Our conning duo is officially in the dating bromance stage of their relationship.  You know, the one where you still try to keep secrets from the other to make you look better.  They are going on interesting dates that include dank warehouses, scary thugs, and learning how to perfect the con.  Now all they need to do is actually start taking down Bankrupt Baddie which is easier said than done.

Pushed into a corner Seong Il decides that he is going to fight back against Bankrupt Baddie and the people on the take at City Hall.  This means that he has to become partners with Jung Do to earn the 6 million owed in back taxes.  Jung Do talks a good game, but I worry that he isn’t as eager to help as he seems.  But I guess that it is to early to worry about that and I should just enjoy how Jung Do’s smile while the good times last.

I loved how even when taking justice into his own hands, Seong Il is a tax collector down to his toes.  When Jung Do gets flippant about getting ready to steal money, Seong Il corrects him and says they are gathering taxes, ” Money is what you pay on yourself.  Tax is what goes to the citizens.  It is very different.”  Aww.  Seong Il is the perfect non bending teddy bear of a tax collector.  Who knew a taxman could be so likable.

But to do a con this big we need a team, not just one person.  Enter our very own group of likable underworld grifters.

• Burner Phone Gangster  – You might remember this guy as the head thug of the burner phone gangsters from episode 2.  I couldn’t stop laughing when the two awkwardly eyed each other upon meeting again.
• Computer Guy – A totally socially awkward loner, Ja Wang works best hiding away with his computers and porn.  He is in charge of all things hacking.
• Femme Fatale – We also met Mi Joo in the previous episodes.  She is a master at distracting men with her looks and getting intel.  She also is a close friend of Jung Do from before his incarceration.
• The Loan Shark – If you are going to pull a  multi-million dollar con you need seeding money.  Enter Nah Bang Shil who is the scary lady who is going to provide the funds.  But only after she found out that Jung Do has some heavy backers.  I loved how she inquired to Jung Do “Who are you really?”  and he just smiled and said, “I’m a con artist.” I think I am going to like their dynamic in the future.

The majority of the episode focused on getting ready to start the con.  However, there were tons of awesome Jung Do & Seong Il moments that I want to be sure to share… so in no particular order.

1. Seong Il shows up the next morning after agreeing to the con only to be told that a film director is looking for him.  Seong Il brushes it off and comments that it is probably for the Seong Il in team 1.  But low and behold Jung Do’s chipper voice interrupts the conversation stating that it was time for them to go.  BWAHAHA! Seong Il drops his head down on his desk mortified.  I absolutely love Jung Do’s in your face daring.  It just adds that bit of amusement that this show needs.
2. Not wanting to let Jung Do be in charge of everything, Seong Il declares that he is going to take the lead on talking to the next team member.  The person Seong Il is now in charge of confronting is our resident bad ass loan shark, who is very scary despite looking like a chaebol wife.  Needless to say, stuttering and awkwardness occurred until Seong Il handed the reigns back over to Jung Do.  It is so cute watching Seong Il make a mess of things and Jung Do be amused  because of it.
3. The following montage was probably my favorite of the whole episode. I know that it was more about Seong Il and the whole team, but I am adding it here since Jung Do being a cheerleader/coach on the sidelines of Seong Il’s conning lessons was adorbs.

Seong Il was taught all the various aspects of grifting.  Such as phone scams, making fake IDs, and jumping into cars (my personal favorite) to fake accidents.  He also was forced to try and get women to give him their numbers.  Something that would be a lot easier if he didn’t awkwardly go up to everyone, informing them of his marital status and his lack of interest in actually calling them.  Jung Do hanging out and laughing in the background probably doesn’t help the matter either.

You also had a few scenes with Seong Hee that I want to take a minute to discuss.

1. I liked the scene where she and Seong Il are talking about giving in and just ignoring the tax corruption.  It was very reminiscent to the initial talk between Seong Il and his friend who died.  Seong Il’s words “If you give in once you come to lie to yourself and settle for the wrong thing.” was very apt and again explains why he is going to such extremes to see justice served after ignoring it for so long.
2. We also find out that Seong Hee and Jung Do do have a romantic past.  One that ended very poorly.  In a flashback, we see that Jung Do brutely dumps her claiming that she was just a con and he had thought she was rich.

For someone that didn’t care, Jung Do looks really upset to see Seong Hee again, even though he tries to hide it with his signature smile.  Later we see him looking at all the couple photos he had kept from their dating days.  Aw, looks like there is more to the story than just a con gone wrong.

It also looks like she is going to the whistleblower that tries to stand in our conning teams way.  Just as they begin, she calls the cops on their activities.  Will be interesting to see how this all goes down.

 

My Thoughts:

I like the Ocean’s 11 feel that we are getting right now.  The various characters are all interesting and add something to the team dynamic.  I also enjoyed watching Seong Il awkwardly interact with everyone.  It made them all seem more human and less bad guy scum.  I am also worried about poor Seong Il being scammed in the end and not getting his tax money.  His innocence and straightforward personality is not conducive to avoiding the pitfalls of working with criminals.  However, I am hoping that his teddy bear charm will continue to work away at their hard hearts and they will end up choosing right in the end.

There are a few issues will Seong Hee’s character.  I understand why the character is necessary but so far Soo Young is playing her a bit, well, flat.  With the exception of the scene where Seong He was getting dumped, there has not been very much emoting coming from her.  Definitely, not what I would expect from someone confronting the man that did them wrong after so many years.  Crossing my fingers that her character becomes a bit more interesting in the future because right now she is definitely a limp noodle who is just trying to mess up everyone’s schemes .

Leaving you with a collage of Seo In Guk because everyone needs a little SIG to get them through the day.

Til next time,

Kmuse

 

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