100 Days of Deception continues its gripping narrative this weekend with Episodes 3 and 4, streaming globally on Netflix and airing in South Korea on tvN. The series, led by Kim You-jung and Park Jin-young, has already set a high bar with its thrilling plot and stellar performances, promising more twists and turns in the upcoming episodes.
Gyeongseong, 1932 claims the weekend again. 100 Days of Deception returns with Episode 3 on Saturday, 17 October, followed by Episode 4 on Sunday, 18 October. Here in India, viewers can stream both from around 5:40 PM IST. The show has had the biggest opening of any weekend K-drama this year, and given how well the first two episodes were pulled off, you can expect it to turn out well. One can hope, at least.
That said, if the premiere weekend slipped past you, or you watched it and want a refresher before the next pair arrives, here’s your quick brief.
The drama airs in South Korea every Saturday and Sunday at 9:10 PM KST. Seoul is three and a half hours ahead of India, putting the broadcast time in India at 5:40 PM IST. Episodes 1 and 2 aired on October 10 and 11, respectively, so 2 and 4 are lined up for this weekend. The series runs for 16 episodes across eight weekends (I know, it’s long), with the finale scheduled for 29 November.
Netflix carries the series globally, including in India, while tvN and TVING serve the home audience in South Korea. Kim You-jung leads as the pickpocket Lee Ga-gyeong, opposite Park Jin-young as the interpreter Kim Tae-woong. Kim Hyun-joo, Jin Seon-kyu and Lee Moo-saeng play supporting roles. Yoo In-shik, the director behind Extraordinary Attorney Woo, is at the helm, working from a script by Ryu Bo-ri.
Our heroine is Lee Ga-gyeong, the finest pickpocket in Gyeongseong, whose only ambition is to buy passage to America and never look back.
In the opening episode, she lifts a suitcase and a wallet from first-class passengers on an arriving train. The wallet belongs to Kim Tae-woong and holds 3 won, a Tokyo Imperial University ID card and a pawn shop receipt. The suitcase belongs to Yoo So-ran and holds rice and, in a hidden compartment, a bunch of bullets. A good haul.
These bullets are both the problem and the opportunity. So-ran and her associate Philip belong to the Gugukdan, the Korean independence movement. So-ran has a terrible backstory: this is the era of the Japanese occupation of Korea, and her family was shot to death in front of her. So now she has a private score to settle with Japanese Inspector General Shinichi Sato, whom she holds responsible for the deaths. Ga-gyeong offers to sell the ammunition back for 60 won and soon finds herself installed as a live-in maid just as Sato arrives for dinner. He brings his son along: Tae-woong, the wallet's owner, who goes by Sato Hideo inside the Japanese administration and is the adopted son of the man So-ran wants dead.
Dinner takes a turn for the worse as the group is ambushed. Held at gunpoint, Ga-gyeong steers her attacker towards the bathroom where Hideo is washing his hands and tries to warn him.
In Episode 2, Hideo saves her, shots are exchanged, and the gunman escapes when So-ran, stunned to recognise her own husband Keum Seok-jung beneath the disguise, fires at a window to cover his exit.
The aftermath is a masterclass in improvisation. So-ran passes Ga-gyeong off as her live-in housemaid, Keum Soe-hee, and Philip leans on the police chief by threatening to write about the incident, which secures her release. The group then tries to pay Ga-gyeong off and send her on her way. Her next stop is a pawn shop, where Hideo, who has been hunting the thief who took his wallet, shows up. Ga-gyeong bolts, but is finally caught by Hideo.
The first two episodes give away a lot (the show is 16 episodes long, remember?), we know the villain, the main characters, and the motives are set as well. Usually, for a show this long, you’d have to look out for the steam fizzing away by the end. But who knows, the first two episodes of 100 Days Of Deception have exceeded expectations and then some more. Maybe it will keep up throughout?