My Perfect Stranger (2023) Episode 7

Episode 7 of My Perfect Stranger begins with Yoon-young and Hae-joon discussing the serial killer case. Hae-joon believes he may have got the entire case wrong, and deduces that there are more than 3 suspects here. Hae-joon admits that he doesn’t have any details on Yoo-seob, given he never saw him as a suspect. Yoon-young does a quick character assessment, pointing out that her uncle was closer than a stranger but too distant to be called close family.

In the present, it would seem that Yoo-seob is mentally unstable, confined to a wheelchair and causing issues at home, especially when he starts ripping up all of Yoon-young’s books.

Back to the past for now though, and Hae-joon wants the truth so he speaks to Hee-seob and demands answers. Specifically, who the blue cap belongs to. It turns out Hee-seob head back to the motel that night as Yoo-seob asked him to check on the second floor and see if Joo-young’s light was switched on. This little confession seems to almost confirm that it was Yoo-seob involved in all of this and he used Hee-seob as a shield.

Hee-seob decides to throw the hat away, but Mi-sook of all people picks it out the trash. She’s at the hospital with a change of clothes for her mother. She doesn’t show her the blue hat though.

Back home, Hae-joon admits that he actually moved in to the house opposite Soon-ae’s place on purpose. He’s been observing them for the past month and knows that today is going to be a very difficult day, given the second murder is supposed to take place very soon. The person they need to save is no ordinary person. It would appear to be Lee Kyung-ae.

Kyung-ae wants to be a big star and has plans to try and make it as Miss Korea. At dinner, Soon-ae interrupts everyone. She admits she’s having trouble with her studies and asks for a math tutor. She receives a swift no. Her father promises to help her out once he gets more cash, but it’s undermined completely by the fact that her brother is given cash on the sly by his mother for buying new books. This little inclusion points out how far women rights have come compared to the expected reality of a man going out and being the breadwinner while women stay home.

On the way to school, the pair watch as Kyung-tae is coerced by a bunch of guys who try to scam her. These men are notorious as they promise girls they’ll make them Miss Korea for 500,000 won. Kyung-ae is the perfect target for them, given she comes from a poor family. These men are tough fraudsters and given Kyung-tae is from a poor family, Yoon-young is worried that her aunt is going to make a big mistake.

Yoon-young eventually gets involved when Kyung-ae refuses to go with them and a scuffle breaks out in the street. Yoo-seob shows up out of nowhere and gets involved, and the way he throws is very distinctive to Hae-joon for the way blue cap threw a crate at him that night. Yoo-seob claims to have just been passing by when the men are apprehended, and jumped in to help turn the tide of this big fight.

When Detective Baek shows up, not only Yoo-seob but also Kyung-ae manage to slip away. Back home, Hae-joon and Yoon-young regroup, but the former ends up having a nosebleed. Yoon-young is more interested in exactly why he’s trying so hard to stop the killer. After all, it may not actually stop anything. Hae-joon admits that the ground was cold and it seemed too frozen an area to be abandoned at.

At school, Hee-seob can’t stop thinking of Soon-ae but there’s an awkward moment when Beom-ryong decides he’s going to “let him have her” but the way he says this sounds super creepy.

After this chat, both Yoon-young and Hae-joon work together to try and stop the inevitable from occurring. While Hae-joon heads to all the likely spots of the murders, Yoon-young tries (and fails) to find Yoo-seob. With no sign of either of them and no evidence either, the pair reconvene and decide to head off to Bong Bong Cafe on a whim. And it proves to be the correct call too. Kyung-tae is there singing and entertaining a crowd. Yoo-seob is there too alongside Min-soo.

Hae-joon points out that Min-soo was arrested in our timeline off the back of Mi-sook’s confession. As for Yoon-young, she notices Beom-ryong outside with Soon-ae and decides to follow, making sure she’s okay. As he takes her around the alleyway, Beom-ryong claims that he has something to show her – and that happens to be the spot by the motel.

Beom-ryong wants to sleep with Soon-ae given it’s “what he deserves” for putting so much time into trying to date her. Thankfully, Yoon-young shows up and manages to put a stop to this. Just before he strikes out, Hee-seob shows and begins beating the boy down, telling Beom-ryong that they’re not going to be friends anymore.

Meanwhile, Yoo-seob follows Kyung-ae and starts choking her out on a bridge. She fights him off and as pushes him off the edge, breaking his wrist. It seems he’s not going to be tying any string anymore. Hae-joon takes Kyung-ae home and warns her not to drink too much and keep a low profile for now. He hands over an envelope worth of cash and tells her to spend it wisely. She’s overcome with emotion and asks to kiss him, shocking Hae-joon.

Yoon-young and Soon-ae come to the rescue and the sisters are reunited back home, where they have fun together. As for Hae-joon, he receives a phone call from someone. It’s Beom-ryong. “She’s dead. She’s dead, Mr Yoon.” He says, and despite believing that all of this is over, it’s only just beginning as the camera pans over to show a murder has taken place.

The Episode Review

While one could argue that this episode felt like a filler, minus the final 10 minutes or so, the character growth for Soon-ae and her family is nicely handled, and it’s helped a lot by the growing mystery too.

Some may lament the slower pace and the fact we’re still in the dark, halfway through the show, it’s actually quite nice to keep the mystery going and slowly drip-feed what’s happening. It’s almost like a countdown at this point, with the various deaths working to grow closer to Hae-joon’s potential passing.

Although we’ve been led to believe Yoo-seob is the real culprit, that theory appears to be blown out the water given he seemingly broke his wrist after tumbling off the bridge. It’s difficult to suss out exactly who could be behind all of this, especially as Mi-sook is still lurking about as a wildcard entry. I can’t help but feel that Beom-ryong is a red herring and not actually the killer either. But who could it be?