The Penthouse – Season 2 Episode 10 Recap & Review

The Killer Is Revealed!

Episode 10 of Penthouse begins at the wedding as Dan-Tae pulls the strings and does all the talking. Everyone comments on how pale Seo-Jin is but Dan-Tae makes sure she remains silent.

However, they’re interrupted by Kyu-Jin receiving a call from the police station. Yoon-Cheol has been caught and arrested for Ro-Na’s murder. This, as it turns out, was Dan-Tae’s wedding gift to Seo-Jin.

Meanwhile, Eun-Byeol returns home and learns that the wedding went ahead after all. She’s distraught and clearly not of sane mind, but when Seok-Hoon arrives, he’s escorted off the premises after seeing hints that Eun-Byeol has her memory back.

At the police station, the janitor admits that Yoon-Cheol paid him off. As we soon see, Secretary Jo was the one who roughed him up, forcing the man to admit to this. Even worse Yoon-Cheol confesses to the murder too.

When Seo-Jin finds out what he’s done, she’s shocked. In the bathroom, Yoon-Hee appears and confronts Seo-Jin, playing her hand and showing that she knows who really killed Ro-Na. Rattled, she returns home and speaks to Eun-Byeol, who obviously has her memories back.

It turns out she heard a phone ring during the fateful moment on the stairwell and that’s what snapped her out of her trance. Eun-Byeol admits she hit Ro-Na in the shoulder not the head meaning that someone else struck the killing blow. Could it possibly be the same person who pulled the plug in the hospital?

Back at Dan-Tae’s place, our Chairman speaks to Ae-Gyo and asks when she quit smoking. In fact, he outright admits that the girl is different to how he remembers. He checks her butterfly tattoo too, but everything seems to be in order.

Ae-Gyo rejects his advances and tells Dan-Tae to have some restraint. It’s immediately clear though he suspects something isn’t quite right.

Back at work, Dan-Tae goes one step further and tells Seo-Jin this marriage is only the first step. He’s fired all the housemaids and now he’s going to make Seo-Jin ask for permission to see Eun-Byeol. On top of all that, he also wants the Medical Center.

When Seo-Jin refuses, Dan-Tae grabs the girl and takes her into his hidden room. With a whip in hand, he begins beating her. He throws over the papers regarding ownership of the shares and locks Seo-Jin in a basement room, vowing to only release her when she signs.

Yoon-Hee arrives at the prison and hands over the divorce papers. She goes one step further though and tells him that he’s actually Ro-Na’s father too. She tells him to apologize to Ro-Na for what he’s done and walks away.

Meanwhile, Logan meets Ae-Gyo outside Golden Real Estate while she’s trying to secure Lot 27. She refuses to do so and promises to destroy anyone in her way. Only, the words she uses remind him of Su-Ryeon. Ae-Gyo heads back to see Dan-Tae, showing off the necklace as Ae-Gyo asks outright whether he killed her.

And just like that, we cut back in time and see Dan-Tae outside. His ringtone was the one overheard and he witnessed Ro-Na bleeding out on the ground. At this point the girl is still alive, but Dan-Tae was the one to strike the killing blow. Secretary Jo deleted all the CCTV footage while Dan-Tae set off the fire alarm.

Yoon-Hee hears Dan-Tae boasting about the fortunes he’s swallowed up, finally understanding that he was the one who killed Ro-Na.

Seok-Kyung breaks Seo-Jin out of her prison, as Secretary Jo brings up a drugged and knocked out Dan-Tae to his bedroom. Seo-Jin contemplates whether to kill him before hearing his ringtone. Now she too realizes Dan-Tae was the one who killed Ro-Na. Checking his phone, Seo-Jin notices the call is from Ae-Gyo. Well, for now she decides not to kill Dan-Tae, clearly gearing up for something else.

The next day the bidding begins on Lot 27. While this is sold to Ae-Gyo for 50 million, Seo-Jin checks out the photos from the Arts Center and realizes that Dan-Tae’s tie and collar are different in two of the pictures. On the back of this, she rings Secretary Do and has him check the details.

After the big auction, Logan approaches Ae-Gyo and tells her she’s going to live in guilt with what’s happened to Su-Ryeon for the rest of her life. When he walks away though, Ae-Gyo starts crying.

Back home, Logan notices pictures of Ae-Gyo, and specifically Su-Ryeon’s necklace which happens to be on her bag. Logan bursts back into the room and hugs Ae-Gyo, admitting that he knows she’s Su-Ryeon. Unfortunately while they embrace, footsteps approach and burst into the room.

Back at the penthouse, Seok-Hoon takes Seo-Jin away and down to the basement, where Yoon-hee is waiting for her. Together, they make it to the lake where Seo-Jin pleads with Yoon-Hee to save her life. Specifically, she wants her help bringing down Dan-Tae and finding out who Ro-Na’s real killer is.

The Episode Review

Whoa, what an episode! Penthouse comes roaring out the gates before its final week with a big hour of reveals, drama and characterization. This season has really been about fleshing out these different players, with the backdrop of another murder to keep things consistent with season 1.

Specifically, we’ve got Dan-Tae showing how conniving and evil he really is, finally showing his hand and turning on Seo-Jin. These scenes were especially hard to watch and regardless of how nasty Seo-Jin has been, she certainly doesn’t deserve this treatment.

The ending with Yoon-Hee is such a fascinating turn too, as it seems like everyone is coming together to take out Dan-Tae. At a push, I’d imagine this season will end with Dan-Tae dead and another whodunit on the table. Given how many enemies he’s made, if that comes to pass it really could be anyone.

The theory that many people have had for several weeks now comes to fruition as it’s revealed that Ae-Gyo – the girl with the fading tattoo – is actually Su-Ryeon in secret. The final reveal with Logan hugging her tight is a nice turn of events, and one that obviously ends with men entering the room. Is this Dan-Tae?

Meanwhile, Yoon-Cheol finds himself rotting in prison for what he’s done, and given his shifting allegiance throughout the season it’s perhaps unsurprising to see him in this position. In fact, he’s one of the few people here that’s been pretty terrible at playing this game.

And what about that reveal with Seok-Hoon? It seems like Ro-Na may actually still be alive, especially given the voice at the end seems like hers. But if that’s the case then how did she survive the crushing blow to the skull? I’m sure we’ll find out in the coming episodes!

For now though, Penthouse delivers an excellent episode of drama, one that leaves the door wide open for the final week.