Song of the Bandits – K-drama Episode 4 Recap & Review

Episode 4

Episode 4 of Song of the Bandits starts with Gwang-il meeting his superior – General Katayama who is executing insurgents. Gwang-il watches the freedom fighters being killed with a grim expression. General Katayama tells Gwang-il that there are many members of the Japanese military who are actually freedom fighters in disguise.

The two then discuss the possibility of the railroad construction money being stolen. Gwang-il thinks that stopping the consignment from being transferred would not help them in any way as the freedom fighters would never show up to loot it. This would also mean that they would not have the chance to kill the freedom fighters.

Gwang-il tells General Katayama that he wants to be the one to bring the money safely to him but the latter mocks him. He tells Gwang-il that he was the descendant of opportunist traitors who were often known to side with powerful people from time to time.

Gwang-il (as Miura) asks General Katayama to show some faith in him and let him bring the 200,000 himself. He promises to bring the money back along with members of the insurgent army and leaves to go to Myeongjeong. That night, Seong-bok gives Choraeng-yi and Sang-guk a secret task and asks them to kill the railway manager, Hee-shin. She asks the two men to use a grenade on the manager and kill them once they go out for breakfast.

Eon-nyeoni shows up at the restaurant where the bank manager is having drinks with Hwang Sam-deok, the teller who was responsible for transporting the money. The next morning, Sang-guk is feeling withdrawal symptoms. He seems unfit to be on the lookout for Choraeng-yi, who’s tasked with throwing the grenade.

In order to make sure he is fit to be on guard, Choraeng-yi gives Sang-guk some drugs but they put him to sleep. Meanwhile, Yoon and his remaining bandits wait for the truck to pass through the desert. After Yoon spots a machine gun on the truck, he asks his men to wait for more bandits and thieves to show up.

The bank teller – Sam-deok resigns from his job soon after the money is transported. Nearby, Gwang-il waits with the Japanese soldiers and is waiting for any movement from the insurgents. Moreover, Choraeng-yi waits for Sang-guk’s signal to set the grenade off but the latter nods off due to the drugs. He decides to throw the bomb inside the restaurant all the same, but is stopped by Sang-guk who suddenly wakes up and sees a little boy inside the restaurant.

They plan to kill the railway manager (whom they learn is Hee-shin) in some other way and follow Hee-shin. Ki-ryeong and his bandits show up to loot the truck but Gwang-il assumes they are insurgents and decides to catch them. Yoon, on the other hand, lets Ki-ryeon’s bandits be attacked by the machine gun and waits for the right time to attack the truck.

As soon as the machine gun stops, Yoon and his bandits set out to loot the truck. Yoon manages to successfully kill the guards protecting the money. However, Ki-ryeong’s men ask him to back off and he does so without hesitation. Everyone is shocked by Yoon’s decision – Ki-ryeong as well.

Yoon threatens to kill Ki-ryeong just like he killed Nodeoksan. He tells Chung-soo to get their crew members to leave the area as soon as possible. After Yoon and his bandits leave, Ki-ryeong inspects the looted truck and is shocked to see that it is empty. Yoon is certain that they’ve all been fooled.

A flashback shows that Eon-nyeoni had planned all of this and had intentionally spread the word about the money transport. She also cracked a deal with the bank manager and the bank teller in order to send out empty trucks so that the bandits who were trying to steal the money would be framed.

Back to the present day, Sam-deok, the bank teller, decides to fool Eon-nyeoni and runs away with the money instead. Eon-nyeoni kills him and takes the money with her. Meanwhile, Gwang-il and the Japanese military arrest Ki-ryeong for looting the truck.

Hee-shin goes out sightseeing with Consul Yamada and Ooka as they inspect the site of the new train station. She is angered by Yamada’s comments about the Joseon Koreans and by the plight of the locals who are soon going to be banished from their land for the sake of the Japanese government.

Hee-shin is asked to address the general public as the railway manager. Her sarcastically emotional and patriotic speech resonates with Sang-guk who was waiting for a moment to shoot her. An insurgent fires a gun at Hee-shin, Yamada and Ooka which forces them to flee.

Hee-shin is happy that the people of Myeongjeong still have some patriotism left in them. She is transported to the railway station where she meets Eon-nyeoni who has successfully stolen the money to Hee-shin’s surprise. The episode ends with both women taking a train back home to Changchun.

The Episode Review

This episode makes me suspect Gwang-il a lot more than I initially did. The way he is being treated by the Japanese army and the way he reacts to freedom fighters dying makes me wonder if he actually is an insurgent himself who is trying to help the independence army in one way or the other. 

If he really wanted to ensure that the money was safe, why not stop it from being transported? He could have an empty truck sent in order to catch the freedom fighters who would still show up to steal the 200,000 won as planned.

While the rest of the characters are amazing to watch, something about Hee-shin just makes me furious. I wished for her to be a badass femme fatale but all we are getting is an emotional soppy mess! Since she does not know what Gwang-il has done to Sang-guk,hopefully she will be transformed once she gets back home.