"Taxi Driver" Korean drama season two: Episode nine recap

 

Air Dates: 17th until April 15, 2023. Friday and Saturday nights at 9:00 pm on SBS/ViuTV

Director: Lee Dan    Screenwriter: Oh Sang-Ho.... This episode's rating: 13.4%

This series ran for 1070 minutes or close to 67 minutes an episode.

Main Cast: The five heroes from Jang's 'Revenge Squad' are also in this second season. The only major character who didn't return was the prosecutor Kang Ha-Na so don't know if Jang's crew will be feeling any pressure from the authorities. She was mentioned in the opening minutes and also her superior won't be in this series. The top five names below are the 'Revenge Squad', think at least one more major character will be added in plus will be doing a lot of editing in the first half of the series. The bottom characters will be the guest stars for the story, for the first case will leave them there for two recaps. If you didn't read the posts or view the first season highly recommend that you do as it's my top drama from the last three years. Here are the links to the final two episodes of season one if you want to get a feel for the series:

Episode fifteen .... Episode sixteen

**** Towards the end of the sixth episode there was a conspiracy storyline added in involving the new driver On. He's not what he appears to be and On's aim is to bring down Jang's team and the story is getting more intense as we go along.

 Lee Je-Hoon as Kim Do-Gi.... Everyone on Jang's team is important but Do-Gi is the most essential part of the team. He used to be a member of the Special Forces of the Korean military and is truly one unbeatable fighter. Shortly after Do-Gi was discharged from the military his mother was murdered by a serial killer and that was a key story in the first season. After that killing is when Do-Gi was recruited by Jang to be a part of his 'revenge squad', after being together for over three years the team was disbanded at the end of season one. But Do-Gi kept in touch with his mentor and after two years rejoined fighting evil with Jang, soon the other three completed the team.

 Kim Eui-Sung as Jang Sing-Chul.... Leader of the 'revenge squad' and for well over a year it was a solo project. Jang also owns the Rainbow Taxi company which is a semi cover for his team, he also runs a victim's organization called Blue Bird. At the end of the first season Jang felt his squad had done all they could do so disbanded the team, think he was also worried for their safety. However Jang did secretly keep in touch with Do-Gi and in the first episode the pair did work on two revenge cases. The second case was so intense the rest of the old 'revenge squad' found out some details about it and Jang eventually brought them back into the fold. Jang below was telling the police after the squad's disbandment that he did everything by himself but the charges were soon dropped.

Pyo Ye-Jin as Ahn Go-Eun.... Her sister had been framed by a sex con artist and because of that had committed suicide. That was over five years ago and after hearing Eun-Go's story Jang recruited her to be a member of his squad. Go-Eun is the techno whiz of the team and there's seemingly nothing computer related she can't do. After Jang broke the team up Go-Eun took the civil service exam, when the series began she was working for the police in their Information Management division though soon returned to Jang's squad in the second episode.

 Jang Hyuk-Jin as Choi Kyung-Goo.... Was the head mechanic at Rainbow Taxi and really knew how to 'soup up' Do-Gi's vehicle. When the 'revenge squad' was disbanded Choi went back to being a researcher testing out new automobiles but he really missed working with his mates. At the end of the second show he, Park and Go-Eun all quit their new jobs to return to Jang's 'revenge squad'.

 

Bae Yoo-Ram as Park Jin-Eon.... In real life him and the above man are a comedy team who also appear in many dramas together. Below is Park on the left, Choi is on the right. Park comes off as being a bit goofy but what an intelligent man he is! What he did after the team broke up was to work for Korea's version of NASA designing spaceships but was about to be transferred to Russia(?) for five years.

Shin Jae-Ha as On Ha-Jun/Kim Don-Woo.... New driver for Rainbow Taxi who we first met in the third episode. There are two names for him as On is the alias he's using while working as a driver. In episode six it was confirmed that On is some sort of agent and is targeting Jang's squad.... but why?! That we discovered in the seventh episode as On is a director of the underground Geumsa organization and Jang's team have thwarted his criminal activities.

 Park Jong-Hwan as Park Hyeon-Jo.... Don't know much about him yet but think he will be a major character and also a thorn in the side of Jang! Park works for the Northeast Seoul PD and is also an executive at the Geumsa Organization which appears to be a shady outfit. Finally saw him in episode seven and is working with On.

 ****Guest stars for the fifth story which lasts for two episodes, will update/change the names for every story and most last for two episodes.

Jung Ki-Seob as Han Jae-Deok.... Fifth requestor of season two and it took Jang's team a long time to decide on whether to take this revenge case. They did as they came to believe Han's story of the below surgeon messing up his daughter's operation which has left her in a coma. Han brought the case to court but lost, the last few months he's been standing in front of the Jeil Chakhan Hospital letting the world know how bad of a surgeon Ahn is.

Kang Seol as Han Su-Ryeon.... The above man's teenage daughter and we didn't see much of her for she's lying in a coma! That's because of a simple operation that took place a year ago at Jeil Chakhan Hospital and Su-Ryeon should never have been in this condition.

Lee Hang-Na as Ahn Young-Sook.... The director of Jeil Chakhan Hospital and also their most most famous surgeon. Ahn is immensely respected and serves on so many committees, does volunteer work, etc. and it seems as though it'll be impossible to bring justice to her. However it appears Ahn may be an alcoholic or have some other condition as her hands do shake which has only been noticed by Do-Gi.

Kim Youg-Jin as Manager Kim.... Close friend to the above woman and appears to be her assistant when it comes to running the hospital.

 There will be one character added in for the tenth episode.

Previous recaps

Episode one .... Episode two .... Episode three .... Episode four

Episode five .... Episode six .... Episode seven .... Episode eight

 Very interesting scene from this episode which is subbed in English. Do-Gi had met this lawyer at the Rainbow Taxi waiting room and this man gave our hero some solid legal advice. Found out this cameo was from the man who starred in the "One Dollar Lawyer" drama which I may need to check out. The character's name is Chun who is portrayed by Namkoong Min.

 

 

 Before I get to the regular recap let me discuss those screenshots above which were from the first three minutes. That's Jang in the top screenshot who is the leader of Do-Gi and the others on the 'revenge squad'. With Jang is his close friend Cho Jin-Woo and if you viewed the first season or read the recaps you know his character was very important. Cho was a special prosecutor who ended up resigning at the end of season one and set up an agency to help victims who needed legal help. There was an unknown package sent to a Detective Jang(!) at the Seoul Northeast Police station, Cho happened to have an ally who worked there and gave the package to Cho. So Cho met with Jang to deliver the very important package and also to warn Jang as Cho knows what Jang's secret activities are. Rumor is spreading about the revenge cases his team has solved and Cho is worried about his friend. It was just a cameo and Cho was one of your more likable characters in season one.

 That above scene actually took place before the previous episode ended and much of that pressure Cho mentioned will be coming from the new Rainbow Taxi driver On, will begin the recap off with him. There was a bit of humor once again in this episode but luckily not at the level it was some shows ago. This is the fifth revenge case for season two and perhaps the most difficult case to date for Jang's 'revenge squad', you'll learn why in the recap. Plus as mentioned in the last recap Do-Gi is becoming a master as impersonating other kinds of people. So far in this season he had been a monk, daffy newlywed, a nerd computer program designer and in this show was a doctor and at its very end a patient about to have surgery!

 For the last four episodes we've seen On about ten minutes a show or 2-3 scenes. Perhaps not a huge amount of screen time but what an important character he's become. That package mentioned in the intro had been sent from Vietnam and has to deal with the story in the first two episodes. When the last show ended On had been visiting Do-Gi which happens often as he lives in the below apartment. On said he needed to use the bathroom but it was a ruse to check out Do-Gi's place and he did find that package about the Cotaya company from Vietnam. Arriving on the scene quickly was Do-Gi who asked On if he found what he was looking for. Do-Gi is a cautious person and have a feeling he left that evidence out to test On and if so his suspicions about On have grown even higher. The following day On did drive his taxi though just to pick up one passenger. That's the man above in a suit whose name is Park and is a superintendent for the Seoul police. Like On Park is very shady as he too is a higher up for this underground Geumsa criminal organization and may rank higher than On.

 However On let Park know who the real boss is as later on he trapped Park in his office and could have easily killed the man. Did say before that On would be no match for Do-Gi in a fight which is true but seems like he is a tough young man. Later on Park did find out some info for On about that Cotaya package that arrived from Vietnam and may have some damaging evidence about Geusma. It had been sent to a Seoul police branch and addressed to Detective Jang, we all know who that is. Someone there transferred the package to the prosecutor's office which is where Cho picked it up when an old ally notified him about it and that was the package Cho handed to Jang.... sound confusing? So there are a lot of moles working, some for On and his shady organization and also for (detective)Jang. For the most part that finishes off what took place with On and know this storyline will be getting much larger. Now on to this season's fifth revenge story and the bottom three screenshots above are for it. The third to last one shows a man named Han noticing a decal Jang put up for his Deluxe Taxi revenge team and was there anywhere in the Seoul area Jang didn't put a decal at?!

 Our 'hero driver' Do-Gi was the first person on Jang's 'revenge squad' to come into contact with that man Han though he just observed him while dropping a fare off at Jeil Cakhan Hospital. Outside Han had set up a mini tent with many signs saying the hospital gave such shoddy treatment, especially their ace surgeon Ahn Young-Soon who is in the third to last screenshot. After Han saw that decal about Jang's revenge services he gave the man a call, Do-Gi is the person who always feels new clients out. So here is the story Han told Do-Gi and some of it is in the above screenshots. Han is a self employed handyman who had worked construction for many years. He's raised his daughter by himself and no clue about the mother. The girls name is Su-Ryeon, she's seventeen and at high school was the star of the track team. But a year ago she began to have some issues with her left leg and her performance really slipped. An operation was suggested as it wouldn't be major and within six months Su-Ryeon should be back to being an ace runner. The father Han brought his daughter to the Jeil Chakhan Hospital and to his amazement doing the surgery would be the woman Ahn. She is so well known and though a director at the hospital still does more surgeries than any other doctor.

 It's the day of the operation which is supposed to take three hours, Ahn told Han there will be nothing to worry about. While in the waiting room Han began to notice many medical personnel entering the OR and quite a few had been carrying bags of blood. Needless to say Han was fretting something went wrong during the surgery but when it was completed Ahn said it was a success and Su-Ryeon should be waking up very shortly. Which never happened for a year later Soo-Ryeon is still.... in a coma which she's been in since the operation! Which was in her left leg and how could someone be in a coma because of that? That's what Han wants to know and he was certainly furious at what took place. He received no answers on why it happened and even brought the issue to court to sue for malpractice. Han testified about smelling alcohol on Ahn's breath which was quickly shot down and he easily lost the case. For now Han doesn't even want compensation, he wants answers to what happened to his daughter but hit a stone wall which is one reason he's been protesting in front of the hospital. This is a tough case for Jang's team, they've never dealt with something like this and were torn on whether to accept the case. Han had tried suing Ahn to no avail so legally the hospital was in the clear. The members on the 'revenge squad' are at a loss and you can see what Jang decided halfway through this show above, for his team not to accept the case! **** Almost forgot to add in that Do-Gi later on gave Ahn a ride in his taxi. He noticed that her hands shook badly, was it because of what Han said about Ahn drinking or was it some other issue? Either way she had kept it well hidden.

 In the intro section had a video of one of this episode's scenes and that's what the second and third screenshots above are from. Do-Gi was getting a cup of coffee in the taxi lounge when that man entered and discovered this cameo featured the lead actor from the "One Dollar Lawyer" series. The lawyer's name is Chun who said he left something in a taxi and was waiting for it to return. He noticed Do-Gi holding some court papers and asked to see them. Which Do-Gi agreed to and it was the court trial papers of when Han sued Ahn and the hospital. Chun said Han had no chance from the get go of winning as the hospitals lawyers were top notch. Plus Han wasn't allowed to see any of their private records and there was no camera that filmed the operation. But Chun added in if Han had a good lawyer he may have had a chance as his case was a solid one but it can't be tried twice.. A short scene but the advice and observations were so key to the story. What was said changed Do-Gi's mind about accepting the case, he now wants to help Han but where to begin? His mates, the tech whiz Go-Eun and the two mechanics Choi and Park, also have changed their minds. They too realized something was not right with the case and how the hospital is trying to cover up this young girl's tragedy, you can see their leader's thought about the situation above.

 Go-Eun took the first step and broke into the hospital acting as a cleaner She set off an alarm in the stairwell and when the crew from the computer room took off to investigate she entered. In what seemed to take less than a minute Go-Eun inserted a USB drive and somehow downloaded most of the hospital's records.... HOW? Just as Go-Eun was leaving the room who should enter but the two mechanics Choi and Park, they too had the same idea as they had a USB drive with them! Go-Eun called Do-Gi and said to wait for a huge surprise from her shortly. In the back of the mechanic's van Go-Eun has such a work station and began to check all of the info that she had grabbed. But to Go-Eun's shock there was no info about Su-Ryeon's operation in the hospital database, the best hatched ideas don't always work out. You can see Go-Eun's frustrations above and now what can the 'revenge squad' do? Do-Gi said not to worry and said it was a grand plan that just didn't work out. But this made Go-Eun and the two mechanics even more suspicious of the hospital, the fact they deleted Su-Ryeon's records. Do-Gi in this season has also had some key plans and he too came up with one which was also to enter the Jeil Chakhan Hospital. 

 Final segment and though Jang's team knows what happened to Han's daughter was a tragedy they still hadn't decided on accepting the case. But they will shortly as Do-Gi also entered the hospital, first he pretended to be a tech repairman and then a doctor! When he goes on an assignment Do-Gi either wears glasses or some small gadget attached to his ear, both have a mini camera and microphone. As you can see above that's how Go-Eun can keep tabs on Do-Gi. Do-Gi entered a small room just before you would go into the OR, when he did that the hospital's alarm system began to blare. The mini camera that Do-Gi was been wearing set off the alarm and the director/surgeon Ahn rushed to the scene. Cameras are not allowed in the OR area and why would that be.... definitely in case an operation went awry! There was a quick search done but luckily Do-Gi wasn't found though he should have been. Back in her van Go-Eun had set off the alarm once again so the staff figured it was some sort of malfunction. So with what happened there, the fact there was no info about Su-Ryeon in the hospital's database have settled the issue for Jang's team... they will take Han's case! What also helped him is that Jang knew he refused any compensation and would rather have answers to what happened to his daughter.

 The problem is that this could be the toughest case to date for Jang and his mates to seek revenge. The hospital has covered their tracks well, Do-Gi had found a damaged copy of Su-Ryeon's medical records but for now they're of no help. So here's Do-Gi's grand idea which will end this episode and continue on into the next show. He desperately wants to see the OR where Su-Ryeon had her surgery but it's been impossible to enter the room. Do-Gi set it up so he would be hit in the rear of his taxi in the front of Jeil Chakhan Hospital by his boss Jang. Which happened and Do-Gi complained of whiplash and was immediately checked in. Seemingly within minutes Do-Gi was rushed to the OR and guess what.... they'll be doing surgery on him! When the nurses had their back turned Do-Gi had switched medical charts with another patient which is why he needed immediate attention. Did view the next episode and it will be explained much better in that recap. Do-Gi had been wearing thick glasses which had a mini camera that transmitted back to Go-Eun in her van. The camera had been off until Do-Gi was in the OR for the hospital has sensors that can detect cameras. Once Do-Gi was put under Go-Eun activated the camera and could see everything as Do-Gi's glasses had been removed and were sitting on a table facing him. Go-Eun was absolutely stunned by what was about to take place, Do-Gi will be operated on for a simple case of whiplash? Plus entering the OR with five seconds to go in the show was another doctor and who was this man? Solid ending to this show and the following post has the recap for the tenth show.