Welcome to the first post of the Stealer: The Treasure Keeper Fan Wall Community Watch, covering episodes 1-3. Anyone who has seen this drama, or who is interested in following along, is more than welcome to join in the commentary below!!!

So, to kick us off, let me just say that this drama so far has everything! Action! Frequently involving a dramatic moon!


Humor during the action!!


It has chemistry…hot, hot, chemistry…no seriously. There’s chemistry.

And, one of my personal favorites, really well-pronounced English ‘r’s delivered by actors from multiple beloved 2023 dramas!! In this case, Kim Jae-won 😍

A few more themes to start us off with below, in the comments! But feel free to post whatever you like!

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    Theme One: What It’s Like to Be Old in a Young Person’s World

    Exhibit A: An older man clinging to his power and youth. I loved this bitterness…and also the way he pawed at the car window at the boys playing basketball, wanting–or maybe even pretending–to join in their game. Eh, @hacja ?


    Exhibit B: I’ll be 49 forever too!! YOU SING IT, SISTER.


    Exhibit C: What sons are for??

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      I agree with you on this theme – it actually will get developed a bit more, but, you know, not really – because this drama doesn’t take much seriously 😂 You mentioned this being like Indiana Jones, and the villain is 100% an Indiana Jones villain – just luxuriously evil – and it is SO fun. And Skunk is a dork and I love that.

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        Skunk’s a lovable dork. And it’s clear he has his own daddy issues–trying to finish/achieve his father’s dream by making it his own, or…rather than having one of his own, I’d say.

        I was also actually just thinking about the fact that Chief Jang (♥) says at one point that he was going to try to make a Skunk, but then realized he needed to recruit the actual Skunk–and that’s I guess why Chang-hoon is always in the gym and thinking about how much he can bench, and stuff. He’s our “wannabe Skunk,” I guess. It’s sad, in its own way, and could be folded into this “what sons are for” theme, only here with another father figure.

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        The best part is that he’s actually that clumsy doofus. They all keep teasing him that its the suit which does the “real” work.

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          I KNOW!!! I love that his real persona is the dork, not the suave action hero… it’s the opposite of Healer, and maybe, mayyyybe a spoof of Healer??

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            I thought so too… from the title to the entrance to just about everything. It’s like an anti-Healer but in a fun way. A lovingly reverse tribute than a demeaning spoof IMO.

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            I’ve been doing a desultory rewatch of Alchemy of Souls, because that’s my comfort food when everything around me is stressful, and Skunk’s cheery, chipper, maximally dorky efforts to chat up the CEOs at the auction reminded me of Jang Uk. There are a couple of scenes late in AoS part 1 where Uk says that it’s better to be embarrassed than to have regrets because you didn’t do something for fear you’d be publicly embarrassed. After all, it’s just embarrassment and one can decide to endure that. Skunk has the same mindset – I don’t have the impression he’s indifferent to how silly he looks or how much he’s being laughed at or ridiculed, he’s just decided to bear it.

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            That is an awesome comparison @Elinor. Of course Dae-Myung is a very smart guy and hardly clueless. In fact he’s the opposite of silly, just that he understands it’s better / safer to “appear” dumb than smart. Kind of like hiding in plain sight.

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            Can we help alleviate your stress further, @elinor?? Let us know what will help!!

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        Can anyone tell me who does the ep. 3 cameo as the disrespectful “President Jo Chang-gyu, the grandson of the Geoseong Group” (gif #1 for this theme)? He’s not in any of the cast lists by that character name. He looks so familiar, but I’m still horrible at recognizing actors.

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          I don’t think I know him, but I do remember during his scene in the restaurant thinking, “Oh, they wish they could have gotten Junho for this.” He gave me serious Junho-wannabe vibes!!!

          I’ll keep mulling on his true identity though…

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            I think it might be because he (whoever he is) looks a lot like Ji Soo, but I think JS was both in disgrace and in the military while this was being filmed.

            Our guy:

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    Theme Two: Jo Han-chul (Yes, he can be a theme)

    Here he is being awesome, saying things I want to hear.


    Here he is being awesome, saying things I want to hear, again. See? It’s thematic.


    My only consolation is that our FL knows what’s what too. She’s OK in my book. Wait, am I gonna go all K2 on this drama?? 😉

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      “JO HAN-CHUL BEING AWESOME” is 100% a theme, as he should be!!!! And he’s such a good boss!!! One of the things I loved most about this drama was what a wonderful and supportive boss he was, and how he made their workplace one of true camaraderie and teamwork. No toxic work environments here!! And shhh… I kind of shipped the FL more with Kim Jae-won than with Skunk…

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        Yes, not to do too much spoiling, but I gather that romance isn’t the focus of this drama at any point–which I’m actually quite glad to know in advance. Sort of wished I’d known that for Mad Dog for sure!!

        I’ll be shipping Jo Han-chul with moi and I’ll hope that the cutie whippersnapper Kim Jae-won can go find someone who can bench him. Seems like the sort of thing he might like 🤣

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        Oh! Hopeful! Let me drop this in here…when I saw this ring, I thought of you, our Beanie Tigermoth!!

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        I confess to being little iffy / jittery during that team dinner but it turned out to be such a hoot!!

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        noooooo (re the ship) (i would get you off this scene alone but thent he rest of the drama happened hahaha)

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    Final Theme from Me: What’s wrong with ME???

    Why didn’t I trust these kids??? What is wrong with my k-drama sense? They just seem so…suspicious!!


    This is me, too, heading back to whatever dark corner I came from. Sheesh. Not trusting cute kids. What’s gotten into me. 🙄

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      😳 I confess to being more than a little suspicious of the kids – like cute my a$$, they’ll screw you over FL, get a grip.

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      Oh, I was like 87% sure the kids were part of some nefarious plot against our heroes. What was it about them that gave me such weird vibes?

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      I think what I love most so far is Skunk/Dae-myeong’s relationship with Chun-ja. Her commentary keeps his action scenes firmly grounded in comedy territory, and she helps him out and pokes fun at him by turns. I adore that all these gadgets on his suit are utterly unrealistic, and I loved watching his sad early attempts at stealing treasures with her in his ear telling him to bail. They are great when he’s suited up pulling heists, but also super great when he’s in the other kind of suit (which he’s rocking btw) and they are bantering comfortably together.

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        I also love how she keeps saying, “Let’s KILL them,” and Skunk keeps having to be all, “No killing!!” And she’s all, “Oh, OK, fiiine.” 😂

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          Hahaha yes! He cut her off when she was reminiscing about her past, but she mentioned the KGB, so who knows what she’s gotten up to before she took on this gig! I’d love to watch that spinoff.

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    I LOVE that the header picture from the last picture has now become a gif. 🥰 This scene is totally representative of the drama.

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    I see you’re saving the gif of Skunk’s “❤ entrance”

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    The only thing I love more than that header gif scene is Joo-won’s entrance scene as Shunk! I was as confused as the gangsters. 🤣

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      Drawing the giant heart – that was the moment I lost mine to this ridiculous show. I love that so much of his tech stuff remains unexplained because there is no rational explanation. Gravity, phooey!

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        It was totally – we have this suit / technology / Joseon coins and we can do whatever coz – my drama, my rulz.

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        …is my command! 😊

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          Since we’re on the subject of his suit, and also, because you know how I am about fake K-drama interfaces…this one’s epecially good because
          Skunk has a dashboard in the lower left that includes his MORPHINE levels. Folks, I think there’s something Skunk is NOT telling us!! 😂

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          Omo … that was legit the best “hero” entry I’ve seen, which left the viewers scratching their heads. 🤣

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          Thank you for the gifs … don’t spoil us because this drama has so so so many lol moments, especially involving Skunk and his “suit” which are just irresistible.

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        I also love how clearly we can see his face when he’s in the suit – as if it is not close enough to the mask part to be able to change his voice and protect him from poisonous gasses and everything else. It makes sense from an acting perspective, but the first time I saw it I thought he took his mask off or something! Loving the lack of realism here. Never let physics get in the way of a good heist!

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          It would be a shame to not be able to see Joo-won’s face. There never was a K-drama which skimped on the pretty. 🥰

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            It’s probably in his contract that his face can’t be hidden for 50% of the time he’s on screen. Gotta keep up the image! I’m not complaining 😁

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            @jls943 Absolutely!! We don’t watch K-dramas for things like logic, science or math now do we…?

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      Me too!! It felt quite deadpool & spiderman coded, I loved the aloof playfulness! And the hand shaking when he was pretending to be scared was hilarious 😂

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    As a major theme, lets not forget Stealer’s mantra, as he pursues artifacts: “There’s no future for a nation that has forgotten its history.” Its that knowledge that makes him a true super hero. Of course, the artifacts he retrieves are then stored in the police department’s basement, but at least they aren’t forgotten!

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    It took me a while to notice what Joo-won’s bare arms were doing. Oh, it’s *chemistry.*

    Focus, Elinor! [slaps own face]

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    Episode 2: Tae-in reels off the nicknames of professional antique thieves. In addition to Bat and Thunder, there’s White Rose in Seoul, Jackal in Busan, Ttaengchil in Gyeongsang-do, Korean crow-tit in Jeolla-do, Dragon Tail in Chungcheong-do, Snail in Gangwon-do, and Otter in Seoul – with a super-quick cut to our boy Chang-hoon. Hmmm. This is nothing more than a little nod to his then-recent role in the drama special Nineteen Otters, right? (I don’t really want to know the answer to this if the answer is not YES.)

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      I don’t know about any otters apart from my Team Otter, but I will say that this screenshot sent me right back over to a certain scene of Junho My Junho: episode 15, 40m25s. 😘

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