In The Killing Vote (Season 1), episode 1, we are introduced to the masked man who has taken justice into their own hands as the judicial system has failed. It is a mystery thriller drama that makes you curious to find out how things unfold. From this episode, we can understand how the masked person will kill the criminals; the killing will be suited to the crimes the person has committed. We are also introduced to Mu-chan, a police officer who takes matters into his own hands while going after criminals.
This article contains spoilers.
The Killing Vote (Season 1), Episode 1 Recap:
The episode begins in a flashback; a cop Mu-chan is chasing after Kwon Seok-joo on a rainy day. Kwon Seok-joo is stabbing someone else repeatedly, and Mu-chan asks him to stop. We are brought back to the present time, where Joo Hyun is doing a live stream in the most awkward way possible. Her managers are getting angry, but Joo Hyun tries her best. Eventually, her managers lose their cool and barge into her live stream, threatening and abusing her. Mu-chan finds the spot and barges in, hitting all the guys in charge of the live stream; Joo Hyun helps the other girls escape the place. Mu-chan asks Joo Hyun where the boss of the place is, and she tells him about a room inside. Joo Hyun records Mu-chan and sees him planting evidence in the room. Joo Hyun calls her team to track the IP addresses down. The head of operations, Jin-soo, makes a run, but Mu-chan arrests him.
Joo Hyun and Mu-chan get into a dispute about the way they each work. During the questioning, Jin-soo tries to intimidate Mu-chan by talking about rules that were broken by the police. Mu-chan asks him to admit to all his crimes, and he would let prostitution as one of his crimes go. Jin-soo argues, and Mu-chan asks his team to turn off the cameras. Mu-chan hurts himself by banging his head on the table and tells Jin-soo that he won’t hesitate to add officer assault as one of his crimes. The next day, the public protests against the release of the criminal Bae Gi-Chul, as he had served only one and a half years in jail for his heinous crimes. Joo-Hyun wonders how Mu-chan climbed up in his ranks, but her bubble bursts as her colleague points out the backlash he faces for his work. Bae Gi-Chul did not repent for his sins in jail as he had decided to start his CSE video business immediately. One of his reasons for getting out of jail early was that he married a foreigner while still in jail. Min Ji-young and Chae Do-hee talk about Gi-chul’s case in a talk show.
Gi-Chul decides to release a number of porn videos, gets drunk, and beats up his wife. Mu-chan hides his face, breaks the CCTV, and beats up Gi-chul. Joo-Hyun has a younger sister whose computer was infected with the virus. Joo-Hyun tries to find who had infected the laptop she discovers a video file. In the video file, we see a person in a mask talking about the Korean Judicial System and how it had failed its citizens. She tried to get the IP address but had no lead. Joo-Hyun reaches out to her senior, but he ignores it and says it is just an attention seeker. Meanwhile, Gi-Chul is creating a stir in the police station, blaming Mu-chan for beating him up. In another scene, we see Joo Min’s class take an exam, and the invigilator messages someone over the internet, asking if they should start. The next thing you know, all the citizens above 18 receive a poll asking if they want Gi-Chul dead. They have an hour to decide and vote.
There is confusion all around and skepticism about the poll. Many people want Gi-Chul dead, but some are unsure if this was a prank. Joo-Hyun asks Joo Min not to participate in the vote, but she shows her that 84% of the people had voted for him to be killed. Meanwhile, Gi-Chul is having a private party with women and sees this poll on one of their phones. He starts to laugh and asks them to vote for the ‘Yes’ option. The police are trying to locate where the poll came from but have no leads. It is decided that Gi-Chul will be executed. We see the masked person has tied Gi-Chul in a neatly decorated basement. Gi-Chul is panicking, but the masked person kills him by pushing money down his throat. The police arrive to see Gi-Chul in a pit of money with money covering his mouth. Mu-chan does not answer the reporters’ questions, but as he leaves, the masked person’s video is notified to everyone.
In this video, the masked person tells the world that everyone knew very little of Gi-chul’s crimes, but he had dug deeper and found trillions worth of cryptocurrency trade. He also showed the country proof that he was the one who had murdered Gi-Chul and explained how he carried out the murder. Meanwhile, the higher-ups in the police department form a special investigation team led by Mu-chan. Mu-chan agrees to do the job on one condition: if he catches the killer, he will want to join a different task force.
The Killing Vote (Season 1), Episode 1 Ending, Explained:
Who Holds the Power of Justice?
The teams start gearing up to find the masked person. Mu-chan also gives a press conference. Joo-Hyun argues with her senior about what it takes to be a good cop and decides to make a difference. She visits Mu-chan and tells him about the video she had found on her sister’s computer before the killing vote. She points out that the audio was slightly different in certain parts of the video, and the phrase he uses is similar to a case Mu-chan had previously dealt with. Joo-Hyun tells him that she thought the killer was Kwon Seok-joo, and Mu-chan is transported back to the day he had arrested Seok-joo. We see Seok-joo in jail, serving his time.
The likelihood of Joo-Hyun joining Mu-chan’s team is high. It is also interesting to see the dynamics that will develop between Mu-chan and Joo-Hyun. It is also interesting how Joo-Hyun knows about a case Mu-chan was a part of 8 years ago. From the flashbacks, we see the interaction between Seok-joo and Mu-chan, and there could be a possibility that there is some relationship between them. The politician on the talk show may be the masked person’s next target.
In the next few episodes, we will surely see the masked person bringing justice to society in what he sees fit, and Mu-chan will get more aggressive in tracking down this masked person. This series will make us question moral ethics and dilemmas and give us perspectives that will make us question how we think.
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