Queen Mantis: When will episodes 5 & 6 release, and what to expect?

SBS mystery-thriller Queen Mantis (사마귀: 살인자의 외출) airs episodes 3 and 4 on September 12 and 13. Episodes 5 and 6 are set for September 19 and 20 at 9:50 pm KST.

Directed by Byun Young-joo and written by Lee Young-jong, Queen Mantis is a remake of the 2017 French series La Mante. It stars Go Hyun-jung as Jung Yi-shin, the Mantis, and Jang Dong-yoon as detective Cha Soo-yeol.

Queen Mantis follows Jung Yi-shin, a serial killer jailed decades ago, and her son Cha Soo-yeol, now a detective. When copycat murders emerge, Soo-yeol who despises his mother is forced to seek her help.

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What’s can be expected from the next episodes of Queen Mantis?

Still from Queen Mantis (Image via Netflix)

As per the preview of the upcoming episodes of Queen Mantis, With word spreading about the Mantis being alive, the investigation takes a sharper turn. Yi-shin soon is back behind bars in the safe house, faces Soo-yeol’s question about Gu-wan’s death. Instead of denying or confirming, she asks him if he isn’t relieved the man is gone.

The team discovers a new lead that every recent victim has been linked to the same woman, Jo-i, through a dating app. This raises suspicions that Jo-i might be somehow involved with the copycat. The tension escalates when the police receive a distorted phone call. The caller insists the message be delivered to “that woman.” The vague clue forces the team to question Soo-yeol who the woman is.

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Queen Mantis episodes 3 and 4 recaps: Secrets unravel as Yi-shin escapes custody

Still from Queen Mantis (Image via Netflix)

Episode 3 opens with a flashback of the original Mantis’ murder being investigated by Detective Choi Jung-ho. At the crime scene, he notices Yi-shin while his voice-over reflects on the period.

He explains that back then, the streets has been becoming overrun with drunken men, making them dangerous for women and children. Police reports have been overflowing with cases of abuse, and in the middle of this chaos, Mantis appears.

The story shifts back to the present. Soo-yeol and his teammate Kim Na-hui pull Tae-seok out of the washer. Soo-yeol lays him on the ground and desperately pumps his chest to revive him.

Detective Choi’s words echo in his mind that since Soo-yeol’s mother has killed 5 people, he must become a police officer and save five lives. Soon, Tae-seok regains consciousness and is rushed to the hospital.

At the police station, confusion lingers. The team debates whether Gu-wan is the real copycat killer or if the culprit is still at large.

Still from Queen Mantis (Image via Netflix)

Conflicted, Soo-yeol visits his mother at the safe house. He remembers the demands Yi-shin has made in exchange for confessing to her crimes, that Choi has told him about. She has asked Soo-yeol’s name to be changed and his protection, besides some simple things like books, coffee, and music.

Soo-yeol meeting her asks whether she reaches out to Choi because she misses him, wanting to know if she truly cares for him. Yi-shin pauses briefly, then ignoring his questions ask him about Gu-wan. She tries to convince him to kill Gu-wan, insisting he knows too much, including details about Soo-yeol’s wife. Disappointed, Soo-yeol leaves.

Soon after, another murder occurs, putting the police on edge once again and making Soo-yeol frustrated. At the station, Na-hui shares noticing something at Gu-wan’s home, where he has displayed photos and details of the copycat’s victims.

The number one slot is empty. She suggests the copycat may have killed someone unknown to the police. Learning this, Soo-yeol rushes to Yi-shin to ask if she had committed a murder that hasn’t yet been discovered. Yi-shin refuses to answer, telling him instead to ask Detective Choi.

One day, Soo-yeol’s wife, Lee Jung-yeon, receives a call on his phone from his grandfather, Jeong Hyeon-nam. Mistaking her for Soo-yeol, Hyeon-nam urgently asks whether he has seen his mother recently and warns him not to.

Still from Queen Mantis (Image via Netflix)

When Jung-yeon reveals her identity, he derails the conversation. But since she believes Soo-yeol’s mother is dead and not the Mantis, the call leaves her unsettled. She begins investigating her husband’s past.

Meanwhile, the investigation leads the police team to a house on the outskirts of the city. Inside, Soo-yeol feels an eerie familiarity, even spotting the yellow desk his father once bought him.

The team searches thoroughly but finds nothing until Soo-yeol asks them to search a well. After they find one, a body and a mocking note from the copycat declaring that the first victim has finally been found, are found inside.

Shaken, Soo-yeol races to his childhood home and inspects the locked well there and inside he discovers skeletal remains along with his mother’s wedding ring. Devastated, he confronts Yi-shin, asking if his father is her first victim.

Yi-shin doesn’t deny it. She calmly declares that killing him is the most important thing she has ever done, claiming it is to protect Soo-yeol. In disbelief, Soo-yeol argues that his father has been a good man. Yi-shin reveals that when drunk, his father used to turn violent and abusive toward both her and Soo-yeol.

One night, in a drunken rage, he accused Yi-shin of infidelity and began beating Soo-yeol when the boy tried to intervene. To stop him from harming Soo-yeol, Yi-shin stabbed him with scissors, killing him. Soo-yeol fainted from fear and shock, and while he slept, Yi-shin disposed of the body in the well. Heavy rain that night washed away the bloodstains in the yard.

Soo-yeol shouts at her for lying and says that she has killed 5 more people so she must have enjoyed that. Yi-shin doesn’t deny this either. Hearing that, Soo-yeol loses control. He grabs Yi-shin by the collar and tries to choke her. Yi-shin goads him to kill her and Soo-yeol in frustration leaving her screams. At this point the episode 3 of Queen Mantis ends.

Episode 4 of Queen Mantis begins with another flashback narrated by Detective Choi Jung-ho. He describes how in Woosang, severe unemployment leads to widespread domestic violence.

One day, Choi witnesses a man beating his wife in the street. After mediating, he lets the couple go but he doesn’t know is that Yi-shin has also witnessed the abuse. Days later, the man is found dead in a bathhouse, killed in signature Mantis style.

Back in the present, Soo-yeol visits Jeong Hyeon-nam to ask about Yi-shin. Hyeon-nam admits he has never close to his daughter but he has been aware of her abusive husband. He also admits of knowing about her killing her husband.

Still from Queen Mantis (Image via Netflix)

Bewildered, Soo-yeol asks why he has never reported it to the police. Hyeon-nam confesses he can not bring himself to turn in his own daughter. He urges Soo-yeol to stop meeting Yi-shin, warning that this will not end with just the case.

At the station, suspicion grows among the team about how Soo-yeol knows where Tae-seok has been hidden and also about the well. Meanwhile, Jung-yeon grows suspicious too and visits Soo-yeol’s old house with her friend Seo A-ra.

Soo-yeol meets Yi-shin again, asking if anyone in Woosang know her first murder has been her husband. Yi-shin mentions Park Min-jae, a neighborhood boy who often used to visit their house. She recalls noticing fresh bruises on him daily and initially suspecting abuse.

Planning to kill his father, she has gone to his house but instead discovers Min-jae harming himself with a hammer. Yi-shin leaves anyone being unharmed but admits Min-jae has seen her leaving their house. If he hss ever pieced things together, he may know about her crimes.

Determined, Soo-yeol asks Choi to help track down Min-jae, and finds out he still lives in his childhood home. Back in his hometown, Jung-yeon finds Yi-shin’s grave, that Soo-yeol and Hyeon-nam have created, accepting her to be dead. Jung-yeon and A-ra also search around the old house but find nothing, until they coincidentally meet Min-jae, who offers them a ride home.

Still from Queen Mantis (Image via Netflix)

When Soo-yeol sees Min-jae with them, he is alarmed but hides it, inviting him inside. Min-jae recalls warm childhood memories of Yi-shin and shows Jung-yeon a photo of her. He then speaks admiringly of Mantis, who has protected abused women and children. This triggers Soo-yeol, who counters that Mantis is still a killer.

After he leaves, Choi tails Min-jae but soon looses him. Soo-yeol checks his car’s camera and realizes Min-jae has been watching them. He goes to Min-jae’s office that Choi has found out, and discovers detailed models of Yi-shin’s murder scenes.

Min-jae soon arrives and gets arrested by Soo-yeol. During interrogation, Min-jae denies being the copycat murder but keeps asking about Yi-shin, repeatedly. He questions whether Soo-yeol has seen her recently thus provoking Soo-yeol’s temper.

Meanwhile, Yi-shin secretly collects poison from insects she has been feeding. Pretending to faint, she lures a guard into her cell, poisons him, and escapes wearing his shoes.

Na-hui visits Gu-wan at the hospital. Seeing her, he complains that he cannot breathe and asks her to loosen his belt. As she moves closer and does so, he suddenly attacks. Shocked, Na-hui falls, giving Gu-wan the chance to flee.

Still from Queen Mantis (Image via Netflix)

Soo-yeol hears the news and rushes to join the search. Just as he is about to catch Gu-wan, a mysterious car runs him over. Lying gravely injured, Gu-wan coughs blood and accuses Soo-yeol of wanting him dead for knowing about his relationship with Mantis. Soo-yeol denies but Gu-wan dismisses him until dying a moment later.

Soo-yeol furiously confronts Na-hui, accusing her of undermining him out of jealousy. They argue until she storms out, determined to investigate the mysterious car. Soon after, Soo-yeol gets word of Yi-shin’s escape. Agitated, he bolts from the hospital.

The episode 4 of Queen Mantis ends with the next morning. Yi-shin standing outside of Jung-yeon and Soo-yeol's home, greets her with a "Hello".

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Queen Mantis is available for streaming on Netflix and KOCOWA.

Edited by Adrija Chakraborty