Pendulum
Episode 5 of “Insider” picks up right where we left off following that shocking cliffhanger. Yo-Han stabs Jin-Hyung in the neck and watches as he bleeds out… or does he? It turns out this was actually one big fake-out; a vision that Yo-Han had and played out in his mind. Oh, what a fake-out! ..
Jin-Hyung was set up by Yo-Han’s grandmother, who he thought was his mother. She gave him coordinates on his phone to follow, and when he did, he found her lying unconscious on the floor.
Jin-Hyung was set up this whole time while someone was recording the video. He was trying to call the police but didn’t get through. This explains the misdirection, as Yo-Han drops the scalpel and apologizes, admitting that he’s scared and didn’t know what else to do. When they hug, Yo-Han’s gaze narrows. ..
Weeks prior to the meeting, we cut back on our training with Yo-Han. He’s been beaten up by the guys supposedly teaching him how to fight, and he doesn’t appear to be fighting back though. He’s also attempting his sleight of hand with the “professor” too but none of that seems to be working.
Sun-O tasks Yo-Han with finding Nam Dae-Moon’s ledger, which should be hidden among the belongings somewhere. This happens to show incriminating information about many of those top officials in the poker room. Unfortunately, Yo-Han’s search is fruitless. ..
Yo-Han realizes that the clues may lie in the staff room, specifically with the newspapers. It could well be that the ledger has been stashed inside the pages of the newspaper, but there are a lot of them and it’s impossible to find.
As he begins to search through the photos, he is confronted by Seung-Hwan, who warns him that if he is caught, the whole cell will be punished. ..
In the episode “Shredded,” Yo-Han and Su-Yeon investigate a private meeting between Park Ro-Sa and Yo-Han. They find that Park was able to obtain evidence with the help of a secret informant.
Yo-Han is a prisoner who is asking too many questions and his secretive nature, coupled with his visits by the VIP, make him a target from the others in his cellblock. He’s poisoned by Seung-Hwan and rushed to the medical ward, where Yo-Han awakens.
Seung-Hwan promises he won’t kill him there. “Go back to where you came from,” He says bitterly. “This is not a place for you.” He’s made his case clear, demanding Yo-Han just go back and do his sentence in silence. ..
Director Jin and Chairman Yang arrive at the prison to find the Warden. The Warden is caught in the middle with Chairman Do but Yang is not here on business. He wants to find Tae-Gwang and knows that he’s been poisoned and is being hidden away. Sun-O comes out of hiding, smiling. The pair have a nasty history together, something Yang exploits immediately to rile him up. ..
Byung-Wook, the man who set up Jin-Hyung and is responsible for driving a wedge between them, has been trying to drive a wedge between the pair for some time. Thanks to some clever phone work, Jin-Hyung now knows too.
The video that Su-Yeon saw was created for him to see. This trail leads back to Inspector Kwon and a small kid called Woo Min-Ho. This 11 year old was secretly being hidden in a motel room by Kwon and seems to have a connection with Yo-Han’s grandmother. She believes that he could be the key to solving this.
Yo-Han is confronted by his former cellmates for being secretive. They are worried that he will jeopardize their operation and cause them to be sent back to prison. ..
Sun-O asks Yo-Han quietly to give him the ledger so that he can end the fight, but Yo-Han is forced to endure more punishment when the pendulum comes into play. ..
Yo-Han is knocked out and when he regains consciousness, finds himself tied upside down in the workshop. Yo-Han struggles to free himself and when he finally does, he finds that his tools have been taken. ..
The Episode Review
Insider is a suspenseful thriller that centers around the game Byung-Wook is playing to sever the ties between Yo-Han and Jin-Hyung. It’s far too early to figure out how all these puzzle pieces slot together, but it does make for quite the intriguing watch.
Since Yo-Han entered prison, Insider has been doubling down on the tension. Watching him under constant duress is hard to watch. There is only so much punishment one guy can take and he has been through an absolute warzone since entering the prison. ..
Sun-O is in a difficult position. He must play both sides, operating in the shadows while simultaneously making sure he’s not outed as working with Yo-Han.
The ending of this episode hints that there is going to be a dramatic next week and whether our characters can make it out of this alive or not is anyone’s guess.
