It’s nice that You’re All Surrounded isn’t bothering to dither around anymore with having the rookies dabble in random other cases to develop their skills and camaraderie. If this drama was a sitcom that approach would have worked better but it ended up being one of the trip ups in this drama. Now it’s fully excised from the narrative and everything improves because of it. The rookies have grown to care about each other and the development of the friendship has been one of the best parts of this story. It took awhile to get going but now it’s here and feels really solid and reassuring. It’s hilarious that Director Cha blames the bad hoodoo around the rookies for the spate of bad things happening around the Gangnam precinct, but the rookies have actually arrived to clean house with their bumbling ways and personal baggage. It’s like tripping and the few second delay avoids a major accident that would have happened if the trajectory had been on time. Dae Gu’s deep dive into his mother’s murder takes him on a journey that needed this level of maturity and support to get through.

Had the truth come back eleven years ago, I’m not sure Dae Gu’s life would have been better off. Is he the son of Madam Yoo’s husband? All signs point to it, but then again, it would be absolutely subversive if he wasn’t and his mom was killed because Madam Yoo believed it. The senseless nature of so many of the crime cases we’ve seen in this drama can be hammered home for Dae Gu so that he realizes his job carries a much heavier burden then a personal validation in solving his mother’s case. He represents hope for those who are trampled upon like his mother was. I think by now Dae Gu ought to let Pan Seok off the emotional guilt hook since it’s clear his mother’s death was not related to her decision to testify in another rape trial. This drama does tend to throw all sorts of things into one basket like it’s some unholy combination of bad luck, what with Pan Seok’s son dying that same day. Having Dae Gu surrounded by his colleagues and friends in Team 3 is the highlight of this drama’s narrative, showing us like bad things happen to many people and to get through it requires reaching out to take a reassuring hand.

Episode 17 recap:

Team 3 stands over the resting Tae Il and worry about how close he came to death had the knife been a few centimeters deeper. They vow to catch the culprits in this attack and continue investigating to solve the murder of Dae Gu’s mom. Tae Il wakes up and Ji Gook is so worried that he chastises Tae Il for not letting the culprits just take the necklace. Tae Il assures them he’s fine and apologizes to Dae Gul for losing the necklace but no one cares about that. Soo Sun knows this case isn’t over since they still have an eyewitness who saw Madam Yoo leave the crime scene that day.

Dae Gu walks Soo Sun back to her new apartment and hears it’s clean and comfortable. She takes his hand and reminds him to sleep well tonight and not worry about too much. Dae Gu smiles but confesses that’s hard for him to do. Soo Sun knows but asks him to try regardless and he promises to try. They smile at each other and look down at their joined hands before Dae Gu tells Soo Sun to go inside and get some rest.

Director Cha is tossing red beans at the Team 3 desk area to ward off the bad luck that seems to follow this particular team. Soo Sun’s mom gets beaten then Tae Il gets stabbed, the woeful events keep coming one another another so he has no choice but to summon the spirits to ward off the bad ills. This scene is so random but pretty darn hilarious.

Pan Seok storms to Chief Kang’s office and demands to know who was behind all of this. The necklace has been taken and Tae Il was attacked, so who is behind this? Chief Kang claims she doesn’t know and Pan Seok asks how Ji Yong will feel if he found out Chief Kang was part of the conspiracy. She warns Pan Seok that Ji Yong will believe her first and Pan Seok agrees which is why he won’t tell Ji Yong until he gets more evidence. But he vows to get to the bottom of the Masan murder even if he leaks information to the public do to so. He warns Chief Kang to cooperate when the time comes where she can’t hide things anymore.

Pan Seok takes the treadmill next to Madam Yoo and asks if she’s in a good mood because she has two necklaces in her possession now. She might want to reconsider it since they have an eyewitness who saw Madam Yoo leave the house that day. Once they get the interview summons she will need to come in to talk with the cops. Soo Sun arrives with the court approved interview summons and places it on Madam Yoo’s treadmill but she just tears it up. Soo Sun picks up the torn pieces and tells Madam Yoo not to tear up official documents paid for by public resources. Madam Yoo might be able to hide the necklace in her house but she can’t hide herself anymore.

Dae Gu finally talks to his mother’s former colleague who doesn’t recognize Madam Yoo. She remembers Dae Gu’s mom as being very well liked and did a lot of charity work in the past. She shows Dae Gu pictures from over twenty years ago when she did charity work with the company. One of the pictures is Dae Gu’s mom posing with Madam Yoo’s husband Mr Shin Ji Il and Dae Gu recognizes him. He hears from the friend and Dae Gu’s mom and Ji Il oppa used to like each other. But one day Dae Gu’s mom suddenly quit her job and left Seoul, followed shortly by news that the guy was getting married to a very rich woman. The friend asks if Dae Gu thinks the man could be his dad?

Dae Gu thinks to himself about the rumor back in Masan that his mom was a mistress to a married man and Dae Gu was their love child. Dae Gu asked his mom about that but she keeps insisting she wasn’t a mistress and Dae Gu’s dad is dead. Dae Gu pays a visit to his mom’s memorial and tearfully asks if she lied to him when she said his dad was dead? He vows to catch the people who made his mom end up like this and it doesn’t matter if she lied about his dad. He’s just so sorry he couldn’t protect his mom.

Soo Sun and Ji Gook are with Tae Il looking through stacks of criminal reports to see if he can recognize the two culprits who attacked him. Dae Gu wants Tae Il to rest but he insists on working towards catching the bad guys as soon as possible. Dae Gu re-gifts to Tae Il the special bracelet from Eun Do that is supposed to ward off bad things. Tae Il’s dad comes in and asks if Tae Il will stop this nonsense and come home but Tae Il insists on following his path as a cop. His dad calls Tae Il just like his brother and says both sons are dead to him, forbidding Tae Il from coming home even after he is discharged from the hospital.

Tae Il shares his back story with his rookies finally. He was a doctor at the hospital when his mom called him to come home early because the family was going to meet their sister-in-law soon. Tae Il comes home to find his brother kneeling before their parents with his lover who is a man. Tae Il’s father can’t accept that his eldest son is gay and rages at his unnatural inclination. Tae Il is also shocked by this and runs out of the house and his brother chases after him. Tae Il runs across the street and his brother ends up hit by a car. Tae Il couldn’t remain a doctor after that and decided to be a cop because it was the only way he could beg his brother for forgiveness because being a cop was his brother’s dream. The rookies hear the story and don’t say anything other than keep taking care of him by cutting fruit and adjusting his bed and turning on the TV to watch. Tae Il smiles but looks really devastated after telling his story.

Dae Gu sits alone in the park remembering what his mom’s friend said about who Dae Gu’s dad could be? Soo Sun walks up and wants to call him back to the hospital room but Dae Gu gestures to the bench for her to sit down. Dae Gu lays down and rests his head on her lap before teasing that her lap is comfortable because she’s rather meaty. Soo Sun lets him rest there and after a bit Dae Gu asks Soo Sun what her dad is like? Soo Sun smiles to remember her stubborn warm dad who treated her the best. The more time passes, the more she misses him. She wonders why Dae Gu is asking but he brushes it aside as no reason so Soo Sun doesn’t push and just lets him continue resting on her lap. She raises her hand to block the street light from his eyes and smiles watching him resting.

Dae Gu goes to meet Madam Yoo’s husband and shows him the picture of him taken with Dae Gu’s mom twenty-seven years ago at a charity event. Dae Gu reveals that Kim Hwa Young is his mother and she was the victim of the Masan murder eleven years ago. This is the first time Madam Yoo’s husband ever heard of the case and he looks genuinely shocked. Dae Gu reveals that a necklace was found at the scene of the crime and it’s the same necklace that his wife Madam Yoo owns. Dae Gu wants to know what the connection is? Madam Yoo’s husband claims he has an important meeting to go to now and takes Dae Gu’s business card and promises to contact him to finish this talk another time.

Madam Yoo’s son Ki Jae arrives at the Cha Sung building and sees his dad walk by followed by Dae Gu who he recognizes as the jjang jjang man super awesome cop.

Dae Gu pays a visit to Killer Boots who actually agrees to meet with him this time. Dae Gu reveals the lost necklace has been found and it doesn’t belong to the company president but instead belongs to Madam Yoo. She’s the one who attacked his mom that day, right? Dae Gu asks why, is it because he’s the son of Mr. Shin, Madam Yoo’s husband? Dae Gu shows Killer Boots the picture of his mom with Mr. Shin and asks if this murder was never about his mom testifying in another case? Killer Boots warns Dae Gu to stop investigating if he doesn’t want to die but Dae Gu insists on finding the truth. Did his mom die at the hands of Madam Yoo because she suspected Dae Gu’s paternity? Killer Boots wants to end the talk but Dae Gu screams that he needs to know the truth and Killer Boots is the only who can tell him. Killer Boots pauses but leaves without saying anything. As Killer Boots is led to his cell, we see the prisoner in the opposite cell staring at him intently.

Mr. Shin goes home to find his wife Madam Yoo drunk and screaming at him for being a bastard. She calls him willing to enter this Hell himself but Mr. Shin is in no mood to talk with her and walks off.

At breakfast the next morning, Ki Jae asks if his dad met with the jjang jjang man who tried to arrest his mom? Mr. Shin claims it was a chance meeting and the detective said hello after remembering him from last time. Mr. Shin leaves the breakfast table and Madam Yoo asks her son if they talked long? Ki Jae doesn’t know since he saw them walking off and worriedly asks if his mom caused another problem? Madam Yoo tells him to eat his breakfast and ends the conversation.

Madam Yoo goes back to her room to fret and flashes back to running into her husband Mr. Shin talking with Dae Gu’s mom around eleven years ago. Dae Gu’s mom notices Madam Yoo staring and quickly runs off while Mr. Shin looks sad like he wanted to talk with her some more.

Madam Yoo then pays a visit to Dae Gu’s mom and sees a picture of Ji Yong on her dresser. She slaps Dae Gu’s mom multiple times for daring to give birth to her husband’s son. Dae Gu’s mom claims the son is her son and she kept her promise and hadn’t seen or contacted Mr. Shin in fifteen years. Madam Yoo needs to keep her promise now and leave her again. Dae Gu’s mom keeps insisting that Dae Gu is not Mr. Shin’s son and she will keep her promise never to see him again. Madam Yoo grabs a vase and hits Dae Gu’s mom in the back of the head, and then once again across the front. Man she’s a piece of nasty work. She then freaks out and calls dear old dad to send someone to clean up the mess.

Killer Boots arrives and wipes down the crime scene of any fingerprints and then makes a mess of the house to make it look like burglary. He then leaves after he’s done. Madam Yoo is so furious that her crime is finally catching up to her and angrily shatters a wall picture of her and her husband.

Mr. Shin meets with Dae Gu and gives his condolences for what happened to Dae Gu’s mom. She was a good woman and very nice. He claims to only have a professional relationship with Dae Gu’s mom, meeting once a month at a charity event, but they never dated. Dae Gu doesn’t seem to believe him but doesn’t press further. Mr. Shin doesn’t know how his wife got embroiled in this case since he heard the culprit already confessed. He hopes that he won’t ever need to meet with Dae Gu to discuss this matter again.

Dae Gu angrily drives to the river and screams his head off in frustration. I feel ya, boy, I totally feel your pain. Dae Gu stares at the picture of his mom with Mr. Shin and crumples it up.

Team 3 confer on how to keep investigating the case. The best way is for Madam Yoo to confess and Dae Gu suggests riling her up until she confesses. Sa Kyung is brought in and she agrees with this approach, suggesting that Madam Yoo made a fake necklace and then stole the real one so she is really tense and worried right now and can crack. Team 3 is sent in to all the places Madam Yoo goes in her life to find out more about her personality and quirks. They find she gets angry when made to wait even a minute and is afraid of items with sharp points. Sa Kyung and Tae Il discuss the case and text each other in a group chat and Pan Seok snickers and joins in to remind Tae Il that he’s scrawny and young. Eun Do finds out that Madam Yoo hates losing to anyone at anything she does.

Pan Seok meets with Congressman Yoo to ask him to convince his daughter to come to the precinct willingly for an interview. If she keeps avoiding it, he may be forced to make this investigation public that she’s a suspect in the Masan murder. Congressman Yoo sneers that Pan Seok is unafraid of anything and Pan Seok agrees with that because eleven years ago he lost his son and another son lost his mother. What else can Pan Seok be afraid of now?

Congressman Yoo meets secretly with Chief Kang and asks how she could fail to manage her precinct to the point that the investigation arrived at his doorstop. Chief Kang tells him that he’s the one not managing his private matters and Congressman Yoo retorts that she told him the location of Kim Ji Yong eleven years ago and knowingly put him in danger. Chief Kang tells Congressman Yoo to have her daughter come in for an interview otherwise they are all going to go down together.

Sa Kyung trains the rookies on how to interview Madam Yoo when she comes in. The attitude has to be dismissive and a sharp pencil should be used to gesture towards her as she’s being interrogated. Dae Gu finally reveals to the team that he has something else to use against Madam Yoo because he may have discovered her motive. Everyone stares at Dae Gu. Later Dae Gu leaves the conference room and Soo Sun and Ji Gook follow behind to make sure he’ll be alright. Eun Do remarks that he really worries Dae Gu will give up since he carries so much pain inside.

Congressman Yoo orders his daughter to go in for an interview and tells her not to worry because he’ll send a lawyer with her. Madam Yoo screams that she won’t go and the boy should have been killed years ago! Congressman Yoo reminds her that Mr. Shin has met the boy now so if he suddenly disappears then it’ll raise even more questions. She needs to go in for the interview now and the boy will be dealt with later. Madam Yoo hisses that she will destroy that boy soon!

Madam Yoo arrives at the Gangnam precinct and Dae Gu greets her by pointing out that in the end she really has come in for an interview. Madam Yoo walks through the precinct and the other cops are impressed Captain Seo managed to bring her in. Congressman Yoo and Chief Kang are both nervous as the interview gets underway.

Madam Yoo sits in the interview room with her sunglasses on and is kept waiting. The cops are behind the one-way window observing Madam Yoo as she starts tapping her fingers. Sa Kyung tells Dae Gu to wait another five minutes before going on. Finally Madam Yoo screams for them to hurry up! Sa Kyung sends Dae Gu in now and as he walks by Soo Sun, they tightly clasp each other’s hand for support and reassurance.

Dae Gu walks into the interview room and apologizes for keeping her waiting since he’s a rookie and needs to prepare more. He places a giant holder of sharp pencils on the table and orders Madam Yoo to take her sunglasses off. She notices the sharp pencil tips and looks alarmed. Dae Gu dives right into the questions and asks if she knows Kim Hwa Young? Madam Yoo scoffs and Dae Gu asks why Madam Yoo mentioned that he looked like someone? Dae Gu pushes over the picture of his mom with Mr. Shin and asks if he looks like Kim Hwa Young and Shin Ji Il? Booyah!

Click here to watch You’re All Surrounded.