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| Queen Mantis Ending Explained: The Real Message Behind SBS’s Dark Thriller |
The curtain has dropped on SBS’s 8-episode thriller Queen Mantis (사마귀 : 살인자의 외출), and wow — what a rollercoaster.
A Korean remake of the French cult series La Mante (2017), this K-drama twisted family trauma, copycat killings, and moral grey zones into something that left fans debating right up until the final scene.
Quick Recap of Queen Mantis Final Episode
The final episode ties together decades of secrets.
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Jung I Sin (Go Hyun Jung), the original “Mantis” serial killer who murdered abusive men 20 years ago, is brought back into the spotlight when a series of copycat crimes starts up.
Her son, Cha Su Yeol (Jang Dong Yoon), now a detective, is forced into a tense collaboration with the very mother he’s hated his whole life.
Their uneasy partnership is tested when the truth about the copycat finally unravels:
The culprit is Seo A Ra (Han Dong Hee), seemingly just a friend of Su Yeol’s wife, but secretly someone who idolised Jung I Sin after surviving her own abusive childhood.
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Her identity as a trans woman and the rejection she faced fuelled her descent into believing Mantis’s killings were a form of salvation.
A Ra’s copycat spree escalates until she kidnaps and threatens those close to Su Yeol, desperate to force recognition.
The case ends in tragedy, but also in reluctant understanding: Su Yeol finally hears his mother admit she tried to protect him, not abandon him.
The killer is stopped, and the son must face life knowing his mother’s crimes still shaped him, for better or worse.
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Queen Mantis Cast & Characters Wrapped
Go Hyun Jung as Jung I Sin – The infamous “Mantis,” equal parts terrifying and strangely righteous. Her sharp presence dominated every scene.Queen Mantis Ending Explained
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The ending of Queen Mantis is less about the murders and more about the weight of legacy.
Su Yeol spends the whole series trying to reject his mother’s shadow, yet the final episode forces him to confront her humanity.
For Jung I Sin, her “justice” was always blurred with trauma.
She killed only abusive men, framing herself as an avenger rather than a predator.
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By the end, she tells her son the bitter truth: she left him not because she didn’t care, but because she wanted to protect him from the stain of being “the killer’s boy.”
For A Ra, the copycat killer, her story reframes the whole show.
Unlike the French original which leaned on obsession, the Korean version digs deeper into themes of identity, rejection, and how society labels “monsters.”
Her admiration for I Sin came from a place of longing — to be seen, to survive abuse, to fight back.
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But her warped idea of justice shows how easily pain can turn into violence.
The conclusion doesn’t neatly tie everything up.
Instead, it highlights the cycle: trauma breeds trauma, yet within it, fractured moments of compassion can still exist.
Su Yeol and I Sin don’t reconcile fully, but there’s a fragile truce. It’s bittersweet, dark, and deliberately unresolved — a finale that lingers.
TLDR + Short Review
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TLDR: Su Yeol and his mother reluctantly team up to catch a copycat killer.
FAQs
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Q: Is Queen Mantis a faithful remake of La Mante?
A: Broadly yes — mother killer, detective son, copycat crimes. But the Korean version deepens the backstory of the copycat, turning her into a more layered, tragic figure.
Q: Does Su Yeol forgive his mother in the end?
A: Not quite forgiveness, but he acknowledges her reasoning. It’s less reconciliation, more reluctant recognition.
Q: Who was the final copycat killer?
A: Seo A Ra, a trans woman and family friend of Su Yeol’s wife, whose trauma and admiration for I Sin pushed her into repeating the murders.
Q: How does the ending compare to the French original?
A: The French version’s copycat was more of a cult follower; here it’s rewritten with social commentary on identity, prejudice, and abuse — giving the Korean drama its own flavour.
Queen Mantis isn’t the kind of drama that leaves you smiling. It’s dark, heavy, and occasionally frustrating with side-plots.
But as a thriller remake, it managed to stand on its own with sharp performances and a thought-provoking final act. It’s a story about monsters, yes — but more so about how society makes them, and how families survive in the shadows they cast.