We’re already four episodes into the thriller series The Husband, and the question that looms is, why is the villain doing the kidnapping? The series has already presented Noh as an unnerving, intelligent kidnapper who is also a good man for the world. He is a coding teacher with a deep, dirty secret.
Unlike other thrillers, The Husband villain doesn’t have a clear motive. He isn’t driven by money alone, nor does he appear to enjoy violence for its own sake. Instead, every action seems purposeful, but why? While the drama hasn’t confirmed his backstory yet, Episode 4 offers enough clues for us to piece together the puzzle.
The Husband Villain’s Obsession
His Victims Are Too Specific
One thing that we clearly know about Noh is his pattern. He doesn’t kidnap women. He specifically spots married women and the men who tend to have some beef with their wives.
Every kidnapping follows a similar method. First, he asks for a ransom, then, despite getting it, he never releases the women. He also troubles the husbands with more ransom, torture videos and then frames them for the disappearance of their wives. If his motive was just money, Noh would be the richest by now, but why does he torture the women and make the husbands suffer? Even when Seon-ja’s husband failed to bother about his wife, Noh continued to kill her. So is his motive just to kill married women?
Did Marriage Ruin His Life?
One possible explanation could be that Noh hates married women, probably because he was once married and had a miserable experience. Many psychological thrillers build villains around unresolved personal trauma. The series has already shown how grief can completely destroy a family through Tae-ju and Se-yun’s lives.
Could Mr Noh have experienced something similar? Perhaps he once had a wife whom he loved deeply . Maybe she left him, betrayed him or died. Maybe he felt unable to process his loss and decided to go on a kidnapping and killing spree. But why does he torture the husbands with ransom? Is he trying to punish them for something he did to his wife? We’re yet to know.
Why Keep His Victims Alive?
I mean, he does kill the victims, but just not immediately. Why does he keep them alive for days, feeds them, gives them medication and even watches their resilience through CCTV cameras? This behaviour suggests control is far more important to him than violence.
He decides when they eat. He decides when they sleep. He plans on the punishments, he watches them not pray to stay strong. He also takes them as a muse. Is he in love with the fact that he is in power? Did he fail to be in control over someone, or was someone torturing and controlling him so far? In many ways, psychological domination appears to be his real addiction.
The Ordinary Life That Makes Him Scarier
One of The Husband‘s smartest creative decisions is making Mr Noh completely ordinary. He is a good pal around the town. People know him as a teacher, the students love him, the food shop lady respects him and even introduces her granddaughter to him. He is calm, educated, polite and decent. However, he holds women captive and tortures them, yet none can ever know or believe if they learn about his secret.
The series reminds us that evil doesn’t always announce itself. Sometimes it hides behind routines, smiles and everyday conversations.
Could There Be More Than One Killer?
Another intriguing question is, could Noh have another leader? He has escaped the police for years, never once getting caught in any criminal investigations. He monitors different locations; he somehow knows about the police movements, etc. So could someone be helping him out? How does he cleverly seal a hidden room, know where the people are, and know about the victims’ homes and their burdens?
A Final Prediction
My biggest prediction is that Mr Noh probably hates married women who treat their husbands badly. He probably had a wife who ill-treated him and left him for someone better. Instead of analysing what’s wrong with him, he now wishes to make all married women endure the pain and also puts the husbands to the test so he can feel superior.
The drama has consistently explored how unresolved grief shapes people. Tae-ju buried himself in work after losing his daughter. Se-yun buried herself in hate towards her husband. Su-hyeong spent six years chasing an anonymous kidnapper. It would be fitting if Mr Noh represents the darkest possible outcome of that same grief: a man who never healed and instead transformed his pain into a cruel motive.
If that theory proves correct, The Husband won’t simply be telling the story of a serial kidnapper. It will examine how loss can either break a person or consume them entirely.
Watch The Husband on JioHotstar. What are your thoughts on the first episode? Let us know in the comments below!
Also read: Season 1 Review
