Lee Je-hoon is back behind the wheel in Taxi Driver 2

by stroopwafel

Taxi Driver is gearing up for its second season and SBS has released a teaser video to whet our appetites before its premiere. The darkly comedic crime thriller was a massive hit for SBS in 2021, with its take on vigilante justice resonating critically and with viewers. The webtoon adaptation followed employees of the Rainbow Taxi Company. By all appearances, it’s a run-of-the-mill taxi company headed by a philanthropic entrepreneur. In reality, the company is a front; their real purpose is to dish out justice on behalf of victims who were failed by the law.

The entire Rainbow Taxi Company will be returning with Lee Je-hoon (Move to Heaven) reprising his role as the main driver for the Rainbow Taxi Company, Kim Do-ki. Kim Eui-sung (Under the Queen’s Umbrella) will once again play Jang Sung-chul, CEO of the Rainbox Taxi Company and leader of the vigilante crew. Pyo Ye-jin (VIP) will play IT whiz and hacker extraordinaire Go Eun. Handling the team’s engineering and mechanic needs, we have Jang Hyuk-jin (Now, We Are Breaking Up) and Bae Yoo-ram (Moonshine) as Choi Kyung-gu and Park Jin-un, respectively. A new face will be joining the team this season, Shin Jae-ha (My Unfamiliar Family). His character Ohn Ha-joon will be newest driver and the team maknae.

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The video begins with Kim Do-ki’s voice, “Initiating Car 5283.” A swooping overhead shot shows the members of the Rainbow Taxi Company back together again. Do-ki, Go Eun, Kyung-gu, and Jin-un look down from a rooftop, and seem satisfied by what they see. A quick group collage of the entire company shifts to a city shot with “VIETNAM” splashed across the screen. In voiceover, Sung-chul asks Do-ki, “You’re going to go abroad?”

We hear Do-ki’s reply overlaid across a handful of shadowy scenes with massive fights taking place, “Those twisted bastards choose to do harm to the most kind-hearted people they can find. We need to repay them.” Do-ki runs like the wind and a car crashes through a barrier.

Do-ki’s deluxe taxi get a moment to shine, and while I know nothing about cars, it appears to have gotten souped up in anticipation for more crazy chases. We see someone taking the taxi out for a spin and there are fancy drifts and U-turns involved. (Who knew a taxi doing a U-turn could look so cool?)

CEO Sung-chul wonders aloud, possibly to Do-ki, “If there’s someone who can mobilize even the sniper units, that means you’ve been exposed.” In quick succession we see a shot of a besuited man wearing dress shoes, and a separate shot of hands adorned with one heck of a statement pinky ring. Somewhere, Sung-chul appears to be in police custody, surrounded by officers. Intercut with those scenes, Do-ki is doing a Man from Nowhere reenactment, with long shaggy hair, lots of muscles, and no shirt.

We’re back to Do-ki in vigilante hero mode and he throws someone into a glass case before calmly putting sunglasses on. A Tokyo Seoul drift shot of the taxi shifts to a scene where Do-ki appears to be completely outnumbered. A man asks “Who are you? A cop?” Do-ki’s drily introduces himself, “I’m a taxi driver. I think that’s enough for introductions. It’s time you got a beatdown.” An upturned car is on fire, and it quickly bursts into a huge explosion, but have no fear, Do-ki is already walking away, carrying someone in his arms. The screen shifts black with the words, “Taxi Driver 2 Proxy revenge service.”

Sung-chul shouts out, “Oh wait, Maknae!” The maknae introduces himself in voiceover, “Today is my first day. My name is Ohn Ha-joon.” Though they don’t show us the new maknae, we get to see the rest of the team in the middle of a job at a music festival. Sung-chul is disguised as a regular festival-goer while Go Eun sings onstage and the mechanics groove to the music. We get a quick shot of Do-ki in business mode before the scene shifts to the taxi driving into the night. Sung-chul inquires, “Is that everyone?” In response, Do-ki states, “So then, let’s start again.”

I loved Taxi Driver for many reasons, and I hope the second season will live up to the first. What’s not to love about wrongs being righted, found families, and Lee Je-hoon jumping into a variety of disguises and characters each episode (all in the name of justice, of course)? I’m particularly intrigued by the addition of Shin Jae-ha as a driver for the company and what that means for the team dynamics and the story. I always found it funny that the taxi company seemed to only have one driver employed so maybe having two will help them put up a more convincing front.

Writer Oh Sang-ho (Fabricated City) is returning for Season 2. Lee Dan will be joining him in his first-ever main PD role, though he’s no newbie to directing as he also worked on Our Beloved Summer. Taxi Driver 2 will air in the Friday-Saturday timeslot on SBS, with the premiere date set for February 17.

Lee Je-hoon is back behind the wheel in Taxi Driver 2