Death's Game Part 2 (2024) K Drama Episode 1

Episode 1 of Part 2 of Death’s Game starts at a warehouse with an influencer recording a live stream about beating a man who sexually assaults his victims and then murders them. A stranger shows up and saves the alleged sexual offender from the influencer but goes ahead to kill him by chopping him up into pieces and using the blood splatters as painting elements on his canvasses.

The scene then goes to the familiar dark place where Yee-jae meets up with Death before he is sent to take over another body. He is wailing on the floor, talking about killing Park Tae-u. Before that, he shoots Death and then tries to shoot himself so he can go to the next body, but it does not work since Death does not die. 

Yee-jae is furious about Ji-su’s death and thinks it’s all a part of Death’s plan. However, Death tells him that Ji-su was destined to die at that spot and at that exact time. The only thing that changed was Yee-jae deciding to reveal who he was to her moments before her Death. Therefore, Park Tae-u would have killed Ji-su regardless, and Yee-jae starts wondering why. The second half of Death’s Game officially begins, and Yee-jae is eager to return to kill Tae-u. Death reminds him that she will have to intervene if he tries to kill another person, and Yee-jae is quick to ask her to try to stop him. Even though he might not beat Death at her game, he is human, and all they do is try. Death thinks people are stupid since they never listen, no matter how often you warn them. 

The next body that Yee-jae takes over is the murderous artist seen at the start of the episode. The man’s name is Jeong Gyu-cheol, 34 years old and a talented artist the world failed to recognise. One day, he witnesses a person dying when he jumps from a building onto a car and gets inspiration to draw what he saw. The painting sold at a high price in a foreign country and received critical acclaim that it captured human depravity.

Gyu-cheol started becoming serious about his art by killing people to capture their looks at the moment of their deaths. His paintings become popular, selling at biddings of millions of dollars. Gyu-cheol is a serial killer, and although Yee-jae is repulsed by it, he decides to use him to kill Tae-u. 

Yee-jae finds out that the body he took over has a brain tumour with only one month to live. He has to act first and learn more about Tae-u, starting with where he lives. Suddenly, Gyu-cheol’s assistant calls him to say that Park Tae-u wants to buy one of Gyu-cheol’s art pieces, and he is on his way to the gallery. 

Yee-jae arrives at the gallery and finds Tae-u waiting in front of the painting he wants to buy. He asks about Gyu-cheol’s interpretation of the painting. Yee-jae uses the opportunity to spook him by saying Tae-u is attracted to the painting because they are both killers who consider themselves gods. When his words make Tae-u suspicious of him, he changes the tone, saying he was joking and apologising for offending him. Yee-jae sees the painting sale as an opportunity to know Tae-u’s home address. He agrees to sell and asks Tae-u for his address to deliver the painting. He then invites him to his studio later on so he can make Tae-u a special painting. Tae-u agrees. 

Tae-u attends a mass for his brother’s eulogy, and we get a flashback to their interaction. Park Jin-tae tells Tae-u a story about witnessing him try to kill their housekeeper’s baby and tells him that their father knows about it. He also asks him about popping pills, and Jin-tae thinks that Tae-u is weak-willed and has to depend on drugs to stop hearing voices.

While Jin-tae thinks that the voices his brother hears are of a baby crying, Tae-u tells him that he takes the pills to stop the voices in his head telling him to kill Jin-Tae. He is strong-willed enough, which is the only reason why Jin-tae is still alive. Jin-tae is terrified. Back at the mass, Tae-u leaves the church, angry that his father keeps talking about his dead brother. His assistant calls him and informs him that his father arranged the seminar about psychopaths he attended earlier in the day, and he filmed it secretly. 

Tae-u takes some pills to get high and starts speeding recklessly on the highway. Two detectives on a break see him speeding and chase after him. He drives over a road on construction and is forced to a stop. One of the detectives goes to his car and gives him a speeding ticket. However, The detective suspects that Tae-u might be high and forces him out of the car.

Upon seeing who the person is, his partner rushes out of the car to stop the other detective from looking into the matter further, but the detective insists. Tae-u calls their superior, and the detective is ordered to let him go, but Tae-u does not just leave. He humiliates the detective by slapping him several times while his partner stands there without helping and then throws money at the detective to use for treatment of the injuries. Tae-u then drives off.

Tae-u arrives home and bumps into Yee-jae outside his gate. He is here to pick a fight. He instigates Tae-u, which makes him furious, and he punches him. Yee-jae soon gains the upper hand and starts beating Tae-u black and blue. Tae-u rushes into his car when he can and takes the gun he uses for bird shooting. One bullet hits Yee-jae, and he falls to the ground. Tae-u approaches him arrogantly, thinking he has finished him, but Yee-jae comes prepared and has a bulletproof vest underneath his clothes. The fight continues, but Yee-jae manages to capture Tae-u and take him to Gyu-cheol’s studio. 

However, tables turn unexpectedly when Yee-jae faints, and when he regains consciousness, he is the one tied to the table. Tae-u starts telling him about the murders he has committed over the years. He says that his first kill was an accident, and it happens to be the man who was hit by a car on the day Yee-jae was heading to an interview. He says the man looked up at him like a god while asking for his help, which felt electrifying.

In the car outside, when Yee-jae was telling him about how he would kill him, Tae-u wondered why he never thought of killing people himself and got to experience how it feels. He tells Yee-jae that he will never get to win against Tae-u since winning or losing depends on who stays alive. Tae-u holds a chainsaw to Yee-jae’s neck and tells him to start begging for his life so that he might spare him. Yee-jae aggravates him further, and Tae-u starts chopping. 

Yee-jae wakes up at the usual chill-out spot after Death, and Death is waiting to tell him about his most painful Death yet. Yee-jae gives maniacal laughter, which makes Death wonder if he got himself killed on purpose. As his laughter is continuously heard in frenzied bursts, the scene zooms in back to Gyu-cheol’s studio, where Tae-u is cleaning the blood off his hands, and in the mirror is a look of contentment and fulfilment. Unknown to Tae-u, there are hidden cameras set in the studio. 

The Episode Review

Even in an episode that viewers might think is predictable since we all know that Yee-jae will get a new body and then die, the writers still find a way to keep viewers guessing. Gyu-cheol has a month to live, so viewers think he will collapse and die due to the disease, but Yee-jae pushes everything off the expected plot by getting himself killed. He knew that Death would intervene, but he did not know how if he tried to kill Tae-u, so he decided to feed his psychopath mind and give him an easy kill. Will Tae-u take over the studio and make it his new slaughterhouse?

Yee-jae probably plans not to kill Tae-u but to expose his evil deeds. Has Yee-jae found a way to outwit Death? Gyu-cheol’s character is the most interesting yet to have Yee-jae take over after the reincarnated South Korean John Wick episode. Death’s Game continues to have the most thrilling and unexpected twists, introducing versatile actors in every episode, making it even more captivating. What do you think will happen in the next episode?