ENA’s Monday-Tuesday drama ‘Scarecrow’ has come to a powerful close, hitting its highest viewership ratings! The show has been widely praised for blending entertainment with a poignant social message by confronting forgotten cases and the pain of victims.
‘Scarecrow’ is the first drama to tell the story that unfolds after the true culprit of a serial murder case, inspired by real-life events, is revealed.
Director Park Jun-woo and writer Lee Ji-hyun, who previously earned acclaim for ‘Taxi Driver’, once again delivered a hit by weaving sharp social commentary into a gripping genre piece. The chemistry between Park Hae-soo (who meticulously portrayed the upright yet broken Kang Tae-joo), Lee Hee-joon (who gave a chilling performance as the two-faced Cha Si-young), and Kwak Sun-young (who reached a career peak as the principled reporter Seo Ji-won) was truly brilliant. Along with Song Geon-hee’s impressive dual role and Jung Moon-sung’s overwhelming presence, the cast brought the fictional 1988 setting of Gangseong to life with incredible realism.
According to Nielsen Korea on the 27th, the final episode (Episode 12) of ‘Scarecrow’ aired on the 26th and recorded ratings of 8.1% nationwide and 8.3% in the metropolitan area, marking a new series high. The peak minute rating hit 9.3% nationwide, while the 2049 target audience peaked at 3.3%, securing the top spot across all channels in its time slot and maintaining its throne as the king of Monday-Tuesday dramas.
The finale depicted the heartbreaking struggle of survivors and the cruel truth finally coming to light after 30 long years.
During the retrial of Im Seok-man (played by Jeon Seok-chan), detectives who conducted forced investigations in the past stubbornly denied the charges. However, Kang Tae-joo (Park Hae-soo) honestly admitted his past investigative errors and called another victim, Lee Seong-jin (Park Sang-hoon), as a witness to expose how the prosecutor at the time, Cha Si-young (Lee Hee-joon), forced a false confession. Although Cha Si-young continued to lie in court, revealing his ugly true nature, a twist was waiting.
The real serial killer, Lee Yong-woo (also known as Lee Ki-hwan, played by Jung Moon-sung), took the witness stand and proved that the seventh crime was his own. In an ironic turn where the killer revealed the truth the police tried to bury, Im Seok-man was finally declared innocent after 30 years. His emotional reunion and sobbing with his sister, Im Ji-hye (Shim So-young), left viewers in tears.
While the truth was revealed, the reality remained bittersweet. Even after the not-guilty verdict, Kang Tae-joo couldn’t hide his emptiness, stating, “Unfortunately, it’s not over yet.” The body of victim Yoon Hye-jin (Lee A-rin) has still not returned to her family, and because the statute of limitations had expired, neither the serial killer Lee Yong-woo nor the other perpetrators could be legally punished.
Kang Tae-joo’s sharp rebuke to Lee Yong-woo, “You were the start of all this tragedy,” left a deep and heavy resonance with viewers, shedding light on the institutional limits of the statute of limitations and the ongoing tragedy faced by victims’ families.
