3 Defining Turns From Episodes 13-14 Of "Taxi Driver 3"
In this week’s episodes of “Taxi Driver 3,” the Rainbow Squad’s latest case is far more complicated and complex than it seems. The scam network that Kim Do Gi (Lee Je Hoon), along with Ahn Go Eun (Pyo Ye Jin), Park Jin Eon (Bae Yoo Ram), and Choi Kyung Goo (Jang Hyuk Jin), has stumbled upon is a long and tedious mission, one that cannot be wrapped cleanly.
Do Gi finally comes face to face with the unseen enemy, an unassuming man who goes by the name of Writer Go (Kim Sung Kyu). However, Go is the meticulous leader of a cartel of criminals who operate from the Samhueng Island. A former prosecutor, Go is well aware of legal procedure and cleverly covers his tracks. He is aided by an unlikely alliance: a priest, Monk Bong (Lee Gyung Young), who provides moral cover, a brilliant hacker recently released from prison, a mercenary serial killer who handles the violence without hesitation, and a police officer who lends them all protection. For the first time, the entire Rainbow Squad is pushed to its limits, forced into the open against adversaries who are not just ruthless, but exceptionally intelligent. This is no scattered criminal ring, but a well-oiled machine.
Do Gi is not dismantling a system from the outside. He is trapped inside one, and it’s one that anticipates his every move. Justice here is no longer about outsmarting gangsters or exposing corruption; it becomes a battle of intellect, wits, and endurance. Here’s how the Rainbow Squad accelerates the momentum on solving their toughest case yet.
When the hunters become the hunted
The island mission unravels with unnerving speed. The trouble begins the moment Do Gi splits from CEO Jang to privately investigate the island’s temple. Left behind at the dock to maintain his “just here to fish” cover, CEO Jang is approached by the island’s rent-a-cop, who offers to ferry him to a better fishing spot. With no believable reason to refuse, CEO Jang boards the boat and becomes the first to be taken.
And the noose tightens. Go Eun tails the fisherman only to discover that a modest fish market doubles as the operation’s base, where scam kits are packaged and distributed to low-level operatives. Her investigation is cut short when her surveillance is spotted, and she is swiftly captured. Elsewhere, Kyung Goo and Jin Eon follow Writer Go, a seemingly harmless photographer and aspiring screenwriter who is secretly harvesting personal data from addiction support groups to fuel targeted phishing scams. Jin Eon is caught first. Moments later, Kyung Goo — distracted and conspicuously alone – is ambushed the instant his van rolls off the ferry and is drugged into unconsciousness.
Do Gi is the last one to be apprehended by the newly returned “monk” Bong. Unlike the others, who are drugged and prepared for a live burial at sea, Do Gi is merely handcuffed and kept alive, awaiting interrogation.
But never truly passive, Do Gi uses the time to his advantage. He constructs a convincing alibi, claiming to be an acquaintance of the disgraced manager from the previous case. He explains that he and CEO Jang knew just enough to get themselves to the island, posing as fishermen while quietly assessing the locals in hopes of finding someone willing to sponsor a criminal venture. It’s a risky bluff — but one that keeps him alive.
By the end of the sequence, the balance of power has shifted completely. The island reveals itself not as a hideout, but as a trap, one designed to isolate, monitor, and eliminate intruders. For the first time in a long while, Team Rainbow Taxi isn’t just outmatched. They’re surrounded, exposed, and fighting to stay one step ahead.
Inside the villain’s playbook
Do Gi adds another crucial piece to the puzzle. Their chief adversary, he believes, is a former prosecutor, someone who understands the law intimately enough to manipulate its blind spots. This explains the operation’s longevity, its confidence, and its near-total immunity. The man in question is none other than Writer Go himself. Do Gi makes his moves. He takes Writer Go through his criminal heavy resume… trying to win his trust as a potential partner. The hacker verifies Do Gi’s background, and with all checks in place Writer Go sets the Rainbow squad free.
Team Rainbow Taxi is now forced to confront just how close they came to disappearing entirely. As they regroup, a chilling truth surfaces: their bodies were nearly transported into North Korean waters, a place where no questions would be asked and no traces would remain. The revelation comes from a reporter who has spent months embedded on the island, attempting to finish the investigation his senior lost his life pursuing. His footage confirms what the team has begun to suspect: the island is not just a hideout, but a carefully insulated ecosystem for crime.
Across the island, as the villains convene, Writer Go proposes Do Gi as a potential recruit rather than eliminating him, which had been the plan. He invites Do Gi for their orientation program, which includes new recruits, in this case those who have served jail term, as prospective candidates for a new criminal operation. Do Gi gets an insight into how well-oiled but ruthless Writer Go’s operation is.
Rainbow Squad sets their plan in action, one that even includes Do Gi and Go Eun faking a romance, giving viewers some reprieve from the tense moments.
All hands on deck
One of the quiet pleasures of this arc is seeing Team Rainbow Taxi finally operate as a full unit again. As Do Gi puts himself as a potential investor with the big bucks, he tells Writer Go that his girlfriend Go Eun is the one with the money. On the other hand, CEO Jang has befriended Monk Bong, promising him big bucks for investing while Jin Eon and Kyung Goo lay the bait of money for the hacker to bite.
In the meantime, it’s Go Eun who tries her best to track down servers powering the villains’ overseas operations. However, the team realizes it’s not an easy task, and to buy time, they need to make Go and company dance to their tunes. Rainbow Squad puts up a show of disloyalty and hatred amongst their team. Do Gi asks Writer Go to kill CEO Jang, who petitions Monk Bong to eliminate Do Gi, while Go Eun goes one step further, requesting that Writer Go kill everyone, including her supposed boyfriend. The conflicting requests leave the villains unsettled, convincing them that the chaos is real and that it’s time to relocate their operation immediately. This is perhaps the only time we get a few laughs, the lull before the storm.
Go Eun succeeds on dismantling operations, and the team attempts a quiet escape by boat. But it doesn’t stay quiet for long. Writer Go catches on, sounds the alarm, and launches a chase. What follows is a high-stakes pursuit down a dead-end pier, with Do Gi’s taxi boxed in by armed vehicles. It is touch and go. Cornered, he triggers a last-resort failsafe: an EMP installed by Jin Eon.
The climax is a heightened spectacle, gibing several nerve-wrecking moments. But once again Rainbow Squad proves that they believe in service before self.
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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