Notes on 설강화 (Snowdrop) Episode 12

Overview

Twitter threads are getting overwhelmingly difficult to organise which does not help my excessive thinking about this drama.

Will edit/add/organise as necessary

Episode 13 in three hours!! As of posting.

Drama by JTBC, available internationally via Disney+

Summary of episode

Jang Hanna in a pink rabbit costume sneaks inside a broadcasting company to drop off a “TOP SECRET” envelope, as instructed by the newly formed duo of Lim Suho and Lee Kangmu. Once back in the safety of her car, she informs them the task is done. While the two wait for the reports to be released, Suho checks on Dr. Kang Cheongya to figure out whether she would be friend or foe.

Suho offers the doctor a cup of tea, which the latter takes as an opportunity to literally stab him in the back. They fight and once Suho is at advantage, he stops and gives her the knife. “So my father really wants me dead,” he tells her with defeated eyes, “go ahead and kill me if you think that’s right.”

Meanwhile in the North, Lim Jirok is informed by an agent in the Hosu Dorm that Suho has joined hands with Kangmu to “ruin the operation”. He scoffs, thinking about how Suho’s real parent is a revolutionary.

Cheongya doesn’t kill Suho and they go back to less hostile talking: Suho tells her he can free her that night so that she can live a new life away from everything—from the North and her duties as spy, from Nam Taeil, from this crisis they are in. “That’s the only way for either of us, right? To leave for another country,” says the doctor, to which Suho disagrees saying she knows he cannot do that.

Eun Changsu and Ahn Gyeonghui are in a serious discussion: Eun needs the money ASAP but without anyone else, especially not Code 1 knowing. Ahn wants to tell his “new boss” first and is wondering (or feigning ignorance?) why he wants to keep the $300 million transaction a secret. Eun’s negotiation comes to a halt when he receives a call from Lim Jirok about the Suho-Kangmu collaboration. It is also unknown to Eun who the sender of the message was.

They go back to the site and discuss with Nam Taeil and company. The need to blow everyone up becomes even more apparent for the Aemin party to win the elections: none of the students can make it out alive knowing that they are aware of the election ploy. Except Eun wants to rescue his daughter first and to make sure that they’ve got the right bombs in the proper places for everyone else’s sure death which they would then blame on the spies they would kill with the students. The winning move for Aemin!

Before going back to the dorm, we are shown a clip of Nam talking to a special forces member about something and Ahn watching them from a distance.

Three of the four 207 girls secretly follow Ms. Pi to Bunok’s room to find out more about their stories.

Inside Bunok’s room, Ms. Pi asks for her walkie-talkie (which Bunok did not anymore have) and scolds her again for her naïveté in the previous episodes.

In room 207, the three girls discuss what could possibly have happened between Ms. Pi and Bunok and other ideas related to this hostage crisis. Eun Youngro excuses herself after a while as they continue to mention the ANSP without knowing that her father is the director who is responsible for all the mess.

She goes to the chapel to pray and Suho follows. They share a moment sharing hopes and comforting each other. “We’d still dance and play games in the open house next year. I’ll save all of you.”

“But who will protect you?”

“I’m superman, right?”

Ahn’s wife gets a good reading from the fortuneteller after giving him a new set of golden golf clubs. Following her session is the pair of Hong Aera and Cho Seongshim who bicker as they inquire their husbands’ fortunes.

The fortuneteller reminds them: “It’s auspicious. Wishes will come true. The divine heeds to the most desperate for their perseverance and sincerity.”

The Nam and Eun duo finally figure out that Hanna is an accomplice, hence an order to get is given to the rest of the ANSP team to arrest her. Nam orders bombs to be placed around the dorm and then he calls the Dorm Duo to inform them: do not attempt to ruin the elections or we’ll kill all of you. The duo figures out he’s doing this without Eun knowing and so they provoke him into shouting it aloud. Eun hears and takes Nam outside. With a gun to Nam’s head, Eun reminds him to save his daughter first and then kill everyone else. Ahn again observes from a distance.

Hanna runs away from the ANSP and the Suho-Kangmu pair realises that none of their materials are getting released because there is a mole inside the dorm with the hostages.

Gwangtae, Byeongtae, Hyeryeong, and Seolhee attempt to escape through the bathroom windows but the first two back off immediately as Suho announces to everyone that they need to gather in the chapel.

Suho tells Cheongya she needs to be tied up again until they find out who the mole is. Cheongya asks why he cares about the South students so much that he would defect and what his plan is afterwards. She looks dumbfounded at his absurd response to the latter: that he would go back to the North for his sister. Kangmu is about to tell everyone until they notice that cafeteria lady Oh Deokshim is missing. Kangmu finds her in the kitchen, saying that someone tried to steal the chickens last night.

Lee Eungcheol tries to feed the tied up Joo Gyeokchan South Korean fried chicken. The latter rejects it with disgust and questions the former’s belief toward the leader Suho. “He is going to save us, because he has done so since the beginning” says Eungcheol which is then followed by a flashback of their last training session where Suho disagrees with the order to kill each other—strong morals through and through ever since. Joo doesn’t buy it, “they’re going to kill your family when they find out you defected,” knowing too that the only reason Suho got away with it was because of his family (at least, according to Choi Sooryun).

Suho breaks the conversation and tells Eungcheol that only him will be responsible: “Your family will be safe. I told them it was only me who defected,” surprising Gyeokchan that he has informed the party already. Suho reasons out that it is necessary especially that there is a mole in the dorm anyway, some other North Korean agent neither Suho nor Eungcheol knows.

Back in the chapel, Kangmu tells everyone about the mole, Kim Mandong’s son reacts and so did the rest when Kangmu announces they need to search their rooms. Hyeryeong pushes for Bunok’s to be searched first, and so to retaliate Bunok tells everyone that Ms. Pi is an ANSP agent before trying to leave (and subsequently being dragged back inside by the three young men).

Kangmu and Suho find dollars in Bunok’s room, so they take her for questioning together with Cheongya. Bunok retaliates again, angry that she is always taken as the suspect even when there are others more suspicious. In her fit of frustration, she mentions that Suho had been able to safely leave the dorm already on the day of the open house so why did he have to come back (incorrectly assuming that it was because of Youngro).

Kangmu realises the detail they had missed out: Kangmu assumed it was Suho who sent the message they intercepted from the on the day of the hostage taking but he was no longer in the dorm back then. Only that Suho had received a similar message to pick up the money bag nearby. All of which lead the both inside the dorm.

In the North, Lim Jirok rejects Suho’s request to prove the safety of his sister by making her do the announcements in the radio in exchange for Cheongya’s safety. Lim Jirok laughs it off, “Nam Taeil can keep Cheongya safe. Tell Haegeumseong 1 to kill the spies and return if the ANSP fails.”

The unknown mole’s codename: Haegeumseong 1.

Kangmu looks into the files of Kim Mandong and Oh Deokshim while Suho searches Mandong’s room. Nothing, until Kangmu remembers what Ms. Oh mentioned earlier: someone tried to steal chickens last night. They search the raw chickens in the kitchen until they find a walkie-talkie. Before they could process that new information, Kangmu gets a call from Ms. Pi’s walkie-talkie that he has been holding.

Eun and Ahn are surprised to hear his voice and not Pi’s, but immediately figured out he must have taken it. Eun proceeds an attempt to convince Kangmu to rejoin their side instead.

Kangmu explains his history with the ANSP: his dad died while trying to catch a spy, so he wanted to follow suit, except when he got to the agency, he realised that they turn innocent people into spies and kill those who would get in their way—criminal and greedy. “What should I do now?”

Eun tells him to just do whatever. He tells the rest that while they might not be able to locate Youngro, they would proceed as planned.

Suho questions the cafeteria lady who collapses. Mandong, who is with them in the room, explains she is a survivor of the Korean war who escaped from the North to the South. Ms. Pi tells everyone else in the chapel that they have found the mole now so they can go.

Cheongya checks up on Ms. Oh and concludes PTSD, to which Suho questions whether that can make her capable of being a spy.

Suho and Kangmu prepare for war as the ANSP threaten to break in that night to rescue Youngro and possible kill everyone else after.

Youngro offers a solution: she would try to convince her father.

Suho calls to set the father-daughter meeting in front of the shrine. Eun Changsu arrives, but before he proceeds to meet his daughter tells a special forces member that once he shouts Youngro’s name, Eun would grab Youngro and the special forces are ordered to kill Suho.

Then the tensed meeting: Eun asks his daughter how she has been, Youngro asks if it is true that he is going to kill everyone for the elections. Eun denies, but Youngro knows better and so tells him to stop. “Save everyone, not just me. I know you just want to win the elections, but stop with it. Do better and save us all.” She tells him of the guilt she has regarding the death of her brother and the hostage in the dorms, but her father reminds her “I can’t decide on my own. I don’t have that kind of power, but I’ll do what I can so they won’t hurt anyone.”

“Can you trust me?” he asks (in which Youngro looks at Suho and Suho puts his gun down) before shouting her name, giving the signal to shoot Suho.

Youngro runs toward Suho immediately so they won’t shoot at him. Fortunately, no bullet hits but they keep shooting so Suho and Youngro head back inside. Shots continue to be fired. One of Eun’s men get hit. Eun walks back up to face his team and tells them “Hold fire, I’m the ANSP director—” until he gets shot himself.

Bonus scene is of Ahn getting to his new office with all the gold and money.

Notes

• Who is the NK mole?
  • The message sent: “Hosu University dorm / I’ve been searched / High risk of exposure / Hoping to go to the North as soon as possible”
  • Suspects: Kim Mandong, Oh Deokshim, Go Hyeryung
    • Mandong
      • Was searched the day before the hostage taking
      • Ms. Pi doesn’t check on him nor his room
      • his son was at Mt. Ogong when Suho got the money back and was the one who lead him to the shrine
      • unknown history, son is involved in gambling (asks for a lot of money from dad)
      • most probable murderer or Ms. Song (seeing the face of her ghost + Suho’s “the face of the first person you kill will haunt you forever” in ep 11)
      • can open anything
      • apparently can walk properly but pretends to be unable to
      • most likely
    • Oh Deokshim
      • Already mentioned she’s from the North
      • most likely not her but who knows she can hold a gun?
    • Go Hyeryung
      • Codename: 해금성 1 — music related?
      • Sings the same song from the broadcast station (that signifies a change of instruction for the spies) in ep 1
      • has been tardy to dorm checks twice before
      • always says she would be going abroad to study
      • her face in the frame when Kangmu realises that Suho was not in the dorm when they got the message
      • is always pointing toward Bunok hahaha
      • I hope it’s not her because MAN that would hurt for the other 207 girls especially Jeongmin if she finds out about her and Youngro as well
  • There may be more than one
  • Likely the person who left the money bag in Mt. Ogong
  • Needs to be capable of killing the spies
  • Not: Seolhee, Jeongmin
• Significance of the mole: Suho’s redemption, that he didn’t go to the dorm that day on purpose, but was lead there as part of the higher up’s plan
  • That’s the main line drawn before Suho: that he went there just to see Youngro and then eventually took everyone hostage when the ANSP trapped him. Not! True!
• Theory: the north planned for the money bag to be near the dorm so that in case something fails (i.e. ANSP catches up on their agents), they have the hostage taking as back up since they would have Youngro, ANSP director’s daughter, inside
  • Further: it’s possible that the true mole would be exposed during the breaking in of the SWAT team. Mole would be the one to take Youngro away so that the SK wouldn’t get to her and so they would be unable to bomb the whole place yet
  • However Eun is unconscious in the hospital and it’s likely that it’s Nam back in charge. Nam would only care about getting Cheongya and the rest can be his collateral for the elections.
• Cheongya helping Suho and Kangmu
  • according to the released still cuts
  • possible to be true
  • I think it’s necessary that both Cheongya and Gyeokchan defect, especially if the dorm is getting ambushed by the ANSP
• Suho and Youngro being both rebels kids I love them they match so well <3
• Also Suho and Kangmu as people with morals stuck in an amoral/immoral institution
• Suho and Youngro may be in love but they aren’t selfish. Everything they’re doing is for the common good.
• Desperate Youngro and Suho are going to have their happy ending and so will everyone in the dorm (maybe except that mole)
• Eun Changsu
  • he asked for it
  • the tiger prophecy tells me he might not die due to the ep 12 bullet, but definitely in Kangmu’s hands
• The extended attic coffee date will be a bonus scene somewhere
• happy ending 주세요!!!
• Winning cards left for a happy ending
  • Elections are not yet done and if opposition wins, everyone in the dorm (spies included) can be saved
  • Jang Hanna!
    • Knows about the crown prince’s crimes, probably has proof (minus points for Aemin)
    • She still hasn’t been caught by the ANSP yet, in the teaser she is seen in disguise in the hospital where Eun is probably in
  • The tapes: they should still have copies of it left; only need to figure out how to publicise the info without trigger that ANSP-set bombs in the dorm
  • Gal the journalist is still there
  • Ahn Gyeonghui doesn’t like Nam Taeil
• etc this is likely a never ending post