Agent Kim Reactivated: Episodes 3-4
by mistyisles
Our ex-agent reunites with his former partners to find and rescue his kidnapped daughter. They have enemies on all sides (and counting), but clearly that’s never stopped them before — and it’s certainly not going to stop them now.
EPISODES 3-4
Despite how brutal the violence gets (last week’s shin-high razor wire still haunts me), Agent Kim Reactivated is delightful to watch. A lot of that comes from the character dynamics, but it also has to do with how the fight scenes are choreographed. For example, when Agent 66 arrives at the Kim home, he faces off against Jin-chul, who makes creative use of Kim’s kitchen supplies — namely, a frying pan and the refrigerator door — to shield himself from Agent 66’s bullets. Alas, Jin-chul’s aging knees prevent him from pursuing Agent 66 over the balcony railing and down the street, but I think it’s safe to say the fight ends in a draw.
Meanwhile, Kim shows up at Han-soo’s taekwondo school, and Han-soo knows immediately that Something’s Wrong. But Kim doesn’t get much time to explain before agents from the Special Missions Bureau swarm the place, led by one MOLE CRICKET (Won Hyun-joon). At least, that’s what our ahjussis call him, because they used to work under him. And let’s just say, he’s not happy that Kim has broken cover. He’s also not above using a kid as a hostage to force Han-soo’s cooperation. But kiddo squirms free, and Han-soo and Kim make a formidable team. Despite being outnumbered and outgunned, they flee the scene and hunker down in Han-soo’s “bunker” — which turns out to be a van outfitted with all the tech you’d expect a trio of former secret agents to need.
It’s kind of frightening just how easy it is for them, the SMB, and people like Chairman Joo to track cell phone locations and access CCTVs across the nation. But at least it gives Kim a fighting chance at finding his daughter despite her phone being turned off. Whoever called while Kim was detained hung up immediately, but Han-soo tracks Min-ji’s phone to the hideout of another vicious gang.
Well, vicious they may be, but Kim is more so, especially with Min-ji’s life on the line. I think the fact that he’s so grim and emotionless about it makes it so much worse, but now I get to add roots-and-all hair removal to the list of things Kim does that will haunt me. The gang boss has Min-ji’s phone in his shirt pocket. When questioned about it, he opts for the most rage-baity answer possible, and succeeds in activating Kim’s rage mode — and nearly doesn’t live to regret it. Only Han-soo’s calm logic convinces Kim to stop and focus on getting the information they need.
Unfortunately, the boss can offer no insight on Min-ji’s whereabouts, as his minions brought her phone in with their usual haul of lost and stolen pieces. But her call log does have a story to tell: one about a lonely girl whose only friend constantly used her for favors. Once again, Kim doesn’t get much time to process his sorrow and guilt, because Agent 66 has also been tracking Min-ji’s phone in hopes of kidnapping himself some leverage. Now, he sneaks up behind Kim and puts a gun to his head.
But, again, Kim and Han-soo work together to evade the threat, despite a momentary fumble wherein Kim goes to grab Agent 66’s gun right as Han-soo kicks it away. Even so, they only manage to take cover, not flee entirely. Just when it seems Agent 66 will get the better of them after all, two of Mole Cricket’s agents catch up. We’ve met them before — JUNG SANG-AH (Sohn Na-eun) is Kim’s coworker who recently helped him pick out a birthday gift for Min-ji, and MR. LIM (Park Jin-woo) owns the dry cleaner business right below Kim’s apartment.
Kim isn’t at all surprised to learn these two have been plants all along — he knew he’d be watched as soon as he left the force — and he promises to turn himself in once Min-ji is safe. Sang-ah and Mr. Lim don’t agree, exactly, but they’re too busy keeping Agent 66 subdued to stop Kim and Han-soo from fleeing the scene. Agent 66 frees himself, too, however, and resumes pursuit.
Now seems like a good time to review the backstory we’ve learned this week. Remember how the current Agent 66 was told that Kim killed his brother, the former Agent 66? Well, it turns out that’s not exactly true. Nor is it true that Kim bore the infamous number first — his number as a child recruit in the ruthless North Korean elite forces training was actually 73. Both 66 and 73 were recruited from the same orphanage (and ha! — even in these flashbacks we’re only ever told Kim’s surname).
For a while, 73 resented how quickly 66 rose to fighting prowess and favor with their superiors. But by the time they grew to young adulthood, they seem to have become friends. (And no, our eyes did not deceive us: that is a surprise Taecyeon cameo!) The two were sent on a mission to South Korea, but someone tipped off the enemy and their group was greeted with a bomb. Agent 66 was killed, along with all of their comrades. Agent 73 was captured, and assumed the 66 moniker as a tribute to his fallen partner. Instead of being killed, interrogated, or sent back to the North, Kim was “persuaded” to jump sides. His first test? Sparring with the long-haired and fiery-tempered Jin-chul.
And speaking of Jin-chul, Han-soo and Kim pick him up on the road after their most recent showdown. They catch him up to speed while Kim treats his own gunshot wound. Then they resume following the trail of Min-ji’s stolen phone. They’re moments away from a read on Gold Teeth’s car when they run headlong into Mole Cricket’s ambush. And note: this one’s also a bomb. Han-soo stalls while Kim steals Mole Cricket’s car. Jin-chul lets them do the work, so when more agents arrive, Han-soo leaves Jin-chul to figure out his own escape plan.
Fortunately, Kim got the coordinates he needs. Even more fortunately, Gold Teeth hasn’t yet disposed of Min-ji. First, he wants to dangle Hye-ri’s crime in front of Chairman Joo’s face. And given the trauma Chaiman Joo put him through to make sure this “dog” can’t bite… well, I won’t say I don’t blame him for anything, but I do understand. So he stashes her in a climate-controlled shipping container and waits for the chairman to call so he can gloat. Little does he know, the chairman plans to pin the “murder” on him — and also, the “murdered” girl is currently trying to find her way out of the freezer. Not to mention, everyone from Kim to Agent 66 to Chairman Joo and a whole horde of minions are about to converge on the spot. But the episode ends with Min-ji and Gold Teeth locking eyes, so we’ll just have to hope Kim gets there in time.
This show is so fast-paced and has so many moving parts, yet it all fits together beautifully. I’m especially enjoying watching all the conflicting interests get in each other’s way, and the few tiny glimpses we get of Min-ji and Kim’s relationship pre-kidnapping. But by far my favorite thing is how easily our ex-agents slip back into partnership — not only saving each other, but trusting each other to save themselves.
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