The Escape of the Seven: War for Survival (2023) Episode 10

Episode 10 of The Escape of the Seven starts with the six and Do-hyuk arriving at Ji-a’s house to find a body and the warning on her mirror. Mo-ne cannot breathe since she text K that Ji-a knows about him and tells him to stop her. Jin-mo’s phone rings, startling everyone. K is on the phone and tells Jin-mo that the Chairman is very angry. He says that anyone who makes the Chairman of Sungchan Group angry will pay the price. 

They are terrified as they run out of Ji-a’s house. They reconvene at Ju-ran’s to discuss their options. Their only hope now is Mathew, and they decide to do everything they can to get him on their side. Meanwhile, the Chairman of Sungchan Group directs his assistant to ensure the incident involving Jun-seok never gets out. He asks him to eliminate anyone in Sungchan Group’s way, no matter who they are. 

Mathew learns about Song Ji-a’s death. Do-hyuk tells him about the message written in the mirror. He thinks Chairman Sim is evil since he would do anything to protect his son. Mathew blames himself for the deaths of Ji-a and Chairman Bang. He is afraid something might happen to Do-hyuk. Do-hyuk swears to stay by Mathew’s side until the end, even if it might cost him his life. 

Mo-ne fears for her family and asks La-hui for help. She tells Mo-ne to take care of her family business independently and asks if she asked K for a favour. She gets angry since killing Ji-a will either make the police start snooping into their business or Lee Hwi-so will kill them. Later, he calls her back and agrees to become a celebrity. He asks that she find him a place to stay since he had left home after arguing with his parents about debuting. 

Jin-mo goes to Paeng-hee and asks her to pack up and run away. She asks if Ha-na’s parents came for her and says she will never give her back. Jin-mo asks if she has any idea who Ha-na’s parents are. He is terrified and goes to hug Paeng-hee, but she pushes him away. She tells him she did not kill him because she is a mother and cannot become a murderer. Ha-na is Mo-ne’s child. 

Wang Yu-jin runs into Mo-ne’s brother at TIKITAKA and invites him for a drink. She gives him her business card and asks if he thinks about letting her make him a star.

Meanwhile, the police question Mo-ne about Ji-a’s suicide. Jin-mo mentions to Uhm Ji-man that Sim Ju-seok had asked him to send Min Do-hyuk to prison five years ago since he hated his guts. He also requested that he wipe out Do-hyuk’s family and leave no trace. Jin-mo asks Ji-man to look into Do-hyuk to give them leverage over K. The police rule out Ji-a’s death and suicide, making Mathew and his team change plans. His next move is to take everything the six enjoy and try to protect.

Jin-mo signs Erica to Cherry Entertainment. Meanwhile, someone calls Ju-ran asking to pay 500,000 dollars for fake proof of pregnancy. Elsewhere, Chul-woo tries to give Um Ji-man a gold bar to appreciate him for helping him be promoted to Police Commissioner. Ji-man tells him to stay off drugs so he does not get his name tainted. Baek Ik-ho, one of Kang Ki-tak’s men, is disguised as a chef and secretly notices Chul-woo adding drugs to Ji-man’s drink.

The school board received information on Myoung-ji. She extorts money from parents by selling them expensive paintings in exchange for giving favours to their children at school. Myoung-ji says she sent the paintings to the parents as gifts to thank them for visiting her gallery. The parents who received favours protect Myoung-ji, while those against her start a fight at the Principal’s office. In addition, there are allegations of Myoung-ji going to a motel with a student’s father. She denies the allegations, but the Principal asks her to provide evidence.

She gets angry, asking why she must prove her innocence when telling the truth. Instantly, she remembers Da-mi saying the same thing when they falsely accused her. The Principal suspends Myoung-ji pending disciplinary action. 

Elsewhere, a lady comes to Ju-ran with 500,000 dollars asking for a fake pregnancy report. As soon as she agrees to write the report, she calls in reporters who barge into her office with cameras. They start asking about the fake information, and one mentions Ju-ran giving a teenage girl a fake pregnancy report five years ago. Ju-ran realises the incident is connected to Da-mi, and she runs out. Do-hyuk is watching the incident unfold and calls Mathew to tell him Myoung-ji’s and Ju-ran’s missions are clear. 

Mathew tells Do-hyuk to handle Mo-ne next. He sent an email to “the man of truth.” The digital creator talks about Mo-ne, saying that her mother and her family are the most important people in her life. She also says that he mother is perfect and speaks multiple languages. He shows Mo-ne’s family and calls her out on the lie. Mathew calls Mo-ne to tell her about the strange video. She calls La-hui, but Kang Ki-tak enters La-hui’s car, so she does not pick up. Kang Ki-tak tells La-hui that Lee Hwi-so is waiting for her and asks her to drive. 

Mo-ne goes to Mathew and promises to explain everything about the video in three hours. So-yeon goes into Yu-jin’s house to tell her about Mo-ne’s emergency. She accidentally walks into Mo-ne’s brother, taking a bath, and Kyung-soo likes her at first sight. 

Myoung-ji picks up Erica and Philip from school and learns that a man posing as their manager has taken them away. She calls Jin-mo to ask for his help. Meanwhile, Kang Ki-tak takes La-hui to Lee Hwi-so’s house. He takes her phone and locks her in. The lights in the room are switched off, and a masked man walks. La-hui is scared and falls down the stairs. She loses consciousness, and the man breaks the back of her palm. 

Jin-mo asks Myung-ji to let him look for her kids. Do-hyuk delivers documents to Cherry Entertainment’s star, Ryu Hong-ju. The records indicate all the unpaid contracts under Cherry Entertainment. He also delivered another paper to Deputy Chief Prosecutor Jo Dong-hee about Nam Chul-woo’s use of drugs. Elsewhere, Nam Chul-woo bumps into someone on his way to get a certificate, and then Ju-ran asks for his help. Dong-hee intercepts him before he goes into the meeting, and he finds drugs on him. Chul-woo knows the person he bumped into slipped the pills into his coat. 

Jin-mo arrives back at his office, and Ryu Hong-ju is waiting. She tells him that all actors signed under Cherry Entertainment will sue him for stealing their money and cancel their contracts. She gives him an ultimatum to pay back all their money or risk going to prison. Jin-mo checks his safe, finds all the documents gone, and tries calling Do-hyuk. 

Do-hyuk tells him he will help look for someone to loan them the money they need to pay Hong-ju to make her not talk about his secret deals. Soon after, Mo-ne comes to Do-hyuk to ask him for help, looking for a woman to play her mother’s role. Nam Chul-woo sells Ji-man out as the one who buys drugs from him. He calls K and asks for his help. K refuses to help and asks Ji-man to take the fall. Ji-man discloses surprising news. Sim Ju-seok is not Chairman Sim’s biological son, but Min Do-hyuk is. Chairman Sim’s assistant kills Ji-man for threatening K.  Mo-ne, dupes the media, and posts photos with the woman posing as her mother.

The plan to take everything from the six continues, with Jin-mo taking a 30 million loan using Cherry Entertainment as collateral. DO-hyuk calls Kang Ki-tak and tells him he got Jin-mo’s promissory note. Ki-tak says he is a step closer to getting Taebak back. 

La-hui gains consciousness, and on seeing her wounds, she remembers Lee Hwi-so is the docks worker on Jeju Island. Ki-tak tells her to tell the world who killed Da-mi if she wants to save her life. La-hui says she will not since her life is more important. She’s worked hard to get the life she has now and will not give it up.

Mo-ne tells Jin-mo that she thinks La-hui might be working with Lee Hwi-so. She tells him that La-hui is Da-mi’s biological mother. Jin-mo is surprised and starts looking back to instances when La-hui got furious about Da-mi’s death. Jin-mo rushes to check the loan document and realizes that his creditor is Kang Ki-tak, with whom La-hui was in a relationship. 

They gather at La-hui’s apartment, waiting for her return. They confront her about working with Kang Ki-tak and Lee Hwi-so, while also hiding that she is Da-mi’s mother. La-hui admits to abandoning Bang Da-mi when she cannot get the money she wants from Chairman Bang. At the end of the episode, Mathew Lee walks into the room and tells everyone he is Lee Hwi-so. 

The Episode Review

This episode is about revealing secrets as the game of revenge begins officially. The script is full of surprises, starting with Ha-na being Mo-ne’s child. Min Do-hyuk might be a wealthy Chaebol heir, which is why K devised the elaborate plan. Finally, Mathew Lee reveals his identity. Everyone but Do-hyuk is so terrified of the truth!

The final puzzle pieces are coming together, and we slowly understand K’s motive. However, we still cannot say without a doubt why he killed Da-mi and Chairman Bang. He continues to prove how ruthless he can be by killing even his accomplices like Prosecutor Uhm Ji-man. Will Mathew Lee have the power and the psycho attitude necessary to win against K? What is Mathew Lee’s reason behind revealing his identity?