Following a weak third episode, Bitter Blood decides to pump-up the action this time as father and son dealt with the finishing blow, and a surprising character enters at the end.
Here is a quick recap of Bitter Blood: Episode 4
Shimao and Sahara are having an impromptu self-defense demonstration and Sahara is being beaten badly by his father. Shimao delivers his final blow, using his most-loved accessory, and throws his jacket to Sahara as he attempts to stab him using a knife.
Sahara gets a moment of surprise as the jacket covers his vision and once his free, Shimao gives him a tackle (it’s actually a wrestling move, I guess) that had Sahara face-down on the floor.
After which, Shimao proposes that CID to have mixed-martial arts as their recreational proposal for Ginza Police Department annual event. Chief Kageyama wants their division’s proposal to be chosen since it means that they will be given a grant.
Chief appoints Sahara for the task of making a recreational proposal, an unavoidable fate for a rookie; and Taka tells him that he was given the same task for the past three years. Shimao decides to pitch-in his mixed martial arts plan but is eventually ignored by Sahara.
Elsewhere, some sort of bullying is happening involving a high school student named Kota. Not only is he being beaten to a pulp, the guys also took his money after they treated himlike a punching bag. As he goes home, he witness a man stabbing two people; he immediately run and hide, but not fast enough for the killer not to see his face. The killer also sees something interesting, Kota’s school pin. Someone is having a bad night.
Kota goes home, all alone in his house, as he watches the news about the murder of two people. He tries to call the police but he recalls the killer’s words that he’ll kill him if he tells anyone. He looks at his phone with a forlorn expression, unsure whether to call his father.
Back at CID, father and son are task to interrogate someone who attacked a celebrity after the said celebrity broke his cell phone. Apparently, the guy took a picture of the celebrity and uploaded it on SNS to get “likes”, which goes as high as 1000 likes. Shimao is totally clueless about the mind of the youngsters so Sahara has to explain stuff like SNS, likes, and getting popular in social media. Shimao was like, “how is that he can be popular?” and stuff that I actually agree with Shimao’s argument.
Anyway, at the division’s vendo machine area, Sahara is contemplating between the Gentle coffee (he likes that now?) and pure cocoa when Maeda interferes and treats Sahara a juice. It’s her way of paying back after that incident with Kaizuka. Sahara is speechless with this gesture and Maeda thinks that he’s not satisfied with a mere juice so she invites him for dinner. Sahara shyly agrees and goes on doing his rookie tasks throughout the day as he waits for his shift to end to meet Maeda.
On Sahara’s way to the restaurant, he ran into two incidents. First is colliding with a glasses guy who dropped his cellphone and gets broken in the process. Sahara apologizes and gives the guy his calling card just in case he needs help in any way. The second one, he sees someone getting bullied. The kids scrammed upon learning that Sahara is a police (IKR, he doesn’t look that way) and he helps the kid, who turns-out to be Kota. He asks if he is being bullied, which he denies ofcourse.
Kota leaves as Sahara receives a text message that Maeda is penalizing him with 32,000 Yen since he is 32 minutes late. When Sahara arrives at the restaurant, Maeda is no longer there, which is such a shame because Maeda was just in the washroom because she suddenly decided to let her hair loose.
The next day, Sahara awkwardly arrives at CID where Maeda gives him a cold shoulder and even points to the division’s monthly goal, which is to be punctual.
Elsewhere, Kota goes home school and the killer is just few meters away from him holding Kota’s school pin. Kota drops-by a bookstore where Sahara sees him and talks about how his sister, Shinobu, has the same university’s exam booklet that Kota is browsing. Sahara even volunteers his sister’s booklet that he can let Kota have it. Kota says he’d rather buy a new one until his eyes widen seeing the killer just outside the bookstore. He immediately turns to Sahara for cover and says that he might get the booklet after all.
At Sahara’s place, he gives Shinobu’s exam booklet to Kota and gives his calling card just in case Kota has something to say that he can’t tell his parents. Upon looking at Sahara’s card, Kota confirms if he is a detective at Ginza, Sahara agrees; and was surprised to learn that Kota is actually the Chief’s son. Kota asks if his dad is reliable, Sahara agrees, saying that he can even talk to the Chief about his worries than with his parent, which he meant Shimao. XD
Speaking of Chief and Shimao, the two are having some emo moment at granny’s restaurant where they talk about their sons turning to them for help.
Anyway, Shinobu frantically looks for her exam booklet, which Sahara casually says that he has given it away. Then she mentions about an envelope and that he (Kota) must at least not look at it. When Sahara teases little sis if it was a love letter, she locks herself in the bathroom. XD. True enough, Kota has that love letter, unopened, and calls Sahara the next day to return the letter; he also adds that he has something important to say when someone purposely bumps at him.
Soon, Kota finds himself bleeding on his left arm with the killer posed to do more harm. Sahara instructs him to run immediately to his apartment.
Before Kota reaches Sahara’s apartment, Sahara receives a call from Shimao saying that he must come at CID at once for there is an emergency. That emergency has the entire station’s officers position in a defense line complete with battle gear while Shimao is standing in front of them, a gun poised on his head, by the glasses guy that Sahara collided earlier.
Sahara says that he is also in his own emergency; a high school boy has been attacked and is being chased by a man with a knife. That high school boy is Kageyama Kota, second year at Josei High school, and incidentally, Chief Kageyama’s son.
The glasses guy also threatens Sahara that he must come immediately or he will kill his colleague. However, Sahara is too focus in his own emergency so he was just, “what is going on?”
Sahara tries to convey to Chief what Sahara told him but glasses guy tells him that he can’t talk. So, Sahara starts mouthing the words in silence, but Chief can’t get what he’s trying to convey. Taka thought he gets it and says that glasses guy’s gun is fake; he can clearly see the black paint being chipped-off.
Taka tells glasses guy that his gun is fake and this prompts glasses guy to fire to prove that his gun is not fake, making Taka draw back to the defense line. XD
Kota successfully reaches Sahara’s home, albeit being stabbed and bleeding, and tells Sahara about the murder he witnessed three days ago. Sahara brings him up to his apartment while the killer traces Kota’s whereabouts using Kota’s own blood as a trail.
At CID, Chief Kageyama is still unsuccessful in deciphering Shimao’s lip movements. Chaser decides to interfere and says that he studied lip reading so he knows if someone is talking bad about him even they are few meters away. LOL, you can see some of the officers getting awkward after Chaser’s revelation. So, Chaser reads Shimao’s lips and finally makes-out what he is saying. He shows it to the Chief who is either shock or that he’s confident that Sahara can help him.
At Sahara’s place, he places a bandage on Kota’s wound and goes to hiding before the killer was able to enter his apartment.
Back at CID, they decide to stall time by asking glasses guy what Sahara did to anger him. So, glasses guy vents-out his frustration that Sahara broke his gaming console (?) just when he reach 2nd place in Monster’s sniper after playing for 1000 hours. The guys sigh on how trivial it is and this just gets glasses guy angrier. Shimao must be thinking that it’s the same as SNS so he’s like, “I know that you want ‘likes’ and so…” XD…
If glasses guy is becoming more agitated, the killer is casually searching for Sahara and Kota in Sahara’s apartment, he searches their possible hiding places to no avail.
At CID, it’s Skunk’s turn to show-off where he makes a dramatic speech on how glasses guy’s mom work hard just to raise him…blah, blah, blah… All of which has little to no effect to glasses guy and the guys at CID says that Skunk is powerless if he can’t get closer to the suspect to smell his breath. XD
Glasses guy goes on with his frustration of losing his precious game until Chaser steps-up. I find it weird that they need to stand on the center than behind their defense line every time they make a speech. XD. Chaser hates listening to glasses guy as he braggs and for his information, Chaser is the 1st place at Monster’s Sniper and he only played for 200 hours. Taka and Skunk actually feels sorry for glasses guy because he has been pushed mentally by Chaser.
Meanwhile, Shimao also has enough and mouths to Chaser to make glasses guy shoot and Shimao will tackle him. Taka stands and as his expertise, he gives glasses guy a nickname- Gamer. However, as Gamer lost to Chaser, he will be “Shitty Gamer”. He orders those behind defense life to join him in chanting “Shitty Gamer” until Shitty Gamer fires and Shimao makes his move.
Back at Sahara’s apartment, the killer thought that he has found Sahara and Kota’s hiding place, only to be misled as Sahara instructs Kota to run as he fights the killer.
Back at CID, Shimao was able to make Shitty Gamer lose his gun but he still has a knife (surprise!) and father and son is indeed fated as Sahara is also fighting the killer with a knife.
More fighting follows, Sahara orders Kota to run and as he speaks with his father, Chief Kageyama tells him that it is the officer’s duty to protect the citizen. Instead of running away like he always does, Kota decides to tackle the killer giving Sahara an opening.
More action continues and in the end, Shimao and Sahara delivers the final blow to their respective opponent using the “jacket trick” followed by the wrestling move, and eventually captures both suspects. I actually like this part especially when Shimao was pushed-away by his colleagues after his capture with Shitty Gamer with the rest of Ginza department ganging-up to Shitty Gamer.
Sahara arrives with Kota, now perfectly bandage, and Kota gushes how he wants to be a policeman like Sahara. Consequently, Chief Kageyama thanks Sahara and feels proud that Kota didn’t run away, he also tells his son that he can rely on him.
Sahara enters CID where Shimao casually waives his injured hand, which he blames on Sahara. As for CID’s recreational proposal, he decides to go with “robbers and cops” game and Shimao argues how juvenile it is and why does “robbers” must be first when it should be “cops and robbers” and not the other way around.
As they argue, two officers from other department arrive informing them that the proposal from Community Safety Division was chosen in light of the hostage crisis. To Shimao’s surprise and ire, CSD proposed “mixed-martial arts” and he tells everyone that if all of them have gone with his earlier idea, they could have gotten the grant.
Blaming aside, Sahara’s safety calls for a celebration and as they go out to celebrate, an old man arrives, bleeding from his left side, and tells Shimao and Sahara to be careful.
He passed-out as they call-out to him, “Father” and “Grandpa”, respectively.
Comments
I’m glad that Bitter Blood is able to bounce back after a crappy 3rd episode. This episode is not only funnier but we get to see them actually do some fighting scenes. Watabe (Shimao) really have a knack in comedy, he just have the perfect expression that cross between funny and sarcastic.
Sahara (Sato) looks like he was struggling in his fighting scenes or I’m guessing it’s all part of the act to make Shimao the better fighter. Maeda as a judo national champion looks fishy after she was caught easily by Kaizuka in the last episode. Anyway, I do like that the writers inserted a story about Kageyama’s son though they didn’t expand on why Chief seldom goes home and would rather stay at CID. Moreover, what was that Kageyama’s expression after learning that his son is in danger? His son is in danger yet he was still so composed. I’m assuming that he trusts Sahara to save his son, but Sahara even looks more worried than Chief does.
This episode also teases the audience on a possibility of something romantic between the two rookies. I never really see it coming; I thought that Maeda will play that strong female character in a male-dominated division; nothing more, nothing less. Or maybe, I’m just assuming things on my own.
Anyway, the most surprising character is Shimao’s father, who also happens to be Sahara’s granddad, at the end of the episode. Though I guess that it’s given that he (father/granddad) would appear to since this drama is all about being “partners in blood” so let’s see how father/granddad’s appearance with a stab wound, no less, will affect the rest of the story. Obviously, I have a hunch who did it and I’m sure that it’s the same as yours.
Overall, Bitter Blood continues to try to be interesting by inserting a new character, which will hopefully keep this drama afloat with the ratings staying at average.
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Usual disclaimer applies.
Dorama Doll 
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