Without further ado.

1. The hug

For SaeBom, happiness is tied to relief that she isn’t trapped all alone in that apartment. If the world as she knows it must fall apart, at least, she has YiHyun with her.

This reminded me of the comic strip “Love is…”

She’s different from the mistress of Unit #601, of course. Happiness for that chick is finding herself alone in the apartment. She told YiHyun, in a breathless voice, that she was too upset to make a statement at the police station, and that she was going to pack up and leave. (lol. I had a sneaking suspicion that she was coming on to YiHyun!) But as soon as he left the apartment, she dashed to the bedroom and closed the door — when she was the only person in the apartment. Weird.

2. YH’s colleague, Jung Gook

I should keep an eye on this guy — not because he’s a shady character (well, I hope not), but because the writer seems to be setting him up for a character arc. If you notice, he keeps emphasizing that he’s a pushover:

a. when he delivered the rice cake at the little girl’s apartment. He told her that he carried a gun to make people believe that he was a cop. In fact, he’d  never used it before. But it looked cool on him.

b. when he shied away from addressing the apartment residents. He wanted YH to take the lead for the police.

c. when he obeyed his wife’s order to take a picture of YiHyun’s apartment as proof that he wasn’t fishing somewhere. The following morning, he blurted out to SaeBom that he couldn’t even persuade his own wife to do anything, so she shouldn’t expect him to convince the other residents to change their minds. It was best to just comply with their order not to leave the building.

d. when SaeBom took his gun away from his holster. He warned the little girl, SeYoon, not to emulate SaeBom but it was too late. SeYoon thought she was pretty cool. SeYoon’s girl-crush on SaeBom was understandable, given that her heart ailment required her to live cautiously, fearfully. In her child’s eyes, SaeBom was a superhero because she fearlessly and decisively took action to correct an injustice…unlike Jung Gook. Lol.

Given that the writer took great pains to depict Jung Gook is as Mr. Meek-and-Mild, I’m hoping that we’ll up to see a 180-degree change in his personality. At the end of this drama, I want SeYoon to also look up to Jung Gook as a heroic character, too.

3. The old married couple in Unit #301

I might have mentioned this in the comment section, but I’ll repeat myself again.

The old man did try to buy hamburger for her, but because he wasn’t tech-savvy, he found the self-service kiosk intimidating, and walked away. I thought the writer did well to insert this brief “senior moment” in the drama because it is a legitimate issue when the world population is graying out.

Although self-service checkouts are more efficient, from the senior citizens’ standpoint, it’s a daunting task to deal with them. The machines can never duplicate the friendly communication and personal interaction of a staff that the elderlies are accustomed to.  They feel overwhelmed, and retailers should do more to accommodate their needs if they don’t want to lose a significant market with buying power.

In the story, the old man from Unit #301 was turned-off by the pressure of completing the transaction quickly, so he ended up not buying a burger. I mentioned previously that the younger people behind in line should have offered to help him as a courtesy. To me, the writer is showing a disconnect between the older generation and the younger generation. I bet the old man wasn’t familiar with a single gizmo in his son’s bedroom.

Also, I agree with @Cleopatra (was it you, Cleopatra?) who mentioned that the old woman’s complacent personality was probably the reason she hadn’t turned into a “zompire” yet. Yes, anger triggered the disease.

I wouldn’t be surprised if the old man turns into a zompire faster than his wife, because he seems to be a hothead. Not only is he easily infuriated by a lot of things, he argues a lot, too.

4. Again, another anti-Christianity bias here. Thanks, Writer! (sarc)

I’ll quote @Welmaris because I agree with her.

Each episode begins with a disclaimer, “This drama is a work of fiction. The blah blah religion blah blah have no connection to real entities.” I call bullshit. If Show wants to depict a fictional religion, don’t use a symbol recognizable as Christian (cross), quote from Hebrew/Christian scripture (2 Chronicles 7:13-16 was being read on the TV, beginning of Episode 2, as HTS inspected the homeless shelter after a zompire rampage), or use a word from Judeo-Christian scripture, music, and worship (hallelujah). You want us to believe you’re depicting a fictional religion, Show, and not painting Judeo/Christian tradition in negative light? Come up with your own symbol, quotations, and exclamations. Might I suggest something in Klingon?

The apartment representative’s husband, as subbed on Viki, “went to a seminary in Kentucky in the US.” That places his studies in the Bible Belt, where “socially conservative Christianity plays a strong role in society and politics” (per Wikipedia). The implication is that he embraces evangelical Protestantism. He looks like an archetypal Bible thumper. And the information that he went to a seminary could be misleading: studying at a seminary and graduating from one aren’t the same.

I also must add that the lawyer’s wife was as tiresome as the pastor. Both of them were hawking their products: one was religious salvation; the other was legal service. It was obvious that she attended the meeting to solicit business for her husband’s law firm. Although disaster was imminent, all she could think of was to encourage her neighbors to sue for damages.

Thank you, writer, for reinforcing the stereotype of personal injury lawyers as jerks.

5. Plothole?

@Welmaris also asked if there was a plothole.

@Janey, @GB, @nrllee, the dialogue between HTS and the infected pharma CEO hinted that the CEO had enough power to keep news of the madman disease away from public ears and eyes. HTS got scolded for doing the news conference, and was reminded that CEO recommended him for his current position because he seemed capable of keeping the disease hush hush. I wonder why he had that much influence, even using the military for his own purposes; that seems like a plot hole to me. Another eye-raising moment for me was learning that after its dangers were discovered, all remaining stock of Next was warehoused rather than destroyed. The CEO himself took advantage of that by informing the drug dealer of the stockpile and encouraging its black market distribution; the CEO’s goal was to force the escalation of infections so research on finding a cure would be speeded up. That means CEO held two diametrically opposing goals: keep the disease quiet, but spread the disease to force the search for a cure.

For the quick escalation of infections at La Ciel, to keep that from being a plot hole or zombie trope, I’d like to see some explanation as to why that happened. Were that many people taking Next?

So far, I don’t think that the writer created a plot hole. However, I do think he was engaging in a bit of “conspiracy theory.” 🙂

Han: (bowing)
Pharma: I heard you publicized the madness rabies and locked down the apartment.

Of course, he was only feigning dissatisfaction here. He was pretending so he could accuse Han of gross incompetence and negligence. But Han actually had the upper-hand.

Han: It’s chaotic globally. They will report on it tomorrow and will shut down the borders.
Pharma: You said you could resolve this quietly, and that’s why I recommended you to the higher-ups. Everyone must be disappointed.

If you know what’s happening in Washington DC, and your state and local governments, then influence peddling shouldn’t come as a surprise. Why do CEOs contribute to political campaigns? Why do major donors end up as ambassadors? Why do lobbyists have (unlimited) expense accounts? Why do defense contractors Lockheed Martin, General Dynamics, and Northrop Grumman have corporate offices in the Washington area? Why do Facebook, Google, Microsoft, and Twitter have offices here? Do I think Amazon’s Bezos bought a house here in Washington DC — and the Washington Post — because he likes jogging in the neighborhood? There are facts: money buys political influence; those with the most money have the most clout; and it’s an uneven playing field.

So to me, this Pharma Boss is just behaving par for the course. He can “recommend” people to the “higher-ups” because he’s paid his “dues.”

Han: Someone released Next into the market. That’s why I failed.
Pharma: Who?
Han: (stepping forward) You, Chairman. You took out all the goods that were in the warehouse, right? (flashback of the Han speaking with the dealer)

Let’s recap now. The drug “Next” wasn’t invented in South Korea. LtCol Han stole it and the Pharma Boss manufactured it. The drug was released as a medicine to treat pneumonia, but it was recalled due to the side effects. In short, the Pharma Boss lost money in this venture. Expecting profit, he manufactured a lot, but the drug failed. In the literal sense, it was a “drug bust.” Lol.

As to why the drug was warehoused instead of destroyed, @Welmaris, theoretically speaking, I’m glad that they didn’t destroy it. Until LtCol Han has found a way to ensure that the drug is safely destroyed without contaminating the environment, then I would rather that they warehoused their stockpile for the time being. To me, Han’s error here (well, one of his many errors) is failure to monitor the warehouse and the supply chain. (To me, his fatal error here is naivety.)

Pharma: Why would I?

Here, the Pharma Boss is still brazenly pretending that he had nothing to do with the re-distribution of the drug through illegal channels. He thinks he can hide his duplicity from Han because Han was operating on the theory that the mad disease was caused by the “Lytta Virus.” The Pharma Boss was unaware that Han encountered YiHyun who insisted that the disease wasn’t viral, but drug related.

But as Han mentioned in Episode 2, YiHyun was known as a “great sleuth” because he always solved cases with logic. YiHyun downplayed his success, saying he did things unconventionally, but oddly enough, his unconventional action would invariably end up right. Fortunately for Han, YiHyun’s “unconventional” investigation led Han to discover the Pharma Boss’ double-dealing.

Remember now: Han believed that the disease was caused by the Lytta virus which was transmitted through the bloodstream. He believed the infection was spread by getting bitten or scratched by an infected person. But YiHyun’s investigation of the Wife from #601 proved that the drug triggered the disease.

Why?

Because the wife had no previous contact with a zompire. She wasn’t bitten or scratched so the virus couldn’t have entered her bloodstream through the methods that Han predicted. Instead, she took the drug Next which was sold as a diet/memory-enhancer/energy-boosting pill.

Han: There has to be many infected so the treatments could develop quickly. You prefer that the world is destroyed rather than your own death.

True. The Pharma Boss doesn’t care whether he causes mass panic or mass murder as long as he’s cured off this disease. He believes that his sole survival outweighs the needs of many. The deaths of other people are collateral damage in his pursuit for his cure. He’s the true villain in this drama.

Pharma: TaeSeok. Your wife’s life is on the line here, too. I hear the baby is still in her womb. Two persistent lives are at stake. Do you know that your wife’s blood tasted the best?
Han: (stepping on the line) It’s tough to suppress your thirst, right?
Pharma: (bites off a man and lunges for Han)

So, no, I don’t think there’s a plot hole. The Pharma Boss only became impatient waiting for the cure to happen, so he unleashed the scourge to speed up the research and development.

As for the rapid spread of infection among the residents in the other apartments, I don’t think that’s a plot hole, either. I’m reminded of that math trick question that goes like this: if the volume of water flowing into an empty tank doubles every minute, and the tank became full in an hour, when was the tank HALF-full?

Answer: the 59th minute. 😂

In the same way, when half of the residents are zompires, then it should only take a New York minute for the other half to become zompire, too, if there’s one-to-one correspondence between prey and victim.

So let’s pretend there are 500 residents, and a zompire needs to feed every half hour, and he doesn’t share his food.

First half hour, one zompire eats one human.
Second half hour, two zompires eat two.
Third half hour, four zompires eat four.
Fourth half hour, eight eat eight.
Fifth half hour, 16 eat 16.
Sixth half hour, 32 eat 32.
Seven half hour, 64 eat 64.
Eighth half hour, 128 eat 128.
Ninth half hour, 256 go after the remaining 244 residents and 12 zompires won’t have their own.

So in less than 5 hours, 500 residents have turned into zompires. That’s zompire math.

6. Redefining happiness

I think we can guess what the writer is trying to say with the impromptu rooftop picnic.

Life is no picnic, but keep calm and picnic on.

I also like how the penthouse tenant told SaeBom about the rooftop, just because he was pleased with the freebie shirt he got.

7. More info about the zompires

a. Their zompire episode is triggered by rage.
b. They’re attracted to sound.
c. They’re fast.
d. And according to YH, when they’re alone in an empty space, they knock on walls or display some obsessive behaviors. I wonder why they do that.

Anyway, in case of zompire apocalypse, they really should prepare for some sort of weapon since they only have one hand gun. I already mentioned baseball bats, but let me see now….

Frying pan
Rolling pin
Kitchen Knives
Golf clubs
Canned goods (I want to see YiHyun lob “Spam” at 100 miles an hour).
Dining table legs (especially the metal ones)
Book shelves
Hammer
Duct tape for tying them up

There are also homemade weapons that can be made from ordinary household items, like hairspray, bleach and toilet bowl cleaners with ammonia, but lol, I’m not going to go over those here.

8. Couple moments

From the beginning, I unabashedly stated that I was watching this for Park Hyung Sik. So, here are my top three favorite YiHyun and SaeBom moments.

a. During the meeting, SaeBom deliberately provoked the apartment rep by pointing out that cleaning woman was part of management and suggesting that renters use the gym as well. After the meeting, the Rep reproached her for undermining the Rep’s effort to maintain order in the apartment given that she was “some kind of police, too.” SaeBom shot back that she worked in a different field; she only dealt with terrorists.

Deftly, YiHyun stepped in to head off a fight. He told the Rep to talk to him if she needed any cooperation.

He knew that SaeBom wasn’t going to back down. I like that, in private, he scolds her (like when he thought she was going to taste the blood), but in public, he puts on a united front. He doesn’t undermine her.

b. SaeBom admired YiHyun for being a diligent cop. While she prepared the gym office to quarantine the trainer, he went to make a list of suspected infected people.

601: the wife, Park Min Ji
602: the lawyer’s wife, Shin So Yoon
1202: the preacher, Seon Woo Chan

She was fangirling him when she said, “You’re really a police officer.”

Same when he found out the passcode for the door. She was visibly impressed with his detective skills.

I like that SaeBom noticing YiHyun’s skills because it signifies that she’s slowly moving him out of the friend-zone and finding him attractive for his competence. Just like the little girl finds SaeBom cool, SaeBom finds YiHyun cool because he’s good at what he does.

c. YiHyun wanted to know where his hyung Jung Gook and the little girl were sleeping that night.

YH: But the sleeping arrangements….Where should we…
SB: (waiting for him to continue)
YH: Where do I sleep?
SB: (no answer)

I thought he should feel sheepish for even wondering about where he was going to sleep. It was a no-brainer. Girls should sleep together in the bedroom, and boys should sleep together in the living room. But perhaps, he was pleading his case and turned on his “aegyo” face.

He wasn’t too happy about the sleeping arrangements because he thought there was a breakthrough in their relationship after she hugged him that morning. He sighed that he was sleeping outside with Jung Gook when he and SaeBom had “good vibes” that day.

That’s it.