Recap Korean Drama "Shadow Detective (2022)" Episode 6

-Shadow Detective Episode 6 Contains Spoilers-

Cornering Ma Sang-gu at his new hide-out/ workspace, Taek-rok connects his role with An Ju-yeong’s case as Sang-gu was the one who supplied him with drugs on the day of the arson. In his conversation with the goon, he also discovers that Mr. Cheon is probably still alive since Sang-gu is still scared of his superior.

Conversely, Kyung-chang discloses his motives behind spying on Taek-rok all this time. He tells Sung-a that he’d been doing it all for Chief Gwang-su and was planning to come clean with her but she caught his actions way before that.

Chief Gwang-su is concerned about Taek-rok’s next action as he seems to have teamed up with Sang-gu to catch Mr. Cheon. However, Sang-gu has his own mission of deflating both Taek-rok and Mr. Cheon’s plans as he calls for backup in Taek-rok’s absence. As Taek-rok makes his way into Mr. Cheon’s establishment, it’s revealed that Sang-gu is in cahoots with Chief Gwang-su, who’s ordered him to get rid of Mr. Cheon.

Taek-rok puts two and two together and realizes that Mr. Cheon isn’t Hyun-seok’s murderer, therefore not the ‘Friend’ either. Meanwhile, Sang-gu riles up chaos on his own outside as his men join him. Taek-rok gets the gist that Sang-gu is helping Chief Gwang-su and together, Taek-rok and Mr. Cheon, try to get off the island. Mr. Cheon gets shot in the crossfire, while Chief Gwang-su’s associate, Sang-kyu, kills Sang-gu.

Jin-han is waiting for Taek-rok once he gets off the island and the latter asks him to take Mr. Cheon to get patched up at his therapist’s house. Once there, he waits for Mr. Cheon to gain consciousness and promises him his safety if he testifies against the Chief, who’s clearly the goon’s top client. In the meantime, the Chief reaches there with his team and takes Mr. Cheon away. This time Taek-rok doesn’t answer any of the Chief’s questions and walks away.

Back at Jin-han’s place, the whole team comes together and Taek-rok tells them to ensure Mr. Cheon’s safety at all costs, especially from the Chief. Jin-han questions the idea of them being a team since Taek-rok barely shares any insights with them and always chooses to head out into the dark alone. Therefore, he promises to go after his leads in ‘his own way’.

Kyung-chan gathers his strength to confess the truth to his senior but it looks like Taek-rok’s already caught his drift. Regretting what he’s done, he apologizes to him repeatedly but Taek-rok only asks him to take care of himself and not get hurt in the altercation.

Picking up the crumbs he’s got, he refers to Mr. Cheon’s ledger and looks into some mysterious numbers registered under the Chief’s name. While he’s able to connect some of them with Chairman Jang and the issue of redevelopment etc., the others are still a mystery to him. The ‘Friend’ gives him a call, asking if he has any leads on the Chief’s corruption case.

Taek-rok tells him the hospital’s address where Mr. Cheon is admitted and informs him to look into it himself. Simultaneously, as he’s on a call with him, he leaves a message for Jin-han to call him. When he does, he hangs up his call and continues to talk with the former caller.

Jin-han and Sung-a and Kyung-chan’s sub-teams reach the hospital but at the same time, the Chief’s team is already out for Mr. Cheon. The patient is pulled into the operating room where the Chief holds him captive with Sang-kyu. Commanding him to leave the country, the Chief is met with another offer instead. Mr. Cheon asks him to restore his business so that he can help him out in his future endeavors more than he did for Hyun-seok. On being held at knifepoint, he gives away the details of the ledger signed under his name being in Taek-rok’s custody.

Threatening the Chief further about something else he has on him, he holds it out as leverage to leave him be. Jin-han tries to convince Mr. Cheon to testify as he claims an order against his name under the crimes of drug distribution and Hyun-seok’s murder has been issued. So, as soon as he’s discharged he won’t be able to protect him from the Chief.

Chief Gwang-su and Taek-rok meet up and the former asks him if he’s found the murderer’s identity. Taek-rok admits that both of them together got their younger colleague killed. With D-day in sight, the deadline accorded by the Chief to Taek-rok for finding out the killer is officially over. Taek-rok gives his life another thought about how he endured living through a job that didn’t fit him for 30 years.

At the hospital, Mr. Cheon loses all calm thinking that the doctor is injecting him with poison. Even Sung-a and Kyung-chan aren’t able to hold him down but Taek-rok gets there in time to introduce them as a part of his team. Taek-rok tries his all to bend Mr. Cheon’s will to testify against the Chief, or else he would have to take the fall for everything alone and serve as the main culprit. Promising him a reduced sentence, he urges him to speak up against the Chief, but in addition to that, he also asks him to discuss everything with him before finalizing any of his decisions.

Detective Han reaches the premises and tells the other guards to take a break. When inside, he pokes Mr. Cheon politely, playing mind games with him so that he lets down his guard. Asking for the Chief’s files, he grants him prize money if he agrees but he’s conflicted as Taek-rok’s words echo in his mind.

Jin-han comes back to the hospital while Taek-rok is there too. Detective Bae gives the latter a call and forwards the information about Jin-han’s meeting with “Black Bear”, a redevelopment broker, while he was looking into Hyun-seok’s case.

Thus, with his raised suspicions about Jin-han yet again, Taek-rok asks him if he’s completely done with his former case concerning Chairman Jang. Listening to this, Jin-han is taken aback as his innocence is questioned by his senior again. Taek-rok leaves the hospital to meet with Detective Bae. The latter transfers the video evidence from his computer to his phone but as he’s doing it he’s attacked by the hooded figure. He struggles to escape but to no avail. Yet somehow, he’s able to get a good look at the person attacking him – Kook Jin-han.

Shadow Detective Episode 6 Review
What makes this show interesting despite its restrained and contained outlook is that the action is more cerebral than it is outwardly presented in action sequences. Sure, there are car chases now and then but the major driving force of the series or its essence is held in how each of these characters thinks.

Thankfully, Kyung-chan isn’t the blackmailer because that would’ve been severely anticlimactic but if it’s Jin-han then it still raises the stakes to some extent because it feels personal. Nevertheless, I would’ve rather had him and Taek-rok team up with each other than actually be each other’s arch-enemies because this just pushes all the development till now back down the drain.

Shadow Detective Episode 6 Recap and Review: To Trust or Not to Trust
I can’t quite put my finger on it but whenever I watch this series, it does make me question some moral aspects of the human psyche. For example, Mr. Cheon and Taek-rok’s first proper interaction at the island really destabilizes the black or white dialectic painted between a criminal and a cop. A very thin line distinguishes the two – good and evil – psyches, and often times the series seeks to blur that line by highlighting that even driven and focused detectives fall prey to some circumstances, out of which, they just can’t rise victorious as the straightforward good guy.

Taek-rok carries a lofty baggage of his past and all the ghosts that seem to haunt him are related to his own regrets and misfires during his career. It doesn’t make him a villain per se but it definitely adds layers to his complex identity, only making him a bit more human and real as opposed to the righteous image of our usual heroes who are barely portrayed as grounded figures.