'Good Boy' Episodes 1-4 Recap: What Happens To Gyeong-Il?

The highly anticipated Park Bo-Gum K-drama, Good Boy, has finally come out, and it’s exactly what we’ve been needing. After When Life Gives You Tangerines, the actor has now returned in a comedy-action that is also deeply moving and shows off his acting skills in the best way. Good Boy is a police procedural in which former athletes are now cops trying to solve a major case that involves the death of people they each know. Episodes 1-4 are intense, and we already have a major death in the show, which was quite unexpected, especially seeing as the show is a comedy rather than a serious action-thriller. But it’s still supremely fun, and I can’t wait to see what’s coming next. But with that said, let’s jump straight into episodes 1 to 4.

Spoiler Alert

In the first two episodes of the show, Dong-Ju’s unit is after a man named Golden Bunny. This man’s one of the many guys lower in the hierarchy who might lead to the real criminals that Dong-Ju’s department is hunting. The athletes are all mistreated on the force because the cops believe they did it the easy way and were given jobs only because of their medals and don’t have any actual credibility, so Dong-Ju is really eager to prove himself. At the same time, the love of his life, Han-Na, is also a cop in a similar way as he was, but her situation is even worse because she’s essentially just there to be a pretty face for the department who gets advertised rather than doing any actual work. She’s always eager to be in the field, but her boss essentially tells her that’s not going to happen. Of course, we know it happens pretty soon after. 

Meanwhile, Jong-Hyeon is Han-Na’s ex-boyfriend, hence Dong-Ju’s rival, and currently an audit officer at the police station. Despite being at a higher position than the rest of them, he too is treated as if he’s low in the pecking order. While on a stakeout to catch Golden Bunny after accidentally getting punched in the face by him, Dong-Ju gets hit by a car. This car has tinted windows, and the man isn’t ready to show Dong-Ju his face. Dong-Ju is determined to figure out who it is, so he grabs onto the car, but the man drives off as if he’s not even there. Finally, Dong-Ju lets go and gets hurt in the process. The man driving this car is Min Joo-Young. He’s one of the big villains of this show, as we find out in episodes 3 and 4. He wears a watch that Dong-Ju recognizes and uses to find him. This watch will later help Dong-Ju discover who killed his dear friend. 

In episode 2, Dong-Ju ends up in a massive fight with neon paint all over him and finally catches Golden Bunny, knocking out his golden teeth with an uppercut. It’s pretty iconic. At the same time, Han-Na gets attacked at home, and she tries to fight the guys with a paintball gun. She’s an expert, but we already knew that. 

Gyeong-Il is another fellow athlete that Dong-Ju used to box with. It seems the coach was upset that Dong-Ju wasn’t willing to dope or become an MMA fighter as well, but it looks like Gyeong-Il took the bait. Gyeong-Il is a drug addict now, and Dong-Ju is doing the best he can to help him. It’s revealed later on in the episode that Dong-Ju defeated Gyeong-Il during nationals, but Gyeong-Il fell unconscious and developed some sort of major problem. Or that’s what it looks like; he wouldn’t wake up. Maybe this is why Dong-Ju feels so guilty towards him. Dong-Ju spends a lot of his free time at Gyeong-Il’s mom’s place. She makes special noodles, and he’s always eating at her spot, but more importantly, now that he’s restored the trust of the people in him and he has some money, he gives Gyeong-Il’s mom his bank book. I guess he believes he owes her a lot, but we don’t know the entire picture yet. 

Now, there is a hit-and-run case that is being investigated, and Dong-Ju believes the same man who hit him is involved. But Gyeong-Il confesses to the crime because he’s beaten up by a man who makes him do so. I guess he owes these people some money, or he worries for his mom; maybe they gave him the drugs. Gyeong-Il confesses out of fear, but Dong-Ju tries to stop him. It doesn’t work, so he promises he’ll get him out soon. Dong-Ju doesn’t tell Gyeong-Il’s mom that he’s in prison until later. He tells her that he’s sure he didn’t do it, and he promises to set him free. But unfortunately, much later, Gyeong-Il commits suicide in prison, writing an “I’m sorry” on the wall with his blood. Dong-Ju is sure he was murdered, though, and it’s further clear when the same watch is found in Gyeong-Il’s stuff. Moreover, the watch was given to the police officer who killed Gyeong-Il by Joo-Young. He wanted the job done, but the baton was passed on to another man because the watch led Dong-Ju to Joo-Young again. 

Learning about his friend’s death enraged Dong-Ju. He ends up going after Joo-Young and punching him in the face, not worried about the consequences. Still, nothing really comes out of it. At the same time, Han-Na notices that the watch looks familiar and was part of her father’s belongings. He was a cop, too, and he’s likely the reason she chose to become a cop as well. She tries to get some information about the watch and learns that it’s a watch used by a gang. It’s also revealed that her mother is a real estate agent who is planning on selling her dad’s house, the same place she’s currently staying. Han-Na and her mother don’t seem to have the best relationship. In episode 4, we learn that Han-Na’s dad was in charge of the Russian mafia case back in the day. Every step of the way, whoever is meant to lead the gang to the people who got Gyeong-Il killed ends up dead. Obviously, there’s a big gang involved here, with smuggling, drugs, and murder all in their criminal files. There’s a man named Monkey they try to catch, but he’s found stabbed as well. At the same time, the gang tries to find Joo-Young’s car. 

At the end of Good Boy episode 4, Dong-Ju jumps off a roof onto Joo-Young’s car to catch him before he runs away, finally! The ending of episode 4 is a very exciting one and leaves us wanting more, and I can’t wait to see what the bunch of athletes are planning to do. 

The K-drama industry is known to make bibimbap of their dramas. They’re never just one genre, always a mix of things, so when a show like this one comes about, I’m always overjoyed to watch them. Good Boy has some fantastic performances, but I can’t help but feel like this one is for Bo-Gum to shine because we truly get to see him at his best. His comedy, his energy, his action skills, and, of course, the melodrama as well. In the one show, we’ve got everything. Also, the action is choreographed really well, and all the actors look like pros, just as they’re made out to be. The chemistry is great too, so all in all, this is a great show, and if it keeps this up, it could be a 5 on 5 for me!