Legalizing firearm ownership for the masses continues to be a controversial subject. Countries that do not have strict gun laws have witnessed a rise in gun-related violence, and yet there’s always people who strongly believe owning guns can actually bring peace! Netflix’s South Korean series, Trigger, largely talks about how easy access to weapons can have a detrimental effect on society. In Trigger, South Korea, known for its strict gun laws, is under threat when there is a sudden influx of illegal firearms from an unidentified source. At the center of the action thriller is police officer Lee Do. Unlike other police officers on duty, Lee Do preferred carrying a taser over a gun. He strongly believed that a gun could never be the solution to any problem, and he trusted his tackling skills over mindlessly pulling the trigger. As reports of common people with firearms increased, Lee Do took it upon himself to find out who was behind this madness.
Spoiler Alert
How did the illegal firearms trade operate?
After nabbing a mass shooter, Lee Do learned from him that there were many like him who owned firearms in South Korea. The fact that the shooter was a student with barely any money in his bank account suggested that someone was supplying for free to those they believed were desperate for action. The shooter had confessed that the weapons were sent to him by courier, but the records showed that he hadn’t received any packages in the last three years. It became evident to Lee that there were men who were leaving these packages at the doors of their targets. While going through the trash outside the shooter’s apartment, Lee noticed a symbol on one of the boxes, and he remembered seeing the exact same symbol somewhere else—at Won-seong’s apartment. The man was an offender out on parole and was being monitored through an ankle bracelet. After talking to a senior officer, he learned that Won-seong had broken his parole regulations and was on the run.
Lee decided to check his apartment, and that was when he crossed paths with Moon Baek. The man claimed to be an innocent victim of the illegal gunrunning. He’d received a list of addresses with names and phone numbers along with a box of bullets, and he figured he was expected to retrieve the gun from one of the addresses. That was how he ended up at the apartment, but by then Won-seong had already left with the firearms. Their conversation was interrupted when a thug tried to break into the house, and after tying the thug to a pole, they headed to find Won-seong in Moon Baek’s car. With the help of surveillance cameras, Lee tracked down the criminal and figured that he was heading to the Gyeongin Seobu Police Station. Lee was against using guns, but when Won-seong started to shoot the officers at the station, he felt compelled to pull the trigger. He tried to talk Won-seong into surrendering, but the man was out for vengeance, and he refused to stop. Even though Lee had saved lives, he felt guilty about the way things turned out.
Later, Lee Do caught up with Moon Baek, hoping to get access to the list of addresses. When Lee asked him what he’d intended to do with the gun he was looking for, Moon Baek explained that he had cancer, and he wanted to end his painful existence instead of waiting for his time to come. He also added he came across a website selling free guns, and after he signed up for it, he received a package. Though later, when he tried searching for the website, it was unavailable. Moon Baek promised that even though he’d disposed of the address list, he had memorized a few, and that led Lee to more vulnerable targets. The people who suddenly had access to firearms were struggling emotionally—they’d suffered immense injustice, they were frustrated with their lives, and they were desperate for a solution. The arms dealer offered them guns as a solution, and when the situation got worse, people started to pull the trigger. The list of addresses of the recipients was distributed so that they could check the list and show up at other recipients’ doorsteps if they needed more guns. The police had come to the conclusion that every time a desperate individual signed up to their website, malware was installed. All the targets that the cops had come in contact with had malware on their phones, and the dealer kept track of all personal information. The guns were disguised as regular packages to not raise suspicion, and they had a distribution network that operated in shadows.
Who was behind the illegal operation?
Even though Moon Baek seemed innocent, Lee Do had his suspicions, so he’d asked an officer to do a background check on him. Apparently Moon Baek had been working at Dongwol Industries, a state-authorized arms distributor, and he’d only recently quit his job. But after digging deeper, the officer discovered that Moon Baek was seen at every address that was on the list, and to make matters worse, he was not the ‘Moon Baek’ he’d claimed to be. He had lied about his identity (it’s possible he’d discovered the real man’s background and impersonated him), confirming that he was the mastermind behind the madness. He took a sick pleasure in accompanying Lee to every crime scene and witnessing the impact of his actions up close. But why had this mysterious arms dealer targeted South Korea? The young man’s childhood was nothing short of a nightmare. His mother gave him up when he was an infant, and he ended up in the household of a petty criminal who used children to make money. The man sold his left eye, and later he was trafficked to a buyer in the United States. The criminals who’d held him captive decided to sell his organs, but the procedure was interrupted by the FBI, and Moon Baek survived (the series does not reveal his actual name, possibly to underline how his identity was erased as a child and he simply became a product of a messed up society). From then on, he’d decided to seek vengeance against the criminals. A few years later he procured a gun and shot the gangster and the surgeon who’d tried to operate on him. An arms dealer named Jake was impressed by the young man’s courage, and instead of punishing him, he decided to groom Moon Baek to become one among them. Jake also got his eye fixed, and his brown eye was replaced by a blue one. He came to be known as ‘Blue Brown,’ and he became obsessed with the power that came with holding a gun. It was ‘Blue Brown’ who’d proposed targeting the South Korean market even though it was illegal to own firearms there.
Given the state of the nation and the mental health crisis among youngsters, he believed there was a demand for firearms in the market. He explained to Jake that even though South Korea is a ‘drug-free’ country, they are easily available, and he intended to do the same with guns. Moreover, the compulsory military service was all the more reason why ‘Moon Baek’ believed South Koreans would easily adapt to using firearms. By supplying firearms for free to the vulnerable, he wanted other desperate individuals to also seek a violent solution, which would result in an increase in demand for firearms, and the International Rifle Union would be the only supplier. They already played a decisive role in US politics, and they intended on expanding their business in other countries. They not only installed malware on the phones of their targets, but they also had a tracking device attached to every firearm, helping them monitor their weapons along with the users. His plan was almost perfect, but then he learned about Lee Do, and what started as a business plan soon turned very personal.
Why was Lee Do against gun use?
Lee and Moon Baek were polar opposites, but there was one commonality—they were both exposed to guns and violence at an impressionable age, and they made very different choices with their lives. Lee’s entire family was murdered by a manic killer, and even though the cops had assured him that the killer would be punished, Lee felt the urgency to take immediate action. When he saw the criminal chewing on a piece of bread and smiling at him in a mocking way, his rage and agony got the better of him. He ended up picking up a gun from the station, and he pointed it at the killer. But thankfully, the sergeant at the station managed to talk him out of it. He was told that the feeling he was experiencing would pass, but the consequences of his action would destroy his life. That was Lee’s first lesson on making better choices instead of violent ones.
Later, during his time in the military as a sniper, he’d witnessed death up close. Seeing the situation in the Middle East, Lee had realized the irreversible damage that free access to firearms does to a society. So, from the moment that he’d decided to be a police officer, he was determined to never pull the trigger, and handle even the toughest of situations through de-escalation and tactical actions. On the other hand, Moon Baek felt powerful from the moment he held a gun for the first time. He believed that a young boy like him would have been abused and mistreated if he didn’t have a firearm to protect him at all times. And he wanted others to experience the same joy. Soon after returning to South Korea, Moon Baek killed the man who’d trafficked him, and he left a bunch of bullets in his house to signal the cops that he would do whatever necessary to bring down the country that abandoned him. Moon Baek clearly didn’t care about good and bad clients—because he was willing to supply firearms to a criminal as well as an innocent mother who’d been silently demanding an apology from the company that overworked her son to the point of death. In a school shooting, it was not just the bullies who were targeted but also the innocent students who got caught up in the madness. Without access to guns, one might have either learned to speak up, sought help, or taken action that didn’t involve killing someone, but the moment one had a gun in their pocket, their tolerance reduced drastically, they no longer cared about consequences, and they strongly started to believe that murder was the only option at hand. Moon Baek didn’t care about bringing justice to the vulnerable; he craved visibility and chaos that would give him the perfect opportunity to flood the market with more guns. But Lee always interrupted his plans. The cop had the ability to connect with the shooters even in tense situations and successfully calm things down. Moreover, the police had started to crack down on Moon’s distribution network, and Jake was not happy with his progress. All he cared about was the business, but for Moon it was about proving himself.
Why did Moon Baek kill the sergeant?
When Sergeant Jo’s daughter, Se-yeong, killed herself after losing her father’s pension to a fraud scheme, Moon Baek assumed this would result in a dramatic showdown. He’d supplied the sergeant a gun, and he’d asked a journalist to live telecast the event, hoping to encourage more viewers to take up firearms. The sergeant interrupted the scammers’ karaoke feast and pulled out his gun. He despised them for having no remorse for their actions, and he wanted them to pay. One of the scammers attempted to escape, but the sergeant followed him outside. The bystanders freaked out, and even though police had arrived at the spot, the sergeant refused to let go of his gun. Lee stormed in—he shared a special relationship with the sergeant, and he reminded him that the feeling that he was experiencing would fade away, and he would have to live with the consequences. The sergeant had saved his life by taking the gun away from him when he was a child, and the day had come when it was Lee’s turn to help the sergeant see the bigger picture. The sergeant finally dropped his gun, resulting in Moon Baek’s frustration. He stepped out of his car and shot Jo and Lee. Jo died on the spot, but Moon Baek spared Lee, and he was taken to a hospital. After firing the shots, Moon Baek, on camera, promised to supply the citizens of South Korea with firearms regardless of their background. He was done waiting for the right opportunity; all he wanted now was panic and chaos.
Did Lee shoot Moon Baek?
Soon, ordering guns had become a trend, and every other person now flaunted their weapons in public. In any unfavorable situation, people started pulling the trigger. Some decided to order guns, fearing that they would be killed by those who already owned guns otherwise. Firearms had become the solution for protection, and even though there were those who spoke out against gun use, there were just too many demanding the legalization of gun ownership. Moon Baek took over the underground gangster association, who were against dealing firearms. There was only one man who had dared to pick up the gun Moon Baek had left on the table, showing that he was not afraid of the trade. Moon Baek’s men killed everyone in the room except that one gangster, and he was asked to respond to Moon Baek’s calls always. After Lee Do regained consciousness, he discovered that Moon Baek had organized a ‘Free Guns’ protest, and it had gained social media traction. Before the president announced martial law, the cops would have to find a way to put an end to the madness. At the protest, Moon Baek had his men drive a truck to the venue, and he announced that the truck was loaded with firearms, and he encouraged everyone there to grab a weapon before they ran out. All hell broke loose. While everyone’s eyes were on the prize, Lee was determined to take down Moon Baek.
To further intensify the chaos, Moon Baek dropped smoke bombs. Lee managed to find Moon Baek in the crowd, but he knew that the moment he would pull the trigger, everyone else around him would do the same. Lee could either shoot and kill the man who was responsible for the mayhem, or he could show restraint and stop the place from turning into a war zone. Lee didn’t react, and before he could approach Moon Baek, he disappeared. Lee suddenly heard a gunshot, and when he followed the sound, he discovered Moon Baek bleeding from his chest. It’s likely that Moon Baek shot himself because he wanted the situation to escalate into an open battlefield. He was ready to sacrifice himself to achieve his goal. He despised Lee because he was an example of how a man who had enough reason to lose faith in the system chose to live a non-violent life. He was reminded that if one truly wanted, they could try and do the morally right thing. Moon Baek couldn’t tolerate Lee’s moral superiority because he never could’ve been that person. The protestors started to shoot at random, and a riot erupted. Lee dropped his gun and ran to protect a little boy stuck in the chaos. He embraced the boy, shielding him from the bullets. The image (almost resembling Banksy’s anti-war graffiti) won the heart of the common people—here was a man who chose humanity over self-interest. Lee’s action later encouraged many gun owners to surrender their weapons to the cops.
Was Moon Baek replaced?
Trigger’s ending revealed that Moon Baek was admitted to a hospital, but the doctor had stated that, as a result of massive blood loss and his history of cancer, it would be challenging for Moon Baek to recover. Meanwhile, Jake had decided to replace Moon Baek—he’d been nothing but a disappointment because his business had suffered a great loss as a result of the free firearm supply. Moon Baek was feeding his own interest, possibly because he knew he didn’t have much time left and he wanted to wreak havoc before his death. A blonde woman with a gun in her hand arrived at the hospital Moon Baek had been admitted to—suggesting that Jake had made arrangements to get rid of Moon Baek permanently. Was the woman Moon Baek’s replacement? Would she head the South Korean distribution network? Considering that Jake now has a taste of the market demand, maybe he will try to get someone more competent to operate in South Korea and capture the illegal firearm market. This leaves room for another season. Maybe the antagonist will change, but Lee’s mission—a gun-free society—will remain the same.
The ending confirms that Lee continued with his job as a police officer. He preferred not climbing the career ladder because it helped him connect with the common people in his precinct, and he was content with the way his life was. A lot had happened in a short span, but Lee’s determination to be a cop common people could turn to remained unshaken.
