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

Episode 8

Episode 8 of The Trunk begins with Jeong-won breaking the chandelier and finding the spycam. A flashback shows his mother trying to tie a noose with a broken hand. He does it for her and then runs out in the rain. A little girl, most likely Seo-yeon, shows up with an umbrella for him.

Why did Seo-yeon toy with Jeong-won?

Ji-o tries to stop Seo-yeon but she rushes to Jeong-won’s. She explains that she wanted to see him yearn for her even when he was with In-ji. And she was drugging him because she needed to be in control. But the whole arrangement began because of the “accident.” She went along with the pregnancy because she didn’t want to disappoint him.

He accepts he is at fault but she crossed the line by spying on him like his father, suggesting she did know about Mr. Han’s spycam. She reasons that she was desperate. Since they are both murderers – with him aiding his mother’s suicide and her killing their unborn child, she claims they should stay together. But he wants to repent alone and leaves.

However, unable to take it, she later ODs and Ji-o finds her. He claims Jeong-won needs to take responsibility and the latter begrudgingly lets Seo-yeon move in with him. She thinks things are back to normal but Jeong-won declares that it is over between them and he simply pities her.

Why does In-ji divorce Jeong-won?

After the confrontation with Seo-yeon, Jeong-won walks in the rain aimlessly. In-ji finds him and takes him to the countryside. She lifts his mood as she reveals she tried to take revenge by beating up Seo-yeon. He is amused and they have a good time together. They sleep together and he confesses that he remembers her from the day of their graduation.

However, In-ji decides to end things to protect him from Tae-song. Of course, she doesn’t tell him the truth but claims she wants a divorce because she has crossed a boundary and has broken protocol. Jeong-won tries to stop her but she breaks his heart by claiming he was never a significant person in her life. That isn’t the truth because she does remember him from graduation, and even the suitcase shop.

Jeong-won looks everywhere for her but she refuses to meet him. Via Lee Seon, she breaks the contract but Jeong-won refuses to ask for a settlement. But both beg Lee Seon to look after the other and deal with Tae-song. Lee Seon has never seen such love and wonders if In-ji is scared of her love for Jeong-won.

What happens with Tae-song?

Caretaker Kim hires some cleaners to remove the chandelier. Pretending to be a worker, Tae-song sneaks in and steals In-ji’s trunk. However, he can’t break it open and calls her. He doesn’t care that the contract is over since he hates that she is in love with Jeong-won. On top of that, NM is again trying to get him institutionalised and he needs the blackmail material. Afraid that he will hurt Jeong-won, she agrees to open the lock and Ji-o overhears.

She meets Tae-song near the kayak hut and tries to unlock it. However, she realises that he has stolen Seo-yeon’s trunk. The woman had bought the same trunk that day when she saw In-ji’s. In-ji pretends the suitcase is busted and tries to reason with Tae-song. But he wants to lash out and calls Jeong-won over.

He tries to stab him but In-ji shoots him and then tries to kill herself but Jeong-won stops her. Surprisingly, an uninjured Tae-song runs off with the trunk on a rafter. Turns out, In-ji used Jeong-won’s gun which didn’t have live rounds. But since it is back to square one, she is upset and leaves.

However, Ji-o arrives in another rafter and stabs Tae-song with a sharp fencing sword. Turns out, Lee Seon hired him to take care of Tae-song. After realising that Jeong-won has cut ties, Seo-yeon goes back to Ji-o and states that she wants to be with him.

However, he confesses to the murder. He explains that he was initially a guard but he ran away when Tae-song killed his co-worker. He wanted to redeem himself and so killed Tae-song. As farewell, he assures her that he always liked her and leaves.

What happens during the interrogation?

In-ji tells Officer Kim the truth that she shot the gun but it was out of self-defence and the gun was empty.

Next, Seo-yeon is questioned and she feigns ignorance about the murder weapon. She doesn’t know why Tae-song took the trunk, and she only left it at Jeong-won’s because it was difficult to use. Officer Kim insists that she check its contents and she opens to find baby clothes and toys of her unborn child.

Ji-o is arrested but Seo-yeon hires a lawyer for him. She tells Jeong-won that she has renewed her contract with Ji-o. Jeong-won apologises for not being honest with her but she doesn’t mind. She’d rather see herself as the villain in their love story to get closure since the pitiable alternative hurts her pride.

What happens in the aftermath?

In-ji says goodbye to Do-dam and knows that she is an NM mole. But she is not mad about it. Meanwhile, Yun-a wants a divorce and is tired of her family. She doesn’t want to be just a mother or a wife. However, Hyeon-cheol jokes about getting her a solo bathroom or laser treatment and she is annoyed with him.

Why don’t Jeong-won and In-ji get back together?

Jeong-won decides to demolish the house and move out. In-ji comes over to take her things and encourages him to break some walls to let out his anger at Mr. Han and Seo-yeon. However, if she were him, she would have just rented the place out and they laugh.

He wonders if they will ever get back together in the future. He declares that if they have 2 chance encounters, it is destiny. She deflects and is simply grateful for him.

A while later, we see them living separately. He has cats while she has a dog. She goes to see his new movie and it is a horror. She sells her trunk and uses the money to buy coffee. She runs into Jeong-won who is returning from the vet. He points out that it is their first chance encounter. At the end of The Trunk Episode 8, she acknowledges that they have one more to go before they can get together and they smile.

The Episode Review

The Trunk Episode 8 brings this thrilling Netflix K-drama to an end. And there is a lot to unpack. We’ll get right to it, it is not the perfect finale. Some of the character motivations feel flimsy and fall apart if we look too deep. This is mainly an issue with In-ji’s reasoning for staying away from Jeong-won even after Tae-song is dead.

We can assume that she is afraid, or she wants to try living without a man for once, or she needs to see if she has feelings for Jeong-won when they are not in forced proximity. But these are all assumptions since the K-drama never explains it to us.

However, it is still an intriguing finale from the much-needed Seo-yeon confrontation to Tae-song’s death. We are kind of surprised that Seo-yeon doesn’t get a brutal punishment given that she is a bully. Guess the show can argue that her losing Jeong-won and realising that she has lost to In-ji is punishment enough. We do feel a little bad for Ji-o since it feels like Seo-yeon is settling for him rather than choosing him.

Yun-a and Hyeon-cheol’s little montages also make a little sense even though it is not really necessary. But it can be interpreted as normal marriages can also break apart and it isn’t necessary for a woman to be pacified with simply the role of a mother or a wife. Best we can do is call this a lukewarm and slightly satisfying ending for an otherwise high-octane thriller with jaw-dropping mind games.