Air Dates: December 4th until December 21, 2023 on U+ Mobile TV, aired on Monday to Thursday nights for three weeks and there were a total of twelve episodes that were about 35 minutes in length.
Director: Im Dae-Woong Writer: Kang Min-Ji.... subs by MrHulk
Main Cast: Always need to edit the info at the top as we go along, may did set a record for this show with how many changes there were! One problem was who to add onto this list? The top few characters were around for most of the series but besides them who knew which character(s) will be killed off in each show! Below is the chart featuring everyone who was around in the first show, slowly most were killed off! The basic premise is that this is heavily influenced by the 'Werewolf Game' films and TV series. The setting is the Muryeong Retreat Center where three classes from the Yooil high school would be spending two+ days at. However only one bus arrived which was for class 2-E, what happened to the other students?
Right below is the chart of the characters and as mentioned most will be killed off. The characters in the middle are your more major ones so will have most of them listed below, only a few if any of the side ones. This takeoff from Werewolf is called the 'Mafia Game', more info on the game a bit further down. If you like horror dramas and films this may be right up your alley as the killings have been quite gruesome, after four shows already sixteen have met their fate! **** Have kept updating this section as so many events take place and sure there will be changes right to the end. Though a takeoff of the 'Werewolf Game' franchise this drama is so, so much better than any film or the TV series.
Lee Jae-In as Lee Yoon-Seo.... It seems she will get more screen time than any other character though she does remain a bit of a mystery. Yoon-Seo appears to be a smart student and is best friends with Jung-Won, they're rooming together at the retreat center. Yoon-Seo is a daring young woman but is also easily scared, she has such a huge crush on the next student. Her game position is that of a Citizen. After two episodes she's the only living student who I know what her game designation is. Yoon-Seo does have asthma but it hasn't been a problem yet, since the first show she's seen ghosts and spirits around but no one else has.
Kim Woo-Suk as Kim Joon-Hee.... Class president and seems like a very responsible young man though does try a bit too hard in making sure order is kept among the students. Yoon-Seo above has a crush on him but not sure if Joon-Hee has realized that. But did get the impression in episode one he too has a crush on Yoon-Seo, both are too timid to confess to each other. Now it's too late for either to do that for in such a shocker at the end of the sixth episode Jun-Hee was voted to be a Mafia person and drowned himself in a pool. Really thought he would remain until the very end. EDIT: He may remain until the end for at the beginning of the seventh show Jun-Hee came back to life! Not as a Zombie but had been 'saved' by the one Police person who is unknown, Jun-Hee was 'saved' just before he drowned himself.
Choi Ye-Bin as Oh Jung-Won.... Yoon-Seo's best friend who is a tech whiz and also the number one student in her class at Yooil high school. So far she's been a very conservative young woman who does not like to take chances. During episode eleven it was discovered she was a Mafia person and the mastermind behind the killings though Jung-Won never committed any of them. In some very strange incidents in the final show it appeared Jung-Won was a semi-spirit of the dead girl Se-Eun, why is explained in this recap.
Cha Woo-Min as Go Kyung-Jun.... Every class has their 'toughie' and that's what Kyung-Jun is though really when only surrounded by his two cohorts. That's him in the middle below, to his left are his two 'gang' members Seung-Bin and Jin-Ha. At the beginning of the seventh show Seung-Bin was killed by a Mafia person. However Kyung-Jun is a smart lad and he's very adept at conniving others. Thought he would make it to the end but that wasn't to be as Kyung-Jun was slain by the Mafia person Da-Bum in the ninth episode.
Jung So-ri as Kim So-Mi.... Pretty and popular girl but can be a bully and has picked on Yoon-Seo on occasion but don't know why. She's the class vice president and is in the middle below. It was revealed at the end of the sixth show her identity is a Mafia. At the beginning of the tenth episode So-Mi was voted to be the Mafia person which was true, she died by strangling herself.
Hong Min-Ki as Jang Hyun-Ho.... One of the school's best athletes and can't stand the bully Kyung-Jun as he constantly stops him from picking on others. There's a shy girl named Na-Hee who has such a crush on him, he does too but neither can admit and one better hurry for the end is coming soon. Too soon as Hyun-Ho was killed for not voting at the beginning of the fourth episode, was shocked he was killed so soon and he was a Citizen.
Ahn Ji-Ho as Jin Da-Bum.... Seems like a decent guy but him and his best mate Ju-Won are constantly harassed by Kyung-Go and his two cohorts who also make them pay a fee for not beating them up! At the beginning of the second show his best and perhaps only friend Choi was killed even though he was a Mafia person. Not positive but 95% sure and that's of Da-Bum being a Mafia person which he semi revealed at the end of the eighth show. But by the ninth show it was confirmed that Da-Bum is a Mafia.
There are others and may add in some more in if they survive to the halfway point! Below on the right is the student's teacher Kim who we only saw briefly in the first show. He left the retreat to see what happened to the other two busses and hasn't been heard from since. Here we are near the end and Kim still hasn't been heard from, isn't the school missing these students? Now we are at the end(!) and the teacher was never heard from again, as far as people missing the students there's a good reason why they weren't.
Rules for playing the Mafia Game
Like the 'Werewolf Game' there are four kinds of people a player can be. Citizen is your average person and most students will be one. Mafia is a group that can kill the targeted person between midnight and 6:00 am. Doctor is someone that can save a targeted person from the Mafia and don't think there's more than one or two of them. Fourth and last kind of player is Police, they can also prevent a killing which has happened once. The Police has a special power where they can prevent a student from dying after they get voted as a Mafia person. The vote may not be correct/just as a Citizen could get killed and seeing as how there's more of them it does happen quite often.
The Citizens, Doctors and Police are part of one team, Mafia are by themselves. Whichever side gets wiped out first means they're all dead(!) and the other team wins. There seems to be about thirty students, it hasn't been revealed how many are Citizens, Mafia, etc. There is a boundary surrounding the retreat but it does stretch into the nearby forest, if you go over the boundary you're immediately killed in a gruesome manner and oddly you end up killing yourself! There's no cell phone service to the outside but whoever is running this death game can send the students messages which baffles them, how are they doing that?
List of those who have been killed, will be updating it for each recap
There was one death in the first show but four in episode two! The third show had a trio killed at the end bringing the total amount of living students down to 23. In episode four eight students died in the first ten minutes which brought the total living down to 15 from 31. Seven of the eight deaths were from not voting who was in the Mafia by midnight. Episode five just saw one death and that's okay as don't want the entire cast to disappear yet. The sixth show saw two more dead leaving the total alive an even dozen. The killings have slowed down, by the end of the seventh show eleven are still alive. Two more deaths took place in episode eight, one Citizen and the Doctor(!), ten now remain. Episode nine saw one killing which was another Citizen, the total remaining is nine with three of them being the Mafia. Two killings took place in episode ten, one was a Mafia and the other the only Police person which left seven students still alive. Three bit the bullet in the eleventh episode, four students are now left with two being Citizens and the other pair the Mafia. No need to update this section for the final episode, there were two deaths which will be revealed in the recap.
Heo-Yul.... Boy who was a Citizen, died at the end of the first episode as he was voted off the game by his classmates! His death was from jumping through a third story window.
Choi Ju-Won.... Was killed overnight but not discovered until the following morning, it almost appears he may have killed himself in a bathroom stall. The death had to take place between midnight and 6:00 am, the only ones that can kill are those classified as Mafia. Which Jun-Won was so why would his own group kill him the students wondered?
Kim Hyun-Saek and Lee Sang-Hwan.... Both were citizens and killed at the same time in episode two and both had a part in the others death. The two boys had stepped over the boundary line outside of the retreat, that means an instant death. An eerie sound was heard but only by them too, both began to head butt each other brutally before taking their own lives!!!!
Kim Dong-Hyun.... Fourth student killed in the second episode and it happened right at the end. Dong-Hyun was in the nearby forest with many other students, he fell and went over the boundary line. Like the other dead students his eyes became a solid white and he even punctured them with his fingers before rolling into a tree stump which was the final blow.
Lee Soo-Bin, Park Ji-Hoon and Oh Jin-Seok.... All were killed at the end of the third show for not voting, it happened just after midnight. Lee and Park had fallen from the ceiling in the event's hall room, how did they get up there and they weren't noticed missing? Oh had stuck an electrical wire in her mouth which short circuited the electricity, a gruesome way to die but her death seems to have gone unnoticed or at least until the next episode. All three were Citizens.
Kong Ye-Won.... Killed in the fourth show for not voting, the second Mafia person to die.
Lee Hyun-Jun, Park Jung-Eun, Oh Hye-Seung and Kim Yeon-Ju.... All too were slain by not voting and none were major characters as their names had never been mentioned. The four were all Citizens.
Baek Eun-Ha.... Once the students got their phones back Eun-Ha was the person who got the most votes for who they thought was a Mafia person. She wasn't and all of the deaths in this drama have been self inflicted in gruesome manners.
Lee Ju-Young.... Killed overnight by the Mafia, she was a Citizen.
Jang Hyun-Ho.... He too was a Citizen and saved his fourth episode death for last. Hyun-Ho was the first major character killed and it was because he didn't vote. it wasn't possible because the thug Kyung-Jun had kicked his phone under the gym bleachers. Shame he died because he was one of my favorite characters.
Park Woo-Ram.... Killed at the end of the fifth episode, he was voted off by his classmates who thought he was a Mafia person. At the time most didn't believe but had been bullied by Kyung-Jun to get rid of Woo-Ram or else! So in a twist after his death it was revealed he truly was a Mafia person who had killed Ju-Young, now three Mafia are deceased.
Park Ji-Soo.... Citizen who was killed at the beginning of the sixth episode by a Mafia person. Won't reveal the identity in this section until the next recap
Kim Jun-Hee.... Killed at the end of the sixth episode and this was a shocker as he had the second largest role to date. Jun-Hee was the class president and was well liked until the third episode when a huge mistake of his led to some students dying. So he did lose mush respect and in a tie-breaker round was voted off and accused of being a Mafia. However it was never said in this show what his identity was. ****EDIT: This edit is extremely important! Though he 'drowned' at the end of the sixth episode Jun-Hee came back to life in episode seven! It appears he was never officially dead and had been saved by a Police person, their identity is still unknown.
Shin Seung-Bin.... Was a Citizen and was murdered by a Mafia person near the beginning of the seventh show. He was one of Kyung-Jun's lowlife cohorts and was not a likable guy.
Cha Yu-Jun.... Was beaten badly by Kyung-Jun and Jin-Ha as the seventh episode ended. At the beginning of the eighth is when he finally died and the students lost someone very powerful. That's because Yu-Jun was the only Doctor which meant he could stop a death from happening and he was the one who saved Jun-Hee.
Kim Jin-Ha.... Killed at the end of the eighth show and it was because he was voted to be a Mafia. Which Jin-Ha wasn't for he was a Citizen and not many remain. Though he had that identity Jin-Ha did take part in killing Yu-Jun which is why he was voted off the game, he died by throwing himself off a third floor balcony.
Go Kyung-Jun.... Citizen killed by a Mafia person at the beginning of the ninth episode, the person was Da-Bum who Kyung-Jun and his two mates had bullied for a long time. Though Kyung-Jun was a lowlife thug and bully he gave the impression to us viewers that he may have been a decent person and had wanted everyone to survive the game. That wasn't to be as he was tricked by Da-Bum and his Mafia associate So-Mi which led to his death.
Kim So-Mi.... Was voted to be the Mafia person at the beginning of the tenth show and took her life by strangling herself. It was true that So-Mi was a Mafia and she had a huge role in why this Game began as she had bullied the dead girl Se-Eun at school which led to her suicide(?).
Ahn Na-Hee.... Died midway through episode ten by the Mafia and what a mystery she had been up until then. I felt sure she was a Mafia and had said so starting in the seventh episode but that was way off base as Na-Hee was the only Police person! She had saved Jun-Hee's life and let him know her identity but even that couldn't save her life. How Na-Hee died is still mystery as there was no blood on her body.
Nam Yeon-Woo.... He was voted off the Mafia Game in episode eleven though it was revealed he was a Citizen. Yeon-Woo's death wasn't gory but a bit disgusting, he was slightly chubby and loved to eat, he killed himself by overeating!!!!
Choi Mi-Na.... Killed by the Mafia or more precisely Da-Bum near the end of the eleventh show and was surprised she lasted so long, Mi-Na was a Citizen.
Im Eun-Chun.... Same as the above girl as the Mafia person Da-Bum killed him overnight near the end of the 11th show and he too was a Citizen.
Previous recaps
Think it would help out checking the recaps as so much takes place
Episode one .... Episode two .... Episode three
Episode four .... Episode five .... Episode six
The below video features behind the scenes footage from the final two episodes and a brief message from many of the main cast.
So this is it for this series and I really zipped through it, the main reason is because it was so darn terrific! Didn't read any other reviews but noticed most viewers were lukewarm with this drama though most seemed to enjoy it. Will give my grade for the show now along with some final thoughts but there won't be (m)any spoilers. Since January 2021 or three years ago my highest rated drama has been the first season of "Taxi Driver" which had a rating of 9.4/10, there will be a third season this year. After that series this one has the highest grade in the last three years and will give it a overly solid mark of 9.2/10!!!! To me it was so interesting all the way through, there was so much action, gory deaths, twists in the plot and there was never a dull moment, can't think of anything negative to say about this drama. It did help that I am a fan of horror and suspense movies so if you're a fan of those too would highly recommend this series and did hear there is a possibility of a second season. With the way the series ended it is possible but if that happened a new cast may be needed but in a way all could return.
Everything that you read in the first eleven recaps about what had taken place was mainly accurate, any guesses that I made and were wrong about did correct them in the following post. But everything that you read could be.... thrown out the window!!!! It will all be explained in this post and this final episode could be two separate stories, the first with the Mafia Game ended at the 26 minute mark. Then the rest of the show was the second story which in a way was kind off crazy and it was something I bet no one expected. All of the shows have been around 35 minutes, this episode was 43 so ended up taking fifteen more screenshots so it will be longer but seeing as how it's the final show that's okay as there's much to discuss. The last episode ended with the below two students being killed by the Mafia person Da-Bum. That leaves two Mafia people alive, him and Jung-Woo while two Citizens are still around who are Yoon-Seo and Jun-Hee, which team will come out on top????
By now it's morning and the four are all still alive, during the night a Citizen sleeps in a trance like state and it appears a Mafia person is like a Zombie and needs no sleep. In that last show Yoon-Seo did surmise her best friend Jung-Won was a Mafia, she could have killed Yoon-Seo overnight so why didn't she? To that Jung-Won was silent but we all knew there was no way she could kill her best friend and truly wants to see three exit the Mafia Game alive, of course Da-Bum isn't one of those people! However Jun-Hee doesn't trust Jung-Won at all and it's hard to say he's wrong as friends have been killing friends since day one. When you vote for who is the Mafia person that student has until midnight to live, it's now just mid-morning. But Jung-Won has already voted for Da-Bum to be eliminated, so won't Yoon-Seo and Jun-Hee but as he says when that happens they'll both be targeted by Da-Bum unless he can be killed first. So finding him was Jun-Hee's immediate goal and he told Yoon-Seo to lock herself in her room until he returns.... if he does! Also on the hunt to find Da-Bum is Jung-Won and that's mainly so he won't kill the two Citizens.
Right about then the pair received a message from Da-Bum, he has taken Yoon-Seo as a hostage to the building's roof and if you want to save her come now!!!! That's all above and the blood on Da-Bum's shirt was from the previous night's killings, as you can see he's holding Yoon-Seo at knife point. Da-Bum never made any demands to Jun-Hee such as killing himself but he did want to see Jung-Won perform that deed. But seems she came up with another rule on the spot which is that the Mafia aren't allowed to kill themselves, bet that was a lie. With Da-Bum's attention on Jung-Won Yoon-Seo tried to flee his grasp and almost did escape but was caught and with intense fury Da-Bum stabbed Yoon-Seo deeply in her stomach. She's very hurt and unless she gets immediate medical attention it appeared Yoon-Seo's life may end soon. Also in a fury was Jun-Hee after seeing the stabbing and he pummeled Da-Bum badly but once again Jun-Hee wimped out and Da-Bum was able to subdue him with many blows to the head with a rock. Da-Bum was staggering over to Yoon-Seo to finish the job but Jun-Hee did recover quickly, he grappled with Da-Bum again and this time came out on top as Da-Bum's knife went deep into him. Think it was accidental but to the three remaining students who cares as finally Da-Bum has met his end!!!!
In the intro said you can throw everything that has happened out the window and that's because of how this series ended!!!!
Soon arriving on the scene were two adults whose names were never mentioned or at least their first names. They were the parents of Park Se-Eun who was the student in Yoon-Seo's class that had committed suicide, have talked about her enough in previous posts. Because their names were never revealed will use their real names, the father is Tae-Hoon while the mother is Joo-Ryung. The mother did most of the talking to Yoon-Seo and what she and her sleeping classmates had been going through was a simulated Mafia Game! Not just one time but dozens and the parents have it planned to go on for eternity! WHY is because of the death of their daughter Se-Eun and they want the students to feel the pain she had gone though before killing herself. Any of the students could have done something to help Se-Eun but none did so now their penalty is to spend eons playing this death game or it would probably last until the parents died. Joo-Ryung was by far the more irate of Se-Eun's parents and she really ripped into a dazed Yoon-Seo, being one her her 'best friends' there was nothing she could do to help out her daughter? Who wasn't bullied or verbally abused badly until Da-Bum had created a video of Se-Eun by inserting her face onto the body of a sexy dancing Idol, he had no plans of spreading it around but one student saw it and Da-Bum had no choice but to post it on the internet.
I actually think Da-Bum had a secret crush on Se-Eun and created the video for his own pleasure but after he was forced to publish it things got out of hand. Of course the video spread like wildfire and soon Se-Eun was picked on ruthlessly, none of her friends did anything to help. The situation became so dire Se-Eun thought she had no alternatives and jumped to her death from the school's roof. After that her classmates all received a message that a new Game was starting and all were in it, did they have to sign up or were they all just dragged into it? There was on girl who did listen to Se-Eun's pleas for help who was Jung-Won and think had plans to help but before anything could be done Se-Eun had killed herself. So her parents somehow created this elaborate game and I do have a few questions about it. Such as didn't the student's parents wonder where their children had disappeared to and how are they remaining alive without eating and such? Because Jung-Won had been the only classmate to try and help their daughter the Mafia Game was programmed so she would win it every time and would somehow be representing the Spirit of Se-Eun. Jung-Won had won all of the Games up until this last one and the parents, especially the mother, wondered how did Yoon-Seo and Jun-Hee win this latest game and do they have to make some adjustments so Jung-Won can keep winning again?
Hope none of this sounds too confusing, all of this was thrown at us in a fifteen minute scene and some of the details and what happened had to be educated guesses. After each Mafia Game the memories of the students is erased but in this latest game Jung-Won was somehow able to alter that for Yoon-Seo who for now on will remember everything, is it time for the game to cease? Which is what the father Tae-Hoon wants to see happen but not the mother who says the students need to keep suffering for what they did to Se-Eun and will Yoon-Seo's returned memory affect future games? Would think so and in the final minute a new Mafia Game had begun with a bus bringing the 31 students back to the Muryeong Retreat Center. Yoon-Seo realized what was going on but think she's powerless to prevent what's about to happen and who would believe her wild story? Whew, so that was an unexpected ending and sure a main reason for that was for a possible second season which I wouldn't mind seeing but not with doing the same Mafia Game over as it was in this season. That wraps up these recaps and while many didn't like this ending I thought it was decent and as mentioned this is one highly recommended drama, especially if you enjoy action packed and suspenseful shows. A lot did take place in this final episode so the screenshots above and below should help you follow the story much better.
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