Unmasked Episode 2 Review: Ups the Ante

In episode 1 of Disney+ Kdrama Unmasked, O So-ryong comes across a religious group who are using devotees to keep up a drug business while also juggling the problems of running an investigative journalism show. After one of his colleagues quits, she is introduced to Han Do, a man with his own demons, and together they try to bust this ring while also trying to air their latest episode on time. In the midst of this, there is an unseen threat of Dr Trigger, who is giving away sensitive information about Trigger.

The series has 12 episodes and will release from 15 January 2025 to 19 February 2025.

Unmasked Episode 2 Recap

The episode starts with someone taking a video of a man shuffling with some bags, from where a cat’s head rolls out. We then jump to the Trigger offices, where they are getting bombarded with calls from religious fanatics after they aired the story on Heaven of Trust. Meanwhile, So-ryong is investigating a disappearance case and gets in touch with the man’s father to give him some good news. Back at the office, the show comes under fire for its bad numbers and the recent controversy, with Hyeong-tae threatening to take the show down. However, when So-ryong stands up against this injustice, he proposes a plan – if he catches Dr Trigger first, the show will get cancelled. If not, she can keep it running as it has been.

Dae-yong is annoyed at her taking the challenge up but she tells him that she will keep working on the Cha Seong-wook case and try to solve it so that the channel has to keep them and Dae-yong can work on the Dr Trigger case. So-rong and Han Do continue to butt heads and she gives him a huge assignment to go through every single episode’s material from the pilot and decide on the best ones to do a follow-up story. It is also here that we learn that So-ryong is in a relationship with another colleague in her office, so much so that they are engaged!

Later that night, Han Do gets suspected as the neighbourhood cat murderer as he is trying to feed a cat and So-ryong has to bail him out. It’s an awkward moment for him, but she seems to be okay with standing up for one of her colleagues. Afterwards, she wishes for them to work together peacefully but Han Do has trouble trusting her words. Back at home, we get a glimpse at his childhood, where he is abused mercilessly by his father for stealing something after following his brother’s words, who refuses to acknowledge him at that moment. It’s clear that he continues to carry the scars of that incident, mentally and physically.

The next morning, Han Do is heartbroken and furious to find the cat that he was trying to feed the previous night has been brutally killed by the cat killer. He goes to the police, who are, as usual, worthless and refuse to help him. Han Do jumps at the opportunity to cover the story at work and invariably clashes with Gi-ho who was also working on the same story. In the end, Hui-won and So-ryong get into a heated argument after he insults Gi-ho and threatens to leak their conversation from the previous day.

Han Do takes up the cat killer story and goes to visit the old man after receiving a tip-off, while So-ryong calms a hysterical Gi-ho down and assures him that things will work out eventually. However, when Han Do suddenly disappears after meeting the “accused”, Gi-ho and So-ryong are immediately worried and rush off to find him. Meanwhile, Han Do learns more about the cat killings from the old man, who turns out to be just looking out for the poor cats. As it turns out, it’s the student who tipped Han Do off about the old man who might be the main accused.

However, their conversation is cut short when So-ryong rushes to the house with an entire team thinking the worst. She is left annoyed when she sees that he is fine and even more so when she realises that he didn’t record anything. She instructs him to work with Gi-ho and be a team to avoid these embarrassing situations further. Back at the office, Han Do walks into So-ryong’s fiance talking to his affair partner about their one-night stand in the bathroom, not knowing the truth about his relationship with his boss.

Later on, as Han Do is showing So-ryong the perpetrator’s face, someone throws a fire extinguisher through the window startling them both. Just as she is about to rush to apprehend him, she slips and falls on one of her shattered plants. When she gets up, Han Do accidentally punches her right as the religious fanatic throws a gas bomb inside the office.

Unmasked Episode 2 Review

What an unhinged episode this has been! Following a cat murderer, showcasing the problems within the hierarchy of their company as well as the police’s negligence, the series tiptoes the line between believability and fantastical, bringing forth a rather amusing watch. While the episode brings forth a heinous crime, it does balance it out well with the nonsensical actions of the characters as well as the annoying bosses who seem to be out to destroy people’s lives. I am a little disappointed that it doesn’t give us a nice and neat ending and still a little confused about the ties to the childhood flashback that we saw, but here’s hoping the next episode explains that.

Also Read: All Unmasked Season 1 Reviews