After a week-long hiatus, “Trolley” has finally returned. Before going on a short hiatus, the drama ended on a dramatic note when Nam Joong Do asked his wife, Kim Hye Joo, to allow him to publicize her assault case from all those years ago. Hye Joo is scared, but she agrees. The next day, when she goes out, she is met with a swarm of reporters outside her house. The episode also told us more about Soo Bin and her relationship with her family. As the story has finally picked up this week, let’s take a look at where it is headed.
Spoilers Ahead
‘Trolley’ Episode 11: Recap – Has The Trust Between Joong Do And Hye Joo Broken?
Episode 11 begins with scenes of Hye Joo being mobbed by the reporters outside her house. They are soon dispersed, but it leaves Hye Joo shaken nonetheless. Later the same day, Hye Joo is out, and she meets with two of Joong Do’s team members. The two are actually out on a date, but they feign ignorance after seeing Hye Joo. She invites them for coffee. The two reveal that Joong Do had already set plans in motion to run the story of Hye Joo’s assault case the evening before. Hye Joo is shocked and surprised to know this because he had asked for her permission on the same night. Joong Do joins them shortly, and the two team members leave. Hye Joo speaks to Joong Do about the preparation for the case. She feels betrayed by Joong Do’s actions. Joong Do apologizes to her, but it does not seem very honest. He then heads to his office to discuss the matters of the day.
Parallelly, Assemblyman Kang and Seung Hee’s mother are talking on the phone. Assemblyman Kang had met up with Joong Do, and Joong Do had informed him about a certain Mr. Park. Seung Hee’s mother is shocked to find out that Joong Do knows about Mr. Park. The two are frantic over the turn of events and try to find a solution. Kang mentions to her that it is Joong Do’s wife Hye Joo who is responsible for Seung Ho’s death. Seung Hee is at an indoor golf course. She wants to meet with someone, but they are unavailable. She then offers to take the clients around the course. Hye Joo is working at her book repair workshop when she gets a phone call from Ki Young. He is heading towards Seoul and asks her to meet for a bit. At Joong Do’s office, Woo Jae says he is heading to the district office, where he will meet Ki Young and also possibly Assemblyman Kang. One of the staff members expresses her concerns over Ki Young handing them the documents, which would mean that he is betraying his wife, Seung Hee, and her mother. She goes on to say that if she were in Seung Hee’s shoes, she would not have liked what Ki Young was doing, even if it was the right thing to do. She also says that there is no perfect secret that can be kept forever, which Woo Jae contradicts by saying that there indeed is.
Hye Joo and Ki Young meet at her workshop. Ki Young apologizes to Hye Joo for what he said the last time they met. He tells her that he only said those things because he cares a lot for Seung Hee. He also mentions that he is only helping Joong Do so that Seung Hee can truly see her mother for what she is. Seung Hee’s mother reaches just as Ki Young is about to leave Hye Joo’s workshop. The two get a little nostalgic, and Hye Joo reveals that she liked him back then but turned him down because of Seung Hee, who was head over heels for him. Seung Hee’s mother overhears Hye Joo mentioning the case Ki Young is helping Joong Do with. She goes into a fit of rage and starts hitting Ki Young. She also hits Hye Joo, blaming her for Seung Ho’s death. She leaves but not without threatening both of them first. On her way, she calls Seung Hee and tells her to get a divorce, but she is cut off after she hits another car. Ki Young reaches the accident spot soon after.
The scene cuts to a nightclub where we see Soo Bin meeting with the strange, unknown guy from before. He hands over her phone, and she transfers the money. He tells her that he met Hye Joo and asks her why she was staying at Ji Hoon’s place. She tells him that she thought she could get something from the family, but she hadn’t been able to. He also tells Soo Bin that Hye Joo probably used Soo Bin to improve her husband’s image as the elections are around the corner. He also hands over a bag with Soo Bin’s belongings that Hye Joo had given him. His words plant a seed of doubt and indecision in Soo Bin’s mind. Hye Joo is shaken after her encounter with Seung Hee’s mom. She calls Joong Do and informs him about the incident. Joong Do listens to her and apologizes once again. Woo Jae tells Joong Do that they can speed things up now that Seung Hee’s mom knows everything.
At the nightclub, the man offers a drink to Soo Bin. She initially refuses but accepts it and downs it in one gulp. She hurries back home. He knew about Soo Bin’s pregnancy and thought that she might have gotten an abortion. But he makes a phone call to cross-check anyway. The scene cuts to Yeo Jin standing outside a clinic with some papers in her hand. She crosses paths with a doctor who treated Soo Bin last time. Yeo Jin asks her to keep her visit a secret. The details on the paper are hidden, but the name of the clinic reads “Ahn Psychiatry Clinic.” Yeo Jin is then seen making a phone call, requesting to speed up the sale of her restaurant. Then we see Woo Jin Seok outside the national assembly. A bunch of kindergarten kids point at her and tell her that their parents think that she is greedy and that she should stop. Woo Jin Seok lets it go without any remark. At the assembly, chaos has descended on the floor. When Woo Jin Seok counters Assemblyman Kang’s objection, he oversteps his boundaries and says it is better to talk to a dog instead. The floor goes silent at his remark. Later, they look into Joong Do’s new bill proposal.
In the meanwhile, we are brought up to speed regarding Seung Hee’s mom’s car accident. She is lying unconscious with a cervical collar on her neck and dried blood smeared over her. Ki Young is by her side just as Seung Hee arrives. Seung Hee is shaken to see her mother’s condition and goes into a spiral. Ki Young calls Joong Do and says that he is having second thoughts about helping him out because of Seung Hee’s condition. Woo Jae is already a few steps ahead and finds out where Seung Hee’s mother has been admitted. Joong Do, on the other hand, prepares to go for the Hail Mary play. His attendance would demand a public appearance and a statement as well. Hye Joo and Joong Do argue over this as Yeon Seo overhears. Yeon Seo supports Joong Do’s decision to let Hye Joo’s case go public. Woo Jae meets with Ki Young and threatens to reveal the details to Seung Hee if he does not cooperate.
Soo Bin finally takes control of her life. She deletes all the old pictures and starts looking for a job. A strange man touches Soo Bin, and she flies into a rage and tells him that she will kill him if he attempts that again. Joong Do proceeds with his plan and is met with comments accusing him of hypocrisy. He keeps his mouth shut for the time being lest things go out of control. A piece of shocking news about Ji Hoon arrives soon after. It is revealed that Soo Bin had actually given a statement that she was sexually assaulted, and that statement is soon about to go public.
‘Trolley’ Episode 12: Recap – How Bad Is The Picture Really?
Episode 12 begins with Joong Do proceeding with his plan. Hye Joo receives an unhappy phone call at the Memorial Center. Joong Do mentions that Ji Hoon indeed sexually assaulted Soo Bin and that she has been threatening Joong Do. He decides to hold a press conference for damage control over the matter. Hye Joo does not support this decision and thinks that she can perhaps talk to Soo Bin to resolve the matter. But Soo Bin is unreachable, and it is too late for Joong Do as well. He already went on air and accepted and apologized for the accusations against Ji Hoon. He then proceeds to mention the bill he has been working on, which would allow investigations to continue even after the offender has passed away. As a result, Joong Do’s office descends into chaos, with the phone lines constantly ringing. Joong Do speaks to Hye Joo about Soo Bin’s blackmail and shows her proof of Soo Bin’s gynecology reports. He tells her that she was blackmailing him, which is what forced him to do what he did regarding Ji Hoon’s case. He alleges that Soo Bin wanted 50 million Won, and instead of paying her off, he decided to expose his late son’s crimes.
Hye Joo comes to a startling revelation of how dehumanized the world of politics is. A reporter hounds her with questions, triggering her, but Chairwoman Woo Jin Seok comes in time and tells the reporter off. On the other hand, Seung Hee’s mother regains consciousness in the hospital. She makes up her mind to take Seung Ho’s secret to the grave, but it is too late now that Ki Young knows the truth. At school, Yeon Seo gets into trouble with her classmates. After Joong Do’s revelation of Ji Hoon’s case, Yeon Seo lands in trouble at school. She is cast aside by her friends. She gets into a fight, and Hye Joo is called to the school. After coming back from Yeon Seo’s school, Hye Joo is still reeling from the events when she meets Soo Bin. The two talk in private, and Hye Joo questions Soo Bin about the blackmail. Soo Bin reveals that she was not sexually assaulted by Ji Hoon and that she did not blackmail Joong Do either. This lands Hye Joo in a dilemma as to whose words to believe. Matters take a turn for the worse when Su Hyeon’s father arrives and starts blaming Hye Joo for raising a bad son.
Joong Do, on the other hand, has lost focus at work. He forgets to wear his National Assembly pin. Hye Joo steps on the same pin at home and is taken back to earlier times. Joong Do claimed he needed to leave the house early in the morning to go to the wake. But Hye Joo is unsure where he is headed, and she decides to find out. Soon we find out who was behind the blackmail. It was Assemblyman Kang who dug out the dirt and bribed the clinic to write that Soo Bin got pregnant after being sexually assaulted by her boyfriend. Assemblyman Kang blackmailed Joong Do with this information and forced him to make that public statement. Soo Bin comes clean about her pregnancy. She claimed that she knew that only being a victim of a sexual crime would warrant an abortion, and hence she took those steps. She also clears the air that Ji Hoon was her ex-boyfriend and that he did not assault her.
Woo Jae reminds Joong Do that they still have to deal with Seung Hee. Joong Do has made up his mind to speak the truth, regardless of the consequences. In a short scene later, it is shown that Soo Bin told Hye Joo that Joong Do was the last person to see Ji Hoon alive. The two had an altercation, and Ji Hoon threatened his father that he would expose him.
‘Trolley’ Episode 11 And 12: Ending
Episodes 11 and 12 of “Trolley” really brought out the ugly side of politics. It also brought to the fore Joong Do’s secrets. Woo Jae had commented earlier that there is always a perfect secret; perhaps that has something to do with what Joong Do did to Ji Hoon when he last saw him. Amidst all this scandal, Hye Joo’s past seems to have faded into the background. The land regulation reform bill also seems to have been covered up by these sexual assault allegations against Ji Hoon. Hye Joo and Joong Do’s seemingly perfect relationship has started to develop cracks, and Hye Joo has begun to doubt her husband more than ever. Yeo Jin surprisingly made not many appearances in the episodes this week. The psychiatry clinic papers in her hand could suggest that she is suffering from a severe mental illness. Her and Woo Jae’s connection has been teased often in the previous episodes. It remains to be seen what it actually is. All the problems cascade one after the other on Hye Joo and Joong Do. Perhaps Joong Do has a lot to say for those, given that he is ready to push everyone in harm’s way and march towards the path of what he believes to be the one of righteousness and honesty. Maybe his righteousness will be his Achilles heel that leads to his downfall in politics.
