REVIEW: ‘The Impossible Heir’ Episodes 7-8

With only twelve episodes in its run, The Impossible Heir Episodes 7-8 must steer the audience towards a sound end. Writer Choi Won hasn’t made the strongest of choices storytelling-wise in this series. An over-reliance on flashbacks has made the unfolding drama more frustrating than not. However, since much of the series focuses on Lee Jae-Wook‘s Han Tae-Oh, the usage of flashbacks is drastically reduced in these new episodes. But this doesn’t stop the story from inducing frustration.

The Impossible Heir Episodes 7-8 focus on Tae-Oh’s complete and utter downfall. Most surprising is who the mastermind is behind his lost luck is. As expected, Episode 7 starts with a flashback to fill in the blanks between Hye-Won’s (Hong Su-Zu) meeting with Kang In-Ju (Han Sang-Jin) and Tae-Oh waking up after In-Ju’s murder. In-Ju, who is soaring high with his triumph, has Tae-Oh come to his club and blackmails him. Tae-Oh tries to counter, but In-Ju threatens Hye-Won’s life. If Tae-Oh doesn’t do everything In-Ju commands, Hye-Won’s life is forfeit. Tae-Oh, much to In-Ju’s surprise, submits.

Tae-Oh wakes up in a hotel room with no memory. From the beginning, it’s clear he’s being set up. In-Ju’s body is discovered, and Tae-Oh’s name is plastered all over the news as the culprit. Kang Joong-Mo (Choi Jin-Ho) directs Kang In-Ha (Lee Jun-Young) to do everything he can to silence the media as quietly as possible, but In-Ha proves to be ineffective. From the police station interrogation to the courtroom, it seems clear that this is not something Tae-Oh can get himself out of this time. All the evidence seems to point to him as being the murderer despite his protestations. His memory and further evidence are the keys to freedom.

Tae-Oh can’t rely on his allies much in The Impossible Heir Episode 7. Hye-Won tries her best to little avail. Outside the detention center’s halls, Tae-Oh’s spy friend, Seonu Wan (Jang Ma-Ru), is in self-preservation mode. He deletes any files related to the Kango Group and has a Korean passport ready to go in case he has to get out of dodge. But, upon receiving a summons from Tae-Oh, Seonu disguises himself as a lawyer and receives his new mission from Tae-Oh.

As for In-Ha, Episode 7 features a major break in the relationship. He promises to take care of the situation for his father and Hye-Won, but what that means is entirely different. In-Ha confronts Tae-Oh, telling him he’s ruined their plans. He cuts off his friendship with Tae-Oh for good, but doubts start to creep into Tae-Oh’s mind. In-Ha never asked him how he was doing or whether or not he did it.

This revelation from Tae-Oh also aids the audience’s doubt about In-Ha. A betrayal isn’t out of the question, considering the tumultuous nature of their friendship in the first place. Episode 7 ends with the reveal of Tae-Oh’s sentence. He is charged with capital punishment. And, as viewers and Tae-Oh will come to learn in The Impossible Heir Episode 8, all signs point to In-Ha for his predicament.

Episode 8 pieces together the dots for how Tae-Oh is set up. Joong-Mo’s private investigations into the suspicious nature of the case cast doubt on In-Ju’s bodyguard, Mo Gi-Jun (Kwon Hyuk). Viewers know him from being the one who previously assaulted Tae-Oh. Gi-Jun’s mother originally worked at the family villa, dying tragically in a hit-and-run. Already, there is a potential connection between Gi-Jun In-Ha established here. Seonu comes to similar results after sneaking around Gi-Jun’s apartment complex. In the process, he observes In-Ha visiting Gi-Jun, leading him to inform Tae-Oh that their friendship likely wasn’t as strong as they previously thought.

Tae-Oh agrees after contemplating the new information. Given Gi-Jun’s personal history at the villa and his proximity to In-Ha, there’s a strong likelihood they’ve teamed up. The question is: why? If you guessed this information was revealed in a flashback, you’d be right. In-Ha’s hatred towards Tae-Oh is partially motivated by his discovery of Hye-Won and Tae-Oh’s infidelity.

More information emerges after he assaults Hye-Won in this episode. In Ha’s eyes, Tae-Oh is a dog, and for a dog to covet what his master likes is beyond the pale. We also learn that In Ha’s only motivation for pursuing Hye-Won was that Tae-Oh wanted her. It had nothing to do with love—just possession.

Setting up In-Ha as the real villain of The Impossible Heir is a smart move. In-Ha and Tae-Oh’s relationship has always been on shaky ground. In-Ha admits as much in Episode 8 when Hye-Won visits him in prison. The three of them have been masquerading as friends, but the reality is that they’ve been using each other. With the mask off, there’s no reason to pretend. It also solidifies how there will always be a class difference separating In-Ha from Tae-Oh and Hye-Won. The latter are expendable in In-Ha’s eyes.

After Seonu locates another piece of the puzzle, he forces a situation that requires In-Ha and Gi-Jun to kill that person. Knowing that Tae-Oh must have been behind it, In-Ha admits out loud that he wants Tae-Oh killed. He’s not satisfied with Tae-Oh rotting away in prison. Mi-Jun orders a guard at the prison Tae-Oh has been kept to murder him, setting up the drama for the next episode. As for In-Ha, he has found a way to locate Seonu. Whether or not this likable spy survives is left up in the air.

The Impossible Heir Episodes 7-8 may have viewers guessing where the series is going. These episodes focus a lot on Tae-Oh, but it also doesn’t seem like there’s clarity as to who the titular heir is. With In-Ju’s murder and In-Ha’s treachery revealed, signs are starting to point to In-Ha being the culprit. However, this seems like the easiest choice. Joong-Mo previously commented about how In-Ha is too much like him, and that’s not something he wants in an heir. If In-Ha keeps going down the path he’s on, perhaps he will lose the title of heir.

The female characters in The Impossible Heir continue to be partially developed or barely acknowledged. Some benefits of the doubt can be given here. Hye-Won continues to be more disappointing than not, though. She is ambitious, but it still doesn’t seem like she’s an equal player in this trio. Given the set-up from the beginning, it still reads like the character is just there to serve as a romantic interest. Eight episodes in, Hye-Won is still not reading as three-dimensional.

With In-Ha emerging as the villain, The Impossible Heir Episodes 7-8 reset the players on the chessboard. Despite its frustrating storytelling methods, there is enough variation in the drama and intrigue to keep viewers tuning in. However, much must be done to convince viewers that The Impossible Heir is still worth the investment. Here’s hoping the remaining episodes do that.

The Impossible Heir Episodes 1-8 are now available on Disney+ and Hulu, with new episodes premiering on Wednesdays.