The SBS Friday-Saturday drama premiered Sept. 5 and quickly hooked viewers with meticulous plotting, an inventive structure, bold actor transformations and razor-sharp direction. By its second episode, the series had already cracked double-digit ratings, topping 10% and signaling a breakout run.
A major reason for the heat? The commanding return of all-time legend Ko Hyun-jung. She plays Jung Yi-shin, a serial killer dubbed “Mantis” who targets five men suspected of violence against women or child abuse. With a transformed look―and icy, unreadable gaze―Ko owns every frame she’s in.
To the public, Jung Yi-shin is a brutal murderer. To her son, Cha Soo-yeol (Jang Dong-yoon), she’s a figure to resent for life. And to some, she’s practically a deity. In episodes 1 and 2, prime copycat suspect Seo Gu-wan (Lee Tae-gu) idolizes her with cult-like devotion. But why did she start killing in the first place-
Ahead of episode 3 on Sept. 12, the production team unveiled a sequence from Jung Yi-shin’s past that zeroes in on her first murder, ramping up the intrigue.
In the images, Jung Yi-shin steps outside late at night, scanning her surroundings with mounting panic. In the next shot, her once-white dress is drenched in crimson―its source unknown―while blood streams from a well where she’s slumped in shock. The final still freezes on a ghastly grin, her face and body soaked in red, equal parts terrifying and mesmerizing.
“The truth behind Mantis’s first kill―reviled by some, revered by others―will finally be revealed in tonight’s episode,” the producers teased. “It’s a demanding scene that required Ko Hyun-jung to pour every ounce of emotion into it while covered head to toe in blood, and she delivered a performance that reminds you exactly why she’s a legend. We hope viewers will tune in.”
The moment Jung Yi-shin becomes the Mantis―and the harrowing reason for that first kill―unfolds in episode 3, airing Friday at 9:50 p.m. KST on SBS.
(SBS Entertainment News | Kang Sun-ae)