"Switch - Change The World" Episodes 9-10 recap

Right away there's a snag to Do-chan's brilliant deduction. He can't really explain where the idea came from. More importantly it's a bad idea for him to explain where the idea came from, because the main factor inhibiting the villains right now is that they're not sure how their criminal enterprise has been compromised. It was a nice touch, watching Ha-ra drag Do-chan away from the cameras since nearly anything he could say for a multitude of reasons could put them at a future disadvantage.

That's because the villains of "Switch - Change The World" are smart enough to make good use of information. This makes them eminently credible antagonists even in their more arrogant moments. Look at Tae-woong smugly interact with Do-chan directly, absolutely confident that he has the upper hand. So much of "Switch - Change The World" is just a polite strategy game. Simply knowing who the enemy is doesn't matter. Winning has to be accomplished within the confines of certain rules.

But there's almost no direct control of the pieces. Tae-woong has to maintain plausible deniability as much as possible. Even when we see Tae-woong respond brutally to certain characters who make the foolish mistake of falling out of line, the sheer nameless nature of these men is what makes them easy to dispose of. Tae-woong is always careful to avoid leaving any more of an evidence trail than necessary. That's how he manages to salvage a bad situation.

Yet this also leaves Tae-woong's confederates at a disadvantage. They have to follow vague instructions and just trust that all is in service to Tae-woong's master plan, whatever that might be. Even Tae-woong is prone to random mistakes...or is he? The problem with any kind of game is that you can play very well and still lose, provided the other side plays better. Do-chan too, has a critical advantage in that he can call in help from outside the usual prosecutor's jurisdiction.

Aside from the intricacies of Do-chan and Tae-woong's grand competition "Switch - Change The World"still doesn't have much story to speak of. Joon-soo keeps being given more clumsy character traits, none of which are especially interesting. Ha-ra seems to exist mainly so that Do-chan has someone to talk to every once in awhile. Everyone else is just a tool in the game. I'm not sure backstories or subplots would help all that much though, since what little we do have in that department is just distracting.

Review by William Schwartz

"Switch - Change The World" is directed by Nam Tae-jin, written by Baek Woon-cheol and Kim Ryoo-hyun, and features Jang Geun-suk, Han Ye-ri, Jung Woong-in, and Jo Hee-bong