No Way Out – The Roulette: Episode 1 (First Impressions)

by mistyisles

Dark and gritty is the name of the game as a mysterious individual prescribes brutal acts of violence via roulette spins and a police officer fails to resist the allure of cold, hard cash. No Way Out – The Roulette drops us straight into the action, but I have a feeling it’s just a small taste of the violence to come.

Editor’s note: This is an Episode 1 review only. For a place to chat about the entire drama visit the Drama Hangout.
 
EPISODE 1

By its title alone, No Way Out – The Roulette promises a bleak and brutal struggle, and this first episode wastes no time showing us just how bleak and brutal it intends to get. While a roulette table spells out a grim offer — 1 billion won in return for cutting off the ear of butcher YOON CHANG-JAE (Lee Kwang-soo) — another butcher attempts to claim the prize. Understandably, Chang-jae isn’t keen to part with his ear, even for the promise of splitting the reward, and so a desperate and bloody fight ensues. By the end of it, the other butcher loses a patch of skin off the side of his own face, and Chang-jae loses the ear after all.

We later learn that the other butcher piggybacked Chang-jae to the ER, but for now their side of the story gets put on the back burner in favor of introducing us to our actual protagonist: police officer BAEK JOONG-SHIK (Jo Jin-woong). Having recently fallen for an investment scam, Joong-shik is so deep in debt he shamelessly begs everyone he can think of — the bank, his colleagues, even his boss — for a loan, to no avail.

But Joong-shik’s circumstances take a sharp turn when his path crosses with Chang-jae’s. Upon inspecting Chang-jae’s wound, the doctors immediately suspect foul play. Joong-shik doesn’t think it bears investigating, and he definitely doesn’t want to work with uber-talkative officer PARK EUN-JEONG (Oh Woo-ri). But like it or not, he gets assigned to track down LIM JI-HONG (Hyun Bong-shik), the other butcher who left Chang-jae bleeding on the hospital’s doorstep.

Ji-hong is out when Joong-shik arrives at his home, but since the door is unlocked Joong-shik ventures in to poke around. And what should he find but a suitcase full of cash. Ji-hong returns just then, only to take off running again as soon as Joong-shik introduces himself as a police officer. Joong-shik doggedly pursues until they’re both huffing and puffing on the edge of exhaustion. Ultimately, Ji-hong tumbles down a long stairway to his death, and Joong-shik lies that he didn’t actually see it happen. And that there wasn’t a big bag of money at the scene.

That’s right — Joong-shik went back to Ji-hong’s house and moved the money to his own car. When he presents it to his wife, he claims the guy who ran off with his investments returned them “with interest.” Just like that, his money problems are solved, and the annoying Case of the Missing Ear is wrapped up.

Or so he thinks. The very next day, all officers are called into an emergency meeting to see the video of the roulette table pronouncing Chang-jae’s fate. Too late, Joong-shik realizes he’s stolen blood money. Worse (though he doesn’t know it yet), Chang-jae has since left the hospital and discovered the money missing… and has video evidence of Joong-shik driving off with the suitcase. Considering how much that money cost him, he’s not about to just let Joong-shik have it. But for now, he simply tails Joong-shik and bides his time.

Turns out, that roulette video wasn’t a one-off. The man behind the video — whose mask bears the same symbol as the money-stuffed suitcase — has already ordered several bounties. After ranting about being accused of not paying up, he promises to deliver another billion won to whomever shows up at his designated place and time, no strings attached, as proof that he makes good on his word. Most of the other officers scoff that this is just some guy trying to become internet famous through empty promises, but Joong-shik tips the vote in favor of taking the Masked Man at his word.

So they pull out all the stops and search the baseball field ahead of the promised 5PM delivery, while the Masked Man’s fans swarm the gates hoping to grab some of the cash. Just when it seems the time has come and gone with no sign of the Masked Man, drones fly over the field and the money rains down. The police try their best to hold back the crowd, but they’re quickly overpowered. Joong-shik, the first to enter the field, just stands and stares while everyone — including some of the officers — shove, trample, and punch each other while frantically scooping up armfuls of cash.

Eventually, order is restored and the entire crowd is hauled to the police station (and no, they don’t get to keep the money). And that means they all watch together when the Masked Man uploads a new video. Now that he’s proven himself, it’s time to spin the roulette again and set a new bounty. This time, the prize lands on a whopping 20 billion won, and the target is a man whose prison term is ending in just a few days. And the task? Kill him.

And with that, No Way Out – The Roulette is off to an intriguing start! The lengths people will go in pursuit of money is far from a unique concept, but it was interesting looking at it through Joong-shik’s eyes. Especially that scene in the police station where he realized he’d dismissed obvious red flags because he was so focused on his financial situation, and then at the ball field where he watched everyone behaving like lunatics for the sake of grabbing a few extra bills. I can’t help but wonder if he’d have been right there on the ground with them all if he hadn’t already taken Ji-hong’s stash, and I suspect he was wondering the same thing in that moment. The door is wide open for his character to develop in just about any direction — will he rise above the rest, grow some integrity, and eventually own up to his wrongdoing, or will he descend further into selfishness and greed?

And then there’s Chang-jae, whom I can’t blame for wanting revenge. We don’t know how his name ended up on the roulette table in the first place, but he has been legitimately wronged, first by Ji-hong and then by Joong-shik. Their potential cat-and-mouse chase promises to be interesting enough, even without the added complications of more bounties to come.

 
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