“Queen Mantis” Ending Explained- Who Was The Copycat Killer?
“Queen Mantis” has wrapped up its run a couple of hours ago. Let us recap the finale and explain the ending!
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“Queen Mantis” episode 8 recap
We see a flashback of detective Choi Jung-Ho back in his rookie days getting a call of domestic violence issue. He’s helpless until one day, one horrible man dies while his daughter watches on.
We then fast forward to the present time and the copycat killer A-Ra is holding Jung-Yeon hostage. Eventually, they trade in places and I-Shin tells her to run away. Police did not catch them immediately as they disappeared into the forest.
Jung-Yeon collapses and is rushed to the hospital. Luckily, both her and the baby are ok. She tells Su-Yeol to go get his mom who tried to protect her. She also helps him recalling specific details about where she was locked away.
He goes to an amusement park and puts his badge on the door.
Before that, A-Ra is having a mental breakdown talking about how much I-Shin means to her. She even confesses she made her who she is and ends up kissing her too. She rambles about how she should escape with her and what not and how she knows who she is.
Eventually, as she declines, she prepares to kill her but they get into a fight. She stabs her in the stomach and instead of trying to harm her more, she puts a blanket on her and says police are near and if they arrive at the right time, she might be saved. But then, she throws a box at her with a photo of herself and tells her no one knows who she is except her.
As Su-Yeol goes inside the place, Na-Hee follows him and a fight ensues. Ultimately, A-Ra is shot dead but not before she shot Na-Hee in her shoulder. Luckily, Na-Hee is ok and tells Su-Yeol to go fetch his mom. A-Ra had talked about a special exit no one knows about that she escaped through.
Su-Yeol is on the run and police is on the lookout for him, he calls his supervisor Mr. Choi who explains that he didn’t think what she’d done was wrong which is why he treated her well. Su-Yeol closes the line and turns off his phone. He goes to the location of the killer’s hideout and is let in by his teammates.
He goes inside and discovers a secret place. He sees the planning that went into it and even opens a PC. In it, he sees videos of his mom in treatment with a psychiatrist. We find out that I-Shin was sexually abused by her own father who burned the house with her mother in it. Hence, why she turned out the way she did, and we find out she cried badly and wanted her mom badly. Su-Yeol nearly collapses after finding out and rushes to his place knowing this is where she’ll be.
I-Shin held him hostage planning to kill him but is surprised by her son. Her dad begs for forgiveness and says he’s been forgiven and stopped doing it. Then, the small kid he entrusted with him opens the door and Su-Yeol screams thinking about what he’d done. He nearly kills him. I-Shin stops him, drugs him and takes him out.
She then burns the place down with her and her dad in it. Su-Yeol wakes up and rushes back inside choosing to save his mom, he tries to resuscitate her and succeeds, he even yells out mom. She wakes up, is unhappy and even yells in despair.
The grandpa burns down with his place. Police arrives.
Su-Yeol tells his mom he’ll visit but she declines his offers. She tells him he grew up well and different from her and shouldn’t try to see her. She’s then escorted out. She tells the section chief her son turned out so well and she’s happy for that. She thanks him.
Su-Yeol ends up taking the small kid Eun Ae and even adopts her.
2 years later
I-Shin’s rights have been taken away and she’s now in a cell with other women. She is drawing a photo of Su-Yeol with his two kids and his wife. She hears on the TV that the section chief has been murdered. She gets a visit.
She goes to see her son and asks, “what happened?”
“Queen Mantis” ending explained- FAQ
Does “Queen Mantis” have a happy ending?
No, it has a bittersweet ending. They did catch the notorious copycat killer but two years later, the section chief was brutally murdered.
How does “Queen Mantis” end?
It ends with Su-Yeol visiting his mom again two years after the events, we find out that section chief had died and they need her help.
Who was the copycat killer in “Queen Mantis”?
It was Seo A-Ra or Kang Yeon Jung, the friend of Jung-Yeon who worked with her in her workshop. She was obsessed with the mantis and copied her because she loves her.
Will “Queen Mantis” have a 2nd season?
Its unknown yet. By the looks of “Queen Mantis” ending, it seems like the drama is teasing a 2nd season. As of this writing, SBS has not confirmed the news, once they’re confirmed, we’ll update the blog.
“Queen Mantis” episode 8 ending review
This was sad….. the drama did fumble and tried to divert using very odd plot devices, but I still liked it for the most part.
While I think Su-Yeol is commendable, I always found it weird just how insistent he was that his mother was horrendous. Not to take away from her crimes, but he insists over and over again that she’s horrible. I get his reasoning, but she saved you and her from an abusive dad, and she only killed horrible men that the law refused to punish… This insistence was a weird angle in my opinion. I am not saying I endorse her, but it would be weird to say we don’t understand, but he’s completely shut and hellbent that she’s the worst to have walked the earth.
Its only after he finds out just how bad his mom was abused that he changes course… I mean I get it, but again, I didn’t like it. I would’ve loved a more gray-area situation with him, I think this would’ve made it more interesting.
I am really sad they killed the section chief but I wouldn’t mind a 2nd season of this.
I think there’s no S2 although some things still bothers me like Su Yeol’s wife, or maybe it was just her acting and im reading too much into it.
BUT. Im pretty sure it’s Su Yeol who killed the chief.
While the chief raised Su Yeol, he knew everything. His sin… from start until the end, is being a bystander.
I now understand why the chief was so emotional the whole series and lenient on him and the Mantis.
In my opinion, it’s after watching the hypno therapy that made Su Yeol kill the chief.
The chief obviously knew about the hypno therapy, so he knew all along that Su Yeol’s grandpa assaulted his daughter, the Mantis. AND YET, he let Su Yeol live with his grandpa let him be gaslighted that her mother is the devil.
Even while knowing the grandpa’s evil past, the chief watched and let that old bastard roam free, be a pastor, and endangered many orphan girls. And you call him a police? He is a criminal himself.
He raised Su Yeol to be warm and empathic, but if you look at it deeper, he just used him to feel like he’s paying for his sins of being a bystander.
He was lenient on the Mantis and always agree to her terms because he’s guilty that he let her son be raised the man who assaulted her.
He is obsessed with looking good, like a hero, but tbh he didn’t really helped anyone, just enough to look like he’s helping, Those mothers and kids who got beaten, not one of them was saved.
He is another kind of evil, him dying is finishing everything in the past and punishing every sinner.