Stealer: The Treasure Keeper: Episodes 3-4

by mistyisles

So many rich bad guys to punish, so little time! While our vigilante thief faces down new foes and tracks down new (to him) treasures, he’s also being tracked down himself. But for what purpose, and to what end?

 
EPISODES 3-4

With his gun to Dae-myung’s (well, Skunk’s) head, Tae-in first confirms that Skunk didn’t kill Chairman Yang, and then demands to know his identity and intentions. Dae-myung dodges both questions and gun alike, informing Tae-in through a voice modulator that he’ll receive another “gift” tomorrow and recommending he notify the press immediately upon receipt. The gift, of course, is the manuscript Dae-myung stole from Song-chul’s secret room. As the people rejoice at the finding of such a precious piece of history, Song-chul pays the ultimate price for having lost it.

Meanwhile, Choon-ja celebrates by presenting Dae-myung with the newest iteration of his Skunk suit. Turns out, she’s led a wildly eventful life that has ultimately landed her in possession of great wealth. It’s no fun buying cultural artifacts back from the evil, undeserving collectors, though — especially not when “vigilante hacker and financier” is an option.

Confused by the surfacing of the manuscript she knows Song-chul had, Min-woo drags Dae-myung along to investigate Song-chul’s house. Dae-myung pretends to be the biggest scaredy-cat there ever was to keep her from discovering the cameras he hasn’t yet had time to retrieve.

Min-woo happens to be the first person to tell Dae-myung what name they’ve given his alter ego. He’s utterly mortified that they’ve chosen a moniker with such an unsavory connotation versus something more elegant. Like, say, a panther. (Choon-ja, inspired, promptly adds knockout gas to his suit, to be expelled from the rear end in emergencies.)

Having wrapped up the manuscript job, our heroes target the next cultural treasure in need of recovery. This one’s an ancient celadon vase, and to everyone’s consternation, its legal owner is auctioning it off. If the previous collectors were evil, this one — CHAIRMAN KIM YOUNG-SOO (Lee Deok-hwa) — is basically the devil incarnate. Remember the terrifying, pen-wielding killer, Hwin-dal? Chairman Kim took him in off the streets as a desperate teenager and raised him into the killing machine he is today, dangling his sick sister’s life in front of him to keep him obedient.

Most people don’t know that part, of course, but our Cultural Heritage unit does know that the vase belongs in a museum, not an auction. After Min-woo muses that it’d be nice if Skunk could steal it for them, Tae-in decides to let her in on his big secret: he has no intention of actually arresting Skunk. Instead, he wants to cast him. He’s always dreamed of putting together a team to do exactly what Skunk does.

What’s more, Tae-in intentionally poached Min-woo from her previous team because he wanted her for his dream team, too. Their other colleague, SHIN CHANG-HOON (Kim Jae-won), is already on board. Tae-in calls the team “Karma,” hoping to bring retribution on those who hoard the nation’s treasures for their own gain.

As a representative of the Cultural Heritage Administration, Dae-myung is tasked with attending the auction and attempting to buy the vase with what little funds the organization managed to scrape together. He spends most of the time playing his bumbling idiot act to the hilt, letting slip the exact amount of money he’s working with so his bidding rival can save back just enough to outbid him.

…which in turn allows Choon-ja to swoop in with the winning bid. Then, once the vase is secured, Dae-myung dons his new and improved Skunk suit and steals Choon-ja’s money back in a very long, dramatic fight sequence involving an electrified whip, guns (good thing he’s bulletproof now!), and of course the new knockout gas. That accomplished, Choon-ja donates the vase anonymously to the Cultural Heritage Administration.

This entire incident makes Tae-in and Min-woo more determined than ever to contact Skunk, but they have a more urgent matter to attend to first: someone is hunting down seven Joseon coins and murdering the coins’ owners. According to the diaries of the legendary Admiral Lee Soon-shin, the coins were the only remnants of a vast cultural treasure stolen by Japanese raiders and never seen again. So far, five coin collectors — including Chairman Yang — have been murdered and their coins stolen, which means those orphaned kids Min-woo bonded with are next on the list.

Thankfully, someone else gets to them first. An infamous artifact thief with the dual personas “Chameleon” and “DR. GO” (Choi Jung-woo) poses as a priest and takes the coin, dropping the kids off at a nearby convent for safekeeping.

That crisis averted, Tae-in orders Min-woo to arrest Dae-myung, certain that Dae-myung is in league with Skunk. Min-woo stakes out his apartment all night with no luck (he’s off punishing a group of collectors who have decked themselves out like kings to cackle over their ill-gotten goods), and ventures inside the next day. By this time, Dae-myung is back home (and disrobed), and after an awkward back-and-forth, she drags him away — not to the police station, but to a deserted classroom somewhere.

With a grin, Tae-in explains to Dae-myung that they’ve all broken the law now, so they’re all in the same boat, and that includes Skunk. So if Dae-myung will ask Skunk to meet with them, they can all carry out another illegal job together. It’s weird logic, but they won’t tell Dae-myung any details without Skunk present, so he levels with them: he’s Skunk. Except, none of them believes him, so in the end he sets a time for the meeting and invents a business trip so “Dae-myung” doesn’t have to be present.

Meanwhile, the evil Chairman Kim enjoys a steaming bath, showing off his horrific abdominal scars while salivating over the thought of a legendary treasure that’s described in the long-lost Lee Soon-shin diary he’s got stashed away. This treasure may or may not involve a prophecy and a magic glowing stone, and let me tell you: I am here for it.

Am I particularly emotionally invested in any of our characters? Not necessarily. Do I completely follow the logic of why it’s so important to steal these artifacts from the collectors and store most of them in a secret room at the police station instead? Nope. And does any of that diminish my enjoyment of Stealer? Not in the slightest! It’s exactly the sort of not-so-guilty-pleasure show I didn’t realize I was craving, and I’m excited to see what weird twists are waiting up ahead — be they down into yet another elaborate secret lair or off on a fantastical treasure hunt.

 
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