TRIANGLE EPISODE 9

Later, Dong Soo is promptly kidnapped by Chairman Go's men and gets the tar beaten out of him by Young Dal as ordered by Chairman Go for payback. Young Dal is given a task to cheat at Daejung Casino (the big one owned by Yang Ha's family). Yang Ha warns Director Hyun to watch himself since he knows Hyun was the one who told Chairman Go about the new casino plans. Madame Jang and Young Dal's jilted lover, Lady Kim, learn about the plans to cheat at Daejung Casino and inform the management about those plans in order to bring down Young Dal. Yang Ha plans to set a trap and arrest him at the scene. Dong Soo, now called Director Jang, is poised to spring this trap...

Young Dal and Jung Hee are interesting together. She's a good foil for him; she is the kind, sweet, almost innocent young girl (but still tough) and he is the cynical gangster, still young but hardly innocent. It was particularly striking to me when he said to her, "When I think of you, I feel ashamed of everything." He seems to come across here as honest and sincere and I can almost believe that he's the bad guy "trying to go straight," so that he can make an honest living and make his girl happy. But at the same time, he's still in league with Chairman Go (which I know is not entirely at Dong Soo's insistence) and still has Boss Min bankrolling his activities. Our young thug and Jung Hee are adorable together, but I can't help question his motives.


"I will never do another embarrassing thing again."

The first encounter between Dong Soo and Yang Ha was played dramatically with the epic music and the exchange of glances and clasping of hands. I'm not sure exactly what they were trying to say there. When Dong Soo and Young Dal first met, there wasn't all of this fanfare; it was more "Hey kid, you're my eyes and ears in this town." True, there were some bonding moments later on, but the scene with Yang Ha and Dong Soo this episode felt momentous with much fanfare. It may have something to do with the fact that Yang Ha and Young Dal are enemies and Dong Soo has been put in the middle of that.

There was one scene that was particularly stirring -- when Chairman Go had Dong Soo brought before him and forced Young Dal to pound on him. The glances between them before it happened and Dong Soo essentially giving permission to Young Dal to beat him gave the scene a definite poignancy. I was wincing with every blow. Apparently it was part of Dong Soo's plan and, in the hospital bed, he told Young Dal to get close to Skunkhead Go and help him take the guy down. You have to give Dong Soo some credit -- he's certainly dedicated.


A battered and barely-conscious Dong Soo.

Jilted lover Lady Kim is back. What seemed like a footnote in the plot to me now takes center stage, at least for a short time. Lady Kim does not like the fact that Young Dal has allied himself with Boss Min. In earlier episodes, she has cautioned him against this move and does everything but beg him to come back so she can sponsor him again. But he values his freedom more than anything and has more pride than that. He has a pretty good money supply with Boss Min and has a love interest in Jung Hee, both of which are more than Lady Kim can provide. In this episode, she projects a palpable aura of menace and her words to Young Dal are clear: "I will crush you."

'Triangle' keeps getting better. It was a slow build at first, but now, nine episodes in, we have all the brothers in play. I'm just waiting for the fuse to light on the dramatic powder keg. Dong Soo and Young Dal are allies; Dong Soo and Yang Ha are in league together; and Young Dal and Yang Ha are enemies. I can't wait to see how all that plays out, particularly because Dong Soo and Young Dal have been placed on opposite sides!  This is fantastic!  If you keep watching, I certainly will! 

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