‘The Winning Try’ Episode 2 Could Be Mistaken For A Season Finale

It’s only Episode 2, and yet The Winning Try is already delivering finale-quality drama, with all the big emotional swings and payoffs you’d expect after a full season of development. This, if nothing else, proves that the premiere wasn’t a fluke, and this K-Drama is operating at an exceedingly competent level already. One can only imagine quite how good it’s going to get if it continues on its current trajectory. And with so much of the first episode devoted to making introductions and a lot of this one put to work ironing out the details of whether Ga-ram will be allowed to simply stay at Hanyang High School or not, there’s a very solid case to be made that things haven’t even properly started yet.

With this exciting thought in the back of our collective minds, let’s pick up where we left off, with Ga-ram having pitched a rugby ball through a pig’s head to make an astute point about unfair treatment of the rugby team. A misdemeanour of this magnitude requires punishment of some kind, but with Ga-ram’s dismissal already seeming like a foregone conclusion, Vice Principal Seong and the other senior leadership team reckon if they just bide their time, the problem will take care of itself.

But not quite. In a bit of foreshadowing of his tactical brilliance, Ga-ram pushes Principal Kang to put the rugby team in various other disciplines so that they don’t fall behind on lesson hours, which predictably causes carnage everywhere they go. It’s a stunt that seems self-serving, but it’s all part of a long con, since Ga-ram’s dismissal is to be voted on by all of the teachers, many of whom are now fretting about being forced to shoulder the burden of wayward rugby players if the team is folded. The ballot comes out as a tie, 22-22, meaning that the status quo remains intact.

Most of the team, who’re already becoming enamored with Ga-ram’s anti-establishment way of doing things, are thrilled about this. But Seong-jun remains a sceptic. He simply can’t get on board with the idea of supporting Ga-ram given his history, which is a viewpoint reflected by I-ji, too, though admittedly in that case for more personal reasons. Ga-ram ghosted her after a decade of being together, after a doping scandal at the peak of his career, with him apparently having turned to PEDs for no reason at all. I’m telling you, folks, something is amiss here, and Ga-ram either took the blame for somebody else, or there’s more to the story we haven’t considered.

Either way, Seong-jun eventually gets so frustrated that he leaves the team, and the timing is terrible because Ga-ram has just signed off on a pre-season game against Daesang High, which is important since it’s the team that the former coach, Kim, transferred to in order to preserve his reputation. Principal Kang advises Ga-ram not to take the match, since losing — and Hansang have always lost to Daesang — will reflect badly on Ga-ram’s abilities, giving VP Seong and the others even more justification to can him.

Ga-ram seems to know more than we do, though. He’s pretty clear with the team that he doesn’t think they can win at this stage, but they can at least lose gracefully, which is an important skill for all of them. It does require getting Seong-jun back on board, though, which Ga-ram accomplishes by turning up outside his house with a megaphone and profoundly embarrassing him. But there’s a deeper underlying sentiment that finally sways Seong-jun. He loves rugby more than he hates Ga-ram, and someone who has already ruined his own career is best positioned to ensure Seong-jun doesn’t ruin his. If nothing else, Seong-jun can see that Ga-ram is sincere.

The Winning Try Episode 2 provides a little bit more insight into Seong-jun. He’s a twin, and his brother, Seok-jun, is a professional soccer player, but their mother seems devoted to him and his career to a degree that’s arguably neglectful of Seong-jun. This kind of detail is important, since it justifies why Seong-jun would be swayed by VP Seong offering him a principal’s admission fast-track to college rugby (even though he isn’t principal yet). All he has to do is boycott the match. But he doesn’t.

Ah, the match. I got an incline in the premiere that this show had some great competitive scenes in its future, and I was right. It’s a hammering at first, with Daesang battering Hanyang 35-0 in the first half, but a spirited half-time team talk and some tactical changes turns things around a little. Hanyang are able to prevent Daesang from scoring at all, and when Ga-ram finally lets them off the leash, Seong-jun is able to score a heroic try and win the hearts and minds of the onlookers, including most of the staff (and even a teary-eyed I-ji). It’s a moral victory, not a literal one, but it’s more than enough to convince the team and the school of Ga-ram’s value.

Well, perhaps not all the team. The epilogue reveals that Tae-pung was offered a transfer to Daesang by Coach Kim, which he plans to take. But I fully expect him to reverse that decision in due course. Either way, though, Ga-ram successfully taught his first lesson. Hansang lost gracefully. Now it’s time to start winning.

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