Flex X Cop – K-drama Episode 16 (Finale) Recap, Review & Ending Explained

Seung-Ju’s Betrays I-soo For Money And Greed

Episode 16 of Flex X Cop starts with Gang-hyun, Jun-young, and Kyung-jin discussing the case of the possibility that Seung-jun or his mother murdered I-soo’s parents, but they have no evidence to prove it. I-soo walks in on them, and Gang-hyun tells him about a car leaving Myeong-chul’s house and finding no SD card in the dash camera. He asks who their suspect is since they must have one, even if there is no evidence, and Jun-young tells him it is Seung-jun.

I-soo strictly insists that the culprit is Hee-ja, as it cannot be Seung-jun, and he is the only one who has ever been by his side. However, although Hee-ja has a driver’s license, she cannot drive. I-soo insists it’s Hee-ja and says that he will use his mother’s case if he cannot prove it by his father’s case. However, his mother’s case has expired and cannot be retried in court, so they cannot indict the culprit. Either way, I-soo holds that he will prove it and leave the station. 

Who Killed I-Soo’s Mother And Chairman Jin Myeong-Chul?

Mr Lee cannot sleep wondering if he made a mistake 25 years ago. His wife finds him stressed out in the sitting room and offers encouragement by reminding him that he has worked hard for 30 years, so instead of being scared he missed something, he should find a way to get it right. Also, she reminds him that he has a daughter who is an excellent detective and that he can rely on her.

Later that night, Mr. Lee suddenly remembered that there were two unidentified fingerprints, which they thought belonged to children who were not in the system yet.

The following day, he asks Mr Park for help, and they search the evidence archives until they find the evidence. Mr Lee urges Mr Park to send it to forensics and then send the results to Gang-hyun since she oversees the case. 

Meanwhile, I-soo visits Hee-ja at the hospital and learns that her health has been deteriorating since she is neither eating nor drinking. The doctor mentions that she became like that after his son visited her at the hospital before, which makes him start doubting his conviction that Seung-jun is not involved in killing his parents.

Afterwards, I-soo meets with the family driver from 25 years ago, and coincidentally, he remembers that day since it is the day he lost his job. Hee-ja had asked to be taken to a house in Gangha-dong, and she left after a few minutes. The driver then took her home, and she did not leave the house again all night. The time she visited I-soo’s house does not match the estimated time of death since it was around dusk. 

The driver added that Seung-jun had left later that night and had refused to let the driver take him wherever he was going. However, he had an accident that night, so the driver lost his job. I-soo shares the new information with Gang-hyun, and after asking at the emergency centre, she figured out that Seung-jun got into a car accident at Gangha-dong 1 around his house.

I-soo asks his brother if he visited his mon on the night she died, but he lies that he did not know where their house was located. After the inauguration ceremony, I-soo returns to the office and finds the fingerprint results, confirming that Seung-jun went to his house that night. He takes Gang-hyun’s gun, calls Seung-jun, and asks to meet at home.

At first, Seung-jun insists that he had nothing to do with the death of I-soo’s mother, but when I-soo holds a gun to his head, we get a flashback of what happened on the fateful night. After Seung-jun’s mother gets back home, she tells him that his father will throw them out because he found his real son, and she attempts to kill himself using sleeping pills. After she falls asleep, Seung-jun leaves the house with a handful of his mother’s sleeping pills and goes to I-soo’s house after seeing the divorce papers on Myeong-chul’s desk.

His mother lets him into the house and offers him a glass of juice, promising him she will not marry his father, so he must not worry. However, when he steps into the kitchen to make himself a meal, he sees a text message from Myeong-chul telling her that he has prepared all the papers and is waiting for her response. Young Seung-jun puts his mother’s sleeping pills into her glass, and she collapses after taking the juice. He sees another message from Myeong-chul saying that he will arrive at the house in one hour, so he drags I-soo’s mother into the bathtub and fills it with water before running out of the house and getting into an accident. 

Seung-jun confesses that he killed I-soo’s mother and wishes he could have killed him, too, on the fateful day. The brothers get into a fight, and Seung-jun, thinking he has the upper hand, punches I-soo several in the face, talking about how he did everything to please Myeong-chul to get the position of chairman, but I-soo was easily forgiven for his childish behaviours just because he is his son. In the process, he also confesses that he killed I-soo’s father, Myeong-chul. 

Will Seung-Jun become the Chairman of Hansu Group?

Seung-jun was inaugurated as the chairman but did not keep his position long. We realise that Jeong-hun has more influence in the company since he can order the branch managers to leave during a meeting with Seung-jun, who tries to fire him when he asks about his involvement in Myeong-chul’s death. Later that night, he meets with I-soo, who, after learning that he killed his mother and father, vows to take everything from Seung-jun, including his position as chairman, his fortune, his honour, his family, and everything else he holds dear. Seung-jun takes the gun and threatens to kill I-soo and claims that it was self-defence since there is no evidence to convict him of Myeong-chul’s death and the case of I-soo’s mother is expired. 

I-soo hands Seung-jun the final blow by telling him that Myeong-chul already knew he was not his son but still accepted Seung-jun and his mother. Everything Seung-jun has done is to keep the secret, but since Myeong-chul already knows the truth, everything he has done is meaningless, and he tries to kill himself due to guilt, but the gun is empty. 

Does Seung-Jun pay for his crimes?

When he tries to kill himself, I-soo takes the gun from him and tells him never to die but to live forever, haunted by guilt. Gang-hyun, Jun-young, and Kyung-jin arrive at I-soo’s house and arrest Seung-jun. He confesses to his crimes and is sentenced to life in prison. 

Who becomes the Chairman of Hansu Group?

In the next few days, I-soo will be busy with work at Hansu Group and will not head to work at the police station. However, on the day of his inauguration, he turns down the position and hands it over to his assistant,  Jeong-hun, whom he believes is more capable of running Hansu Group. 

What happens at the end?

Jun-young finally asks out Ji-won. Everyone in the office misses I-soo, and Gang-hyun orders Kyung-jin to remove his desk on the day of his inauguration. She sees the resignation I-soo’s letter on her desk, and since he is not the Chairman of Hansu Group, she decides to hand it in. However, I-soo surprises them all by suddenly showing up and telling them he is back to work after handing over the company to someone more capable.

Team 1 is complete, and they start their banter with Gang-hyun and Jun-young threatening to hand in the resignation since I-soo has been absent for days without notice. I-soo says he will write an apology letter, but Jun-young insists that one is insufficient as he should write at least 20 apology letters, or they will hand in the resignation. Suddenly, Team 1 gets a call, and I-soo answers. They have a new case, and the episode ends when they all take Gang-hyun’s car and head to the crime scene. 


The Episode Review

The final episode offers an exciting conclusion to season 1 of Flex X Cop and hints at the possibility of a second season. The writers did a fantastic job with the plot twist, making Seung-jun the culprit because it was so well executed that we could not suspect him until the last minute. However, it is disappointing that he was just another Chaebol wannabe who could do anything for greed, money, and position of power.

However, the most thrilling part is how I-soo handles the situation by not losing his pride in doing the right thing, even when faced with heartbreaking betrayal. Moreover, Seung-jun gets to pay for his crimes with life imprisonment, a punishment befitting his crimes. 

Although it was easy to predict that I-soo would hand over the company to Jeing-hun and continue to work as a detective, it was satisfying when it happened. Jeong-hun is loyal and trustworthy, making us wish we had someone like that always by our side. He might not have his biological family with him, but I-soo has acquired a family closer than blood in his Team 1 colleagues and Jeong-hun. 

What will happen in season 2? Team 1 will definitely entertain us with their excellent chemistry and detective skills while Jun-young and Ji-won explore their feelings for each other. Hopefully, we will meet Kyung-jin’s girlfriend, and the detectives at Gang-ha Police Station will enhance their teamwork without toxicity since the new captain will make the team wholesome.

Will there be a romance between I-soo and Gang-hyun? I appreciate that the writers choose not to include a romance plot between them in this season. 

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You can expect a full season review for Flex X Cop when this season concludes!
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