Queen Mantis Ending Explained: Is the Murderer Caught? What Happens to Yi-shin? Is Jung-ho Dead?

Queen Mantis Ending Explained: In this crime thriller series, Su-yeol finds himself in a bind when a copycat killer wreaks havoc in his life, copying all of his serial killer mother’s murder tactics.

Queen Mantis has 8 episodes, each with a runtime of around 60 minutes.

Queen Mantis Ending Explained

The series opens with a slew of copycat killings, following famous serial killer Mantis’s footsteps. Su-yeol and his senior Jung-ho decide to take Mantis’s help to understand the copycat’s motives and catch them before they kill more people. However, the catch is that no one knows that Yi-shin, aka Mantis, is still alive.

Is Su-yeol able to find the copycat?

After numerous lies, manipulation and failures, Su-yeol and his team find the copycat when, while Yi-shin talks to the copycat, he realises that they are talking about something very personal – about Su-yeol’s meeting with Jung-yeon for the first time. He realises that the killer must be A-ran, and concludes that she must be Yeon-jeong, someone from his past.

At first, they thought that it must be Min-jae, another neighbour of theirs, but soon, it becomes clear that this isn’t his work when Min-jae himself ends up dying.

How is Yi-shin connected to the killing?

Yi-shin had killed Yoon-jeong’s father, an abusive man who tortured her relentlessly and left her disfigured as a baby. Yoon-jeong thinks of her as a mother and wants to show her appreciation for her through these killings, but eventually realises that Yi-shin’s love for her son far outweighs anything that she feels for her. She is incensed about her lack of care for her, more so because she thinks of her to be her mother. A-ran implores her to see a future with her, but Yi-shin is adamant and feels disgusted by her repeated attempts to win her love.

What was Yi-shin’s past that made her who she is?

In episode 8, it comes out that Yi-shin’s father, Hyun-nam, someone whom Su-yeol trusted a lot with everything, was a child molester who groomed and abused Yi-shin from a young age. When Yi-shin’s mother learnt about it, she tried to stop him, but he killed her and burned her alive for it. Yi-shin witnessed all of this and ran away from home as soon as she could and, after being abused by her husband as well, took matters into her own hands. She is not the psychopath that everyone made her out to be – she is just tired of society not doing anything to help women and children who fall victim to terrible men who take advantage of them.

What happens in the end?

In the end, Yi-shin voluntarily gets caught and goes back to prison, hoping that her son lives a happy life without her. However, 2 years later, shocking news rattles her – Jung-ho’s body has been found somewhere in the forests. Yi-shin is devastated, as she had found a friend in him. Just then, she is visited by Su-yeol and Na-hee, who are back to get her help, this time probably to solve Jung-ho’s murder. The series doesn’t give us much information, but by the looks on the detectives’ faces, it’s clear that they are there on a mission. Is there a second season? Will Jung-ho’s killers be caught? We will just have to hope!

What are your thoughts on Queen Mantis? Let us know in the comments below!

Also Read: Queen Mantis Season 1 Review