Episode 6 of Taxi Driver begins with a flashback that reveals more about Ha-Na. She fails her bar exam after telling the interviewers she’d work outside the law to gain justice. It’s a really interesting moment, especially given the way Do-Ki uses these same methods right now.
Back in the present, Ha-Na is forced to gain a search warrant in order to get into U Data. On the way out the door, she notices Do-Ki arrive. He claims he’s quit the taxi job and is now with U-Data.
Do-Ki manages to dodge this bullet and heads into work. Park Yang Jin is counted down and with confetti and cheering as the group break into applause. Do-Ki watches from the sidelines as he sees the sales records have surpassed last year’s already.
Park turns the attention toward the Strategic Planning team and claims it’s all because of them. Do-Ki is incredulous and wonders whether he’s just walked into a revival meeting.
At the Prosecutor’s Office, Ha-Na shows up and is immediately questioned by her superiors. They know she was at U Data and still looking into the Young Min case. Ha-Na admits she’s working on her own accord and backs up their claims that she’s ungrateful. When she leaves, Sung-Chul smirks in admiration.
Back at U Data, Do-Ki starts to get a feel for all these different areas and tries to find a way into the Strategic Team office. According to Go Eun, the entire area is a blind spot and she’s having trouble breaking in.
Do-Ki intends to make his presence felt and that includes adding a virus into the mainframe computer. With the other workers claiming it will take five days, Do-Ki steps up and gets rid of the virus in 10 minutes. He receives a cash bonus for his troubles, but his original plan to move into the Strategic Planning department meets a big roadblock. They’re hiding something big and Do-Ki intends to figure out what.
As we soon come to learn, everyone in that department has some form of a criminal background. With that in mind, Do-Ki is forced to change his tactics. With the team together, he stages a public humiliation of Jin-Eon in view of the Chairman.
This seems to do the trick too, as Park decides the team should get to know Do-Ki. As they search through his background, the group realize he’s got a really dark past, including rehab. This is enough for them to grab Do-Ki and bring him into Strategic Planning. Part of this includes installing a new app on his phone.
Now he’s a core insider for the company, and Go Eun confirms to him that the app is actually used to track all the other workers.
Ha-Na too intends to figure out what the company are hiding. She finds a guy called Mr Jeon, who used to be in the Strategic Planning Department. He has a harrowing story to tell and we find out exactly what that is at the end of the episode.
After seeing him off, Ha-Na visits Do-Ki while he’s leaving the office. She asks for his help but the app activates when she does. This is enough for Do-Ki to play up and claim the Chairman is actually a good person.
After their meeting, Do-Ki is suddenly snatched up by the Chairman’s men. They place a bag over his head and demand to know who he is. Do-Ki manages to hold his nerve and admits that he just wants to work hard. This is enough to inaugurate him into becoming one of Chairman Park’s “children”.
In private, Do-Ki speaks to General Manager Lee who shows him videos of the other victims and how they don’t tolerate traitors.
This is enough for Do-Ki to head out with his taxi, turning the car around and playing a game of chicken with General Manager Lee’s car. Lee swerves at the last second and the car flies off the road. Do-Ki stops, picking up his phone and leaving.
At work the next day, Do-Ki is given a server key and instructions for uploading videos. When he logs into the server he realizes, to his horror, that these are illegal videos. When Go Eun accesses the same computer screen she’s shocked to see this. Tears running down her face, she takes off. This jeopardizes the entire operation, leaving big question marks as the episode comes to a close.
Taxi Driver returns with a big episode that sheds light on what’s happening within U Data and how these crooks are making so much money. The illegal videos are obviously a massive shock but perhaps unsurprising given how secretive U Data have been about getting into the Strategic Planning Department.
In a way, there are parts of this episode that feel quite reminiscent of The Wolf of Wall Street. The absolutely bizarre rituals and disguised bullying work symbiotically for the Chairman to exert his authoritarian rule.
The preview for next week seems to hint at a few things too. Firstly, that Go Eun is directly tied to this company because of her sister. Also, Do-Ki may well be admitting the truth about what he’s doing to Ha-Na.
His frustrations about the justice system is something felt by numerous other people too and, ironically, also by Ha-Na herself. We’ll have to wait and see how that transpires going forward.
In the meantime though, Taxi Driver delivers another decent episode, one that sees this case play out as more of a slow burn compared to the others we’ve seen recently. While that does slow the pacing down, there’s still enough intrigue to stick it out nonetheless.