Second Thoughts
Episode 10 of L.U.C.A: The Beginning begins where we left off, as Won-Yi is beaten down with a lead pipe. Ji-O and Yi-Won go toe to toe where Ji-O once again defeats the world’s worst henchman. After Won-Yi fades away and dies from his injuries, Ji-O finds a card in Yi-Won’s jacket for hotel room 502. He immediately heads off to investigate. Meanwhile, Jung takes charge at L.U.C.A. as Joong-Kwon excitedly chirps up about Ji-O’s baby. When Jung takes off, she promises to bring Goo-Reum to him. This immediately sees suited men show up at Cheol-Soo’s complex as Goo-Reum is tussled to the ground and held back as her baby is taken away. Goo-Reum is warned that her child will die unless she cooperates, forcing her out the building… just as Ji-O heads inside. It’s no good though, Goo-Reum and the suited goons manage to break away from Cheol-Soo’s rebel group and Ji-O. Goo-Reum is taken to the cult at LUCA, where it seems like there’s no way out. There, she meets Jung-A and Joong-Kwon, warning them both that they’re not to touch or harm her child. Goo-Reum remains suitably sceptical and allows the pair to show her around their lab. There, she sees the test tube babies that were in Joong-Kwon’s previous lab but it’s all too much for Goo-Reum. As Joong-Kwon rattles on about superior species and merging creations into a super-being, he encourages her to check out Ji-O’s siblings. Staring at the test tubes, Goo-Reum is eventually sick on the floor. When Goo-Reum returns to her room, both Joong-Kwon and Jung-A applaud themselves, seeing it as a win for them as they think Goo-Reum will play by their rules now. Goo-Reum however, is determined not to be seduced. Captain Choi returns to the police station after his kidnaping ordeal and is immediately taken away by Kim Yoo-Cheol who asks exactly what’s going on. They know that Goo-Reum is missing and Ji-O questioning him over where she is looks incredibly suspicious. Choi claims he lost his phone as Yoo-Cheol continues. He retraced Choi’s steps using CCTV footage and believes that Goo-Reum may be linked to the cult and the organization itself. On a stake out, Choi and Yoo-Cheol get talking. Unfortunately the latter uncovers something he shouldn’t and it eventually leads to Choi betraying his friend and knocking him out in the car. Ji-O watches from afar as Choi begins filling the car with toxic fumes while he watches from outside. Choi eventually has second thoughts and pulls him free from the smoky car, trying his best to resuscitate his friend. Ji-O eventually shows his face and uses his electric powers to start Yoo-Cheol’s heart again. After saving his friend, Choi thanks Ji-O by telling him about the church and where to find the cult. At the same time, Cheol-Soo finds Yi-Won and once again wakes him up. He also encourages him to keep working and makes vague promises about his future. This, of course, is all feeling like Deja vu given we’ve already had a conversation of a similar nature before! Anyway, Ji-O shows up at the church and waltzes in through the front door. There, he meets Jung-A who tells him she’s missed him. He immediately grabs her round the neck and picks her up off the floor. When she tells him she’s his Mother however, Ji-O quickly drops her and ponders over what to make of this revelation. Goo-Reum meanwhile, drops the baby after seeing sparks emanating from her body. Somehow she picks the child up through the electrical barrier and cradles her tight. When Ji-O bursts in the room, she screams and calls out for him to leave. He does no such thing, telling her he can control his powers and can teach their daughter to do the same thing. Goo-Reum refuses to listen though and once again implores Ji-o to leave and stay with his parents. Ji-O promises her to wait there while he makes everything right. Ji-O eventually sits with Jung-A and Joong-Kwon, asking them to clear Goo-Reum’s name. Now that he’s essentially sitting with his Mum and Dad, they encourage him to try and let go of his ill feelings and rule over the world. Ji-O refuses to fall for these mind games though and scoffs at the notion of being labeled a deity. Joong-Kwon tries to work his magic next, talking about an army of clones by his side that could make him unstoppable. Still he refuses to budge. At the same time, Yoo-Cheol arrives at the police station and notices that all of Choi’s belongings are gone and he seems to have cleared out his desk. As we soon find out, he too has gone up to the church but in a bid to infiltrate the cult. He dresses like one of the followers and remains determined to go after those in charge. Everyone converges in the main chamber of the church as Jung-A is approached by an angry cultist. He’s seen through her lies but before things kick off, a blast of electric energy sees all the lights go out. This is just the opening Goo-Reum needs as she begins making her way down the hallway, fighting past the guards while her baby is strapped to her back with blankets. As she fights, Ji-O surrounds himself in electric sparks as all the worshippers drop to their knees and look upon Ji-O like a God.
The Episode Review
Is this gearing up for a second season renewal? With one week left, it really does feel like LUCA is doing just that. Absolutely nothing has been resolved and if anything, everything has just been made more complicated with the recent revelations and issues between our two leads. Go-Reum’s time at the church has essentially seen her distrust Ji-O now and her telling him to leave is a pretty heartbreaking moment. After all, it’s not Ji-O’s fault that he’s a test tube baby and he’s just trying to do the best he can. That’s to say nothing of Choi either, who realizes the errors of his ways and switches back to being a good guy. On that same note though, how on earth did he infiltrate the church with no disguise and no one recognizing him? Given he waltzed through Cheol-Soo’s outdoor prison with baby toys and food, surely one of those guards would have recognized him? While some of these questions could be answered with the thought that Cheol-Soo’s hired guns are different, what’s less clear is why he still has Yi-Son on the payroll. He is literally the world’s worst henchman and despite a super-powered arm, still finds himself thwarted by Ji-O. With two episodes to go, LUCA does get back on track with its main plot line this time but it does so with a much slower pace and an episode that continues to feel like its spinning wheels rather than grinding to a gentle halt to close things out nicely. Hopefully I’m proven wrong and this one ends on a suitable high note!
