Player 2 – Master of Swindlers: Episodes 7-8

by mistyisles

At what point does scamming the scammers make one complicit in the original scam? And just how big of a risk is our charming swindler willing to take to get the job done? These are questions our characters will have to confront before long — that is, if they don’t get themselves into a mess too big to talk their way out of first.

 
EPISODES 7-8

Murderous real estate fraudster Mr. Myung is no fool, so the trap Ha-ri has laid for him is both elaborate and risky. On the surface, though, it’s a straightforward scam: Soo-min dangles 20 billion won in front of Mr. Myung, promising that if he contributes 30 billion of his own to make up the 50 billion they’ve pledged to hand an infamous yakuza boss for a villa auction, he’ll get a majority cut of the resulting profits. They’ve already given him convincing profiles of the people Ha-ri supposedly scammed to get the money in the first place, and Mr. Myung himself admits he almost fell for it. But it’s far too good of an offer to be legit, so he kidnaps Ha-ri and Soo-min instead. Impressed as he is by Ha-ri’s tactics (and sheer audacity), he’s not about to let them live.

Of course, the rest of the team isn’t far behind, and Prosecutor Kwak brings in the cavalry before Mr. Myung can make good on his threat. But when Mr. Myung slips away, Prosecutor Kwak doesn’t give chase… because Ha-ri has finally crossed a line Prosecutor Kwak can use against him. Those “fake victims” who were financially ruined so Ha-ri could tempt Mr. Myung with 20 billion in cash? They’re real. Ha-ri’s own teammates are blindsided by the revelation, and appalled that he chose to screw over innocent people to take Mr. Myung down. Cornered, Ha-ri grabs Soo-min and uses her as a hostage until he can escape on Jae-yi’s motorcycle.

Only a phone call from the president stops Prosecutor Kwak from arresting the rest of the team as accomplices. Back at headquarters, further revelations progress from bad to worse. The yakuza boss? Also real. And he’s captured Ha-ri — hence the ransom video we saw in last week’s flash-forward. If the team and Mr. Myung don’t fork over the 50 billion tonight, they’ll all pay with their lives. As a preview of what that will look like, he stabs Ha-ri in the thigh.

Mr. Myung complies with the demand, demurely accepting the man’s praise for his brilliant frauds. And just when I’m fuming at Ha-ri for going to such lengths over someone who isn’t even the final boss, Ha-ri struts out of the shadows and thanks Mr. Myung for confessing. Thank goodness it was all smoke and mirrors and fake blood after all: the yakuza boss was Director Hwang in disguise, and the victims were willing participants. Each of them lost a loved one to Mr. Myung’s frauds, and they were more than willing to help Ha-ri bring him to justice once and for all (and yes, they’re fully compensated after the fact). Of course, before Mr. Myung ever reaches the police station, he gets a call from Jeffrey Jung and immediately takes a pill that kills him, while the police officers transporting him do nothing to stop it.

Then it’s onto the team’s next assignment: exposing the truth behind a massive, politically influential cult. SUPREME LEADER LIM SANG-SHIK (Heo Sung-tae) is guilty of just about every atrocity you might imagine, from declaring himself god and extorting money out of his congregants to organ trafficking to designating a group of “heavenly brides” for himself and his high-ranking men to take advantage of. But everyone who speaks out against him either “repents” publicly or goes missing (or both), and he has plenty of powerful backers.

Enter our team: Soo-min and Jin-woong posing as new converts, Jae-yi made up as a wealthy elderly woman (a prime target for Supreme Leader Lim’s extortion), and Ha-ri in the role of a seminary graduate looking to try his hand at preying on vulnerable people’s faith. He strokes Supreme Leader Lim’s ego, hailing him as a masterclass in cult leadership, and slowly but surely wedges himself between the leader and his right-hand man. The team even lets said right-hand man witness Jae-yi removing her makeup so he’ll look like a jealous liar when he accuses Ha-ri of fraud and Ha-ri presents the actual woman Jae-yi was pretending to be (as with the real estate case, she lost her husband to the cult and happily plays along in hopes of seeing justice served).

Things get a bit sticky, though, when Supreme Leader Lim invites Ha-ri to a lavish dinner party for his handpicked “Messengers,” where the Heavenly Brides are brought in to entertain the men. Though Ha-ri can barely hide his disgust, hide it he must or completely blow his cover (and, judging from what we know of Supreme Leader Lim, possibly end up on that organ harvesting table). It’s obvious he’s not enjoying himself, though, so Supreme Leader Lim commands him and a few other new Messengers to, erm, put on a show with their Heavenly Brides at the front of the room.

It’s way beyond uncomfortable, but thankfully Ha-ri planned ahead. Suddenly, everyone sinks to the floor in a deep sleep, and Ha-ri makes sure Supreme Leader Lim sees him do the same. Soo-min drugged all the drinks, but Ha-ri took an antidote ahead of time so he could stay alert while everyone else conked out. Since the drug doesn’t show up in anyone’s system, and Ha-ri feigns sleep alongside the others, Supreme Leader Lim is unsettled but none the wiser.

Meanwhile, Jin-woong has been getting acquainted with a young Japanese woman named MINA (Yurina Yanagi), a devoted believer and the daughter of a former Heavenly Bride. She and Jin-woong are smitten from their first meeting, but guess who else has his eye on Mina? If you guessed Supreme Leader Lim — who it’s insinuated might be her father — I’m very sorry to say you’re right.

After finally dismissing his right-hand man and installing Ha-ri in his place, Supreme Leader Lim calls Mina to his private “prayer room” so he can take out his pent-up aggression on her. Before he can, Ha-ri sets off the fire alarm and distracts the guards, and Soo-min distracts Supreme Leader Lim with an “urgent secret opportunity.” The problem is, Supreme Leader Lim can tell something is up. He may not suspect Ha-ri as much anymore, but he’s pretty darn sure Soo-min is trying to scam him, so he turns his aggression on her instead.

I find it really interesting having these two cases one right after the other. Mr. Myung was repeatedly touted as an opponent so similar to Ha-ri he could only be caught by a fraud that would fool Ha-ri himself, which lent credibility to the claim that Ha-ri had actually crossed a line in the process. How far Ha-ri is willing to go to make sure his plans succeed is a fascinating question that I hope the remaining episodes continue to explore. But between the two targets this week, I’d say Supreme Leader Lim is really the one testing Ha-ri’s ethical limits. It’s one thing to hire fake fraud victims and pretend to get yourself tortured; it’s another to convincingly play along when people are actively being harmed before your eyes.

And then there’s the question of whether working for the president is another trap in and of itself. I’m glad Ha-ri at least knows the president is watching him, and I’m not terribly surprised Director Hwang reports Ha-ri’s every move as well, but it’s still unsettling to say the least. Especially since they’re slowly learning how Ha-ri’s mind works — which he’s said time and time again is exactly how he traps his targets.

 
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