Summary
The fourth episode ofTower of Godseason 2 was a very eventful affair as Ja Wangnan and the other Regulars were thrown head-first into an insidious test of trust set-up by Mule Love in an attempt to smoke out Viole and removethe FUG Slayer Candidatebefore he causes more administrative nightmares.
Things get very intense in this episode, but new alliances and relationships are formed in an enjoyable episode that tops off the emotional rollercoaster with the appearance of a main character from the first season.
The Room Test Continues
A Hidden Scheme Emerges
During the previous episode, the Untrustworthy Room Test began in which the Regulars were all effectively pitted against Jue Viole Grace, who has his work cut out for him ina direct confrontation against a Ranker. Viole has only two opportunities left to catch the controller remote for his room in order to begin claiming rooms from the Regulars. During their head-to-head, Love talks about his motivation being that his parents were murdered by operatives of FUG; however, as their bout continues and Viole shows his skills in Shinsu manipulation, Love grows increasingly impressed with his ability to keep up with, and even replicate his attacks after seeing them only once. While they have their struggle on the upper level where the baths are, chaos ensues among the remaining Regulars.
Yeon Yihwa’s body is taken over by the strange green parasite that was one of two strange newcomers, while Rapdevil turns out to have been faking his death as part of a larger scheme plotted by Kim Lurker. Prince, who thought that the thugs paid by his father had some kind of loyalty towards him, found himself in a dangerous situation as Rapdevil attacks him after finding out where he had hidden their room’s remote controller. Not only had Lurker formed his own faction, he was also the reason for Tin and the unnamed green parasite’s arrival, and made a beeline to the room shared by Nia and Ja Wangnan. Wangnan had been outcollecting rooms with Arkraptor and his allies, with the only one left to claim being 608: Viole and Yihwa’s room. Wangnan calls Nia to check up on the safety of the room, only to hear Kim Lurker’s mocking voice on the other side. Nia was one of many pawns in Lurker’s plan, a plan which would ultimately see Lurker “erase” Prince and become the boss himself.
Nia’s Reason to Climb
An Unfortunate Death
While Nia may have betrayed his closest ally among the group of Regulars, he had selfless reasons for doing so, and appeared absolutely devastated by what he found himself doing. He recounts his arrival on the 20th floor and subsequent betrayal by teammates because he was deemed to be useless. Saved by a nice old woman who ran the restaurant to which he was first introduced as a delivery driver, Nia got a taste of contentment before coming to learn of the massive debt the old woman owed to Lurker’s company and the threats of violence that became a daily occurrence.
Nia was told that the old woman’s debt would be pardoned, but this was a lie to manipulate him into doing Lurker’s bidding. When he realized it, Nia tried to take back the remote, but he failed.Lurker beat him to death, while Ja Wangnan and the others could only listen in horror. An earlier version of Wangnan would have given in to despair, but the anger at having been so close to victory and set back so far, as well as losing a friend, somehow spurs him into action. Horyang decides he’ll save Prince and gain control over that room to prevent Lurker’s overwhelming victory.
Nia’s death was dark, and it bears immense significance to Ja Wangnan’s actions from here on out, but having him die shortly after going over his tragic backstory felt like a very cheap way to try to invoke an emotional reaction and give Wangnan an excuse to perform what he calls a deal with the devil. By now, fans are used to Wangnan bringing comedic relief, but in season 2 episode 4 ofTower of God, Ja Wangnan is “uncharacteristically” ahead of the curve when it comes to the test and was integral in bringing his friends within a single room of passing. His competence is by no means a fluke, so his desperation and grief driving him to ask Viole for help is an interesting story choice, but to the audience, Nia’s death appeared to serve the aim of shock value more so than it invoked an emotional connection to the character.
Ja Wangnan’s Deal With The Devil
The Enemy of My Enemy
Upstairs, Viole and Love’s contest is drawing to a close, with only one pitch left before Viole loses his chance to continue climbing the tower by himself. Viole’s performance and ability to replicate Love’s attacks makes a lasting impression on the test administrator, but they are interrupted when Ja Wangnan launches a smokescreen and picks up Viole’s controller, the one they were fighting over. Using it as a bargaining chip, Wangnan effectively begs Viole to help him enact revenge on Lurker for killing Nia, unknowingly appealing to the part of Viole that longs for friends and is stillreeling from the pain of Rachel’s betrayal. Since Wangnan is not the target, Love doesn’t use force against the Regular, which allows him to shield the remote from him and offer himself and his allies to Viole. In this situation, Viole is able to advance, while Wangnan gets the chance to take down Lurker. Viole’s battle against Love comes to an end when he accepts the remote from Wangnan, and with Kang Horyang’s swift defeat of Rapdevil, Lurker’s plan begins to fall apart.
When Wangnan and Viole run into Lurker, he is overconfident because he has Yeon Yihwa under his total control, but Viole swiftly extracts the green parasite from her body and destroys it. Wangnan unleashes his fury on Lurker, landing a number of heavy punches on the loanshark. His anger reached a point of no return as he forced a bomb into Lurker’s mouth, looking to detonate it and end him; however, Lurker revealed his ownstory of exploitation and hopelessnessat the hands of the very company he now works for. Once again,Tower of Godshows us the hidden cost of the ambition needed to climb the central structure, and just like what Twenty-Fifth-Bam experienced at the hands of his very first friend, most people wind up seeing the humanity drain from the people they held dear, and from themselves.
Yeon Yihwa
Prince
Ja Wangnan shows strength of character as he decides to forgive Lurker for what he’s done, justifying his decision through realizing that he will most likely have to kill and lie to way more people than Lurker has in order to climb the tower. He allows Viole to put an end to everything, and a total of eight people pass the test. Love is driven to tears as his failed revenge plot to Augusgus is quickly forgiven. He is told to forget everything, including his grudge against FUG, and tell the Regulars that this was the final test. When Love leaves, Augusgus, who is actually another FUG operative, reports to his superior that the “Prince” has passed the test. When Viole asks Wangnan why he forgave Lurker, he develops a bit of respect for him as he listens to the response coming from someone who has not yet been corrupted by the tower’s influence. The episode ends with a shot of Viole looking up at the “sky”, before cutting tothe exciting image of a familiar face: Khun Aguero Agnes. With new relationships established among the cast, episode 4 is a major juncture for the second season of Tower of God.
