Guilty?
After that shocking climax last time out, Hyena returns for a continuation of both the company merger and our two lawyers being faced with seemingly insurmountable odds in their latest case. With a rising tension now as we approach the final act of the show and plenty of characterisation across the hour, Hyena is really starting to come into its own. Episode 12 of Hyena begins with our lawyers looking in shock at the scene before them as Mr Ha sits with blood around him. Geum-Ja confirms Jeong-Hwa is dead before she and Hee-Jae contemplate the best way of dealing with the situation. Geum-Ja takes numerous pictures while jumping back through time and seeing exactly what happened during interspersed flashback segments. The police eventually arrive at the scene and start asking questions while arresting Chan-Ho. As he’s taken away, the lawyers try to work out what to do about their client. Geum-Ja drives off while Hee-Jae heads to the station and implores Chan-Ho tell him the truth about what happened. Geum-Ja meets Jun-Ho and breaks the news that Jeong-Hwa’s dead. She tells Jun-Ho to keep things together and asks him to be honest with her. He admits to calling Jeong-Hwa and asking to go abroad together, which looks like it may have been the catalyst for Chan-Ho’s rage. As Geum-Jae and Hee-Jae meet again they talk in private about what happened and the truth surrounding why Chan-Ho flew off the handle and killed his partner. While Hee-Jae shows remorse over what’s happened, Geum-Ja is cold and reminds him that Chan-Ho is their client so they need to remain professional. With no CCTV at the hotel and Chan-Ho blind drunk and unable to remember anything, the group back at the office reconvene and discuss exactly how to approach this case. While they talk, they’re interrupted by a news report as they realize the press have caught wind of what’s happened. Back at the station, Geum-Ja meets Chan-Ho again and they talk about his drinking. He contemplates whether it was Jun-Ho but he happens to have an alibi. As Chan-Ho wrestles with the idea that he killed his partner, tears well up in his eyes as he tells her he’s innocent. At the Criminal Investigations department in the station, Geum-Ja fishes for more information about the call records. Soon after, she phones Hee-Jae again and they discuss the truth and how desperate they both are to get to the bottom of what’s happened. Hye-Won doesn’t react well to Jun-Ho being put in the driving seat to be CEO while Song continues to try and work on the company merger. Back at the office, the group work together to try and piece together what happened to Jeong-Hwa that night, with Gi-Hyeok and the others heading to different locations she frequented and trying to find information. Bit by bit, they find fragments of clues that lead to a company called ArtSky. Hee-Jae calls Jun-Ho and makes his move while Kevin arrives in the board room with him, encouraging Jun-Ho to step up in the wake of what’s happened with Chan-Ho. Outside, Hee-Jae openly admits to Kevin that he likes Geum-Ja. It’s even more disappointing for Kevin soon after when he meets with Geum-Ja and she declines his request to give files to the prosecutor just to spite Hee-Jae and get under his skin. Geum-Ja heads up to see Hee-Jae instead and asks him to concentrate. As they talk, Hee-Jae admits to liking her but she tells him not to show any pity. As they keep talking, she admits that his Father is in trouble and implores him to stop what’s about to happen. As we reach the business end of Hyena, this law drama has seen some ups and downs along the way but now the show is starting to see all the plot threads come together for what appears to be the final few cases of the season. While the law drama hasn’t quite done enough to ignite the Korean drama scene, there’s enough here to make for an enjoyable watch nonetheless. Geum-Ja and Hee-Jae’s relationship is ultimately the glue that holds everything together as I’ve said before and for this alone the show is worth watching. Quite what will happen next remains to be seen but given the ending we receive, it promises to be a pretty dramatic conclusion nonetheless.
