Hera’s Revenge Agency
We begin episode 2 of The Goddess Of Revenge with a flashback of Hae-Ra as a child tending to her constantly coughing Mother. She’s clearly ill and since that moment, this high school girl has worked hard to try and pay for her Mother’s hospital fees. Hae-Ra took an advance from a pretty shady guy but as he switched off the lights and looked set to attack her, she quickly pushed him away and got the police involved. Watching him taken away, since then Hae-Ra vowed to never be trampled on again. This catches us up to the present as we begin “a few days ago” from the moments with the camera footage. Eun-Hye and Hae-Ra drive up to the club Hyun-Sung and his buddies frequent. He’s not exactly quiet about it either, with multiple posts online broadcasting his location. Eun-Hye immediately makes quite the impression in the club, keeping her eyes trained on Hyun-Sung above in the VIP section. When he heads down and tries dancing with her, she manages to silently seduce him (see: drug) and carries a groggy Hyun-Sung out the club and into her car. She takes him back to her hotel room and threatens him, armed with a taser. There, he outright admits that he was paid to have someone pose in Hae-Ra’s clothes and shoes to make it look like she had an affair. With Hyun-Sung a mere cog in this conspiratorial machine, Eun-Hye and Hae-Ra work together to stitch up the latter’s husband. They head to the hotel where Eun-Hye manages to sly her way into pinching the room key from the chambermaid there. With Hoon-Seok unaware of what’s happening, Eun-Hye snuck back in the room and planted a bug facing the bed, ready to film the incriminating affair he’s engaged in with Tae-On. Only, Eun-Hye’s phone goes off just as Hoon-Seok shows back up to the hotel room. He seems to hear it too and sneaks closer to her location…. until a sound outside distracts him. Eun-Hye finishes the job when he leaves and prepares for the inevitable to happen. Eun-Hye meanwhile, feeds the news to Hae-Ra. Their idea of a hidden camera is an ingenious one too and something that sees them set up a live broadcast. These events finally catch us up to the moments at the end of the last episode. Articles pop up all over the internet as the affair breaks and now it’s Hoon-Seok’s turn to taste the sour, bitter taste of betrayal. Min-Joon spies these articles from his apartment too and wonders whether all of this scandalous material is connected in some way. Hoon-Seok – moments after sleeping with Tae-On – receives a call from his superiors to check the news. Now the tables have turned. Tae-On is brought in by her Father, Sang-Goo, who confirm the board of directors have high expectations for her. As they talk, he uses a metaphor regarding mosquitos to discuss with his daughter the implications of these scandalous stories spreading about her. Soon after, Hoon-Seok struggles to compose himself as eggs are thrown at his car and the advertisers he’s working with have cancelled their orders. As Eun-Hye and Hae-Ra sit and drink together, more of the past is revealed. Specifically, we learn that Hae-Ra has a child and together she and the boy used all their might to keep the door shut from a drunk and irate Hoon-Seok trying to get in. As they sit and talk, getting more and more drunk on soju, Hae-Ra eventually heads home. On the way though, she runs into Min-Joon who happens to be struggling with a vending machine. After helping him out, police suddenly show up and bring Hae-Ra to the police station. She’s questioned over the hidden camera and looks set to succumb to these hotshot lawyers… until Min-Joon shows up with a slew of evidence incriminating Hoon-Seok. He also claims to be Hae-Ra’s lawyer. Her act of kindness was enough for him to get involved and help. In his office, Min-Joon hands over a file of his own linking to a case he wants Hae-Ra’s help with on the vlog channel. He wants her to continue on and work with him to get revenge. As Hae-Ra relays on this conversation to Eun-Hye, she comes up with the name “Hera’s Revenge Agency” and seems to be on-board with this. Hae-Ra however is conflicted over whether this is something she wants to pursue. While Min-Joon awaits her answer, he continues to act as her lawyer and visits Hoon-Seok with the terms of the lawsuit. When Min-Joon leaves, Hoon-Seok’s lawyer tells his client they may not be able to win this. Hae-Ra receives a call from her son Ga-On who checks up on her. He’s worried given the recent articles and tells her that if anything comes up, she should ring him. With another call coming in, Hae-Ra speaks to Eun-Hye who excitedly reveals that their revenge channel is blowing up and fans are asking for more. Hae-Ra sees these images herself and even learns that Hoon-Seok has dropped the charges against her. With everything in her favour, Hae-Ra visits Min-Joon again who asks whether she’s ready to accept his proposition. She asks for some time to think it over but is definitely considering this line of work. Only, she’s torn over wanting to also be a morning reporter again. It’s a tricky choice but one that’s made even more difficult by more news about Hae-Ra breaking. Thanks to Sang-Goon’s influence, Hae-Ra shows up and claims she’s going to file for suspension of the broadcast after what they’ve done to her. Min-Joon sees this too and promises to help, especially given she needs to be stronger in order to hunt; she’s going to have a lot of enemies in the future. As we cut back in time, we see Min-Joon holding a whole stack of Hae-Ra’s books and throwing them in the fire. There’s a lot we don’t know yet but it’s an intriguing episode that sets things up nicely for next week’s double bill.
The Episode Review
With a change of fate, this time it’s Hoon-Seok who has to taste betrayal and revenge. It’s obvious that this conflict is far from over and judging by the ending, Min-Joon looks to be the wildcard in all of this. It appears the opening episode focusing exclusively on shoes was a single episode incident and not a recurring motif in this Korean drama which is good! This time we get to see the events leading up to Hoon-Seok being found out and I can’t help but feel serious Good Casting vibes during these segments. There’s an almost comical tone hanging over these moments but the editing and acting are both pretty good. Right now though, it remains to be seen exactly what’s in store for our characters in the upcoming episodes. It seems like this may be going the route of an episodic case-file drama, with numerous people using Hae-Ra as a way of avenging people in their lives. However, that’s just speculation at this point. In the meantime though, this Korean drama bows out with a pretty good episode. While it’s unlikely to ignite the k-drama scene any time soon, there’s enough to like with this weekend drama nonetheless.
