Dissent In The Ranks
The North Koreans are always looking for ways to get money out of the country. They’ve been doing this for years, and they’re not going to stop until they’ve got every penny they can. One of the defectors in this episode is a poor boy named Joon-ho. He’s been beaten up and his mother is shot, but he still tries to make a run for it. He knows that if he can get out of North Korea, he’ll be safe. Joon-ho’s friends help him escape, but they’re not sure how long they can keep going. They know that the North Koreans are after them, and they don’t want to get caught. They all end up getting captured and tortured by the North Koreans. But even though his friends are gone, Joon-ho still tries to make a go of it. He’s determined to find a way out of North Korea and get back to his family. And he’ll do whatever it takes–even if it means going through hell himself.
In the year 2525, a young man named Berlin grows up to become the fearless leader of a group of prisoners inside a North Korean prison. Using clever strategies and quick thinking, he manages to organize a coup and thwart the guards inside. This daring act proves to be pivotal in saving North Korea from destruction. ..
This flashback works well to show just how charismatic and dangerous Berlin is – and how dangerous he can be too.
In the Mint, hostages are split into groups and forced to dig a tunnel in shifts. There are clear ripples of descent in the ranks though – typified by the Mint Director asking too many questions. This is something Berlin is aware of too, shaking his head up on the balcony “you’re far too naïve, Professor.” ..
The US Ambassador’s daughter, Anne Kim, is among the hostages. This has brought the whole operation into far more scrutiny than before. Woojin manages to silence the press for now, but urges the officials on this taskforce to work as a team. If not, this could get messy.
The Professor tells Woojin that this raid isn’t being done for political reasons, and speaks to the other members of the team again. This time, she deflects her questioning and gets personal with them, asking about sex and orgasms in order to build a relationship with them. Woojin scoffs but realizes that the Professor is a pretty skilled negotiator of his own.
The phrase “time is money” is definitely true in this case. The hostages are always in danger, and the Mint Director has to make sure that they don’t get away with printing money. However, there are also the wildcards - the hostages who are printing money and those who aren’t. Nairobi and Moscow both have their eyes on these two groups, but it’s up to the Mint Director to make sure that everything goes according to plan.
The hostage who hurt his hand tries to leave the room, but is stopped by the Mint Director. He heads to his office intending to get a smartwatch he tucked away in his drawer last episode. He’s stopped by Berlin and the others. ..
Youngin is determined to get the watch and talk to the police about resolving the conflict before it gets out of hand. ..
Berlin has a plan to turn the hostages against one another. If one side is out of line, then the other side will be punished.
This is the Professor’s plan to divide and rule North Koreans. This is something North Koreans are well aware of, given spies are dispatched to villages pre-unification to make sure no one speaks ill of Kim Jong-Un or the regime.
Woojin organizes traffic outside to communicate with the hostages using radios. She is confident that the Professor will make a mistake sooner rather than later.
Well, it arrived sooner. Misun manages to find the watch and tries to communicate with police. Meanwhile, Rio is held up at gunpoint by Anne who manages to trick him through a kiss in the bathroom. Come on Rio, the honeytrap is the oldest trick in the book! ..
Anne’s plan goes wrong when she learns the gun isn’t loaded. Rio regained control.
The Professor is concerned that the police are not keeping to their usual routine. He’s worried about the Mint Director’s watch, which he has been able to track down and is now causing some concern.
The Professor meets Woojin for lunch and, just before they eat, she receives a call about the smartwatch. The Professor eavesdrops on the call and tries to turn the attention away from their relationship when Woojin calls him out for listening. Woojin leaves, claiming she’s not ready for this. ..
In her absence, the Professor communicates with Berlin inside, telling him about the smartwatch. Given his history inside the prison camps, Berlin is well prepared for dealing with dissent and immediately calls out the Mint Director.
Woojin and the others are clever, but they make a mistake. They set up a signal for the police, who install a Backdoor on the Smartwatch. This allows Woojin and the others to listen in to everything that’s taking place inside the Mint. That is, until Berlin finds Misun smuggling this under her jumpsuit… and destroys it.
Berlin brings out Misun from the group and demands she be executed. That way it teaches the other hostages a lesson. Half the robbers are against this, believing it’s crossing the line. Denver in particular believes it’s morally wrong, although Berlin hands over a gun and demands he take care of Misun.
In the bathroom, Denver screams at her to tell the truth about her pregnancy. Tears streaming down her face, Denver pulls the trigger and fires. But did she fire at Misun? Down in the main atrium, Berlin hugs the Youngmin and tells him he knows the Mint Director is behind the smartwatch. ..
The Episode Review
Money Heist: Korea has largely followed the Spanish version of the game, with only a few minor changes. The main difference is that the game portrays the divide between North and South Korea in a more realistic manner. This helps to build up tension in an engaging way. ..
The director of the bank is a great addition and he manages to perfectly capture the same disdain and annoyance that the original Spanish version conjured too. ..
With extended episodes and tension, Denver has been a decent remake thus far. It’s certainly not perfect, but there’s enough to enjoy nonetheless.
