Taxi Driver 2 (2023)

August 6, 2023

Our Take: The ragtag team at Rainbow Taxi returns to seek vengeance for those in need.

After completing their last mission, the Rainbow Taxi team disbanded and went their separate ways. While Kim Do Gi (Lee Je Hoon) stayed at the company with CEO Jang Sung Chul (Kim Eui Sung), others embarked on new careers. Ahn Go Eun (Pyo Ye Jin) became a police officer, while Choi Kyung Goo (Jang Hyuk Jin) and Park Jin Eon (Bae Yoo Ram) became researchers.

2 years later, Kim Do Gi travels to Vietnam to help a father find his missing son, who had been lured there under the false premise of getting employment. While the rest of the crew attempts to live ordinary lives, learning about this case reignites their desire to fight against injustice. When Do Gi encounters trouble in Vietnam, Go Eun, Kyung Goo, and Jin Eon return to Rainbow Taxi to do what they excel at. 

At the same time, the group hires a new member, On Ha Joon (Shin Jae Ha), a seemingly kind-hearted young man. Together, the vigilante heroes fight on behalf of their new clients who have been wronged by society. However, their work draws the attention of a secret organization behind many of the cases they take on. As they attempt to unveil the organization's identity and motives, the Rainbow Taxi team faces new challenges and setbacks.

The camaraderie and dynamics among the taxi driver team members are stronger than ever. They have a great rapport and an unbreakable loyalty toward each other. Drawing from their shared experiences, they put their lives on the line to achieve their goals and deliver justice for their clients. 

However, this time around, there was considerably less character development among the individual team members. In season 1, we formed deep emotional connections with each person and learned the backstories of why they joined the Rainbow Taxi team. Each person had been wronged in the past and carried unresolved trauma and grief — leading them to seek vengeance and help others tell their stories. Perhaps because their trauma was already mostly resolved, the characters lacked the same level of storytelling and depth the first season delivered.

Still, the addition of Oh Ha Joon as a multifaceted villain was well-developed. Seeing his backstory makes you question the role of destiny and fate in our lives. If Ha Joon had met the crew first, he might have lived a completely different life. He could have even become a beloved team member, fighting alongside them to defend the weak. But, because he met the Bishop (Park Ho San) as a child, the Bishop roped him into his endless web of intricate criminal schemes veiled behind his persona as a holy man of God. 

The first journey of Taxi Driver sent a loud and bold message to society. From labor and mental health abuse to pornography, workplace harassment, organ trafficking, and murder, we saw all types of despicable criminals get away with unfathomable and atrocious crimes. However, instead of preserving the victims' rights, the justice system shielded the perpetrators and let down the victims. That's where the Rainbow Taxi team stepped in — to right the wrongs of society. The punishments they doled out were, in many ways, just as elaborate, daring, and brutal as the crimes committed. Yet, as shocking and horrific as the punishments were, they also gave some semblance of peace to the victims, allowing them to move on from their past.

The cases and corresponding punishments in this second leg were much less violent and dark but almost evolved the message instead. While the punishments lacked the rawness and brutality that heavily defined the first season, this journey emphasized forgiveness and reformation. Revenge is sweet, but locking up criminals and isolating them from society forever is not the answer. 

With each case, we question how people find purpose. For some people, it may be devoting themselves to politics or religion. For others, it could be gaining social acceptance or pursuing money and power. But, as social creatures, we often find meaning in our lives through interactions with each other and our communities. The experiences we gain and lessons we learn from our family, friends, and peers shape who we are and influence the type of people we become. 

What makes this season especially refreshing is its clever nod to real-life cases. A prime example is the Burning Sun Sex Scandal, one of the most complex and large-scale scandals to hit South Korea. Similar to the show's Black Sun, innocent women were brokered to wealthy VIPs, investors, politicians, and chaebols at a club called Burning Sun. The club was also at the center of numerous illegal activities, including drug trafficking, prostitution, hidden camera filming, sexual assault, tax evasion, embezzlement, and corruption. 

Other notorious cases include Nth Room, a cybersex trafficking system where 3 perpetrators distributed illegal content by blackmailing women into sending sexual content via Telegram; the Christian Gospel Mission (JMS) under religious cult leader Jeong Myeong Seok, who was arrested for multiple counts of sexual assault; and a broker named Kim who coerced couples into filing false adoption reports to apply for special housing. 

Final Thoughts

The cases featured were all very interesting and touched on a lot of sensitive topics, including workplace harassment, real estate fraud, religious cults, blackmailing, cybersex trafficking, online gambling, and more. While tying them all under the same organization was a bit of a stretch, this added a nice touch to the plot by having each piece of the organization fall down one by one, giving hope to a better future.