Cafe Minamdang (미남당) is a mystery-drama-comedy TV series directed by Ko Jae-hyun and written by Park Hye-jin, the series is based on the book Minamdang: Sagun Soochub written by Jung Jae-han. Cafe Minamdang episode 17 has a runtime of 62 minutes.
The series, created by Park Hye-jin, Ko Jae-hyun and Yun Ra-young, takes over KBS2’s Monday-Tuesday 9.30 PM KST slot previously occupied by Bloody Heart. The series stars Seo In-guk, Oh Yeon-seo, Kwak Si-yang, Kang Mi-na, Kwon Soo-hyun and Baek Seo-hoo, alongside other cast members.
Netflix describes the series as:
A SUSPICIOUS BUSINESS THAT OFFERS THE SERVICES OF A PURPORTEDLY ALL-KNOWING SHAMAN CATCHES THE ATTENTION OF A TENACIOUS POLICE INSPECTOR.
– Cafe Minamdang Episode 17 Recap Contains Major Spoilers –
Cafe Minamdang episode 17 starts with Du-jin asking Tae-su to spill the beans about Auntie Im to save all of them some time. However, Tae-su continues to refuse to cooperate but does mention that the day he was rescued was the day his fate was sealed. However, the simple pick-up and drop-off take a turn for the worse when two cars ram into them in order to get Tae-su out, just as Do-won had predicted.
Before leaving, Tae-su tells Du-jin that he doesn’t have to feel bad – he is happy with the life that he got, especially because it wasn’t a worthless one like his father. On the other hand, as Do-won and Im carry a drugged-up Han-jun into the car, Seung-won oversees the entire situation with a shocked expression. He then commands to follow the car quietly.
Meanwhile, as night falls, Hye-jun and Su-cheol are left confused and scared for Han-jun and Jae-hui and decide to look inside the temple. Driving away from the temple, Do-won tells the two about Tae-su’s escape and the detectives getting hurt, all the while orchestrating the entire thing. As everyone gets into action and checks the CCTV outside the temple, the three of them spot a man with Im abducting Han-jun but are unable to find out who that is.
Fortunately, they do spot Seung-won’s car and follow the GPS tracker on it to Minamdang. Meanwhile, at Mindamdang, Tae-su meets with the other two and bring Han-jun inside as a confused Seung-won keeps watch. Before the screen cuts to black, we see a blacked-out Han-jun sitting on the “throne” with a bloody knife as Im’s lifeless body lies on the ground.
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When we fade to the next scene, a concerned Do-won is standing outside looking rather concerned and flustered, and when Jae-hui, Su-cheol and Hye-jun reach Minamdang, he tells them that Tae-su called and informed them that Im is inside the building with Han-jun. The latter, confused and panicked, is just coming to with what he is seeing in front of him.
The four of them are rather shocked at the scene, obviously, and Do-won arrests Han-jun, who looks rather pained but realises that he has been played. He tells Do-won that he didn’t kill anyone and that Gopuri caught him in his trap, but Do-won mentions that it might also be that he got caught trying to fool everyone. The odds are staked against Han-jun, and even though he says what could’ve happened, it’s a little difficult to believe him considering the circumstances.
A shocked Jae-hui tries to convince Do-won that this can’t be right, but the latter tells her that it’s true that he probably didn’t do anything, but as a prosecutor, he must investigate without bias. Outside, Hye-jun and Su-cheol are shocked to find that the power went off during that time period, and nothing was recorded. Before going off, Han-jun tells Hye-jun and Su-cheol three case numbers to find out how they are related.
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In the prison cell, Han-jun tries to put together the pieces of the puzzle that he already knows and tries to profile the killer instead of the victims and comes to a shocking (and seemingly infuriating) realisation. When Jae-hui meets him, she tells him that things aren’t looking too good for him, but she tells him that she trusts him no matter what. However, Han-jun has his own plans – he fakes needing to use the restroom in order to make a run for it.
When Han-jun does call a concerned Jae-hui later, he tells her that Gopuri has planted a spy in their midst; otherwise, how is it possible for one person to know so much of their whereabouts? Anyway, he assures Jae-hui that he will come back once he catches Gopuri because he is really close – a confession that really makes Do-won uncomfortable. After the call ends, however, is when the doubts start to creep in.
Everyone starts to look at each other different after that, but weirdly, no one looks at the prosecutor with doubts! Anyway, that’s when Do-won gets a call from Seung-won, who threatens to leak the video – years of torment on him are finally making sense. Anyway, Seung-won isn’t really that great a criminal because he falls right into Do-won’s claims. He has the video, but when Do-won tells him that he won’t give him his shares of Choekang just for one video and that he will have to catch Jae-hui for him as well, he totally falls for it.
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The next day, Jae-hui gets abducted as Han-jun, and his team watch her. They follow suit, and Seung-won is rather confused about why Do-won needs her. Anyway, after Han-jun loses her at an intersection, he calls Do-won for help, who feigns confusion but looks rather happy that his plan is working. This, however, was also a ploy – an acting finesse that everyone praises Han-jun for!
Han-jun had planned the entire thing out with everyone the night before, discussing the why and how of the murders and diving the victims into categories. The planning and execution are amazing, but more so that got Seung-won’s video as well. Everyone takes it pretty bad, but poor Jae-hui feels the worst for being played for years by her brother’s murderer.
After a bit of crying, we are back on track to catch Do-won, and of course, Han-jun has the perfect plan. The execution part of the plan is oddly satisfying as we watch the background of the plan – it’s hilarious to watch them plan everything down to the smallest details.
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As everyone gets ready to get down to business, things just get funnier as these complete buffoons stand up against two serial killers. As Han-jun gets to the fake meetup and with Seung-won already out of the picture, the scene should really be set for our valiant heroes. But of course, buffoons gotta buffoon and some totally unnecessary and other rather funny scenes later, Do-won comes out in front of Han-jun.
Cafe Minamdang Episosde 17 Ending
As the episode ends, Han-jun tells Do-won that he knew that he was the killer, and the latter expresses disappointment at how long it took him to find out the truth.
In the epilogue, Han-jun, Hye-jun, Na-dan and Su-cheol pour fake cement into the drums in which Seung-won and his secretary are tied inside and threaten to leave them like that if they don’t talk. As the secretary starts to blabber everything, hilarious pandemonium ensues!
Cafe Minamdang Episode 17 Review
Well, Cafe Minamdang has a flair for keeping things rather light-hearted even in the most intense of scenes, and that’s exactly the case in the latest episode, and honestly, I am not complaining.
I expect the craziness, and there’s an odd sense of comfort in it even though sometimes it gets a bit too much. Why two detectives would be out of it on a very important case is beyond me. I mean, it’s not like they are some random people in the streets – they signed up for a life to stop crime, so does it make sense for one of them to be scared of plastic ornamental ghosts?
I think Cafe Minamdang, in a bit to be funny, goes a bit too far with its jokes and thus brings the humour down because, after a while, you have a problem believing the stupidity. Anyway, other than that, it’s honestly quite funny with a few emotional moments peppered in. Jae-hui crying at the realisation of how much Do-won has played her will make you feel some sort of way – you understand her pain and the heartbreak she must’ve felt after finding out that someone whom she trusted with very personal stories would do something this bad.
Meanwhile, Do-won is a rather smart and worthy antagonist, juggling different people at his fingertips without getting his hands dirty. I would say that his cute exterior makes him a scarier murderer; who would ever doubt him, really?
All in all, this is an enjoyable and rather silly episode that will definitely be entertaining in every way possible.
Cafe Minamdang is streaming on Netflix.
Check out our Cafe Minamdang reviews here.