"Falsify" Episodes 3-4 recap

A few disappointments, betrayals and downfalls later, the leads of "Falsify" find themselves down on their luck and right back where things started, as the case of Park Eung-mo brings them closer to the people behind him. Goo Tae-won is enjoying his position of power and our heroes are still naive in many ways, but the foundations under the powerful criminals are beginning to shake.
Things have not changed much in five years, but all of our leads now hold important positions and information. Moo-yeong (Namgoong Min) works underground and So-ra (Eom Ji-won) for the law, but Seok-min (Yoo Joon-sang) is the one with the better grasp of how corrupt every system is after having been directly burned by their reach. This makes him important in this fight and so does being the one closest to the villain.

Speaking of whom, I am slightly disappointed to see that Goo Tae-won (Moon Sung-keun) seems to be the main villain or at least the brains behind the whole operation. What was earlier a slave working for others and taking orders from their right hand man has now become someone said others and their right hand man need input from. I wish the drama had kept the most powerful figures hidden for now, but perhaps their buttering up is only to humor Tae-won's ego for now.
Pampered henchman aside, I still like the drama's realistic approach to character flaws. Moo-yeong may have determination and the good sense to test others' loyalty, but he is still too slow to pick up on Daehan's involvement. Perhaps the fact that Cheol-ho (Oh Jung-se) was killed, rather than simply being fired led Moo-yeong to think that the publication was not involved. Whatever the case, he is clearly still a puppy in a dog's world and this makes Yang Dong-sik's (Jo Hee-bong) character matter as a seasoned mentor.

I am glad to see this, because the humor is starting to feel forced. While seeing the Aeguk crew arguing over complimentary Chinese dishes is good social commentary about treatment based on status, such scenes push these characters to the designation of comedic relief, which will be a useless position when the comedy inevitably dies out. I hope the team will find balance in tone and function like their leader has.
Now that Tae-won has been established as the mastermind behind the actual masters, things may not be as exciting in terms of the mystery, but the different characters and their potential alignments make things meatier. We have many new faces in the workplaces of our three heroes and I look forward to discovering where they stand on the good/bad scale and how they will develop.
"Falsify" is directed by Lee Jeong-heum, written by Kim Hyeon-jeong-IV and features Namgoong Min, Yoo Joon-sang, Eom Ji-won and Moon Sung-keun.
Written by: Orion from 'Orion's Ramblings'

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