Recap Korean Drama "Money Heist: Korea - Joint Economic Area Part 2(2022) " Episode 2

Episode 8 of Money Heist: Korea starts with more of the Professor’s plan being fleshed out. All the group are gathered as they prepare for D-Day. There are celebrations abound, including drinking and smoking, along with some karaoke too. Just like the Spanish version, only with the added bitterness of soju!

Nairobi is rejected by the Professor in her drunken state so instead she shares a touching moment with both Helsinki and Oslo.

Back in the present, Oslo is struck down and left lying in a pool of his own blood after the nasty baseball bat strike. The hostages scramble to find an exit and get out. They’re led by Park Chulwoo, our resident mole. As the light go out, they all begin to have second thoughts. Chulwoo ends up fighting with Helsinki when he shows up, buying them all precious time as the others hurry down and try to get out of the Mint.

Gunfire alerts the rest of the Professor’s team to head down, just in time too as Helsinki is choked out. Nairobi manages to get the back-up generators running, and the cameras go back online just as the Professor realizes they’re all heading for the backdoor. However, that door is rigged to blow if they step near it.

The slight delay allows the rest of the Professor’s team, including a conscious Helsinki, to appear and calm things down. Park Chulwoo is not with them though, given he’s gone right to the heart of the operation. He hurriedly phones Woo-Jin to let her know that the hostages have tried to escape and proceeds to spray the office with bullets, destroying the computers on the desk and hurrying out the room. While Rio is still alive, it appears the communications are all completely down.

In the basement, the taskforce head in with riot shields, prompting a big firefight to take place. The Professor’s team are outnumbered and don’t have enough guns to go around, but Nairobi gives them a height advantage, spraying bullets from the balcony, while Berlin manages to topple over a large shelf, forcing them out.

During the commotion though, the hostages are all up on the roof, being led up there to be evacuated and to jump down to an inflatable below. As they scramble up the stairs, many hostages jump down and manage to head away to safety. Just as Anne looks set to jump, Berlin interjects and grabs her, pulling the pair back up. With the situation back under control, only half the hostages manage to escape, while the other half are still inside.

Back in the Mint, Helsinki is shocked to learn his brother has passed away, while the remaining hostages try to weigh up what they should do. Anne doesn’t see this as a fail though, given half of them managed to escape, but it’s clear the rest left inside are going to be in a world of trouble. Nairobi arrives and tells them that they’ll have to work doubly hard now and she can’t guarantee any of their safety either. Berlin is not happy but before he strikes out, all the hostagew begin clapping. It’s their way of rebelling and Tokyo realizes they’re not going to obey them anymore.

Elsewhere, the Professor arrives to the secure location where his own group are holding Captain Cha captive. He informs them that the hostages have rebelled and they’re not in a good way. However, there’s even more issues at play here. After Park Chulwoo shot up the office earlier in the episode, he actually took Berlin’s medication too. Given it’s a rare disease that he’s suffering from, Woo-Jin and the others suspect they can use that to flush them out.

Woo-Jin also realizes that Berlin has ties to North Korea, and decides to try and figure out if there’s an ulterior political motivation here, breaking down the tenuous cooperation between nations.

Woo-Jin learns that Berlin’s prescription was forged and it’s actually located at a pharmacy near the university hospital in Gangwon. However, the place appears to be out of business and they haven’t found anything awry. When Woo-Jin speeds off, it’s clear that there’s a tracker on her car. The Professor watches from afar, realizing she’s getting close to finding out the truth. The place they find happens to be their old HQ building, which is complete with numerous banners and flyers for liberating the Korean peninsula.

Back inside the Mint, Tokyo and Rio are both knocked out and tied up by Berlin, who’s working with Helsinki and suspects they’re the traitors. Denver and Nairobi are brought in, where they’re shocked to see what Berlin is up to. He intends to avenge Oslo’s death, but Rio sacrifices himself, claiming that he’s the traitor to try and save Tokyo’s life. Well, he watches in shock as Tokyo is wheeled outside, tied to a stretcher and left for the guards, who arrest her.

Berlin suddenly shows up at the doorway, holding Anne at gunpoint. He forces her to read a note, which simply reads: “Bring us the former warden of Gaecheon Detention Camp 14.” That warden happens to be Jeon Yongsu. The heist has, unfortunately, turned into a personal revenge mission for Berlin and with everything starting to fall apart, it leaves the entire operation hanging in the balance.

As the episode closes out, Tokyo is brought before the Taskforce, where she spies her own picture up on the wall and realizes that the jig is up.

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The Episode Review

Why didn’t any of the officials notice Berlin jumping to save Anne? He’s not even wearing a mask! It’s a weird scene, especially as talented snipers could have been at the scene; or the show could have provided evidence of them not shooting in order to save Anne’s life.

Beyond that, we get the same plot points from Money Heist reiterated here, with Oslo dying and Berlin going a bit crazy. It’s all rather predictable stuff but there are glimmers of brilliance hiding in this, but it’s frustrating to see the show shackled to the same plot points we’ve seen play out already.

Whether the creators do intend to deviate and march to the beat of their own drum is anyone’s guess but based on what’s here so far, Money Heist: Korea feels average at best.