And we’ve reached the FINAL episode of the Bad Kids! The Bad Kids episode 12! When everything is all said and done, where do you think the show got it’s title from?
Are the kids truly the bad ones? Or are they the result of BAD parenting? Or maybe it’s a mixture of both?
The Bad Kids Episode 12 Recap Highlights:
- Yan Liang and Zhu Chaoyang decide to take down Dong Sheng
- Chen Guang Sheng gets a note and a gift from Yan Liang
- Zhu Chaoyang tells the police what he knows and starts from the beginning
Man, it’s been a rollercoaster of emotions and jaw-dropping events! But we’ve reached the end!
Take a breath before we dive into the Bad Kids episode 12 recap!
Investigating the Fire
Officer Ye looks around in the fish factory with the flashlight and wonders what happened in here.
While his colleague reports that there were signs of a struggle.
Zhu Chaoyang is right outside and hasn’t spoken a word.
Anyone notice that we no longer get a scene before the OST? It started last episode but I guess there’s no more flashbacks to the end?
Chun Hong arrives on the scene and rushes over to her son. Asking him if he’s okay.
But Zhu Chaoyang doesn’t respond.
Instead, he keeps rubbing his hands as if he touched something dirty.
His mother wants to take him home and Officer Ye agrees.

Where did Yan Liang go??
Chun Hong calls out to her son but Zhu Chaoyang stares off to space.
Meanwhile, Yan Liang finds a place to stay outside underneath a bridge.
And Dong Sheng attempts to kill himself by jumping off. But fails to go through with it.
Back at home, Zhu Chaoyang stares at the wall his father marked.

On another day, Zhu Chaoyang tells the officers what he has been through. With his mother off to the side.
Dong Sheng returns to his life as a teacher and passes out test results.
While Yan Liang visits his father at the mental institute.
He has a brief chat with his dad and believes his father can’t hear what he is saying.
But when he tries to leave, his father stops him from leaving. Giving him a pear to eat.

Yan Liang smiles.
Dong Sheng lets out a sigh of relief as he looks over Zhu Chaoyang’s test paper.
Officer Ye shows up and asks Dong Sheng about Zhu Chaoyang.
Suspecting Dong Sheng

Officer Ye asks to see Zhu Chaoyang’s attendance record and notices there’s oil underneath Dong Sheng’s fingernails.
Then comments about it. So Dong Sheng replies that he’s been working on his car lately.
Officer Ye thanks Dong Sheng for his cooperation and takes off. But remarks that Dong Sheng looks different without his glasses.
Zhu Chaoyang hears a bird whistle while hanging out at his balcony. It’s Yan Liang.
He tells Yan Liang that he lied to the police because he wants to start over.
Just like how his dad wanted him too.
So he asks Yan Liang if he plans on going to the police. Instead of answering, Yan Liang comments that he owes Pupu one.

Zhu Chaoyang, you better not scheme against your remaining friend!
And Zhu Chaoyang agrees.
Meanwhile Officer Ye wants his colleague to investigate Dong Sheng. And the deaths related to his family members.
Including a medicine that’s for lowering blood pressure.
Dong Sheng gets a call from Zhu Chaoyang and he’s surprised to hear that he escaped. But instead of answering, Zhu Chaoyang tells him to meet up at the Youling cruise ship.
When Officer gets a footage of the people hiking at Youfeng mountain, he notices a shot of three kids.
One of which is Zhu Chaoyang and Pupu.
So he orders the arrest of Dong Sheng.

But Dong Sheng and Zhu Chaoyang are at the ship.
They both have phones and walks towards the end of a hallway. Zhu Chaoyang tells him to keep walking and he will eventually meet up with him.
Tying up Loose Ends
Dong Sheng wonders if Yan Liang is ready to capture him.
While also wondering why Zhu Chaoyang isn’t taking revenge for his father. Zhu Chaoyang lashes out because Dong Sheng’s words hurt the most.
He blames Dong Sheng for the death of his father.
Dong Sheng blames them for sending him a threatening letter.
That’s how it all started.

And he knows why he’s here. Dong Sheng encounters Yan Liang first.
Who holds a weapon in his hands.
Meanwhile, Chen Guan Sheng thinks it’s strange that his wife received a random bag of money with a note.
That’s from Yan Liang. Telling him the money is for Pupu’s brother. To pay for the surgery.
In that note, Yan Liang apologizes for causing him trouble. And reads like it’s his last goodbye.
A struggle ensues between Yan Liang and Dong Sheng with Dong Sheng getting the upper hand.

Later, he finds Zhu Chaoyang and tosses a weapon at him.
Commenting that Yan Liang is now dead.
So he should do it now.
When Zhu Chaoyang hesitates, Dong Sheng incites him by mentioning his dad.
Zhu Chaoyang takes the weapon and stabs Dong Sheng. But he missed the heart.
At the crucial moment, Yan Liang shows up and tells Zhu Chaoyang to stop. Because if he kills Dong Sheng, there’s no turning back.
Zhu Chaoyang struggles and flings Yan Liang aside. Telling him that he regrets opening the door to Yan Liang and Pupu.

Before Yan Liang falls into the water, he warns Zhu Chaoyang not to become a second Dong Sheng.
And Zhu Chaoyang contemplates a moment before dropping the weapon.
Then the police officers arrive.
They see Dong Sheng raise his arm with the weapon as if he’s about to stab Zhu Chaoyang so they shoot him.
You Can Believe in the Fairytale

And Officer Ye leads him back to safety.
Chen Guan Sheng drags Yan Liang to shore and performs emergency CPR on him.
So he coughs up the water and wakes up.
Telling him that he never became a bad guy.
Afterwards, both Yan Liang and Zhu Chaoyang confess to the cops.
Zhu Chaoyang returns to school as if nothing happened. During a school assembly announcement, Yan Liang walks in.
No one notices except Zhu Chaoyang.
And the two share a complicated look.

Is Yan Liang dead or something?
And Yan Liang walks out into the light.
He meets up with Chen Guan Sheng. Who tells him some good news.
Pupu’s brother, Xin will get his surgery.
So he wants him to go back to school after this.
Yan Liang promises him.

Then Yan Liang tells him that in the future, he wants to be a police officer. Just like him.
Meanwhile, Zhu Chaoyang opens up the letter he received from Pupu.
Thanking him for helping them out. And knows that she brought a lot of trouble to him.
And then mentions how she never told anyone about what happened at the education building.
But she hopes that one day, he can tell someone what really happened.
On another day, Zhu Chaoyang leads the police officers up to the 5th floor and explains what happened.

That day, he ran over to help her when she slipped.
But it was already too late.
Oh SNAP. So back in episode 3, when Officer Ye looked out the window, there was a white piece of cloth. Which hints that maybe Jingjing was hanging on before she fell.
So does that mean Zhu Chaoyang could have saved her!?
Comments
Thanks for sticking along for the ride! In the Bad Kids episode 12, I felt like the ending was too good to be true.
After everything I’ve seen so far, it feels like Yan Liang is dead, Pupu is dead. Maybe her brother has the surgery.
And Zhu Chaoyang is no longer the same.
Even Chun Hong’s reaction to how her son got first place again was a bit odd. As if she’s surprised to see him go back to normal after everything he’s been through.
If a normal kid survived an explosion that could have killed him, wouldn’t he be traumatized? But nope, Zhu Chaoyang is eerily calm.
I’ve read some thoughts floating around about the Bad Kids ending and some I think are reasonable. Because there is a lot of symbolism hinted throughout the show.
It’s up to the audience to believe what they want to believe. Given the clues. Did the kids come out unscathed or were they the casualties?
I don’t want to believe in the fairytale, I rather take the truth. And yes, it’s hard to swallow but averting your eyes from the truth is not good for you in the long run.
All in all, this show was a masterpiece. It shows you the darker nature of human beings and how even kids aren’t immune.
What do YOU want to believe? And what were your thoughts on the Bad Kids episode 12?
Leave a comment below!