According to Nielsen Korea, episode 11 of the Korean drama “When the phone rings” achieved a rating of 8.3% - setting a record for the highest rating since its broadcast.
Episode 11 takes the audience from one surprise to another, especially regarding the identity of the male lead Baek Sa Eon (Yoo Yeon Seok) and the mastermind behind the suffering that he and the female lead Hong Hee Joo (Chae Soo Bin) have to endure.
At the beginning of episode 11, after Hee Joo and the “real Baek Sa Eon” (Park Jae Yoon) drove off a cliff, after many days of police searching, Hee Joo's whereabouts were still not found.
Baek Sa Eon suspects that Ms. Shim Kyu Jin - the biological mother of the "real Baek Sa Eon", wife of Baek Ui Yong - is the one holding Hee Joo captive.
When facing each other, Shim Kyu Jin did not hesitate to say that she knew Baek Sa Eon was the illegitimate child of her father-in-law - Baek Jang Ho. But Sa Eon did not have evidence that she kidnapped Hee Joo so she could not take action.
Later, while presidential candidate Baek Ui Yong was holding a press conference explaining the adoption of Baek Sa Eon, the police suddenly arrived and arrested Ms. Shim Kyu Jin.
She thought she was arrested in connection with Hee Joo's case, but unexpectedly, she was charged with the murder of her father-in-law, through the video recording from Baek Jang Ho's ring before he was murdered.
At the police station, Shim Kyu Jin's secret is exposed. She kept Hee Joo imprisoned to make Sa Eon suffer and torment for a long time, just like she did in the past, suffering because her son was drowned by his father-in-law. The police also found out where Hee Joo was being held.
The fact that Shim Kyu Jin is the “final boss” is not the only shocking thing in episode 11. Previously, Shim Kyu Jin told her close assistant that if anything happened to her, he must kill Hee Joo. But in the end, the assistant did the opposite, released Hee Joo and locked the “real Baek Sa Eon” in the cellar.
At this time, Baek Ui Yong suddenly came with a gun, demanding to open the cellar door to personally kill his mentally ill son. However, he was violently controlled and captured by the "real Baek Sa Eon".
“The real Baek Sa Eon” took her father’s gun and went hunting for Hee Joo outside the mansion. Hee Joo ran out into the street and saw a car coming with Baek Sa Eon in it. She quickly ran to reunite with her husband.
But on the way to the hospital, the “real Baek Sa Eon” stopped their car. He pointed a gun at Sa Eon and forced her to get out of the car to negotiate.
Then he said something to Sa Eon that made him look at Hee Joo with pain in his eyes. The police also came and surrounded both of them. A sudden gunshot rang out, it was unclear who was hit.
At the end of the episode, Hee Joo sits huddled in a dark room. She keeps calling Sa Eon but gets no response. Then, she suddenly receives a call from an unknown number. The other end of the line doesn’t say anything, Hee Joo asks, “Is that you?”
The episode ended with many questions from the audience, such as whether Baek Sa Eon was shot or not, and whether Sa Eon and Hee Joo had a happy ending?
The final episode of “When the Phone Rings” (episode 12) will air tonight (January 4).
