MaryMeKpop

I’m back with another late review post as I catch up on the latest episodes of ‘Taxi Driver 2.’ This time, our Taxi team goes up against two dangerous types of corruption groups: religious cults and big powerful hospitals. But just like with all the previous cases, our team comes out victorious against the smaller villains. Ironically, it’s the enemy who’s the nearest to them that is the most dangerous and the one they have to be the most careful of.

The drama finally confirmed what it had sort of been building towards and setting up which was the reveal of Oh Ha-joon’s character as the villain. The show did a tremendous job revealing his identity at the end of episode 8 when Ha-joon and Do-ki had a conversation outside on the rooftop of their building. They spoke indirectly about each other and Ha-joon wanted advice from Do-ki on the possibilities of befriending a “younger brother” – AKA Do-ki and his team. Could it be possible for Ha-joon the villain to “befriend” Do-ki and the Taxi team and maybe form a mutual connection? But Do-ki was not in the mood or place to offer any advice and Lee Je-hoon’s acting in this particular scene was chilling. He definitely knew about Ha-joon and what his intentions behind the conversation was. He caught on to Ha-joon easily and was stone cold towards him. The change in Do-ki’s face expression and attitude towards Ha-joon who had been playing off as this kind, boy-next-door persona was goosebumps inducing. As some might have suspected all along, it’s our Rainbow Deluxe Taxi team vs. Ha-joon.

Ha-joon was the mastermind behind all the evil operations that our Taxi team had done an incredible job in handling and eliminating so he plotted his revenge on Do-ki in particular at the end of episode 10. He caused Do-ki’s taxi vehicle that Do-ki was driving in to explode into flames upon finishing their most recent mission and it also was devastating in the way that it happened in front of our team members. Of course, I doubt Do-ki is dead because he is our main character and I also just refuse to believe that he’s dead. He’s so smart and he was already aware of Ha-joon’s identity so I assume he must have caught on beforehand and managed to survive somehow. We’ve witnessed how evil and meticulous Ha-joon is and how determined he is to bring down the Taxi team. What other tricks and plans does he have up his sleeve?

Episodes 7 and 8 was focused on a case where the client’s sister was in a religious cult. Just when I was curious as to what other group the drama was going to focus on, they kept me intrigued by introducing a case about a cult. I also liked that the drama continued to add a new little touch or detail to each case. With episodes 7 and 8, it was Jin-eon and not Do-ki who was in the cult to watch over the client’s sister and keep tabs on her. Often times, it’s Do-ki who’s doing the bulk of the work (rightfully so) and him primarily being in on the action with the rest of our characters helping him out. But this time, Jin-eon’s participation in the cult allowed Do-ki to then interact with the villain – the leader of the cult. We’ve seen Do-ki portray several roles so far including being a countryside boy, a computer programmer, and a husband to Go-eun so the drama decided to amp it up once more by having him play the role of a shaman to trick the villain. There was not a better way to expose and out the villain by tricking him into believing Shaman Do-ki and betraying his followers for his own selfish needs in the process. I also liked that this case focused on a sister’s strong bond and relationship which then related back to Go-eun’s character arc. Do-ki’s the main guy who gets in on the action but it’s also nice to revisit the stories of the other team members as well.

Then episode 9 and 10 focused on a father who was up against a big powerful hospital for the wrongful operation on his daughter who ended up in a coma after her operation. Again, similarly to what I mentioned earlier, I liked the little twist that the drama implemented in this case which was our Taxi team’s initial doubts in taking on the case. They did their research on the hospital director, Dr. Ahn Young-sook, but couldn’t find anything negative about her that stood out so they thought about leaving the case alone. However, Do-ki (and Go-eun) couldn’t just give up on it and their intuition eventually proved them right. They listened to their gut instinct and discovered that Dr. Ahn was indeed a corrupt figure pretending to be an angel. She hired external people to perform the surgeries in her stead while she stayed back and perpetuated her drinking problem. This case definitely felt the most makjang to me out of all the cases so far. I thought it was going to be about Dr. Ahn messing up while performing the surgeries so she had her employees stay quiet about the results, but to hire salesmen working for the companies where you purchase your medical equipment and supplies from and have them perform the surgery for you? Now that’s another level of corruption and evilness that is mindblowing and baffling.

What makes these revenge plans so satisfying is watching the villains get a taste of their own medicine by the end of it all. Our Taxi teams reign victorious and they place the villains in a position where they then imagine and experience the pain, trauma, and hurt that they put their victims in. Our Taxi team is the best and they’ve been able to work efficiently and effectively together to seek revenge. But the most challenging and difficult test is yet to come with Ha-joon also seeking revenge on the team for how they’ve ruined his operations and plans. It’s going to be quite the battle and Ha-joon was the one who attacked first. Now it’s time for our Taxi team to strike back with Do-ki there to lead them (and while we’re at it, can we also get Namgoong Min to join the team as well? Haha).