The Manipulated Ep 7-8 unfolds as a crucial turning point in the series, exposing how the framing system operates and pushing Park Tae-jung toward the real architect behind the conspiracy.
🧩 Drama Overview
Title: The Manipulated (조각도시, 2025)
Release Date: November 5, 2025
Platform: Disney+
Genre: Crime · Mystery · Thriller
Episodes: 12
Main Cast:
Ji Chang-wook (Park Tae-jung) │ Do Kyung-soo (Ahn Yohan) │ Lee Kwang-soo (Baek Do-kyung)
Kim Jong-su (Noh Yong-sik) │ Jo Yun-su (Noh Eun-bi) │ Kim Joong-hee (Kim Sang-rak)
Bae Na-ra (“Raincoat Man”) │ Kim Jae-chul (Yang Chul-hwan) │ Park Sung-geun (Hwang Il-guk)
Director: Kim Hong-sun
Writer: Jung Ji-yoon
💬 Reviewer’s Take
Episodes 7 and 8 of The Manipulated Ep 7-8 work best as a connected arc.
Episode 7 slows down after the brutal escape,
explaining how the “fragmentation system” actually works,
resetting the villains,
and setting up So Hyun-jung as the next target.
Episode 8 then hits fast with:
a tense raid, a phone-tracking chase, the design factory reveal,
the rescue of So Hyun-jung,
and the chilling finale featuring Woo Min-hyung’s severed head
and the reveal of Baek Do-kyung as the real culprit.
Episode 7 can feel slower, but together, The Manipulated Ep 7-8 marks the shift from:
“A man fighting a faceless system” → “A man hunting the face behind it: Baek Do-kyung.”
🧱 Episode 7 — Episode 7 — Noh Yong-sik’s Trust & The System Revealed
Tae-jung forces former public defender Kim Sang-rak to confess.
The fragment system:
Selects a “model” (scapegoat)
Shadows them 24 hours a day
Collects all trash, DNA, daily patterns
Swaps in a murder weapon tied to the model
Builds an airtight case impossible to disprove
It’s not sloppy corruption —
it’s a machine built for manufacturing perfect killers.
We also learn:
Woo Min-hyung killed Tae-jung’s brother
Tae-jung fights him, survives a bomb
Kim Sang-rak dies
Woo Min-hyung is executed by Ahn Yohan
This is where The Manipulated Ep 7-8 shifts from personal revenge → to a war against an engineered system.
🧩 Kim Sang-rak’s Confession — How “Fragments” Are Made
When Tae-jung confronts Kim Sang-rak, the series finally reveals:
A powerful client commits a crime.
An innocent “model” is chosen.
Trash, DNA, routines, motives — all fabricated.
Crime scene evidence swapped.
24-hour surveillance forces the model’s movements to match the culprit.
The result: an airtight case against someone innocent.
Sang-rak claims he “only followed orders,” but he dies moments later — another loose end erased.
From here, The Manipulated Ep 7-8 broadens the scale of the conspiracy.
🕵️♂️ New Villain: Hwang Il-guk
Ahn Yohan restructures his team:
Hwang Il-guk — corrupt cop
Yang Chul-hwan — conflicted guard
The villains evolve from simple thugs → institutional power.
🎯 A New Target — So Hyun-jung, the Next “Model”
Tae-jung discovers So Hyun-jung’s file — a struggling single mother.
Ahn Yohan’s side has already begun:
Weapon swap
Phone planting
Routine manipulation
Tae-jung uses DIY equipment to protect her and finally learns the truth about his own framing.
Episode 7 ends with The Manipulated Ep 7-8 showing Tae-jung learning the system inside out.
🏠 Episode 8 — Raid, Reverse Tracking & The “Gift”
🚨 Raid on Noh Yong-sik’s Workshop
Hwang Il-guk and Yang Chul-hwan raid Yong-sik’s workshop.
Noh Eun-bi steps in, blocks them, and buys Tae-jung precious time.
🏍 Phone Trap → Tracing the Design Factory
Tae-jung steals the phone So Hyun-jung was tricked into delivering.
He pretends to be a criminal asking for cash.
He tracks the woman to the design factory — the core hub of evidence manufacturing.
🏭 Director’s Death — Anyone Can Be Replaced
The director claims he “handled” the phone issue.
Yohan executes him instantly.
No loyalty.
No emotion.
Only the system.
✂️ Salon Attack → Rescue of So Hyun-jung
Cheong-ri attacks the salon.
Tae-jung arrives just in time.
A brutal fight erupts; Cheong-ri escapes.
So Hyun-jung becomes more than a target —
she becomes someone Tae-jung protects.
👨👧 A Quiet, Fragile Alliance
Tae-jung hides So Hyun-jung’s family in Eun-bi’s shared apartment.
Eun-bi softens:
“He’s more pitiful than I thought.”
She calls her father for the first time in years.
Yong-sik is overwhelmed — Tae-jung restores a broken bond.
💼 The Baek Family’s Threat
Assemblyman Baek and Baek Do-kyung visit Yohan and demand:
“Finish Tae-jung within the week.”
Do-kyung’s arrogance becomes the spark for Yohan’s final “game.”
📰 A New Framed Culprit
When So Hyun-jung can’t be framed,
the pianist case is pinned on an unrelated café owner.
The machine never stops.
It always finds a “killer.”
🧨 The “Gift” — Min-hyung’s Head & Baek Do-kyung’s Face
At the empty factory, a conveyor belt activates.
Woo Min-hyung’s head appears with cash in his mouth — Yohan’s twisted “thanks.”
A screen lights up: Baek Do-kyung’s face and ID.
This is where The Manipulated Ep 7-8 reveals the true antagonist.
🧠 Overall Verdict
Episode 7
Slow but essential
Explains the system
Introduces new villains
Episode 8
Fast, brutal, emotional
Major reveals
A real shift toward revenge
Together, The Manipulated Ep 7-8 transforms the story from “escaping the system” to “hunting the man behind it.”
📝 One-line Summary
“Episode 7 breathes, Episode 8 strikes — exposing the system’s machinery and revealing Baek Do-kyung as Park Tae-jung’s true target.”
Official Streaming & Production Resources
Disney+ – The Manipulated (조각도시) Official Page
https://www.disneyplus.com/
Studio Dragon – Drama Information Hub
https://www.studiodragon.net/
Ji Chang-wook Official Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/jichangwook/
Related Reviews from Go K Wave
THE MANIPULATED Episode 1–4 Review — How the system chooses a scapegoat and the first cracks in the conspiracy unfold
https://gokwv.com/the-manipulated-episodes-1-4-recap-cast-review/
THE MANIPULATED Episode 5–6 Review — When revenge turns into a death race
https://gokwv.com/the-manipulated-ep-5-6-review/
I AM BOXER — What makes this 90-fighter survival series stand out with raw power, real hits, and cinematic intensity
https://gokwv.com/i-am-boxer-tvn-cast-mc-disney-plus/
THE PRICE OF CONFESSION — Full storyline breakdown, themes, and character analysis
https://gokwv.com/the-price-of-confession-review/
AS YOU STOOD BY — Elegance, memory, quiet heartbreak: a minimalist melodrama dissected
https://gokwv.com/as-you-stood-by-review-ending/
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