The Killing Vote (2023) Episode 8

The Killing Vote episode 8 starts with the police sitting together and going through the sheer volume of posts and comments online surrounding the votes and monitoring their type. They try to find clues in the comments, but apart from realising that Min-soo won’t be able to do this alone and that whoever is after this is not only a psychopath but also very competent, Hyun realises that the next target will be someone on death row because that’s what the comment hint towards.

Elsewhere, as Min-soo goes to work, Sang-jae attaches a tracking device to his car, making it easier for the police to keep an eye on him. Meanwhile, Yoon-ji finds a clip of the assailant at the hospital, and as Mu-chan tries to find out whether Bae Gi-chul’s wife, Elena, was murdered with a jump rope, Jin-soo looks like he might know something that he doesn’t give away just yet. Meanwhile, Ji-young tries to convince Do-hee to do another segment on the killing vote, but the latter is too quick-witted not to ask for answers and ends up questioning her about who Gaetal’s next target is.

Still From The Killing Vote Episode 8

In the midst of the upcoming votes, Hyun expresses concern over not being able to catch Min-soo red-handed and also letting him get away by sitting in front of the computer waiting for his next move. However, Mu-chan tells her to be patient and assures her that there will definitely be another vote. He further mentions that they have to stop this once and for all so that no copycats emerge out of this mess.

With the rise of support for Gaetal increasing, Min-soo looks rather satisfied with the turn of events. However, at school, he looks rather shocked when he learns that Ji-hoon doesn’t stay at the place he had officially stated – in fact, no one has ever lived in the mentioned apartment. At the stakeout, the officers discuss how Min-soo will pull off murdering someone inside the prison and how with the rising protests, things are becoming more and more complicated.

Still From The Killing Vote Episode 8

Elsewhere, a man in a Gaetal mask goes into an apartment building to have a meeting with other members wearing the same mask. It becomes clear that there are several people involved in the plan and that there is not one Gaetal. They discuss their plan of killing all the death row inmates together so that tax money is not wasted.

It’s a simple plan – they will exchange the vitamin tablets with potassium ones which will cause the inmates to have a heart attack. However, it seems like they are also going through with this plan because one of the inmates is an enemy of (Gaetal) Number Two, although not everyone in the group is happy about talking about their mission in this way. In the end, one of them turns out to be Ko Dong-gyu.

As Gaetal involves members of the public in his next murder, Mu-chan makes a visit to Ji-young’s house and arrests Min-soo, having found evidence linking him to Elena’s murder. At the police precinct, Min-soo comes face to face with Seok-joo and somewhat opens up with him until Seok-joo asks him whether he is Gaetal or not. He immediately realises that this is the cops’ play to get him to confess and then refuses to say anything further.

However, before they can do any more questioning, the killing vote starts again, and this time the target is Mu-chan. Everyone is left shocked as Gaetal continues to talk while Ji-hoon tries to hack into the server, which Dong-gyu tries to destroy. As the electricity use surges at Min-soo’s house, Hyun rushes out with him in tow, followed by Jin-soo and Mu-chan, but everyone stops in their tracks as a man recounts how Mu-chan planted false evidence against him, which triggers the voting process.

Interestingly enough, it turns out that Ji-hoon is also one of the Gaetals, as is Yang Hye-jin, his grandmother. After being betrayed by Dong-gyu, they have to abort their mission of murdering the prisoners on death row, and Ji-hoon has to rush to figure out how to stop everything. At the police precinct, Hyun seems to have had enough and points a gun at Min-soo, asking him to stop voting or she will shoot. It coincides with Ji-hoon pulling the plug from his end, and it ends up in an intense sequence wherein Mu-chan defends Hyun from Ji-young.

Still From The Killing Vote Episode 8

In the aftermath, Mu-chan dreams of his mother’s death but sees Hyun in her place. It turns out that he is also being replaced in the Gaetal case after the fiasco of the previous night, and Seok-joo, after watching the special telecast by Gaetal after the voting, mentioning that everyone can be a watchdog for the country, asks for a book from Chul-min – Discovery of Justice.

Meanwhile, Hyun and Mu-chan discuss the motivations behind the murders and how Min-soo got involved with Jin-wook in the first place since their motivations seem to be so different. Although they don’t find the answer, Hyun interestingly finds something surprising in her drawer the next day at work. Elsewhere, another shipment of water gets delivered to the prison, but one of the truck drivers seems to have something curious about them.

Still From The Killing Vote Episode 8

The Killing Vote Episode 8 Ending

As Mu-chan continues to delve into the evidence, he realises that the Killing Vote was Seok-joo’s reply to everything. At the police station, Hyun also figures out that the first letter that Min-soo sent Seok-joo is missing and questions him about it but gets a call from Mu-chan instead, who tells her that Kwon Seok-joo is the real Gaetal – it has always been him.

The moment she hears this, the water truck crashes into the jail cell, and Seok-joo runs away in it, giving Hyun one last look.

The Killing Vote Episode 8 Review

Still From The Killing Vote Episode 8

What an absolutely insane turn of events! I never expected it to go this way, but here we are. I think it was pretty clear that Min-soo was involved in this mess, but the fact that so many people were involved and how it turned out is something that I can’t even wrap my head around. I think The Killing Vote episode 8 really picked up the pace after the first half, before which things were a bit slow, with more fluff moments added in between. Thankfully, the second half is quite interesting, with things happening every few seconds to keep us occupied.

Seok-joo’s twist is turning out to be the most interesting of the lot, of course. We now have an idea of who is working with whom; the question is, how with the perpetrators get away with it, and why are they doing it in the first place?!

Although the twists were quite fun, I must say that it feels a bit far-fetched at times to watch all of these things happening right under the nose of the authorities. I mean, I get it, these people are really well-versed in their roles, but there has to be a limit to how much these people can accomplish without being caught by anyone. Regardless, it’s a fun watch which gives us a shock after almost lulling you to sleep.

The drama particularly works for me also because of its fantastic performances. Park Sung-woong and Kim Kwon play their negative roles oh-so-well and will leave you feeling uncomfortable throughout. Sung-woong’s stoic gaze feels like it’s looking into your soul and works as the antagonist/person with a hidden agenda.

The Killing Vote will air every week on SBS in Korea as well as on Amazon Prime Video in select regions.