[Drama Review] 'Man to Man' -- Episode 10

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MAN TO MAN -- EPISODE 10

We find out that Mr. Seo is still alive, surviving the car bomb the same way that Seol Woo did -- he wasn't in the car at the time. Woon Gwang is worried about his money, so he keeps our favorite bodyguard close to him. It gets even worse when he finds the NIS funds have been frozen. Meanwhile, Lawmaker Baek begins the NIS coup, kicking out and arresting key players, men of honor who can't be bought. Seeing Do Ha get hit on, Seol Woo decides to finally commit his heart to her and takes her in a kiss...

But we've seen this before, Seol Woo using her a screen for his actions. This time he's being followed, and it's obvious Do Ha's presence is a foil to the goons' plans. I know I've written about it before, but that is the only infuriating thing about the show. The constant 'will-they/won't-they' back and forth is sort of annoying here, because the emotion is a little less transparent in other shows. You most likely know who's going to end up with who, and they usually beat themselves up about it.

Watching Do Ha trying to figure out Seol Woo's actions is hilarious. In this one, she tries to interpret everything he does as planned out, not spontaneous. She attributes no warmth to his actions. It's almost like she's attempting to deal with his distance, and that's the story she tells herself to make herself feel better. Seol Woo, on the other hand, tries to reassure her that his actions are sincere, but I think that rings hollow to her ears. I do like how this ended up, though. I just want to see the love story play a more prominent part.

This episode seems as if it was mostly played for laughs. Yes, there was tension in the NIS scenes, and there was definite intrigue among the corporate types and lawmakers as they squeeze NIS and reshape it in their image, but the bulk of the scenes between Woon Gwang, Do Ha, and Seol Woo were all very non-serious. And it was a�very good comedy, especially when the actor made the ghost agent wear a skin treatment mask, laying in bed with him holding hands. Skinship, anyone?

The Baek Infantry seem like they're serious business. But now that they don't have Mr. Seo to push around, they seem a little aimless. As I've already said, I don't think they have the raw ability to take on Seol Woo, so sending one guy? Really? That just rang false, as a whole gaggle of them were handily beaten by Woon Gwang and Seol Woo. One guy is likely to get owned quickly. You don't go into the cave with a stick and poke the grizzly.

Mr. Seo being alive was not a shocker. After all, we've seen how Seol Woo rigs those car bombs. We've seen this twice now. You just know we'll see him again. And this time, he owes Seol Woo. And just like we saw with the prisoners in Budapest, Seol Woo is going to collect on that favor while trying to get his hands on the carvings.

The unfortunate thing is that this episode dragged some. While Episode 9 was tautly constructed, this was a little laggy. While there were certainly some funny scenes, the intrigue was not all that. It seemed more clinical that dramatic, and that's not a good thing. Probably after the last episode, I was hoping for more high-stakes action, and the closest thing we got was the deputy NIS director with a gun. Ah well, even among gold there's bound to be some tarnish.