The Hostage Situation
The Game: Towards Zero has been a real rollercoaster ride this year to say the least. From lofty heights to incredulous lows, this thriller has jumped between exciting set-pieces and head-scratching and poor character decisions throughout the season. As we cross the halfway point of this Korean drama, there’s a sense that this one is being dragged out a little but there’s enough action set-pieces to keep you sticking around for more. Given the way this one ends, you’ll almost certainly tune in to find out what happens next. The episodes begin with Do-Kyung and Tae-Pyeong coming to blows outside, until Joon-Young saves him at the last second and prevents Do-Kyung from being choked out. As they reconvene at the hospital, he questions whether Joon-Young actually is the woman he winds up killing in the future. As Do-Kyung reaches out to grab her, Tae-Pyeong interjects and warns him away. Concerned for her well-being, Tae-Pyeong brings Joon-Young back to his house and lets her sleep on the sofa. When she awakens, Tae-Pyeong is nowhere to be found, given he’s off paying respects to Mr Baek at his grave. Later that day however, they catch up with Han-Kyu and Ye-Ji who finally report that Jun-Hee has gone missing, 6 days later. However, Do-Kyung decides to turn himself in and causes breaking news to spread across the entire country as the officers await his voluntary arrival to the station. Once there, he refuses to talk to anyone but Tae-Pyeong who eventually arrives and stares down the antagonist as the rest of the team watch on from behind the glass. With his true identity revealed as Hyun Woo (which we’ve known for some time of course) our antagonist openly admits that he killed the real Do-Kyung and Mi-Jin. After admitting to his crimes, he asks Tae-Pyeong whether this has changed his fortune and altered the deaths for both Joon-Young and himself. Tae-Pyeong refuses to tell him though, going on to promise Do-Kyung will rot in prison. As Joon-Young gets hold of the camera footage of Tae-Pyeong getting rid of the blood in the pipe, she bursts in and arrests Do-Kyung. As we soon find out, Tae-Pyeong’s visions haven’t changed. Joon-Young is still prophesied to die in the same way. Eventually Tae-Pyeong admits the truth to the rest of the officers and tells them about the bomb blast in the station and how they’re going to die. The police also manage to make their way to Do-Kyung’s house, where they search the basement and begin dusting for fingerprints. Once there, they also find a hidden tunnel and the two prisoners missing. To make matters worse, Chief Nam finds a red box full of hair – something he was told about in the past. Unfortunately Joon-Hee and Hyeong-Soo find themselves tied up outside in the freezing rain. While they suffer, Joon-Young tries to get through to Do-Kyung, telling him he used to be such a kind soul back in the Orphanage. Out of ideas and theories, Joon-Young heads off with Do-Kyung and the other officers after he promises to show them where he’s left his two prisoners tied up. With the officers all spread out in the woods and some way off from Do-Kyung’s location, he unveils a knife hidden in his shirt. The police meanwhile, make it to the location the duo are tied up but are too late – Joon-Hee is unconscious and Hyeong-Soo has managed to slip away. Even worse, Do-Kyung holds up Bong-Soo at knife-point and forces Tae-Pyeong to uncuff him. Out in the woods, Hyeong-Soo is captured and arrested while we learn Do-Kyung has stabbed Tae-Pyeong in the stomach and driven off with him in a bid to try and reverse his own fortunes. Tae-Pyeong sees Joon-Young running toward him, having figured out where he is after rushing back to her own car, and stopping in time to see the car explode and kill both him and Do-Kyung in the process where the episode ends. Well that was certainly a surprising end! Were they really in the car or is this another trick? The Game: Towards Zero hasn’t always been the smoothest ride but these two episodes in particular really show off what this show can do when it focuses on action. The thrilling segment toward the end including the hostage situation and Do-Kyung, although a little ill-conceived given the lack of security around our antagonist, is certainly a highlight here and boasts another thrilling segment to this twisty-turny thriller Of course, questionable character decisions and plenty of plot holes still dominate this drama but if you can take to the action and switch off from this, The Game: Towards Zero offers up enough to make for an enjoyable, albeit flawed, drama to watch.
