The Calm Before The Storm
Woman of 9.9 Billion’s latest episode may not be as explosive as the last one but still delivers some interesting exchanges between our characters in the aftermath of the previous big showdown. Our four main protagonists have certainly evolved a lot since the beginning, each in their own way, as they deal with the ramifications surrounding the stolen 9.9 Billion. We return to the hospital where Seo-Yeon talks to Tae-Woo, despairing at being back to square one. Seeing how weak she is, he helps her get back home where he reveals to Geum-Ja that the person responsible for her son’s death has returned. Tae-Woo receives a call about the body found by the burned car and finds out that Leon’s ring was on one of his fingers in a bid to fake his death. He then leaves the old woman but makes her promise to look after Seo-Yeon. Meanwhile, Hee-Joo and Jae-Hoon find out that one of the bodies found by the burned car has been identified as Leon. Back at Geum-Ja’s house, Seo-Yeon looks through the old lady’s ledgers and finds out that people still owe her money. Mr Oh and Tae-Woo arrive to confirm that Leon is really dead and offer the old lady help if she needs it. After speaking with Seo-Yeon about the lost money, Tae-Woo finds out that it was Hee-Joo who told Geum-Ja’s son about Leon’s hideout, therefore sending him to his death. While enjoying his newfound wealth in an expensive hotel room, In-Pyo gets a nasty surprise from Leon’s men, who track him down after he started using the money. They kidnap him and he awakens tied up as Leon questions him about his wife’s whereabouts. Fearing for his life, he reveals that she’s staying with Geum-Ja. Tae-Woo visits Hee-Joo and talks to her about the time she sent Geum-Ja’s son to catch Leon. She admits that she did it to get revenge on her, despite having also suffered after Leon’s fraud scandal. We then cut back to Geum-Ja who’s shocked to receive a visit from Hee-Joo. He gives her money in exchange for a description of Leon. Unfortunately, Geum-Ja is unable to remember his face which has been frustrating her since her son died. When Seo-Yeon returns home, Hee-Joo is surprised to see how well she is, going on to tell her that her husband took the money. Before leaving, he warns her to be careful. However, a confident Seo-Yeon tells her she now feels capable of doing anything. After Hee-Ju leaves, Geum-Ja has some wise words for Seo-Yeon and as she goes to sleep, Seo-Yeon asks her if she can sleep with her and they spend a touching moment talking about her childhood. Meanwhile, Leon’s men take In-Pyo to the middle of the woods and throw him in a shallow grave. As they do, Geum-Ja wakes up with a coughing fit, prompting Seo-Yeon to bring her to hospital. It’s here that we find out she has pulmonary fibrosis and the only cure is a transplant. At her bedside, Seo-Yeon vows to be her daughter and to help her get back up. The next day, Jae-Hoon meets with an investor who offers him five million dollars and invites him and Hee-Joo to an exclusive VIP gathering where one of his partner from DK investment wants to meet with them. As the man leaves, we see this is a set up as he calls Leon, who in turn shaves and dresses up for what we assume to be the VIP meeting. Determined to help Geum-Ja, Seo-Yeon asks Mr-Oh to get the new address for the old lady’s debtors. Tae-Woo then arrives and while having dinner, tells him she is not leaving as she needs to help out Geum-Ja with her medical bills and wants to have more money – to be precise 9.9 billion. Before leaving, he gives her a plane ticket and hopes that she will need it one day. In the bathroom, the camera pans over to see he also bought a ticket for himself and the person next to him is actually Leon. He then heads off to meet with Seo-Yeon, who’s none the wiser and still doesn’t know he’s Leon. After thanking her again, he asks her for some help. We then cut to the VIP party as Hee-Joo and Jae-Hoon are waiting and see Seo-Yeon arriving with Leon as the episode ends. The episode certainly ended on a very intriguing note as Leon seems to have all his opponents within his grasp. Neither of our three characters are aware of what he looks like though so he definitely has the upper-hand. What he’s planning to do next will probably be quite dramatic as we draw ever closer to the finale. I really enjoyed seeing the evolving relationship between Geum-Ja and Seo-Yeon, especially now that the latter calls herself her daughter. It sounds like Seo-Yeon had quite the difficult life so seeing her finally getting close to someone was a really nice touch too. Anything could happen next and it’ll be interesting to see what the last couple of weeks have in store for this drama. In the mean time, the latest episodes have certainly brought plenty of tense and emotional moments which makes Woman of 9.9 Billion well worth watching.
