[Mar 29] “The Escape of the Seven: Resurrection” Ep 1: Rating, Recap, Review

Nielsen Korea reported that the first episode of “The Escape of the Seven: Resurrection” on SBS, aired on March 29, attracted 4.4% of viewers across the country.

The second season of the popular 2023 show “The Escape of the Seven” continues the tale of a man’s quest for power in a world of lies. This season, titled “The Escape of the Seven: Resurrection,” follows the fierce comeback of 7 individuals against a new villain who joins forces with Matthew Lee (played by Uhm Ki Joon). The show features a lineup of well-known actors, including Hwang Jung Eum, Lee Joon, Lee Yoo Bi, Shin Eun Kyung, and Yoon Jong Hoon.

“The Escape of the Seven: Resurrection” episode 1: Recap, review

Mysterious beginnings & a quest for justice

The first episode begins with someone unknown watching old videos of a girl named Bang Da-mi. These videos show her acting in school, her first day at elementary school, and the sad day she passed away. This person has a video that reveals how someone named K ended Da-mi’s life. They watch this part over and over, and it seems like they start to cry.

Next, we see Knag Ki-tak rushing to the hospital to visit Min Do-hyuk, who has just woken up after being in a coma for a long time. They share a tearful hug as they remember the tragic night when Lee Hwi-so lost his life on a rooftop, and how their friends chose to side with someone named Mathew, leaving both Ki-tak and Hwi-so to face death alone. After the hospital, Ki-tak tells Do-hyuk about the bad things Mathew has been doing.

Deception & the fight for control

Mathew, who is not trusted by many, used a hacker named Luca to break into computers all over the world. He pretended to be the good guy, Lee Hwi-so, and tricked everyone into thinking he was fighting for what’s right. He took a lot of money from someone named Chairman Bang and made people believe that Min Do-hyuk was actually a criminal named Shim Jun-seok. Ki-tak says that Mathew did all this with Luca’s help, but they still can’t get to a special flash drive left by Hwi-so.

When they meet with Do-hyuk’s aunt, Shim Mi-young, she wants him to fight back, take over a big company called Sungchan Group, and get justice for his parents. But Do-hyuk doesn’t want a new identity or money from her. He plans to defeat Mathew and take over Sungchan Group the right way.

We then meet a new character, Hwang Chan-sung, who is flying to South Korea. Meanwhile, Mathew and his helper, Geum La-hui, are giving their team new tasks and a lot of money. One team member, Yang Jin-mo, acts like he’s on Mathew’s side but is secretly waiting to find someone named Ha-na.

Mathew tells Jin-mo to pretend to be a big-shot politician and to act like he has a perfect family with someone named Myoung-ji, so no one suspects their plan. Jin-mo is upset because he hasn’t kept a promise to find Ha-na, and he rips up a checkbook worth millions. In another place, two people named Chul-woo and Ju-ran have lots of money but feel trapped and unhappy because they are under Mathew’s control.

Lastly, Mo-ne remembers leaving Do-hyuk in danger to save herself. She tries to warn her mother about Ha-na, but her mother wants nothing to do with her. Mo-ne tries to give her mother some money, but it’s too late; the restaurant is closed.

Min-young takes Do-hyuk and Ki-tak to a secret place, which used to be an old shop for fixing electronics, owned by Lee Hwi-so’s dad. Their main job is to figure out the password to a flash drive that’s really important for their plan. Do-hyuk wants to sneak into Mathew’s holiday house to use their computer system, LUCA, and they plan to do this the next night at 10pm.

Jin-mo and Myoung-ji pretend to get married and even take photos to make it look real. Myoung-ji puts these pictures up in their house. Later, Jin-mo meets the Mayor of Seoul with Mathew, and they tell the mayor that Jin-mo will be his new helper. The mayor likes that Jin-mo seems shy and promises to just follow orders.

After that, Jin-mo has dinner with Myoung-ji and her children, but he can’t stop thinking about Ha-na and Madam No. He suddenly leaves the table and tells Myoung-ji that he won’t pretend to be a happy family with her.

Mathew tells La-hui about his meeting and worries that Jin-mo might turn against him. La-hui says they put Myoung-ji with Jin-mo because she’ll do anything for her children. Mathew makes a mean comment about La-hui hurting her own daughter, but La-hui doesn’t get upset. They start planning their next move, which is to fight against lies being spread about Lee Hwi-so.

Uncovering the past & facing consequences

Before La-hui goes on a trip to the U.S., she finds a hard drive with secret files, including Mathew’s plans and a video of Da-mi’s last moments. Da-mi could have lived if she let them hurt La-hui, her real mom, but she chose not to and asked for mercy instead. La-hui feels really guilty and thinks about ending her life, but then she decides she wants to stop Mathew first.

La-hui goes to Mathew’s holiday house and sees Do-hyuk and Ki-tak trying to get into LUCA. She’s glad they’re okay and remembers how she helped Ki-tak in the past. When Mathew and his guys show up, La-hui makes a noise to warn Do-hyuk and Ki-tak and then leads Mathew’s men away so the others can get away. She gets caught in a trap in a swamp but manages to get to a clinic before passing out. Do-hyuk and Ki-tak make it back to their hiding spot and wonder who helped them escape.

A race against time & the quest for redemption

La-hui hopes for one more chance to fix things and stop Mathew. She wakes up in a clinic, and the man there says she needs to see a doctor or she might lose her foot. La-hui doesn’t want to go to a hospital and asks the man to remove her foot as punishment for what she did to Da-mi. She survives and while she’s getting better, she meets Ha-na. Mathew tries to call her, but he can’t find her.

Ki-tak gives Do-hyuk some books about computer coding because they need to hurry, as Michelle is having a tough time. Do-hyuk saves Michelle just in time when she tries to hurt herself. She feels lost because she can’t get back at Mathew for her sister.

Do-hyuk tells Michelle to keep working on her movie about Da-mi, even though Mathew is using it for his own gain. Do-hyuk has a plan to ruin Mathew’s fake life as Lee Hwi-so, and he needs Michelle’s help to do it.

Mathew hears from Nam-chul that La-hui has returned, and he quickly goes to her place. He thinks she might be the one who snuck into his holiday home and got hurt by a trap there. He asks to see her feet to check for injuries. La-hui walks up to him without any trouble, which makes Mathew unsure.

Next, we see La-hui and Do-hyuk getting ready for a big challenge with someone named K. La-hui is learning computer stuff from the beginning, and Do-hyuk is practicing walking in the hills so he won’t stumble or show any weakness to K.

Do-hyuk manages to get past the security of a computer system called LUCA and finds its main code. But K has set up a tricky defense: if Do-hyuk doesn’t sign in within 72 hours, LUCA will cause problems for computers everywhere. Do-hyuk figures the only way to stop this is to log in from the main computer part. Meanwhile, Michelle wants to make a film about Chairman Lee Hwi-so. K doesn’t really want to, but Michelle says it’s important because K is hiding, and she’s worried people will forget about him.

La-hui hears Michelle talking to Do-hyuk about the film, which is actually a plan to show K’s true face on camera. So, she backs up Michelle’s idea at their meeting. K feels stuck and agrees to the film to honor the memory of Da-mi’s dad. After the meeting, La-hui walks Michelle out and bumps into Mo-ne. La-hui promises herself that she’ll reveal Mo-ne’s part in Da-mi’s death. Mo-ne, on the other hand, is ready to do whatever it takes to survive until she sees her mom again.

At the episode’s end, La-hui is watching old videos of Da-mi. In another place, Do-hyuk, Ki-tak, Mi-Young, and Michelle are in a gallery showing pictures of people who lost their lives because of K. They promise to work together on their plan for revenge until they make K answer for what he’s done.

Review

The first episode starts the story of a thrilling quest for revenge, with everyone around K trying to get back at him. Do-hyuk and his friends might get help from Jin-mo and La-hui, who also want to settle scores with K.

But as we saw last season, people can change sides quickly when they’re in danger. Will La-hui keep being true to herself, or will she give in to the fear of dying and keep working for K? Will Jin-mo’s need for revenge win over his wish to be rich and safe? Who will come out on top in the fight between the good and faithful Min Do-hyuk and the bad, greedy K? We’ll watch the second season of “The Escape of the Seven: Resurrection” to see what happens.