"Taxi Driver" Korean drama season two: Episode seven 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: 13.0%

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

 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. Don't know much about him yet so will be editing this bio info but it appears he's a mole working for the below man who we haven't seen much of yet. In episode six it was confirmed that On is some sort of agent and is targeting Jang's squad.... but why?!

 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 fourth story which lasts for two episodes, will update/change the names for every story and most last for two episodes.

Kim Eun-Bi as Lee Jin-Hee.... Fourth requestor of season two. Her older sister is the next character and though their parents died at an early age the pair had been living well until two years ago. That's when Jin-Hee graduated from college with a business degree and obtained a well paying job. But shortly after her sister Jin-Seon was diagnosed with leukemia and eventually joined a church cult. Jin-Hee has had no success in contacting Jin-Seon and her only solution was to call Jang's 'revenge squad'.

Jung Ji-Woo as Lee Jin-Seon.... Jin-Hee's older sister who has joined the cult religious group Sunbaek Church after her leukemia treatments weren't working. But the medicine was keeping her condition stable, now with no medicine Jin-Seon may die at the church!

Ahn Sung-Woo as Ok Ju-Man.... Pastor of the scam cult religious group Sunbaek Church. He does have charisma preaching from the pulpit and must have over a hundred followers who live at the compound. But of course all are being duped for as much money as Ju-Man can scam off them, he's also very adept at slight of hand tricks. He has a girlfriend who is also his asssistant and her name is Seo Ji-Soon.

Previous recaps

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

Episode five .... Episode six

 A video featuring the new driver On Ha-Jun talking about his spying on Rainbow Taxi and in the sixth episode it was confirmed he's some sort of mole.

 

 Know I've been a bit slow with these recaps but the pace will be picking up. Another excellent episode and it's gone back to the intensity we saw in the first season. The next post for the eighth episode will bring us to the halfway point of the series and probably won't view that show until writing this up. Above are two screenshots that were from early in the episode and that top person shows a man named Kang. He was the main culprit in the previous story so won't be getting into any details. Do-Gi in the second screenshot had left Kang tied up at a massive landfill and thought we heard the last of that creep. Not so for as the first screenshot says Kang was found dead on a mountain and who could have brought him there? So naturally Do-Gi's leader Jang feels some outside evil organization is getting closer to exposing his 'revenge squad' and he's right on the money. There's been a few other incidents in this series which is why Jang is so nervous and talked about them in previous recaps.

 Always begin off with a intro of a paragraph or two to set things up and perhaps make the post easier to read. The first segment will be devoted to the newish driver at Rainbow Taxi On Ha-Jun and there is a video above from this episode featuring him. We learned at the end of the last episode that On is a mole and is working for an underground group called Geumsa. One of his leaders or perhaps a peer is a corrupt high ranking policeman named Park who we finally saw n this show. On is pretending to be a driver for Rainbow Taxi but when he goes on a shift he drives to his ritzy mansion and has one of his aides drive the taxi, to date no one has noticed. At his mansion On has a wall devoted to Jang's 'revenge squad' and of course the question was why???? Still not positive on the answer but the reason On is pretending to be a driver is to get closer to what Rainbow Taxi really does, so far On hasn't been too successful but there's a long way to go in the series. Enough of an intro and let's begin off with more new details about the mole On.

On was just in two scenes that lasted about five minutes but they were so important as far as learning much more about him. Think he will a very key figure for the remainder of the series and to an extent Jang and Do-Gi have some mild suspicions about On. Above you can see that wall at On's mansion and also how he would lie to his mates at the taxi company about picking up fares. While he uses the name of On think his real name could be Kim though no one has ever used that yet. In this episode's first scene On was meeting with a man named Park who was finishing up rehabbing an exclusive hotel. Of course there was some shady dealings Park had done to save a whopping amount of money but in the end was duped by On. Who had Park sign a contact saying in case he should die the hotel would belong solely to On. And guess what happened soon after Park signed the contract.... he keeled over dead as On had slipped poison into his tea!!!! What a ruthless man this On character is, of course he would be no match for Do-Gi in a fight but he's still the most dangerous man he'll be battling with in this drama..

 In On's second scene he was in another meeting, this time with a corrupt police officer named Park and that just may be the most common name in Korea. Park and On both work for a very secret organization called Geumsa and did we learn so much about them. You can see what On is saying in the bottom screenshot above, Jang's team took down two criminal groups he and Geumsa had been financing. Those were the previous two stories plus one other screenshot above shows On saying Jang's team had also taken down the Cotaya operation that was located in Vietnam, this season's first story. So it's fairly obvious that this Geumsa group took out Kang who was mentioned in the intro, also the corrupt cop Kim who was killed at the end of episode two. We now know quite a bit about why On wants to take down Jang's 'revenge squad' and is working at Rainbow Taxi to learn more. Still much more to learn about On, Park and the Geusma group but this should be a very interesting storyline.

 Now on to the fourth revenge story for season two, of course this is part one and the next post will wrap things up. The requestor is a woman named Lee Jin-Hee, she's in the first, fourth and fifth screenshots above. A few months prior her older sister Lee Jin-Seon had joined a cult religious group called Sunbaek Church. Three years before Jin-Hee had graduated from college with a very good business degree and obtained an elite high paying job. Sadly a few months later her older sister Jin-Seon became very ill and was diagnosed with leukemia. Don't know the details but some years before their patents had died in an auto accident but left a sizeable inheritance which is how Jin-Hee could attend school. So money was never a problem but Jin-Seon's illness certainly is and for almost three years had been taking medications for the leukemia. The meds were keeping Jin-Seon stable but her condition was not improving, was there no person on Earth who could cure her? Yes there was a man who could cure the most severe of ailments but of course it had to be a sham. That man's name is Ok Ju-Man, he's the main pastor at the Sunbaek Church and that's him below in white robes.

 Back to Jin-Seon who after years of treatment wasn't getting better and naturally became quite depressed. At the medical center she would visit a couple of Ju-Man's followers/assistants would scope out the place looking for new recruits. It was rather easy for them to convince Jin-Seon to visit their Sunbaek Church and her life was turned around after hearing one sermon! Jin-Seon, along with a hundred attendees, heard some miracle stories from survivors of diseases that Ok Ju-Man had cured, makes you wonder how can anyone possibly believe in such miracles???? Before long Jin-Seon was visiting this cult church daily and became such a follower/believer of Ju-Man, to her sister Jin-Hee's fury she even began to give this bogus pastor most of her money! Jin-Seon began to stop taking her medications and was not looking well, soon after that she moved into the church naturally thinking Ju-Man is her savior. Sadly there was nothing Jin-Hee could do about that, the church hasn't committed a crime so the police were powerless and the hospital too could do nothing about Jin-Seon. The church had been refusing to let Jin-Hee see her sister and it's set up like a fortress with many security cameras. One day the police had to come and drag Jin-Hee away from the entrance to the church, she grabbed hold of the police car's frame and guess what she saw stuck on it's underside? That's the second screenshot above and somehow Jang had applied one of his decals to the car! Jin-Hee immediately called his Deluxe Taxi service and met with Do-Gi, once hearing her story he told Jang and his mates she definitely needs their help. The 'revenge squad' began right away on the case as Jin-Seon's condition was worsening, somehow within a few hours they were able to get cameras installed inside the church!!!!

 Wish we knew more about Go-Eun's incredible tech ability, the mechanics above Park and Choi installed some small device on a power pole for her and that's what gave her camera access to the church! Go-Eun really wants to help Jin-Hee so badly for she too had a sister who was conned and committed suicide seven years ago. Jang is like me as he can't understand how people can be duped by someone like Ju-Man, he truly hates those kinds of scammers. The only way to solve this case is by having someone infiltrate Sunbaek Church, for the third time in two seasons the mechanic Park(in glasses) was recruited to be that person. For now Park is using his real name and went to the medical center that Jin-Seon had been recruited at hoping the same would happen to him. Which it did for Ju-Man's assistants overheard Park talking about his incurable disease and could no one in the world save him? Of course these men told Park his savior was close by and dragged him to Sunbaek Church to witness an impressive sermon. Many of those 'cured' by Ju-Man gave testimonies and the woman above is his assistant/girlfriend Seo Jin-Soon. 

 Of course Park didn't believe any of these far out tales but he was mighty impressed with the whole setup and how Ju-Man's followers so devoted to him! At the altar Ju-Man would slap these people so viciously and they actually enjoyed it thinking that's part of their treatment! While many were at the altar giving donations Park noticed Jin-Seon who is in the second to last screenshot. You can tell being off her medications has made her condition so much worse but she had all confidence that Ju-Man could save her. Park tried so hard to get Jin-Seon to leave with him but she wouldn't budge, Park has to watch himself as not so make Ju-Man or his assistants notice that he's a mole. That's what Park had to report to Jang and his mates but Do-Gi has full confidence in Park and feels he's the best man for this job. Go-Eun has found some info about Ok Ju-Man who has done this kind of church cult in the past but has never been charged with a crime and as mentioned the police are powerless to do anything. 

 Think I made the first two segments a bit too long as there's only a little over ten minutes to go in this 64 minute episode. So while Do-Gi does feel confident about Park getting info about the church and possibly getting Jin-Seon to leave there's a more important goal. That's to bring down Ok Ju-Man and his cult, then to return as much money to those who have been scammed. In the second to fourth screenshots above it shows Ju-Man having dinner with his girlfriend Ji-Soon, he gave her an expensive piece of jewelry and laughed about how the cash is coming so fast he doesn't have time to count it! Ju-Man received a note from another table where the guests said he had to pay for their meals! An irate Ju-Man tore over to this table where at it was the mechanic Choi along with Do-Gi who was dressed as a Monk. Do-Gi told his new #1 enemy a few tales of being a monk and said if he didn't follow what Do-Gi said Ju-Man's life may not be lasting much longer. After Ju-Man left the restaurant alone a heavy sign fell from the roof and barely missed clobbering him, no doubt a setup by Do-Gi and Choi. Then later that day at the site where the new Sunbaek Church was to be built the workers found some old relics, possibly religious, and refused to work. Once again there's little doubt those were planted by Do-Gi and Ju-Man began to think back to some of the 'wise words' Do-Gi told him at the restaurant.

 Bad luck continued for Ju-Man as shortly after leaving the construction site his car conked out and sure the mechanic Choi had fiddled with the engine. That was in the middle of nowhere and there was no phone reception as the tech whiz Go-Eun took the credit for that. Ju-Man was at a loss on what to do but in the final seconds he heard some chanting just ahead in the forest. Upon arriving on the scene turning around was the person above and it was... the monk Do-Gi! He had a few wise words to tell the sham pastor which kind of spooked Ju-Man, at that moment the episode came to it's conclusion. In this second season seems every kind of plan or trap Jang's 'revenge squad' does works out perfectly and the ending did with what Ju-Man was going through. Now on to view the eighth episode which is the next post and plenty of screenshots below to help you follow the story a bit better.