The Two Time Cards
Family Relations
Following last week’s big cliffhanger, Alice returns this week with a surprising amount of humour. Alongside a couple of big action set pieces and twists, this sci-fi thriller is really shaping up to be a memorable sci-fi entry. Episode 3 of Alice begins in the classroom just as before. Jin-Gyeom throws his arms around the woman he believes is his Mother. Only, she obviously doesn’t know who he is. Upon learning that he’s a police officer, the conversation doesn’t go well as Tae-Yi eventually kicks him out. Jin-Gyeom arrives at a restaurant and starts eating food… until Tae-Yi’s sister Tae-Yun arrives and asks for some money. It turns out she’s the daughter of this owner and Jin-Gyeom senses this. Outside, the duo meet up and discuss her sister’s personality. He mainly gets everything wrong but some of Tae-Yi’s quirks are definitely correct, which gets Tae-Yi and Tae-Yun talking.
Alice Headquarters
Meanwhile, Min-Hyuk learns about Jin-Gyeom’s whereabouts and sends a drone out to search for him. With all of Alice rallied around this singular case, our men in black – led by Seung-Pyo and Hye-Soo – confront Jin-Gyeom and take the time card back. As Min-Hyuk arrives too, a gunfight ensues between Jin-Gyeom and him. The commotion brings the police rushing to the scene but Alice disappear before they arrive. Despite Jin-Gyeom surviving this skirmish – and still holding the other time card – he’s warned against following them.
The Time Card
Jin-Gyeom takes the time card and heads back to see Tae-Yi. Although she doesn’t believe in time travel, they do share theories about the drone they both witnessed. For now, the pair decide to drink leading them to get pretty drunk. Jin-Gyeom refuses to give up this line of inquiry regarding her being a time traveler. As Jin-Gyeom passes out, Do-Yeon hilariously rushes over after berating Tae-Yi for what’s happened. When Jin-Gyeom awakens in the morning, he receives a bowl full of food from Do-Yeon. When she questions his motives, Jin-Gyeom loses his patience and asks her to leave.
Electrical Disturbances
Eventually Tae-Yi agrees to look into the time card for Jin-Gyeom. In her office, she places the card down but it immediately starts causing electrical interference with her phone. At the same time, Jin-Gyeom meets his boss who tells him to drop the case – especially that of Eun-Soo as the family want closure. Only, that’s easier said than done given Eun-Soo has a strange rash on her arm. Back at Alice, Min-Hyuk tells Eun-Soo’s Mother to leave. As she’s driven to the departure gate by one of the Alice operatives, a gunshot pierces the man’s skull. Everything is starting to come unraveled now and as Eun-Soo heads back through time, this time traveler sits with her daughter in bed. As the present-day Sun-Hee awakens, she’s choked out for “killing her daughter”.
A Dead Body
This inevitably brings the police out when her body is found at a junkyard. Only, this obviously isn’t the real Sun-Hee as it’s the time traveler from the future. As Sun-Hee’s free to go, Jin-Gyeom follows her, believing something isn’t right here. As he sits with her, he remembers the words she originally said and realizes that this isn’t the same Sun-Hee sitting opposite. With Eun-Soo’s condition worsening, Sun-Hee starts packing things up. Hyeon-Seok heads over to check up on her and sees for himself that things aren’t right. Catching her out for lying, he eventually finds the little girl burning up and covered in nasty blister-filled spots. When he turns around, Sun-Hee plunges a knife in his stomach. While Hyeon-Seok is take to the hospital for surgery, his life hangs in the balance. Outside, Jin-Gyeom is approached by Tae-Yi who tells him she has a lot to say. As she asks him for time, he starts crying while Do-Yeon watches on from afar.
The Episode Review
With more humour this time, the main crux of drama comes from Alice as it appears Sun-Hee is responsible for Eun-Soo’s illness. If that’s true, then it forms an interesting and cruel paradox with this family. While there’s still some decent action – namely the shootout in the library – this episode really focuses on the characters instead. The parts with Do-Yeon and Tae-Yi were really well written and the moments involving Do-Yeon suitably funny. While not quite as strong as last week’s episodes, Alice continues to deliver the goods and produce an enthralling and gripping sci-fi series.
