We’re only two episodes in, and already there are a lot of confusing turns in The Worst of Evil. As expected, the show is extremely violent and leaves nothing to the imagination. Of course, all the actors are commendable in their roles, and to see Wi Ha-Joon and Ji Chang-Wook team up together is a real delight. Additionally, this is like a comeback to action for Ji Chang-Wook, and a fitting one at that. InThe Worst of Evil episode 1, we find out about Gicheul and Junmo’s pasts, their backstories, and how they ended up getting to know each other. At the beginning of episode 1, we see them fight it out with what looks like another gang, but when Junmo’s wife, Euijeong, gets caught in the crossfire, it’s both him and Gicheul who react. How does Gicheul know Euijeong?
Spoilers Ahead
Junmo’s Entry Into The Gang
Junmo finally introduces himself as Taeho’s cousin, Seungho, to Gicheul. Gicheul has never heard of such a cousin, and as expected, everyone is extremely skeptical at first. They think he’s there for money, but first, they must confirm his existence with Taeho’s father. Taeho’s dad admits that there is such a cousin who spent his summers with Taeho, but then, because of work, the cousin didn’t reach out until recently, when Seungho suddenly found out that his cousin was dead. Gicheul isn’t quite sure why Taeho’s father would give away the gold watch to his cousin, but he quietly leaves when Taeho’s father tells him never to come looking for him again because seeing him reminds him of Taeho.
After some deliberation, Gicheul calls Junmo to a random building in Gangnam. His subordinate, Heesung, pretends to tell Sergeant Jang’s men in Busan that he wants to get revenge on Gicheul because he’s looking down on him. As expected, everyone’s ego comes first, so the men decide to fight Gicheul. They tell their boss that they’re going to do it, and at first, he doesn’t give them permission because Gicheul hasn’t missed even one payment to him, but when they offer to pay twice the amount, he lets them have a go. This is all part of Gicheul’s plan to stop sending the boss money. Thinking Heesung is betraying Gicheul, they trust him blindly and show up in the same abandoned building as Junmo. Gicheul just wants to see if Junmo will fight on his side and if he’ll do it well. It turns out he is actually really good and shows Gicheul his strength. Gicheul gets his team to break the leg of the guy who set up the whole mission and send him back to show the boss who the real boss might be. Gicheul decides to take Junmo on as a new member of the gang, and he also wants to give him that building as a new club that would’ve been Taeho’s if he were still alive. Taeho had always wanted to start one there. In the meantime, Junmo’s old friend from the police is making sure to document these incidents with a camera. Gicheul tells the boss that he will not be sending him money anymore because he gave those gangsters permission to get him. The boss tells his team to kill Gicheul and throw him in the Busan Sea, so he’s forgotten forever.
Now that Junmo is in, he is like the youngest member of the team. He has to do the lowest of jobs, like patrolling the two neighborhoods owned by Gicheul and making sure that 1. nobody from the other areas enters their area, 2. There’s peace in the streets and nobody is making a mess, and basically keeping a lookout for any shady activity. Junmo has to continue to do this job until somebody replaces him as the newest member of the gang. Amidst the chaos, he tells his wife about being in Daegu to catch a murder suspect. But it seems she doesn’t receive the messages and ends up calling his department. They tell her that he’s on sick leave for his asthma. Euijeong is not the kind to take no for an answer and asks Junmo to meet her for lunch.
Euijeong is on her own, trying to get some information out of a young college student. He’s supposed to be getting in trouble for being the leader of a gang, but he isn’t really the leader. In the meantime, Junmo gets acquainted with the guy he’s working closely with. He’s in awe of Junmo because his fighting skills are unmatched. Junmo tries to get information out of him, but he says he doesn’t know much more than Junmo himself because he’s almost as new as him.
How does Euijeong know Gicheul?
Junmo makes an excuse to meet a woman and gets out to meet Euijeong for lunch. Strangely, he tells her that he’s undercover to infiltrate a drug cartel. Unfortunately, before she can react to Junmo, Gicheul shows up at the same restaurant. To Junmo’s fear and surprise, Gicheul and Euijeong know each other. Gicheul also knows that she’s a cop, and they both share pleasantries with each other. Junmo claims that they did taekwondo together in elementary school, whereas Gicheul and Euijeong went to the same high school as the whole gang. She was a year older than them, but they got along well. Gicheul is wearing a cross necklace that looks familiar, and Euijeong notices it first. Gicheul asks her if he can borrow Seungho, and she obliges, of course.
At the end of The Worst of Evil Episode 2, Junmo gets beat up for meeting a cop, and they all wonder why he would contact a cop. Junmo lies, saying she was the one who contacted him because his father, who is an addict, was in prison in her precinct. In the meantime, Euijeong makes a phone call to a senior who she thinks knows about Junmo being undercover. Driving Gicheul and the guys back home, Junmo finds out that his wife was Gicheul’s first love, and they used to spend a lot of time together in high school. He remembers the necklace as something he saw in her parents’ house, and she had said she should take it back to Seoul with her. Is Euijeong also involved in a covert mission, or is she just really close to Gicheul? What if they’re actually seeing each other now? We’ll find out in the next episode of The Worst of Evil.
