Hunter with a Scalpel- Episodes 3-4

Red Threads and Rising Tensions

Episode 3 wastes no time dragging us deeper into the darkness. We open with a haunting image, a little girl scrubbing blood off the floor, only to notice her own bloody handprints smeared across the walls. That image lingers as we cut to the street, where the same girl once abandoned a suitcase. Inside: dismembered body parts wrapped in vinyl.

Detective Jung-hyun inspects the grisly scene, noting one chilling detail, the red thread. It’s the same as in the first murder. At the station, he pushes his superiors to consider that they’re hunting the same killer, but bureaucracy doesn’t move as fast as blood spills.

At the National Forensic Service, Seo Se-hyun is questioned about Oh Min-ho’s absence. Before she can settle in, Jung-hyun arrives with news of the latest killing. The mention of the red thread is all it takes, she’s in.

In the lab, every body part is tied neatly with that crimson cord. Inside one, Se-hyun finds a severed finger. The print matches Min-ho. He’s not just missing, he’s the victim. They also recover a partial print from the killer, but it’s a ghost in the system, no match anywhere.

Elsewhere, Mr. Choi lends a hand putting up banners appealing for witnesses in Lee Yeon-ju’s case, wearing his usual friendly mask. Back at NFS, Director Kwan reels at the news of Min-ho’s death but wastes no time trying to strong-arm Se-hyun into closing the Nam Seung-hyeop case without a toxicology report. She refuses, so he hands her caseload to Chun Su-yeon. The power plays are getting sharper.

Jung-hyun questions Se-hyun about the night she was last with Min-ho, probing for personal details. Beneath the interrogation, there’s concern, he promises he’ll catch the killer.

Meanwhile, the police pull CCTV footage of Lee Yeon-ju’s stalker harassing her at work. The team gears up to arrest him, but Jung-hyun isn’t convinced he’s the murderer. His gut says follow the trucks seen in the footage.

Hours of CCTV trawling pay off, they find the truck, track it to an address, and storm in. A man dressed exactly like the stalker bolts, but Jung-hyun takes him down.

Back in the lab, Se-hyun learns Yeon-ju was injected with Pancuronium, a muscle relaxant deadly in high doses. She examines the vinyl and tape from Min-ho’s remains and finds her next break, ripping the tape to reveal a fingerprint. It’s a match to the partial print from the body.

The killer is getting bolder. And now, Se-hyun has their touch.

White Trucks, Public Showdowns, and a Sinister Smile

Episode 4 opens with drama that’s petty but telling, Seo Se-hyun is accused of killing a stray cat. The same local shop owner who scolded her for feeding cats now claims she’s responsible. A policeman is called, but the accusation falls apart fast. Se-hyun leaves, but her mood is darker than usual.

At work, her day takes a sharp turn when Jung-hyun calls, thanks to her lead about large vehicles, they’ve caught a suspect. Se-hyun heads to the station, armed with a soil analysis report proving the murder site isn’t the same as the dump site. Jung-hyun shows her CCTV stills of a white truck spotted near the restaurant where Lee Yeon-ju was last seen.

She asks to see the suspect face-to-face. Jung-hyun hesitates, but eventually brings her into the interrogation room. One look at him, and she seems relieved, like she’s crossed one name off her private list.

The suspect, Kwon Hyung-jo, insists he’s not the man in the restaurant photo. His day job? Delivering sex dolls, realistic enough to get mistaken for human cargo. The police confirm his warehouse is full of them. Things get heated when Chang-jin presses him on stalking allegations, leading to a scuffle. Hyung-jo demands an apology, but Jung-hyun refuses to let his partner kneel. He tells Hyung-jo plainly: maybe you’re not a murderer, but you are a stalker.

Outside, Hyung-jo feeds the reporters a different story, that the police assaulted him. Inside, Jung-hyun’s boss, Choi Jong-soo, tears into the team. Jung-hyun agrees to handle it by giving a public briefing.

While he’s preparing, Chang-jin uncovers new CCTV footage from inside the bus Se-hyun and Min-ho took home. On it, a man dressed exactly like Hyung-jo, staring at the two doctors before trailing them off the bus.

The briefing begins, but Jung-hyun freezes under the barrage of questions. Out of nowhere, Se-hyun steps up. She drops a bomb: the same fingerprint links both murders, making this a confirmed serial killing. She even calls the killer “human trash” on live TV. Watching from home, Mr. Choi doesn’t look pleased. A young girl, Se-eun, is with him.

Backstage, Se-hyun gets an angry call from her boss. But when she finally agrees to handle the Nam Seung-hyeop case his way, his fury evaporates. She then uses the moment to demand a forensic office in Yongcheon so she can work directly with Jung-hyun.

A senior officer hauls them in, furious about the “serial killer” headline. Se-hyun pushes back, this killer isn’t stopping, and she intends to work with Jung-hyun to catch him.

Jung-hyun rallies his team, pointing out that the killer likely knows Yongcheon inside out and carries a sense of superiority. He urges them to start working as one unit.

Meanwhile, at the laundromat, Mr. Choi faces an irate customer over ruined clothing. He smiles, offers a refund… and then his face hardens. When she tries to leave, he grabs her, pulling her back inside.

The monster in Yongcheon might be hiding in plain sight.

DramaZen's Opinion

Episodes 3 and 4 crank the tension up to eleven.

The red thread mystery isn’t just creepy anymore, it’s personal, and every new clue feels like it’s tightening a noose around both Se-hyun and Jung-hyun. Min-ho’s death hit like a sucker punch, and the way Se-hyun handled the press conference in Episode 4? Absolutely savage.

I love how the show balances cat-and-mouse suspense with these sharp, human moments... Jung-hyun freezing in front of reporters, Se-hyun’s icy control, and Mr. Choi’s subtle but skin-crawling menace. By the time that laundromat door closed in Episode 4, I was practically shouting at my screen.

This drama isn’t just delivering thrills, it’s making every episode feel like a trap we want to walk into.