Episode 10 of tvN’s “100 Days of Lies” turned the drama’s long-simmering bombing plot into its bloodiest chapter yet, as the Gugukdan’s banquet operation collapsed in chaos, a veteran independence fighter was killed, and Yoo So-ran was left bleeding from a gunshot wound — while Kim Tae-woong was forced to pull the trigger himself.
The episode, which aired on November 8, picked up minutes before the bomb was due to explode. Five minutes before the planned detonation, Kim Tae-woong (Park Jin-young) was unexpectedly called to interpret a toast, placing him beside the cake where Lee Ga-kyeong (Kim You-jung) had hidden the explosive. Ga-kyeong watched him in agony, unable to warn him without exposing the operation.
Then the plan unraveled from an unexpected direction. News arrived from Tokyo that the Japanese prime minister had been attacked, and Sato Shinichi (Jin Seon-kyu) left the banquet hall with the senior officials. The banquet was cancelled on the spot, leaving the guests confused and the bomb still ticking.
As the operation fell apart, Yoo So-ran (Kim Hyun-joo) picked up a knife from the banquet hall and slipped out in a daze. In the elevator, Sato Shinichi was ambushed by Gugukdan member Song Jeon (Jeon Yung-beop), and the two fought a bloody hand-to-hand battle. Back in the hall, Tae-woong was surrounded by bewildered guests demanding answers, while Ga-kyeong fought through the crowd to reach him. In the decisive moment, she shoved the cake tray concealing the bomb out of the banquet hall — and the explosive went off.
In the chaos that followed, Ga-kyeong searched frantically for Yoo So-ran, but Kim Myeong-nam (Park Jeong-yeon) urged her to flee and keep her chance to reach the United States. Ga-kyeong fled, her eyes briefly meeting Tae-woong’s as he regained consciousness, before the two were separated once again.
The episode’s darkest turn came in the corridor outside. Sato Shinichi drove a knife into Song Jeon’s chest, then ordered Tae-woong to finish the job himself: “You shoot the gun.” Several shots rang out, and Song Jeon collapsed. When Yoo So-ran arrived to find Song Jeon dead and Tae-woong standing with his back turned, she lost control — and only Yoo Philip (Lee Moo-saeng) stepping in to hold her back kept her from giving herself away.
After the Satos departed, Philip and So-ran knelt beside Song Jeon’s body — and Fukuda opened fire on them. So-ran was hit, and Philip carried her away as Fukuda picked up a knife and an earring dropped at the scene, realizing the bomber was a woman.
Preview stills released ahead of the episode had already hinted at the fallout: Ga-kyeong boarding a train at Gyeongseong Station with a forehead wound and soot on her clothes, Yoo So-ran gripping a knife in a corridor, Philip shielding So-ran behind a pillar, and Sato Shinichi holding a gun over a bloodied man — each of which played out in the episode itself.
Ahead of the broadcast, the production team had promised the aftermath would reshape the story. “Episode 10 will depict the intense fallout of the bombing operation, which marks a new start rather than an ending,” the team said. “The change in Sato Shinichi, who will become even more wary and vigilant due to this incident, will heighten the tension and sense of danger.” The team also urged viewers to keep an eye on the fate of Kim Tae-woong, who had walked into the blast zone moments before the explosion.
The episode capped a tense two-part stretch for the series. Episode 9, which aired on November 7, ended on a cliffhanger with Tae-woong standing beside the bomb as the screen cut to black. It drew an average of 8.2 percent in the Seoul metropolitan area with a peak of 10.5 percent, and 7.4 percent nationwide with a peak of 9.2 percent, topping its time slot including cable and pay television, according to Nielsen Korea. Episode 8, which aired on November 1, had recorded 9.8 percent nationwide.
Set during the Japanese occupation of Korea, “100 Days of Lies” is a period spy romance starring Kim You-jung as Lee Ga-kyeong, Gyeongseong’s top pickpocket who becomes an undercover spy for the independence movement and infiltrates the Japanese Government-General. There she becomes entangled with interpreter Kim Tae-woong, played by GOT7’s Park Jin-young, also known as Sato Hideo, the adopted son of the Inspector-General of Korea. The tvN 20th anniversary special project is written by Ryu Bo-ri and directed by Yoo In-shik.
With Song Jeon dead, Yoo So-ran wounded, and Ga-kyeong fleeing toward a train out of Gyeongseong, the drama returns next weekend with one question hanging over it: whether Ga-kyeong can escape to the United States, and what Tae-woong will do now that he has been made to kill for the empire he secretly serves.
