Sisyphus: The Myth – K-Drama Episode 5 Recap & Review

The Sniper

Episode 5 of Sisyphus: The Myth begins with Tae-Sul dragging the unconscious Seo-Hae to shore and helping to resuscitate her. Thankfully it works, and after sputtering water, Tae-Sul brings her to the office with the intention of patching up her shoulder.

Seo-Jin shows up and immediately confronts him, asking exactly what he’s doing. Eventually she agrees to help, as they both examine the nasty gunshot wound across Seo-Hae’s shoulder.

After patching her up, Tae-Sul spills the truth about the traveler and what’s happening. Seo-Jin however tells him he needs help – and preferably to be hospitalized too. Ironically, she tells him that he’s beginning to sound like his brother.

When she leaves, promising to phone the police in the morning if they’re not gone, Tae-Sul deliberates over whether to read from Seo-Hae’s diary or not. Eventually he decides against it, as Seo-Hae begins moaning her Mother’s name in her delirious state.

In the morning, Tae-Sul greets a recovering Seo-Hae and gives her a whole stack of food. As she eats, she mentions that there’s a war that starts thanks to North Korea. A bomb will be dropped on Wolsong, and in retaliation a nuke will be dropped right in the heart of Seoul. As Tae-Sul questions further, an alarm goes off prompting our genius creator to leave in a hurry.

After taking money out an ATM, Tae-Sul believes it’s in their best interests to separate and go their separate ways for now. After all, with numerous organizations and people after them, Tae-Sul wants her to head off and live a different life.

Seo-Hae brings up her diary and how the entries pertain to saving him but Tae-Sul is having none of it. In fact, he tells her to leave and head back to where she came from. Seo-hae throws the money in the bin – given money is used for tinder in the future – and walks away.

Meanwhile, Hwang Hyun-Seung checks the monitors as an enraged Jung Hyun-Ki screams to be let out of his cell. Etched on the floor is strange writing reading “The End Is Near.” Well, Hyun-Ki is let go and shown the various different cells they’re keeping people in.

It’s pretty horrific but Hyun-Seung doesn’t seem too phased. He talks about the “uninvited among them” and encourages Hyun-Ki to join their ranks. Unfortunately he also breaks the news that his Mother has passed away.

Hyun-Ki is set loose for the time being to rejoin the police force. It’s a brief segment, and one that sees him immediately back with the Control Bureau again in the next scene. Wait, that was quick. What happened? Did no one question where he disappeared to? Anyway, back to the story.

The death of Hyun-Ki’s Mother and Hyun-Seung’s twisted motivations are enough for him to seek retribution against Seo-Hae and bring her back. In fact, this includes a shoot to kill policy for any illegal entrants too.

Both Tae-Sul and Seo-Hae continue to struggle, finding it difficult to concentrate alone in the wake of the bombshell reveals. Seo-Hae rushes straight into the middle of the road, spinning out and losing control. Thankfully Tae-Sul grabs her hand and admits that he needs to find his brother, knowing perfectly well what it’s like to be alone.

Still standing in the middle of the road, they shake hands and agree to team up as cars eventually pass them.

We then jump back to the future (no pun intended) as Seo-hae goes hunting for resources with her Father. Unfortunately they’re attacked in an abandoned supermarket by a group of bandits and a remote controlled buggy.

The pair are surrounded, with nowhere to go, and eventually work together to thwart the threat. Seo-hae tracks down an 18 year old kid in charge of the drone. Just as he looks set to strike Seo-Hae, her Father arrives and kills him. He warns his daughter not to get soft as blood oozes from his stomach. They make it to a sauna where Seo-hae deliberates over what it would be like to hang out there.

In the present, Seo-Hae does just that and visits a sauna with Tae-Sul. There, she proudly admits that she’s been drinking the bathwater. Well, that’s just put me off my dinner. It certainly hasn’t put Seo-hae off eating though, as she sits with Tae-Sul in the cafeteria. As they talk, Tae-Sul wonders where the uploader may be and realizes it’s probably still at his apartment.

When they show up, Tae-Sul heads into his lab where Seo-Hae asks if anyone has ransacked the place. Well, the key in question happens to be hidden within a stack of decoy keys in the drawer. After fishing it off, Eddie Kim suddenly comes rushing in as he believes someone is inside the house.

Seo-Hae and Tae-Sul hide inside the closet and are saved at the last second by Eddie receiving a call and not opening up. He mentions how he’s given up looking now and walks away. Just before he does though, he seems to shoot a knowing glance at the closet.

That evening the pair spend time together, checking out the gorgeous skyline and talking about their changed fortunes. Seo-Hae discusses the future and how it’s very different to how things are now. As they talk, Seo-Hae eventually falls asleep on Tae-Sul’s shoulder.

As the episode closes, Hyun-Ki attends a brief at the Control Bureau along with the rest of the soldiers who all decide to band together and track down Tae-Sul and Seo-Hae. Driven by the loss of his Mother, his anger gets the better of him as Hyun-Ki eyes up a sniper rifle he intends to use.

The Episode Review

That was mighty nice of Hwang Hyun-Seung at the Control Bureau to kidnap Jung Hyun-Ki, tell him about his dead Mother, let him leave custody and visit the crime scene alone. Then, he banks on him heading back to the Control Bureau of his own accord, to allow Hyun-Seung to register him missing again. Wouldn’t this raise some alarm bells with the officers on duty?

Having said that though, it seems like the assassin in the future who returned with the sniper is going to be Hyun-Ki himself. The burns across his face could be a result of radiation, whether from the ensuing nuclear war in the near-future or from jumping back and forth through time. I know that seems farfetched given he died last episode but he may have been revived. This is sci-fi after all!

Meanwhile, this episode takes a few liberties with logic and plot consistency for the sake of driving the story forward. For example, if the authorities are after Tae-Sul and Seo-Hae, struggling to find them, wouldn’t two people holding up traffic and causing a ruckus in a busy interstate raise some alarm bells?

It’s ironic that Alice has just recently dropped on Netflix too and unfortunately this show is bringing up similar vibes right now. Much like Alice, Sisyphus feels like it could become a bit of a problem with its time travel elements.

I know some of this is nitpicking but given the the sheer quality of sci-fi and time travel shows out there (Dark, Travelers and 12 Monkeys to name a few) this one is starting to show some cracks.

Hopefully those cracks don’t grow into gaping chasms though and there’s still time for this one to turn it around. Despite a strong opener, this is just starting to slip a little into contrived waters. It’s still enjoyable no doubt and this has definitely been an action-packed romp so far. I just hope this doesn’t fall apart like Alice did.