The Childe: The Chase Is on

Coming from the poorest side of town in the Phllippines, streetfighting gambler turned big-time heir Marco (Kang Tae-ju) naturally has no one to turn to once he gets to South Korea. His newly discovered, snarky half-brother (Kim Kang-woo) wants him dead, his long-missing father (Choi Jung-woo) on life support wants him dead, and his conniving little half-sister (Jung Lael) wants him dead — universally for uniquely self-serving reasons. The other new people in his life are a pair of kidnappers — a man (Kim Seon-ho) and a woman (Go Ara) — working independently from each other yet sharing a desire to keep him alive long enough to turn in him (or his body) for millions of dollars. Given The Childe's reality, Marco spends a lot of time on the run. But where to?

The two competing kidnappers may be a better bet since they buy him some time. But which one? One's a femme fatale who hit-and-run him with her car as a form of entrapment; the other's a Cheshire Cat dandy who seems psychotic in his clarity of purpose. Korea's current auteur of adrenaline Park Hoon-jung doesn't give Marco much of a choice. Instead, Marco ends up wherever he ends up as a matter of bad luck and narrow escapes. His ailing mother (Caroline Magbojos) desperately needs an expensive operation but how can Marco secure any inheritance to save her when he's simply trying to survive. Thrilling!