Hunter With a Scalpel Ending Explained: Does Se-hyun Catch Jo-gyun? Do the Killings Stop?

Hunter With a Scalpel Ending Explained: In this crime-thriller Korean drama series, a forensic pathologist with a dark past is left shocked when, during a routine autopsy, she finds clues that lead back to her presumably dead serial killer father. Confused and infuriated, she decides to take matters into her own hands and exact revenge before he destroys everything and everyone in his path.

The series is based on the novel Mesureul Deun Sanyangkkun by Choi Yi-Do. The series has 16 episodes, each with a runtime of around 30 minutes.

Hunter With a Scalpel Ending Explained

The series opens with Se-hyun, a forensic pathologist, finding something odd in one of her autopsies. It’s something that reminds her of her father, who was a serial killer and who used her during his twisted fantasies. It’s a sore subject for her, and all this while she has been under the impression that her father, Jo-gyun, has been dead. With this new revelation, things change, and she immediately becomes cautious.

Assigned to the case is a dedicated detective, Jung-hyun, who goes against his colleague’s wishes and dives right into solving this one. He reaches out to Se-hyun, hoping that she will have insights into the murder and the murderer. She helps him out, but there’s a catch: she starts to keep certain things to herself because she is determined to catch Jo-gyun on her own.

Her need is made acute when her father calls her to taunt her, but his words are laced with the intent of “recruiting” her into his murder spree. Se-hyun starts to attempt to attack Jo-gyun, but it mostly goes in vain as she lies to Jung-hyun, who starts to wonder whether there is more to the story than is being brought up.

By going through all the information, Jung-hyun realises that the pattern of the new murders is just like that of a spree of crimes that took place years ago. Blue barrels were used then, and he finds these barrels this time around as well and starts to suspect Se-hyun.

Does Se-hyun catch Jo-gyun?

In Hunter With a Scalpel episode 16, Se-hyun, having exposed her father after a few failed attempts to catch him and now suspected of the murders herself, flees the hospital and meets with her father. He tries once again to manipulate her into coming back, but she feigns poisoning herself for him to put his guard down. Her plan works, and he immediately tries to save her. However, she takes this opportunity to inject a muscle relaxant into him, leaving him defenceless.

With years of trauma and abuse looming over her, Se-hyun almost kills Jo-gyun for harming another young girl, but thankfully, the police arrive to stop her, and he eventually goes to prison.

Who is Se-eun? What happens to her?

Se-eun is another young girl whom Jo-gyun has brainwashed and manipulated into doing his bidding. Carrying her old name and acting just like her when she was young, Se-hyun takes a liking to the young girl and sees herself in her. She desperately tries to save her, but Jo-gyuin eventually takes her hostage and decides to get rid of her before making his escape.

Thankfully, Se-eun has the presence of mind to use Se-hyun’s watch that Jung-hyun had given her just before she passed out in the barrel that Jo-gyun had trapped her in and is eventually found.

Months later, Se-hyun seems to have taken her in, and she gets ready to go to school in a heartwarming turn of events and even Jung-hyun seems to be a part of her life.

What happens to Eun-seo?

Throughout the series, we are made aware of Se-hyun’s sister Eun-seo, who took care of her and tended to her emotional needs when she was younger. Eun-seo becomes Se-hyun’s guiding light throughout this, and we get glimpses of their relationship throughout the 16 episodes. However, it’s clear that she died, and throughout episodes 15 and 16, we learn that Eun-seo, having discovered Jo-gyun’s secret, tried to run away with Se-hyun, but they were caught, and he hit her, as a result of which she hit her head on a rock.

Dazed but still determined to protect Se-hyun, she attacked him when he wasn’t looking and pushed him over a cliff. Unfortunately, she eventually succumbed to her injuries, and Se-hyun buried her in the woods. It is because of her that Se-hyun managed to escape her father’s clutches and was eventually taken to the orphanage.

In the present, after the entire ordeal, Se-hyun visits Eun-seo’s grave and thanks her for being there with her throughout her life.

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Also Read: Hunter With a Scalpel Review