Shadow Detective Season 2 ending finale & recap, review – Episode7+8

Shadow Detective Season 2 Episode 7+8 finale recap, Taek-Rok will engage in the ultimate showdown. After successfully capturing some members of the secret organization, he will corner them into a desperate situation. However, Yeon Ju-Hyun, consumed by anger and losing her rationality, becomes their prey instead. Determined not to lose another colleague, Taek-Rok starts running with no way back. Can Taek-Rok make a choice without regrets and bring justice to the forces of evil?

Shadow Detective Season 2 Episode 7 Recap

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🔺 In 1999, in Geumo City, Kim Taek-Rok became a hero of the Geumo Police Station because he caught an escaped convict before Choi Do-Hyung from the Special Search Team (which was sent to support them).

However, there was no friction between them. In fact, Choi Do-Hyung wanted to cooperate with Kim Taek-Rok in the future. So both of them continued catching criminals together as part of the Special Search Team. Through many cases they worked on together, Kim Taek-Rok and Choi Do-Hyung had different approaches to handling investigations.

Kim Taek-Rok chose a merciful approach that didn’t harm anyone, while Choi Do-Hyung often resorted to shooting and directly hurting suspects without following proper procedures, creating more dangerous situations. This led Kim Taek-Rok to establish “Today’s Peace” within the Special Search Team, hoping for peace and safety every day.

🔺However, Choi Do-Hyung not only faced disciplinary action for his excessive use of force but also faced legal charges. He ended up being suspended from duty for three months as punishment.

🔺Continuing from Episode 6 of “Shadow Detective Season 2,” Choi Do-Hyung ordered his subordinates to get rid of Kim Taek-Rok. At this moment, after watching his own past records and understanding a theory behind it all, Kim Taek-Rok called Lee Sung-A intentionally leaving a document on the table for someone in black attire to find. When Choi Do-Hyung saw the petition deliberately left by Kim Taek-Rok, he was deeply shaken.

🔺Kim Taek-Rok knew that Baek Sung-Il had betrayed him by siding with Choi Do-Hyung. So he called Baek Sung-Il and warned him not to expect good treatment from Choi Do-Hyung; things might turn out just like what happened with Han Gi-Yong. Kim Taek-Rok asked Baek Sung-Il to convey the message that he would be the one to settle everything with Choi Do-Hyung.

🔺The next day, Lee Sung-A was taken back by the Metropolitan Police Agency for an investigation into the Han Gi-Yong case and Woo Jang-Ik’s suicide. Suddenly, Baek Sung-Il appeared at the scene and announced that Major Crime Unit had been disbanded, while Son Kyung-Chan had been transferred to another department. Lee Sung-A understood that this was what Kim Taek-Rok mentioned yesterday when he said “Choi Do-Hyung is targeting them.”

🔺In 2003, Kim Taek-Rok and Choi Do-Hyung were unhappy when their superior suddenly canceled a mission. Choi Do-Hyung understood it as a cruel reality police officers faced, so he decided to proceed with the operation without permission.

However, Kim Taek-Rok worried that if Choi Do-Hyung started shooting recklessly again, he would face demotion since such actions were not authorized. Unfortunately, this raid turned out to be tragic; many of their comrades got injured and Hwang Jin-Seok’s leg was injured because Kim Taek-Rok stopped Choi Do-Hyung from shooting.

🔺Kim Taek-Rok has been searching for members of Today’s Justice group all along while Son Kyung-Chan has been waiting for his call. On the other hand, Yeon Ju-Hyun went to ask Lee Young-Ho why in 2005 they killed a detective who was investigating Today’s Justice alongside Baek Sung-Il.

🔺Kim Jin-Sun has already secured victory in elections while Choi Do-Hyung hopes that his party can push forward with strengthening police force legislation but unfortunately it hasn’t received much attention within his party and keeps getting delayed.

🔺Choi Do-Hyung blames himself for Hwang Jin-Seok’s amputation during the raid in 2003. He hates that the police system and culture force them to catch criminals while also having to please their superiors, and they can’t even use their guns properly at the scene. Is this really right?

The tension between Choi Do-Hyung and Kim Taek-Rok started when Kim Taek-Rok once again prevented Today’s Peace from seeking vigilante justice against Park Cheon-Kyu, leaving Hwang Jin-Seok unable to receive compensation because his superiors blamed him for everything.

🔹 Choi Do-Hyung originally hoped that Kim Taek-Rok could help expand the power of Jinpyeong-an and accomplish more, but Kim Taek-Rok had different aspirations. As a result, they went their separate ways. Lee Young-Ho has now approached Cha Kyung-Pil, asking for his assistance in bringing down Choi Do-Hyung once he is released from prison. The leverage that Lee Young-Ho holds is the 2005 case involving Yeon Ju-Hyun’s father’s murder.

In 2003, when Choi Do-Hyung and Kim Taek-Rok were discovered by their superiors as members of the underground organization Jinpyeong-an, it was Kim Taek-Rok who took responsibility for everything.

Consequently, he was demoted to Geumo City—a place where he sought refuge unlike the present-day Choi Do-Hyung who continues to operate within the underground organization and is on his way to entering politics with plans to promote a bill strengthening police forces.

🔹 On another front, Choi Do-Hyung’s subordinates sent out were set up by Lee Sung-A and Son Kyung-Chan and managed to uncover Jinjinghui’s hiding place. Only a small group of people remain uncaught.

Meanwhile, Kim Taek-Rok keeps a close eye on Choi Do-Hyung. Ever since Hwang Jin-Seok incident occurred, Kim Taek-Rok has been regretting establishing Jinpyeong-an in the first place. Therefore, he intentionally informed his superiors about this underground organization in order to bring about its destruction.

Kim Taek-Rok also sent evidence of past wrongdoings involving Won Jae-Gu along with Choi Do-Hyung and Lee Young Ho—informing them that these materials are already being reviewed by investigators. As for Baek Sung-Il who was summoned as a witness, he is dumbfounded that he wasn’t able to escape Won Jae-Gu’s grasp. Now Baek Sung-Il understands the cautionary advice given by Kim Taek-Rok.

Furthermore, Kim Taek-Rok deliberately proposed to Kim Jin-Sun’s party faction the establishment of an investigative team to look into the current police scandal. While Kim Jin-Sun was pleased with the opportunity to improve their party’s image, for Choi Do-Hyung, it represents a step-by-step approach towards a threat.

Shadow Detective Season 2 (Finale)Episode 8 Recap

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🔹Lee Sung-A discovered that the bloodstains found in the car of one of Baek Sung-Il’s subordinates, who fell into a trap last night, were confirmed to be Han Gi-Yong’s blood. There is also indirect evidence proving that Baek Sung-Il ordered the deletion of witness testimonies.

However, Kim Taek-Rok believes that Choi Do-Hyung would not leave Baek Sung-Il alone. Kim Taek-Rok must find all the evidence before Choi Do-Hyung completes his initiation ceremony tonight; otherwise, Choi Do-Hyung will have political power backing him up.

Lee Young-Ho promised Yeon Ju-Hyun that he would catch the killer responsible for her father’s death, and Yeon Ju-Hyun is heartbroken to learn about Kim Taek-Rok’s connection with Choi Do-Hyung. Kim Taek-Rok managed to locate the company involved in illegal vehicle transactions by Jinjinghui and intends to capture Kwon Ju-Hywan. He even found former members of Jimpingan in order to lament their involvement in money laundering for Choi Do-Hyung.

🔹Yeon Ju-Hyun obtained evidence of Choi Do-Hyung’s cheating from Cha Kyung-Pil (at Lee Young Ho’s request), as well as crucial information revealing that it was Baek Sung-Il who caused her father’s death by running him over with a car. It turns out that Choi Do-hyeong tampered with records and testimonies at the police station regarding this case, prompting an inspector general to reopen investigations into both Yeon Ju-hyun’s father’s case and underground organization cases. Meanwhile, Baek Sung-Il feels anxious after being abandoned by Won Jae-Gu but remains determined not to make any mistakes before his initiation ceremony.

Upon learning about the existence of evidence related to Yeon Ju-hyun’s father’s case, Kim Taek-Rok meets with her. Yeon Ju-Hyun relentlessly questions when and why Kim Taek-Rok knew about the connection between Jinjinghui and Jimpingan but never told her. Kim Taek-Rok regrets not completely destroying Jimpingan in the past, as it led to a series of tragedies and harm. He sincerely hopes that Yeon Ju-Hyun won’t have to join forces with Lee Young-Ho over this matter.

🔹Baek Sung-Il is quickly released thanks to Choi Do-Hyung’s intervention, which infuriates Yeon Ju-Hyun. However, Baek Sung-Il never expected that he was being set up by Choi Do-Hyung for assassination. Meanwhile, Lee Sung-A and Son Kyung-Chan are searching for Kwon Ju-Hywan’s whereabouts but only find Cha Kyung-Pil murdered at the scene; Kwon Ju-hywan has long since disappeared.

However, Cha Kyung-Pil managed to pass an address to Yeon Ju-hyun before his death, prompting Kim Taek-Rok to rush there immediately. When Yeon Ju-hyun arrives at the designated location, she finds Baek Sung-Il already dead with Choi Do-Hyung standing behind him.

Fortunately, Kim Taek-Rok arrives just in time but hesitates to shoot; instead, it is Choi Do-Hyung who ruthlessly shoots at Kim Taek-Rok. In his final moments of life, Kim Taek-Rok recalls an ambush he had planned ten years ago with Hyun Suk; he mentions how he no longer wants to run after retirement while Hyun Suk believes that one should keep running until their heart explodes.

🔹Choi Do-Hyung’s initiation ceremony proceeded on time. He emphasized that only strong police officers can protect the citizens and apprehend criminals effectively. However, during the ceremony, a bloodied Kim Taek-Rok suddenly stormed in with the gun Choi Do-Hyung had used to shoot him earlier.

He shouted for Choi Do-Hyung to kill other police officers and brought along a group of policemen to arrest him. All the evidence and truth behind the cases were revealed one by one through a thorough investigation.

Kim Taek-Rok met with Choi Do-Hyung and claimed that he was merely capturing a criminal, which was his duty. However, Choi Do-Hyung declared that he would not stop there and promised that Kim Taek-Rok would regret it. These words did not intimidate Kim Taek-Rok.

Six months later, Sung-AGu Dong-Bum was reported for illegal wiretapping and private investigations, leading to his arrest at the police station. Even as team leader, Sung-A couldn’t help him unless Gu Dong-Bum gave up running an illegal private investigation agency.As for Kim Taek-Rok, he became a rural police station chief where although his position may be lowly, at least he no longer has to go jogging (?)

Shadow Detective Season 2 Episode 7+8 Review & Explained

Shadow Detective 2 ending(Finale):If we want to protect ourselves, we must help each other.

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In Shadow Detective Season 2 Finale Episode 7, the writer discusses Choi Do-Hyung’s motivation for establishing the Jinjinghui (an underground organization within the police force), hinting at deeper reasons. I think Choi Do-Hyung is similar to Kook Jin-Han in that both are lonely individuals in the game of being a cop.

In the past, Kook Jin-Han also offended many people and was demoted because he investigated Chairman Zhang. In “Shadow Detective” the screenwriter constantly leads viewers to explore the game played by cops and why those seeking justice are excluded. Why are crime-fighting police officers seen as thorns in this system? (Kook Jin-Han was also treated this way).

In Episode 7 of “Shadow Detective Season 2 Finale,” we can initially see Choi Do-Hyung’s motivation for establishing Jinjinghui. This underground organization gives off a contrasting feeling compared to corruption on the surface. Initially, Jinjinghui had good intentions; Choi Do-Hyung understood that he couldn’t defeat corrupt high-ranking officials through legal means alone, so he used Jinjinghui to privately combat crime outside of official procedures.

Especially when Hwang Jin-Seok lost his limb during an operation and received no compensation from the police department simply because their mission wasn’t part of proper procedure, there must be deep resentment within Choi Do-Hyung’s heart.

Why would righteous police officers fighting against crime end up like this? It is even more infuriating for Choi Do-Hyung to witness how little recognition Hwang Jin-Seok receives despite risking his life to catch criminals.

Choi Do-Hyung has always wanted to expand his influence because he needs himself and his organization to become powerful enough to have access to influential figures who can help improve the police system and give importance back to law enforcement. Therefore, the initial establishment of Jinjinghui by Choi Do-Hyung had good intentions, but it involved walking a dark, treacherous, and dangerous path.

However, later on, Lee Young-Ho discovered his power and used it for evil deeds. Choi Do-Hyung’s situation is similar to Yu Hyeon-seok in “Shadow Detective” Season 1; once trapped in the world of corruption, he can no longer escape and must continue down this path to survive. This is why the screenwriter connects the content of “Shadow Detective” Season 1 with that of “Shadow Detective Season 2 Finale.”

Although Chairman Zhang appears in “Shadow Detective” his follower Lee Young-Ho secretly plans to eliminate him. Through Choi Do-Hyung’s involvement with Kook Jin-Han’s character, they aim to use Kim Taek-Rok to destroy Seo Gwang-Su’s faction that wants control over redevelopment projects.

In doing so, Chairman Zhang also gets eliminated, leaving only Lee Young-Ho’s faction behind. However, in “Shadow Detective Season 2 Finale,” Choi Do-Hyung plans to break free from this situation gradually and sets up schemes against Lee Young-Ho. Not only does he express his intention to cooperate with candidate Kim Jin-Sun in Episode 6 but also takes measures not to expose the existence of Jinjinghui while plotting against Lee Young-Ho’s political career.

As for why Choi Do-Hyung decides to deal with Kim Taek-Rok in the last two episodes: it is because Kim Taek-Rok knows about Jinjinghui’s existence. If exposed, everything done by their group for Lee Young-ho will be revealed as well. That is why throughout “Shadow Detective Season 2 Finale,” Choi Do- Hyung intentionally or unintentionally hopes that Kim Taek-Rok can let go of the past and not investigate further, as he doesn’t want Kim Taek-Rok to discover Jinjinghui.

I believe Kim Taek-Rok has always been someone who hopes others won’t stray from the right path. For example, in “Shadow Detective” Season 1, his redemption of Kook Jin-Han shows that he genuinely wishes for him to stop.

Therefore, rather than saying Kim Taek-Rok is chasing after Kook Jin-Han and Choi Do-Hyung, it is more accurate to say that Kim Taek-Rok hopes they won’t continue down the wrong path. (I think this is also why Kim Taek-Rok intentionally leaves a “petition letter” for Choi Do-Hyung; it’s like hoping to make him realize his mistakes through emotions and allowing Kim Taek- Rok to take responsibility for past errors once again.)

Shadow Detective 2 ending(Finale):The boundary between procedural systems and combating crime?

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The clever thing about the plot in “Shadow Detective Season 2 Finale” is how it vividly portrays Choi Do-Hyung’s beliefs and goals throughout his journey to improve the police system. His methods may be illegal, but he knows that his objectives and determination are similar to the character relationships I previously depicted in my diagram. It doesn’t seem like B Party’s purpose is solely for urban renewal; they need “status and connections” to reform the police system.

That’s why in “Shadow Detective Season 2 Finale” Episode ,Choi Do-Hyung hopes to push for the “strengthening of police force bill” through Kim Jin-Sun’s party group. He has always been aware of the harsh reality that Korean police officers must face (that they can only follow orders from superiors) within this system and ecological context.

In “Shadow Detective Season 2 Finale” episode 7, we learn that Kim Taek-Rok and Choi Do-Hyung had a conflict back in 2003 when Choi Do-Hyung ordered their team to conduct a raid. This event ended tragically, with Kim Taek-Rok stopping Choi Do-Hyung from shooting, resulting in Hwang Jin-Seok losing his leg.

So what annoys Choi Do-Hyung is why Kim Taek-Rok would adhere to boundaries that cause harm to their own people while letting criminals go unscathed. At that time, Choi Do-Hyung lamented, “Is this right? We’re supposed to apprehend scum but have to consider our superiors’ opinions? We can’t even use our guns properly at crime scenes. Is this really right?”

Kim Taek-Rok once said, “If we want to protect ourselves, we must help each other.” I really liked how in “Shadow Detective Season 2 Finale,” Kim Taek-Rok and his past cases confront each other once again, bringing the plot back to the “old case” of finding the culprit. The tragedy caused by Kim Taek-Rok’s secret missions in the past has led him to have different thoughts from other members.

In the eyes of others, Kim Taek-Rok seems like he’s speaking up for criminals, as if he has betrayed his brothers at Today Peace. I really appreciate how the writer portrays Kim Taek-Rok’s remorse and inner search for redemption in this case. He truly knows that his decision to stop Choi Do-Hyung from using a gun resulted in a tragedy. However, I believe that what weighs on Kim Taek-Rok’s mind is always his concern for his brothers.

Even after Hwang Jin-Seok lost his leg, Kim Taek-Rok continues to relentlessly pursue Park Cheon-Kyu (the traumatic event where Park Cheon-Kyu took away his daughter). His efforts to prevent vigilante justice among his brothers are not just about following police procedures; it’s because he doesn’t want them to face demotion or be unable to stay in the police force due to this incident within the system and ecology of law enforcement.

I think Today Peace harbors their own anger, and Kim Taek-Rok understands their hearts but wants to prevent them from making grave mistakes. Therefore, there is a deep misunderstanding towards Kim Taek-Rok within Today Peace because all he possesses is an “outdated sense of justice.”

Shadow Detective 2 ending(Finale):What do you have left after everything is over?

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🔺”What do you have left after everything? A remorseful and scarred old policeman?”

🔺”Where did it all go wrong? I just wanted to be an ordinary police officer. I shouldn’t have become a cop in the first place, that’s where all the mistakes began.”

🔺”Because of your rigid sense of justice, your life has turned out like this. You’ve always been like this, a weak policeman trapped in the shadows you created for yourself.”

The police world is always a never-ending factional struggle. After getting rid of Choi Do-Hyung, what happens next? In “Shadow Detective Season 2 Finale,” the writer resolves Kim Taek-Rok’s inner demon, which is his “rigid sense of justice.” This sense of justice is not wrong, but rather a result of Kim Taek-Rok’s inherent nature.

Why didn’t Kim Taek-Rok shoot when faced with Choi Do-Hyung’s threat? It was to protect Yeon Ju-Hyun (after all, his past actions caused a rift in their relationship). Until now, Kim Taek-Rok continues to bear all responsibilities and carries the burden for everything that has happened. I believe that ultimately, Kim Taek-Rok will become an old detective filled with remorse and scars.

But he will do so because of his inner demon. In reality, it is not Kim Taek-Rok’s fault; he just took on the responsibility. Therefore, in the end, the writer-director uses Xian Shuo in Kim Taek-Rok’s dream to say that it wasn’t his fault and there was no blame towards him at all. Kim Taek-Rok knows he should let go of this burden and move on since everything has passed; there is no need to hold onto past mistakes tightly.

So regarding “Shadow Detective Season 2 Finale,” what does Kim Taek-Rok have left after everything? I think he gains a broader mindset and becomes an ordinary person who forgives himself. I believe this is why in the end of “Shadow Detective Season 2,” Kim Taek-Rok says: “Being a police officer was both the toughest and happiest time for me – especially during my time in the Special Search Team. You don’t need to apologize to me; I was just catching criminals and doing what I had to do.”

Ultimately, Kim Taek-Rok takes pride in being a police officer and cherishes his time serving as one. He believes that he has always lived up to the expectations of being a police officer, resolving his inner demon. He is not afraid of being a police officer nor does he express regret for choosing this path. After everything, Kim Taek-Rok also finds inner peace and completeness within himself.