The Escape of the Seven: War for Survival (2023) Episode 9

Episode 9 of The Escape of The Seven starts where it left off with the death of Chairman Bang. After the bomb explodes, Mathew Lee almost exposes himself, and Kang Ki-tak has to hold him back. Dong-hyuk is too shocked to walk as the other six run back to the vehicles.

The six think that Lee Hwi-so triggered the explosion and start to look around for him. Do-hyuk calls Ki-tak and asks him to leave before they are discovered. The six do not see Mathew Lee, but Yang Jin-mo recognises Kang Ki-tak. The police arrive at the scene, and they have to run away. 

Mathew Lee cries hysterically back at his house. He wonders how Chairman Bang was led to the secluded place to be killed. Mathew Lee speculates that Do-hyuk might be a double agent, but Ki-tak is confident he is not. He worries that Do-hyuk might be in trouble, and he is right. The six confront Do-hyuk to figure out how Lee Hwiso knew their plan. Fortunately, Mathew Lee had thought of such a scenario, and as they listen in on the six confronting Do-hyuk, he remotely erases all the data on his phone to protect him. 

La-hui thinks a person strong enough to go against Chairman Bang is Sim Jun-seok of Sungchan Group. She thinks the person who killed Da-mi and set up the bomb is Sim Jun-seok. On their way out, Jin-mo mentions that Kang Ki-tak had feelings for La-hui and suggests that La-hui might make him betray Lee Hwi-so. Later, Jin-mo follows Do-hyuk, but knowing he is being followed, he goes to his house. After Jin-mo leaves, he takes his motorbike to meet with Mathew Lee and Kang Ki-tak.

Do-hyuk tells them that Chairman Bang insisted on going to Gagok District since Sim Jun-seok invited him there. The Chairman thinks he killed Bang Da-mi. Mathew Lee asks Luka to pull up information on Sim Jun-seok. Ki-tak believes that his affair with Han-mone could not be revealed since Ju-Seok was married five years ago.

Do-hyuk tells them that the Chairman called him K, and Ki-tak has heard of him in the underground circles. He is ruthless and a sociopath. Do-hyuk says Chairman Bang describes K as a respectable person on the outside but a terrifying monster underneath. He says the Chairman sounded afraid of him. Mathew Lee understands why Chairman Bang insisted he amasses power before he could go up against K.

Just then, Luka announces news about Bang Da-mi. The news announcer says that the person, Lee Hwi-so, committed suicide where the remains of Bang Da-mi were found. Meanwhile, Ju-ran joins La-hui and Mo-ne while the news is airing. She thinks La-hui and Mo-ne know that the person who killed Da-mi is Mo-ne’s boyfriend. La-hui tells Ju-ran about Jun-seok. 

Do-hyuk reveals that Da-mi met Sim Jun-seok at the Digital Crime Support Center, and Chaiman Bang is the one who directed her to the centre. Mathew Lee thinks K planned to lure Da-mi to the support centre and kill her since she knew Mo-ne had a child. He kills Da-mi to protect himself, and the secret that Sim Jun-seok is K.

Mathew Lee is positive that Sungchan Group is watching K. Mathew Lee says he created TIKITAKA to discover what happened to Da-mi and recreate the puzzle piece by piece. Now, with the knowledge of who might be the mastermind, the puzzle is complete. The next scene shows K’s relationship with Han Mo-ne and how he created the deep fake video of Da-mi’s death. 

After Da-mi goes to the support centre, the director and Jun-seok drive her to the livestream venue. She confronts Han Mo-ne, who knocks her out with a rock. Mo-ne calls Jin-mo for help. Scarlet letter Joo Yong-joo saw Jin-mo dragging an unconscious Da-mi and followed him. After Jin-mo leaves, he calls La-hui to tell her he found Da-mi. La-hui met with Da-mi to ask her to cancel the livestream, but Da-mi refused.

She begs La-hui to support and let her reveal that she was framed. La-hui asks Yong-joo to take her and ensure she does not talk. Yong-joo knocks her out with a metal pipe and carries her out. While waiting for Hang Man-du to pick up Da-mi, K knocks Yong-joo out and takes her away. Later, Lee Hwi-so arrives, and Mathew Lee says he remembers when Da-mi died in front of her. K makes Hwi-so hold the gun and shoot Da-mi. The taxi driver then takes him away. 

Do-hyuk and Ki-tak are griefed to hear the story of how Da-mi died. Mathew Lee apologises to Do-hyuk since his family was sacrificed in K’s plan. Mathew Lee says he remembers hearing K’s evil laugh and will never forgive him. While they are talking, TIKITAKA is hacked, and the message “Welcone Lee Hwi-so” displays. Mathew says K knows who he is; the message is a warning. Do-hyuk worries that Mathew Lee’s cover is blown, but Mathew thinks they will play catch if that is what K wants. 

The police conclude that Lee Hwi-so committed suicide after going to where he had hidden Da-mi’s remains. Ki-tak retrieves the Chairman’s and Da-mi’s remains, and they bury them. Mathew Lee vows to crush everyone involved in Da-mi’s death individually. Do-hyuk and Ki-tak are ready to help.

Mathew Lee signs with Jin-mo and La-hui, merging Cherry Entertainment and LH Media under TIKITAKA Studios. He also subtly confirms a possible romance with La-hui. Meanwhile, Mo-ne’s family arrives back in South Korea. They call Mo-ne to tell her they just arrived with the tickets she had sent them. Mo-ne did not send tickets and asked them to go back.

Chung-soo asks Kyung-soo to take their mother to their new house. Do-hyuk secretly takes pictures of them at the airport. He sends a message to Mathew Lee to report the mission complete. 

Mathew Lee plans a party to celebrate the merger and plans to invite the seven survivors of the Jeju Island incident. Later, Jin-mo asks La-hui if she looked into Ki-tak, and she is confident he will come to her. She says he never left her side, and Ki-tak is watching La-hui’s house outside in the rain. La-hui asks about K and says she is their most prominent backer against Lee Hwi-so. Jin-mo is terrified when he learns La-hui knows about K. She asks if he is in the country and says he wants to meet him.

Mentioning K’s name makes Jin-mo tremble in fear. He warns La-hui not to say that name, or they will all die. Just as La-hui wants to discover why Jin-mo is terrified, Mo-ne barges into her office with more bad news.

Her family is back, and someone flew them in. Later, Ji-a calls Mo-ne with scary news. She knows about Mo-ne and Ju-seok and once saw them drive away in his convertible. La-hui overhears the conversation and takes over the call. She offers to sign Ji-a and help her debut as a singer. She uses the trick to make Ji-a keep quiet in the moment. Ji-a does not fall for La-hui’s lies, and she meets Jun-seok’s father, Chairman Sim. 

Kang Ki-tak follows Paeng-hee from the bar. When she approaches her, she tells him she is getting married to Jin-mo since she is tired of caring for a man with only another woman in his heart. Han-na runs to meet her mother and introduces herself to Kang Ki-tak. Paeng-hee says Ha-na is Jin-mo’s daughter and asks Ki-tak not to meet her again. 

Everyone is excited at Mathew Lee’s party until he pulls out a video of them killing others at Jeju Island and asks for an explanation. Meanwhile, Ji-a is at Sungchan Group. At Mathew Lee’s house, his guests try to explain themselves, saying the video was made using deep fake. He says he received the video from an anonymous source. He threatens that the police are on their way.

Do-hyuk says that Lee Hwi-so was threatening them, and he is not dead. Mathew Lee devised a plan to make them confirm his theory about Sungchan Group heir K, and the plan succeeded. Mathew Lee makes them sign contracts, putting their careers on the line in exchange for his help dealing with Lee Hwi-so. 

Later, as they sign the contracts, La-hui tells them about Song Ji-a’s threat to expose Mo-ne’s past. Ju-ran suggests they threaten or pay her off together as long as she keeps her mouth shut. They all go to her house, unaware of the horrifying surprise. A body hangs in the room with the words “Whoever calls K recklessly will certainly die” written on the mirror. The episode ends as the scene locks in on their terrified faces. 

The Episode Review

The episode exposed the mystery of Da-mi’s death, the events leading to Da-mi’s death and how each of the seven is tied to it. As a result, viewers can now sit back and enjoy the revenge journey. Is Song Ji-a dead? If she is, it means Chairman Sim kills her, proving he is connected to K. However, is K Jun-seok the only heir to the Sungchan Group? It is impossible to tell without a doubt in this episode. The foe Lee Hwi-so and his team are up against is formidable, and they must be as ruthless as possible.

Will Kang Ki-tak’s affection for La-hui be a stumbling block in their revenge plans? How far is Mathew Lee willing to go to crush his enemies? Is da-mi’s death only about K hiding his secret relationship, or is there something more? We hope the next episodes will help us answer all the lingering questions.