Our superstrong heroine continues her search for her long-lost family with the help of her new cop friend, while challenging unfair systems at every turn. But there’s more than one evil plot brewing behind the scenes, and someone is determined to keep our superhero family from finding each other.
EPISODES 3-4
Nam-soon comes face-to-face with her father, but before they can make introductions, Hee-shik calls: her stolen passport has been recovered. Although Bong-go seems to subconsciously recognize her, by the time he calls out to her, she’s already gone. Not to worry, though, because according to a tarot reading by her twin brother, KANG NAM-IN (Han Sang-jo), the long-awaited family reunion isn’t far off.
But first, Nam-soon must learn a bit about this week’s catchphrase: Korean Capitalism. The wife of one of the men she beat up yesterday for trying to demolish her yurts threatens to press charges against Nam-soon and sue for her husband’s hospital bills. Nam-soon decides that’s fair — she has her passport back, so she can totally work off those bills. Plus, she’ll press charges right back at them, since they started the fight. And while she’s at it, she’ll press charges against the scammer who stole her money. What a great system! (A stint as a sageuk extra and a run-in with her unremorseful scammer later inform her that the system is, in fact, Not That Great.) She skips out of the station, brushing off Hee-shik’s protests that she can’t just leave with a straight-faced, “Why not? Do I need to sing while I exit?”
Clearly, she takes after her grandmother, because when Joong-gan has her own police station incident, she just as smoothly comes out on top. Joong-gan’s offense was moving a man’s car out of the way after he boxed her in (she did place his car upside-down, but he was extremely rude, and she didn’t actually damage anything). Turns out, Joong-gan is a living legend among these parts for having driven out the violent gangsters that used to rule the streets. The cops practically swoon in admiration as she makes her case, knocks the annoying man out so he’ll stop insulting her, and breezes out.
This segues into a cameo appearance by the leading couple from the original Strong Woman series: DO BONG-SOON and AHN MIN-HYUK (Park Bo-young and Park Hyung-shik, respectively), the former of whom got into a tussle with some dog-nappers. Bong-soon and Joong-gan recognize each other as distant relatives from different jurisdictions, and Joong-gan apologizes that Bong-soon had to clean up a mess on her turf.
Meanwhile, Hwa-ja has decided she rather likes acting as the lost-and-found Nam-soon. Instead of making off with Geum-joo’s wealth, she plans to quietly eliminate the real Nam-soon and carry on living as Geum-joo’s daughter. So when she discovers a video of Nam-soon building her park yurt, off Hwa-ja goes with a pack of thugs in tow to destroy both the yurts and their superstrong designer. But Hwa-ja severely underestimates just how strong Nam-soon is. Though Nam-soon arrives too late to save the yurts, she makes quick work of her would-be murderers, stunning Hwa-ja — and Hee-shik, who witnesses the fight.
But Hee-shik has good news: he’s found her family. He takes Nam-soon to his place so she can wash up and rest, and calls Geum-joo to set up a meeting for the next day. While Nam-soon is en route to meet her mother, though, she’s diverted by a cry for help: a nearby building is on fire, with children trapped inside. Nam-soon speeds to the rescue.
Down the road, Geum-joo spots the smoke and clears traffic so the fire trucks can get through. By this time, Nam-soon has made multiple trips up and down the side of the building, and the smoke is getting to her (ahh, so she’s not invincible). Geum-joo arrives just in time to catch Nam-soon as an explosion throws her out of the window — and just like that, mother and daughter are together again.
Soon, Nam-soon tearfully reunites with the rest of her family. Geum-joo, eternally grateful, lavishes gifts on those who helped Nam-soon find her way back. Hee-shik, however, isn’t interested in compensation or a reward; all he wants is to catch the mastermind behind the new super drug. So far, he’s figured out that the drug is transported in facemask form (which disintegrates into powder upon contact with water), but he’s otherwise at a dead end. Not to mention, he’s got one dead prisoner (the same guy Geum-joo helped capture last week) and a boss who’s enough of an idiot to taste the drug powder and who is now guzzling water just like the people we’ve seen die from the drug’s effects.
Fortunately, Geum-joo can help with that. While at Heritage Club, she crossed paths with one RYU SHI-OH (Byun Woo-seok), CEO of a distribution company called Doogo — which is exactly where her search for illicit drugs points. Shi-oh spends most of his miniscule screentime stalking around mysteriously, except when he’s informing his international shareholders that, believe it or not, women can be delivery drivers, too. He also helpfully — if ominously — tells his secretary (and us) that he wants to find that girl he saw stop an entire plane the other night.
Thanks to Geum-joo’s tip, Hee-shik decides to go undercover at Doogo and investigate from the inside. Nam-soon volunteers to help (he agrees because of her strength, and probably also because he’s hopelessly smitten already), and they successfully land an internship that allows them to make deliveries together during the day. After dark, they’ll sneak into the warehouse and look for clues. Unfortunately, Hwa-ja has also gotten a job at Doogo, and recognizes Nam-soon from afar. Though what she’ll do about it remains to be seen.
If I was entertained last week, I’m sold this week. Geum-joo’s incessant over-the-top intensity is intimidating at times and disorienting at others (thank goodness she literally has to use her powers for good!), but it’s perfect for facing up against Shi-on’s Dark Vibes (TM) and for the intense emotions of a mother reuniting with her long-lost daughter. I also appreciate that finding her birth family didn’t make Nam-soon forget the people who raised her, and that she doesn’t back down from any injustice she meets. Though, to be fair, it’s a lot easier to stand up for yourself and others when you can strong-arm pretty much anyone to get what you want.
Joong-gan’s butcher not-a-gang is another fun angle to the superhero worldbuilding. Sure, she and her minions could be out there carving up people, but why do that when she can carve up cow carcasses and grind up bones by hand for what I’m sure is the best bone soup in existence?
Most of all, I love the easy rapport between Nam-soon and Hee-shik and how fast he’s already falling for her. Her superstrength astounds him, yes, but what really takes his breath away are her words — things like, “I’ll protect you,” and “I believe you’ll help me be a better person.” Combine that with her ginormous puppy eyes, and it’s no wonder she’s got him wrapped around her little finger.