Bittersweet Hell – K-drama Episode 8 Recap & Review

Episode 8

Episode 8 of Bitter Sweet Hell begins with a flashback where it’s revealed that Sa-gang had lost her child and had come across Jae-jin, who was abandoned by his mother, Go-myu’s mistress. Hence, Jae-jin is not Sa-gang’s biological child and she wants to keep this secret hidden.

After challenging Se-na, Young-won tells Sa-gang about the spy cameras. Sa-gang talks to the househelp and Secretary An about the spy cameras and tell them to be wary of outsiders. Meanwhile, Dr. Oh visits Jae-jin at the clinic hoping to win his favour by rescuing him.

Elsewhere, Young-won and Young-min visit their mother where it’s revealed that Young-won had worked hard to win the favour of the Choi family in order to support her own family financially after their father’s death. She tells Young-min about how Se-na is threatening her and they visit the police station which was in charge of Se-na’s case when her family died in the fire in her childhood home. They are able to find that the detective in charge, Detective Cha,  repeatedly mentioned that Se-na was responsible for the fire and the case was of arson but soon the case closed.

While in her office, Do-hyun’s girlfriend So-Yi visits Young-won with the news that she’s expecting Do-hyun’s child and the couple wants to keep the baby and move abroad. She asks her to talk to her mother. Arriving back at home, she relays the news to Sa-gang who promptly visits the clinic to tell Jae-jin and asks him to pull himself together and Dr. Oh watches them leave anxiously.  

Jae-jin arrives home and talks to his son, eventually supporting his decision. Meanwhile, Dr Oh is becoming more and more delusional and unstable as she stares at the Choi family photos where she’s cut and pasted herself with them. This is when she receives a text message from Tae-o encouraging her to “save” Jae-jin.

Young-won and Sa-gang meet with So-yi’s mother and Sa-gang offers her money to get the child aborted. Her mother seems to be interested before leaving feeling humiliated. Sa-gang asks Kang-sung to investigate So-yi’s family and they discover that they are financially struggling after So-yi’s father went out of business.

After the meeting, Young-won, Kyung-min and Seung-jae visit Detective Cha who now owns a deer ranch. The detective tells them that Se-na’s sister was able to survive the fire but the news of her death had gotten out before her recovery. She told him that Se-na was responsible for the arson but before he could take action, Se-na was adopted by a family in Norway and the case was closed. He further gives Young-won the address where she has been living.

When Young-won reaches home, Do-hyun furiously asks her if she’d offered money in return for aborting the baby because So-yi’s family had written a promise note saying the same. Yopung-won visits Sa-gang, equally furious, and asks her to stay out of her son’s case, reiterating that she will raise him differently than how Sa-gang had raised Jae-jin. Later, she tells Do-hyun that she will fully support his decision, mending their relationship.

Young-won arrives at a convent looking for Se-na’s sister and we jump to an interview where she reveals the truth about Se-na’s crime. Young-won sent the recording to Se-na asking her to visit the broadcasting studio if she wanted to avoid the recording from being aired. Se-na arrives looking for her sister but Young-won says “It was all a lie. Your sister is dead”. And Se-na proceeds to choke her.

The Episode Review

Well, this episode is surely a wild ride! The drama has picked up along with the thrill as we wonder about the cliffhanger ending. Is Se-na’s sister really dead? Did Young-won really play Se-na or is she protecting her sister who could be in danger were her location and being revealed? What is Tae-o and So-yi’s motive? Are they Se-na’s accomplices or do they just want money? The questions are endless which makes the show interesting.

Moreover, it seems that the challenges that the Chois are dealing with might just help them come closer than they ever were. At the same time, the ideological differences in the parenting style of Young-won and Sa-gang come to light. While one is liberating, the other is restrictive and how that affects their children.

From the ending, it’s clear that Young-won and Se-na’s dangerous battle has finally begun and there are more shocks and gasps to come in the next few episodes so stay tuned!