The first episode of Queen Mantis, episode 1, opens on October 12, 2025, with a senior detective, Choi Jung-ho, arriving at a crime scene where the victim’s tongue has been found stuffed up his rear end. This reminds him of a case of serial killings from the 2000s where the victims were found in a similar state. The killer was dubbed the Mantis because the female counterpart of that particular insect is known for ripping off its male counterpart’s head. She kind of achieved vigilante status because she singularly went after men who were accused of assaulting the women in their family. After a long while, though, the perpetrator was nabbed and imprisoned for life because, well, murder is murder. The official report that was released to the public stated that the Mantis died while serving her sentence, but the truth is that she is still alive and biding her time in Anwon Prison, situated in the Gyeonggi Province. Detective Kim Na-hui, the second-in-command of Jung-ho’s team, is of the opinion that a copycat killer is in their midst. While Kim faints trying to prove her theory, Jung-ho meets with the former serial killer, Jeong I-shin, face-to-face with the aim of asking for help with the case at hand. In addition to all that, we are introduced to Cha Su-yeol, an officer who deals with junkies on a daily basis, who is roped into the aforementioned ordeal. Why? Let’s find out.
Spoiler Alert
Jung-ho Has A Proposal
First things first, Cha Su-yeol is Jeong I-shin’s son. His original name is Jeong-ho. He was brought up by his grandfather, Jeong Hyeon-nam, shortly after I-shin was sent to prison. His name was changed because if the world knew that he was the son of a serial killer, then they’d probably torment him until he killed himself. Su-yeol probably learned the truth about his origins at some point in his life and decided to become a crime fighter so as to erase the stench of his mother’s crimes from his memory. Unfortunately, due to the nature of his job, he ends up coming across a girl, Eun-ae, with a dead father and a volatile junkie mother, which is something that reminds him of his own past. Secondly, Jung-ho is under a lot of pressure from the Commissioner of Police because he and Jung-ho are the only two people alive who handled the Mantis case. Therefore, if word gets out that the Mantis is still alive, they’re the ones who’ll have to face the music. So, nabbing the Mantis copycat killer before the press starts asking questions about whether or not the Mantis is back is of utmost importance. Thirdly and finally, Jung-ho has to not only convince Su-yeol that the only way to nab the Mantis copycat killer is by getting the OG Mantis’ help but also compel Su-yeol to be a part of the investigation team. Why? Because I-shin has said that she’ll convey her expert opinion to Su-yeol, and Su-yeol alone. Since it’s a copycat killer they’re dealing with, he is expected to replicate the crimes that happened 23 years ago. And without Su-yeol’s help, it’ll be impossible to figure out what the copycat’s next step will be. Of course, this sends Su-yeol into a fit of rage because he has spent ages trying to leave his mother behind, and now Jung-ho is telling him to relive that trauma. He declines Jung-ho’s offer and goes off to be with his wife, Lee Jung-yeon.
Cha Su-yeol’s Apprehensions
When the Mantis copycat killer strikes again, Su-yeol walks back on his initial decision and goes with Jung-ho to the containment residence where he’ll have his chats with I-shin, which is also the place where she’ll stay until the investigation is complete. Much like his mother, Su-yeol has one condition too: news of his collaboration with the Mantis, who just so happens to be his mother, can’t leak, because it’ll not only ruin his life but Jung-yeon’s as well. Once Jung-ho confirms that they’re taking every measure to maintain the secrecy around this mission, Su-yeol steps into the containment residence. The first criticism that Su-yeol has regarding the place is that, despite having an electric fence and remote-controlled metal door, it has only one person, Officer Kim Woo-tae from the Guard Division of Public Security, looking after the whole establishment. He understands that more people means more chances of a leak. But one person doing this job without a break has an equal chance of messing it up, thereby rendering the act of hiring just Woo-tae to guard a dangerous criminal pretty pointless. Sadly, Su-yeol can only hope for the best and prepare for the worst, that being his mother.
Su-yeol and I-shin’s Bitter Reunion
Su-yeol and I-shin’s first interaction goes about as smoothly as one can expect. Su-yeol does his best to restrict the discussion to the dossier about the Mantis copycat killer, while I-shin keeps trying to make things personal. The ultimate result isn’t all that fruitful, because I-shin says that she needs more photographs of the crime scenes to give a better analysis of the perpetrator. This irritates Su-yeol a lot, and he tries to get into his mother’s head by taunting her about how she must be feeling excited that she has an admirer emulating her work. I-shin retaliates by giving a really graphic description of Su-yeol’s birth. Seeing that it is sending him over the edge, Jung-ho decides to bring the session to an end. On a parting note, I-shin says that she wants to visit the latest crime scene, because that’ll help her help the authorities better. Su-yeol doesn’t want to let her out of that containment residence, but Jung-ho is so desperate that he is willing to give I-shin a chance. Back in the day, I-shin promised to give a confession if she got whatever she wanted during her time in prison. It is because of her confession that the country was able to host (technically Korea co-hosted it with Japan) the 2002 Football World Cup matches without having anyone worry about a serial killer on the prowl. That’s why Jung-ho believes that I-shin will come through this time as well. To get back his bearings, Su-yeol goes to have a chat with Mr. Jeong, his grandfather. It’s revealed that the old timer has taken Eun-ae under his wing as well, at least until Su-yeol finds a real family for her, and both of them are thriving. Well, Eun-ae is still a bit traumatized by Su-yeol almost killing her mother, but the thing is, if he didn’t kneecap her, Eun-ae would have died for sure. Mr. Jeong tries to convey that fact to Su-yeol, but he sees his trigger-happy nature as a reflection of his mother’s murderous nature.
Su-yeol Joins The Task Force
Now, while Mr. Jeong calmly explains that it’s fine to feel conflicted after shooting somebody, he absolutely loses his composure when he learns that Su-yeol is working with his mother to solve the Mantis copycat killer case. Hence, this time Su-yeol has to calm down Mr. Jeong so that they can both go about their day. Su-yeol officially joins Jung-ho’s task force as squad leader, a position that was supposed to go to Kim. Of course, he doesn’t feel instantly welcomed by the team, but as he begins analyzing the latest Mantis copycat crime scene, everyone realizes that he knows his stuff. During a semi-heated discussion between Su-yeol and Kim, two important points are brought up: the copycat killer is adding his own flair, probably to prove that he is better than the OG, and while his first victim fits the OG’s pattern of killing abusive men, the second one doesn’t. The task force assumes that, while he might continue to show more individuality, he’ll probably stick to the theme of the OG’s murders, which means that his third murder will involve drowning, because that’s what the OG Mantis did. Is that helpful? No. What are they supposed to do? Monitor every bathhouse in the district? That’s why Kim brings up the topic of consulting I-shin. Since Su-yeol is already doing that, and he doesn’t want to reveal that fact to his team, he states that he doesn’t want to rely on a killer to catch another killer. Before Kim can put in another word, Jung-ho shuts her down to delay an inevitable conflict. After that, Kim, Su-yeol, Jung-ho, and the rest of the task force head over to the nearby restaurant to have some drinks and good food because those are the best ingredients when one needs to break down some walls. They seem to be having a lot of fun, but it remains unclear if Su-yeol has truly been welcomed into the task force.
I-shin helps Su-yeol
At the end of Queen Mantis episode 1, Su-yeol and Jung-ho bring I-shin to the scene of the second crime. As expected, she takes great pleasure in placing herself in the shoes of the copycat killer and recreating the murder. But is any of her analysis productive? Well, yeah, kinda. According to I-shin, the copycat killer is referencing images of her crime scenes that were published by the media. However, the picture of I-shin’s second crime scene was flipped when it was published in the newspaper. If the copycat killer based his second crime on that, his crime scene would have looked like the flipped version of the original crime scene. The fact that his design is so similar to I-shin’s original work means that he has access to court or investigative records, where images of the crime scene aren’t flipped (maybe for copyright purposes). And the mirror that he used–which Su-yeol initially thought was the copycat killer’s way of adding his personal flair to the crime scene–was a hint that the copycat killer was aware the original image had been mirror-reversed. Which means that they have to look at individuals who have recently accessed I-shin’s documents. At the very least, that’ll give them some names. By the way, while these guys have been analyzing the copycat killer’s previous crime scene, he has already moved on to his next victim. Based on the teaser for episode 2 of Queen Mantis, it seems like the copycat killer is dancing to I-shin’s tune, and this whole thing is an elaborate escape plan constructed by none other than I-shin. How come she’s itching to leave her cozy prison cell after 23 years, though? Well, my best guess is that she has been seeing a rise in abusive men in South Korea. She knows that the police aren’t doing a great job of controlling this epidemic. That’s why she wants to get back into action and kill some abusers. Anyway, those are just my thoughts on Queen Mantis episode 1. If you have any opinions on the same, feel free to share them in the comments section below.
