Review: Squad 38 (2016)

Jung Do: "Is it fun? This is how you con people."

Scams and slick conmans — this is what makes up Squad 38, a 16-episode television series about swindling big time tax offenders into paying the backtaxes they owe and keep trying to run away from. It ran for 16-episodes in a Friday-Saturday 23:00 KST time slot, broadcast by cable channel OCN.

Official drama poster. Image via Tving.

In my years of Korean drama viewing, Squad 38 is definitely one of the rare, most intelligent dramas I have ever (as in ever) seen. Suffice it to say that I only see compellingly intelligent ones once in a blue moon, that’s saying something.

❀ RAVES ❀ »•»

1) Plot Twists and Brain. Oooohhh. I seriously love it when my mind gets blown by a drama in one way or another, because this just goes to show how intelligent and carefully thought of it actually is. Throughout the course of Squad 38, I can no longer remember how many times have I screamed WHAT?! either because of utter confusion or disbelief or both. Yes, I came to a point where I don’t know what’s real and what’s not anymore. I get conned the same time the characters get conned by our beloved Squad, and no, it wasn’t a bad thing. In fact, that’s the greatest thing I love about Squad 38: its plot twists and brain. Like this:

I was so, so ready to bark profanities at Mi Joo on Episode 10 when I thought she really did side with Bang Pil Gyu and ditched her teammates because of unrequited love with Jung Do. Watching dramas for nearly two decades now has taught me how dangerous unrequited love can be for a character, and much as I thought that move wasn’t really Mi Joo’s style (I was like: no you aren’t like that. You’re way cooler than that, right, Mi Joo? the whole time), I still frustratingly fell for it. So when the whole con got laid out right before my very eyes, I rejoiced in a corner like some crazy fangirl all while saying, “ang taba ng utak ng gumawa nito!!!!” (the person who wrote this is really really smart!!!!) Lol.

Or this:

That final con at Episode 16 was something I’ve never really seen coming. Truth be told, I did not have the slightest idea regarding how writer-nim will wrap the story out, provided that Jung Do has been ditched by his powerful backers as what we have been led to believe. But voila! In the end, it did turn out the other way around, and I was impressed.  Though I’ve seen the flaw in Jung Do’s plan as he was explaining it to the team (who in their right mind would agree to be a broker and rot in jail along with the baddies unless you have been framed), I never really expected the second broker to be him. My mind rejoiced for Jung Do for being such a clever man, but at the same time, my heart ached for him in that sense, more so because it was way beyond question for his character to assume the sacrifice. He made me feel all sort of feels I don’t know what I actually was supposed to feel in the end. Ha. I think I’m going nuts. 

2) Cast Ensemble. Putting all of these people together is definitely another strong point for Squad 38. Why? Because they felt like family. They felt like real squad goals.

I specifically love how Jung Do and Sung-il became sort of like brothers and the best of friends throughout the course of show. Among all the people in their team they seemed to be the ones who complement each other the most. They made me feel all sorts of emotions just by being with each other, e.g. joy and amusement when they fought at the playground and made up over jajangmyun and blankets, or heartbreak… when Jung Do got jailed for being the second broker in their final con and him calling Sung-il his hyung for the first and the last time. That line delivery… That acting… Oh my heart. Oh my aching heart.

3) Epilogue. The last scenes had me like a goner!

I never really thought that a Squad 38 and a Bad Guys crossover would make up for a good drama material until OCN shoved it right in front of my nose. Make it happen, please? Pretty, pretty please? I think I’d absolutely love to see both Seo In Guk and Park Hae Jin in a drama together. Weeee!

4) Parallelism. I love the analogy that was put regarding Chun Gap Soo being the mayor of Seowon and him being Sung-hee’s dad. Despite his intentions to be good, he was a failure in both aspects... and I love how Seung-hee pointed that out to him matter-of-factly, saying that even if his intentions were good natured, the fact that he was never really there for his family nor his people doesn’t make him a good father nor a good mayor. Clever, show.

5) Spot-on Seo In Guk. My namja knows exactly which buttons to push! He maneuvers his way to own a character effectively well, and that is very much evident in his acting especially in portraying the conflictingly complex Yang Jung Do. I love how he always manages to pick the smart dramas (hi, I Remember You) and nail it like its nothing, thus making it look like acting is such an effortless job for him. I know I’ve said this for over a hundred times already, but honey, I just couldn’t be any more proud.

❀ RANTS ❀ »•»

1) Pacing. To cover ground that leads to the team’s next big con, Squad 38 tends to be painfully slow at times, such as the glaring five-episode build-up that was spent in conning Ma Jin-seok during the first arc of the show. I know the things they did were needed to be able to advance to the next level, but would it have been too much to cut the chase a little bit shorter? Ma Jin-seok’s arc took away five hours of the show, and focusing on a single target for almost five long hours surely doesn't guarantee a show wouldn't get boring to an extent.

2) Sung-hee. When the city tax team decided to go after Ma Jin-seok, I believe I’ve seen Sung-hee as someone who’s spunky; but throughout the course of the show, she eventually lost that spunk I think she became nothing but a wallflower (for me, at least until the last few eps). There was so much potential right there but that potential soon faded in the background when she became a supporting character instead of the main character she was supposedly marketed to be.

3) Ahn Tae Wok Untied. A disturbing loose thread, this man is a bomb — a sly, power-hungry and even more lethal antagonist than those previously dealt with by the squad. His continued existence is like a hole to the almost tightly wrapped plot of Squad 38. But then again, it could be the other way around, no? Like… him being the door to the next big thing? That being said... Season 2, please!

4) Missing People. Ugh, can anybody tell me where Dokbae went?

❀ RULING ❀ »•»

Despite the rants, Squad 38 is all in all perfection at its finest.

A well-written mind puzzle. A cleverly executed show. Squad 38 is a rare gem, a stand out to be remembered for a long, long time in the vast history of K-Dramaland. And yes people, this is the way a drama ought to be done. 

TAGS: Choi Soo Young, Girls Generation, K-Drama, K-Drama Reviews, OCN, Seo In Guk, Seo In Guk Dramas, SNSD, Squad 38, Task Force 38   Edit