The Mantis: Original Sin serial killer Go Hyun-jung properly provoked the copycat killer.
According to TV ratings company Nielsen Korea on the 20th, the fifth episode of the SBS Friday-Saturday drama The Mantis: Original Sin (directed by Byun Young-joo, written by Lee Young-jong), which aired on the 19th, recorded a 6.9% viewership rating in the Seoul metropolitan area, ranking first among all channels and Friday-Saturday miniseries in the same time slot. The momentary peak rating rose to 7.8%. Also, the key channel competitiveness metric for viewers aged 20-49 showed a peak of 2.76%, proving its topicality.
In that episode, serial killer "The Mantis" Jeong Yi-shin (played by Go Hyun-jung) finally made a full appearance and strongly provoked the perpetrator of the "The Mantis" copycat murders. As the two killers exchanged maddening dialogue that sent chills, Cha Soo-yeol (played by Jang Dong-yoon) was shocked after witnessing another person facing a life-or-death situation.
Earlier, the prime suspect in the copycat murder cases, Seo Gu-wan (played by Lee Tae-gu), died in a suspicious hit-and-run traffic accident. Jeong Yi-shin, who escaped from the nursing home at a perfect moment, showed up at the home of Cha Soo-yeol and Lee Jung-yeon (played by Kim Bo-ra). Cha Soo-yeol, who suspected Jeong Yi-shin of killing Seo Gu-wan, rushed home hurriedly after hearing the news. Jeong Yi-shin, hiding the fact that she was a serial killer, said, "I missed you. The person beside you." Cha Soo-yeol grew enraged.
After the death of the first prime suspect Seo Gu-wan, the second prime suspect Park Min-jae (played by Lee Chang-min) was released. Park Min-jae, who had followed Jeong Yi-shin like a mother since childhood and envied Cha Soo-yeol, said that Cha Soo-yeol actually wanted to see Jeong Yi-shin but could not admit it, so he made Jeong Yi-shin into a devil and rationalized it. Had he struck a nerve? Cha Soo-yeol shouted, "Stop praising a killer," and turned away.
Meanwhile, the copycat murder case perpetrator began to move. He sent Cha Soo-yeol a phone containing a murder video and even called him. Coincidentally, while the serial murder investigation team was investigating Park Min-jae, they found a woman named "Joy" on a dating app who was being followed not only by Park Min-jae but also by the victims of earlier copycat murders. At that moment, the phone the perpetrator had sent rang. In the end, Cha Soo-yeol told his team members that he was receiving investigative help from Jeong Yi-shin. He did not reveal their mother-and-son relationship.
Finally, the call between Jeong Yi-shin and the copycat murder perpetrator began. Although another victim could appear at any time, Jeong Yi-shin provoked the perpetrator without wavering. Instead of flattering the perpetrator to get information, Jeong Yi-shin attacked the perpetrator's pride, leaving the members of the serial murder investigation team bewildered. But only Cha Soo-yeol understood Jeong Yi-shin's thinking. As a result, the copycat murder perpetrator began to reveal clues willingly, exactly as Jeong Yi-shin intended.
From the perpetrator's words, the serial murder investigation team caught a clue about the "final scene" and identified a famous opera singer among Joy's followers. They immediately dispatched to the venue where he was performing. But Jeong Yi-shin told Cha Soo-yeol, "It won't be him," and said, "You have to think like Joy, or think like me." Cha Soo-yeol was uneasy but headed to the theater to prepare for any possible situation, and after the performance he securely detained the opera singer who had disappeared from the stage.
At that time, an unexpected situation occurred. Park Min-jae, saying he would help Cha Soo-yeol, provoked Joy alone and lured her to his garage. Cha Soo-yeol, who saw Park Min-jae's message late because he was looking for the opera singer, rushed to Park Min-jae. But Park Min-jae was already tied up in a gruesome state as if he had been attacked by Joy. Cha Soo-yeol hugged Park Min-jae and shouted, "You must not die!" With Cha Soo-yeol's desperate cry, the fifth episode of The Mantis: Original Sin ended.
Episode 5 of The Mantis: Original Sin quickly and meticulously heightened tension by showing Jeong Yi-shin's reunion with Lee Jung-yeon after her escape, the copycat perpetrator's full appearance, the mad dialogue between Jeong Yi-shin and the perpetrator, the risk of another copycat murder occurring, the slowly revealed outline of the perpetrator, and the life-or-death crisis of prime suspect Park Min-jae. It also detailed the relationship between Jeong Yi-shin and Cha Soo-yeol and Cha Soo-yeol's psychology as he finds similarities to himself in Jeong Yi-shin. Above all, the presence of the actors who expressed all of this with performances beyond perfect was overpowering.
Will prime suspect Park Min-jae die like this? Will Cha Soo-yeol again be trapped in pain from failing to prevent death before his eyes? Who on earth is "Joy"? Is "Joy" really the copycat murder perpetrator? Leaving stronger questions at the turning point, the sixth episode of the SBS Friday-Saturday drama The Mantis: Original Sin will air tonight, Sep. 20, at 10 p.m.
[Photo] broadcast capture
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