Other than a little hiccup, this episode has a few classic scenes that really prove the drama’s worth.

Similar to previous episodes’ style, we start off this episode with Robot Shin’s narrative of past events, wondering how things would be like if he’s not a robot. If he could be sad when they broke up, if he could be happy when he’s with her, if his heart could break because of her…

And in my favourite scene, Shin cries after So Bong rushes up to him at the meeting point. And if I could cry for you. 

Or reply that he likes her too. But I cannot because I am a robot that cannot feel love. Omy, Shin you really break my heart when I least expect it. I guess it’s because the previous scenes in the flashback had no changes and his tears in this scene caught me off guard.

Back to present, Shin then wonders why he’s sprinting towards human Shin’s house, and why he rushes to take So Bong away from human Shin. “Is this jealousy?” Why am I saying this? I honestly think this drama has one of the best introductions to each episode. This is the power of a pre-produced drama, where the edits really come into play.

Robot Shin warns human Shin not to fool around with So Bong like that anymore. Human Shin scoffs and remarks that robot Shin really seems jealous, “People would think that you’re in love.” Robot Shin tells human Shin that he will not be told to ask Mum difficult questions anymore and leaves.

In the van, So Bong frets over robot Shin but Shin tells her that thanks to the human Shin, he managed to tell Mum what he has been wanting to say. She asks if he’s okay and he smiles a little, “I have you now.” Awww. So Bong likes hearing that so she tells him to say that more often. It just occured to me that all robot Shin has is So Bong, while all human Shin has (or as he perceives) is Ye Na.

Ye Na is a little upset that human Shin fooled around with So Bong. Laura comes back and lies that she was only out for a walk, much to human Shin’s displeasure. She later recalls robot Shin’s last words to her and looks sad.

Meanwhile, So Bong’s dad refuses to eat because he doesn’t want So Bong to have such a wretched love life, “How is liking a robot different from liking this wall??” Jo points out that if Dad dies, then there will be no one to stop So Bong. Well true true.

Shin and So Bong return at that point and So Bong indicates for Shin to pass the sedative to Dad. However, Dad swipes it out of his hand and tells him to get out of the gym. Also, “get out of my daughter’s heart.” I find this somewhat amusing. David appears and protests at Dad’s usage of “it” to describe Shin. He introduces himself as the dad of the robot Shin and So Bong’s dad clarifies, “Ah, you’re the jerk who made this thing? The mad scientist in the comics?” David indignantly points out that he gave birth to Shin with love in his heart. This almost culminates in a physical fight but Jo breaks it off and the dudes go off to settle the issue like almost every Kdrama dude does – drink.

They down a shot and start comparing the strength of their respective child haha. Jo sighs that the dads should be working together instead of pitting against the other. So Bong’s dad nonchalantly asks about whether there’s a switch in Shin that will make him stop moving, but answers his own question that no parent can possibly do that to their own child. I find it funny how So Bong’s dad just hits the nail on the head without actually using his brain.

Due to this chat, David suddenly remembers why he was even at the gym – to tell So Bong that he can’t deactivate the kill-switch. After the phone call, So Bong bandages robot Shin’s hand so that it will look like human Shin’s. So Bong asks if robot Shin was really jealous earlier and felt angry at the sight of human Shin. Robot Shin answers gently that he did act before making his judgement but he doesn’t know what jealousy is.

So Bong points out that humans don’t know their feelings either, “Your emotions are embedded within your actions. Other people may not know, but I do.”

Sidekicks then appear and offer to sleep next to Shin so that he will not stop breathing in the middle of the night. So Bong gives them a rough grab by the neck which is by no means flirtatious, but robot Shin hilariously looks at the two guys in anger.

When they ask why he’s glaring at him, he spits out, “Emotions are embedded within the actions.” Hahahaha you learn SO fast.

Deep in the night, human Shin mutters that his mother is a liar. Seo calls at that moment and human Shin answers it instead, since Ye Na is deep asleep. Shin asks Seo to come over and the next morning, they have a sparring war about what Seo did to Shin. It is at this point, that the narrative becomes slightly confusing. Shin says that thanks to Seo, the ridiculous robot managed to make its entrance.

Human Shin slyly tells Seo that he knew the guy who knocked him down in Czech died from a hit-and-run and that he learnt this from Ye Na, who is just as well-informed as his dad. “Ye Na would die this instant if I ask her to.” Seo doesn’t care about his daughter and tell human Shin to take care of her instead, since she’s the only one he has. Why? Because the other son is doing so well at home and at the office.

“The ridiculous robot you mentioned earlier? Both Mr Ji and the chairman seem to like him a lot. It’ll be quite a pain to replace that robot.” Now this is where I got really confused – they are clearly talking about NamShin III right? If Seo already knows that the Shin in office is NamShin III, doesn’t that defeat every purpose of the show put up by human Shin before? The only way I can rationalise this is that Seo knew for sure that the Shin in the office was a robot and he wasn’t trying to prove himself this during the presentation – instead, he was trying to show to the company who Shin really was. Therefore, human Shin turning up in robot Shin’s place doesn’t derail his belief that the Shin in office is the robot. I don’t know, what do you guys think?

Before leaving, Seo confirms with Ye Na that she will stay with Shin even if he tries to kill her. He will erase every memory of her from now on, “I have no daughter.” Ye Na then flares up at Shin for calling Seo over without telling her. Shin hugs her and she calms down a little. Laura overhears this and confronts Shin who doesn’t want to tell her what they spoke about. She is hurt because she cannot do anything for the son who came to her after so many years. Human Shin replies that he didn’t go to Czech to find her; he went there to check on something but, “Once I saw that, it all became meaningless. I shouldn’t have gone.”

Seo then comes to the office to tell Grandpa that (human) Shin knows something about Jung Woo and that was why he went to Czech. But he laughs because he’s not worried at all. Since the Grandpa was alongside with him when the issue revolving Jung Woo arose, Grandpa is in as deep as he is and he will leave Grandpa to deal with Shin himself.

Robot Shin comes to the office as planned and calls Young Hoon “hyung”. Young Hoon smiles but recalls human Shin’s words of him confusing the two Shins. He immediately puts on his cold front, much to robot Shin’s confusion. So Bong explains later that Young Hoon is trying to distance himself from robot Shin and tells robot Shin not to keep pointing it out.

At the M-car meeting, the team receives extensive materials from Shin. They look over the video again where NamShin I was revealed to be a robot.

While most of the members dismiss the idea that Shin could be a robot, one of them starts to suspect something, especially when Shin declares it’s lunch time, and the computer shuts off by itself without Shin seemingly using any remote control.

Laura joins them for lunch but looks visibly in discomfort. Robot Shin tells So Bong to go ahead without him and she makes an excuse for him at lunch. He actually disappeared not because he didn’t want to eat, but because he went to buy medicine for his mother. The team observes that Shin appears to be a completely different person lately. Robot Shin replies, “Of course I’m completely different, right So Bong?” So Bong smiles and agrees.

The team doesn’t want him to go back to the old self but Shin so considerately sets the stage for the future, “If I suddenly change and act awkward around you, please follow Ms Oh’s orders. She’ll do her best for her son.”

He leaves to meet Grandpa and Laura touches the medicine packet lightly. I think now that she has let robot Shin go, she starts to see just how good he is.

Grandpa asks Young Hoon for his views over Grandpa leaving his company to Shin now. Shin joins in at this moment and Young Hoon finally replies that now is a good time to pass the company since Shin’s well prepared. Grandpa leaves the room and in his flashback, we see that Shin wasn’t wearing his watch. He wonders whether the Shin sitting inside the real room is the human one. Sure enough, human Shin has once again taken over robot Shin’s position! He starts drinking alcohol and Young Hoon finally realises that he’s human Shin.

Grandpa returns to the room before Young Hoon can say anything and he sends Young Hoon away. In private, human Shin asks if Grandpa was upset when his dad passed away and Grandpa replies that a parent who buries his child has no right to be sad. Shin explains that as he gets nearer to his father’s age, he becomes curious as to what his father lived for. Grandpa turns the question on Shin, “What do you live for?” Shin replies, “Your company.” He asks human Shin what he plans to do with it and Shin replies vindictively that he will chop it up into little pieces and sells them. Ouch. Shin then smirks and says that it’s a joke.

After Grandpa is sent away, Young Hoon asks Shin what he’s trying to pull. Human Shin points out, “Who says I need the company?” Young Hoon tells him that he cannot say such things, especially after what everyone has done for him. Human Shin retorts that he never wanted Grandpa’s position and did they really think he would thank them for getting a robot to replace him? “Maybe you’re the one who wants it. Since you get more if I’m the chairman.” Young Hoon finally bursts out in rage, “Do you want to hear that you are worse than a robot?” Human Shin reels back a little and Young Hoon apologises, but the damage is done and human Shin storms out angrily.

We then see robot Shin in Ye Na’s car. While en route to the car, human Shin sees So Bong and starts following her. He almost makes his move but robot Shin appears on the other side of the street. Human Shin calls robot Shin to scold him for coming out of the car but robot Shin tells him that he had noticed his GPS getting closer to So Bong’s. “I permitted it because you wanted to see Grandpa.” Human Shin rolls his eyes at the word “permit”, and robot Shin continues, “However, So Bong is different. You and her have nothing to do with each other. So Bong is my person and mine alone.” Robot Shin hangs up and greets So Bong with a smile. Human Shin turns away in irritation.

I like this for multiple reasons. Of course, I love any scene where there are two Shins inside because I just love the juxtaposition of the two characters. I also like it that robot Shin is fearless when it comes to protecting So Bong. It was sooo cool when he just popped up like that! Even though his words at the end sound possessive, I saw it as something else – human Shin is obsessed with making things difficult for So Bong because he sees her as yet another thing conquered by robot Shin. But robot Shin is right – the two have nothing to with each other, and therefore, So Bong doesn’t fall into sphere overlapping the two characters, unlike Laura. She is his and his alone.

Robot Shin finally fills So Bong in on what happened. She tries to be rational and reasonable like him so that she won’t get angry, but she takes a breath….and explodes in anger. She doesn’t like it that robot Shin has to go into hiding and that human Shin treats him so horribly. She should have been there with him in Ye Na’s car. Robot Shin looks at her and suddenly says, “You’re pretty. If I were a human, I would say that you’re pretty, Kang So Bong.”  So Bong asks him which part of her is pretty but gets interrupted by a call from human Shin who orders So Bong to quit since his fiancee doesn’t like seeing her next to his face. If she doesn’t, he hears that there’s a manual override system and he will use it.

He hangs up and asks if Ye Na’s happy, because Ye Na’s furious that he has this interest in So Bong. He tries to hug her again but she shrugs him aside. Aha, human Shin. You can’t control and manipulate everyone, not even Ye Na who is full of love for you and ironically, this is the reason why you cannot have full control over her.

Meanwhile, robot Shin asks about the phone call and So Bong lies that it was from Ye Na. She links arms with robot Shin and tells him to reply about which part of her is pretty tomorrow. Shin considers and replies happily, “Okay!”

At night, Young Hoon drinks his sorrows away and turns to find robot Shin smiling (eerily) at him. Hahaha. Turns out robot Shin was there next to him 3 minutes and 47 seconds ago. Young Hoon laughs at how exact he is. Robot Shin asks how much of human Shin’s favours he has to do – it may be bad in robot Shin’s view but good for human Shin. Young Hoon explains that there’s no such thing; right or wrong isn’t that complicated – it is the humans who complicate it for their own gains. Therefore, “If you conclude that it’s bad, it is bad for Shin so refuse it for his sake.” Robot Shin thanks him for trusting his judgement and asks whether he can meet Young Hoon again in the future. Young Hoon nods.

Robot Shin enters his old room and sees a sleepy Hee Dong. He smiles and asks if Hee Dong still likes him. He carries Hee Dong out and his mother tells him not to act close to Hee Dong since they will only grow apart in time. Their little squabble gets interrupted by Grandpa who asks robot Shin privately what he lives for. Robot Shin replies that he doesn’t want anything, not because he has no ambition, but because ambition means lacking the strength to achieve something. “I have the strength to take it all. Be it wisdom, physical strength, or information.”

Grandpa smiles a little and comments that he’s a rude boy, “Do you really have no desire to live as my grandson?” Robot Shin frowns a little at this but Grandpa turns away, “I’m sure my question sounds weird, since you’re already my grandson in every way.” After robot Shin leaves, he murmurs his words again, “You simply don’t use that strength because you don’t need to?” He then starts laughing. I hope he doesn’t create a situation where it forces robot Shin to use his strength ugh.

So Bong gets ready for a run and sees her father lying in the arena. She puts an extra blanket over him and he wakes up. She tells him to give up because she will never break up. I find the phrase just a teeny bit odd because I wouldn’t say that they are in a relationship from which they can break up from you know…? But at the same time, I totally get it, if Shin was a human, then terming it as ‘breakup’ would be appropriate.

Dad is heartbroken that his daughter is living the same way as he did – equally stupid, pigheaded and frustrating. “Even if I couldn’t do that, can’t you live like that?” So Bong cries that she tried hard not to like Shin but even if everyone tells her to leave Shin, can’t her dad not do the same? “I want to stay with him till the end!” Dad wipes her tears away and tells her not to get hurt. If she does, he will break that little punk.

Grandpa then talks to Young Hoon and asks him which Shin he trusts more. Judging objectively, only Young Hoon can inherit the company. Young Hoon agrees that he’s confident and he wants the company, but he will only think about it and not act on it. This is because he doesn’t want to lead the same unhappy life as Grandpa who had to cast aside his son and grandson. He led a lonely life and he doesn’t want to hurt Shin, who was lonely all his life too. Grandpa calls him a loser and he accepts it readily, “Yes I am a loser.” As he leaves, Grandpa asks, “What is that punk to you? The robot that looks like Shin.” Deng deng denggggg.

So Bong leaves the gym to meet human Shin and Dad sends her off after tying her shoelaces. It’s quite a nice compromise we have reached. Dad doesn’t actively support her decision but he will support her out of love. He will be the wall she can lean on when she feels defeated.

Robot Shin turns up at Laura’s house, while human Shin fiddles around in Laura’s lab. Robot Shin tells him that So Bong will not quit – turns out, he could hear everything over So Bong’s phone due to his hypersensitive hearing. Oh. That is interesting?? How many conversations have he overheard already? “Only I can make my guard quit.”

So Bong arrives soon after and is shocked to hear that robot Shin is here too. Robot Shin tells human Shin that he’s helping him but that doesn’t mean that the human controls the robot. “You can ask me for favours, but you can’t order me around.” Human Shin scoffs that he will not ask nicely because he likes making threats more than requests. But since Robot Shin doesn’t feel fear, then what must he mess around with? “Kang So Bong?” Robot Shin steps forward, “Don’t touch Kang So Bong. Ever.”

Human Shin is infuriated at robot Shin’s threat and hurls something at the board behind robot Shin. Robot Shin doesn’t flinch, and So Bong rushes in right at this moment. She screams at human Shin and guards robot Shin but robot Shin pulls her behind him instead. Human Shin grabs a tool, “You must really think you’re a human,” and he whacks robot Shin’s face.

Robot Shin raises his head and with suspenseful music, we see that the spanner tool has caused two deep gashes in his face, revealing the robotic machine underneath.

Human Shin looks at So Bong triumphantly, So Bong looks at robot Shin with concern and worry, and Robot Shin…smiles a little at So Bong.

-the end-

With the ending, human Shin’s feelings are even more understandable. He doesn’t like being replaced by a robot and that really explains a lot of the motivation behind what he does. So Bong outrightly prefers a robot over the human and that’s why he sees an insatiable urge to convince her otherwise. That maneuver at the end is to remind robot Shin and So Bong that no matter how much Shin acts like a human, he is still a robot internally.

We haven’t had the chance to see the internal robot Shin since the early episodes where So Bong first found out the truth. So for me, I think this is a nice way for So Bong to once again face the reality since it’s the first time since being in love that she’s looking at him like this. And she sure doesn’t disappoint, because in the preview for the next episode, she assures him that she likes him for who he is.

I’m also confused why there are people at this juncture saying that this is going to be a tragic ending because there’s not enough time for So Bong to fall in love with real Shin – uhm, am I missing something here? Since when was the point of this drama to make real Shin into the main male lead? Even if So Bong and robot Shin don’t end up together, I don’t think the way out of this knot is for so Bong to fall in love with real Shin.

I especially love the little bits when robot Shin wonders what would happen if he was a human. I don’t really see it as a foreshadowing of the show’s ending but more of a regular re-imagination of how things would look like if he isn’t a robot. That introduction was short but so, so poignant and I love it. I also like that he called So Bong pretty and that So Bong gave him a piece of ‘homework’ which he so gladly accepted.

I’ve yet mentioned this but I really like the way they edit the ending scenes which resemble how robot Shin takes ‘photos’ of  and reviews his surroundings. It’s all these details that make the show so special!

<3thoughtsramble