Summary
A phenomenal, raw episode that touches on everything, from political cynicism to severe emotional strife.
We recap the Netflix K-Drama series Trolley Season 1 Episode 15, “The Truth,” which contains spoilers.
Complemented by an ending not precisely shocking but somewhat relieving, episode 15 of Trolley was a triumph on every level. It nailed the political cynicism that poisons Joong-do (Park Hee-soon) and Woo-jae (Kim Mu-yeol), gave us plenty of emotional intensity with Hye-joo (Kim Hyun-joo) and Yeo-jin (Seo Jeong-yeon), and generally nailed every plot point. Now that everything is out in the open, the finale will be gripping.
Trolley Season 1 Episode 15 Recap
Between visuals of Hye-joo’s TV appearance, where she is telling her truth about the Seung-ho case, we watch as she quizzes Joong-do on the other lies he may have said. “I’m not forgiving you for any of it,” the book conservator says, though her husband denies any further wrongdoing. Hye-joo is courageous in her public statement, acknowledging that she never wanted her assailant to take his own life and accepting her assemblyman’s other half will have to field questions on Ji-hoon’s alleged misdemeanours with quiet dignity. “I will never run away again” is the powerful final statement.
Amid Joong-do’s appeals to Hye-joo that she postpones their divorce until after Namgoong Sol’s Law is passed, the book conservator receives a call regarding Yeo-jin’s suicide attempt. Fortunately, the restauranteur will live, but a tense air still lingers, and the assemblyman is told to leave the hospital due to his wife’s insecurity that the two might want to “shack up.” Furthermore, Hye-joo asks that Yoon-seo is kept in the dark about this ordeal.
After apologizing to Woo-jae for wrongly accusing him of being involved in Ji-hoon’s death, Joong-do reflects on his deceased son. Meanwhile, Hye-joo fields a call from Yoon-seo, which allows her to find out that public opinion has turned in her favour. The student expresses remorse for thinking her mother could have lied about her past.
As Seung-hee tries to get a journalist to interview her and Hye-joo concurrently, we see support for the in-demand Joong-do is at a new high (he’s already reached his annual donation limit). Elsewhere, Jin-seok listens to party members debate whether Daehan should support Namgoong Sol’s Law, now it has the public’s backing.
What is the truth in Episode 15?
When Woo-jae admits he was already aware of Joong-do’s affair, Hye-joo decides she won’t take the former journalist’s offer to stay beside Yeo-jin in place of her. Unfortunately, this means the book conservator can be spotted in the emergency room by none other than Seung-hee. Meanwhile, Da-som defends Yoon-seo at school, and Soo-bin tearily listens to live streamers lie for attention with claims Ji-hoon molested them.
As soon as Yeo-jin wakes up, Hye-joo rips into her former friend. The book conservator wonders if the prospective restaurant sale was so the alleged adulterer could “flee” now she’s caught and asks how much she must’ve been hated, criticizing the person once so close to her. Yet all this does is drive Yeo-jin to tell the truth that Joong-do raped her. “You’re out of your mind,” is Hye-joo’s surprising response.
After a flashback showed the severe torment suffered by Yeo-jin when Joong-do begged her for forgiveness (and swore her to secrecy), we also see the restauranteur had decided to “forget everything” for the sake of Hye-joo. Still, the book conservator remains confused, pondering why her friend initially labelled this assault as an affair, in addition to wanting an explanation on the conversation Ji-hoon had overheard.
Once this had been cleared up – Yeo-jin had been confronting Joong-do over how laissez-faire he was bringing up his study and the “mistake” he had apologized for – Hye-joo excused herself to think. This, in turn, makes the book conservator realize the truth, causing her to panic. With composure regained, Hye-joo heads back inside, distraught that she has no idea of the pain Yeo-jin was dealing with.
What next?
As Hye-joo and Yeo-jin reconcile with an emotional apology, Joong-do listens to a journalist wax lyrical on how much the assemblyman cares about those less fortunate. However, there does seem to be some guilt creeping in when his filicide bill is brought up, meaning he has to cast his mind to the person he took advantage of.
Continuing, Yeo-jin tells her friend she won’t be reporting Joong-do. Primarily because it’s been five years, there’s no evidence, and she “knows how hard it is to be called a liar,” but also due to the fact the assemblyman had helped with Chae-eun’s filicide case. Concurrently, Yoo-sin becomes aware evidence of her illegal land speculation has been gathered.
After Seung-hee threatens to expose Joong-do’s sexual assault (she’d overheard Yeo-jin) if Hye-joo doesn’t do an interview saying she’d lied about what Seung-ho did to her, the book conservator confronts her husband in his labelling of what he did as a “mistake.” Yet she isn’t ready to hear any excuses, especially when the assemblyman claims his guilt was the initial reason he began to “preach” Namgoong Sol’s Law in the first place. “I thought passing this law would be my atonement,” Joong-do states, only to hear he hasn’t repented, just betrayed his family and voters.
Irate, Hye-joo is dumbfounded her husband won’t turn himself in purely for the sake of Namgoong Sol’s Law being able to pass and becomes incensed at the mention of Yoon-seo. Then, the book conservator tells Joong-do a home truth that Ji-hoon mistakenly thought he was having an affair because he would never have believed his father would do something so hideous.
Hye-joo is torn
As a panicked Soo-bin tries to track down Yeo-jin when hearing about her suicide attempt, Joong-do discovers Woo-jae knew “everything” about his sexual assault. “If people find out about this, you won’t be able to handle the consequences,” the former journalist had eerily told Yeo-jin. We see in a quick flashback how driven the chief supervisor was to “quietly handle” the potential scandal.
Next, Woo-jae and Joong-do talk almost delusionally about how they desire to “make the world a better place,” hoping Hye-joo will “stay quiet.” Concurrently, the book conservator meets with Jin-seok, exposing her husband with initial confidence. Subsequently, though, Hye-joo anxiously asks what she should do, considering the full context of the situation, and is told it’s best to remain silent, again for the sake of Namgoong Sol’s Law. Jin-seok continues by explaining that she believes that Joong-do can bring meaningful change to the world, but others will think that exposing his crimes would have the same impact. Thus, the ultimate decision on what to do is left to Hye-joo, who remains torn by her husband’s insistence on repenting.
When Soo-bin films Joong-do begging for Yeo-jin’s silence, going as far as to say he’ll retire from politics once Namgoong Sol’s Law is passed, Woo-jae catches her in the act. So he deletes the video and warns the youngster against attempting to publicize what she’s overheard. Following this, Soo-bin visits Yeo-jin and asks for the restauranteur to phone the police. It’s a pretty intimidating request in the way it’s made, though Hye-joo is fortunately on hand to quell the situation.
However, Soo-bin points the finger back at Hye-joo, alleging her TV appearance was the reason Ji-hoon has been “turned” into a serial sex offender online. “If this (Joong-do’s crime) comes to light, that’ll be the end of Namgoong Sol’s Law,” the book conservator replies when asked why she’s suddenly “turning a blind eye to the real truth,” obviously now somewhat swayed by the first-hand public support she’s seen for the bill amendment. Nevertheless, it’s easy to notice Hye-joo isn’t quite sure what to do.
Trolley Season 1, Episode 15 Ending Explained
Upset, Soo-bin wonders if Hye-joo is genuine in her hiding of Joong-do, given she knows a lot about suffering herself, giving further food for thought. Then, following a night of intense reflection for everyone, the episode ends with the book conservator’s press conference, where she clears Ji-hoon’s name and reveals the truth about what her husband did to Yeo-jin.
What did you think of the K-Drama Trolley Season 1 Episode 15? Comment below.
