Yet another great episode – our relationship takes a little step forward and our robot is more and more of his own.

We backtrack a little in this episode to hear the thoughts of the two leads – while So Bong struggles and tries to kick her way out of the boot, she panics and starts clutching at her necklace for comfort. She recalls her last interaction with Shin (aka robot version of break up, hah I kid), why did you have to look at me like that? Why am I thinking of you now? 

At the wedding, Shin notices Seo’s sidekick, Park, being suspicious. Using his data processing powers, he restores the deleted messages and realises that So Bong has been tricked to the office. Sidenote: music is on point here. The attempt to paint a love story is definitely working.

Whilst So Bong’s voice narrates, “You have no idea where I am, do you?”, Shin is shown to be tracking down her via GPS.

He returns to his room and pulls away his manual watch with determination. Such a simple gesture but so meaningful and so touching.

We then finally return to the end of last episode where Shin punches the car and swipes it to a side. So Bong cries, I am crazy for hoping you’d come, and turns away in fear when the boot opens. However, it is Shin’s voice she hears, “I’m here, Kang So Bong-sshi.” Can you not smile so reassuringly robot Shin hahaha, you really do have your own personality.

So Bong sobs and he picks her up to embrace her, “I’m here now. I’m sorry I’m late.” This is definitely not the first time I’ve heard a male lead say it (Legend of Fuyao just had this trope) but I still have feels when I watch this scene!!!

So sincere. A while later, So Bong stops crying and pulls back a little. Shin then carries her to her feet.

Meanwhile, snake man recovers from the crash and runs way with the dash cam. As reluctant as he is to leave So Bong behind, Shin listens to her advice and chases down the snake man to get back the dash cam, knowing that it recorded his un-humanly acts.

He takes a motorcycle and races through the streets, while snake man gets away in a cab and calls Park, “He isn’t human. He can’t be human!”. I know this is an intense scene but I can’t help but think that I would LAUGH and tear my hair out if Shin decides to stop at an amber light.

Snake man suddenly pulls a stop at the cross road and runs across the street to get to Park’s car, except he doesn’t make it. He is suddenly run down by a car and falls to the ground. Shin pulls up behind him and calls the ambulance. Park sees Shin and quickly drives away before he notices him. Shin tells snake man that the ambulance will be here soon but snake man breaths his last asking what Shin is.

Any other human might have freaked out watching a guy die in front of him, but Shin calmly assesses the situation and closes snake man’s eyes, before taking the dash cam away.

The wedding is wrecked because Shin disappeared, so it is called off. Ye Na excuses herself but promises Laura, in front of her father, that she won’t say anything stupid to her father just because of what Shin did. Well, that’s certainly going to make Seo suspicious right? Also, Grandpa doesn’t look offended at all by what Shin did. Curious.

Shin gets back to So Bong and he drives her to the hospital on the motorcycle. Knowing that So Bong might be affected, Shin merely tells her that the man cannot say anything anymore. Laura is worried because Shin is out of control. Girl, you are the one out of control.

Young Hoon observes that this might be a good thing because it prevented them from having ties with Mr Seo. Grandpa will also not be able to push for a wedding again in this manner. Laura frets over Shin’s disappearance but David assures her that it’ll be okay since Shin doesn’t develop desires.

Shin then finally appears and Laura has a meltdown about how he doesn’t listen to her anymore and that he left the wedding because of So Bong, “Are you really the one I created? Are you really my son?”

Shin replies, “Am I not your son if I do not behave like human Nam Shin? Can a robot not be your real son?”

While Laura blisters around, Shin changes the topic and shows them his memory via the television that the one who attacked So Bong was the same as the one who attacked Shin. He’s definitely Seo’s man, “But he suddenly died in an accident.” Young Hoon praises Shin for obtaining important information. Young Hoon’s friend tells them that he has something to say with regard to human Shin, so Mama rushes in immediately. This time, instead of standing around forlornly waiting for instructions, robot Shin informs David that he’s going back to the hospital because So Bong is there.

Doctor delivers the bad news that the ultrasound treatment should be stopped – it’s hopeless and prolonging it will only increase risk factors to human Shin.

Park tells Seo that snake man had said Shin couldn’t be human. He deduces that Shin must have taken the dashcam and wonders if it’s because he wants to find a connection from the snake man to Seo, with regard to what he did in Czech.

Seo signals for Park to close the door but it is too late – Ye Na has already overheard everything. Anyway, Park informs Seo that snake man had mentioned the moving M-car and the crashed car in the parking lot, but when Park went back to the parking lot, everything was clean. Seo knows something’s up.

David watches a news clip of how the guy who hit and run snake man turned himself in. He enters a lab using an advanced face and fingerprint scanner, and the lab contains rows of computers and data. Grandpa appears and David asks if he was the one who killed snake man. Grandpa answers that if he doesn’t do that, all of these would be found out. He then delivers the biggest plot twist, “I cannot let anyone know that the data center of NamShin III is located in my company building.” OMG plot twist!!! WHAT A PLOT TWIST. I’m rarely fooled by dramas but wow this show got me twice. Oh and both by Grandpa. Haha.

I just realise this is quite similar to the idea of Circle, where the AI tool can basically be the basis of an entire, complex computer/set-up. Anyway, turns out that Grandpa was the sponsor of all of Laura’s NamShin’s projects. He barely bats an eyelid when he learns that real Shin might not wake up and warns David to keep NamShin III in check, “He must be a product. I don’t need a defect that causes problems.”

David stands his ground and retorts that he didn’t accept Grandpa’s funding to create a product; NamShin III is adjusting to the world like a human being, “You’ll see. He will develop more than you can imagine.” Grandpa gives a little smile and scans over the lab, “The future of my company rests inside his head.” How ominous – Grandpa, how can you treat your grandson as a commercial opportunity? Were you even the least bit sad that your real Shin might not wake up? He is a different kind of scary from Laura.

Shin sheepishly admits to So Bong that his mum is angry at him for running out of the wedding. He questions why So Bong says that he cannot go out of control again but she diverts his attention by asking him to go home quickly.

Shin turns right on his heels with an obedient, “Okay”.

So Bong grumbles, “You should at least turn out the lights” and Shin reaches back into the room to off the lights. Cute.

So Bong tells herself to sleep well and dozes off, but soon gets into a nightmare due to her recent ordeal. As she tosses in her bed, Shin reaches out to pat her face. He gently taps her shoulder until she eases out of the nightmare and wakes up.

He came back because he knew that she was just acting tough but turns to leave again when So Bong chases him away. So Bong reaches out for his elbow, “How could you leave just because I said so?”

Aww. He tucks her hair to the side and murmurs that she got into trouble because of him, “If I were human, I would feel gratitude. I’m sorry I can only say it without feelings.”

He promises not to leave for the night so that he can take care of her and wake her up every time she has a nightmare. So Bong replies that she’s a nobody, but Shin gently remarks, “You’re an incredible person. I ignored traffic signals and broke a car because of you.

You make me break existing rules and create new ones which didn’t exist.”

Aha, so that was the answer. I was genuinely curious to see how he dealt with the traffic lights. Also, robot version of a confession? I don’t know – the way robot Shin does it is so genuine and sincere, because you know he’s not muddled by human desires. So while I see it as a romantic confession, I also see it as a very innocent statement of facts – he doesn’t even know himself what these actions entail and there’s something quite sweet about that.

Sweet as it is, So Bong’s stomach rumbles loudly and Shin smiles, “You’re indeed an incredible person.” Hehe. Shin buys So Bong food (and she basically inhales all of them, all 1537 calories as Shin points out) and later, pushes her around the park. So Bong, I’m quite sure you don’t burn calories by sitting on your wheelchair.

Shin asks her if she’s having fun and she suddenly recalls how he saved her. She blinks and retorts, “Am I your friend?” Shin notes that he has had Mum and David but not a real friend. So Bong offers, “Do you want to be friends?”

Shin accepts and addresses her as Kang So Bong, because he hears that friends address each other in banmal. He even ventures into, “Yah! Kang So Bong.” Aww. So Bong smiles that they are a cool pair – the first human and robot friendship and he thanks her for being his first friend.

So Bong asks him if he will continue to pretend to be human Shin. But don’t ask her what she thinks, because he should make his own decision, “Whatever you choose, I’ll be on your side.”

The next morning, So Bong wakes up to a note from Shin, that he’s on his way to answer her question.

Ye Na moves out of the house on the pretext of taking a trip but in actual fact, she moves into real Shin’s house because she’s so shocked that her father did that to Shin. Laura lashes out Ye Na but is stopped by David. “I have no right to be sorry, but I’m sorry, Oppa.” For the first time since Ye Na appears on the screen, she isn’t annoying.

Seo enters his office to find Laura waiting with a threat, “If you make my child cry, I will make your daughter cry tears of blood. If you touch my son again, I will do the same to yours.” Seo mutters that she must have known about the accident in Czech.

Laura then finds robot Shin in the office. Robot Shin delivers his decision – because So Bong is his friend, he needs to make sure she isn’t hurt again because of him. But as Laura is important to him, he will still guard Shin’s position. However, he will do it his way. “I can do it well, so please wait for me. You made me after all. And if I do well, it will help human Nam Shin too.”

Laura and Young Hoon are taken aback by the word, “Friend”, and Laura retaliates, “I don’t need a Shin who does his job well. I need the real Shin. Do whatever you want, whatever you please.” She rushes out of the office and tells Young Hoon, who chases after her, that she can’t be with robot Shin now. She needs to change her perspective. Woah can you please just calm down.

Seo calls robot Shin out, attempting to put him down for the wedding, but robot Shin has other plans. “Think about what you did to the man your daughter loves.” Seo pretends to be offended that Shin would think that Seo wants to kill him, but Shin laughs, “Do you think I would accuse you without proof?”

Oh but don’t worry, he’s not thinking of using it yet. “However, if you try to harm my people, I’ll do the exact thing to you. Remember my warning.”

Seo recalls Park’s words and yells at a leaving Shin, “What are you?!”

Shin looks at him, with a steely gaze, “Who do you think I am? Believe as you see and wish. I am…just me.”

Undoubtedly, hands-down, Shin (I lost count, maybe 5?), humans 0.

Back the hospital, the robot Maibo is introduced as a playmate to So Bong, so as to keep her company when Shin isn’t around. I initially had the misconception that Shin was the one who cleaned things up, but turns out, both Shin and So Bong have no clue why all the security videos are deleted and no trace left of the incident. So Bong shivers, “I’m scared,” and Shin quickly announces his intention to stay for the night because he thinks it’s right for a friend to stay by another friend who is scared. Awww. So Bong chases him away since he doesn’t eat nor sleep and takes the dashcam’s thumbdrive from Shin.

She walks him to the lifts and right after they wave goodbye, Shin opens the doors again, “Do you think a guy and a girl can be friends?”

According to a survey, 55% of women disagrees, “Which side are you on? 55 or 45? Why won’t you say? I want to know more about my friend – “

and the door closes again. He’s ADORABLE.

Moment is quickly broken as David appears and chats at a cafe with So Bong. Meanwhile, Jo delivers clothing to So Bong and picks up the thumbdrive that was left on the bed. I am 99% sure she peeks into the contents, even though the show doesn’t actually tell us what happened. And I shall launch into a rant about Jo; I’m not a big fan of Jo – she was basically a good counterpart of the old So Bong, but I feel like So Bong has matured so much since she got involved in this robot mess and seeing Jo on the same screen as her now feels jarring. This is not even an unlocked handphone with notifications available for the world to see; this is active prying for goodness sake! I am on tenterhooks, not knowing what she did with the dashcam since this episode didn’t reveal anything.

David reveals to So Bong that Laura is upset because of what Shin has said, and that she had told Shin she only needed her real Shin. So Bong realises that Shin didn’t tell her the whole truth earlier when she asked how it went with his mother and he merely said that he said he would continue to pretend to be human Shin. David wants So Bong to watch Shin carefully, otherwise, and he slips up, “What if Laura takes extreme measures?” He quickly diverts the topic and laughs that Shin is all grown up and making friends on his own, “If he has a girlfriend, that would be perfect.” I can’t tell if David knows that Shin likes So Bong (because David was also the one who said that Shin cannot develop desires), if he’s goading her or if he’s simply making a neutral, scientific statement.

So Bong returns to an empty room with her bag of clothes placed on the bag – Jo has disappeared without a note? She asks Maibo if the extreme measures meant the kill-switch and I don’t know which is the trigger word, probably switch, but Maibo starts dancing. Shin calls and explains that Maibo is dancing the best he can for So Bong. Aww. Maibo is so cute, but I also like how it stands as a contrast to artificial intelligence. Maibo is a typical robot; Shin is AI, and the difference between the two is so stark.

Shin asks if So Bong can be his bodyguard again and she turns it down, knowing that people will get the wrong idea about the wedding. She asks whether he lied to her earlier, but he said, “No, why?” So Bong doesn’t want to push it and starts to hang up, but Shin presses, “So 45 or 55?” So Bong readily answers, “45, happy? I’m open-minded enough to be friends with a robot. A guy friend is a piece of cake.”

She then hangs up and confides in Maibo, feeling sad that Shin must feel hurt from his mother’s words. “Right now, I’m so glad he’s a robot.”

Shin has a hologram error, causing him to see So Bong by his side. The error resets when Young Hoon appears with beer and some worries. Shin watches the beer can with such fascination and Young Hoon even twirls the beer can a little like how you bait a dog with food. Young Hoon confides that he might be punished for thinking something so absurd, that Shin “feels like a person.” Aha I got you! He admits that when So Bong said this the other time, he pretended not to understand her, but he actually feels the same.

Young Hoon feels bad because he often thinks things that would anger the other Shin, like how he wishes human Shin is more like robot Shin, “That I like you because you aren’t emotional, reckless or cynical. That I like that you’re rational and get things done. Things like that.” Shin points out, “I simply lack emotions and ambition.” Hmm interesting, are these the two traits that define humans?

Young Hoon then tells Shin he will support his decision – so long as the result is good, Shin can make his own decision from now own. “If it is good for Shin, I don’t care. Even if… he can never wake up.” Robot Shin can’t figure out why Young Hoon cares so much for Shin (“I can’t tell which part of the brain is being activated now”) and Young Hoon himself wonders when caring for Shin becomes a habit that he developed without knowing when or why.

I know Young Hoon only has brotherly love for Shin, but the more they dwell on the question of why Young Hoon cares for Shin, the more I have this random thought of maybe he loves LOVES him. Haha. But since this is a Kdrama and not an American one, I think it’s definitely not what I’m thinking.

Doctor turns off the ultrasound, but Laura stops him – whether Shin dies from the treatment or not, the result will be the same. “Even if he dies, I’ll take full responsibility.” Thus, ultrasound continues.

Laura, unhinged by robot Shin’s recent comments and memories of the old, obedient Shin, finally pulls out the kill switch. But before she opens it, David appears and scolds her for being crazy.

“He’s a robot, a robot you made! He isn’t getting weird. He’s progressing. Why? Are you afraid he will progress even more? In case he’ll progress more and hurt your son? How could you imagine something so insane? You’re being ridiculous! You’re no scientist. You’re just a bad mum.” THANK YOU David, for giving the best and pertinent scolding. Indeed, Laura Oh, you are just a selfish mother to both your human and robot sons.

Although, I get the other point David raised – which is that Laura’s true worry is not about robot Shin failing to pretend to be human Shin, but that he might evolve to a stage where he decides to destroy human Shin and take over his place.

The next morning, Young Hoon wakes up to a thoughtful package of hangover drinks, left by Shin. He chuckles to himself, and we also see Shin entering the office. So Bong appears because she decides to be his bodyguard again. Shin wants to cart her back to the hospital and thought that she cared about the gossip.

The camera cuts out to show various humans around them gossiping about Shin and So Bong and feeling bad for Ye Na. So Bong says that she’s back because she didn’t like how the security videos were deleted when the snake man was definitely involved.

Shin smiles, “You can just admit that you’re worried about me,” and pulls her into the building. He has become so cheeky!

Shin meets with Grandpa and smirks that he’s not scared of Seo, “I have no fear.” This is already such a robotic thing to say but Grandpa one-up him by replying, “Learn to do one more thing and you’re complete.”

Shin frowns a little at this weird phrasing but Grandpa continues, “Do not forgive anyone who stands in the way of your decision. Not even your mum. Your enemy isn’t always your enemy, and your ally isn’t always your ally.” Oh dear, I don’t like where this is going – Grandpa are you trying to make him ruthless now?

Shin smiles, and thanks Grandpa, who asks, “What for?” So Bong sheepishly enters the office and Shin triumphantly delivers the news that she will be his personal bodyguard from now on. And he won’t let Grandpa stand in the way of his decision.

HAHA way to go robot. I love how he takes lessons and throws them back so immediately. Even Grandpa laughs.

Shin tells So Bong to ignore the human gossip and So Bong envies his lack of emotions right now, “Humans are sensitive.” I do feel bad for So Bong; I wouldn’t want to be in her shoes (the gossip part, I wouldn’t mind getting to know robot Shin:D). So Bong cheers up at the mention of lunch and proposes having sandwiches in the park.

They run into Laura and Shin smiles a hesitant, small smile but Laura marches past him with animosity.

So Bong chases up with Laura and tells her that Shin treats her like family and friend. “If you are his mum, treat him as a mother does. You can’t kill your own son.” Laura flusters that So Bong knows about the kill-switch and repeatedly asks, “Did you tell him? Does he know?”

“If he does, he wouldn’t smile at you like he did just now. He is a robot but he knows when to smile. If you’re really his mum, please get rid of that horrible device. I’m begging you.” Oh, I like this little observation – although Shin being smile-y and cheerful is part of his algorithm, but So Bong’s also right. He’s not programmed to smile 24/7 – and the fact that he chooses when he smiles and when he doesn’t is a manifestation of his personality already.

At the park, Shin watches the humans in fascination and even buys two sandwiches so that he can eat one with his friend. So Bong asks why he wants to understand humans more when he’s surrounded by such terrible ones, and he replies in a heartbeat, “I want to understand you more. I need to know more about you, Kang So Bong.”

For the first time, I wished the person in front of me was not a robot. I wished he was human like me. 

The sweet music turns to suspense, as the camera pans over from robot Shin to human Shin….and his finger twitches.

-the end-

What a long recap!

I like that while simplistically, you could say it’s robot Shin and So Bong against the whole world who prefer real Shin over robot Shin, it isn’t quite so easy to group everyone else as being in the ‘other camp’. David, Laura, Young Hoon, Ye Na and Grandpa all have some stake, whether small or large, in wanting real Shin to wake up. However, their motivation is different; their role in the scheme is different and therefore, the way they react to robot Shin is also different. Laura feels like she owns robot Shin and therefore, any defect or deviation is an insult to herself. It’s some sort of pride as a creator. Young Hoon on the other hand, sees the ultimate goal as improving the situation for real Shin. Therefore, if robot Shin can do well in the current position, it doesn’t matter if he’s not behaving like a robot does, because eventually, it is real Shin who benefits.

I also ironically fear the day real Shin wakes up, much as I want him to live. This is because the moment he opens his eyes and recovers, is the day of death for robot Shin. Even the music at the end of Episode 10/19&20 wants us to think that. The scariest thing about the kill switch is that you can even access it remotely. This means that I can’t just tell So Bong to simply grab robot Shin’s hands and run the furthest they can, because Laura can just kill him with a button. So Bong definitely has good intentions, but the fact that Laura now fears So Bong telling robot Shin and leading to robot Shin deactivating the kill switch means that Laura may act any moment.

All through the entire episode, I’m really liking how the couple starts to realise their own feelings – So Bong is definitely going to proceed on a much faster track than Shin, who isn’t even supposed to develop any emotion. But it’s there, and now we just have to see where it takes us.

I’m also thinking, what if we have a third twist? Since robot Shin is progressing so well, what if he has already made the link between the M-car and himself? He also had a few days to work on the M-car before Laura arrives. Maybe, robot Shin has already known that he has a kill switch within him, but chooses to do nothing because he loves his mother that much. Although I don’t think I would like that very much. Please robot Shin, if you are in danger, just deactivate the damn thing and run away with So Bong.

<3thoughtsramble

P.S this is also a really stupid call but I really do think this show is under appreciated. I’m sure there are flaws here and there but some people haven’t even heard of this show, much less have the desire to check it out! So go forth fellow fans, and remember to tell your friends to watch this show!! Tell them to check out Seo Kang Joon’s, Gong Seung Yeon’s and Lee Joon Hyuk’s faces. Insta it, facebook it, tweet it LOL. Well anyway, see you guys next week!