Aahana Swrup
‘The Worst of Evil‘ is a Disney+ crime drama show that follows the dangerous criminal nightlife of the Gangnam district in the 90s. After young rising gangster Jung Ki-cheol gets on the cops’ radar, countryside cop Park Joon-mo infiltrates his gang to gain the former’s trust and uncover secrets about his multi-national drug operation. However, Joon-mo, undercover as Seung-ho, a distant relative of Ki-cheol’s deceased best friend, quickly realizes that tricking the gangster is more challenging than he thought. Furthermore, Joon-mo discovers a past connection between his wife, Yoo Eui-jung, and Ki-cheol, complicating the matter even more.
In episodes 4 and 5, the narrative delves into the turbulence within the dangerous circles that Ki-cheol runs in. Meanwhile, Joon-mo continues to vie for the Boss’ trust and makes multiple sacrifices along the way. If you’re curious to see where these paths lead the characters, here is everything you need to know. SPOILERS AHEAD!
The Worst of Evil Episodes 4 and 5 Recap
Picking up right after the previous episode, Joon-mo fails to follow Ki-cheol’s orders to kill Cho in cold blood. Instead, Seo Jong-ryul, the master knife-wielding chief, steps in and finishes the job for him. The instance furthers Ki-cheol’s gang member Jung-bae’s distrust of Seung-ho, but Ki-cheol tries to keep an open mind. Still, to win back the lost trust, the operators behind the undercover mission, Chang-sik & Seok, ask Inspector Eui-jung for help, given her childhood friendship with Ki-cheol.
Eui-jung agrees to contact Ki-cheol again, and the pair meet up for lunch at one of their old haunts. Joon-mo, who drives Ki-cheol to the location as his personal guard, is displeased to learn about her involvement in the mission. Although Joon-mo’s main concern remains his wife’s safety, he’s also bothered because Eui-jung was Ki-cheol’s first love. To make matters worse, Chang-sik convinces Eui-jung to lie about her marital status to Ki-cheol to ensure the gangster opens up to her.
Nevertheless, Eui-jung’s conversation with Ki-cheol allows her to put in a good word for Joon-mo/Seung-ho. The old friends’ acquaintanceship furthers when Eui-jung’s mother dies, leading Ki-cheol to attend her funeral. The gangster takes Joon-mo along with him, unintentionally rubbing salt in his wound since the latter can’t mourn his mother-in-law’s death or comfort his wife properly. Later, Ki-cheol and Joon-mo bond over drinks and talk about their parents.
As such, Joon-mo learns that Ki-cheol grew up with an abusive father. Although Ki-cheol’s family eventually ran away from him, the father tracked them down again, leading his mother to kill the other man. Feeling closer to Joon-mo than before, Ki-cheol agrees to help him advance his “career” if the other man helps him work things out with Eui-jung.
Joon-mo has to agree begrudgingly due to the promise of tagging along with Ki-cheol and his close gang members’ suspicious fishing trips. Meanwhile, the Jaegong Group targets Ki-cheol’s gang and starts trying to poach some of the members to gain intel on Ki-cheol. Seo, with whom Joon-mo had found an unlikely camaraderie, is one of the members who gets approached by Kang Geon’s men. By the time Ki-cheol’s next fishing trip comes around, one of his closest two members, Hee-sung, bails on the trip due to his wife’s medical emergency. As a result, Ki-cheol takes Joon-mo with him and Jung-bae. However, on the night drive to the port, Jung-bae gets a flat tire halfway through, urging the pair to go on without him. Suspiciously enough, Ki-cheol and Joon-mo get ambushed by a horde of Geon’s men shortly after.
In the ensuing fight, Seo comes to the pair’s rescue and helps Ki-cheol and a severely injured Joon-mo escape from the bloodbath. As Joon-mo is rushed to the hospital, Ki-cheol realizes there’s a rat in his gang, suspecting Hee-sung and Jung-bae of betrayal. Since this marks the second time Joon-mo has saved the gangster’s life and at his own expense, Ki-cheol has no choice but to trust him. Likewise, he trusts Seo and asks him to look into the members’ alibis who had knowledge of Ki-cheol’s location last night.
The Worst of Evil Episode 5 Ending: Did Jung-bae Betray Ki-cheol?
Although episode 4 suggests the possibility of Seo being the traitor in Ki-cheol’s gang, the theory soon dissolves once Seo rescues Ki-cheol and Joon-mo, revealing that he’s not one for backstabbing. Therefore, Ki-cheol trusts him to look into the only four people who could have tipped Geon off about his fishing trip: Hee-Sung, Jung-Bae, Kyung-Jin, and Byung-Woo.
Seo subtly confirms everyone’s story and finds that their alibis check out. Still, the same doesn’t prove anyone’s innocence since they could’ve colluded with Geon’s men at any time. As such, Ki-cheol comes up with a plan and asserts that he knows which of the men is a traitor. Thus, he calls his men for a meeting to punish the traitor in front of all the others. At the meeting, all arrive but one: the actual traitor, Kyung-Jin.
Although Joon-mo tries to save the man from the gang’s brutality by figuring out his betrayal and alerting Seok about his future predicament, the cops are too slow and fail to get him before Seo. Kyung-Jin had sold his gang off because he felt humiliated, serving under gangsters younger than him within Ki-cheol’s unconventional group. As a result, Kyung-Jin meets his retribution by hanging upside down from the gang office ceiling, bloodied and bruised. Joon-mo beats him further with a metal rod to save him from a more grueling alternative at Seo or Ki-cheol’s hands.
Afterward, Ki-cheol has to deal with the fallout of his missed “fishing trip,” which Joon-mo learns is code for a rendezvous of some sort. Even though Ki-cheol keeps him in the dark about the specifics, Joon-mo realizes the trip is likely about his drug operation. Since Ki-cheol and his men failed to deliver the drugs to their Japanese and Chinese gangster friends, the latter decided to visit Ki-cheol.
Ki-cheol plans to meet the gangsters with Jung-bae by his side. Yet, Joon-mo realizes the meeting is his best shot to learn more about the comings and goings of his business. Therefore, while Chang-sik distracts Ki-cheol by having Eui-jung set up a meeting with him on the same day, Joon-mo works to get Jung-bae off the board.
Due to Ki-cheol’s suspicion of Jung-bae and Hee-sung, the gangster quickly adopted Seo and Joon-mo for more significant roles. Consequently, the duo instills more doubt in Ki-cheol by suggesting he may be involved with Geon since only he knew about Ki-cheol’s exact location that night.
As a result, Ki-cheol takes Jung-bae off the Chinese meeting and assigns it to Joon-mo while Seo looks into Geon. The knife master sneaks into Geon’s hospital wards and tricks him into answering his questions. After learning that Geon followed Ki-cheol from Seoul without any help from Jung-bae, Seo kills the man and confirms Jung-bae’s innocence to Ki-cheol. In the end, Ki-cheol is glad to learn his oldest friend hasn’t betrayed him but keeps his previous suspicions to himself.
Who Does Joon-mo Encounter at The Meeting With The Chinese?
While Eui-jung keeps Ki-cheol occupied, Joon-mo drives to the airport to receive the gangster’s guests. Recently Chang-sik has learned about Professor Yoon, an ex-convict with a history in meth cooking. Chang-sik suspects Yoon, who has been in China for six months, to be involved in Ki-cheol’s drug operations. Therefore, if the guest Joon-mo is receiving turns out to be her, it could be significant for the mission.
Nevertheless, someone much different than the old, gray-haired woman greets Joon-mo at the airport. The mysterious Chinese-Korean woman with bright orange hair is Lee Hae-ryeon. While not much is known about her character yet, Hae-ryeon seems like a promising troublemaker within the narrative. After dropping Hae-ryeon and her companion at the hotel, Joon-mo secretly meets with Seok.
Joon-mo’s meeting with his boss only frustrates him since it reveals Eui-jung’s continued involvement with the mission. Nevertheless, his return to the hotel makes way for a bigger reveal after he bumps into Oyama, the Japanese gangster. Despite Oyama and Ki-cheol’s previous friendly relationship, the former has it out for the Gangnam gangster after his inability to deliver drugs at the last drop-off. As such, Oyama and Hae-ryeon’s mixed presence at the same hotel suggests a menacing time for the future episodes.
Read More: The Worst of Evil Episode 1 Recap and Review
