I can’t sit here and lie about this, so I’m just going to say it: you-know-who really became the devil to win the game! Initially, I was super skeptical about The Devil’s Plan and genuinely didn’t enjoy the first 3 episodes that I watched (I never got around to watching season 1), but as the show progressed, I found myself intrigued by the question of who might win and how. Of course, everyone ends up finding their favorites, and so did I, but they ended up getting eliminated pretty early on. Some of the participants had really good teamwork skills and may have done better in a group activity kind of show rather than this one, which is so focused on the individual. Hence the dozen or so betrayals. I think the final episode was definitely the strongest of the show, because we see the two finalists battle it out for real, no helping each other, no betrayals, simply playing the game. This is when you see them the most flustered, nervous, and actually turning all their focus towards winning the game rather than defeating the other person.
Who Are the Finalists?
The strangest thing to happen in episode 10 is the elimination of nice guy Kyuhyun. So-Hui, Hyun-Gyu, and Kyuhyun were tight to begin with, but what makes no sense is how the other two pushed Kyuhyun out of the game. It’s a shame, because if So-Hui and Kyuhyun had joined forces with 7high and the rest, they would’ve managed to succeed in getting rid of Hyun-Gyu, and the result of the rest of the game would’ve been entirely different. The worst part is, at this point, everyone thinks Hyun-Gyu is going to go to prison, but he pulls out an entirely new card by asking for the pieces he received for winning the hidden challenge. Just like that, Hyung-Gyu’s trump card changed the trajectory of the entire game, leaving Ji-Young, Eun-Yu, and 7high in prison to fight it out. Unfortunately, Ji-Young is eliminated, leaving Eun-Yu and 7high devastated, because they basically became best friends after being in prison together for so long.
The next main match is one of colorful cards and betting. In this game, Eun-Yu, 7high, and Hyun-Joon team up, and So-Hui teams up with Hyun-Gyu, of course. At first, it seems like these alliances can help, but as time passes, it becomes more obvious that this will not be the case. Especially not for the trio. 7high tells his friends that he may have to betray them after a certain number of rounds, and that’s what he does. The first person to be eliminated in this game is Eun-Yu, who ends up with no pieces. She then leaves the baton with 7high for the prison team. 7high plays a fantastic game, even when Hyun-Joon betrays him and tries to team up with the other two. Ultimately, he ends up drawing the short straw, but he goes out guns blazing by rattling up the game a little bit and making So-Hui the winner and giving her more pieces. I thought Hyun-Gyu was the only snake on the show, but I realize now that Hyun-Joon is just as bad, if not worse. I did say long back that So-Hui is a silent killer, and nobody was paying attention to her because everybody was focused on the louder guys like Hyun-Gyu, but she silently made her way right to the top. Finally, Hyun-Gyu and Hyun-Joon are sent to prison, and they have to battle it out one last time to get to the finals to play against So-Hui.
For Hyun-Joon and Hyun-Gyu, it’s a game of math, and this feels like someone sticking a spear in Hyun-Joon’s side, because just earlier, Hyun-Gyu had asked him why he’s struggling to do math, making him feel stupid. He did apologize for it later, but the damage was already done. Between these two, the math game is pretty good, but Hyun-Joon keeps messing up with the letters of the alphabet that he’s supposed to call out to solve the problem. While initially it’s a close match, Hyun-Gyu eventually takes the lead, and under the pressure of that gap, it becomes too hard for Hyun-Joon to do anything. Finally, Hyun-Joon is eliminated, making besties Hyun-Gyu and So-Hui the finalists.
For the final match, all the players come to the living quarters to watch the show together. It’s like a happy reunion, and I quite liked the interactions where everyone is more than cordial, and you can tell some of these people genuinely bonded on this show. The competition is tight between the two finalists, both of whom have played great games to get themselves to the final.
Who Wins The Game?
The Devil’s Plan’s final showdown has 3 rounds of 3 different games; the first is big or small, a card betting game. The second is an ancient Nepali board game called Bagh Chal with tigers and goats, and the final match is called Questions and Truth, which is like 20 questions for cards, but you also make bets. The first game is super close, and So-Hui actually has the upper hand until, in the last moment, she falters, and Hyun-Gyu ends up winning by a single point. But this doesn’t send So-Hui into a downward spiral immediately. Instead, it makes her fight to win even harder, and she ends up winning the tiger and goat game pretty easily after Hyun-Gyu makes one small mistake. For this game, there was also a practice round, and she’d called Kyuhyun, whereas Hyun-Gyu had asked Tinno for help. So, finally, the third round has to be played. The third round was definitely the most exciting of the whole show, as we saw both players struggle to understand how much the other knows and who will strike the winning blow. So-Hui is a much more strategic player, whereas Hyun-Gyu is the kind of guy who likes high risk, high reward.
At the end of The Devil’s Plan season 2, So-Hui and Hyun-Gyu end up betting two coins repeatedly, each of them wanting to take the chance at guessing the other’s cards. But unfortunately, So-Hui thinks she’ll give Hyun-Gyu a go because he doesn’t seem sure about his answer, and there’s a 50% chance he’ll get it wrong. He doesn’t. It’s true everyone on the show was afraid of Hyun-Gyu right from the start because he never hid his personality and always made it known that he was there to win. On the other hand, So-Hui was always quiet and went unnoticed until the end. It was interesting to see how the betrayals occurred in the final few eliminations back-to-back, when everybody stopped caring about their alliances and stuck to playing individual games. This is what happens when you make friends in competitions, I guess. Who did you think would win The Devil’s Plan season 2? Are you happy with the results?
