Episodes 3 and 4 of The Defects were released on July 28 and 29, 2025, on ENA and TVing. The next episodes, 5 and 6, will drop on Tuesday, August 5 and 6 at 11 pm KST (3 pm GMT/10 am ET). Each episode of The Defects runs for about 55 minutes. Viewers in South Korea can catch it on TVing and ENA, while international audiences can stream it on Kocowa and Prime Video.The thriller drama follows the story of Kim Se-hee (Yeom Jung-ah). She is a high-ranking hospital head and frontwoman of a major foundation, who secretly oversees an illegal adoption ring of “perfect” children. Couples adopting through her underground network are also given a return window if the child doesn’t meet their expectations.However, returned children aren’t rehomed but quietly killed to erase all evidence. Kim Ah-hyeon (Won Jin-ah) was one of those children. She was marked for disposal but survived. Now, she leads the remaining kids who escaped the same fate, acting as their voice in the fight to bring down the system.Here’s what to look forward to in The Defects episode 5In episode 5 of The Defects, Ah-hyeon lands in Se-hee’s custody. In the preview, Se-hee is seen plotting an experiment to use Ah-hyeon to create genetically “superior” babies. Meanwhile, Joo-an, Suk-su, and So-mi hatch a rescue plan to save Ah-hyeon.As part of the scheme, So-mi disguises herself as a shaman to scare Joo-an’s father, claiming his son’s spirit is still around. To make it believable, Joo-an is expected to appear in ghostly form inside a church, right in front of his father, who happens to be a pastor.Elsewhere, Se-hee prepares to relocate her 14-year-old daughter to the First Lady’s residence for surrogacy arrangements. Moreover, Se-hee also seems to be crafting a new system to eliminate babies with “flawed” genes, ensuring only genetically “perfect” children survive.The Defects episodes 3 & 4 recapIn The Defects episode 3, So-mi points a weapon at her adoptive father, Han Chul-su, while Ah-hyeon uncovers a hidden membership card. The father reveals that So-mi’s mother is at Daejeong Hospital. The kids run upon learning that Jung-hyun and his team have arrived. Inside the house, Jung-hyun kills Chul-su.As Jung-hyun’s group pursues the children, police arrive just in time. Jung-hyun later informs Se-hee about the children, who orders him to bring Ah-hyeon to her, alive. On the other hand, the children find temporary shelter. Elsewhere, Madam Lady, unable to conceive, asks Se-hee to help her with a surrogate.Se-hee suggests her daughter for this part as she’s young. On the other front, the investigator on the case grows suspicious. At an abandoned house, he discovers a photo of the children with Tae-sik. Meanwhile, So-mi receives a call from her mother, who is under the organization’s watch.The children go to save her, but their attempts are blocked by arriving operatives, forcing them to retreat. Later, tracking the organization’s activity leads them to a secret adoption trading spot. The children are shaken by witnessing that infants are being sold and engineered through selective DNA methods.They learn their own origins were manipulated in similar ways. Eventually, it’s revealed that Se-hee is Ah-hyeon’s biological mother. In the K-drama’s episode 4, a flashback shows Se-hee killing her husband and using his wealth to fuel the trafficking scheme. Presently, Ah-hyeon sneaks into the lab using the stolen card, aided by her friends from outside.The lab is found filtering genetic material to craft embryos with preferred traits. Se-hee plans to implant one using the chairman’s sperm. She even uses her own 14-year-old daughter to extract eggs.Inside the center, before Ah-hyeon can act, her mission is exposed after a sample goes missing. Guards are alerted, and Ah-hyeon is cornered. She fights them off, but Jung-hyun finds her and holds her at gunpoint. In the final moment of The Defects episode 4, Ah-hyeon triggers an explosion.The previous episodes of The Defects are available to stream on Prime Video.