3 Situations That Were Tricky For Ha Ji Won & Ju Ji Hoon In Episodes 7-8 Of “Climax”

Power struggles, manipulation, and scandals continue to shroud Bang Tae Seop (Ju Ji Hoon) and his wife Chu Sang Ah (Ha Ji Won). For now, the couple may have salvaged their reputation and their sinking careers after putting up an orchestrated front in of the world.

But as Jeong Won (Nana) makes her return as a rival to Sang Ah in her comeback feature, there is much more at play between the two women. And as Tae Seop inches closer towards the finishing line in the presidential elections, the question is can he really make it?

The games have just begun. Sang Ah and Tae Seop may have succeeded in outsmarting Lee Yang Mi (Cha Joo Young), but they have underestimated her abilities to corner them when they least expect it.

Here are three moments when Sang Ah and Tae Seop found themselves in situations that they were unable to outmaneuver.

Warning: spoilers for episodes 7-8 below.

Tae Seop and Sang Ah colluding for gain

Tae Seop and Sang Ah think they may have averted the crisis since Jae Sang’s death has been classified as a homicide.

Tae Seop’s campaign is back on track, while Sang Ah is all set to make her comeback in the adult thriller “Four Seasons.” However, the couple realize that they are on shaky ground as Lee Yang Mi is the one pulling the strings.

Tae Seop’s political opponent is sponsored by WR Group, and that’s causing him serious trouble in the campaign. To counter Yang Mi’s influence, he tells Sang Ah it is time to play his trump card.

He meets Yang Mi’s former husband, a man she had betrayed to marry Chairman Kwon. However, the deal comes at a price: Yang Mi’s ex tells Tae Seop that if he lets his wife Sang Ah sleep with him for a day, he will support him in his campaign.

Though enraged by the indecent proposal, Tae Seop makes a fool of himself around Yang Mi’s ex, even humoring him at a party, as long as he helps him in his mission. He even goes to the extent to tell the man that he and his wife Sang Ah are not in an intimate marriage.

On the other hand, Sang Ah asks Tae Seop why he is not leveraging her stardom for campaigning. The public loves a well put together couple, and they may as well play to the galleries.

Yang Mi also makes Tae Seop an offer: if he works with her, she will make sure Sang Ah remains unharmed. Yang Mi, who is invested in the predictions of fortune tellers, is told Tae Seop has strong chances of winning and that she should recruit him to the side she supports.

Meanwhile, Sang Ah has been replaced by Jeong Won in her comeback film. She makes a bold move toward Yang Mi and offers her husband as collateral in return for getting back in the film. She tells Yang Mi that she will make sure Tae Seop works with her, but in return she wants to be re-cast as the lead in “Four Seasons.” It is clear this couple cares little for each other and both are willing to use the other as a bait, as long as they get what they want.

It turns out just as they had planned. Sang Ah is reinstated in the film and is made the face of WR Entertainment. She campaigns for Tae Seop, who sees a surge in his popularity.

As Yang Mi sees both of them do her bidding, she is well aware the two cannot be trusted. In trying to stay one step ahead, Tae Seop and Sang Ah have unknowingly stepped into a game they no longer can control.

Yang Mi’s and Tae Seop’s shadow plays

In the drama unfolding before Tae Seop and Sang Ah, Yang Mi is the show-runner. The woman knows exactly what the husband and wife are capable of, and she keeps her cards close to her chest.

Though Sang Ah is reinstated in the project, Tae Seop is still unsure whether he wants to switch sides and forge an alliance with Yang Mi. As the election campaign gains momentum, Tae Seop discovers that presidential candidate Son Guk Won (Joo Jin Mo), on whom Yang Mi has placed her bets, is entangled in multiple scandals and financial fraud cases. He also learns of several slush funds tied to Sang Ah’s movie. The emergence of a mysterious figure, the “Shadow,” closely linked to Guk Won, is also shaking up the political landscape. Tae Seop, who is trying to portray himself as a crusader against corruption, joins hands with Yang Mi’s stepson, Kwon Jong Uk (Oh Jung Se), to launch a counterattack against her.

Yang Mi, well aware of his moves, warns him. If he dares to betray her and backtrack on his promise to join her, he will regret it. She passive-aggressively informs him that she has something far worse on him—something that could blow up the campaign and finish him. He doesn’t take her threats seriously though, as he is too busy plotting his next move.

She tells him, just as Sang Ah is within earshot, that she orchestrated the tax evasion scandal, and though he was aware of it, he never buried it. Sang Ah is left hurt and betrayed, realizing that whether it is Yang Mi or her own husband, she has been played by both.

Meanwhile, Tae Seop learns that Jeong Won had not killed Jae Sang: he was already dead. And Yang Mi has intel on Jeong Wan and is using it to her advantage. Tae Seop doesn’t care, as he has no use for her now. But he keeps stalling Yang Mi’s offer, and she is quickly running out of patience.

The two see each other’s weaknesses to exploit, not realizing they are being read just as closely.

Sang Ah and Jeong Won: dangerous liaisons

Sang Ah and Jeong Won haven’t met since Jae Sang’s death. Sang Ah is shocked when she learns that Jeong Won had replaced her in the film and also feels slightly betrayed.

She smugly asks Jeong Won what strings she pulled to get into the project with such ease. In response, Jeong Won testily asks if she was planning to undermine and look past her as she had once done with her former bodyguard, Jae Sang.

Sang Ah is stung, but being the professional she is, she masks her emotions. Back on the project and with Jeong Won as her co star, she maintains a professional distance. The first scene between the two women is an intimate one, and the tension is palpable, as well as the unspoken dynamic. Yang Mi is closely observing the shoot, her expressive impassive.

A few days later, Jeong Won invites Sang Ah for dinner and confesses that she had never killed Jae Sang. Instead she had been attacked and kidnapped by Yang Mi’s people. Sang Ah, still blistering after overhearing that her husband did not stand up for her during the fake tax evasion scandal, confesses that she did feel something for Jae Sang. But she had used him to destroy those who had led Ji Soo to her death. A strange undercurrent passes between the two.

Around the same time, Tae Seop is informed by the man who worked with Jeong Won that Yang Mi is likely to pull something explosive. We see a flashback to the night of Jae Sang’s death, after Jeong Won was captured. Her captors go through her phone and see several images of Sang Ah.

In the present, Yang Mi threatens Tae Seop that she will bring him down on his knees if he doesn’t join her. But Tae Seop refuses to relent.

Election Day is here, and Tae Seop decides to upload Guk Won’s scandals on the very morning. As anticipated, there is mayhem with the campaign in turmoil.

Tae Seop, unfazed, preps for his final speech when there is an uproar around him. He looks oblivious, thinking that everyone is reading up and watching the coup that he masterminded. But the joke is on him.

Yang Mi has uploaded a sex tape featuring Sang Ah, and it is clear the person with her is none other than Jeong Won. All we see is Tae Seop’s shocked expression and Yang Mi’s smirk.

With so many things happening, this week should reveal what really happened as “Climax” heads for its finale.

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Puja Talwar is a Soompi writer with a strong Yoo Yeon Seok and Lee Junho bias. A long time K-drama fan, she loves devising alternate scenarios to the narratives. She has interviewed Lee Min Ho, Gong Yoo, Cha Eun Woo, and Ji Chang Wook to name a few. You can follow her on @puja_talwar7 on Instagram.