Salon de Holmes Episode 5 & 6 Recap: Return of the Ribbon Man!

In Salon de Holmes Episode 5 & 6, something dark is happening behind the scenes in ENA’s Monday–Tuesday drama Salon de Holmes. On the surface, it looks like a quirky mystery drama with a group of middle-aged women catching bad guys. But beneath that, it’s dealing with some serious, disturbing issues—stalking, abuse of power, and a society that just wants to keep its property prices high while ignoring the truth.

Episode 5, which aired June 30, took a very intense turn. Gong Mi-ri (Lee Si-young), Choo Kyung-ja (Jung Young-joo), and Jeon Ji-hyun (Nam Ki-ae) saved a young woman named Hye-jeong (Im So-yoon). She was kidnapped and held by a stalker named Won-seok (Lee Si-hoo). It wasn’t the police who rescued her. It was three women who noticed what others ignored.

Mi-ri spotted a strange signal in a returned delivery box. She didn’t wait & she acted. She planned. Kyung-ja used her strength. Ji-hyun used her charm to get them inside. That’s how they found proof. That’s how they made the police move. The most shocking moment came when Kyung-ja physically stopped Won-seok from escaping. Her hallway fight scene wasn’t flashy—it felt real. Her skills as a former detective showed. The tension was not exaggerated. It was just disturbing enough to feel possible.

But even after the stalker was caught, the apartment complex wasn’t safe. Another threat emerged. A pervert in a black hoodie started showing up. He broke into homes. Kang Yoon-joo (Lee Hwagyeom), who lost her dog, ended up bloody in a bathtub. No one saw it coming. No one knew who did it. There was just silence.

New Villains, Old Systems, and One Rotten Neighborhood

Another story unfolded through security guard Kim Hyun-deok (Kim Jung-ho). He was forced by a powerful resident, Byun Hak-do (Son Sung-ho), to do personal work during his job hours. Hyun-deok got injured carrying furniture. He was hospitalized. But the man who bullied him showed up pretending nothing had happened.

There’s history here. Hyun-deok once saved a student, Kim Gwang-gyu (Lee Jae-gyun), from getting expelled. That student is now working beside him. When Gwang-gyu learns the truth behind Hyun-deok’s injury, he doesn’t say anything. He just looks. That look says enough.

The drama didn’t stop there. Park So-hee (Kim Da-som), the youngest woman in the detective group, has a child in the hospital. She works day and night. That’s why she joins this team. Not because it’s fun. Because she needs every bit of help she can get. Her story didn’t ask for sympathy—it just showed how tough things can get when you’re alone.

Abuse of Power, Workplace Exploitation, and Quiet Acts of Resistance

In episode 6, aired July 1, the team tried to catch the pervert using old CCTV footage. Turns out, Gwangsan Public Housing is full of blind spots. That’s how women were getting followed. That’s how crimes slipped past. Residents didn’t want new cameras. They were worried about lowering their home values. Not safety. Not true. Mi-ri asked Gwang-gyu, now under suspicion himself, to wear a bright shirt and speak at the meeting. She hoped that would help. It didn’t. The women’s association still said no.

So, they took action. They used Gwang-gyu as bait, dressed as a woman, on a rainy night. It worked. The man who attacked him was Byun Hak-do. He said he was only copying someone else. The police didn’t seem to believe it. The truth is still unclear. Right after, something worse happened. Kang Yoon-joo, the woman from room 902, was found dead. This time, it wasn’t a stalker or a peeping tom. It was a serial killer. The “Ribbon Man” was back after 10 years. Mi-ri knew the signs. She had trauma from the past.

Return of the ‘Ribbon Man’

The chilling return of the ‘Ribbon Man’ serial killer, absent for a decade, triggered Mi-ri’s visible trauma (hinted at since episode 1). This aligns with real-world criminal psychology where past unsolved cases often resurface, and unresolved trauma profoundly impacts victims’ present reactions, adding a layer of psychological depth often missing in procedural dramas.

And then a detail slipped in. Gwang-gyu was seen tying the same red knot that the killer uses. That changed everything. “The innocuous act of Gwang-gyu tying a red knot – identical to the Ribbon Man’s signature – wasn’t just a clue; it was a narrative detonator. This single frame instantly reframes every prior interaction: Were his helpful actions genuine, or part of a sinister cover? Is he the copycat Hak-do hinted at, the original Ribbon Man, or merely a red herring masterfully deployed by the writers?

This ambiguity fuels intense viewer speculation heading into next week. Park So-hee saw a strange man leaving room 902. She followed. The episode ended there. We don’t know what happened to her. But something bad is coming.

Actor Lee Jae-gyun is at the center of it all. He plays Kim Gwang-gyu with both humor and suspicion. He brings the comedy, but also the mystery. He’s been active in theater and film. He’s not new. But this role might be his most layered one yet. The show airs every Monday and Tuesday at 10 p.m. on ENA and is also available to stream on Coupang Play.

Final Thoughts

Salon de Holmes is trying to say something more than just “catch the bad guy.” It shows how the system fails. How people ignore signs. How women protect each other when no one else will. The mystery isn’t just about who did it. It’s about why no one saw it sooner. It’s messy, uncomfortable, and sometimes funny. But it feels real. And that’s what makes it worth watching.

 

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