Mr. Plankton – K-drama Episode 9 Recap & Review

The scene cuts to Hae-jo in the hospital as Bong-suk and Jae-mi finally learn about his terminal illness. While Hae-jo is unconscious, Jae-mi decides to fulfill his wish to find his birth father and causes a commotion trying to obtain a DNA sample from the company owner. Eventually, she succeeds in getting the sample and sends it in for a paternity test.

While Jae-mi is away, Hae-jo dreams about talking to his sister, telling her how the plankton in the sea, despite aimlessly floating at the bottom of the food chain, are actually cool because they sparkle in the ocean water and produce oxygen for all living beings. In the dream, he says goodbye and decides to go be with the plankton in the sea, just as Hae-jo experiences cardiac arrest in real life.

When Jae-mi returns, she finds Gi-ho and Bong-suk in complete disarray and learns that they almost lost Hae-jo, but the doctors thankfully brought him back. While staying by Hae-jo’s side, Jae-mi recalls his wish to die while looking at the blue sky and tries to take him outside. Sadly, all the taxi drivers mistake Hae-jo for a dead body, and no one agrees to take them. This is when Hae-jo regains consciousness at the bus stop, with Jae-mi still trying to hail a cab.

Meanwhile, Heung drifts through the city aimlessly as his family attempts to contact him. His mother shares with John how precious her son is to her, expressing guilt and regret for pushing him to the point of running away. Eventually, they receive an accidental call from Heung, who is wreaking havoc at a club, prompting them to search for him.

Meanwhile, Jae-mi and Hae-jo begin their journey to visit the fourth candidate who might be Hae-jo’s father after the paternity test returns negative for the third candidate. However, it turns out that Hae-jo had actually arranged for Jae-mi to meet her biological mother instead, as he leaves her to talk to her mother so that Jae-mi can finally learn her real birthdate.

The scene shifts to Heung, who appears like a hallucination of Hae-jo’s, arriving as Hae-jo weeps over abandoning Jae-mi yet again.

The Episode Review

This episode builds on the character growth that began in the last one, with Heung’s mother as the newest addition to the group. She finally realizes that her son is more important to her than an outdated familial lineage, which ultimately pushes her to search for Heung herself with John. Although we don’t know much about John, it’s clear the two share a deep, unspoken bond that’s quite touching to watch.

On the other hand, there are many meaningful and heartfelt twists in this episode, starting with the realization that Hae-jo has been preparing Jae-mi to meet her mother since the beginning of the episode. By doing so, he fulfills his promise to help her discover her real birthday, even though, at this moment, we don’t know if she actually does.

By the end of the episode, it feels as though Hae-jo hallucinates Heung, who he perceives as almost a father figure, comforting him when he needs someone the most. This episode puts a lot of the show into perspective, setting the stage for what promises to be a beautiful finale. So stay tuned!