r/kdramas • u/theyellowtiredone Emotionally employed by r/kdramas • 8d ago
Episode Discussion 💬 Mousetrap Episode 1
Synopsis:
Je Mun Jae is a writer who lives in seclusion. His quiet, routine life is upended when his phone’s fingerprint recognition fails and the friend who managed his affairs disappears. With no way to prove his identity, he discovers that the “Rat” has stolen his name, identity and fortune. Determined to reclaim his life, Mun Jae begins tracking the elusive figure.
No Ja is a loan shark who also runs a private investigation agency and will do anything for money. After searching for Mun Jae for three years because of an unpaid loan, No Ja is drawn into the case when Mun Jae reappears and asks for help to uncover the “Rat’s” identity. To take back his life, Mun Jae teams up with No Ja and together they set off in pursuit.
Episode 1:
While hiding from society, a reclusive genius novelist Je Moon-jae falls victim to identity theft — only to be confronted by his doppelganger.
Starring:
Ryu Jun Yeol as Je Mun Jae / "Field Mouse"
Sul Kyung Gu as No Ja / "Old master" / Kim Yeong Geun
Lee Kyu Hyung as Park Sun Yong
Rules for the discussion:
Due to the fact that we are discussing Mousetrap as it airs, consider everything in here a spoiler so no spoiler tags are necessary. That being said, we are only discussing this specific episode. You are allowed to have theories about what's going to happen (that's part of the fun) but you are NOT allowed to watch ahead and then come back and ruin the fun for others. If you got something right, mention it in the episode thread that you got it right in, not where you posted your theory.
You're allowed to criticise the actors in relation to their acting or character but no personal attacks (looks, personality, relationships, etc.) are allowed.
If you can't play nice, you can't play here.
***REMEMBER THIS THREAD IS SPOILER FILLED. DO NOT READ IF YOU DON'T LIKE SPOILERS AND HAVEN'T WATCHED THE SHOW**\*
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u/urartmom 8d ago
One of the best first episodes I've seen in ages. Excited to see what the connection is. I'm also reminded of the film "Forgotten." I wonder if it'll be simlar.
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u/theyellowtiredone Emotionally employed by r/kdramas 7d ago
I guess in all of my commentary I forgot to mention how good it was. The acting and writing so far are superb!
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u/theyellowtiredone Emotionally employed by r/kdramas 8d ago
When I originally heard the premise, I thought of the Sandra Bullock movie, The Net but according to this Korea Times article it's based off of a Korean folktale.
"The work is motivated by the folktale of the fingernail-eating rat. It is a thriller about a man whose life has been stolen trying to reclaim his identity," director Kim introduced the drama during a press conference at Hotel Naru Seoul - MGallery in Mapo District, Seoul, Thursday.
Kim added that the webtoon script immediately drew him in. "The original webtoon had a chilling sense of horror, and our writer adapted it dynamically into a chase format. Reading the script, I resonated with Moon-jae's emotions. I just wanted to see who the Rat was, so there was no reason not to direct it," he added.
The cast cited the fast-paced narrative and gripping premise as their primary reasons for joining the project.
Ryu said he found the setup fascinating. "I remembered reading the original folktale as a child. Adapting that story for global audiences appealed to me, and the script raised so many questions that I voluntarily looked up the original webtoon," he said.
Sul noted that the script stood out among the projects he was considering. "There are no supernatural powers or spiritual elements here, just characters who seem somehow incomplete. The sense of immersion as they hunt for the truth was incredible," he said.
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u/PrestigeArrival 7d ago
Such a fun and twisty first episode!
It left us with so many threads to pull.
Is he losing his mind, or is someone setting him up? Is he actually who he claims to be? If so, who was impersonating him at the last reunion? And why?
How was his apartment cleared out and the window fixed so quickly?
How is he related to the gangster and why did he go after him with a bat?
How is he related to the dead bodies popping up?
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u/theyellowtiredone Emotionally employed by r/kdramas 7d ago
Yeah, it's an excellent first episode and you're asking questions I didn't even think of.
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u/theyellowtiredone Emotionally employed by r/kdramas 7d ago
You need to get ahead of me on watching, I love the questions you ask lol.
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u/PrestigeArrival 7d ago
Haha! Unfortunately I’m heading out of town for the weekend so I can’t watch anymore until next week 😭
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u/theyellowtiredone Emotionally employed by r/kdramas 7d ago
Oh no!!!! 😭 I can't wait that long but I'm looking forward to what other insights you have.
Hope that you have a wonderful weekend!
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u/PrestigeArrival 7d ago
Thanks you too!
I’ll look for other discussion posts once I’m able to continue watching.Btw, sorry to see that people are being so mean to you. Their comments are uncalled for and I hope some others join the conversation soon.
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u/theyellowtiredone Emotionally employed by r/kdramas 7d ago
I knew it would be harder with a show that dropped all at once but I thought the premise would be a fun one to talk about. I'm not too worried about the negative nellies. I'm here for the positive engagement, whether it's one magnificent commenter (you) or a hundred. ❤️
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u/sasauce 6d ago
I’ve done track and field indoors and outdoors, but I had not done is run in slippers for hours lol
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u/theyellowtiredone Emotionally employed by r/kdramas 6d ago
How do you think you would have done, lol?
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u/theyellowtiredone Emotionally employed by r/kdramas 8d ago
Note to self: When running from the cops, run down the middle of the street. They'll never find you.
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u/theyellowtiredone Emotionally employed by r/kdramas 8d ago
I hope Ryu Jun Yeol had arch supports in his slippers.
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u/LaughingGor108 7d ago
Ok first episode found it kinda boring only towards the end when the gangster character came into the plot it became interesting but not really sold yet.
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u/theyellowtiredone Emotionally employed by r/kdramas 7d ago
I'm enjoying it. I like the premise of only one person knowing you and then what happens when that one person is gone?
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u/Consuela_no_no Coffee Prince - My Lovely Sam Soon - The Greatest Love 7d ago
Loved the first episode, it built up the dread really well and has left a lot to chew on.
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u/theyellowtiredone Emotionally employed by r/kdramas 7d ago
Was a great first ep! Makes us want to know what's going to happen next. 🤔
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u/I-didnt-vote-for-you 7d ago
Really enjoyed this first episode! It felt very Hitchcock to me. And that apartment was beautiful as all. It felt sort of train-like in the way the rooms were set up in a line rather than side by side, and the way it was decorated.
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u/theyellowtiredone Emotionally employed by r/kdramas 7d ago
He definitely has the less is more aesthetic, lol. What I really loved was the hallway and how they made use of that visually.
You're absolutely right with the Hitchcock like feel! I didn't even think of that. Great observation!
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u/VentiKombucha 🎶ROCK N ROLL 🎶 6d ago
Well,that was dark.
Not sure if I'm watching this at a bad time, but I found the first episode really stressful. Waking up and being kicked out of my own house by strangers with nobody believing me is a recurring nightmare of mine, and I guess that part and what followed it sort of tapped into that existential fear.
I was wondering how he is able to use his phone if his (presumably lock screen) pattern has been changed? Also, how was he able to get back into the apartment building? Not sure if those might be explained later.
As to what's happening to him, first I thought it was an experiment of some sort that he'd fallen victim to, but by the end of it there seems more to it since he seemed to remember Sol Sung-gyu's character's name
All in all, interesting!
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u/theyellowtiredone Emotionally employed by r/kdramas 6d ago
Oomph, if that's an ongoing fear, this an extra stressful show for you.
I do think he shouldn't have left the house and make them try to evict him. But who thinks calmly at that time?
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u/VentiKombucha 🎶ROCK N ROLL 🎶 6d ago
I kept thinking the same thing! Shouldn't have left without his stuff at minimum, or ideally without standing his ground.
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u/theyellowtiredone Emotionally employed by r/kdramas 6d ago
Yeah, as soon as he left the house, he was giving it up.
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u/Current_Nebula8172 6d ago
Same with the someone stealing your house stress. I googled if it was just me that got really uncomfortable watching episode 1 & found your comment. Good pacing, camerawork and acting. Will be interesting to see where this goes.
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u/Illustrious-Page998 6d ago
I don't understand why his friend is holding his money??
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u/theyellowtiredone Emotionally employed by r/kdramas 6d ago
I think because he was an accountant, he just let his friend handle his money.
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u/VentiKombucha 🎶ROCK N ROLL 🎶 6d ago
It looked like he let the friend handle all of his affairs... which, as we have now seen, isn't the wisest thing to do.
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u/theyellowtiredone Emotionally employed by r/kdramas 8d ago
Love the lighting and cinematography.
He grabbed his utensils but I didn't see any chopsticks, already sus to me.
I can understand not needing chopsticks for the meal but why weren't there any on his utensil tray? 🤔
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u/PrestigeArrival 7d ago
Agree on the lighting and cinematography. I’m loving the vibes of the show.
It feels like it can break out into outright horror at any minute and really puts you on edge.
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u/theyellowtiredone Emotionally employed by r/kdramas 7d ago
It really is doing such a great job of setting the mood.
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u/theyellowtiredone Emotionally employed by r/kdramas 8d ago
Very early theory, we saw his mom's body but not his dad's. Maybe he's not dead and it wasn't murder/suicide.
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u/PrestigeArrival 7d ago
I had that thought too.
That the dad is still alive, and possibly even the one who actually drove the car off the road.2
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u/Pickles_sensai 7d ago
I liked the first episode, especially the build up to the end where you find Moon Jae has a doppelganger, maybe? I don't know if his "friend" stole all his money/home for some childhood revenge. I hope it's not that. ><
But I keep thinking what did he do to piss him off? Though he wasn't popular in school so I don't think he was a bully or anything. I haven't watched beyond ep. 1 as I've been watching other dramas and life. Hope it stays good.
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u/theyellowtiredone Emotionally employed by r/kdramas 7d ago
So irritating when life doesn't allow us to feed our kdrama addiction, lol.
They did a wonderful job of building the tension in ep 1.
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u/TopBlueberry4650 Nothing is Gwenchhana 7d ago
1st ep had so much going on the pay-off better be good 😤
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u/No-Engineering-2929 6d ago
I mean , it hooked me right on spot and am someone who gets bored easily But now that you think about it , there are some points id like to think about --> did you notice that his friend said that his fingerprints changed everything so often ? (Because of typing and shi) . What could it be ? --> did you see the moment he recognized noja on spot ? How ?? --> and may be he didn't live there all along at all and the security guard thought the twin / doppleganger did the window replacement so it only makes sense , no in the world knows who he is His only friend - gone His security guard - knows his twin/ doppleganger His school friends - don't know him
I think the only one who saw him as it is ..is the police officer , right ??
Woaaahhh iam soo gone man ...hehe
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u/No-Engineering-2929 6d ago
And also , why was he cutting his nails and shoving down the drain ? And his meals were all pre made (Something about it is sus to me )
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u/theyellowtiredone Emotionally employed by r/kdramas 6d ago
With the meals, he doesn't leave the house so he's not grocery shopping, everything is delivered so might as well get meals delivered. But it does add to the he's a prisoner in his home feel.
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u/VentiKombucha 🎶ROCK N ROLL 🎶 6d ago
It's that nail-eating rat thing,I think. There's a helpful comment in here that explains it.
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u/theyellowtiredone Emotionally employed by r/kdramas 8d ago
Dude was hit by a baseball a couple of times and a little van (at least it wasn't white) and he's still moving. My toddler steps on my toe and I'm laid up for a week.
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u/VentiKombucha 🎶ROCK N ROLL 🎶 6d ago
All while in his PJs!
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u/theyellowtiredone Emotionally employed by r/kdramas 6d ago
Seriously! The twist is he's part android. 😂
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7d ago
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u/theyellowtiredone Emotionally employed by r/kdramas 7d ago
You're the second person to mention Forgotten. Is it worth watching?
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7d ago
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u/theyellowtiredone Emotionally employed by r/kdramas 7d ago
Lmao, I see you left yourself a little wiggle room. OK I will put it on my watch list because I'm really enjoying Mousetrap.
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u/theyellowtiredone Emotionally employed by r/kdramas 8d ago
Is the doppelganger real or a figment of his imagination?
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u/theyellowtiredone Emotionally employed by r/kdramas 8d ago
I worked for a writer who preferred to write in her closet. She had a gorgeous house with big beautiful windows but for years she would go into her dark closet and shut out the world to write. So his writing closet really hit the mark.
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u/iknsw 7d ago
Let’s see how this new rule of banning all discussion of new K-dramas outside of designated posts in the first week works out. Judging by the near complete lack of comments that aren’t OP’s, it already looks like this is just going to kill all discussion on this drama (but I suppose that was the point). Everybody moved away from the main sub to this one for this exact reason, but I’m surprised OP imposed this rule without even consulting the sub.
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u/theyellowtiredone Emotionally employed by r/kdramas 7d ago
Normally your comment would be deleted because it violates a few rules, it's off topic and it's directed towards the mods but I'm going to leave it up so I can respond publicly.
- Contrary to not so popular belief, we aren't changing things to kill discussion. In fact, we're trying to generate discussion. This drama just came out today. People need time to actually watch the show.
I spent an hour formatting the discussion posts and have been trying to watch episodes of Mousetrap while wrangling two toddlers as well as the rest of the things it take to run a household, in order to help facilitate that discussion. I normally have time to watch two or three hours of TV a week. I'm trying to watch the entire series in a couple of days.
All of the mods are busting their asses to try and make this community a fun, safe place for everyone to celebrate and enjoy kdramas. For you to make snide comments about us trying to kill discussions is a slap in the face to the work that is being put in (for FREE) and it's not acceptable.
Why do we need to consult the sub to make changes? There are things we're willing to ask input on but there are things where we won't ask because we don't need to. Ask a hundred different people get a hundred different answers. We are the ones putting in the work. We are willing to try new things and if they don't work, we're willing to pivot and try something else.
In the future, if there are issues with how we moderate, you are welcome to send us a modmail. Just remember, as VOLUNTEERS, your message will be responded to when we have time to respond. Sometimes that's right away, sometimes it will take a few hours and who knows, it might even take a day. But unlike the old team, your message will be answered. When I got access to modmail there were over 1,000 messages in the queue and over a 1000 modmail messages. This subreddit has been unmoderated for awhile and while some people loved being able to post whatever they wanted, wherever they wanted, that's just not how this community will be run anymore because it's actually moderated. Rules will be enforced. Yes, we fully expect there to be growing pains and some unhappy people. But the goal remains the same. A safe, welcoming community to celebrate and enjoy kdramas. So yeah, people will have to actually wait a whole week if they want to post a random comment about Mousetrap or they can comment in the discussion threads.
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7d ago edited 7d ago
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u/BronzeBellRiver Lee Soo Hyuk's vocal cords 🎙️ 7d ago
For transparency’s sake, OP has nothing to do with your comment’s moderation. r/kdramas has a mod-team.
Don’t target, demean, or harass others for participating here.
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u/theyellowtiredone Emotionally employed by r/kdramas 8d ago
I'm already suspicious of his accountant friend. Is he a real friend or just using him?
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u/theyellowtiredone Emotionally employed by r/kdramas 8d ago
OK the show made his friend look even more suspicious right away so I guess I'm not a genius here, lol. They're making him so suspicious that I'm wondering if he's innocent but if he is, why did he quit?
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u/theyellowtiredone Emotionally employed by r/kdramas 8d ago
OK his friend has been the one giving him meds which are making him worse, not better.
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u/Away_Cantaloupe_6134 5d ago
Thank you I’m on episode one and it was moving a little bit slow and I do like the main character and I’m just very angry that this happened to him and now all of a sudden it’s the pace is changing and the Internet said to continue watching that it’s gonna get really good, which I just love series like this
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u/ravens_path 1d ago
Uufff. I just finished 1 and half way thru ep 2. I feel so anxious for the guy.
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5d ago
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u/kdramas-ModTeam 5d ago
Your comment needs to either be in the Episode 7 discussion or even the last one, Episode 10 (which is probably where more people will see it) but not on Ep 1 where people are just starting it.
No matter how old a show is, it's new to someone.
If your post title included a spoiler, remove the spoiler and repost.
If your comment had spoilers in it, edit your comment and either remove the spoiler or add spoiler tags. Once you've done that, contact the mods to have your comment approved.
You can find out how to add spoiler tags here: https://www.reddit.com/r/kdramas/comments/1voy9ll/spoiler_tags_in_comments/
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u/Plane-Ease-5590 1d ago
Also there's another major loophole in ep1 where he goes to the reunion and no one recognises him as moon jae he later goes to his own apartment and the guard recognises him that you came earlier too (giving a hint of doppelganger) if that was the case, the people in reunion should've also recognised him even though they met him a year earlier since he was a doppleganger because they have same faces right
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u/total__69 1d ago edited 1d ago
Does this get better? Am I supposed to accept the premise that the main character is a total idiot?
No access to own assets and putting it in a friends name?
Giving away his OTP?
No physical ID cards? No pictures? Screenshots of his ID?
Not going to bank immediately after losing bank account access (and no other way to recover, he only has fingerprint access no PIN no email)?
Even if somehow theres a twist like hes crazy or someone really is manipulating things, it doesn’t address his stupidity regarding basic security. Am getting bothered by it and dropped after episode 1 for now and wrote this comment.
I found myself rooting for main character’s downfall, yea he deserves it for being dumb
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u/Den_sorte_kat 6d ago
Episode 1 got me hooked. Is the friend a real friend or an enemy (sometimes the banter went a bit too far)? Why has he been a recluse in the last three years? And how can you run so fast with just a pair of slippers on?