A Killer Paradox – K-Drama Episode 4 Recap & Review

Batman and Roh Bin

A Killer Paradox Episode 4 starts with a group of colleagues who are out for a team dinner. The boss, Prosecutor Ji, gives the others his card and heads home. He’s called for a driver and assumes it is the man who is waiting by his car. The man is wearing a hoodie that says Only For Heroes. Halfway through the man wakes up with a call from the real driver. He realises he’s going the wrong way. Lights flash inside the car and we then see a body floating down a river.

Meanwhile, Yeong comes over to see the convenience store owner. The owner withdraws his complaint against Tang and we learn that Tang’s family paid him the money he was owed.

Chung-jin officially retires from the police station. A special investigations unit has been created for the murders. Four months later, they have nothing. Nan-gam claims it was all for show. The unit leader, a woman, overhears him and they argue. Nan-gam believes all the murders were the work of one person while the woman says they’re not.

Elsewhere, in a room filled with superhero merchandise, a young man discusses a murder case online. His name is Roh Bin and he seems to be a profiler. Nan-gam visits him and shows him the details of several murder cases. Bin surmises that there is a possibility it’s a serial killer. Nan-gam has his colleague listening in on their whole conversation. When Bin, accidentally reveals he hacked into the prosecutor’s network, Nan-gam tells his colleague to get Bin to the station.

At the station, Nan-gam convinces his captain to let him deal with Bin, since he would definitely know something. Ultimately, with no evidence, they let Roh Bin go but it seems to be a part of Nan-gam’s plan. While driving Bin home, Nan-gam talks about how they don’t have any leads and tells the latter to share what he finds. Later, while eating at the convenience store, Nan-gam sees Rex, Yeo-ok’s dog. Nan-gam follows him to Yeo-ok’s house.

Somebody comes to Roh Bin’s house to deliver food and it turns out to be Tang. They seem to be working together and Bin tells him to be careful. Outside, Nan-gam’s colleague stops Tang and asks which apartment he’s delivering to. In a car nearby, Nan-gam tells Yong-jae that Roh Bin used to work for the murderer that Nan-gam was after.

They don’t see Tang talking to the other cop. The colleague then enters the car and tells Nan-gam that the ‘delivery guy’ said he’s never seen Roh Bin’s face. Since Nan-gam was at Bin’s house when he opened the door to accept his food delivery, he knows it’s a lie. He tells the other cops to go after the delivery man immediately.

Yong-jae and the other cop chase Lee Tang while Nan-gam storms into Roh Bin’s house. He demands to know if Bin has been picking out the victims for Tang and pressures him to reveal where Lee Tang is. Yong-jae brings in the delivery man but he’s got the wrong person. The captain then calls Nan-gam and starts yelling at him.

Turns out, Roh Bin has cameras set up in his apartment and videos of Nan-gam beating him were sent out all over the internet. The captain is pissed, to say the least. More policemen have turned up at Bin’s door.

A flashback to four months ago begins. Tang packs his bags and leaves, with a letter to his family saying he’s gone to Canada without saying goodbye. He promises to come back as a better person but he ends up sleeping at the railway station. He looks for Only For Heroes online but can’t find anything. He spends his time on the train and one day Roh Bin approaches him, introducing himself as Only For Heroes.

Roh Bin takes Tang home and suggests they work together. He claims to be a sidekick like Watson or Robin (which is why he legally changed his name to Roh Bin). He knows all about the murders Tang committed. He even knows about Tang’s intriguing superpower — that the people he kills deserve to die and all the evidence of his crimes simply disappears. Roh Bin offers him money and says they can serve justice together.

The next morning, Roh Bin and Tang discuss his powers. Bin says he had two partners before Tang. He says Tang has met one and the other is a person he doesn’t want to meet again. The first turns out to be Bu-il. Bin tells Tang to check behind a shelf where he finds a hidden room filled with weapons and files as well as a jacket that says Only For Heroes.

Tang dons the jacket and walks on the street until he coincidentally bumps into Prosecutor Ji. He feels the urge to kill and then poses as his driver. Later, he has the prosecutor tied up and tries to find out what crimes he’s committed. Bin arrives and taps into Ji’s phone, where they find videos that prove the prosecutor sexually assaulted women.

This is enough evidence for Tang, who stabs Ji with no remorse. Both the men watch his body float away. Over time, Tang commits more murders and becomes confident in his ability to root out the bad guys. He even builds his physical strength so he can take people on easily.

At present, Nan-gam and his entire team get a massive telling-off. His captain gets into a fight and both, he and Nan-gam are laid off. At the Chinese restaurant where Tang works, a cop named Song Chon asks about Lee Tang at the end of A Killer Paradox Episode 4.

The Episode Review

While the choppy editing, the non-linear scenes and the overall jumpiness of the show make for an enjoyable TV experience, A Killer Paradox Episode 4 pushes it further. Things can be a tad bit confusing but the story takes care to explain most of it by the end. If this narrative structure continues though, the series will have to make sure viewers can still keep tabs on what’s happening.

That said, the episode is a really interesting one where we see Tang finally come to terms with his powers and his purpose. The time jump and the montage in the middle help highlight this transition as well. It’s delightful to watch him go from feeling lost and unsure to confident and almost arrogant.

He’s guided by Roh Bin, who is another eccentric character. His addition to the show adds more texture and gives Tang a person in his corner. The end of the episode introduces yet another character. With the crispness of the episodes, juggling these various players could be difficult but here’s hoping that A Killer Paradox pulls it off.