I’m not going to lie, The Manipulated episodes 5 and 6 really slowed down the momentum, and I kind of lost track personally. I thoroughly enjoyed the drama mixed in with the action in the first 4 episodes, but since those episodes packed so much content in them, the next couple of episodes are almost just filler episodes to show us how crazy the villain of this show really is. Here’s the thing: we already know. Episode 5 honestly just acts as a recap of what’s happened so far, just from a different point of view. It doesn’t really give us enough to be a good episode on its own, and episode 6 is just all about the action. It’s only the concluding moments that are really important, but it all ends on a cliffhanger that, honestly, nobody asked for. Anyway, I guess we’ll have to wait an entire week to find out if Yohan managed to shoot Taejoong or not, but until then, let’s recap episodes 5 and 6.
Spoiler Alert
Why Was Taejoong Made the Scapegoat?
To be honest, there’s no real answer to this question. But I guess the simple explanation is that he was a delivery guy who often delivered to this house, where a heinous murder took place. Baek Dokyung is a rich man who does drugs and uses women in whatever way he likes. Episode 5 begins with him all bloodied, calling his dad for help because the woman he gave drugs to and possibly assaulted isn’t waking up. Of course, the person his dad goes to is Yohan. This is the scene from 5 years ago. Yohan then uses his extremely high-tech computing system to find out who he can use as a scapegoat for this murder. He finds Taejoong from CCTV footage and then locks in on him, trying to find out everything about him that he can use against him in the trial. From seeing him with his girlfriend and using their garbage to get his DNA into the victim’s body, everything is pre-planned by Yohan. It’s also his man, the guy who came as the doctor in last week’s episodes to poison Taejoong, who killed his brother, then stole his bracelet and planted it at the murder scene. Even the plant that Taejoong so kindly saved was planted there by Yohan. We also see how relentless Yohan is as he cuts off the finger of a man who insults him and uses his pointer finger in one of his many sculptures.
What Are The Inmates Going To Race For?
In the present day, Taejoong is the only person who is cautious when Yohan presents all the inmates with food. He doesn’t touch it, while everyone else has a party. Then, when they’re shipped off to their rooms, Taejoong immediately tries to escape, but he’s caught by Yohan. Also, it’s important to note that Yohan doesn’t know that this is the guy he put in here. So, unlike what I said last week, neither of them knows the other, so the intense eye contact was just baiting us. Anyway, the next day it’s revealed that the suits that the inmates are now wearing all have a number on them that matches a garage. They’re meant to do a car race, and whoever wins the race wins prize money of 5 million dollars. Oh, also, the old gang is still after Taejoong, but they’re not going to be a problem for much longer. Anyway, Yohan is holding this race as an experiment for something to go on the dark web. He’s invited Dokyung and another guy to become business partners in this gambling game, where people will get to bet on prisoners from the dark web. He probably thinks it’s a globally expandable thing because there are prisoners all over the world, eh?
What Happens At The Race?
In episode 6, Yohan’s plan starts to take shape because the inmates start teaming up for the race. Whoever wins can split the prize money, but at least they’ll keep each other safe. Each person gets a different ride, so the competition isn’t fair, nothing’s even, and Gu Jiyong has a sports car. The advantage is that Jiyong is now trying to be friends with Taejoong after seeing him fight his boss. He thinks it’s a good way to escape and also win the prize money. Turns out he wants to buy his grandmother a nice apartment. That’s his only goal, and Taejoong, being the nice guy that he is, can respect that. A deal is struck without even being struck for real. On the other hand, everyone else is getting ready to kill our man.
Taejoong even goes to Yohan to look at the surroundings of the port they’ve been brought to. It’s clear that they’d end up in the ocean if they got out. But it’s a plant in the room that needs vitamins that makes Yohan realize who Taejoong is. When it comes time to race, everyone gets in their spots and starts driving, but here’s the thing: the gangs have been given the green card to kill Taejoong, because whatever happens in the race stays in the race. So everyone goes after the car that they assume Taejoong is driving, number 9. But it turns out Jiyong was the one driving the whole time, and Taejoong comes out like a real hero on a motorbike from the middle of nowhere.
But Yohan feels challenged by this and decides to change the rules; he doubles the prize money and gets everyone to go after Taejoong, saying that anyone who catches him, dead or alive, will be declared the winner and get 10 million won. A crazy battle follows, with changing points of view, cars crashing, and people hitting each other, all while trying to kill Taejoong. But when Yohan realizes there’s a chance Taejoong will escape this, too, he starts to shoot at them from up in his little cabin. Even the other businessmen are escorted out to safety.
At the end of The Manipulated episode 6, Taejoong looks out to one corner of the area, as if telling Yohan something through the camera. Yohan is quick to understand that Taejoong only came up to have a “meeting” with him to scout the place for a perfect escape plan. Taejoong uses the can attached to his bike to start a fire and then goes zooming onto an upward-facing metal that will lead him straight out of the “arena.” Finally, in the end, Yohan shoots at him, but we’re left to wonder if it actually hits him or not. I think it would only make sense if Taejoong escapes now and a new revenge plot is explored in the next few episodes, so that’s what I think will happen. He might get hit, but it’ll be a surface-level wound, or one that’s not fatal anyway.
