The Escape of the Seven: War for Survival (2023) Episode 5

Episode 5 of The Escape of The Seven starts with the court ruling of Lee Hwi-so. He is sentenced to death for the alleged murder of Da-mi. Back in jail, Hwi-so tries to escape several times but is always caught. Kang Ki-tak and his men beat him up in the kitchen and burn his face with hot water, and he is rushed to the hospital. 

Elsewhere, Mo-ne and La-hui celebrate the success of their new drama. During a music recording session, La-hui starts to hallucinate and sees Da-mi. Meanwhile, inmate 1888 is taken back to prison. He is isolated from other inmates, and the prison officer says the hot water damaged his face and vocal cords. His whole face is bandaged.

In a twist of events, the one who goes back to prison is Chairman Bang, and the next scene shows how he survived the operation and asked his secretary to get him out. The hospital switches his tag with a dead man’s. Kang Ki-tak was working for Chairman Bang and helped Hwi-so escape, and in his place, Chairman Hwang was taken to prison. He tells Kang Ki-tak that he will give him all his money to support Hwi-so to get revenge for Da-mi. 

Fast forward to 2023 at a party in Jeju Island. Mathew Lee enters the picture and is watching the party from upstairs. He has the same tattoo as Hwi-so and Nan-young, which means he is Hwi-so’s new identity.

In prison, Kang Ki-tak visits Chairman Bang to tell him of his release. Kang Ki-tak tells Chairman Bang that Hwi-so knows of his plan, and the Chairman is optimistic that Hwi-so will do well. In flashback, the process of Hwi-so becoming Mathew Lee is detailed from the 10 million dollars he got from the Chairman to the plastic surgery. Kang Ki-tak calls him when he exits prison, and Mathew Lee tells him he is ready to become the monster.

Next, Mo-ne takes photos of her trip to Jeju and posts them on the popular Tikitaka platform. One of the comments says that today is the death anniversary of Da-mi. Mo-ne looks terrified. Meanwhile, La-hui calls someone to ask about Mathew Lee. Ju-ran reveals that the Tikitaka platform is Mathew Lee’s, and he sponsored the trip to Jeju. Ju-ran threatens La-hui to get Mo-ne to advertise her business with Da-mi’s death. 

Jin-mo and La-hui are furious about the person chosen to be the Chairman of TIKITAKA studio. They were eyeing the position to get the billion-dollar investment from Mathew Lee and are eager for him to attend their party at Jeju Island. Jin-mo hires Do-hyuk to look into Mathew Lee, and he confirms that Mathew is at Jeju Island since he has a connection to his driver. Mathew has a camera hidden in their room and can see and hear the conversation.

Myung-ji arrives at the party and tells Mo-ne of her daughter’s ambition to become an actress. She asks her to help her daughter out, and when Mo-ne refuses, she mentions Da-mi’s death. She then gives Mo-ne an art piece in which she has drawn the portrayal of Mo-ne giving birth and Da-mi helping her in the art room. The night’s events run through Mo-ne’s mind, and she screams in horror. She starts to hallucinate and sees Da-mi on her TV screen.

Jin-mo’s henchman, Man-du, also sees a girl wearing a bobble hat and runs to Yong-joo and Jin-mo. He hysterically says that he saw Bobble’s ghost. Yong-joo asks Jin-mo why he harassed Da-mi so much and wonders if it was for Mo-ne. Meanwhile, La-hui scolds Mo-ne for taking pills to help with hyperventilation. She promises not to take drugs anymore. Mo-ne meets with Ju-ran and tries to turn her down, but he reminds her that she is the doctor she went to when she tried to get an abortion. Later, Yong-joo approaches Mo-ne and tries to harass her, but Do-hyuk helps her. 

Mathew Lee starts his revenge with Yong-joo of Scarlet Letter. Someone spikes the drinks and the pool water. At the party, Yong-joo starts acting out and talks about the death anniversary of Bobble. He tells Mo-ne to watch how she treats him since he can make her topple from the pedestal at any time. La-hui throws him into the water, and the people drown him. They deliberate how to deal with the body, and all agree to bury it. They carry the body to a boat, and as they all head out, Mathew tells the supercomputer Luka to begin. 

Luka activates the plan, and the boat is filled with some smoke. Suddenly, everyone feels starving. They start to hallucinate aurora, fruits in paradise, and unicorns flying. The ship gets washed away. They call for another boat and carry the body to the cave. Suddenly, the paradise they had seen earlier begins to rot. In the cave, they put rocks on Yong-joo’s body, and Ju-ran tells them a legend about the monster who protects the Island. Before they could leave, bats invaded them, and many died. Outside, the cave starts crumbling, and a few others are buried under the rocks. 

The survivors run into the forest, and their phones lose signal. Ju-ran says the Island is cursed, and Man-du starts yelling that it is Bobble’s curse. Suddenly, wild boars chase after them, and a few more people die. Those who make it out of the forest end up in a poisonous flower field, and one more dies. At the end of the episode, a strange man appears. 

The Episode Review

Mathew Lee is the reincarnate of Hwi-so, Da-mi’s adoptive father, who is now very wealthy, influential, and powerful. He is a tech genius ready to use all his money on revenge. What is happening on the Island is still a mystery, but given that the series is a thriller, the unexplainable horrors are expected. It is as if Mathew Lee made them inhale some hallucinogen and sprayed it on the Island, making all the animals go crazy for blood.

Whereas seeing them get scared and think it is Bobble’s curse is thrilling, a more satisfying revenge would be seeing Mathew Lee use his influence to make them beg for mercy. There are still many more episodes to go, so this chapter reminds them not to forget what they did to Da-mi, and the scare tactics perfectly work.

I, however, wish the rest of the revenge will be more complex than some hallucinogens and running away from wild animals. Also, is Do-hyuk working for them, or is he secretly working against them? Given what Jin-mo did to his parents and the strange man at his family’s funeral, it begs the question of how he knows Mathew Lee. He also suggested going to the Island to bury the body and was the first to drown Yong-joo.