Strong Girl Nam-soon – K Drama Episode 16 (Final Episode)

Episode 16 of Strong Girl Nam-Soon begins with Nam-soon’s triumphant escape from the warehouse Shi-oh left her in. Shi-oh watches from his car. He then ingests a bit of the drug and attacks Nam-soon.

The drug has left Nam-soon weakened and Shi-oh is able to injure her. When he throws a metal rod at her, she catches it and throws it back. It hits Shi-oh but he pulls it out of his stomach.

Hee-sik arrives and warns Shi-oh to stop but he gets distracted by an injured Nam-soon and Shi-oh escapes. Nam-soon tells Hee-sik about the bomb threat.

Where is the antidote?

The police evacuate the plane and look for the bomb while Hee-sik drives an unconscious Nam-soon. He calls Red Heels for the antidote but she doesn’t have any. She says it must be refrigerated which makes him realise the antidote will be at the Doogo warehouse. Elsewhere, Jun-hee finds Joong-gan passed out on the street and drives her to the hospital. Geum-ju is also found unconscious and taken in.

Hee-sik rushes to the Doogo warehouse where Nam-soon’s old manager helps him get through the security. In a refrigerated section, Hee-sik finds several vials of the antidote. Meanwhile, Madam Kim catches Red Heels snooping through her house but as she’s dragging her out, the police arrive and arrest both of them.

After using a defibrillator, the doctors are able to revive Joong-gan’s heart. Geum-ju wakes up and insists on seeing Nam-soon. Hee-sik brings Nam-soon the antidote and she drinks the whole thing. She looks better almost immediately but Hee-sik, who is exhausted, passes out.

Shi-oh is back at his hideout, nursing his wound. Nozh calls him and tells him he knows where he is.

Does Hee-sil wake up?

Young-tak and the other officer leave to make more arrests of drug dealers, leaving Seong-gyu with Dr Choi. The sweet-mannered Seong-gyu turns on his bad cop persona and begins to threaten Dr Choi to reveal Shi-oh’s location.

Geum-ju visits Joong-gan, who is lying unconscious and begs her to wake up. She makes promises of a lavish honeymoon for her and Jun-hee. Joong-gan wakes up. Turns out, she was just sleeping and now expects Geum-ju to fulfil all her promises. Jun-hee hears the good news and relays it to Guk-jong. Guk-jong tells him to visit Joong-gan on his own and tells him to treat her well.

Hee-sik, who was sleeping next to Nam-soon, wakes up. She thanks him for saving her and her mother’s life whereas he berates her for scaring him. Seong-gyu then calls Hee-sik and tells him Shi-oh is at a boxing gym. Dr Choi sits nearby with a bloody nose so we know how he got the information. Nam-soon and Hee-sik head to the location, this time in Nam-soon’s new car.

What happens to Binbin?

At the boxing gym, a young man comes to visit Shi-oh. It turns out to be Binbin. We see the two boys as kids, in a punishment cell, promising to run away to Hungary together. At present, Binbin says he was sent to Hungary to train with Pavel. Now, he’s been sent to kill Shi-oh. He pulls out a gun.

Shi-oh laments being betrayed by the people he’s trusted, referring to Nam-soon. Binbin is unable to shoot him and ends up handing Shi-oh his gun. By the time Hee-sik and his team storm into the place, Shi-oh is standing on his own. He tells Nam-soon he wants to die with dignity and shoots himself in the head.

Shi-oh’s body is taken away and an officer informs Hee-sik that this place used to be an orphanage. Years later, Shi-oh bought the land. He also informs Hee-sik that Shi-oh’s secretary, Yoon Sang-cheol, has been arrested.  

Geum-ju speaks with Gentleman and tells him her fight is not over yet. She needs to get the antidote.

Madam Kim is questioned about the commissioner general’s location. Kyle is found to be located in a hospital and Hee-sik arrests him. Afterwards, he gets a call saying that Lee Jeong-sik has been found.

They now shift focus to finding the antidote. Nam-soon remembers seeing cold vapour coming out from under a door at the shop where Dr Choi was kept hidden.

Once they reach the store, one of the detectives causes a distraction while Nam-soon sneaks inside. She finds a refrigerator with several vials of the antidote.

Geum-ju visits Dr Choi at the police station. She threatens him and when that doesn’t work, she offers him the Nobel Prize. This is enough for him to hand over the formula of the antidote.

What happens to Jung-hee?

Geum-ju is overjoyed but soon gets a distressing call from Nam-gil. She meets him and Hong-do at a restaurant where Hong-do tells her Bread Song has vanished. His office is empty. He left a note for Geum-ju that reads “Be merciful like Paul”. Geum-ju visits Su-san, who informs her that Bread Song left the country. She also informs her about a loan shark named Mr Chen who disappeared around the same time.

Nam-soon has a heartwarming meal with her mother and grandmother where each of them has made a decision. Later, Joong-gan goes to a senior welfare association with Jun-hee.

She’s decided to fight those who scam the elderly. Geum-ju holds a board meeting and orders her people to sue Doogo’s other directors. She has decided to take down Pavel for good. Hee-sik and his team are honoured for their work on the drug case. For her efforts, Nam-soon is recruited by the police and is more than happy to work for them.

Later, Nam-soon finally meets her grandfather and the family sits down for dinner together. Guk-jong tells Joong-gan that he is letting her go and Geum-ju says he’ll find a house for him. Joong-gan tells Geum-ju and Bong-go to get back together. Geum-ju says they’ll discuss it later but she and Bong-go exchange a smile. She turns the topic to Nam-soon’s wedding.

Who is the stationary store owner?

Hee-sik and his team learn that the stationery store owner is actually Shi-oh’s biological father. In fact, Shi-oh opened the store for him. While walking with Hee-sik, Nam-soon surmises that Shi-oh must have been lonely. As they talk about parenthood, Hee-sik confesses that he could be a good dad. It’s an official marriage proposal from Hee-sik and Nam-soon ecstatically says yes.

Both the families meet over a meal and Hee-sik’s mother is shocked by Geum-ju’s extensive wealth. In the end, both families agree to have the wedding soon.

The story turns to Hyun-soo, who is now on the streets. Seon-saeng comes over and hands him some cash. He blames her for exposing him but she stands her ground, stating she had truly cared for him. She pulls her cash out from his hand, just like he took back his love for her, and walks away.

While dropping Nam-soon off, Hee-sik and she share a kiss.

Geum-ju meets Gentleman, who gives her intel on Nozh. The ruthless killer was apparently sent to Korea to learn about money laundering. Gentleman claims the organisation is unstable and that they’ll soon identify Nozh.

The scene shifts to a boat where somebody has murdered everybody on board. The person turns out to be Bread Song.

Nam-soon begins working at the police station. At the drug investigation unit, Seong-gyu tells Hee-sik that Shi-oh’s secret phone is still active and in the hands of Binbin. Apparently, his next target is Gold a.k.a Geum-ju.

Meanwhile, Joong-gan storms into a building where a man is trying to scam a large group of senior citizens. She puts a stop to it immediately.

How does Nam-soon end?

Hee-sik tells Geum-ju that she is a target. Gentleman then sends her a photo of Nozh as they’ve identified him. She is shocked to see that it was Bread Song all along.

Hee-sik arrives at the location of a crime to find Nam-soon throwing men out of the window. When she tells him one of the men tried to shoot her, he beats him up. The man brings out a knife and runs away but Nam-soon brings him down with one big jump.

An additional scene after the credits shows Bong-go, Nam-in, Geum-dong and Guk-jong eating together. They discuss how Geum-ju has gone to meet a woman named Yun-hui and her son Chung-dong. Geum-ju wants Chung-dong to work for her. We learn that a Y chromosome anomaly made him extremely strong. At a cyber cafe, a hooded man punches a computer after his game ends. The screen shatters and the entire café goes dark.

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The Episode Review

The season finale of Strong Girl Nam-soon is a tad underwhelming. The big bag villain, Shi-oh, goes down too easily. We never get the big fight between him and Nam-soon, which I expected since the drug made him super-strong. Instead, he seems to accept his without any fight. Since it lacks any prior meaningful development, his suicide is not very impactful.

His background with Pavel and Binbin was actually interesting and could have made him a complex antagonist. But the writing was shallow and one-note.

Binbin’s appearance in this episode is quite sudden as well, with no prior indication of where he was. In fact, his inclusion seems to be part of the finale’s aim to set up another season of the show.

The mystery around Gentleman from Opulentia, the reveal of Bread Song as Nozh, and the mid-credit scene of a strong boy in the family — all these plot points are meant to set up the future of the show. In fact, Bread Song’s entire existence seems to be for that purpose.

All in all, the finale tries to streamline all the different plotlines but does so in too haphazard a fashion. On a positive note, it is heartwarming to see the family’s women go on their individual paths, chasing their own destinies.