Sneha Jaiswal (Twitter | Instagram)
Finally, it’s time for the KO match between baddie Joo-yeong (Oh Jung-se) and ‘Good Boy’ Dong-ju (Park Bo-gum), who’s been relentless in his pursuit of justice. Each time the gold-medalist boxer turned cop takes a brutal beatdown in this action-comedy, he rises back like a demi-god out for vengeance.
Recap of ‘Good Boy’ Episode 15
Dong-ju is violently attacked by his former coach Jong-gu, who flees the scene after helping his crime boss Joo-yeong escape. Jong-hyeon rushes Dong-ju to the hospital, realizing his punch-drunk syndrome is getting serious, though they all keep it a secret from Han-na. Meanwhile, the squad continues their mission to capture Joo-yeong and track down the mole within the Insung police department leaking intel to the criminals. The team also gets a lead on Jong-gu, and Dong-ju finally defeats his former coach in a brutal showdown. The episode ends with Joo-yeong planting a bomb on a truck loaded with his candy-drugs. It dangerously blows up right when the primary cop characters are close at hand!
Episode 16 of ‘Good Boy’
Titled We Are The Champions, episode 16 focuses on Dong-ju, Han-na (Kim So-hyun), Jong-hyeon (Lee Sang-yi), Man-sik (Heo Sung-tae), and Jae-hong (Tae Won-seok) working together to figure out where Joo-yeong might be. Luckily, thanks to Dong-ju’s charm, Drug Demon (Lee Ho-jung) gives him a crucial clue that helps them understand what the villain might be planning. What follows is a tense race against time to catch the criminal mastermind who is hellbent on causing serious damage to the city of Insung, before he can make his escape.
Honestly, ‘Good Boy’ would’ve been stronger with just 10 or 12 episodes. The finale felt stretched, weighed down by an over-the-top celebration of Dong-ju’s greatness. While the other characters do get their moments of glory, they’re somewhat overshadowed by the constant glorification of Dong-ju’s character. Even Heo Sung-tae, who plays senior cop Man-sik, simply seems annoying in this episode, even though he was one of the most entertaining characters in the first few episodes, providing crucial comic relief.
In the second half of the final, Dong-ju and Jong-hyeon get cornered by armed Yakuza, who are also chasing Joo-yeong, though he manages to give them the slip. Oddly, Jong-hyeon tells Dong-ju to go after Joo-yeong while he stays behind to take on a gang by himself. Considering Dong-ju’s whole “I can fight the world” vibe, shouldn’t he have been the one to stay and brawl? Or, honestly, they both should’ve just run for it. Also, like established in the previous episodic reviews for the show, Park Bo-Gum’s Dong-ju is like a Korean Wolverine Oppa, healing at a miraculous rate each time he is close to death.
The action choreography felt repetitive and lack-luster for most parts. Han-na is the only character apart from Dong-ju who gets a standout action scene in this edition: she comes to the rescue of her male colleagues just in time, which was pretty damn cool. Kim So-hyun’s romantic chemistry with Park Bo-gum isn’t sizzling, but she makes a perfect straight-faced badass as Han-na, the ace shooter who rarely misses her shot.
‘Good Boy’ Dong-ju naturally gets his well-earned victory over the nefarious Joo-yeong in the end. But it’s Oh Jung-se who truly steals the show with his chilling ‘Bad Boy’ performance, even if the menace starts to wear thin in the final episodes, thanks to the slightly overextended storyline.
Overall, the finale of Good Boy was a bit of a mixed bag, but I’ll give the creators credit for delivering a happy ending, fitting for a series that leaned heavily into comedy. A tragic climax would’ve felt jarringly out of place. And oof, Park Bo-gum in a cop uniform, flashing that million-dollar smile, does leave you with a warm, satisfied feeling in the final moments.
Watch ‘Good Boy‘ on Prime Video.
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