Little Women season 1, episode 7 recap – a gripping instalment

By Nathan Sartain
Published: September 25, 2022 (Last updated: 1 weeks ago)
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Summary

A gripping installment brings about plenty of shock value.

This recap of the Netflix K-Drama series Little Women (2022) season 1, episode 7 contains spoilers.

Retaining the already rampant intensity, Little Women adds new wrinkles to its story in episode 7. With heightened mystery, renewed investigative vigour, and the promise of a trip to Singapore in the coming instalments, this show is continuing to stake a claim for one of the year’s finest K-Dramas.

Little Women season 1, episode 7 recap

Little Women season 1, episode 7 begins with In-kyung (played by Nam Ji-hyun) shocked by In-joo’s (played by Kim Go-eun) bloodied body being slumped over Hye-suk (played by Kim Mi-sook). “It’s my fault,” the eldest child says, stunned at the scene of death in front of her that she believes to have been caused by the laundered money, and orchid. Then, Do-il (played by Wi Ha-joon) arrives, watching as In-joo passes out, while In-kyung picks up the blue flower.

At the funeral, where it’s suspected that In-joo may have played a part in Hye-suk’s death because of her silence, Sang-a sits down to tell her employee about her relationship with the deceased Chairwoman. “She was our family nurse,” it’s explained, before more detail is added to contextualise the fact that Hye-suk was by Sang-a’s side when her mother passed.

However, In-joo is more concerned by the nightmare triggered by the gifted blue orchid. “The next thing I knew, I was crying with my bleeding great-aunt in my arms,” she says, curious over whether the flower caused this death. Sang-a replies to inform her assistant that the orchid played no part, and imparts some advice for In-joo to close the door to the tragedy until its ready to be understood. Still, the Oh family’s eldest insists she’s not that type of person, so will not stop before an explanation is found.

After In-kyung accepts both Hye-suk’s inheritance, and her hefty liabilities, we watch as Do-il is confronted by In-joo over who murdered Hye-suk. Believing he knew something would happen that night, the Oh family’s eldest notes that her acquaintance was never once flustered, only to hear all her lofty claims rebuffed. Desperate, In-joo goes as far as to say that Do-il can have all of the 70 billion won if he can find the culprit, though again nothing happens. Instead, the expert money launderer insists that he will continue to keep his associate safe until the trip to Singapore, which she should be ready for at any time.

As In-kyung blames herself for her great-aunt’s business failings, In-joo tells her sister to get on with her life without pain, as she will now take care of everything. Still, the middle-child is given some of Hye-suk’s belongings, which includes a mysterious, previously unmentioned card. Following this, In-kyung emotionally goes through her old room, breaking down upon seeing a picture of her and her great-aunt. Suddenly, In-joo interrupts proceedings, phoning with the news that Hye-suk’s killer turned himself in.

Nevertheless, this all seems a bit murky, as the murderer believes he had a good reason for killing the Chairwoman, pointing people towards his Etube Channel should they want to see why. In-kyung informs her sister that this man (Sang-hyeok) was in charge of Hye-suk’s meals for years, prior to the two watching the former worker explain how he went “broke” by trusting his victim’s real estate advice. Two theories are subsequently presented: That Sang-hyeok was hired to carry out the murder, or that he worked for Hye-suk with intention to harm.

When the conversation moves onto orchids, In-joo tells her sister that Sang-a had gifted her the one found next to Hye-suk when a request was given for money to be laundered in Singapore. Hearing that this would allow for the outcast to join Jeongran Society, In-kyung appears extremely curious. To add to the intrigue, Jong-ho soon arrives at the house, pointing out that in the hand of Sang-hyeok during his eery video about “The Most High” understanding him, there is a blue orchid. This is alleged to have been brought to the scene of the crime. Elsewhere, Do-il claims that Su-im’s men being injured in a dump truck accident isn’t even the start of where he is willing to go, so she should find out who is messing with In-joo to avoid her own financial misdemeanours being brought forward to Jae-sang.

While poking around Hye-suk’s office, In-kyung and co. discover a hidden room, one only able to be unlocked with the mysterious card from earlier. There, the safe belonging to the Chairwoman has been cleaned out aside from one blue orchid, which is deduced to have been linked to the murder (absolving In-joo of blame). Taking in the scent, a newly determined In-kyung wants to get a story out about Jeongran Society in the hopes of finding the connections between the blue orchid murders, worried that she could be the one to die next if no action is taken.

Surprisingly, In-joo is on board, vowing to hand the ledgers over to her sister once they escape to Singapore, which will come at the culmination of In-kyung’s “perfect” story. With both sides content, an agreement is struck. Later on, it’s revealed that Jae-sang has won the Seoul Mayoral primaries, his victory celebrated with a speech In-kyung and co. realise is being delivered in the same way as General Gi-seon’s Vietnam War address. Strangely, in the footage of the General’s old speech, Hye-suk can be seen.

After it’s established that the General breathed on his own when hearing of Jae-sang’s speech, the attorney is undercut by Sang-a, who claims that her father will only wake up if he becomes the president. When the two get home, an argument occurs over the prospective mayor’s worthiness in his relationship with his wife, leading to Sang-a, who rejects any words of affection, claiming that her husband can, at times, be “repulsive” like his father. Meanwhile, a shaken Hyo-rin hears all the fighting, so hides alongside In-hye until the two scurry off to the place they were previously unable to visit.

At the office, In-kyung and co. piece together the context involving their great-aunt’s history as an American army Lieutenant, learning that 12 members of the Jeongran Society fought in the Vietnam War, albeit in differing units, and first encountered each other in a hospital. Concurrently, In-hye notices that someone is consistently cut out of Sang-a’s childhood photos, but the identity of this person is unknown.

Continuing, In-kyung tells her allies that the aforementioned platoon of 12 soldiers contained people who died one-by-one when returning to Korea, “as if they had fallen while fighting an invisible war.” Now, the only survivor (aside from Gi-seon) is Choi Hee-jae, a missing man revealed to be the father of Do-il. As such, In-kyung wants to meet the money launderer’s mother to find out more. Meanwhile, Hyo-rin shows In-hye a model house titled “Closed Room” that she played with as a child, which bears an eerily striking resemblance to the scene of Hwa-young’s death.

The following day, the two young girls are informed of Sang-a’s severe headache that will see her kept away from others until a recovery has been made. To help the process, Hyo-rin should enjoy each day as it comes, or at least that’s what Jae-sang tells her. Elsewhere, In-hye’s two older sisters meet Do-il’s mother (An So-yeong), with In-kyung doubtful about the prisoner’s crimes to the point she (correctly, as we see) alleges that for the whole situation to make sense, someone must have been pulling the strings behind her.

Fortunately, In-joo intervenes when it looks as though these claims are going nowhere, with the outcast warning So-yeong that her son will be in danger soon because of his involvement with slush fund money, so her help is needed to expose Jeongran Society before it’s too late. Shaken, Do-il’s mother believes this is an impossible task, and will result in the deaths of the Oh sisters. Yet she is eventually persuaded to part with some information, the answer to a lingering question from her son, as well as a statement that if evidence is to be found, he should “start at Baramjae, and head northeast by 23 degrees for one kilometre.” Later on, as Jae-sang hears of this visitation, instructions are given for Do-il to be tailed.

While drinking together, In-joo comes clean about visiting So-yeong to Do-il. This frustrates the account manager, who simply replies that his associate can forget about Singapore, even though he’s given the answer to his 20-year-old question. “Our deal is off,” he adds, attempting to completely sideline In-joo. However, the outcast is determined, so lets Do-il know about the unusually clean crime scene, Il-bok’s neat personality, and her plan to have In-kyung publish a story on Jeongran Society once the 70 billion won has been withdrawn. There is of course room for the money launderer to get revenge too, given that it’s Jae-sang’s father who is the real culprit of the crime his mother is serving time for.

Nevertheless, Do-il doesn’t like the idea of revenge when there’s a “safer alternative,” so settles for handing In-joo a USB stick containing information on Sang-hyeok’s ex-wife and daughter. No longer ensuring the outcast’s safety, the money launderer bluntly tells his associate that her life will be in danger, but is surprisingly told in response to call her, with implications made that her trust is in him.

The next day, Do-il shakes off pursuers on his way to the remote location given by his mother, where he is greeted by his father. In the background, In-kyung captures footage alongside Jong-ho. Meanwhile, In-hye sees that the “Closed Room” model was made by Sang-a as part of a graduate show in 1995, inviting curiosity. Then, the youngster finds a note that this was a room the rich woman locked herself in “a long time ago,” one that can never be left. This worries Hyo-rin, who theorises that her mother could die in the same way as Hwa-young, given she is currently locked up. A while later, a note is thrown down to In-hye, though we don’t yet see what this says.

At that point, In-joo receives a picture of the letter, which tells her that Jae-sang is currently dangerous, Sang-a is locked up, and that she should prepare some cash for her boss in Singapore to help her escape. “I’ll join you with the kids soon,” it also reads. Elsewhere, the attorney takes In-hye to the top of an abandoned building, letting her know that she can be a part of his family should she be willing to rid herself of her past in favour of building something greater. Adding that he will be observing the prospect over the next few days to test her endurance to the impending events that will unfold, Jae-sang appears outwardly stern.

When asking for directions doesn’t work, In-kyung gets bitten by a dog to receive entry into Hee-jae’s home. There, Jong-ho captures footage using his glasses, before the pair get kicked out of the hut upon the revelation of the journalist’s intentions to expose Jeongran Society. Still, despite the risk undertaken, In-kyung is confident she will be called by the Vietnam veteran, knowing you have to get to the centre of a typhoon to cover it. Something is found on Jong-ho’s video too, the name of a fellow survivor, Lee Yong-gwi.

Concurrently, In-joo rushes In-hye out of school to ensure she is brought up to speed on the potentially permament Singapore plans. Gifted a phone and some cash, the young artist looks flustered, doubtful over what she’s been told. Nonetheless, In-hye does have a present to give In-joo on her birthday here, the dashcam footage of Hwa-young’s death day. Later on, the outcast treats herself, vowing that this will be her last birthday of being poor.

The ending of Little Women season 1, episode 7 recap

Disappointed in Jae-sang’s lack of trust in him, Do-il wants to know why a tail was put on him. In a bid to prove himself, the account manager subsequently reveals his father’s address, stating that he won’t interfere with whatever is done to the veteran. As we soon see, hired hands are set to raid the hut in search of Hee-jae, but they are bombed by the man In-kyung hears is a “born hunter” who was trained for special operations.

That night, Do-il hides the hammer used to frame his mother, then sits down to meet In-joo for dinner. The money launderer has been told to quickly “get rid” of his associate by Jae-sang, but for now he’s more interested in showing her an email from Singapore.

Previewing the International Orchid Festival, it details VIPs who attended a special event, with one named as Oh In-joo. Shocked, the outcast sees that Hwa-young is this person (an ankle tattoo gives it away), which contradicts the idea of her dead body being seen. Do-il goes on to explain that the paper company set up in In-joo’s name is going to be investigated, meaning potentially frozen accounts, though he claims that a bigger problem would be Hwa-young taking the 70 billion won for herself should she be alive. With the pair agreeing to look into this together in Singapore, the episode ends.

READ the recap of Little Women season 1, episode 6.

READ the recap of Little Women season 1, episode 8.

READ the review of the Korean Drama series Little Women.

You can watch this series with a subscription to Netflix.

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