It takes a special talent to make entertainment out of nothing. The complete essence of episode 11 of Strong Girl Nam Soon can be summarized in one sentence, yet there was an entire sixty minutes or more dedicated to it. We have criticized the quality of this show often, but it has mostly been in comparison to Strong Girl Bong Soon. If looked at individually, it still doesn’t offer anything but definitely guarantees a ‘fast food’ kind of time, which means that it doesn’t have much of a story or character development but entertains through gimmicks. On a different note, how is it that the actress (playing Nam Soon) has been instructed to behave childlike, yet it is the men who are the cutest in the story? It is criminal that Hee Sik wasn’t given much to do because there is something about the body language of the actor that conveys so much even while doing so little, and the way he controls his eyes has us captivated. Then there is Lee Seung Joon, who plays the role of Nam Soon’s father, Bong Go. It is unbelievable that he is being so underutilized when he is capable of expressing so much cuteness with a simple wave of his hand. This episode was supposed to be more serious, but instead, Hee Sik and Bong Go have made us fangirl over them. Hyun Soo also deserves mention for the enactment of his blase manner and flippant yet dignified attitude towards his life. The men have stolen the show in this episode. We don’t even need to mention how arresting the villain was with his confession. He may be the bad guy, but it has become the most natural thing to say that he can do better than Nam Soon. Now that this is out of the way, let us look at the recap of the episode.
Spoiler Alert
What happens with the drug investigation?
Having Nam In in jeopardy hastens the entire investigation by Nam Soon’s family. Geum Ju and Bong Go are fighting because of what has happened to Nam In, and the latter is in pieces over it. He may be feeling guilty since this happened to Nam In on his watch, and years earlier, he had also lost Nam Soon when he was traveling with her. None of it is technically his fault, but he must be feeling responsible for it. Nam Soon tells her parents that there is an antidote to the drug, and getting that becomes a priority. After looking through Nam In’s phone, they find that he has been transferring money to a particular bank account, which they guess must be for the weight loss pills. A little investigation, with some help from the kind matchmaker at the police station, leads them to the owner of these bank accounts, which is Jang Han Seok, who is registered as a homeless person. That is when Hyun Soo makes an appearance once again and finds out who he is and where he would be. Han Seok was simply a homeless man who had been offered some money in exchange for opening a few bank accounts. The woman who did that was Ji Hyun Soo, and she was called the Cinderella of subway stations, probably because she helped these homeless people like a fairy godmother. It doesn’t make sense to us, but the modus operandi of the drug group is clear, and Geum Ju and Bong Go get into another fight, which ends with both of them deciding not to eat food until Nam In is alright.
What is happening with Si O?
Si O was called Anton as a child, and he had tried to escape from the Mafia with his friend. If Bread Song is not the grown-up Binbin, then Si O probably lost his friend as a kid, and that is what made him the ruthless man he is today. Si O has confessed his feelings to Nam Soon, and she hasn’t replied, but when she doesn’t show up to work the next day, he wonders whether she is uncomfortable because of him. The man is romantic, which was unexpected. He was probably given such little screen time that the full extent of his villainy can’t be gauged, and people continue to swoon over him. Somebody missed the memo that tragic evil-doers are all the rage right now, but again, this drama was never that deep.
Ever since Hee Sik’s captain passed away, Hee Sik has been on a rampage with his barely controlled rage. The captain knew he had lost the fight against the drugs, so he made himself the evidence against this fight as his only way of helping the police. With that in hand, Hee Sik arrests Shin Gang Su from the Heritage Club, and it would have been an endgame had Si O not made his moves and the Russian Mafia not been back in town.
Does Si O know Nam Soon’s truth?
The moment Si O comes to know that Gang Su has been arrested, he deems him disposable. Si O was always prepared for this, and the ruthlessness of the Mafia prepared him to play the most extreme all-or-nothing wars with calculated cruelty. He also gets a call from Russia that one crate of the shipment is missing, and Si O is furious since he believes that he is still being treated as a lackey, like he was when he was a child. What exactly is the power play going on here?
Si O calls for the driver of the truck and gets to know about the distraction on his way, which is when the box must have been stolen. This scene is the first real show of the actor’s range as a villain, and it is a shame that there isn’t more of it. Meanwhile, Ji Hyun Soo has been told to lay low in the meantime since Gang Su has been arrested. But when she gets a call from Geum Ju for the antidote, she cannot help but meet her since Geum Ju offers to give her all the money in cold, hard cash. Geum Ju gets the antidote, and her people follow Hyun Soo, which will no doubt lead to some more results. Meanwhile, Nam In is healed with the antidote, as Nam Soon remembers that she had seen Si O drink a similar blue liquid in his office, meaning that this was the correct medicine. The family has a happy reunion with Geum Ju and Bong Go apologizing to each other, which may be the first in many years.
At the end of Strong Girl Nam Soon Episode 11, Si O is taking the drug again for strength when Nam Soon walks into his office, and he looks at her fixedly. Si O may have received the dashcam footage and seen Nam Soon sneak out of the truck, which means that he knows that she has betrayed him. Or he simply wants to ask her out for dinner once again. Geum Ju gets the news that the Russian Mafia is in town, and for some reason, Jun Hee is looking suspicious. His name being ‘trendy’ may be the first clue that it is fake. His abnormal interest in Geum Ju’s wealth could be a second clue, and the cross-questioning to which he simply seemed to have too many answers is looking a little off. Maybe he is the honey trap of this show.
Final Thoughts
In a lot of ways, it would be truly sad to have Si O’s heart broken so soon. He will patch it up with the drug, but there is a lot of sympathy for him. Maybe he will go completely feral in the coming episodes, preparing the audience to see him get beaten by Nam Soon and her mother.
