I feel like just copying and pasting @emsel’s comment from last week lol.
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Whilst I appreciate a protagonist who is smart, smarter than all the villains it would seem currently, the constant cutting back and forth and backtracking, the flashbacks of what's *actually* going on, and Yo Han's plan drip fed to us in reverse order, is actually getting somewhat frustrating to watch, and loosing any impact it might've had up until now.

This kind of formatting and execution is fine short term, over one or two episodes, or in a movie perhaps, (and even then, this is far from the cleanest version of this tool I've seen :/) but long term, over the whole show, it just gets wearisome;
It would be more satisfying I think at this point to know more of Yo Han’s plan from the beginning of each episode, going in, or even from back in the prison where and when he apparently planned it all, instead of the constant cutbacks and flashbacks to reveal he was playing everyone all along, over, and over, and over again, multiple times an episode.
(In fact, it kind of makes me question his character development in the prison entirely- when did he plan this exactly? Or else I just can't keep up with this things apparent time line.)
Instead of relishing seeing Yo Han's plan in action, I'm just going "oh, another twist incoming, watch 🙄", and then this week at least, calling most of the major twists. Selective narration is only effective up until a certain point- and I think this show would be better off with a balance.

There’s also the common problem that many shows fall into with a smart protagonist - of having to dumb them down for some final conflict, nearer the end, which is always painful to watch. Similarly, if you pull too many twists, only to NOT pull one final twist at the end that becomes expected, you end up cheating your audience.
This hasn't happened yet, but it's a red flag nonetheless.

Not in the least because, I find myself wondering where this show is going and why, and especially why we’re taking this convoluted plot route to get there.
Revenge sure, that's the supposed motivation, and not content to take down the mere small fry, he's going for the whole outfit-- or is it to show Yo Han himself perhaps falling victim to and getting addicted to the game of this world? I don’t know. I get lost about twice an episode before I find my way back. (see the first point!)
There are also still multiple unanswered questions that currently, without more of those incessant “twists” ofc, make certain major plot points not make any sense. (e.g. why exactly... did they have to and want to kill his grandmother, of all things. Other than the house deed, which surely they could've got some other way... why was that necessary. All it did was make YH mad, give him enough motivation and get in the game. or WAS that their intent? To play him? And if so, why again? Sigh.)

And overall, I’m just consistently drawn back to that, to be...

Soo Yeon said "everything is getting entangled" and that is exactly what the writer is doing instead of having the dots connected neatly. I like mysteries and complicated ones at that which leave me gobsmacked, but this one leaves me exasperated. All this time in the jail Yo Han is shown getting beaten and left to the mercy of more powerful ones like Wong Bon, but suddenly overnight he pulls off a high stake plan that has everyone to his bidding? Apart from learning the card game from Sun Oh and outside info from Soo Yeon, Yo Han is not shown putting together the pieces in jail which makes it very hard to believe that he is cleverer than the antagonists who all have years of experience in gambling field to be fooled by a rookie prosecutor 😒 If the writer isn't planning to introduce an unknown variable in Yo Han's almost perfect plan and then show him working around it to get his revenge, I am not going to buy any of this nonsense. Also, given the way we had different groups out to kill our protagonist and vying for the position of the head of a casino, I would be thoroughly disappointed if Sun Oh isn't shown to have a masterplan to over take it fir himself.

While I do wish that some of the flashbacks would've played out in real time, I have to appreciate how well woven together the plot is (so far). The writer obviously has everything planned out, which gives me faith that they'll pull everything off in a satisfying conclusion.

I think it's slightly odd at how Yo-han is managing to pull of so many insane moves and one upping everyone around him so suddenly, but then again, this man was on top of his class and on his way to become a prosecutor. He was probably cooking everything up from the moment he started learning about the gambling scene in depth.

Besides, it's about time he manages to pull some cards out of his sleeve--I was at my limit of patience waiting for Yo-hand to properly get everything rolling.

+ Sun-oh and Yo-han man my heart is breaking lmao yall need to get it together! Please let both of them somehow have a happy ending

Grateful to have a discussion about this show! I really wished that they were more reviews out there about this show. But the ones I googled that came up summarized what I feel on the show:

"A thriller in all sense of the genre – maybe even too much sense – Insider walks a very thin line between the potential of becoming a cult thriller classic and yet another failed attempt at the genre due overdramatisation while taking itself too seriously. It all hinges on how well the emotional progression of this story is due to unfold, and the facets to Yo-han it’s willing to lay bare."

I really do hope that he doubles down, and enacts his revenge for real and show us his more of his smarts in a grand way!!

https://www.nme.com/en_asia/reviews/tv-reviews/insider-k-drama-review-recap-3253247

"Ha Neul specifically excels here, yet again, showcasing just how talented he truly is. I like his take on the character, the poker face he has and how he made the character so difficult to read. His take on the character is amusing to me."

"I don’t necessarily think this is a bad move on a writing level but I can tell the screenwriter is relying heavily on Ha Neul’s star power to literally power us through this difficult introduction period."

https://www.jazminemedia.com/2022/06/insider-episode-1-and-2-review/

Even though these were reviews for the first week, I think that the show's non linear narrative is oftentimes throws us in for a loop. I feel like just as we feel defeat for the ML, the show does a flashback or pivots to a prior scene to show how the ML was able to succeed. It's the anti-Lee Joon Gi lol, its no Again My Life (Insider is more complex/stakes are higher) where our ML knows how to fight/have prior information. That being said, I'm glad we can move past those scenes b/c I myself felt a bit uneasy esp. since KHN knows how to do proper fight sequences in rl.

But still, I really enjoy the show and feel like as one of the quotes I referenced above, that KHN's portrayal is what I go back to. He didn't choose an impressive/cool character off the bat, but I do find myself rooting for his character to succeed b/c of how nuanced his portrayal is. Thank goodness he didn't overact imo, he did just enough so it doesn't fall into melodramatic.

Also, I echo the sentiments that Sun Ho is such a lively/fun character. This show could use more of those moments, b/c there bond/chemistry is so dynamic. Plus, the two actors are besties in rl which help! Not many have mentioned Lee Yoo Young, but I also like her dynamic with Yo-han. I feel like there were moments in Ep 9/10, where she wanted to be more intimate but she stopped. That car scene, I thought she was going to touch his hand lol.

Thanks @solstices for the recap. INSIDER has become one of my favorite dramas of the year and for me it is the best performance I have seen Kang Ha-neul give granted I have only seen him in MISAENG and CAMELLIA and his special appearance in RIVER WHERE THE MOON RISES a which was dropped after episode 4.
Yes the story is complicated and convoluted. As others have asked, why was grandma killed? We have had so many fake out cliff hangers that I am hopeful the Yo-han/Sun-oh bromance can survive. I believe Prosecutor Mok is also playing the righteous long game (after all he said he mortgaged his house to finance the operation he is running). The tail of Yi-hon might have been to extract him from the danger he is obviously in. Just speculating.