Summary
Strong Girl Nam-soon is starting to tread water a little with several of its subplots, but it retains a lot of charm and chemistry between its leads.
In Episodes 9 & 10, Strong Girl Nam-soon continues to develop its characters into richer components of a wide-ranging narrative. At this point it’s a little clearer why Season 1 of the K-Drama decided to have Nam-soon reunite with her family so quickly – there was so much more to get through, from a drug plot, copious backstory for the “evil” villain, sibling dynamics with Nam-in feeling isolated and ignored, and of course, the romantic dynamic between Nam-soon and Hee-sik which continues to power the whole show.
These two latest episodes of the Netflix series absolutely nail a lot of this. The chemistry between the leads is especially good, coming through strongly in Episode 10 particularly but really the entire season thus far, and there remain mysteries that are still to unpack. We also make a lot of progress in the drug plot, including discovering one of the ways in which Doogo is transporting it.
Strong Girl Nam-soon Season 1 Episodes 9 & 10 Recap
Strong Girl Nam-soon Season 1 Episode 9
Of particular interest in this episode is Shi-o’s past.
We first see glimmers of it in flashback while he’s working out; kids being forced to fight by older Russian men. With what Geum-ju turned up about Pavel and Shi-o’s association with the group in Episode 8, the pieces are beginning to come together here.
Geum-ju also learns more about Pavel in this episode. An heir to the previous leader, Nozh, has taken control of things. The group also pilfers orphans from around the world.
Other subplots are slow in this episode, though. Dong-seok and Nam-in are both becoming increasingly addicted to drugs, but the show is taking its sweet time in having this actually go anywhere. It’s one of the few weaker strands of the season thus far, lacking the pace of the drug plot and rapid characterization the leads have undergone.
There’s also a little redemption for Myung-hee – formerly Hwa-ja – here in Episode 9. Geum-ju visits her in the hospital, and tells her that if she just works towards being a good person she too could be considered her daughter. Later, when Shi-o presses her for information about Tsegtseg in connection to the theft of his computer, Myung-hee covers for Nam-soon.
How does Strong Girl Nam-soon Season 1 Episode 9 end?
Episode 9 builds to a pretty major cliffhanger in which the fate of Geum-ju is left a little uncertain.
Shi-o arranged for Geum-ju’s murder after becoming increasingly suspicious of her throughout the episode. But it’s presented to the audience as a curveball, since he asks Nam-soon if she can kill someone for him, before revealing that the person he wants dead should already be well on their way.
It’s at this point that the camera cuts to Geum-ju in an upturned car, badly injured.
Strong Girl Nam-soon Season 1 Episode 10
Episode 10 picks up from that cliffhanger, with Nam-soon having to downplay her shock at hearing this, and Shi-o being informed that Geum-ju is alive but seriously injured. However, as it turns out she’s fine, having arranged for a stand-in after assuming Shi-o would make a move on her.
This is later figured out by Song Bread, who goes to visit her in the hospital after hearing of the accident, since he doesn’t want to be considered a suspect after the to-do he had with her in the previous episode.
Nam-soon relays to Hee-sik that Doogo has international export boxes labelled with a CT designation that only Shi-o handles. She suspects this is where the drugs might be. Hee-sik and Nam-soon’s investigation is struggling to proceed as planned since Shi-o keeps getting closer to Nam-soon, taking her out for dinner at a Mongolian restaurant and revealing more about his orphan past.
However, Nam-soon and Hee-sik’s relationship does make some strides in this episode. After a few awkward encounters, they finally kiss.
Something also finally happens with Nam-in here, with Bong-go taking the diet pill to Hee-sik for analysis. It’s revealed to be a synthetic drug.
How does Strong Girl Nam-soon Season 1 Episode 10 end?
The ending of Episode 10 is primarily concerned with Nam-soon’s discovery inside the truck carrying the CT shipments. She opens one of the boxes and finds a jacket, which she manages to get back to Hee-sik. When it’s cut open, the feathers inside dissolve in water, becoming the drug. It’s being transported around in various different guises so that Doogo can turn a major profit by selling the antidote.
This double-bill ends with Shi-o asking Nam-soon out, which Hee-sik is furious to overhear.
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