Asian Junkie Asian pop. Without discretion.
Hello and welcome back to the recaps for Crime Scene Returns, and obviously we’ll be picking up where we left off on Episode 3, now getting to the conclusion of the case for Episode 4.
Probably one of the better cases on the show I can remember. Engrossing shit.
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In the previous recap, I did a breakdown of the information the viewers have about the victim and the suspects, which I think continues to be a good way to go about things.
Owner Park (Park Ji Yoon)
Oh boy, last recap I thought Owner Park was an underrated candidate to be the murderer, basically because I thought she had the best access. Now though, there’s a flood of evidence against her, almost so much that it felt like a Flight Ahn red herring from the last case.
They found she had hidden accounting books with the ID cards of previous tenants who disappeared, taking out loans in their names, including one for a Jang Wonyoung (IVE).
Jang Wonyoung can truly do it all. Everything, everywhere, all at once. pic.twitter.com/CrIenndux2
— Asian Junkie (@asianjunkiecom) March 8, 2024
In the victim’s case, she did have his ID, but was accused of waiting until she had killed him to take out the loan.
So with all the victims born in 1988 and accused of being a serial killer, she claims that they all just left and the reason she likes the number eight is because she’s Chinese, so their birthdate was nothing more than a coincidence.
Furthermore, it’s found that she used to be a professional butcher, giving her the means and ability. Though one of the primary, serious non-serial killer motives would’ve been the organ harvesting scheme, but that was never expanded on with any evidence even after investigating the body.
Super Jang (Jang Jin)
Aside from Owner Park’s acting, this was probably the most entertaining plot of the episode, as his wife’s wanted poster was found in the rubbish bin. Turns out he hid his fugitive wife in the supposedly unoccupied room 304, making for a genuienly terrifying moment.
The conspiracy was that the victim found out that his wife was in room 304 and was going to expose it. He made a video of Super Jang begging him to not do that and offering him $50,000, and at the time of the murder he went to his old factory to get the hidden money (it wasn’t there).
The motive would be to prevent that information from getting out, but there’s no evidence Super Jang knew the victim was going to release a video anyway, so his alibi of being off-site appears to check out.
Dayworker Jang (Jang Dong Min)
Man, this was one of the more complicated backstories in a while, at least as it unfolded in the episode.
Okay, so basically his mother was married and went to in IVF clinic. However, when he was born he had a photosensitivity condition that made the father suspicious and get a DNA test, and it showed he wasn’t the father. So the mother was shamed for allegedly cheating and ended up killing herself.
Dayworker Jang discovered later that the doctor in charge of the IVF clinic used his own sperm instead of the clients, resulting in 10 illegitimate children, including Dayworker Jang. He knew about this because private investigator Agent Jang looked into it for him and he had a list of at least three names on it.
The three missing people on the snack boxes found in Super Jang’s store were all born in 1988, and so was the victim. Dayworker Jang had claimed it was applications he burned, but it was actually his birth records, and suspicion fell on him because it seemed like he was picking off his half-siblings one-by-one.
He has the strongest motive, as basically his life was ruined by these events, and to make matters worse he was being bullied by his half-brother. He had all the tools to be able to commit the murder, as well as knowledge of the building from being a long-time tenant.
Mature Joo (Joo Hyun Young)
She was on the video behind victim wearing a hanbok, and claims it was advice from fortune teller to cast out evil spirits. Revealed that the victim had a spy hole into her room watching her do exorcism, but aside from being a weirdo there’s not a ton of evidence that she could’ve done this.
As an aside, can I just take a moment to say that from the layout of the scene showed in the YouTube broadcast and the lengths of the hallway, that’s absolutely not the right direction for it to be her room. The hallway is too long on that side compared to the other side, I swear! LOOK AT THE PIXELS! I have overthought Episode 3 so much that I found an error, I am truly amazing!
Rapper Ahn (IVE’s Yujin)
Honestly? There’s basically zero evidence that emerged this episode despite the fact that I thought they might be a prime suspect. Granted, that’s because I thought they were the one on video (see above) behind the victim, but still. Shockingly, just mostly ignored … but entertaining.
Yujin being a rapper, lol. pic.twitter.com/U6PD3iAwOL
— Asian Junkie (@asianjunkiecom) March 8, 2024
Victim – Hwang Seulwoo
It’s found that he had the key to room 304 in his pocket, which was related to the secret he was due to reveal. He also had a marking with three dots and a line on his body, unrelated to any wound that killed him. Certainly seemed to indicate that one way or the other they’re looking for a serial killer. Furthermore, it’s pointed out that the blood trail to the drain was interrupted, seemingly by a smudge stemming from a fall, it’s presumed to have happened during the blackout.
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Opinion
Okay, so I have this bad habit of overthinking things and trying to meta game the producers, ignoring like obvious signs of a murderer (like a professional assassin). So if I were to stick with the basics here, I think the person that fits the profile most of a serial killer, with the strength to pull it off and strongest motive to commit the murder, would primarily be Dayworker Jang.
Towards the end, it seemed like Owner Park was getting overwhelmed by allegations, and she does also technically fit all the requirements. Her motive was money, the means was access and knowledge of the building, and the ability was her past career. However, I thought the number eight would mean more, but the fact that it’s just a lucky number and that her motive was monetary doesn’t matchup well with serial killing and leaving an identifying mark on the body like it was personal. Additionally, leaking back into my meta thinking, that discovery of her as a butcher with a knife and covered in blood was almost too on the nose for me.
Meanwhile, Dayworker Jang’s mother killed herself after the IVF clinic crime, and he likely snapped after finding out about his half-siblings. Furthermore, two factors were brushed off way too hasty for my liking. Both Owner Park and Dayworker Jang had contact with Agent Jang for different reasons, but the explanation for how Owner Park got the victims to stay at the dorm was simply “she had cheap prices”, while Dayworker Jang specifically used Agent Jang to do research into his history and had IVF documents on more than just himself. Additionally, the fact that there was a mark in the blood trail was almost thrown in at the end, but this was the reason I switched my vote, as the only reason to leave that as evidence and to make the perpetrator fall was to indicate some kind of reaction to the blackout and storm … something like photosensitivity, where even not wearing glasses is enough to make him nauseous. Thus, I concluded it was Dayworker Jang, with Owner Park as a close second.
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Votes
- Dayworker Jang: 4 (Officer Key, Super Jang, Mature Joo, Owner Park)
- Owner Park: 3 (Officer Key, Rapper Ahn, Dayworker Jang)
- Super Jang: 0
- Mature Joo: 0
- Rapper Ahn: 0
In the end, the killer was Dayworker Jang, though the voting was about as close as I expected. The clues they missed were the mark on Dayworker Jang’s stomach being 10 for the 10th victim after he killed himself. Additionally, he did use Agent Jang to send out invitations to the victims, but only Mature Joo found it on the last investigation. That would’ve proved his guilt beyond any doubt and eliminated the need for assumption as to what exactly Agent Jang did for Dayworker Jang, as it would’ve been the only evidence that anybody had in steering the missing people into the dorm.
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Other Stuff
- Hi, Hani! Legendary character.
- Park Ji Yoon’s overdramatic acting is in prime form.
- Jang Dong Min scaring the shit out of the cast and then being ignored cause he does that loud shit too often, lol.
- Jang Dong Min, police violence advocate.
- They got the annoying nature of YouTuber thumbnails spot on.
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Wow, thought this was one of the better cases, at least from an entertainment perspective. Aside from the deep and complex backstories that had me going back to watch multiple times in order to get clues, it also had one of the only actual jumpscares in the series because they used a real actress to hide under the bed. Hope the momentum continues, as the cast seems to be settling in with each other now.
Note to self: They really meant it when they said that rewinding the episode a few times is the best. Some important clues are just thrown out there and not focused on by producers in editing.
If you’ve seen the other available episodes, don’t spoil it in the comments.
