The Defects — When will episodes 3-4 release, and what to expect?

South Korea’s thriller series The Defects dropped its first two episodes on July 21 and July 22, 2025, through ENA and TVing. The show runs with just eight episodes this season, releasing two every week on Mondays and Tuesdays.

The K-drama follows a group of adopted kids discarded by their families. Left behind without warning, they survive near-death conditions and later turn toward revenge.

Episodes 3 and 4 are lined up for July 28 and July 29, 2025, at 11 pm KST, which is 10 am ET and 3 pm GMT internationally. Viewers in Korea can stream it on TVing or tune into ENA. For overseas audiences, the series is up on Kocowa.

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What’s coming in The Defects episodes 3 & 4?

In the closing credits of The Defects episode 2, a quick peek at what’s next hints that the kids may finally get their hands on the membership card. They’re also shown setting off to track down So-mi’s mother, who is said to be hospitalised. However, their mission won’t go unnoticed, as Jung-hyun and his team are shown preparing to confront them at the hospital.

Moreover, Ah-hyeon is seen stating that her parents were overly ambitious and wished to shine her brightest, which adds weight to the theory that Kim Se-hee could be her biological mother. There's also something Se-hee asks of her daughter as a personal favor, a moment that will be revealed in the upcoming episodes.

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What is the plot of The Defects?

At the centre of The Defects is an underground adoption racket where children are illegally handed over to families with a refund window if they don’t meet expectations. Running the entire setup is Kim Se-hee (Yeom Jung-ah), a senior hospital figure who also controls the trafficking ring from behind the scenes.

To the public, Se-hee appears as a respected doctor and head of a major foundation. But beneath that image, she’s the real boss of the operation managed by Jung-hyeon (Dex). She believes that only kids with strong genetics should survive. If any adopted child gets returned, her group erases all evidence by killing them.

Kim Ah-hyeon (Won Jin-ah) was one such child who was supposed to be eliminated but survived. Woo Tae-sik (Choi Young-joon), a hitman assigned to carry it out, didn’t go through with it and sheltered her instead. Now, Ah-hyeon leads a small group of others who also escaped. Together, they vow to fight back against the system that once tried to erase them.

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The Defects episodes 1 & 2 recap

Episode 2 of The Defects opens with Tae-sik saving a young Kim Ah-hyeon from being erased by the illegal adoption network. She escapes death, and viewers are introduced to three more survivors (Joo-an, played by Ahn Ji-ho; So-mi, portrayed by Lee Na-eun; and Oh Seung-jun as Seok-su), also hiding from the system.

Their safety doesn’t last as a newly returned child, Choi Si-woo (Kang Ji-yong), appears while the group is in hiding, putting them all at risk. It’s Tae-sik, who stepped in again, pulling Si-woo out. Soon after, Tae-sik is involved in a car crash, right after Jung-hyun learns of his betrayal. With Tae-sik gone, the children are left without protection.

Episode 2 of The Defects begins with a flashback, showing So-mi (whose name was Yoon-ah) during a K-pop audition. She gets through the first round, but her mother shuts it down and drags her away. Back in the present, just as the kids prepare to move, their hideout is hit. Jung-hyun, trained by Se-hee to kill, arrives with orders to take them out.

The group of children makes it out alive. On the run, the group starts putting pieces together. Meanwhile, it is also revealed that Se-hee’s daughter shares a close connection with Jung-hyun. One key detail about her is that her school bag has the name "Kim Ah-hyeon" written on it, the same as the lead character.

The quartet (excluding Si-woo, who is asleep) heads to So-mi’s old home. They distract her adoptive father, Han Chul-su, using Ju-an in disguise and sneaking inside. Their goal is to retrieve a membership card linked to the trafficking ring. So-mi confronts her father, who initially claims that her mother, Lim Kyung-mi, was the one who returned her.

However, he later confesses that he was responsible for sending her back. He reveals that So-mi’s mother suffered a mental breakdown while searching for her following her disappearance. The thrilling episode ends with a shot fired, implying So-mi killed him. The final moment lingers on the school bag, tying Se-hee’s daughter to Kim Ah-hyeon.

Edited by Meenakshi Ajith