency
As for Yeo-jin she’s watching the news and there’s a story about a high-ranking officer at the National Police Agency accused of leaking information about a case the prosecution was investigating; in June 2018, Mr. Kim, a high-ranking officer at the National Police Agency, was approached by high school friend, Mr Park. At the time, Mr Park was being investigated by the prosecution. He contacted Mr Kim, the high-ranking officer, to ask whether or not he would be arrested. Mr Kim then gave him information about an ongoing case.
Yeo-jin is curious about who it is.
Enquiring about the drowning
It’s Si-mok’s last day in his current office; Yeo-jin rings him and asks about the drowning at the beach. She wonders how it happened if the beaches were closed and wonders if there was an area that was partially open. Si-mok states it was just an accident and gives time of death. He explains that the friends took an impromptu trip and only the driver survived.
Si-mok tells Yeo-jin that he won’t be taking this case as he’s getting transferred. Yeo-jin messages someone from a social media account who deleted three photos of the beach before the incident. She’s clearly curious about the whole ordeal as not everything adds up.
Digging further
Yeo-jin then rings Detective Hang and asks for information regarding the social media account. She doesn’t think the two boys who drowned at the beach was an accident. The couple who were at the beach at the time has readily returned back home. Hang and Yeo-jin find out plenty of information regarding the couple from the social media profile alone.
Heading out
Yeo-jin and Detective Hang visit the hotel that the owner of the social media profile goes to and she wants to do a search. Meanwhile, Si-mok clearly cannot help himself and visits the beach. He checks out the rope that warns people not to enter and finds part of the rope that had been cut off and made its way to the sea. He tests a lighter on the rope and realises it got burned in order to separate it apart.
Finding Lee Yong-ho
Stranger season 2, episode 1 finally sees Yeo-jin and Hang find who they are looking for.
Detective Hang catches Lee Yong-ho, the man who owns the social media account. Yeo-jin turns up. They ask him if he was in Tongyeont the night before and he looks nervous. Hang asks about the photos and he gets defensive; they ask him to come to the station voluntarily to answer questions or he will be taken in for damage of property.
I want lawyer
At the station, Lee Yong-ho claims the rope was already cut when he got to the beach. Detective Hang responded that he set fire to the rope; Lee Yong-ho rings his father and asks for a lawyer. Meanwhile, Yeo-jin’s boss Choi is concerned about the reports released about the agency and wants the team to investigate the motives behind the reporters writing about these missing cases. Detective Hang rings Yeo-jin and tells her that Lee Yong-ho has a lawyer already named Oh Ju-seon.
Si-mok puts some logical actions in place
Si-mok continues to look at Lee Yong-ho’s photos and ponders. He asks his assistant to look into a few pieces of information; I.e. did the couple book a hotel and did they intend to stay over. He also wants to know if any of the group of friends on the beach smoked. The detective is trying to build a story, piecing the jigsaw pieces together.
Reach a settlement
Lee Yong-hu’s lawyer advises the couple that they should try for a settlement before the police start asking questions.
The couple meets the remaining member of the group who didn’t drown (Kim Hu-jeong). They all argue about what happened and what they saw. The lawyer tells Hu-jeong that the police could charge him with aiding and abetting as people are pointing fingers at him. The lawyer then asks if he saw the couple in front of him that night and he says no before walking off.
Arrest our own director
Chief Choi meets Director Shin Hae-yong. He tells her that the prosecution wants to summon the Intelligent Bureau Director so it’s obvious what they are after especially after it was revealed that the director leaked confidential information related to an ongoing investigation.
Choi asks whether the Criminal Investigation Bureau can arrest their director and start an internal investigation. She wants to plan their next move while they still have him.
The ending of Stranger season 2, episode 1
Chief Choi then asks for a favour off Shin Hae-yong; she wants him to talk to the Commissioner General — “The police and the prosecution, we should meet in-person to settle the issue of investigative rights.” The director rejects her request. Choi states that if they do not control the reform and investigative rights now, the prosecution will go after the Commissioner General as well. She offers to come up with the proposals.
As the episode ends, Si-mok learns that the drowning case has been closed already. It’s been given a non-prosecution deposition based on non-suspicion and no guilt. Si-mok focuses on the name “Ryu Si-yeong” on the report — the one who settled it. But then he sees Chief Prosecutor Kang Won-chul and he is alarmed. Episode 1 brings an intriguing, gloomy return to the popular k-drama with a new, highly suspicious case on the character’s doorstep.
Additional points
- Detective Hang and Yeo-jin talk about the good old days.
