Dear X Episode 7-8 Review
Director: Lee Eung-bok and Park So-hyun
Date Created: 2025-11-21 01:44
4.5
Dear X Episode 7-8 Review: This drama has become so addictive, all because of Baek Ah-jin herself. She is a masterclass of unpredictability. Ah-jin is a creation so layered and unnerving that she becomes the engine of every conflict. Helmed by Lee Eung-bok and Park So-hyun, the drama continues to push the boundary of psychological thrillers with a razor-sharp screenplay written by Choi Ja-won.
Based on Ban Ji Un’s webtoon ì¹œì• í•˜ëŠ” X, the 12 episodes see Kim Yoo-jung play the chilling yet magnetic Baek Ah-jin, Kim Young-dae as the conflicted Jun-seo, Kim Do-hoon in the role of Kim Jae-oh, and Hwang In-yeop as the character of Heo In-gang. Supporting performances by Lee Yul-eum, Kim Yi-kyung, Bae Soo-bin, Kim Yoo-mi, and Kim Ji-young further enrich this dark and twisted storytelling canvas.
Dear X Episode 7 Recap
Episode 7 of Dear X opens with increasing tension. Lim Hee-kook, cousin to Le-na and a dogged reporter, manages to take secret shots of Ah-jin and In-gang kissing, while Jun-seo and Le-na leave a bar reeling from a fight Jun-seo started after hearing strangers insult Ah-jin. The brewing chaos sets the tone for the rest of the episode, spiralling quickly into a storm of scandal, manipulation, and calculated revenge.
The leaked photos reach Mi-ri, who does not waste any time and warns Ah-jin that the dating controversy might bring down the image she has built up with such effort. Ah-jin coolly maintains that her feelings for In-gang are serious and asks Mi-ri to trust her strategy. She then contacts Reporter Lim herself. She employs her trademark slyness to make Reporter Lim flip sides and work for her instead of with Le-na. First, she promises privileged access, exclusive news, and photos about her relationship, thus turning a threat into a publicity tool.
Predictably, word of Ah-jin and In-gang’s romance gets out fast, but to Ah-jin’s delight, it skews more positive than scandalous. As the public starts to warm up to them, Ah-jin turns her attention to the next target: Le-na. She enlists Jae-oh to take Hyang-i out, where he manages to secure a recording of Hyang-i admitting that Le-na once drove drunk and got into an accident, after which Hyang-i was made to take the fall for it. When Mi-ri urges Le-na to lie low for a while, Ah-jin releases the incriminating footage at just the right moment. The fallout is swift: Le-na’s reputation goes bust, and Ah-jin tells her to retire from the business for good.
The drama then jumps a year into the future, and Ah-jin and In-gang are in a seemingly perfect relationship. But Jun-seo is still in contact with Le-na, who manipulates him to show up for the movie premiere of Ah-jin. There, he remembers how Ah-jin once promised that she would only date In-gang for a year. Such thoughts keep him perturbed as he returns home to Jae-oh, who had been waiting for him with questions regarding Ah-jin’s silence. Jun-seo also disregards his mother’s call, Ji-sun, who later breaks into his house and finds out his financial involvement with Longstar Entertainment. Confronting Ah-jin, Ji-sun is forced to retreat when reminded she still hasn’t told Jun-seo the truth about his parentage.
Trouble escalates when Ah-jin’s school nemesis, Sung-hee, sees her online and posts accusations about her sordid behaviour. The accusations momentarily cause a stir until the former classmates, Jae-oh included, expose Sung-hee’s hypocrisy, and the post is taken down. Later that night, In-gang goes away, and Ah-jin gets sick. To my surprise, it’s In-gang’s grandmother, Hong Kyung-suk, who comes to take care of her. Rather than repulsing her, Kyung-suk accepts her, even if the defaming rumours were valid. It’s a touching exchange, giving the episode some unexpected emotional heft.
Meanwhile, In-gang becomes more serious about marrying Ah-jin and having children. On his trip, he tells Mi-ri that he intends to propose to Ah-jin. Meanwhile, café owner Choi Jung-ho, whom Ah-jin put behind bars earlier, is also finally released from prison. He meets up with Ah-jin to let her know and greets Kyung-suk, too, since they met when she volunteered at the prison.
Of course, the Dear X episode 7 crescendos when Ah-jin and Jun-seo finally meet again. From the heated exchange, it’s clear that Jun-seo orchestrated a contract with which to force Ah-jin to star in the film adaptation of his book. Things get very heated as Le-na cuts into their private meeting, making things much worse. Later, on Ah-jin’s birthday, what should have been a romantic dinner with In-gang is ruined by the presence of Le-na and Jun-seo. Le-na exposes the former connection between Ah-jin and Jun-seo, which sends shockwaves to In-gang.
The last minutes are escalated into tragedy. After an urgent call that Kyung-suk found her old diary, the one Ah-jin had stolen, In-gang asks Ah-jin to check on his grandmother. Jae-oh drives her there, while Jun-seo isn’t too far behind. A thud startles them suddenly. They hurry in to find Ah-jin standing at the top of the staircase and Kyung-suk below, motionless. The episode closes with the horrifying implication that the elderly woman may be dead.
Also Read: The Son of a Thousand Men Review: Soft, Symbolic Journey That Feels Emotionally Thin
Dear X Episode 8 Recap
Episode 8 of Dear X starts on a grim note, confirming the worst: Kyung-suk dies despite the best efforts to save her. Ah-jin looks visibly shaken outside the operating room, showing a sign of rare weakness. Grief overwhelms In-gang as the funeral brings the family together. His brother, In-mo, quietly digs up information about Ah-jin’s past and asks Choi Jung-ho about her involvement in their father’s death. Surprisingly enough, Jung-ho lets go of grudges. He assures him Ah-jin was blameless and even goes so far as to wish her well, admitting that his prison years mellowed his urge for revenge a lot. Ah-jin coldly remarks that he should have taken his chance when he had one.
With Kyung-suk gone, In-gang clings to Ah-jin even more desperately. His growing dependence becomes suffocating, especially when he begins shopping for wedding rings and fueling rumours about their engagement. This gossip soon reaches industry insiders. One director who wants to hire Ah-jin mentions that he heard the speculations about her private life and fears that these will somehow affect her future work. This is where Ah-jin’s behaviour begins to dramatically change.
Determined to sever ties, Ah-jin cuts abruptly through their relationship. It’s a devastating shock to In-gang, who cannot fathom her sudden coldness. Rather than soften the blow, Ah-jin explains how she had stolen Kyung-suk’s diary and implies that the elderly woman died horrified by what she read. Though the truth is decidedly more complicated, Ah-jin allows In-gang to believe the worst, widening the emotional distance.
After Ah-jin leaves him, Mi-ri finds In-gang spiralling. He insists on drinking to numb the heartache, and against her better judgment, she drinks with him. But the next morning, when Mi-ri returns with hangover soup, she finds a heart-shattering sight: In-gang has taken his own life in the bathtub. It sends her reeling, and when Jun-seo confronts Ah-jin with news of the death, she displays very little remorse, convincing him that she might have orchestrated everything.
Jun-seo is determined to find out what really happened to Kyung-suk’s fall and goes over the CCTV footage that Jae-oh had retrieved earlier. What he sees sends him into shock. Ah-jin had told the truth: the grandmother really forgave her and treated her as family. She lost her balance while trying to show Ah-jin a kitten outside the door. It was an accident, not murder.
The Dear X episode 8 ends with yet another threatening note. A mysterious man who was somehow connected to those who had followed Ah-jin surfaces again. Immediately after Ah-jin breaks up with In-gang, Jae-oh notices a suspicious car following her. When he confronts the driver, several cars appear containing men armed with weapons. Jae-oh gets beaten up terribly and ends up in the hospital. He can spot one important thing, though-a cross tattooed on one of the attackers’ wrists, signalling a dangerous organisation that has something to do with Ah-jin’s past. The last scene leaves the audience thinking over one question: who is behind this threat?
Dear X Episode 7-8 Review
Episodes 7 and 8 of Dear X kdrama are the type of emotional roller coaster that feels like the writers took heartbreak, obsession, grief, and pure psychological madness, threw them into a blender, and said, “Let’s see who survives.” These two episodes don’t just escalate the story; they light it on fire. Ah-jin’s world goes from glittering spotlight to suffocating darkness, and to watch her navigate it is to witness a slow-motion car crash where you can’t look away.
The romance that once felt so surprisingly soft and sincere with In-gang unravels in a spectacularly tragic fashion. One minute, he’s daydreaming about wedding rings like a man hopelessly in love, and the next, Ah-jin slices through his heart with cold precision. Their breakup isn’t just painful; it’s the emotional equivalent of someone dropping a chandelier in the middle of a love story. And then comes the funeral, the drinking, and that devastating turn which makes his arc conclude in such a sudden way that it leaves one stunned, breathless, and at least a little furious at the universe.
Meanwhile, Jun-seo and Jae-oh spiral into their own moral panic, flailing about trying to work out whether Ah-jin is a misunderstood or a beautifully dressed catastrophe that destroys everything she touches. The reveal of the CCTV footage is a gut punch-the truth is almost tender, even tragic-and yet Ah-jin’s reaction afterwards keeps her wrapped in delicious ambiguity. She’s a storm wearing lipstick, a woman you fear and admire in the same breath.
But the biggest plot twist of them all? Some shadowy new threat is muscling its way into the storyline like the cameo of a full-blown action movie. Men in black, weapons, a cross tattoo-suddenly, the drama veers to a darker lane, hinting at secrets deeper than any character dared uncover. Episode 8 ends with that perfect Dear X brand of suspense: a mix of dread and adrenaline, an irresistible feeling that has everything on the verge of blowing up.
If the first six episodes were laying the foundation, these two episodes tore the walls down and screamed, “Time to get serious.” Now there are only four episodes left. The anticipation is electric. How much more has Ah-jin’s past been hiding? There is one thing for sure: the next chapters aren’t just going to be intense; they’re going to be unforgettable.
