Queen Mantis (사마귀: 살인자의 외출) is a South Korean mystery-thriller and police procedural drama. It premiered its first two episodes on September 5 and 6. Written by Lee Young-jong and directed by Byun Young-joo, the series is adapted from the 2017 TF1 drama La Mante.Go Hyun-jung takes on the title role in Queen Mantis, joined by Jang Dong-yoon as her son, Cha Soo-yeol. The story follows a woman, Yi-shin, imprisoned 23 years ago for a string of brutal murders. When a new wave of killings emerges, mirroring her past crimes, an unsettling mystery begins to unfold.In the first two episodes of Queen Mantis, as the copycat killer terrorizes Nambu, Cha Soo-yeol is forced to confront his estranged mother, Jung Yi-shin, the infamous Mantis. Their uneasy reunion becomes central to unraveling the truth.Queen Mantis episodes 1-2 recap: A copycat murderer and the return of the MantisStill from Queen Mantis (Image via Netflix)Queen Mantis begins with a brutal murder in the town of Nambu. Detective Choi Jung-ho, the lead investigator, arrives at the crime scene and discovers the victim’s head has been severed, and the tongue is missing.The crime instantly reminds him of a serial killer he and his team arrested 23 years ago. Suspecting a copycat, Choi orders his team to examine the body more closely. As he predicted, they find the missing tongue inserted into the victim’s anus, confirming his suspicion.The original murderer, Jung Yi-shin, known as the Mantis, was notorious in 2001 and 2002 for killing numerous men who had abused women and children. She was arrested in 2002.Upon learning about the new case, Yi-shin writes a letter to Choi offering her help. However, in exchange, she demands one condition: that she will only cooperate if she can speak to her estranged son, Cha Soo-yeol.Cha Soo-yeol, now a skilled narcotics detective, had been inspired by Choi’s words years ago to join law enforcement. Choi approaches him and insists that he join the investigation.Shocked by the request, Soo-yeol initially refuses. But Choi’s words, “Killers and those who can save victims but don’t are the same,” haunt him. Unable to ignore this, Soo-yeol agrees and is reluctantly accepted as the team’s new leader.Still from Queen Mantis (Image via Netflix)Soo-yeol and Choi then meet Yi-shin, who has been transferred from prison to a safe house in exchange for her cooperation. Seeing her son after so many years, Yi-shin is happy and attempts to ask about his married life. Soo-yeol coldly dismisses her, insisting he is only here for the case.Yi-shin explains that when she has committed her murders, she has always used a saw to sever heads. Since the copycat uses an axe, she deduces that the killer is a man. She then demands to be taken to the crime scene.The next day, Soo-yeol and Choi escort her there hesitantly. As she examines the scene, Yi-shin appears euphoric, reliving her crimes, which disgusts Soo-yeol. She tells them the setup is a replica of her own murders, but points out a crucial detail.Her crime scene photos have only been published once, and ask Soo-yeol to find out about it. As the team finds the coverage, they realise that the newspaper has published the photo flipped. In the photo, the severed head is placed on the right.However, in reality, the Mantis has always placed it on the left just like the copycat has done. This reveal makes Soo-yeol realize that the killer has not copied the newspaper but must have seen the court documents from 2002, where the original footage is. Here the episode 1 of Queen Mantis ends.Still from Queen Mantis (Image via Netflix)Episode 2 of Queen Mantis begins with the team investigating court records from Yi-shin’s trial. They learn that one of the lawyers from the case has lost the original files.Questioning him, Soo-yeol’s team discovers that the lawyer, who sponsors an orphanage, has recently grown close to a man named Seo Gu-wan. This man claims to be associated with the orphanage, but the lawyer later finds out that to is a lie.The team tracks Seo Gu-wan’s address and raids his home. There, they uncover detailed information about the current investigation team, 3D-printed guns, and details about Yi-shin’s victims.They find forged letters supposedly written by Yi-shin to Gu-wan from prison, which later turn out to have been written by Gu-wan himself, impersonating her. They also learn that Gu-wan suffers from schizophrenia and requires medication.Further investigation reveals that Gu-wan lives in the house of his stepbrother, Kim Tae-seok, pretending to be him while holding Tae-seok’s family hostage. The police break into the house, rescue the family, and arrest Gu-wan, but Tae-seok himself is missing.During interrogation, Gu-wan refuses to reveal Tae-seok’s whereabouts. Instead, he taunts the investigators and claims that Yi-shin is right to kill abusive men. Hoping to break him, Soo-yeol and Choi take Gu-wan to meet Yi-shin.Awestruck to meet her, Gu-wan boasts about his supposed serial murders inspired by Yi-shin. Yi-shin questions him in detail and quickly realizes he is lying and has never killed anyone.Enraged by this accusation, Gu-wan tries to prove himself by declaring that his brother is already dead. As Yi-shin mocks him further, he screams that he will expose Yi-shin as still alive and reveal that she is Detective Soo-yeol’s mother.Hearing this, Yi-shin loses control. From behind the bars, she lunges at Gu-wan, grabs his tie, and tries to strangle him. Soo-yeol and Choi rush in to stop her. Yi-shin urges her son to kill Gu-wan, insisting he knows too much.Amid the chaos, Gu-wan grabs a gun from one of the detectives and runs toward the exit. Finding the exit locked and cornered, he threatens to shoot himself. Soo-yeol tries to calm him, saying he understands him. Calling him a liar, Gu-wan pulls the trigger and shoots himself in the head.Still from Queen Mantis (Image via Netflix)He is rushed to the hospital immediately. On the way, Soo-yeol recalls his mother’s words but pushes the thought aside. At the hospital, the doctors reveal that the bullet has only grazed his skull and that he will survive.Meanwhile, Tae-seok’s wife pressures the police to find her missing husband. As the team brainstorms, Soo-yeol remembers Gu-wan saying he reversed the situation and placed Tae-seok where it all began. Since Gu-wan was abandoned at birth in a hospital, Soo-yeol deduces that Tae-seok is hidden there.The team rushes there and searches the entire place, but comes up empty until Soo-yeol recalls the laundry room. They dash inside and discover Tae-seok stuffed inside a turned-on washing machine.Episode 2 of Queen Mantis ends with Soo-yeol and his colleague Kim Na-hui pulling him out. They desperately try to resuscitate him while calling for a doctor.Queen Mantis airs on SBS TV every Friday and Saturday at 9:50 pm KST and is also available for streaming on Netflix and KOCOWA.