Summary
When the Phone Rings delivers several major revelations in Episode 10, setting up a dramatic two-part finale.
Blimey, things are heating up in When the Phone Rings, aren’t they? And once again it seems to be Hee-joo in the firing line more than anyone, right after ending the previous episode in quite the predicament. Her life remains in jeopardy at the end of this tumultuous outing, which dramatically pits Sa-eon against… well, Sa-eon, but also against his greatest secret. The climax, which sees him reveal Hee-joo to the world in a fervent attempt to try and locate her, is the most significant moment of Season 1 thus far.
But we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it since there’s plenty to unpack in the meantime. Major swerves abound, interspersed with strong emotional moments and character beats. This is a mystery first and foremost, and it proceeds as such, but it isn’t hyperbolic to say it’s a lot more than that too.
Consider the fact that even in unconsciousness, Hee-joo only dreams of a perfect life with Sa-eon. Luckily, she isn’t in as much danger from Do-jae as we thought, since he got the wrong Sa-eon. He’s after the one who killed his twin, which is the murderous nearly-drowned psycho one, not our determined ML.
This is what in a roundabout way pits our Sa-eon against the nutcase one, and Do-jae is caught in the crossfire multiple times, getting bonked on the head and later getting stabbed when he tries to intervene in the fight between the two. But he’s clear that he’s a good guy, at least of sorts. He warns Sa-eon that his namesake is still around, leaving him with enough time to shout after Hee-joo as the villain speeds off in the car with her. She wakes up and is able to fight back, so that’s nice. But the real Sa-eon is still able to escape, leaving Do-jae badly wounded.
The family drama side of When the Phone Rings is absolutely insane, and that’s as true in Episode 10 as ever. The real Sa-eon was troubled as a youth, for sure, but trying to drown him to protect the family’s reputation probably wasn’t the best way of dealing with that situation. And it doesn’t look like Sa-eon was an orphan after all, but the illegitimate son of Baek Jang-ho, the grandfather. So, I guess his “father” is really his half-brother? It’s tough to keep up at this point.
And the family has been covering things up for years. Sa-eon’s activities as a youth were the motivation for Grandpa Baek to organize the death of In-a and Hee-joo’s brother, who had seen his real face. Everything’s connected! Hee-joo also deduces that it was Sa-eon who sent In-a the documents. At the very least, if you’re looking for an upside, Hee-joo finally realizing her mother is awful will certainly do.
But there’s more! When the Phone Rings Episode 10 features some strong romantic shenanigans between Sa-eon and Hee-joo. The scene where Sa-eon promises to propose to Hee-joo and then eats her head is great stuff and should set social media alight. Check the hashtags.
But of course, it’s a tragedy to cap things off once again. There’s chaos at Chairman Baek’s funeral, with the kidnapper once again kidnapping Hee-joo, this time rather convincingly. He calls Sa-eon to taunt him about taking away the thing most precious to him, but it turns out his real issue isn’t our Sa-eon having taken his place in the family, but having stood by while he was suffering and refused to intervene. That’s what he’s trying to recreate here, forcing Sa-eon to suffer and not be able to do anything to prevent it.
Somewhat heroically, though, Hee-joo takes over and, in an effort to protect Sa-eon, drives the car off the road with both she and the kidnapper still inside. And two days later, they’re both missing. The episode ends rather dramatically, with Sa-eon announcing to the world that he’s not Sa-eon after all and that Hee-joo is his wife. He’s requesting everyone’s cooperation in finding her before it’s too late. Let’s hope he manages it.
