The third episode of the Nippon Television drama series "Punch-Drunk Woman: XX Days Left Until Escape" (Sundays at 10:30 PM), starring actress Shinohara Ryoko, aired on January 25th. The episode depicts a hostage situation in a detention center in which female prison guard Fuyuki Kozue (Shinohara) and Kusaka Reiji (Jesse) are taken hostage, and social media was flooded with praise for the performance of Horiuchi Ken, who plays the role of Mitsuhashi, the perpetrator of the incident.
◇The following contains spoilers.
In episode 3, Kozue, a prison guard who serves as the head of the female section of Hikawa Detention Center, is disturbed by the words of Reiji, who has been detained on suspicion of murdering his father. Reiji insists, "Let me out of here. I didn't do it." Reiji's fingerprints were found on the knife used in the crime, and there have been eyewitness reports, making it unlikely that he is innocent. However, Reiji's words won't leave Kozue's head.
Meanwhile, Reiji approaches Takashi Numata (Yuki Kubota) and Naoya Saijo (Hisato Kokubo), followers of Hiroyasu Yoroizuka (Yamato Kawachi), a death row inmate who is plotting an escape, and proposes that they join forces.
Shortly afterwards, a hostage situation breaks out in the detention center's supply warehouse, with Kozue, Reiji, and Saijo being taken hostage. Mitsuhashi, the perpetrator of the incident, is being held on suspicion of robbery and murder, and is demanding a retrial. Mitsuhashi's common-law wife and stepdaughter are his first family, and he wants to prove his innocence while his sick daughter is still alive and undergoing surgery. However, it turns out that his wife and stepdaughter have already died in a traffic accident, and Mitsuhashi is in a state of insanity where he is unable to distinguish between reality and delusion. When someone tries to steal his smartphone, which he uses for communication, Mitsuhashi stabs Saijo, severely injuring him. Distraught, Mitsuhashi mutters, "I should never have been here in the first place," and picks up a bomb... and so the story unfolds.
In the story, Reiji then subdues Mitsuhashi after a struggle. Kozue and Reiji safely leave the supply warehouse. However, Numata later reveals to Reiji that the hostage situation was a way for the cult to buy time to carry out part of their escape plan, and that Mitsuhashi is also a member of the cult, and that the act of stabbing Saijo was entirely according to plan. When Reiji presses him, saying, "Was that all a play? I stabbed Saijo," Numata calmly replies, "We'll do anything to get the cult leader out." Then, in the dark room of the detention center, Mitsuhashi looks down and grins.
On social media, Horiuchi's passionate performance was met with a stream of praise. Comments included, "I was amazed at his intense acting," "Horiken's final smile was so scary I forgot everything," "It gave me goosebumps...," "Horiken's smile was intense," and "His acting was amazing."
