Lee, it turns out, is a master hypnotist. He had Dae-su conditioned during captivity. The “release” was staged. Every clue, every fight (including the legendary hammer-through-hallway scene—Dae-su takes on two dozen thugs with a claw hammer, one continuous shot of carnage), every meeting was choreographed.
The same Mi-do he abandoned the night of his kidnapping. The same girl he promised to come home to. She was adopted abroad, returned to Seoul as an adult, and Lee guided her like a pawn. Lee, it turns out, is a master hypnotist
Lee didn’t just hate Dae-su. He needed Dae-su to understand —to feel total despair, the loss of everything, and then the revelation that he caused his own ruin. it turns out