The First Responders Episode 12 premiered on December 30, 2022, with a total runtime of 67 minutes. It is a new thriller K-drama series directed by Shin Kyung-soo and written by Min Ji-eun. The series (소방서 옆 경찰서) stars Kim Rae-won as Jin Ho-gae, Son Ho-jun as Bong Do-jin, and Gong Seung-yeon as Song Seol. The supporting and recurring cast includes Jung Jin-woo, Lee Jung-hu, Ji Woo, Jung Sang-hoon, Kang Gi-doong, Son Ji-yoon, Woo Mi-hwa, Seo Hyun-chul, Lee Hwa-jung, Jo Seung-yeon, Seo Jae-kyu, Lee Do-yub, Jo Hee-bong, Jeon Kuk-Hwan and more.
The first season premiered on SBS TV on November 12, 2022, and airs every Friday and Saturday at 10 pm KST, while the second season is scheduled for release in the second half of 2023. The First Responders takes over SBS’s Friday-Saturday 10 PM KST timeslot previously occupied by One Dollar Lawyer.
Disney+ Hotstar describes the series as:
A police station and a fire station adjoing each other COORPERATE IN COMBINING CRIME AND FIRE IN THE MOST BRUTAL AND TRAGIC CASES.
–The First Responders Episode 12 Recap Contains Spoilers-
The episode starts with Dojin purchasing a ring at a jewellery shop. Soon after, the scene shifts to the police department, where everyone is shocked to learn that the politician and father of Ma Tae-hwa, Ma Joong-do, has met with sudden death. Due to the tragic incident, Tae-hwa’s sentence is suspended. Yang Chi-young is again recruited as his lawyer after paying him a huge sum of money.
During the funeral, an unlikely guest appears, and it is none other than former detective Jin Ho-gae. Chi-young appears to be suspicious of him, but Ho-gae lets him know that he comes in peace. A brief conversation between Tae-hwa and Ho-gae occurs, and he learns that the detective has resigned from his post.
Subsequently, the fire department rushes to rescue the civilians from a fire caused in a building. Without major injuries, they are able to save the victims. Hours later, another fire occurs on a food truck, and fortunately, they reach on time to put it out. But it does not just end there, yet another fire is caused in an underground tank right after. The three fires were caused three hours apart, at 10 AM, 1 PM, and 4 PM, respectively, which made Dojin suspicious.
The police department starts to investigate each incident thoroughly, but they found no evidence which indicates it is arson. Dojin grows furious and gets into an argument with the cops. In a flashback scene, Dojin’s traumatic childhood incident is shown where he accidentally caused a fire, and since then, he has been determined to save people.
Helplessly Dojin turns to Ho-gae since no one in his department is ready to trust his instincts. Since Ho-gae’s resignation had not been accepted, he instantly joined the investigation to look for evidence. The first thing he did was dig up a dead cat found at the crime scene. It is found that the cat ate a flammable substance which leads them to believe that the fire was not an accident.
During the last few minutes, another fire takes place, and both the firefighters and the police rush to the scene. Ho-gae also joins Dojin to help him put the fire out, but a sudden explosion occurs during their presence. Their friends and co-workers are unable to find them, which makes them panic, and the episode ends on a cliffhanger.
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The First Responders Episode 12 Review
A perfect end to Part 1 of the series, this episode was filled with excitement and suspense. The plot is original and tight, the story progression is done seamlessly. It had all the elements that are required to make a banger finale episode. The creators have left very little room for criticism as they made sure to compensate it with exhilarating revelations. Leaving the episode in a heart-wrenching cliffhanger is less of a complaint and more of an anticipation to find out what happens next.
Son Ho-jun did an excellent job with his abundant screentime, he was able to capture the audience with a compelling portrayal of a passionate firefighter. Kim Rae-won, as always, also delivered a phenomenal performance. The supporting characters also deserve the same praise, if not more.
The First Responders Episode 12 is now streaming on Disney+ Hotstar.
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Also Read: All of The First Responders Reviews