The ending of The Winning Try episode 4, clearly sets the tone for the rest of the show, which is going to be a very dramatic ride. The first two episodes almost felt like a movie that could’ve ended then and there, but it was only the beginning, which means there’s a lot to come. While the team had their first “victory,” a loss that made them realize they were actually worth it, the third and fourth episodes focus on the team continuing to keep up the fight. When I’m watching shows like this one, I often wonder if there are people who truly want to sabotage others the way they do in the shows, but then I realize that the sporting world is insanely competitive, and this kind of maliciousness genuinely exists. I must admit these grown men are getting on my nerves, but we just have to be patient until they’re put in their place. With that said, though, let’s jump straight into episodes 3 and 4.
Spoiler Alert
Is Ga-Ram Able To Save The Team?
In The Winning Try episode 3, it is made clear that the administration wants to get rid of the rugby team and manipulated Tae-Pung to leave the school. But Ga-Ram is determined to keep things going for his team, and so is Seong-Jun, who is eager to play the game he loves. Ga-Ram checks out his team before going away to find a replacement for Tae-Pung. He gathers that he needs a fit and fast athlete, basically an all-rounder who can complement the rest of the team. Ga-Ram tries to break into the school files to find the right person, but gets caught by the vice principal. Meanwhile, Nak-Gyun continues to be partial towards Seo-Hyun, because she’s the boss’s daughter, rather than U-Jin, who is clearly the better shooter, but this makes it clear what kind of people are running this school, and I-Ji is doing everything in her power to put the best athlete forward.
At night, Ga-Ram tries to break into the files again, and this time the alarms go off, and he even gets arrested because I-Ji called the police on him. After accompanying him to the police station and having the charges dismissed, she has a proper fight with him. I-Ji asks him why he had to come back to this school when there are so many others. The only thing Ga-Ram wants is to play rugby again. The next day, Ga-Ram disappears from the school, and everybody assumes he’s run away because he can’t find the person who can make the team whole, but in truth, he’s going all over the place to find the perfect athlete.
Ga-Ram ends up at Ung’s Diner. The man running the restaurant also used to be a rugby player, but he ended up getting injured in the game, so he doesn’t want his son to get into it. However, his son, Mun Ung, really wants to play the sport. Ung works as a deliveryman at the restaurant. He’s clearly fit enough to play rugby thanks to the work he puts in (yes, “The Karate Kid” style). Ga-Ram then makes Ung throw a ball at a local event the next day, training him on how to hold it, etc. Ung is thrilled to be able to do it like a professional, but his father thinks about his injured leg and how he needs a cane now. Lost in thought, he ends up in an accident, and Ung and Ga-Ram show up at the hospital.
Ung’s father then beats up Ga-Ram for coming into their lives and messing things up. If he hadn’t shown Ung hope he could play the sport, he’d never have wanted to do it. By this time, Ung’s changed his mind, but Ga-Ram tries to change his dad’s. When things have calmed down, Ga-Ram tells Ung’s dad, i.e., his senior, that they both are in the positions they are, not because of the game, but because of what they did. Ga-Ram tells him not to blame the game they both so love. He tells him to let his son play the game in its truest form and promises not to let him end up in the same circumstances as they did. The next day, Ung’s dad decides to let his son go and live his dreams. Ga-Ram and the boy arrive at school just in time for the rugby team not to be dismissed for the lack of a player.
Is Ung A New Student At The School?
Episode 4 begins with a flashback to when Principal Kang brought Ga-Ram to the school for the first time. His athleticism made him a favorite, and while the track and field coach wanted him on his team, Kang suggested rugby to Ga-Ram, because she knew he wanted to be a team player and not a solo runner. Back to the present, after assessing Ung’s condition, the boys are excited to have somebody new join their team; however, the task becomes extra hard because the vice principal says that he has to play 3 sports to get into the school, and win three competitions too. This is an old rule, which was dismissed because nobody made the cut. However, Ung is determined, and the gang decides to make sure he can win it, because the whole team is at stake. And at the same time, Principal Kang continues to try and help out because she wants things to work out for both the boys and Ga-Ram.
The vice principal offers I-Ju a 3-year contract when he becomes principal the next year, and she’s happy to accept. On the other hand, Seong-Jun takes Ung to U-Jin and asks her to show him the ropes for AIM. He’s meant to be practicing archery. U-Jin doesn’t agree at first, but Seong-Jun gets on his knees. Apparently, U-Jin used to be in archery but then switched to shooting. She tells Ga-Ram she did so because the string left marks on her face, which could develop into wrinkles. But this girl obviously has some sort of story. Ung practices really hard in the little time he gets to become an expert at the sports that have been chosen for him.
The first round is the rugby round, so Ung just needs to run with the ball and touch the line, while the rest of the team pretend to tackle him. But the boy is genuinely good, and the team struggles a little bit to pretend like they’re struggling. Next comes fencing, and it’s always the same thing for Ga-Ram. It doesn’t matter if his players lose as long as they have “The Winning Try.” Ung is up against the captain, but he promises Ga-Ram he will get at least one point on the board. It seems like they’re meant to be coach-student.
But finally, when it’s time for archery, the vice principal claims that the whole team has food poisoning, so they have to switch to shooting. Nak-Gyun had even told U-Jin early on that she should play against Ung. These guys are obviously playing a dirty game. Ung is obviously bad at shooting because it’s about precision, and he’s never even held a gun before. But, to everyone’s surprise, U-Jin loses on purpose, and everybody is stunned. She then congratulates Ung on becoming a new student at the school.
At the end of The Winning Try episode 4, U-Jin herself is confused about why she chose to help Ung and the rugby team. When Ga-Ram follows her, she asks him why he said it was okay for Ung to lose, and he says because it is okay to lose. She says it’s not okay for athletes to lose, to which he replies, “But you just did.” This is quite poignant because it truly shows that Ga-Ram was an excellent athlete, not just because of his skill but because he thoroughly enjoyed the sport he played. A lot of the time, athletes are worked to the bone and forget the reason they chose to do what they were doing in the first place. On the other hand, the vice principal tells I-Ji that she had one job and failed to do it. I mean, U-Jin made her own decisions, but okay. But the craziest bit at the end of the episode is that something happens to Ga-Ram’s right eye, and he looks like he’s almost paralyzed on one side, crawling by himself in the corridor. I feel like this is a placebo effect of something that happened a long time ago, possibly when he was accused of taking drugs, but we’ll have to wait and find out. I-Ji is obviously the person who finds Ga-Ram in his terrible state, leaving us on a cliffhanger.
