Episode 10 of The Manipulated feels like it has less flesh on its bones, mainly because it’s setting us up for what’s coming in the final two episodes of the show. The episode also has the iconic bike scene that drew us into The Manipulated in the first place, right from the first episode. I think I still have mixed feelings about this show, because while it’s definitely one of the better ones on Disney+, I’m not sure it does that well in comparison to other action-thriller shows we’ve seen Ji Chang-Wook in. I do appreciate the D.O. X Ji Chang-Wook chemistry, but I guess the only real reason this villain exists is for us to hate him. There’s nothing that really compels me to learn more about this character, which is quite sad considering how far they’re trying to go to make us appreciate him as a villain. By that, I don’t mean like the character, just that we get so much of him on the show, and he’s played by this beloved K-pop star, so I was expecting something more from him. Additionally, I learnt today that the show is inspired by a movie called Fabricated City, also starring Ji Chang-Wook and written by the same writer. Anyway, with that said, let’s jump straight into episode 10.
Spoiler Alert
Does Yohan Kill Eunbi And Yongsik?
The Manipulated episode 10 begins with Yohan flirting with an older woman. JK said the older woman is actually Dokyung’s mother, and Yohan is there to speak to her husband, the congressman. When she goes to the washroom, thinking the boy is Dokyung’s friend, Yohan tells the congressman that he can help Dokyung with a security detail as long as the congressman pays him well, now that Taejoong is out and hunting for him. The congressman has no interest in what Yohan has to offer him and calls him a piece of trash who is only around to clean up his messes. This leaves Yohan all fired up for obvious reasons, and he leaves the man with a warning. Instead of paying heed to the warning, the congressman sends a bunch of men to Yohan’s home to kill him. Yohan doesn’t take long to get to his katana and kill them with little trouble, because he’s probably a more seasoned killer than any of those contract killers.
On the other hand, we finally learn why Yongsik was in prison. Turns out, he used to be a drunk, and then one night, he left his wife at home, and the cigarette butt he tossed probably set the house on fire. Any ordinary husband would’ve tried to save his wife, but Yongsik didn’t. He hesitated and then never pushed himself to even try, leaving him labeled a killer and his wife dead. At the same time, Yohan’s at home trying to figure out why Taejoong and Yongsik have such a good friendship when they don’t really have much to offer each other. Additionally, adding Eunbi into the mix, it all makes no sense, but he’s still fascinated by the idea of people helping each other without any ulterior motive, and his mum, i.e. the nanny, is somehow of the same mindset, making it clear how alike they are.
The next day, Eunbi heads out of the house to buy some cigarettes, but she’s shocked to find Hwang in the same grocery store as her. She quickly pulls on a cap and rushes out, leaving her cigarettes inside. Hwang follows her out to ask her if she’s seen Taejoong, showing her a picture. Her short top rides up to show a peek of her lower back star tattoo, and this gets Hwang thinking. Suddenly, he remembers having seen her changing in the house back when they first searched Yongsik’s place. He rushes after her, all while Eunbi’s trying to call her dad, but Yongsik doesn’t pick up her calls. She shows off her biking skills before deflecting the cops and making it home just in time to help Taejoong escape. Yongsik and she drive out in a car headed the wrong direction, and Hwang confronts the old man, asking him where Taejoong is. The latter, of course, doesn’t give him anything definitive, because he genuinely cares about Taejoong. But, at the same time, Yohan’s gone to the house and messed with Eunbi’s friend, Hanbyeol. The girl is unconscious when they get home, and Eunbi starts to fight Yohan physically. Of course, she’s no match for him, and he even attacks Yongsik. Yohan just wants to know what Taejoong gave Yongsik to make him so loyal, but the latter has no answer for him, so he leaves them and goes away (thankfully, he hasn’t hurt them too badly yet).
What Happens To Dokyung?
Dokyung had made a vague post on social media earlier, calling Taejoong to come see him at 9 PM for a bit of golf. Well, Taejoong’s not the type to turn down an invitation, so he shows up and confronts him on his yacht, where Dokyung had been practising his putting. He tells Dokyung it’s time to pay for his crimes, but he just scoffs and tells his “friend” with the red streaks in his hair to send his men after Taejoong. All of a sudden, Taejoong pulls out the nail gun he’d jury-rigged in Hanbyeol’s shed and starts taking down all the thugs. At the end of the fight, at its most intense, when it’s just Taejoong and the man with red streaked hair standing, Taejoong breaks the guy’s leg when he pulls out a pistol. Even though he has the opportunity to take a shot and put an end to him here, he hesitates and then walks away, looking for Dokyung instead. When he sees him getting into his sports car, Taejoong jumps off the first floor and crashes onto the roof, before rolling off onto the ground and heading for his bike.
What follows is an action extravaganza, with a fluid camera moving in and out of cars and zooming up and down a tunnel as Taejoong and Dokyung have an on-the-road shootout at breakneck speed. We see the scene from the very first episode here, where Taejoong ramps the motorcycle up the tunnel wall and fires down at Dokyung’s car, too. Things are at their most intense when a minivan full of bad guys shows up, and Taejoong has to jump off his bike into the back of it, singlehandedly beating down a whole mini-army before taking the wheel. Just when it feels like he’s finally got the best of Dokyung, a massive truck shows up and obliterates Dokyung’s sports car. When Taejoong finally goes over and pulls him out of the driver’s seat, he’s on his last legs, but when Taejoong asks the man to confess, he refuses, dying shortly after. This is when his phone starts to ring, and Taejoong sees it’s Yohan calling.
At the end of The Manipulated episode 10, Yohan offers Taejoong a whole new deal. Firstly, he tells him that he’s the guy who got him out of prison in the first place, back when the prisoner race was happening. Then he tells him to work for him and promises to clear his name and give him enough money to live freely for the rest of his life. But of course, this is not what Taejoong wants. All he wants is revenge on the person who ruined his life, had his brother killed, and did a lot worse to him than any money could help him recover from. Taejoong hangs up on him and walks away. Yohan later proceeds to kill Dokyung’s dad and decides to give the old man his backstory as he’s dying. Turns out, his parents (not biological mum, of course) died when he was 16. That is to say, he killed them when he was 16, all because they were about to give away all their wealth to a temple, and he couldn’t stand the thought of that. Coincidentally, he’d heard news of an escaped convict from a nearby prison, so he called the cops and told them that the prisoner had murdered his parents, and since the prisoner went on to die in a shootout, nobody could verify or debunk that story. That’s what gave him the idea for this whole enterprise in the first place. Speaking of breaking up families, judging by the very end of the episode, it looks like he’ll be targeting Yongsik and Eunbi very soon.
