We just finished watching the first two episodes of Made in Korea Season 2, and boy, what a ride! There is a lot happening right from the start, from power struggles and risky missions to family tensions and moments that caught us completely off guard.

The season picks up nine years after the events of Season 1, with Baek Kitae (Hyun Bin) now at the height of his power as the deputy director of the KCIA. With that position comes even more power, and we quickly see how those in charge are willing to hunt for someone to blame and set aside their morals when it comes to protecting their interests.

Amid all of this, we also get to see the three siblings together, giving us a chance to see the family dynamic at the centre of Kitae’s story. Kitae clearly cares about his family and makes sure Kihyun (Woo Dohwan) is well taken care of, even as Kihyun shows some resistance to helping him. That tension between the brothers becomes more apparent as the episodes go on.

A look back at a conversation between them gives us a better sense of where some of that tension comes from. Kihyun asks what Kitae would do if he were to go after him, and Kitae makes it clear that he would no longer consider him family if he did. He tells Kihyun to think carefully about their family before choosing his path, just as he had when making his own choices.

It is clear that Kihyun is struggling with this. Kitae reminds him that if he goes down, their whole family goes down with him, leaving Kihyun with a difficult choice of his own. As Hyun Bin mentioned in the press conference, Kihyun becomes a big stumbling block in Kitae’s path forward. The director’s description of their relationship as a “love-and-hate relationship” also feels fitting, as we can already see the frustration between the brothers building.

Elsewhere, Oh Yejin (Seo Eunsoo) is now a prosecutor and takes on risky undercover missions as part of the Joint Investigation Headquarters. She brings plenty of energy to these scenes, with a willingness to put herself in dangerous situations that makes her fun to watch.

We also have Ikeda Yuji (Won Jian) power struggle unfolding alongside everything else. She is preparing to go against her father, a top yakuza leader, after realizing that he would not choose her as his successor. Since the next leader will be decided by a vote, she has to secure the alliances she needs. The vote count had us absolutely holding our breath, as every vote felt like it could change the outcome.

One thing that stood out to us about both Oh Yejin and Ikeda Yuji is that they are women navigating spaces surrounded by men. Although they are on different sides of the law, we still find it satisfying to see them face sexism and overcome those challenges to ultimately succeed in leadership positions, with men following their orders. Both fields are traditionally male-dominated, so seeing these women rise to positions of power feels especially significant.

As we watched the first two episodes, there is really a lot going on with different situations, so we do recommend you to be ready to pay full attention when you start on the series. Anything can happen at any moment, someone can be having a perfectly calm conversation one moment, only for things to suddenly take a very dark turn because they said the wrong thing. Those moments gave us quite a few jumpscares.

Interestingly, Jang Geonyoung, played by Jung Woosung, is only mentioned toward the second half of Episode 2 and has yet to appear, so we are especially curious to see what happens when he finally enters the picture.

On a completely random note, we also found ourselves wondering how Kitae manages to make phone calls in the car. That phone receiver is connected by a wire, and somehow that became one of the little things we kept thinking about while watching.

After just two episodes, there is already plenty to keep us interested, but we are particularly curious about where things will go for the three siblings, especially Kitae and Kihyun. Their relationship has already become one of the parts of the story we are most looking forward to following!

Season 2 of Made in Korea is now streaming exclusively on Disney+!