Summary
With a lot of the family drama out of the way, Strong Girl Nam-soon really settles into the overarching drug plot.
While one might lament how quickly Strong Girl Nam-soon has rocketed through the family reunion aspect of its premise, it remains easy to buy into the overarching drug plot and the ongoing character dynamics. Episode 5, “Vigilante of Seoul”, is the first to really feel like it’s heading in a clearer direction with all of the setups out of the way. There’s a compelling villain in Shi-o, a strong, romantic central buddy-cop dynamic in Nam-soon and Hee-sik, and a continuingly enjoyable tone that keeps the Netflix K-Drama afloat even when the pacing sags.
We pick up right where Episode 4 left off, with Nam-soon and Hee-sik investigating one of Doogo’s warehouses. Inside they find the masks, while Hee-sik acquiring a minor injury and having to be carried out by Nam-soon is a funny bit of emasculation that keeps their relationship feeling fresh.
The usual chivalrous beats don’t apply here, which is refreshing. Nam-soon laughs off Hee-sik’s efforts to walk her home. But she does note his consideration when he messages her to wash her hands after touching the masks.
Here we learn a little more about the mysterious forces that have been reaching out to Geum-ju. When she’s invited by Opulentia to a dinner at Incheon Port, she is followed by a biker who turns out to be the man who gave her the business card at the Heritage Club. He leads her to the port, where the Vice-Chairman of Opulentia explains, in simple terms, that they’re the good guys.
Can Hwa-ja be redeemed?
Meanwhile, Hwa-ja remains adamant that she’s going to kill Nam-soon. The police, through a Doogo employee, learn that Hwa-ja is employed there, which is eventually relayed back to Nam-soon through Hee-sik.
There’s still an element of sympathy involved in the Hwa-ja subplot, almost as if we’re building to an eventual point where the heroes will have their ideals either confirmed by Hwa-ja’s redemption or thrown into question if she turns out to be irredeemable. In a flashback, we see how Geum-ja allowed Hwa-ja to steal her watches on the short-sighted basis that someone who isn’t in the midst of pressing financial problems may not be compelled to do desperate, bad things.
I’m not sure about this, but Nam-soon agrees with Geum-ju that Hwa-ja should be allowed the chance to change if she’s capable of doing so. From Ji-hyun, Hee-sik learns that Hwa-ja is an orphan who was initiated into a gang at an early age and that members of the gang have a mark on the sole of their foot.
Elsewhere, Geum-ju is given the card of a money-laundering Korean fund manager named Bread Song from Ms Cho. She decides to investigate him, finessing an appointment and overhearing a call he shares with a Russian businessman. His first move after hearing she has black money is to suggest ways of evading tax, so, you know – not exactly a financially responsible guy.
Where is Shi-oh getting his money?
The bulk of the development in “Vigilante of Seoul” is about the drug storyline and Shi-o himself. The police are drawn to investigate the death of a swimming instructor who had chugged the pool water out of sheer desperate thirst, and this side effect is becoming widespread like everyone has double-dosed on ecstasy at a rave.
Behind all this, of course, is Shi-o, whom nobody seems to know anything about. He was absent from Korea between the ages of 20 and 32. Nobody has any idea where his money is coming from. When Nam-soon runs into him at the Doogo warehouse, he’s able to push her so hard that she goes flying through a stack of boxes.
Either way, according to Opulentia, it seems like Shi-o might be affiliated with a Russian mafia group. Nam-soon returning home and recognizing Shi-o on her mother’s computer ties the cases together for her, bringing the characters up to speed with what the audience already knew about everyone being on the same page.
‘Strong Girl Nam-soon’ (Credit – Netflix)
As we approach the end of the episode, one of Shi-o’s assistants shows him a video of Nam-soon working at the Doogo warehouse, which obviously pleases him. Geum-ju also meets with Hee-sik and reveals it was her who tipped him off about Doogo, once again getting everyone on the same page.
As with the previous episode, we end on a cliffhanger. This time Nam-soon suddenly comes face to face with Hwa-ja at the warehouse.
