It is safe to say that Strong Girl Nam Soon is not going to match up to Strong Girl Bong Soon, and it is just a cash grab that is banking on a popular name. This show simply lacks charm, and despite trying, the mystery at the heart of the story is also not that gripping. Additionally, we just cannot condone the fatphobia of this show and the way they are using Gang Nam In’s weight as comic relief. How has the discussion on fatphobia and body positivity not reached South Korea, a country that is often said to be ten years ahead of the rest of the world in terms of literally everything else? Even if we ignore the fatphobia, how did the makers think it was okay to show the women forcing themselves on the men as comedy? Did they learn anything from the predecessor show, where Bong Soon’s mother was pretty much a domestic abuser? These are very uncomfortable scenes to watch, and it is just awful that someone decided that it was funny. What was the need for the reliance on such low-brow humor, and if they really couldn’t do any better, did they have to try and be funny at all? The fact is that the investigation in the show takes up a minority of the runtime, and we know how it will end. The bulk of the show is supposed to be the sweet moments, the love story, and the comedy, and that is where this whole thing is failing. The cameos of Park Bo Young and Park Hyung Sik should not have been the only highlight of Strong Girl Nam Soon so far in its six-episode runtime. But let us swallow our irritation and look at the recap of episodes 5 and 6.
Spoiler Alert
Who is Bread Song?
Bread Song is the person that Geum Ju finds through Opulentia. He is supposed to be the clue who would lead her to the drugs by helping her figure out how the money aspect of it is working. But when she meets him, he turns out to be a transparently charming talker who wants to get Geum Ju to invest her money, as he says. Geum Ju pretends to get along with him, but she already has other plans. Most of the women in her circle are borrowing money from her, and Geum Ju makes it a point to know where they want to use that money. Geum Ju suspects that they are probably doing it for the drugs, but she finds that all of them are borrowing money from her to give to Bread, who is investing it for them. The women are happy as they find that their money is growing, but Geum Ju is suspicious. She confronts the man and says that she knows all the ways there are to make money in the country, and if she cannot identify how Bread is doing it, then it must be illegal. Bread doesn’t want to hear it, and he asks her to leave. Geum Ju takes the number of his receptionist before going—the one she thought was a dork—under the pretext of continuing a numbers game with him. She will find a way to keep tabs on Bread Song in some way or another.
What is going on with the drug investigation?
Initially, Hee Sik and Nam Soon are only shifting boxes, or rather, the latter is while Hee Sik is anxiously face-palming at her open display of strength. Since they don’t find anything in the warehouse, their undercover investigation is called off. Hee Sik has to go back to the precinct, but Nam Soon continues in his stead. She asks her friends to help her look for the drugs, but even that is a total bust. However, her supervisor has been impressed with Nam Soon’s strength, and he uploaded a video on their company page where Nam Soon is shown carrying multiple heavy boxes at once. That brings her to the attention of Si O once again.
Meanwhile, the officer who accidentally took the drug is going from bad to worse. Most victims of drug abuse have been found near bodies of water, and so far, that is the only commonality between them. Hee Sik tries to understand where the drug could be, and that is when he understands that it is the water that is activating the drug. It made them thirsty, and the more they drank, the more the drug worked, and the people became more desperate for it. The officer is told to avoid water for twenty-four hours so that things are out of his system and he can recover. But the addiction has already set in for him. He refuses to go to the hospital since it would be impossible to explain that a police inspector was in this state because of an accidental addiction. Therefore, Hee Sik takes him to his house.
Unfortunately, one of the effects of the drugs is that they temporarily give people incredible strength and a certain ability to do and be whatever they want. At that moment, all the officer wants is to break free and harm Hee Sik, the person who is looking like a villain right then. Thankfully, Nam Soon comes there just in time, and she is able to subdue the officer while protecting Hee Sik. The girl already has feelings for Hee Sik, and the two just have to spend more time together before they make things official. Even Geum Ju approves of this match, and she is helping Nam Soon in more ways than one. She was the one who told the police to investigate Doogo, and when Hee Sik insists on giving her back the ‘thank you money’ she gave him, Geum Ju asks him to use it for the investigation since the police department may not be able to provide them with all the finances they need.
Does Hwa Ja stab Nam soon?
Geum Ju and Nam Soon had a soft spot for Hwa Ja because they both felt for the girl who had to go to such extremes for the sake of having a family and some semblance of stability in life. Geum Ju did not want to persecute her at all, and she had intentionally left money, jewelry, and watches in the girl’s room so that she could take them with her while running away. Following her mother’s wishes, even Nam Soon did not wish to harm Hwa Ja, but the latter had other ideas. She hated Nam Soon for coming back because if she hadn’t, Hwa Ja could have continued living comfortably in the house. But now, she has to be on the run, and none of her previous gang members are ready to help her, as they don’t want to face Nam Soon’s incredible strength. Nam Soon comes across Hwa Ja, but she just acknowledges her and expresses that they quietly live their own lives. But Hwa Ja is not alright with that, and at the end of Strong Girl Nam Soon Episode 6, she stabs Nam Soon with a knife. At least, that is what it looks like, and we won’t be surprised if Nam Soon was able to prevent the attack and break the knife with her bare hands.
Additionally, Nam In had expressed his wish to move out of the house and stay with his father, since he felt that his mother didn’t care for him at all. It had been a long time since she had shown him any affection, and their last memorable interaction was when she fat-shamed her son in high school. Nam In was previously approached by someone and given a pill that they said would help with weight loss. He had avoided taking it so far, but towards the end of the episode, he saw a beautiful girl and probably liked her. That motivated him to take the pill because he wanted her to look at him without doubt and disgust. We are positive that the pill is a drug, and Nam In may be the next victim of this whole thing.
Final Thoughts
We have a doubt that the way Nam In is being treated so far is a way to build up the emotional factor that his family would be dealing with when they are desperately trying to help him. They should not have been so nasty to him to begin with. On the other hand, can we do away with the grandmother’s problematically aggressive love story and focus more on Nam Soon and Hee Sik? Can Nam Soon and Si O meet and figure out how to fight with each other? These things better start happening now.
