Oasis: Episodes 7-8

by Dramaddictally

This week is all entanglements and explanations as our leading men play every side to stay on top. With both our boys carrying out unethical schemes, there’s a thin line between criminal enterprises and legitimate work. In the background, our heroine continues to be genuine, intelligent, and likable — and maybe a little too good for this love triangle.

 
EPISODES 7-8

A complicated web of alliances develops this week but the main point is that Doo-hak has aspirations to move up in the world and get out of the crime business — and he succeeds, sort of. It begins when his boss, Kwang-tak, gets involved with some real estate developers and Doo-hak and his crew are sent to coerce residents to leave their land so it can be redeveloped.

Out of this event, two major things happen. First, Doo-hak is photographed leading the violence that forces the residents to leave. The kicker is that Cheol-woong is the one who sent the photographer to collect some dirt on Doo-hak. Cheol-woong then shows the photos to Jung-shin — another ploy to get her to turn away from Doo-hak and towards him.

Jung-shin, of course, is way too smart for his antics and understands what he’s doing. Still, she’s angry at Doo-hak for his involvement, and she tells them both to grow up. She then storms off, which, unfortunately, is about all the script is giving her to do these days.

The second major thing that comes out of the event is that Kwang-tak is offered the chance to get further involved in the real estate business. Here’s where it gets a little complicated. Man-ok and Choong-sung are the ones behind this new redevelopment project. So, it’s Man-ok that goes to see Kwang-tak and ask if he wants to be in charge of the construction — not only at the site they just cleared, but at all the new luxury developments they’re building. It’ll be worth big money, and Kwang-tak is willing to do anything to get this chance.

The catch is that Man-ok wants to frame Doo-hak as the mastermind behind the violent eviction of the residents. It’s not entirely clear why, though. At one point we hear that it was Cheol-woong who asked Man-ok to take down Doo-hak, but at the same time, Cheol-woong looks surprised by the insinuation that it was his idea.

In any case, Doo-hak is itching to break free from Kwang-tak anyway. So, when he finds out that Kwang-tak agreed to frame him, he uses it as an excuse to orchestrate a coup. The plan is to send Kwang-tak to jail so that Doo-hak can take over his national-level crime organization (meaning Doo-hak will be in charge of all the big-money real estate stuff). Doo-hak asks Cheol-woong — who’s now officially a prosecutor — to help him. Cheol-woong agrees, but says that if things go according to plan, it’s the end of the debt he owes Doo-hak.

And things do go according to plan, mostly. But at the end of the showdown at Kwang-tak’s house, Doo-hak gets stabbed in the stomach. Lucky for him, holding a rag over the wound is fine and he doesn’t need to go to the hospital. But it means he’s still on the scene when Jung-shin shows up. (Seriously, did Cheol-woong call her?) Jung-shin is tearful looking at a bloodied Doo-hak, and tells him that it’s really over now. Watching him get hurt is where she draws the line. She wishes him well and walks off crying.

While collecting documents after Kwang-tak’s arrest, Cheol-woong finds Man-ok’s business card and realizes that the KCIA has actually been backing this criminal organization. Just to put this into perspective: Man-ok and Choong-sung are still part of the KCIA and they’re simultaneously controlling the real estate projects (which they hired gangsters to carry out) and the prosecutor’s office (whose job is to arrest gangsters). They’re at the top, puppeteering all sides.

After the smoke clears, Doo-hak gets a meeting with Choong-sung and explains that he wants to take over the redevelopment project, promising to be loyal to his “master.” Choong-sung ultimately accepts Doo-hak but doesn’t trust him.

After the meeting, the strangest thing happens. Doo-hak calls Jung-shin over and says he quit the thug life and wants to be together. He’s thought about all the times he was down and how she was there for him, and he loves her. Crying and kissing ensues and the next thing you know Jung-shin is pushing Doo-hak’s wheelchair (because his stab wound is apparently worse than he thought) and then there’s more kissing.

I really thought this was a dream sequence because it all happens so fast and there seems to be a major jump in logic. First, it’s not a dream because Cheol-woong has obtained photos of the pair puckering up in public. Second, how can Doo-hak say he quit the crime business when he’s working for Choong-sung and Man-ok? They’re the biggest criminals around and the work he’ll have to do is probably not much different than before, even if it’s “legal” now. I’m guessing this is going to cause some trouble for our lovebirds not too far down the road.

Meanwhile, Choong-sung is wooing Yeo-jin by showing her all the land he’s cleared of poor residents to build luxury high rises. These two have gone from cozy to couple, and Choong-sung has even told Yeo-jin he acknowledges Cheol-woong as his son. Yeo-jin is so happy, she can’t wait to introduce him and Cheol-woong to each other. (Never mind that she hasn’t told Cheol-woong this guy is his fake dad.)

When the introduction is finally underway, Cheol-woong realizes that he already knows who Choong-sung is: the boss of the man who tortured him and forced him to be an informant. Man-ok arrives and kneels in front of Cheol-woong, apologizing and saying that Choong-sung had no knowledge of what was happening.

As Man-ok tries to take all the blame, Choong-sung makes it seem like it was all a big accident, saying that sometimes the wrong person gets sacrificed for no reason. (This is also untrue, since Cheol-woong was selected in order to harm his father, Young-shik.) Cheol-woong goes from afraid to enraged and says he can’t accept his mother marrying Choong-sung. He gives Yeo-jin a choice, “It’s these monsters or me.”

The drama picked up the pace a little this week but after all those long, drawn-out explanations of covert plans to take down the gang leader, I think we could have spent a little more time on the reconciliation between Doo-hak and Jung-shin. The fact that we’re only halfway through and they’re already together means only one thing: we’re going to have to watch them be torn apart again. With such a plot-driven drama, the quick reconnection makes me think we’ll be moving on to some terribleness for them pretty quickly.

It is very lovely to watch them together, though! Doo-hak and Cheol-woong have been reduced to such brutes, I was starting to think Jung-shin just needed to move on from both. But every time we get glimpses of the old Doo-hak (like when they go see Jung-shin’s mom in the nursing home), it’s understandable why Jung-shin melts for him.

One funny thing about this show is that it’s not only set in the 80s, but the style itself is extremely 80s. There are all these overextended fight scenes, with nameless goons coming from left and right to attack the lone “good guys” — who swiftly handle them in succession. Plus, all the over-the-top melodrama is so old school, I feel like telling people to hush because I’m watching my program.

Oddly, even though I’m not loving the drama anymore, I still feel drawn to it each week. Maybe it’s because the simplistic story, told in an older cinematic style, feels so familiar that I find it welcoming.

 
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