In episode fifteen, we see Do-chan swagger in with a nice suit, completely in his element as the guy who is always running a con, to the point he'll even say so directly. Then, in episode sixteen, we see Tae-woong walk down the stairs in a typically loud brightly colored outfit, knowing full well that everyone takes orders from him and that's what matters. Here are two very different, yet equally effective ways of running a room.
Anyway, as far as the actual plot goes, Tae-woong has come up with a new evil scheme that he is reasonably sure can't be traced back to him. The implications are obvious enough. I liked how Ha-ra quickly catches on to the suspicious circumstances of the suicide. Whether Do-chan was actually surprised at Ha-ra's deductions or if he was just playing dumb is unclear. That's the problem with a drama that's conceptually all about retroactive plot twists. It's hard to tell how ignorant anyone actually is at any given moment.
The con artist setpieces are strong enough. The whole bit where Do-chan pretends to be a doctor is brilliant. The performance is a perfect combination of faux intellectualism, cold reading, and Do-chan abusing information he already has access to. The plan goes so well that the turnabout is legitimately surprising. Do-chan and Tae-woong are both fundamentally arrogant men, so they always win or lose at a perceived high point.
In general
Jung Woong-in tends to play really good villains. They're always evil guys, but they're smart enough not to be too obvious about it. I love how Tae-woong's games of Chinese Chess with Do-chan play out more like poker than they do anything to do with the actual rules of Chinese Chess, because that's really what they are. It's just an excuse for Tae-woong and Do-chan to eye each other for possible weaknesses, and both men are fully aware of this.
This last fact is a bit apropos of nothing, but I should note that the reason I refer to Mister Ppeong by that name is because he sells "ppeong", which is the Korean word for beer nuts, which are commonly eaten with fried chicken, and Ha-ra's mom runs a fried chicken restaurant. It's odd how that specific subplot sticks in my memory. Joon-soo's big confrontation at the cliffhanger should really command a lot more attention. The possible twists in that case are just easier to telegraph is all.
Review by William Schwartz
