Death’s Game explained: What happened to Tae-woo?

Gabriela Silva
Kim Ji-hoon in Death's Game

Tae-woo becomes the K-drama’s central antagonist which is the epitome of evil in Death’s Game. Even Death doesn’t compare to his sinister ways, but does Yi-jae get his revenge against him?

Death’s Game Part 1 revealed Tae-woo is interwoven in the sinister fate of Yi-jae’s reincarnations. Tae-woo was the person behind his brother’s murder. The hired contract killer happened to be Ju-hun, one of the reincarnations.

That’s not all as Tae-sang was also the person paid to take the fall for one of Tae-woo’s hit-and-runs. Let’s not forget the man who offered Jae-seop millions to jump out of a plane with no parachute was Tae-woo. Going into Death’s Game Part 2, Yi-jae has a vendetta against Tae-woo as he killed Ji-soo and himself reincarnated as Geon-woo.

Does Yi-jae manage to get his revenge when Death’s rules don’t allow him to kill? Let’s find out. Warning: Spoilers ahead!

Tae-woo gets a taste of his own medicine

While wanting to kill Tae-woo for what he’s done, Yi-jae decides not to after thinking about Ji-soo. Instead, Tae-woo’s parachute catches wind and is thrust into an oncoming truck – severing his legs. Yi-jae’s plan revealed Tae-woo’s evil deeds to the public.

Yi-jae makes use of his past lives to enact a detailed revenge plan against Tae-woo. It first began with Gyu-cheol, a secret serial killer. Knowing he records all of his murders, Yi-jae develops a plan to have Tae-woo come to his home, seek an opportunity to bind Gyu-cheol, and subsequently murder him.

Reborn into the life of police officer Ji-hyung also has its advantages. He use the police to reveal Gyu-cheol’s murders and obtain the footage needed to incriminate Tae-woo. Tae-woo believes he’s slick when learning Yi-jae/Ji-hyung has evidence of him murdering Gyu-cheol. He makes a public announcement making him seem like the last victim that got away.

In reality, it was all a part of Yi-jae’s plan. Through his past lives, he knows Tae-woo keeps his drugs in his pen and switches them for sleeping pills. He uses Ju-hun’s knowledge to find the hard drive his boss had of all incriminating evidence proving he set up Jin-tae’s murder. He also sets a bomb in the plane Tae-woo is using to flee. Tae-woo takes his drugs, unaware they’re sleeping pills.

As Tae-woo awakens in the plane as it’s going down. He learns of Yi-jae’s plan and how all the reincarnations are connected. But he’s given one chance to live if he can escape the plane with the parachute. He barely survives the wreckage and lands on a deserted road.

Here he learns Yi-jae/Ji-hyung was never kidnapped as planned. It was all orchestrated with the help of the police and thanks to Jae-seop, Yi-jae also knew how to use a parachute to flee the airplane as planned. While this occurs, the news informs the public of the recording obtained where Tae-woo admits to the multiple hit-and-runs and his crimes.

Yi-jae tries to suffocate Tae-woo and promises to go to hell together. But Death arrives warning him of the rules. Ji-soo’s pen is on the floor and forces Yi-jae to stop. He lets Tae-woo go until he sees his shadow. Tae-woo lunges for him until fate intervenes. His parachute catches the wind and propels him into an oncoming truck.

Death’s Game has Tae-woo alive and in the hospital. But both his legs were severed. A fitting end as it means he can no longer drive and the added bonus of him going to jail for his crimes.

Death’s Game is streaming now on Prime Video, which you can sign up for here. Read more TV & Movies content here, and K-drama news here.

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About The Author

Gabriela is a Senior TV and Movies Writer for Dexerto covering Netflix, Disney+, K-Dramas and everything in between. She has a bachelor's degree in Journalism from Fordham, and was previously a TV Writer for Showbiz Cheatsheet and List Witer for Screenrant. You can contact Gabriela at gabriela.silva@dexerto.com