Welcome to Gucheon
We follow a truck as it dumps a heap of gold into a pit. As the gold is covered in cement, we see a man shrouded in darkness watch. This dark and gritty title track affirmation that Big Mouth is now in noir thriller territory.
This is a report on the latest in organized crime, with exclusive footage of Big Mouse, a notorious criminal who seems to have a finger in every pie. We learn of his latest robberies, stabbings, and police chases.
“Gucheon is a beautiful city on the outside. But on the inside, it’s a place of crime and violence. The lights of the city are a sign of hope, but on closer inspection, they’re just another sign of what’s wrong with Gucheon.”
The three celebrate their anniversary at a luxury restaurant. Chang-ho, a lawyer, gets a phone call, through which he reveals that he is the defence counsel for the Gucheon hospital murder. He leaves to meet someone and on his way out, a server offers him a free drink. He sips on it while driving but soon loses hold of his senses and gets into an accident.
We flashback to 7 days earlier and follow the story of Chang-ho’s ordinary family life. Mi-ho is a typical married couple who are living with her father. Chang-ho saves up money but spends it on what he thinks is a lucrative cryptocurrency deal, only to get scammed. Now, he is trying to fight the case in court. He even borrowed money from a loan shark to bribe the judge. Sadly, in the face of a new judge and new lawyers, he loses the case.
As the angry mob of people berate him, we learn that his nickname is Big Mouth since he is all talk, but can’t back it up with skills. Mi-ho, who works as a nurse, is angry when she finds out about the case and the two argue about getting a divorce, but neither are serious about it.
Chang-ho is shocked to hear about the case and decides to stay away from home for a few days so he can get more information. He meets with the mayor, who tells him about the case. Chang-ho decides to stay away from home for a few days so he can get more information about the Gucheon University Hospital murder case.
The three people are incredibly privileged people who are associated with the hospital – a surgeon, a lawyer, and the son of the chair of Gucheon University Foundation. They also belong to the Nine Rivers Forum.
As they discuss this, Chang-ho realises the trial for these three powerful men is already planned out and they just need an obedient lawyer to be a front man. But Mayor Choi really wants him to only pretend to be the front man while actually getting to the truth of the matter. He uses the idea of a righteous lawyer fighting Goliath to entice Chang-ho into playing double agent.
Chang-ho needs to find the missing dashcam footage from the car that night. We see the mayor reel in a fish and the camera pans to a spider in a web. Is Chang-ho getting caught in something much bigger than it seems?
Chang-ho visits the prison where the three suspects are being held and meets with them. Jung Chae-bong, Han Jae-ho, and Lee Du-geun are all living in comfortable accommodations and have access to luxurious amenities. Chang-ho introduces himself as their lawyer and the three are convinced that he is the obedient fool they need. While he’s there, they receive a phone call from Chang-ho’s friend - someone has found footage from Chang-ho’s dashcam that shows what happened during the accident. ..
As the three start to panic, Chang-ho exits but leaves behind a bug. He overhears them talking about how the dashcam footage had been given to Dr. Han’s wife for safekeeping. They also reveal that the footage is their insurance against ‘that man’, a mysterious fourth accomplice.
Chang-ho and Mayor Choi go to meet the wife, just as she is attacked by a man clad in all black. The woman threatens to jail Chang-ho if he doesn’t turn over the footage to her husband, but also reveals that she has another accomplice - Gong Ji-hoon, the president of Gukdong Daily.
The dashcam footage shows the three suspects attacking the doctor in the car itself, trying to threaten him into withdrawing a certain paper. When he refuses the attacks get more violent, consequently resulting in the doctor losing his life. The suspects then make a phone call to someone, who says he’ll take care of the body.
Chang-ho watches this and contemplates his two choices: of going to Mayor Choi with the footage or approaching Gong Ji-hoon. Meanwhile, the loan shark sends people to Chang-ho’s house to seize his property. The mounting money problems seem to strengthen Chang-ho’s resolve. ..
He comes home and coaxes Mi-ho into a good mood with gifts of chicken and the money he received from Mayor Choi. They make up and talk about having a baby and their three-year anniversary the next day.
Chang-ho drives to Gong Ji-hoon’s vacation house and attempts to blackmail him with the dashcam footage. Ji-hoon remains unfazed and tells Chang-ho to “get lost.”
Mayor Choi thanks Chang-ho for his help and tells him he will give the footage to the prosecutor of the case directly.
The flashback completes its arc to the present and we return to the dinner scene from the beginning of the episode. Chang-ho gets a call from the prosecutor and leaves to meet him. On his way, he accepts a drink from the server and eventually gets in an accident. ..
He had lost all his money and his home. He was homeless and jobless. But he was also free. He could do anything he wanted. He could be anyone he wanted to be. ..
The Episode Review
The first episode of this new series is very exciting. It sets up the story and introduces the characters very well. The pace of the story is fast and the action is intense. We are able to understand all of the players in this game and what their motives are. The last scene sets up the next move in this game and we can’t wait to see what happens next.
The show’s strong focus on character development makes for a compelling watch. Lee Jong-suk is perfect as the bumbling but genial lawyer, but the show’s real star is his character’s transformation. From the worried but strong-willed wife to the calm and collected mayor, each character seems well-rounded and well-developed. We can only hope that this thoughtful writing of character keeps pace with the building plot.
The episode was fun and had some exciting moments, but it was a bit slow overall. It made one excited for the upcoming episodes. ..
