THINGS FALL APART
THE TURNING POINT
Kim Hyun Joon’s suggestion had finally found favour with Team Manager Kang. Yoo Min Young, the media liaison officer was giving a briefing to the press.
The NCI have finally decided to reveal the profile of the unsub to the public. It was the turning point in the investigations.  
Hallucinations. In the S Pharmacy, Jang Gi Tae was eating his sandwiches in the office, as was his usual practice, during his break time.
His colleagues kept a polite distance from him. He had practically no friends. He had his family photo on his office desk.
   
The demented man remembered the shooting of his third victim. His delusions had taken over.
He was looking at a certain part of the office, probably his boss’s office and he pointed his fingers at it as if firing a gun.
     
His boss suddenly appeared, “Manager Jang, what are you doing. Let’s go out for lunch. It’s on me. You made me proud lately. You’d probably suffered a lot. If I ever make you upset again, let it go.’
       
Jang Gi Tae remembered the harsh words that spilled out from the mouth of the man. He has chastised Jan Gi Tae in front of his co-workers in the office.
‘Do you know how many deals you’ve ruined this month?’
    
The delusional man smiled to himself. The bad boss-good boss scenario happened only in Jang Gi Tae’s mind. He was fast descending into total insanity.
 
Yoo Min Young addressed the media people. ‘We’re looking for a criminal for the serial shooting incidents. Please listen carefully to the features of the criminal. He is a married man between the age of 40 and 50. We suspect the criminal’s wife looks similar to the victims. He drives a black sedan, a blue SUV and a blue sedan. He’s highly likely to live in the Yangchon-dong area. He must have been shocked after a serious accident.’
  
Jang Gi Tae must have quaked in his shoes on hearing the TV news. The host of characteristics of the unsub was a perfect description of him. Kim Hyun Joon’s publicity ruse was effective; it had instantly revealed the perpetrator in a flash.
Jang Gi Tae’s colleagues were greatly shaken when they saw him make a dramatic exit out of the office.
        
Nana Wang had checked the illegal gun websites. Hwang Mi Young has a history of buying bullets. Lee Han asked whether she had looked up her spouse.
           Someone had telephoned the NCI that they may have found their man. He was a salesman working at the Sewon Pharmacy.    
Kim Hyun Joon wanted Nana Wang to send him the details. He was determined to find the demented man.
There was no time to lose. Kim Hyun Joon was already walking out of the NCI headquarters. He did not wait to be delegated any job nor wait for instructions from Team Manager Kang, who seemed disoriented. He knew what to do or what was expected of him in such a crisis. He was a man with a mission.    |
THINGS FALL APART
Kim Hyun Joon was in his blue Hyundai SUV. He was conveyed the message that Jang Gi Tae’s colleague had called because they suspected that he was the perpetrator. He had fled the office while watching the news. Their jaws must have dropped in shock.
Kim Hyun Joon was at the traffic lights at the time. The lights had turned green. In a very skilful manoeuvre, he turned his SUV around to rush to where Jang Gi Tae was heading. The police had been informed about the incident and they had tracked him down.
   
Jang Gi Tae's secrets were unravelled. Nana Wang informed the NCI profilers that one of his two daughters, Jang Ji Soo, was deceased. She was killed in an accident.
   
The viewers are given an account of the incident. Jang Gi Tae was taking her somewhere. The girl was a hyperactive child who couldn’t sit still. She was fidgeting in her seat. She loved singing and and it must have been delightful to hear such happy singing as she sang to her heart’s content throughout the car journey.
  
Over the phone conversation with his wife, he smilingly complained that their younger daughter was excitable and didn’t even want to sleep.
It was a sign that she was hyperactive.      
The naughty girl was easily distracted by the decorative toys dangling from the rearview mirror above the driver’s seat. She took off her safety belt and demanded to be given one of the toys. As was the behaviour of hyperative children, she wanted immediate gratification.
 
Jang Gi Tae, a mild-mannered and gentle man not given to harsh scolding, promised to give it to her when they arrived at their destination and he instructed her to fasten her seat belt.
It must have been stressful to him as the child, though cute, seemed to have difficulty in following instructions.  
Unlike firm or serious parents who use firm or harsh tones to admonish their children to prevent wrongdoing, Jang Gi Tae was a mild man who refrained from chastising his child.
Did Jang Gi Tae think about the dangers of hanging dangling items from his rear-view mirror? The items swing hypnotically from side to side and are a source of distraction to drivers.
   
Jang Gi Tae’s car had given him problems. He was compelled to stop at the side of the highway. There was no emergency lane. When he raised the hood, smoke poured out of the engine.
The child, Ji Soo, was restless and had already got hold of the cute doll from the rear-view mirror. She couldn’t wait. It was instant gratification.
  Ji Soo was also prone towards impulsivity. She had wound down the windows. Was her father not exhausted with her antics? He urged her to wind up the window and settle down. Did she seem to have a mission of making his life miserable?   
The disobedient girl stretched out her hands and threw the toy out of the car. It flew and rolled to the middle of the road. She looked at her toy longingly.
  
Worried about his car, he requested for help. The raised hood of the car blocked his view of his daughter. His attention was drawn away from his hyperactive child who seemed to have a determined mind of her own.
 Typical of hyperactive children, she could not control her impulses. Having undone the child lock, she opened the car door and ran towards her doll. It was a disturbing moment. She had disregarded her father’s instructions.   
Jang Gi Tae had not forseen the child’s recklessness. It was unfortunate that he had realised too late that she had rushed to the middle of the road. Then it was over. The girl lay unmoving on the asphalt road. The colour drained out of his face.
       
Never forget. The scene was rewound to allow the consequences of parental negligence to be imprinted in the audience’s minds.
                
It was too late when Jang Gi Tae arrived at the hospital. He was distraught. Something inside Jang Gi Tae had died. His guilt, which haunted him, became his life sentence.
   
His wife seemed like a heartless creature as she was quarrelling with the insurance agent over insurance money immediately after the death of their daughter. To him, it was naught but an exhibition of greed. Had his wife no feelings? Her money-mindedness made his blood run cold.
The insurance agent had argued that her husband had parked his car illegally on the side of the road. Was it a valid argument since his car had broken down?
             Jang Gi Tae’s world had collapsed. In his car, he remembered his past mistake. He could not forgive himself and his family could not forgive him. He screamed in frustration. His daughter’s death changed everything. Everything had been sucked out of him.     
The NCI had analysed the situation. Jang Gi Tae had refused to take responsibility for his mistake. He had been careless and negligent.
    
Instead of blaming himself, Jang Gi Tae blamed his family for everything. He avoided facing his sufferings.
The situation was too hard for him to bear. The family was now in danger.
  
The NCI van, with Team Leader Kang, Lee Han and Yoo Min Young, was on the way to the perpetrator’s house.
Kim Hyun Joon’s suggestion on publicity turned out to be a brilliant idea as they had been tipped off by Jang Gi Tae’s colleagues. He was the very man they had been looking for. The information that they received had taken a huge weight off their shoulders. 
But the seams of the Jang household had already been torn apart. The relationships had deteriorated to such an extent that there was no turning back.
Something was afoot in Jang Gi Tae’s house. The tormented man had threatened his wife and eldest daughter with his gun.
There was a mix of shock and terror when they backed away into the bedroom.      
HALLUCINATORY
WORLD
Meanwhile, Kim Hyun Joon and the police were hard on the heels
of Jang Gi Tae.
       
Hallucinations. Jang Gi Tae
seemed to have vacillated between reality and his hallucinatory world yet
again. His reality and delusions seemed to shift back and forth.
In his car, his long-suffering wife seemed to be annoyed with him again. She gave him a blistering dressing down. ‘Are you crazy? What are you doing?’
  
His daughter too was anxious. Her question seemed loaded, ‘Dad, are you going to kill us too?’
He seemed to be muddled, ‘I can’t breathe because of you!’
 
‘How about me? How about Ji Young? You don’t think about Ji Soo!’ the wife spat at him. ‘It hasn’t been long since she passed away. It’s not like you are the only one who has suffered. We wanted to die too while watching you turn weird,’ the wife complained bitterly.
      ‘Don’t lie. To you, I don’t exist. You laugh, talk and live a normal life by yourselves.’    
To his wife, he told her bitterly, ‘On the day Ji Soo died, you were only talking about insurance. He wanted to transfer his guilt to his wife. Money. Money. Money! You value money more than our daughter!’ His wife was probably disturbed too.
        
It was his wife’s turn to tell him off. ‘You promised us that you’ll make us happy. But you ruined everything!’
‘What? Do you know how miserable my life was? You think I ruined …’
       ‘Just in case you’ve forgotten, you were always like that! We’re not even a family. So, please don’t judge us from your perspective!’ his wife argued. Did she imply that he was wallowing in self-pity and had retreated into his own world?     
Meanwhile, the NCI van had arrived at Jang Gi Tae's house.
 
Having assiduously followed Jang Gi Tae’s car, Kim Hyun Joon decided to speed up to come abreast of his car.
        
Taking his gun out, the demented man shot at Kim Hyun Joon. The profiler swerved his car sharply into the side of the road.
Kim Hyun Joon was facing a madman who was intent on killing him. The smart and alert profiler quickly reversed his car and continued the chase.
     
By this time, the NCI had already broken into Jang Gi Tae’s home. The house was in an unholy mess.
They gave Kim Hyun Joon a tragic picture of the Jang family. The house had a foul smell and stank of dead bodies.
Jang Gi Tae had killed his wife and daughter.
     
Kim Hyun Hoon repeatedly ordered the demented man to stop the car. The man didn’t seem to hear him so he bellowed at the man.
         He lost control of himself, and his car ploughed into a pile of construction materials by the roadside and landed on its side.      Kim Hyun Joon was horrified. Slamming his car to a halt in the middle of the road, he stepped out anxiously. The police cars also stopped and the law enforcement officers got out.    
Kim Hyun Joon strode towards the car, his bearing erect and masculine.
 
Two dead bodies were carried out of the Jang house.
Yoo Min Young was shocked and Lee Han lifted his hand to put it on her shoulders but in the end, it was Team Leader Kang who patted her shoulders.        |
A
LESSON IN EMPATHY
THE WOUNDED SOUL
Kim Hyun Joon moved cautiously as he approached the car which had skidded sideways.
Jang Gi Tae crawled out of the car, his gun still in his hands. 
All guns were pointed at Jang Gi Tae, just in case he proved to be dangerous.
Kim Hyun Joon advanced towards him. He was worried that the law enforcement officers might misread the situation so he held up a cautionary hand to signal to them to withhold their fire.
He looked left and right, issuing his orders, ‘Don’t shoot.’
     
Any false move might trigger Jang Gi Tae’s insane acts.
Kim Hyun Joon held his gun high in the air. Then, slowly he bent and placed the gun at his feet, to let the bewildered man know that no violence was intended towards him.
Then, he straightened himself and urged the injured man to calm down.
        
Blood was flowing down Jang Gi Tae’s head in rivulets. He seemed disoriented and shocked.
  
Compassion. Seeing Jang Gi Tae's lost expression, Kim Hyun Joon’s face appeared
to be full of compassion and understanding of what he was going through. His
eyes reflected empathy.
He seemed genuinely sorry for the injured man. 
Kim Hyun Joon, with brows knitted, was trying to understand the man that lay beneath the disoriented face. He did not seem murderous. He was someone to be pitied.
 
‘Help me,’ Jang Gi Tae pleaded. Yes, the man certainly needed help.
‘My family is inside,’ Jang Gi Tae explained. Was Kim Hyun Joon shocked? Was it puzzling to him? The profiler’s hands which were held up had not changed in position.
   
He did not tear his gaze away from the man for a second. Fixing his gaze firmly on him, he tried to pacify the Sewon Pharmacy salesman in his reassuring voice.
‘Jang Gi Tae, calm down. I’ll look after your family inside the car.’ Frown lines appeared on the profiler’s forehead.
             
‘But, drop the gun first,’ his quelling gaze rested on the injured man.
Jang Gi Tae seemed shocked by the words and he looked at his hand. A gun was in his hand! What was it doing there? He immediately flung it away. He gestured towards the car.
      ‘My daughter…my daughter. Please save her! Quickly. Ji Young. Ji Young.' What about his wife? Had he forgotten about her?   Jang Gi Tae turned towards the car, calling out his daughter’s name.
It was that precise moment that Kim Hyun Joon rushed forwards. Catching hold of Jang Gi Tae’s hands, he handcuffed him.
        Kim Hyun Joon knew that there were no bodies in the car. The delusional man seemed to be in a world of his own. The NCI team had informed him that the bodies of Jang Gi Tae’s wife and daughter had been found in the house. ‘They had been dead for 20 days.’   
In a calm, authoritative tone, Kim Hyun Joon sadly told him. ‘Jang Gi Tae. It’s already over.’ He understood that the murderer was not cold and hard as steel; he was an just emotional murderer.
It was a poignant moment. ‘What do you mean? My family is inside. Please save them!’
      Kim Hyun Joon tried to explain to him that they were already dead. He must have felt the anguish that delusional man experienced. His heart must have ached. Pain was emblazoned on Kim Hyun Joon’s face.     
But, the criminal tried to wrest himself free, ‘Let me go. Let
go!’
 Jang Gi Tae staggered forwards and peered through the window. Shocked to see no one there, he probably sobered up. His body slid to the ground, slumped in shock and sorrow. Jang Gi Tae’s world had truly fallen apart.      Vulnerability. Kim Hyun Joon seemed vulnerable. His heart almost writhed in pain. His face betrayed his emotions. A pained expression crossed his face. He empathised with Jang Gi Tae; he could feel his agony. His heart seemed heavy with grief and he was able to see Jang Gi Tae’s suffering and pain through the wounded man’s perspective.     Kim Hyun Joon stretched out a hand to stop the others from getting near Jang Gi Tae. He wanted to give Jang Gi Tae time to calm down and allow him a silent moment to grieve. Even a madman would have his moments of lucidity and come to terms with his insane deeds. 
The black NCI van soon arrived. Team Leader Kang, Lee Han and Yoo Min Young had not arrived in time to see the drama. Then, Ha Sun Woo also appeared.
They were shocked. Jang Gi Tae, swallowed up by the horror of what he had done, had collapsed in a heap by his car.
     
Team Leader Kang’s closing quote from Publilius Syrus:
‘Fate is not satisfied with inflicting one calamity.’
   |
FOOD FOR THOUGHT PARENTAL RESPONSIBILITY 
This episode is a well-written piece of drama.
Attention has been paid to details like the clothing with symbolic messages worn by Jang Gi Tae and the road bully.  
This episode sends a warning to its viewers about parental
responsibility. It focuses on hyperactive children and ineffective parenting. Ji Soo seems to be a hyperactive child. Parents should be vigilant when caring for their young and impulsive children. The death of children due to parental negligence
or irresponsibility can devastate families and tear them apart.
The fact that Jang Gi Tae did not want to take responsibility for his negligence contributed to his own nervous breakdown and his swift slide into mental instability.
But then, it is always easy to be an armchair critic or judge.
 |
LEE
JOON GI
‘VULNERABILITY’
Lee Joon Gi is always awesome. In Episode 8, Lee Joon Gi deserves praise for his sensitive portrayal of a man who expresses empathy towards a tormented soul.
  
What is compelling is Kim Hyun Joon's serious mask is removed and his eyes betray his vulnerability and his compassion.
The NCI profiler is able to put himself in the shoes of the delusional salesman, Jang Gi Tae, and experience his torment.    
Episode 8, though a very interesting part of TVN's Criminal Minds, is grim
and serious. No smiles at all even from the gorgeous and sexy profiler to
warm the ladies’ hearts.
But, Lee Joon Gi has created a huge and exciting buzz with his awesome and enthralling action scene - the execution of his spinning kick.
LEE
JOON GI
‘HO
YAU YENG’
‘HO
MAN’
That segment, despite being serious and short, is the most
exciting and thrilling part of the episode.
Lee Joon Gi's Taekwondo Spinning Hook Kick that is delivered
against the road bully makes the audience gasp in admiration and brightens everybody’s mood.
The kick is iconic; it is impressive as it has a
combination of style, athleticism and sexiness.
The stylish manner in which the martial arts kick is executed
screams ‘HO MAN’ and ‘HO YAU YENG’. It is quite difficult to translate some Cantonese expressions.
The gorgeous, athletic and sexy Lee Joon Gi is indeed ‘HO MAN’ (Very Manly) and ‘HO YAU YENG’ (Sylishly Masculine).
One cannot but eye his impressive kick with appreciation. It wouldn’t be surprising if Lee Joon Gi has kicked his way into the hearts of his audience. Waves of male and female admiration. Pounding hearts. The surge of excitement running through veins.
Think: Flexible and Muscled body. Swift and Powerful Limbs. Appealing Aura of Confidence and Charisma. Would another star executing the same stunt have the same appeal? Certainly not! That is why Lee Joon Gi is South Korea’s top superstar! 
Jo Han Chul who plays Jang Gi Tae has put in an interesting
performance. And Yoo Sun, who plays Nana Wang, the NCI Technical Analyst or
resident hacker, as always, is quite entertaining and amusing to watch.
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