Later, Ji-hoon and Prosecutor Choi are sitting in a car when the latter gets a call from a detective. The prosecutor finishes the call and tells Ji-hoon he was right. Ji-hoon then calls his own people at Woojeong Daily and tells them to write an exclusive report on the drugs found in Joo-hee’s system. He implies that a big plan is in the works and all they need to do is wait and watch. At the prison, Chang-ho shows the new warden, Gan Soo-chul, a tarot card with the Big Mouse symbol. Soo-chul calls an assembly of all inmates and conducts a body search for weapons. The inmates go into a changing tent and strip down. The guards search them while Chang-ho watches from the warden’s room, looking for Big Mouse tattoos. They find three men with Big Mouse tattoos. The new warden wants to have them tortured to reveal Big Mouse’s identity but Chang-ho tells him not to. When he is irked at receiving orders from Chang-ho, Chang-ho reminds him that he was the one who gave him the title. Mi-ho speaks to Hye-jin, who had taken the previous blood samples from her and analysed them in the US. They found a drug called ASR and a high number of white blood cells, indicating leukaemia. As she speaks to Mi-ho, someone takes photos of her. Just then, Mi-ho is called to help the death row inmate, who is tied to the bed and screaming in pain. She gives him a painkiller. She and Chang-ho discuss how the model inmates are probably given a different drug from the other ones. He tells her they leave the premises once in a while for paid work, but he doesn’t know what kind. Meanwhile, the room leader, Noh Park, has spread the message about Mi-ho wanting to consult model inmates about their blood tests. She tells him to get 5-6 people to see her today. Turns out, that the man secretly taking photos of Hye-jin was hired by Han Jae-ho. In the hospital, Joo-hee reads an article about her use of drugs. Mayor Choi says it is Big Mouse retaliating against him. Joo-hee says it could also be because Big Mouse is after Professor Seo’s paper. She says she knew something was happening in the hospital but chose to ignore it. Later, one of the mayor’s men shows him the cup used to drug Joo-hee. He figures Chang-ho knows everything about him. He tells his man to check on Hye-jin too. The old warden, Park Yoon-gab, is brought to the prison and almost immediately gets in a fight with Soo-chul. Soo-chul rounds up him and the other Big Mouse followers and tries to torture them into revealing Big Mouse’s identity but Chang-ho intervenes. As Yoon-gab and Chang-ho walk back to their cells, the other inmates shout threats at Yoon-gab. Chang-ho tells him that even Big Mouse won’t be able to protect him here. At the hospital, Joo-hee calls the head nurse and tells her she wants to see the underground lab. After they return, she seems disturbed and asks the mayor to take her home. She doesn’t tell the mayor what she saw, though, since she wants him to have a clean slate as a politician. Soo-chul realises he is not on the list of final candidates for the warden. He calls the mayor and asks for permission to do things his way since Chang-ho seems to be protecting Yoon-gab. The mayor agrees. Soo-chul puts his plan into process. He calls an assembly and reveals that Chang-ho isn’t the real Big Mouse. He says Big Mouse is one of the inmates and tells them to find him. Until then, free times are restricted and work shifts will be doubled. After the guards leave, the inmates gang up on Yoon-gab but Chang-ho intervenes. When they turn on him, Chairman Yang comes to Chang-ho’s rescue. He says that to him, Chang-ho is as good as Big Mouse. Chang-ho heads to the warden’s office and contacts the mayor but the latter doesn’t give him time of day. While Soo-chul boasts about having more control, Chang-ho says he is now relieved of his shackles. Fights in the prison increase and Yoon-gab keeps getting beat up. The room leader brings a few model inmates to Mi-ho, who draws their blood. Hye-jin arrives in Korea to pick up more blood samples. Mi-ho drives her to a safe house but Han Jae-ho is following them. Meanwhile, Soon-tae and Mi-ho father try following the bus with the model inmates going on their work release but soon lose track of it. The bus reaches a remote building. The inmates go underground and put on protective suits, as behind them the building wall begins to crack. Han Jae-ho enters the safe house and tries getting Hye-jin to come back to him. She tries protecting herself with a knife but the struggle ends with Hye-jin getting stabbed. At the prison, Mi-ho learns from the model inmates that they are suffering from fever and dizzy spells. Beaten to a pulp, Park Yoon-gab finally approaches Chang-ho. He says Chang-ho is only alive because Big Mouse wants him to find Professor Seo’s paper. Chang-ho is well aware of this and is only pretending to work with Choi Do-ha. He tells Yoon-gab he wants to meet Big Mouse at the church at 8 PM, or he will get rid of the plan to find Seo’s paper. In another hospital, Jerry gets a phone call. Afterwards, he says, Chang-ho is amusing. Gong Ji-hoon’s wife is holding an auction and tells the other NR Forum members to help her raise a good amount of money. They dismiss the mayor and his wife, hoping that the Elder will disown Joo-hee. Just then, Joo-hee turns up with the Elder and they tell everyone else to go out of that room. Mayor Choi arrives at the safe house to find Hye-jin lying in a pool of her blood. He checks her phone and sees her messages with Mi-ho. He calls the new warden and tells him that Chang-ho and Mi-ho must be killed today. Chang-ho is waiting in the church when he gets a message of a change in location. Big Mouse calls him to the special VIP ward instead. Meanwhile, some inmates create a ruckus and a guard slips one of them an access card. He begins opening all the cell doors. As the commotion increases, Chairman Yang tells his people to stay put. Chang-ho goes to the special ward. The warden gives his man a gun and tells him to kill Mi-ho. Another guard smashes an electric panel, leading to a prison-wide blackout. Someone enters the special ward and sits opposite Chang-ho. He uses a lighter to see who it is — it’s Noh Park, the room leader! Chang-ho asks if he is Big Mouse and the episode comes to a close.
The Episode Review
Choi Do-ha. Jerry. Noh Park. The show continues to point fingers at a number of different characters and it works. As a viewer, I have no idea who Big Mouse is. At this point, it could be anybody. Even seeing the room leader in the last scene comes with a certain doubt. We can’t trust anybody and that’s kind of exciting. But I also wonder if the heavy emphasis on the plot is taking away from some of the show’s depth. Revolving around themes of greed, systemic corruption and politics, Big Mouth had the potential to make a statement about these very real issues. But the fast-paced story and constant twists and turns, while intriguing, don’t leave room for much philosophy. Anyway, looking forward to a thrilling third act of Big Mouth!
