No Escape
How did Kwang-Chul know where Kang-Jun was?
Episode 10 of A Model Family begins with a beautiful sunrise. Dong-Ha approaches Kwang-Chul and reveals that there’s a cop buried in his back garden. The police have been watching him ever since, and he knows it’s only a matter of time before they find it. ..
Dong-Ha has resigned himself to death, knowing that he will die no matter what happens. But as one last act of survival, he tells Kwang-Chul where Kang-Jun is going to be which is why he was stabbed and choked out last episode. Dong-Ha double-crossed him. ..
Dong-Ha is shocked when he learns of Kang-Jun’s death. He was told to wait for Kwang-Chul’s instructions back at his home, but now it seems as if something went wrong. The scene of the crime suggests that someone very important was killed there.
Who moved the bodies?
Kang-Cheol’s body has been found, but the Messenger is still at large. It seems that he has moved the body and is watching everything from his safe place. It’s been a fun season so far, hasn’t it?
As for the garden, it turns out that Deuk-Soo is the one who moved the bodies, not Eun-Joo. He approaches Dong-Ha when the police’s fruitless search is called off and admits he buried them in the next-door neighbour’s yard. Deuk-Soo tells Dong-Ha to keep his head down and promises that things will get better soon.
Dong-Ha looks at the footage from Han-Cheol’s phone and sees that he was right. Eun-Joo is the only one he can trust.
Does Joo-Hyun get some closure?
Joo-Hyun receives images from Han-Cheol’s phone with images attached. This is Dong-Ha of course, but it confirms the location he’s buried and is an anonymous way of doing this so Dong-Ha isn’t found out.
Joo-Hyun is frantic as she looks for the site of Han-Cheol’s body. She digs with her bare hands, but finds nothing. Meanwhile, the police lieutenant, Jun-Kook, returns to his car and realizes the SD card is missing. His façade has been shattered and his identity revealed.
Jun-Kook drives up to the undercover site, determined to find the evidence they have on her and get it back. Yun-Seok tries to keep calm but he’s clearly nervous knowing that she’s the mole. Jun-Kook has already figured out that she’s the mole and shoots him dead without a moment’s hesitation. She takes the SD card and leaves.
When Eun-Joo returns, she finds her partner dead on the floor. The thing is, he actually recorded the last interaction between him and Jun-Kook, and as a result, incriminates herself. It’s tough for Joo-Hyun to listen to, regardless of its implications.
Is the Messenger killed?
Kwang-Chul charges at Messenger, tackling him to the ground and pounding him with his fists. The fight is brutal and one-sided, with neither fighter able to gain an advantage.
Kwang-Chul gets the upper-hand and points out that he knows the guy is just a Messenger and has no actual stake in any of this. As the Messenger sneers and tells him he’s crossed the line, Dong-Ha plants a bullet between his eyes. With the Messenger dead, Kwang-Chul snaps a picture of him and sends a message to the real ringleader, urging them to step forward if they want to talk.
Joo-Hyun, a detective in the Seoul Police Department, has evidence that could lead to the arrest of Jun-Kook, her superior. However, instead of taking the evidence to the police station and presenting it to authorities, Joo-Hyun decides to take matters into her own hands and shoot Jun-Kook in the head. This decision leads to the deaths of two of Joo-Hyun’s partners and her own anger towards Jun-Kook is what motivates her to do this. ..
Does Hyun-Woo get his surgery?
The news is abuzz with what’s happened after this incident. The bodies are uncovered from the back garden, the police fiasco unveiled and both Dong-Ha and Kwang-Chul miraculously survive this carnage.
Dong-Ha heads to the hospital, where he learns that there’s no match for Hyun-Woo’s surgery right now. They’re going to have to wait. Given how broken the family have been all season, seeing everyone rally around the young boy makes him optimistic. He tells the others that not having a transplant and waiting may be a good thing as it means the family are now together, rather than broken.
In the hallway, Eun-Joo and Dong-Ha discuss their relationship. The former admits that she’s felt like an invisible person since they’ve been together and she wanted to feel alive. Speaking of which, Deuk-Soo also patches things up with Dong-Ha (or tries to anyway), apologizing for straying too far away from him. Dong-Ha though, walks away and heads back home, watching home videos of when the family were happy and together, longing to go back to those simpler days. ..
How does A Model Family Season 1 end?
Dong-Ha makes a big decision and heads out in the morning, deciding to report something to the police in person. Just as he crosses the road, he receives a phone call from someone, telling him to keep this burner phone safe as the lives of his family depend on it. “I’ll be seeing you soon,” He says ominously.
The Episode Review
So, the cliffhanger ending of “A Model Family” doesn’t necessarily mean that a second season is necessary. The show has been about the nature of family and how one can’t escape the jaws of crime once they tumble down that road. Dong-Ha’s situation shows how all his choices led to this point, starting with trying to take a shortcut and bribe a professor. ..
Despite using good intentions, it’s clear that these have been the wrong moves and Dong-Ha’s actions have essentially compounded into an even more precarious situation.
The second half of this season has been very focused on the Sangseon Ring and the drama involving the police and drug dealers, rather than Dong-Ha himself. While it’s nice that the series has fleshed out all these supporting characters, it’s also done so by sidelining Dong-Ha and his family. Personally, I would have liked to see Eun-Joo with a bit more agency beyond that one instance of her working with Dong-Ha, perhaps even being the one to kill Kang-Jun or one of the other higher-ups, which would have been a nice touch.
Netflix has renewed the Model Family for a second season. The show is an enjoyable watch and the ending certainly leaves the door open for more should Netflix decide to renew this one.
