The Frog – K-drama Episode 8 Recap, Ending Explained & Review

We’ll Have A Lot To Talk About

Episode 8 of The Frog starts with Bo-min in her car, reflecting over Yeong-ha’s words last episode. He’s convinced that Sung-a has murdered Si-hyeon and it’s something that has been hanging heavy over this show for the duration of the run-time.

Does Bo-min get to pursue her hunch?

Sung-a s initially uncooperative as she know that she’ll get out of this once her lawyer shows up. But only if she keeps quiet. Bo-min  knows there’s the Si-hyeon situation to sort out and when she mentions the cornfield, Sung-a’s face drops. Just a little. It’s enough for Bo-min to decide to launch a search party to scour the area.

Bo-min confronts the Chief about this, who’s none too happy that she’s stepping out of line. She calls him a chicken, calling the Chief’s bluff and even showing the evidence she’s collected, which happens to be the gear she bought at the supermarket. Of course, all of this laid out on the table does hint toward there something else happening… and he agrees.

In fact, Bo-min is so convinced that there’s something extra, she’s willing to hand in her badge and gun if she gets it wrong. However, there’s less risk in doing this, Bo-min explains, as Sung-a is going to get out regardless under the pretense of a “false arrest”.

What happens with the search party?

Sung-a leaves the station after being detained for a few hours, given her lawyers and ties with Doctor Yoo, whom we now learn is actually his daughter. She drives away in her sports car, and even suggests they sue Bo-min for keeping her detained for 2 hours.

When Yeong-ha finds out, he’s livid and phones Bo-min, lashing out. However, she promises that they’re going to find what she’s hiding no matter what. Yeong-ha refuses to wait any longer though and he hangs up on her. It couldn’t have happened any sooner, as the police team arrive and start combing through the cornfield.

Sung-a immediately heads to the laundrette and burns all the clothes there, starting a big fire. As she watches the flames, Choi notices something out in the cornfield. It’s not Si-hyeon, but actually Seon-tae’s body that’s been hacked up. She’s just left it there in the open, without burying it or anything. He even has his phone with him too.

Is there enough evidence to put Sung-a behind bars?

Now, Yong-chae is part of this search and he soon notices tons of missed calls on his phone. It’s here that the police also catch wind of what’s happening with the fire, and hurry back to check it out. It’s not Yeong-ha who arrives at the Motel first though, but actually Jae-sik. He was the one who picked up the rifle from the basement, and he holds it up to Sung-a now.

She tries to ring her father but is unsuccessful. Why? Well, he’s got into her laptop and sees pictures of her posing in the blood-stained shower as part of her “Art”. Its now clear that she definitely killed Si-hyeon, and she even admits as much to Jae-sik when the call ends in misery.

Before he can pull the trigger, Yeong-ha arrives. Sung-a taunts Jae-sik, telling him he needs to kill Yeong-ha given he’s an accomplice and only then will she reveal where Si-hyeon is being kept. Yeong-ha apologizes for his part to playing all this, given he never went to the police, despite knowing that a murder took place.

Does Sung-a die?

Jae-sik shoots Sung-a in the leg and as she antagonizes him, Bo-min also arrives. Absolute chaos ensues as Sung-a runs away after shooting Bo-min in the shoulder. The next scene, we see the swimming pool stained red and a dead body in a white sheet taken away.

Now, it turns out that Jae-sik shot Sung-a in the back when she was running away. He eventually shot her in the head, and she bled out, staining the pool red. Yeong-ha gets ijnto the water and watches in shock, partly because he knows now that any hope of finding Si-hyeon’s body has died with him.

With Sung-a gone, Ui-seon wakes up in hospital and sheds a tear. As for Bo-min, she feels empty without her comrade, who was just as competent as she was but got a little too invested and paid the price for it.

What happens with the Vacation Rental?

Yong-chae is released from hospital though, and he heads back to the Motel to find Yeong-ha down in the basement trying to fix the place up. They have a problem with frozen pipes and instead of doing it all themselves, Yeong-ha decides to call a contractor out. This is, of course, a nice contrast to Sang-jun who did all of this himself and basically worked himself into an absolute state, falling asleep at the desk and allowing Hyang-cheol to head back with that poor woman.

Reluctantly realizing that the case will remain unsolved, Bo-min heads out to visit Gi-ho. She’s recognized that the gun used to kill Sung-a is not unlike that which killed Hyang-cheol, linking the two cases together. She knows as much, but for once, she’s not going to pursue it, given it’s outside her jurisdiction and she’s made peace with the fact that in this instance, there are no answers. Just dead ends.

As for Jae-sik, while he’s behind bars (again), Dr Yoo sends his lawyer to help him. Presumably, he’s going to be let go. 

How does The Frog end?

The show ends with us focusing on Yeong-ha, who has the whole family over to celebrate their final meal together, It would appear that Yepng-ha is going to sell up after all, and interestingly, Hyang-cheol’s hat is hanging up on the wall.

Ui-seon didn’t lose her baby after all, and she’s even given birth too, and things seem to be on the up. Yeong-ha replies to a message he receives about a rental request, but he tells them hes not going into business anymore. When they ring, it turns out it’s not a customer after all, it’s actually Gi-ho. He wants to see the place.

As the show ends, Yeong-ha sits at his desk and notices the toy dog that Si-hyeon had in the past. He reflects on his words about a tree falling, realizing that his silence for an entire year essentially helped Sung-a get away with murder.

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The Episode Review

So The Frog ends with an ominous conclusion that never really resolves the Si-hyeon case, which harks back to the comments every episode about “if a tree falls in a forest and nobody is around, does it make a sound?” which can also be attributed to this murder case.

As far as everybody is concerned, Sung-a may have killed him but his whereabouts goes to the grave and with that, so too any hope of giving him peace.

However, the poetic ending for both Gi-ho and Yeong-ha is a nice touch and the pair have a good deal in common, given they both have been through hell because of their silence in the wake of a much larger crime.

This has actually been one of the more significant part of the show and the way this is woven into The fabric of Netflix’s drama, really helps to elevate this one to higher heights.

Despite the ambiguous ending though, I’d be very surprised if this is greenlit for another season. This one pretty much wraps everything up, and there’s been some decent character development along the way. All in all, The Frog has been a really solid watch.

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Expect  a full season review for The Frog later this weekend!