The Killing Vote (국민사형투표) is a crime-thriller Korean drama series directed by Park Shin-woo, written by Jo Yoon-young and based on the webtoon of the same name by Uhm Se-yoon and Jung Yi-pum. The series stars Park Hae-jin, Park Sung-woong and Lim Ji-yeon in lead roles. The Killing Vote episode 2 has a runtime of 70 minutes.
– The Killing Vote Episode 2 Review Contains Major Spoilers –
The Killing Vote Plot
The crime drama series follows a mysterious man who doles out punishment to the most heinous criminals in the country who fall through the cracks of the justice system. His M.O. includes sending a text message when a criminal doesn’t face justice and citizens over the age of 18 can vote on whether or not they should die. If the results in favour of punishment receive 50% or more votes, then this mysterious figure, who operates through the internet, shows the said criminal a taste of the consequences of their actions. With such a dangerous precedent being set, Kim Moo-chan, Kwon Seok-joo and Joo Hyeon get embroiled in a wild chase to figure out who the punisher is.
The Killing Vote Episode 2 Recap
The Killing Vote episode 2 starts with Kwon Seok-joo’s final trial date, wherein he is given the option to defend himself. He uses the opportunity to demean everyone in the courtroom for not speaking up against the perpetrator and taking their side instead of the victims. In the present, Joo Hyun reminds Moo-chan about Seok-joo’s final words before his sentencing and tells him that it must be him who did this crime. However, Moo-chan isn’t convinced, considering he is in prison and has never received any visitors till now. Hyun further asks to be accepted into the Special Investigation Unit in order to keep working on the video, but Moo-chan refuses and dismisses her.
In the meantime, Jin-soo brings news that the analysis of Bae Gi-chul’s phone has been completed and that they found a threatening text on it. defeated, Hyun huffs and walks off while Moo-chan learns that on the day that Gi-chul died, his entire wealth was donated to an NGO that works with kids who were sexually assaulted. Either Moo-chan asks Jin-soo to track down the account holder in order to find more information. That night, both Hyun and Moo-chan look deeper into Seok-joo’s possible involvement in the case.
The next day, we learn that Seok-joo is a positive influence on the rest of the prisoners, having helped one of them get a GED degree. However, he doesn’t seem to be too keen on discussing Gi-chul’s death and instead, urges everyone to think positively. Meanwhile, Hyun learns that she has been accepted into the Special Investigation Unit, which leaves her feeling thoroughly pleased. On the other hand, Moo-chan goes to the prison to meet Seok-joo, but he refuses to meet him. But, the prison guard, Chul-min, offers his services to him instead.
Outside the prison, Moo-chan learns that the waiter at the bar where Gi-chul was last seen is willing to talk to them, and he and Jin-soo go to the bar to get more information on him. After threatening him a bit, they learn that a cab was waiting specifically for Gi-chul on the day that he died, and Moo-chan asks Jin-soo to check the nearby CCTV cameras. Meanwhile, Moo-chan beats the waiter to a pulp for installing cameras in the women’s restroom. The beating also results in them getting a business card.
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Meanwhile, Hyun and Jo-dan find the IP address that started spreading the malware to all the different systems. As they search for the location of the IP address, Moo-chan and Jin-soo talk to the taxi driver, from whom they get a phone number and the number plate of the taxi. Unfortunately, the killer is smart and has already discarded the taxi to a junkyard, and the police are too slow to stop it from being crushed. Later on, Hyun and Jo-dan get to the location of the IP address and find Gi-chul’s own hideout.
Moo-chan and the team also get there, and all of them proceed inside to see if there are any hidden computers or servers that could’ve been used by Gaetal. Jin-soo finds a LAN cable and uses it to get as much information as she can which she decides to comb through on her personal computer.
Also Read: The Killing Vote Episode 1 Recap and Review: When the Common Man Wants Justice
As the days tick down to D-day, the leads dry up. However, Hyun comes up with a theory that she read about in the message boards of the Cheongnang Prison, which impresses Moo-chan. He, thus, sets up an interview with the prisoners and Hyun, so that she can inspect them on her own. Although Seok-joo is taken off the roster for questioning, he chooses to talk to her after learning that she has been asking everyone whether they have heard the phrase “Devils who were deemed innocent”.
During the questioning, Hyun asks Seok-joo about the phrase that he had first used and whether he was connected to The Killing Vote in any way. Although Seok-joo tries to dismiss her theory, she continues to press on the issue. Seok-joo, in turn, asks her to think from the point of view of the killer and guess who the victim can be if she is unable to find the perpetrator. The thought leaves Hyun shocked, and she asks him who he thinks is the target. However, Seok-joo refuses to indulge any further and walks off, leaving Hyun feeling rattled.
As it turns out, Hyun was on the phone with Moo-chan the entire time, and he mentions that he knew that Seok-joo would meet her if she mentioned the phrase. He further mentions that even if the killer isn’t Seok-joo, it’s definitely someone close to him since no one can know that particular phrase other than him or someone close to him. Either way, Hyun is left fascinated with Seok-joo’s comment about finding the victim, while Moo-chan continues to wonder who could be the perpetrator.
With the day coming close, Moo-chan is forced to act quickly to avoid another disaster while Min-soo, in the midst of perpetrating the next murder, gets sick and is treated by Ji-young. Meanwhile, Hyun goes through everyone, like Gi-chul, who got out of paying their debts to the judicial system in order to find the victim as the nation anxiously waits for Gaetal to strike. As the software runs, we meet Uhm Eun-gyeong, a woman who really wants to murder her family, probably to get money out of their deaths. As she tries to hit the kids, she is abducted by Gaetal.
The nation waits with bated breath for the next strike, and the time finally comes – Gaetal brings up Eun-gyeong’s name on the screen and discusses every horrible thing she has done to get money from innocent men and, most recently, innocent children. As the people vote, Jo-dan and Hyun’s preparedness helps the Moo-chan and the squad to locate the car in which Eun-gyeong is, and they soon find out that it is rigged to a bomb.
The Killing Vote Episode 2 Ending
After seeing the confessional video, Moo-chan realises that the bomb might go off because the people will vote for her execution and while they wait for the bomb squad, he orders the area to be cleared off and to hopefully find a place to move the car to minimise damage. All available personnel rush to find ways to diffuse the situation, and Hyun advises them to move to Seorae High School. As they all rush to the school, the students are evacuated quickly, and the area is blocked off. Meanwhile, Jo-dan tries his best to catch the culprit.
Thankfully, Hyun is able to catch Min and force her to go home quickly while Moo-chan does his best to get Eun-gyeong to the school as soon as possible. They are able to reach the playground at breakneck speed, and Moo-chan refuses to get out of the car and asks Gaetal, who has been on call the entire time, to stop the timer. As Hyun rushes towards the car, however, the bomb explodes, leaving her to fall to the ground, shocked.
The Killing Vote Episode 2 Review
I am absolutely hooked. With no funny business this time around, the series has caught on to this hypnotising pace that doesn’t let up for even a minute. There is something or the other happening every second that will leave you wanting more, and with only one episode releasing every week on Amazon Prime, we are forced to wait for a week for more content!
I think the series gets all of its notes right this season – the tension of finding out about the next victim, what will happen to her, whether Gaetal will pull the plug or not, will Hyun be able to find the perpetrator through her digging and where does Seok-joo get in all this? There are more questions, and the series, fortunately, knows what works for it. All in all, hopefully, it holds on to this pace till the end.
Also, they thankfully stopped making Hyun into a caricature; she is now only a woman who is sometimes quirky but mostly serious – a tone that this series really requires.
The Killing Vote will air every week on SBS in Korea as well as on Amazon Prime Video in select regions.