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[Drama Review] 'Man to Man' -- Episode 9

MAN TO MAN -- EPISODE 9




Woon Gwangagrees to lendSeol Woothe money for the Black Auction mission, on two conditions: the first is that he come back as a bodyguard. The second is that he helps the actor get some time to talk toMi Eun. The auction begins, and it looks like they'll lose the bidding war, untilDo Hastages a distraction, and sets off a localized EMP burst that disables Songsan's device.Mr. SeogivesDo Hathe info to clear her dad.Seol Woorides off with the carving, andMr. Seodies when his car explodes. The person the ghost agent wanted to be killed was apparently himself...

Mr. Seo's apparent death presents a problem for the series. Because now we have no effective direct foil forSeol Woo. Up until this point,Seol Woo's been going up against the Baek Infantry, as well asMr. Seo. That guy is former NIS and trained about as well as our favorite bodyguard. I don't think the other agents are anywhere near a match forSeol Woo. Although given the amount of reachLawmaker Baekhas, I'm sureSeol Woowon't be safe for long.



This episode was all about the money. The flashier the better. The expensive scenery, expensive suits, and expensive items at auction. I caught myself mentally calculating how much all this was worth. I got lost in the dollar signs. And, thoughWoon Gwangwas a millionaire, apparently he wasn't that rich, if he missed $5 mil in cash. That's a lot of money to you and me, but to the very rich its a drop in the bucket. Those guys have net worths in the billions and drop that much on a weekend shopping spree.

Do Ha's reactions this episode were classic. Apparently, she doesn't trust whatSeo Woolsays to her. The terms for lending him the money I'm sure were as much hers asWoon Gwang's. She dismisses him as an "evil jerk," but really I think she's just feeding off her friend more than anything. I think she's trying to stay strong, struggling with her feelings about this being just a job toSeol Woo. Even though it's not. Or is it?



Manipulation is the name of the game here, all throughout this episode, and in general over the course of the series.Seol Woolives in a world where the tide can turn very quickly, and you have to adapt to that. The best way is to lie, dissemble, cheat, and bluff your way out of situations. He's been doing this so much, I can't be exactly sure of what he's feeling. I'd like to think that he does have some affection for his cover employers here, and I think it's highly likely thatDo Haand him will get together.

The tension in this installment was at an all-time high. I loved the fight scenes, and even the auction scenes (normally pretty boring affairs) were taught and uncertain. I love howMr. Seoactually turned on his employers here to helpSeol Woowin and obtain the carving. The fight scenes were pretty well choreographed, as well. When they turn on the edginess, they really crank the action up to 11.



A gratifying episode overall. They really do a good job of reaching out and gluing me to the screen, and that's not easy to do. But they're good at what they do, and the director seems just as comfortable with comedy as with action. The result is a really high-quality show and another awesome episode.

Score

Plot..........................9
Performance............9
Pacing.....................9

OVERALL..............9.0