Episode 1 Recap and Review: K-Drama “Decoy”

Decoy premieres its first episode in 2020. On the day of customer appreciation, Noh Sang-cheon, the chairman of the illustrious Bigs Network, delivers an enthralling speech. He thrills the audience with his words about having made them enough money to make him respectable enough for them to believe in him. He talks about having the capacity to dream since he is wealthy enough to. At the conclusion of his speech, the audience erupts in jubilant chants of his name and gives him a standing ovation.

Sang-cheon operates the largest Ponzi scheme, cheating the consumers of all their investments, thus their happiness is short-lived. According to the news channel, he perished in a car accident in China, where he had fled in order to avoid capture. The fraud case that was brought against him was dropped as a result of his passing. The victims feel demoralised, have no chance of recovering their losses, and are burdened with debt.

In 2023, the disciplinary officer is questioning detective Gu Do-han about faking a case report involving detective Jang-Jun-hwi. He defends his teammate using his extensive legal knowledge, and as a result, he receives a brief suspension. He was shown to have been hired via a special programme and had previously held a position of influence, representing corporate moguls and high-ranking politicians in court.

A scruffy man hobbles home at night and is brutally murdered by a man in a mask. The man accuses No Sang-cheon of attempting to kill him and coerces the man into dialling 911. As the food delivery person arrives in the morning, he discovers the corpse.

Gang Jong-hun, the deputy chief, is compelled by the homicide investigation to call Do-han back to work before to the expiration of his interim suspension. When Do-han gets to the scene of the crime, he sees that the victim’s fingernails have been taken out, indicating that the guy was tortured before he was slain. In order to hear the deliveryman’s testimony, he requests that he be summoned back.

Do-han is outside conversing with the delivery driver, who discloses that a delivery order has been placed with the restaurant. Also, the caller stated that because of his disability, he would be unable to open the door, so the delivery person should just come in. Do-han observes a strange man snapping pictures of the scene while he is still outside. The man then makes an attempt to leave, but Do-han follows him because he seems untrustworthy and demands his phone. The man’s phone contains images of Do-han and the crime scene before the police arrived. Although he tries to flee, the detectives are able to understand him and take him to the station.

Decoy

Do-han questions the suspicious man again at the station. He displays resentment and frustration that Do-han would dare to detain him without realising he was also a victim. Lee Byeong-jun is his name, while Song Young-jin is deceased.

According to Byeong-jun, he met with Young-jin and was later discovered dead. He discloses that Sang-accomplice cheon’s Young-jin participated in the Ponzi scheme that put him and numerous other people in debt. Young-jin attended the victims’ self-help group even though he was furious with him and informed the members that Sang-cheon was still alive and that he would assist them in recovering their money.

A self-described lawyer named Jung Na-yeon insistently wants to talk with the suspect in the present. Do-han permits her even though he is aware of her lack of legal training. He explains to his staff that he invited her in order to learn more about what she was up to.

Read More: Alert: Season1 Episode 8 of Missing Persons Unit: How to Watch?

Do-han came to a realisation as he observed the two. Lee Byeong-jun might have purposefully gotten himself arrested. Even though it was daylight, he held the motorbike’s brake while taking shots and had the flash on. Na-Yeon in the room counsels Byeong-jun to tell the truth to the authorities because the individuals behind him had committed a murder. He declines since they had told her that they still had one final hope and that all that had been predicted for him had come to pass.

Do-hun still works to solve the puzzle and enlists a team member’s assistance. He returns to the crime scene alongside Byeong-jun to reenact what happened. The deputy’s head was the detective in charge of the Sang-cheon case, and Byeong-jun reveals that he does not think that he is dead.

In 2011, Sang-Chun and his close group are getting ready to flee the nation. Young-jin is one among them. He answers a call and prepares to leave. He abruptly changes his destination while travelling in the getaway car, forcing Young-jin to try texting someone at the new location. Sang-cheon contacts him out of the blue and learns that Young-jin betrayed him. He beats him up despite his cries that it was just a miscommunication, then instructs his men to hurl him off a pier. Despite breaking his leg, he lives. The ship does not show up at the port.

Decoy

They are stopped by detective Gang Jong-hun and his crew on their way home. They attempt to compel him to unlock the car door, but as they do, a suspicious car pulls up and the detective receives an enigmatic call. He explains to his squad that Sang-cheon was not in the automobile and that they had been misled. They release them, but they continue to follow. As the investigators spot the same car coming towards their vehicle, they ram into it to get it to halt, but Sang-cheon was not in the vehicle. He had already changed vehicles and was being guided to a new place by the enigmatic vehicle.

The victims are informed by Na-yeon that Byeong-jun will be held as a suspect in the present. After speaking with the suspect, Do-han goes to deputy chief Gang Jong-hun to let him know he wants to check into the death of Sang-cheon. The deputy’s supervisor is adamant that the case should be closed without further investigation. Do-han advises the deputy head to notify him in advance if he wants him to conceal anything.

No Sang-fingerprints cheon’s and other forensic evidence match in 98.7% of cases, and a second guy calls the emergency call centre to report that Sang-cheon is attempting to kill him. The episode concludes with another murder as the deputy’s head drives off, leaving a startled Do-hun in the parking lot.

Read More: Alert: Season 1 Episode 8 of Missing Persons Unit: How to Watch?

The Episode Review

There are so many unanswered questions in this episode. Why did Sang-cheon devise the strategy, and who is he? He showed up in the enigmatic automobile, but was he the mastermind? Does Byeong-jun know the murderer and why did he purposefully get himself arrested? Why did Do-hun switch from practising law to being a detective? How does the reporter Jung Na-yeon fit into the storyline?

When the top deputy tried to convince Do-han that Byeong-jun was the murderer and explain why and how he had to be, I saw that he was acting strangely. Who then contacted and instructed him to release Sang-cheon? Sang-Cheon, is he dead?

With so many unanswered issues, the first episode is suspenseful and leaves the viewer hungry to find out what happens next. There is a lot of planning, secret plans, and craftiness hinted at in the series plot, and it is challenging to even predict what will happen next.

 

Comments are closed.