LAST Episodes 9 & 10

It's a little (more like a lot) late, but let's talk about episodes nine and ten of 라스트 (LAST).

These two episodes heavily focused on Straw Cutter getting out of prison and the effect it had on Seoul Station and the relationships between members of the Seoul Seven. A whole lotta shit went down...


We start the episode off with Taeho going to the grandmother's restaurant for breakfast with Nara, where Taeho explains his background and goes on about how much he used to make trading stocks. She wonders if he's bragging or repenting, but he says it's remorse and that he was pathetic back then.

TBH, I have no idea why she wants to be involved with the guy-Taeho is shady AF... but he's also hot AF, so whatever.

We then cut to Straw Cutter getting released from prison, and Poison Snake and Crocodile are there to greet him...

But the first thing he asks is where Bae and Snake Eye are at. Poison Snake and Crocodile are just like, "uhhhhh, we'll talk about it in the car."

Next we see, Mantis going to tell Kwak that Straw Cutter got out. Kwak is surprised that he got released on good behavior and knows that he'll be super suspicious when he finds out that Bae is gone. He also goes on about how Poison Snake and Crocodile should both be suspicious about Bae's disappearance by now, as well. But Mantis assures him that there were no witnesses and there's no body to find, so suspicion on them shouldn't be so obvious.

Taeho's ex gf then finds out that her half brother Jaesung is back in the country and he's going to take Choi's old job. She is hella pissed that he's there, especially since he's a serious challenger to Sehoon and their work.

Sehoon blows off her concern and instead asks her about her ex (Taeho), and she's like, "WTF, now is not the time." And I'm like tru.

Elsewhere, at the hobo crew's office, they're discussing the Mirae City Restoration Project.

Cha asks what Taeho what he plans on doing about it, going further by saying that he doesn't feel right that he dragged them all into it. With Jung, it did affect them directly and threaten their way of life, but this could be serious if they got into trouble.

Taeho tells him that he plans on taking "easy path," meaning he's going to be Kwak's right hand man, and that he's not holding Cha or the others hostage and that they can leave at any time and go back on the street. This shuts Cha up for the moment.

Ryu is seen leaving a boxing gym. Evidently, he's looking for an actual place to train, but all the gyms keep on telling him that he's too old to fight. Sad, he goes to The Club, where I guess he just wants to get even sadder since Mijoo is probably going to blow him off there, too.

She tells him it's not a place for existential questions.

He asks if she heard anything about Eunji. He just wants to know that she's okay then he'll peace out from Seoul Station and just live in the mountains or something.

She, of course, brushes him off and tells him to look for her himself since she's not her daughter.

She then gets a call about Straw Cutter getting released, and they're both kinda shocked about it.

Back at the office, they're all talking about Straw Cutter. Cha says that apparently he killed a hobo over nothing and that he's totally fucked up and dangerous.

Later that night, Kwak is holding somewhat of a welcome back party at The Club for Straw Cutter, but he's late...

Kwak is like whatevs and leaves. Mijoo tells him to be careful, that there are rumors going around that Bae's disappearance is his doing. He tells her not to worry, and that she needs to watch out for Ryu so he doesn't become a druggie again because if he does he'll suffer then.

It turns out Straw Cutter is eating with some of the hobos, and he stopped smoking and drinking and has become religious in prison.

He asks the hobos about Bae, but no one has seen him. Cha introduces himself, attempting to change the subject, saying that he heard a lot about him and immediately gets on his bad side, but Mantis shows up before anything bad happens.

At the penthouse, Kwak informs Taeho that Jung's main henchman turned himself in for the murder of Taeho's friend and will tell the police that Jung fled overseas in exchange for Kwak taking care of his goons, so Taeho is no longer wanted for murder~! However, the authorities are still looking for whoever started the stock mess that caused all this, so Taeho is not off the hook completely just yet. 

Taeho leaves, and Straw Cutter arrives to meet with Kwak.

Kwak is like, "I planned a sweet party, but you blew us off :(" Cutter says that he was busy... looking for Bae.

And strangely, he has already heard a rumor that it was Kwak who got rid of him. This wouldn't shock Straw Cutter, though, since he knows Kwak has gotten rid of someone before because he went to jail for that very murder.

Way to totally not be suspicious.

If Kwak can't find Bae, then to Straw Cutter, Kwak isn't worthy of being Number One. As it is, Straw Cutter is super into loyalty, and if Kwak had something to with Bae going missing then that would be a serious betrayal. Straw Cutter is disgusted at what Kwak has become (a greedy asshole) and tells him that he can't forget the fact that Poison Snake, Crocodile, and Sergeant Bae all helped him get to where he is today.

Straw Cutter next goes to see Ryu because he wants to crash in the bus.

Ryu is like why not ask Kwak for place to stay, but Straw Cutter tells him he's fed up with him at the moment.

Ryu is going to let him stay, but then Straw Cutter brings up how they still have to have that dual Cutter challenged him to before he even went to prison and how he thought about fighting Ryu everyday in prison.

Ryu is literally like, "you're a crazy bastard."

Cut to a flashback to five years previously... The Seoul Seven just took over Seoul Station. Ryu and Straw Cutter find Kwak with a guy that he just beat to death with a baseball bat in an alley. Straw Cutter takes the fall for it because he feels that if Number One went to jail then their whole group and everything they worked for would fall apart. That's some loyalty right there.

Back in the present, Mantis wants to tell Straw Cutter the truth, but Kwak is like, "WTF, are you crazy?" If he did that then Straw Cutter would kill him then Taeho then Kwak.

Ryu then runs into Taeho at the clinic, where he finds out that Taeho and Nara are going on date. This displeases him, obviously, and to harsh Taeho's mellow, he warns him about Straw Cutter.

At the factory, Poison Snake confronts Crocodile, asking if he talked Bae into killing Taeho. Posion Snake is the smart one so he knows that Mantis probably killed him and buried the body somewhere so they'll never know for certain what happened. Crocodile says it was a fair thing to try to do since Kwak pushed them too far and that they should still get revenge by spreading rumors that Taeho took out Bae.

So onto Taeho and Nara's "date," a date in which she tricked him into volunteering and delivering meals to like elderly people with her. When they stop for lunch, he goes on about how women her age are usually out having fun, but she's content with her life. She's sure that before he wound up homeless that he led a fun life, so she asks if that's why he's fighting so hard now- to get back to that easy life.

WTF.

She also delves into her past, telling him that she was an abandoned baby taken in by the grandmother. Her birth mother was a homeless woman who died out in the cold by what is currently Nara's garden.

Why the F is she so into Taeho when he's an asshole and she's such a good person. Even after he tells her that he wants to be a villain, she's just like, "do what makes you happy~" SMH...

We quickly get a scene of Kwak and Sehoon, in which Kwak goes on about how he's doing everything he does just to make sure that Sehoon can live a good, noble, law-abiding life.

Then we see Straw Cutter checking a locker with a lone envelope inside... What's in the envelope though???

Next, Crocodile bribes two of the hobos to start rumors around Seoul Station that Taeho had challenged Bae to a dual so he's probably responsible for the disappearance.

Well, it works; the rumors reach Straw Cutter, and he goes looking for Taeho.

Taeho and Sehoon meet to talk business shit about the Mirae City Restoration Project. Things are working out just dandy, but then the ex gf walks in and is pissed AF to find them together.

Taeho is also kinda irked by it, and Sehoon basks in the moment, telling Taeho that she'll be working in his stead if he's too busy. 

Taeho leaves and gets a call from Kwak, who tells him that Straw Cutter is looking for him. He tells him to meet him at the penthouse so they can come up with a strategy before Cutter shows up. But when Kwak gets home, he finds Straw Cutter already there...

Kwak tells him that Taeho is a valuable asset...

But Straw Cutter keeps on going off about Bae and how he wants Kwak to turn over Taeho, so he can find out what he has to say about everything.

Kwak is way too fond of Taeho and does not want to see him get hurt, but Straw Cutter brings ups the man the Kwak killed. The police were never able to identify the body, and Cutter often wondered while stuck in prison who the man was, praying that one day he'd get a sign... And one day he did, another inmate mentioned how a Korean-American man went missing in Seoul five years ago, around the time of the murder. Moreover, the man had specialized in selling the names of Korean children adopted overseas... Hmmm...

Straw Cutter has lost trust in Kwak, so he's going to use this story as a form of life insurance. This is what's inside the locker~

Of course just then Taeho shows TF up.

We then dive into episode ten...

Straw Cutter wants Taeho to prove his innocence by finishing the dual he had supposedly started with Bae with him.

Kwak wants him to go hide, saying that he's just trying to protect business his plans, but it's obvious he's lying. I'm wondering if he sees Taeho as some sort of surrogate little brother.

Kwak has also got to find the "insurance" and has got to his clean ranks...

Straw Cutter visits Ryu to inquire about Taeho's skills, but Ryu doesn't have the time to be bother right now- he's going to Busan to look for Eunji.

He stops at The Club to tell Mijoo that's he's going, but when he comes back, it'll be for the last time. He's going to definitely leave Seoul Station, and he wants her to think about leaving with him one last time.

News about the dual is all over Seoul Station, and Taeho is not backing down.

Mantis also found out how rumors about Taeho and Bae started, and he trails Straw Cutter and finds the locker.

Mijoo is upset about Ryu and goes to see Kwak...

Back at the grandmother's place, the hobo crew talks about the upcoming dual...

And, of course, Nara overhears them and is pissed because Taeho promised her that he wouldn't hurt himself or others anymore. 

Ryu is back since Eunji wasn't in Busan. It's hours before the fight, and Ryu wants to take Straw Cutter up on dual, but Ryu is not in the best shape at the moment...

We get a quick flashback to the lunch Kwak had with Poison Snake and Crocodile earlier in the day. Kwak like, "you come into my house and insult me and lie to my face about not staring the rumors." The two started this mess between Taeho and Straw Cutter so they're going to have to fix it.

Poison Snake and Crocodile are at the factory. Straw Cutter shows up since they told him the dual had been moved there, and the two lie about telling Taeho that the fight had been relocated. Crocodile offers him a beverage, but it turns out that it was drugged! And that's when Mantis shows up...

Despite being woozy from the laced drink, the two fight, but Mantis has a knife and isn't afraid to use it.

Meanwhile, Taeho is on a roof, the original location for the fight, waiting for Straw Cutter to show up. Kwak calls and let's him know what's going down. Instead of just going along with it, though, Taeho goes to the factory to save Straw Cutter. He literally shows up and starts fighting Mantis.

When Taeho subdues him, Mantis explains that taking out Straw Cutter was the chairman's orders, just like killing Bae was his orders. I'm wondering if Straw Cutter would let Mantis off the hook since he's crazy loyal to Kwak...

Kwak finds out what went down, but is feeling alright about since he knows that Straw Cutter is going to be fucked up after finding out that he (Kwak) was responsible for Bae's murder, having Poison Snake and Crocodile betray him, and then having Taeho be the one who saved him from certain death.

Taeho had taken Straw Cutter to the clinic, and Nara is even more pissed now.

She recites that Cherokee proverb about how everyone has two wolves battling inside them, with one representing negative things and one representing good qualities. Taeho asks which one wins, and she tells him that it's the one that you feed.

Ryu visits Straw Cutter at his hospital bedside.

Straw Cutter says he's going to leave Seoul Station since there's nothing to protect anymore, but he tells Ryu to stay and do what he can to help the hobos.

Back at the penthouse, Taeho tells Kwak that what he planned for Straw Cutter wasn't fair and if what happened got out, his reputation would be at risk. Kwak is just like stop making excuses and sees nothing wrong with taking out his own Seoul Seven members.

Yeah, but you're untrustworthy AF now.

Taeho leaves, but Mijoo shows up again, and he gives her an address for her to give to Ryu.

Elsewhere, Ryu walks around Seoul Station and thinks about what Straw Cutter said.

Mijoo goes to the grandmother's restaurant to have breakfast with Ryu and to tell him in person that she can't leave with him, but she gives him the address and tells him that for certain he will find Eunji there. However, he tears it up and tells her that he's staying behind- it would be greedy of him to go after her, especially since he couldn't take care of her.

He leaves Mijoo at the restaurant but reassures her that he'll find her when he's ready.

What the serious fuck.

After Mijoo leaves, Nara tapes the note back together.

At the office, Taeho is getting the gang ready for a meeting between their prop company and the company where Sehoon and the ex gf work. They have to sign contracts and will then invest their company's money (Kwak's money) into the Mirae City Restoration Project.

Someone also brings up how there's a new rumor that Kwak and Taeho staged Taeho saving Straw Cutter.

But then Sehoon and the ex show up. Taeho and the ex gf are both surprised.

At some point, Sehoon gets a call and his ringtone sounds awfully familiar to Taeho (it's the same song Kwak was always listening to).

So then Taeho and his ex are left to share a moment together...

The episode ends with Taeho going to see Ryu at the bus, hoping that Straw Cutter was still there so he could say goodbye.

Ryu tells him that he already left, but he did leave behind something to thank him- a key to a locker.

Taeho is still caught up in being Kwak's right hand man, though. Ryu again warns him that he really does not know the true Kwak and that he should not trust him at all.

What the heck is Taeho going to do now...

A Kwak vs. Taeho showdown is brewing, and in the next episodes, Taeho is definitely going to have to reconsider walking down that easy path with Kwak.