Good Boy: Episodes 1-2 » Dramabeans Korean drama recaps

Good Boy: Episodes 1-2

by Unit

Calling all good boys and girls to cheer from the sidelines as a group of forgotten sports heroes step back into the spotlight to fight crime. There are no trophies or medals involved in this career pivot — just scrapes, bruises, and underappreciation from the higher-ups. But our ~good boys~ are determined to push back and prove themselves regardless of whatever the opposition throws at them.

EPISODES 1-2

Our show is set in Gotham Insung city, a hub of violent crimes, and Batman a group of former-athletes-turned-police-officers at the Insung Metropolitan Police Agency are set to protect and serve the city. First on the list is ex-boxer YOON DONG-JOO (Park Bo-gum) — who is back in Insung from Seoul, after getting demoted for beating up his colleagues for taking bribes. Dong-joo is more brawn than brains, and he wears his heart on his sleeves. We’ll come to learn that his gold medal is mired by doping allegations — and while he was cleared after a two-year legal battle, most people still think he doped.

Next up is senior officer JI HANNA, a.k.a the shooting fairy (Kim So-hyun) — who conquered the air rifle world, and is now killing it at the agency. Okay, killing it is quite a stretch. Despite wanting a field position, Hanna is stuck with a thankless desk job, and she reluctantly pulls double duty as the agency’s promotional mascot. (PS: Dong-joo has THE biggest crush on Hanna and he’s not doing anything to hide it.)

Joining his colleagues at Insung, is sergeant KIM JONG-HYEON (Lee Sang-yi) — a champion sabre fencer, newly dispatched to the audit and inspection department. Jong-hyeon’s special promotion is his reward for getting corrupt policemen suspended, but his arrival is met with hostility from some officers who accuse him of stabbing their — corrupt, mind you — colleagues in the back. Tsk. (PS: Dong-joo has a one-sided beef with Jong-hyeon because Jong-hyeon is more popular with the ladies, and he used to date Hanna. Pfft.)

Rounding out our junior good boys is traffic officer SHIN JAE-HONG (Tae Won-seok), a former discus throw medalist — who was passed on for promotion and sent to the traffic division as punishment. For now, all we know is that Jae-hong’s punishment is a fallout of Jong-hyeon’s anti-corruption crusade — even though Jae-hong seems to be innocent of any wrongdoing.

Our most senior good boy is lieutenant GO MAN-SHIK (Heo Sung-tae), a former Greco-Roman wrestler. Despite being on the job for 14 years, Man-shik is pretty much a doormat in the agency, and his colleagues don’t respect him. Generally, most of the officers at the agency look down on our good boys for coming in through the “backdoor” of special recruitment. And our ex-athletes are stuck in the position of having to continually prove themselves worthy of their position.

Now that we’re done with character introduction, it’s time for some action! Our first case is the arrest of a smuggling gang leader, Golden Bunny. Dong-joo and Man-shik are paired to support the team leading the manhunt, but a sudden explosion blows everyone’s cover. Golden Bunny manages to escape, and Dong-joo and Man-shik are held responsible for the escape. Our second case is a hit and run that occurs when Dong-joo is on stakeout duty. Dong-joo recognizes the hit and run car as a vehicle of interest in the bunny case, and he tries — and fails to — convince Man-shik that finding the driver will lead them to Golden Bunny.

In the meantime, Jong-hyeon reviews footage of Golden Bunny’s manhunt and discovers that: 1) the explosion was intentionally set off; 2) someone reported the explosion five minutes before it went off; and 3) there’s a mole in the agency. Oh wow! *sips tea of internal sabotage and conspiracy* Jong-hyeon informs Man-shik about his discovery (since the bunny case was originally Man-shik’s before it was handed to another team), and we learn that the informant who tipped Man-shik off to the smuggling ring is a customs agent — who, unfortunately, is the hit and run victim. To further link cases #1 and 2, the shadowy hit and run driver calls Dong-joo with a fake tip, and sets him up to be taken out by Golden Bunny. Uh-oh.

While all of this is going on, Hanna is sent to bring the late customs agent’s personal effects to his family, but she meets them in mourning and decides to hold onto the items for the time being. Some men break into her house in search of a document among the customs agent’s belongings, and Jong-hyeon — who’s on the phone with Hanna — overhears the scuffle. But on his way to Hanna’s, members of a snake gang accost him and they are out for blood. Seriously, they couldn’t have picked another time?

The stage is set for our athletes to prove themselves in a literal fight for their lives, and they do it with flair and in a way true to their respective sports. Dong-joo and his fists go up against the bunny gang, while Hanna and her rifle engage in a face off with the home invaders. Jong-hyeon fences off the snake gang with the handle of a broom, and traffic officer Jae-hong stops a reckless driver by throwing a freaking manhole cover at the car! LMAO! Not to be left out of the fun, Man-shik throws the team leader of the bunny case in the ring — because the team leader only agreed to send backup to Dong-joo on the condition that Man-shik wrestles with him.

Our good boys’ feat in subduing their respective targets earns them the front page spot of the city’s newspapers. Man-shik sees this as a chance to further his career and he pitches the idea of a Special Criminal Investigation Team to the police commissioner. Hanna agrees to join the team to get field experience, Dong-joo joins because he is determined to follow Hanna everywhere like a lost puppy, and Jae-hong comes onboard after Man-shik promises to use his team leader powers to help with Jae-hong’s promotion. Jong-hyeon declines the offer to join the team, but he agrees to work cases with them.

The team soon learns that the police commissioner only greenlit them for promotional activities rather than criminal investigations. Ouch! Hanna has had it with the commissioner constantly using her for PR, so she shoots him in the chest at a public demonstration for new police equipment! I mean, his stab-proof vest wasn’t going to test itself. Pfft. Unfortunately, the vest is of poor quality and the commissioner cracks a rib. Oops! He orders that Hanna be fired, but Jong-hyeon coaxes him to rescind his decision. Nevertheless, Hanna drops her resignation, and Jong-hyeon fails to persuade her to stay. Dong-joo’s persuasion skills don’t work on Hanna either, and she even shuts down his suggestion that she might come to return his romantic feelings. But you know what they say about famous last words.

While idling away, Man-shik intercepts a tip that two of Hanna’s home invaders are at a safe house. He rallies his team and calls Jong-hyeon to meet them at the location. On the way, Man-shik steals some candy from another team’s evidence box — which, hilariously, contains hallucinogens — and the effect kicks in on their arrival. Cue: utter chaos at the safe house. LMAO! While attempting to arrest one of the invaders, Jong-hyeon is poked in the chest with an iron, and some unresolved PTSD from his fencing days kicks in. Uh-oh. Jong-hyeon narrowly misses getting stabbed in the stomach when a very-high Man-shik steps in to take the hit, and the invaders escape during the ensuing commotion. Thankfully, Dong-joo drags Man-shik to the hospital in a shopping cart to beat the traffic, and Man-shik will live to fight another day. Phew!

The criminals might have escaped, but luck soon shines on the team when the culprit of the hit and run comes to turn himself in. The culprit in question is Dong-joo’s friend and boxing colleague, LEE GYEONG-IL (Lee Jung-ha). Gyeong-il was forced into retirement after an injury, and he got hooked on painkillers no thanks to their coach, OH JONG-GU (Jung Man-shik). By the way, it’s implied that Coach Oh is behind Dong-joo’s doping allegations as payback for Dong-joo’s refusal to join the MMA circuit — after Oh took money for the MMA deal. Smh. Oh has since left his coaching career to run a security agency — which Gyeong-il works at, despite Dong-joo’s insistence against it because Oh is not to be trusted.

Dong-joo knows Gyeong-il is innocent because: 1) he saw the shadowy side profile of the real culprit while chasing — or rather, getting dragged along by — the car; and 2) the last time the guys were together, Gyeong-il left after getting a suspicious text from Coach Oh — which Dong-joo now believes is the reason behind the sudden confession. Dong-joo’s hypothesis is correct because truly, Gyeong-il was threatened to take the fall by Coach Oh and the real culprit. As for who the real culprit is, we’ll get into that in a minute.

Hanna visits the custom agent’s family to drop off what’s left of his personal effects, and she wavers when his little son begs her to catch and punish his father’s killer. As the curtains draw on our first week, Dong-joo pays his respects at the agent’s funeral, and he sights one of the guests wearing a distinct wristwatch. You see, while getting dragged along on the night of the hit and run, Dong-joo spotted that same watch on the culprit’s wrist. Dong-joo tracks the guest all the way to the customs office, and why, hello there, it’s MIN JOO-YOUNG (Oh Jung-se) — customs officer by day and villain by night!

That’s right, Joon-young is the big bad of our show, who is pulling strings behind Bunny gang, Coach Oh, and goodness knows how many others. I mean, it was a different set of goons he sent to retrieve the late agent’s stolen documents from the home invaders — before murdering them! Oh dear! I wonder how many more bodies will drop before this drama is over.

This was a fun premiere that delivered on both the action and the comedy as promised. The set up and character introductions were nicely done, and I look forward to learning everyone’s motivations as we continue. There are hints of guilt, trauma, and what have you in our good boys’ backstories, and I hope for their sake that they find healing as we journey along with them. In the meantime, here’s to Dong-joo and his many attempts to woo Hanna — whether by direct confession, or by burning a hole into her face with his lovingly steadfast gazes, or by pestering the district office to fix the streetlights and CCTVs in her neighborhood. And good luck to him making a case against Joo-young with just a wristwatch as evidence. Then again, who needs good luck when you’re a good boy?

 
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