[HanCinema's Drama Review] "Narco-Saints" Episode 2

According to FlixPatrol figures, "Narco-Saints" was the eighth most popular Netflix drama on September 10th, only just barely edging out "Extraordinary Attorney Woo" in ninth place. It's easy to see why. "Narco-Saints" may have a cinematic high concept, but the typical worldwide South Korean drama fan doesn't like this stuff because it involves violence and gang wars. But I also find that, even on the aesthetic level of cinematic style appreciation, the second episode wasn't as impressive as the first.

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To recap- In-goo thought that Pastor Jeon (played by Hwang Jung-min) was a guardian angel, swooping in with Christian charity to rescue In-goo's business. But actually, Pastor Jeon only helped with the skate scheme to try and find a delivery method for cocaine to South Korea, leaving In-goo the patsy, and in jail, for his trouble. So In-goo is approached by Agent Choi (played by Park Hae-soo), to try and take Priest Jeon down...by provoking an invasion from DEA agents into Suriname.

FlixPatrol does not have popularity rankings for Suriname, as the local Netflix branch there doesn't offer top ten lists to subscribers. This is just as well, since the second episode escalates Suriname from being a country that's somewhat corrupt to one which Pastor Jeon appears to basically run. Pastor Jeon's such a good con artist he has the country's military dictator as a major ally.

The implication that people from Suriname are really stupid about foreigners isn't a good look. And the explicit goal of In-goo and Agent Choi to stop Pastor Jeon by having American officials violate the country's sovereignity is just plain laughable. It's possible that "Narco-Saints" is setting up a twist down the line, but it's far more intuitive to interpret the plot as being entirely sincere, with the characters assuming the American government has fundamentally noble motives in regards to the drug war.

The transition here of In-goo going from smarter-than-the-average-businessman to a drug dealer talent in his own right reenforces this straightforward reading. I had to remind myself that In-goo's only real combat experience was that he used to do judo as a kid, because his combat prowess here is improbable bordering on the edge of self-insertion fantasy. Most incredibly of all, by the end of the second episode, we're still technically in the introduction because In-goo spends most of the episode being a badass in prison and doesn't get into Pastor Jeon's compound until the very end.

Review by William Schwartz

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"Narco-Saints" is directed by Yoon Jong-bin, written by Kwon Seong-hwi, Yoon Jong-bin, and features Ha Jung-woo, Hwang Jung-min, Park Hae-soo, Jo Woo-jin, Yoo Yeon-seok, Choo Ja-hyun. Broadcasting information in Korea: 2022/09/09~Upcoming, Fri on Netflix.