4Minutes – Episode 1 – Recap and Review

We start with a man, clutching his bleeding stomach, running from a man with a gun before getting shot. Meanwhile, in the hospital, a patient who was okay, flatlines. 

At the hospital, it’s 11 o’clock. 

And now for something completely different

We meet Great, who knocks over wine bottles while turning off his alarm. He gets a call from a friend reminding him of an exam that if he fails, means he won’t be graduating. So he doesn’t have his life together, but he has a gorgeous cat so we know he’s a good person.

When he gets out of bed, it’s 11 o’clock.

On his way out he takes this cool orange elevator, where inside his heart pounds and his vision blurs. He hears a gunshot and staggers out breathing heavily. But by the time he gets his expensive car out of the car dispenser, he’s recovered.

Let’s meet Korn 

Korn is Great’s older brother, who works hard for the family business, Sriwat Cargo. His Dad puts him in charge of the investment department, which Korn didn’t realize existed but is their main source of revenue. 

Korn leaves and Mom arrives. After he passes the exam, she wants Great to take over the department Korn is leaving behind. Dad is skeptical because Great doesn’t even like coming home.

Great’s day isn’t, er, great

He’s speeding in his expensive car, blasting music, and answering calls from an annoying friend who needs a spare calculator. Great is a nice guy because he pulls over to check at 12:39. He gets back on the road, speeding into a tunnel, only to get another call at 12:43. While talking to him, he hits a pedestrian.

She’s in bad shape. In a panic, he drives away. His heart pounds and he flies forward, backward, down the tunnel, and into his car again. Only it’s by the side of the road and 12:40.

He looks around, gets in the car, and drives slower, not answering his friend’s call. This time we see the pedestrian runs crying in front of Great’s car. She’s not as badly injured and even though she asks to be left there, he calls for an ambulance.

Time to meet, er, Tyme

He’s the surgeon at the hospital when the injured pedestrian arrives. She tells Tyme that she wants to die. Another doctor, Den, asks about her family. She has a son she doesn’t live with anymore. That’s ominous. Den misses the subtext and tells her that her son would want her to get help. She agrees.

There’s surgery in a dimly lit room that includes what seems to be a wound POV shot. They save her life.

After the surgery, Tyme rejects an offer to be an instructor. He wants to work in a private hospital. To be sure that we understand Tyme isn’t Mr. Sensitive, he doesn’t remember the pedestrian’s name when Dr. Den asks after her.

Tyme asks Den about a box he’s carrying and gets an unexpected kabedon and comedy music. In the box is Den’s exciting secret research about patients who’ve gone into cardiac arrest.

Tyme gets a phone call, and Den implies it’s his girlfriend.

Korn is nearly as busy as his brother

He takes a boat to neat abandoned-looking buildings that contain the secret department, online gambling. It’s heavily guarded and managed by Sa-Marn, who is armed. We learn that Korn is fussy about cigarette smells.

The camera pays special attention to a frizzy-haired woman who later interrupts Korn and Ma-Sarn in the office with a glass of water. Sa-Marn kicks her out immediately. I’m sure she’s important later.

Sometime later, Korn shows up at Tonkla’s house. Tonkla quickly hides his cigarettes, so we know he’s that kind of guy. Korn shares his work stress but doesn’t give details.

Tonkla helps de-stress Korn with sex. He’s good for round two but Korn get’s a call from his dad. He lies that he’s with someone named Fasai, then leaves to have dinner with his family. Tonkla says it’s fine but doesn’t look fine. After Korn leaves there’s thunder and a freaked-out black cat.

Despite Dad’s prediction, Great is home for dinner

But he takes it to the far end of the table. His Dad scolds him for the accident. His mom wants him to take flowers to the hospital and take pictures to make the family look good. 

Korn takes him home and Great is shocked his phone says it’s 11 o’clock, but it’s just a glitch. He tells Korn about seeing the future and knowing he was going to hit someone. Korn asks him if he’s on drugs and wants him to rest and not drink. Good general advice.

Meanwhile, Tyme goes home to a house with a crooked fence and a sleeping grandma. He wants to make money to improve their lives. Grandma just wants him to be happy, “like before.”

Great can’t catch a break

He has a nightmare about the pedestrian and his alarm goes off at 11 o’clock. He skips the elevator at home but takes the one at the hospital, it doesn’t make his heart pound. 

At 1:10 he brings the flowers to the pedestrian, skipping the picture. The woman asks his age, at 21 it’s the same as her son. She tells him not to worry, she’ll tell the police the accident was her fault.

He leaves and walks into Tyme while looking at his phone. He doesn’t apologize, and at the exit the lights flash, and his heart pounds. It’s 1:14. Suddenly, he’s back at the reception desk at 1:10. This time, he asks them to deliver the flowers and doesn’t go in.

He sees Tyme, and has a sudden vision of them having sex.

This is all intercut with Den talking to patients about their experiences during cardiac arrest. Including a woman who says that while her heart stopped she experienced her normal life in the past. With one notable difference, she could see 4 minutes into the future.

Great spies on Tyme, then seems strangely upset. On his way out he runs into Tyme again, sending papers flying everywhere. He kneels to help him, and their eyes meet in a long, intense stare. 

So what’s going on here?

That intense stare tells you all you need to know about those two.

Outside of that, the man who is bleeding and gets shot at the beginning is Tyme. 

The guy who shoots him looks like the guards Korn sees when he visits the online gambling hideout, but dressing all in black isn’t unique.

We don’t see the face of the patient flatlining at the beginning but I think it’s Great. Like the woman Den interviewed, his heart has stopped and he’s experiencing his past but can see 4 minutes in the future.

That’s as much as I got right now. I’m not sure if the 11 o’clock thing has any deeper meaning. The injured pedestrian’s son is definitely dead but I don’t know who he is. I don’t know how Great and Korn’s family business ties into it all. Or Tokla. I don’t know what led to our leads (maybe) dying at the beginning. 

Plenty of questions to work on answering in the next episodes.

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