Taxi Driver Season 2 (2023)

When the odds is always in your favor

A well-written revenge and vengeance story that unfortunately does not succeed in making the scenarios believable. The rainbow squad is totally invincible and no matter what kind of life-and-death situation they run through, they always make it out alive. I hope one of them should die to make it more impactful.

I admire the concept of putting justice to each featured victim but the scenes are too good to be true. I am not even sure if I would watch the confirmed season 3 as the story keeps being the same. I have no other cons from the show except for making the scenes too overly executed.

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Better than first season ?

I love this format so much, even though it could seem childish to someone and thoughtless to others I enjoyed every second. There weren't any parts when I felt like doing something else or unnecessary fillers. All stories were emotional as always. The recreation of a real-life scandal that happened a few years back was astonishing. I loved that all the stories connected together and the feeling of progression throughout. The main characters are genuinely on the next level, the power and charisma they hold are outstanding. The only thing I didn't like about the first season was the bland prosecutor that didn't really have her place in this drama and was unnecessary for the plot. I totally recommend this drama to everyone who is tired of romance dramas. This drama is an example of what a perfectly fitting cast can do even without cliche scenes that are in every other series. No one could portray the role of Kim Do Gi better than Lee Je Hoon. The amount of satisfaction this drama gives you is mindblowing. One thing I would recommend is not binge-watching and giving it some thoughts between episodes.

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DISAPPOINTING

I started watching with high expectations because of the ratings from MDL. Here are some of my beef:

1. Over the top acting from ML and the two sidekicks. Almost caricaturish in some scenes. I know they were doing it for laughs but they could have been done without going overboard.

2. So many unbelievable fight scenes. One versus two or more. In many cases, more than four! In Season 1 there were TWELVE such fight scenes. In Season 2, there were SIXTEEN!!! Guinness Book of World Records candidate?

In one scene in Season 1, ML was tied to a post, beaten with a BASEBALL BAT several times – including the head. After releasing himself, he beat up ALL those thugs around him. On the way out, he again took down another group. And outside, another group!

Towards the end of Season 2, there’s another series of one-versus-an-entire-gang fight scenes – one after the other. Incredible, look-to-the-sky scenes!

3. So many loopholes in the plots.

4. Too gimmicky. Instead of helping victims DIRECTLY, they (like MARIA at the beginning) had to play a video game to get into the “program.” Imagine leaving the poor woman – who still needed medical attention at the time – in an empty street! So many gimmicks like this one.

5. So many continuity errors. In Season 1, the big guy was INSIDE the building while ML took down the thugs. When camera shifted OUTSIDE, the big guy is there again! This is just one of many such continuity problems.

6. Product placements aplenty.

The best performance of this series is from actor SHIN JAE HA who played HA-JOON. Compared to ML LEE JE HOON, JAE HA’s acting is consistently good. No ham acting, no caricature character. I’ve seen him in PRISON PLAYBOOK. He’s also good there.

As for LEE JE HOON, I first saw him in MOVE TO HEAVEN. He’s good there, so I was expecting him to be equally good here. Unfortunately, I was underwhelmed with his acting – in both Seasons.

MY RATING: 7.5 / 10

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great!!<3

another season, another slay.
i've seen others express their dissappointment for this season,, but i have to say i loved this!
literally lost sleep for this drama but i dont regret it! i liked seeing jehoon take on all kinds of fun roles (cough cough ep 4), i have to say tho compared to season one, i felt like there was more focus on using brains instead of immediately going with violence like adapting to the situation.. but maybe its just me
regardless i loved trying to figure out their next move while watching and always getting surprised by the plottwists.^^

watching this filled the empty void after finishing the first season but now its empty again... :'(
i will patiently be waiting for season 3 (っ˘̩╭╮˘̩)っ

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Spectacular Series and Acting

Yep, you have to watch S1 to appreciate S2 more. Lee Je Hoon is a national treasure. He's such a versatile actor and each role he's done, has been nothing short of excellent. He's brilliant in TD2. He's a sexy MF, flirty, and adorable at the same time.

The Rainbow Taxi Co. Crew are equally spectacular. The chemistry betwern Jang Hyuk Jin (Mr curls) and Bae Yoo Ram is just so cute and funny. The sister Pyo Ye Jin is quick and clever and loving. I'm glad they didn't go the romance route. And then Mr Kim Eui Sung also played some roles in this season. So great.

Storylines were so good and well executed. The villain Shin Jae Ha was brilliant. For one so young, he has embraced his inner villain . He's so convincing. Good job.

I for one can't wait for S3 and that teaser was enticing.

A definite rewatch, if not just to appreciate LJH in black jeans?. 15 out of 10

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The season 2 syndrome

Is it just me or there are many dramas that are exceptional ended up setting the bar a bit too high in season 1 and not really delivering the same effect in season 2? I call it the season 2 syndrome. I love Taxi Driver season 1 and I think they should have stopped there but I'm not really complaining either with the drama continuing.

I was still hooked throughout the drama and really anticipated for new episodes every week, but I wasn't obsessed with it. At least not as much as the season 1.

The stories or cases that are featured throughout the season 2 were actually all quite interesting. I like how they are filled with plot twists and action but the fact that they are tied together under the same organization, seemed a bit forceful for me. I appreciate how they built the entire thing up to be this organization controlling multiple illegal counterparts and eventually breaking apart as the taxi team expose them one by one. Interesting, good plot, but doesn't really quite make sense to me. For one, how is it that every single case that the taxi team had gotten consecutively (as far as I can see) are all connected? Isn't that too much of a coincidence? Plus, apart from a few cases, there weren't a lot of communication between those wrongdoers with the main organization.

However, I did enjoy the whole drama and the cases (individually) are all very interesting. I like the one that actually took a jab at the Burning Sun scandal. When I see the drugged girl case and the celebrity, immediately I sensed a connection. I think that was pretty smart.

Overall, if you like stories with the anti-hero theme, this is quite a good one. Not impressive but pretty good. If you had watch season 1 but don't feel like watching season 2, I actually don't think you're missing out a lot either. I won't say there is a continuation from season 1 strong enough to warrant a "must watch".

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How many of these cases are true stories?

Trigger Warnings
the ending of the last episode starts " one year later" with a new segment where a woman in the military ended her life from the hands of her male military workers who wronged her in everyway possible. as Kim Do Gi is seen entering a military base.

I remember a case from Rotten Mango Podcast covering Lee Yeram where her coworkers on the military base abusing her and r wording after work. she reported it but officials ignored her claims since the coworkers who violated her were above her and after all that she sadly ended her life. I'm not sure if this case will be in season 3 but i would love to see more cases in this show be true stories.

the first case I remember that was true was the u-data(wedisk) episode in season one, Rotten Mango podcast also covered that case! the story matched up pretty well seeing most of it but after hearing the podcast that covered it a lot was changed as well.

the third one I remember was the BlackSun cast (Burning Sun) we know it was a club in the heart of Seoul that had Trafficking, Drugs, and many illegal things that also involved many Korean pop idols(only showed one in the show), the list goes on. I'm sure many people have heard before if you're big into K-pop. it was interesting seeing the case as a whole was a real story but implemented their own story line as well.

as a whole, I wonder how many are real cases and what aspects of it were real and what just was there to fit the storyline. I'm sure many don't know about these real cases in the show and it makes it a lot more interesting seeing the cases they do that are real and what's going to be in the third season.

what are your thoughts on these real cases that is implemented in the show and how do you feel about them?

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The 5283 beginning service

It was great and that's all that matters lmao

It was nice to be reunited with these characters again, despite feeling quite different from the first season to the point that they almost felt like different dramas.

I do think that the beginning two episodes weren't amazing at setting up the season because I did find myself a bit confused with what happened. But episode 4 was HILARIOUS.

I don't think the running storyline throughout wasn't really compelling enough for me at all times, and there were certain things that I was expecting that didn't end up happening which is ok. To be fair, it did feel slightly less dark and I doo feel like I've seen certain storylines in other kdramas specifically, e.g. the cult week episodes.

Still a solid season with characters I still love <3

ps don't take this review too seriously, I just want to make my mark to able to remember that I watched this as it aired.

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Second better than one.

2 years later, the taxi company Rainbow Taxi is up again since the first season. After their absence, they have started the business. Vehicles and other equipment roll on as usual.

The group dynamic in the taxi company is fantastic. They cover for each other evenly and constantly. New challenges and problems. They sacrifice body, life and limb to achieve their goal and deliver a good result in every case. Kim Do Gi can be perceived as a bit cold and cool, he is not the hero here but the anti-hero. Who wants revenge because of his trauma. Kim Hui Sung deserves praise for the veteran actor he is. Here has a decision-making role even though their organization is flat. The mechanics are even more comical. The pragmatic and incredibly caring programmer also contributes a lot. The entire team at Rainbow taxi has a very good community. This season there has been a newcomer to the group. Whether the new employee fits into the group is up to you to decide, but I have my scepticism. He seems to stand out more from the group. His intentions may not be the same. The prosecutor who was hunting the gang is not in this season.

Cinematically, the series has evolved for the better. Even higher quality of everything like that. Referred to season 1 a lot, so you should watch it first. Really like the music, especially the more symphonic songs that didn't make the official soundtrack list. Even the variations on the soundtracks are as good as the originals.

The cases are crazier and funnier but still just as serious. Other societal hazards and issues to address. For all difficult to expose and where the law is not enough. To compensate or solve the problem. So they have come to their rescue. You can see problems in all walks of life. Would say that the series is more in the drama direction than the typical thriller direction in terms of genre. Plot-wise, I think it has developed for the better.

Also forgot to mention that at the end of each case there are references to voluntary aid organizations. This season is visited by actors that you absolutely do not want to miss. Lots of really familiar faces. I would probably say that season 2 is much better than the first even though I watched the first season right before. Very good action thriller with some comedy involved. Extremely interesting!

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Not Meant to be as Good as Season One, but rather as impactful

This second journey of Taxi Driver and our beloved team of Avengers reprised by the ever so enigmatic Lee Je Hoon, Kim Eui Sung, Pyo Ye Jin, the dynamic duo of Jang Hyuk Jin and Bae Yoo Ram, and the addition of Shin Jae Ha as a villain motivated solely by his distaste for humans, in general, is one that I wanted so badly, as I was a massive fan of the first leg of the journey, which touched me deeply. I knew I would like the second season, and I did, but on a different scale than the first. The second is brilliant, and as I continued to watch it week after week, I realized it was as good as the first, and in some cases even better, even if it was not as awestriking as the first. But as the journey neared its end, I understood it wasn't meant to be as good but rather as impactful, and it is indeed.

Even as I say this, the first season was dynamic. The differences to me were in the punishments. The first journey was meant to serve as a loud message to society and the law enforcement and justice community. And that was evident in how daring, loud, elaborate, and grandiose the punishments were, befitting of the cruel and, in some cases, unfathomable crimes. The team dynamic was terrific in the first journey. In this second one, I felt, for most of the first half, and much into the second, the team lacked the chemistry that made them so great. Their interactions could have been more fluid and less forced. But still, I loved this journey for the message it was trying to share.

Yes, the punishments this season seemed subdued and sometimes felt incomplete or a walk back, not befitting the level of crimes. At first, I thought maybe it was because the first journey was heavily criticized for how cruel the punishments were, which I disagreed with entirely, as all the penalties befitted the horridly overwhelming crimes it brought to light. It was daring and brilliant, not only in how it showcased but also addressed some overwhelmingly mammoth issues. From labor and mental health abuse to significant workplace harassment, pornography, organ trafficking, and thrill killings, the statute of limitations, and the biggest and most challenging to reconcile the abuse of an almost lawless justice system, seemingly instituted to preserve the rights of the powerless, yet somehow ended up shielding the lawless and the criminals.

Still, I think this leg of the journey was clever in how it incorporated real-life crimes and stories straight from the headlines, like the Burning Sun Sex Scandal, which brokered innocent women to wealthy VIPs, politicians, and chaebols, as well as the crimes of child trafficking, modern slavery, elderly scamming, criminal medical malpractice of the poor, and religious cults as recently portrayed by Netflix in the Korean religious leaders' sex cult expose: In the Name of God: A Holy Betrayal, which uses religion to justify the application of violence for personal gain, power, and control of those who innocently follow and believe in them. The Crimes were indeed atrociously unacceptable. It highlights how some people have become so devoid of humanity, so emotionally detached, that they are okay with brutally taking advantage of vulnerable children, women, and older people.

The last two episodes of the second journey are the best. What this second season does well, as it came to its end even more than the first season, is how beautifully it brings what we, as viewers, thought were crimes each committed by one villain or groups of villains was admirably directed by one masterful villain, Bishop (Park Ho San), disguised as a holy man of the cloth, easily and craftily manipulating the many villains we so vehemently disliked along the way. Even more brilliant was that as much as this master villain and his followers believed himself/themselves to be smarter than our Taxi Avengers, they didn't even come close. As they did the first time, our Avengers proved always to be not one or ten steps but a million steps ahead. I loved that about this team.

Again, Taxi Driver succeeds in its second leg to make us question our humanity. Well, at least it did to me. It made me question: where do we as individuals find meaning in life; is it in communing with nature, or could it be engaging in philosophical or religious contemplation, or is it in attaining societal acceptance, or the pursuit of riches and power, or is it something entirely different; ultimately, what it comes down to for me is we as humans gain much of what shapes us from our social environments. Daily we are impacted by experiences and lessons we learn from our family life or lack thereof, our peers in school or as adults in other group settings, our community leaders, and so forth. These influences drive who and what we become.

I think Taxi Driver's message this time is similar to last time. This leg of the journey emphasized imparting solutions to achieve wide-ranging reforms across the board, not just judicial reforms but, more importantly, human forgiveness. Revenge may be sweet, but it is not an answer, nor is locking up criminals and throwing away the key. Human beings must work on becoming socially inclusive rather than practicing social exclusion based on societal status or class. Because ultimately, we as human beings are meant to find the purpose of life in each other. All the actors were great in their respective roles, and the dynamic between Lee Je Hoon and Shin Jae Ha, the righteous vs. wicked, is well done. Shin Jae Sha deserves praise for how well he has evolved as an actor, especially as a villain, from his role as the creepy CEO of Babel Research Center in Welcome 2 Life, followed by Crash Course in Romance, and now this. Kudos to him and the whole production team.

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