The Heart Killers 1×02 Review: Episode 2

It’s hilarious to me that a show called The Heart Killers, which is about literal hitmen, is my go-to feel good series. And yet I watched this week’s episode squeeing and giggling and kicking my feet because it’s just so ridiculous and yet I love it so much.

First off, what the hell kind of bowling alley are they going to that has a random dance contest? You shouldn’t dance on the alleys, they’re slippery, that’s literally the whole point. But honestly, this whole episode, with all of the bowling scenes, gave me such a heavy Grease 2 vibe. Seriously, with the dance sequence and the milkshakes – and Fadel and Bison own a diner – it’s leaning heavily into the 1950s America aesthetic.

(Side note: I had kind of hoped that the dance sequence was going to be a dream after seeing it in the trailer. I could not take it seriously at all. But then I love that you can’t take it seriously. I love that this show is so deeply unserious while being about hitmen.

Also, I feel like it’s a crime to have a dance sequence in a show with Joong in it and then not have Joong dance. But judging by the trailer for next week’s episode, we do get to see that. Looking forward to it.)

Second, I love how they’re handling the 10 Things I Hate About You references. Last week, the subtext was heavily texting with the blatant insertion of “The Taming of the Shrew” (which of course is the Shakespeare play that 10 Things I Hate About You is based on). This week, we got a nod to the scene where Bianca and Cameron do some reconnaissance in Kat’s room – although we didn’t get to see Bison actually snooping in Fadel’s room, just the work he put into getting Fadel out of his room.

But of course, the most obvious reference was Style somehow managing to get a hold of a microphone while Fadel was jogging. Thankfully, they didn’t have Dunk do a musical number – Style’s impromptu cheer session was cringeworthy enough – but I still appreciated the homage. It’s probably the most iconic scene from that film, so I’m happy that they kept it in.

You know what? Let’s watch it now.

One thing that’s giving me pause is how much of this is real. I know Kant’s interest in Bison is genuine – the smitten look on his face when he got home from their night together says it all, really. But would he be putting this much effort into wooing Bison if it wasn’t going to result in his criminal record being cleared? Likewise, I know that Style really wants Kant’s car; but even he seems to acknowledge that it’s a lot of work for little reward, so does that mean that he does really like Fadel?

I mean, logically, I know that they’re going to end up together. That’s the story. And one of the main faults of branded pairs is that there’s no mystery. But right now, my question is, how much is real, and how much is a show for Kant and Style to accomplish their goals?

Let’s talk about that, though. Because I do seriously love how far Kant is willing to go. Normally with First and Khaotung, Khao’s characters are the ones doing the pursuing. It’s great to see such a role reversal here. Kant is literally going in disguise to the diner, setting up clandestine bathroom rendezvous, paying people to hit on Bison so he can step in and look intimidating (which is no small feat, with First’s pookie face).

You would never expect, from Bison’s behavior in the first episode, that he would be the reserved one in this courtship. But as he says multiple times to Kant, they aren’t dating. It’s clear that he wants to be, though. He’s really trying to sell this to Fadel, and I know that his repeated insistence that Kant is just a simple tattooist is going to come back to bite him when the truth comes out.

And on the flip side, you have Style and Fadel. Style keeps putting himself into more and more ridiculous situations, essentially stalking Fadel (though with the inside information provided by Bison) in order to keep and not just get his attention. Fadel, as the more cautious brother, immediately suspects ulterior motives. And for Style, his ulterior motives aren’t quite so bad. He has no idea that Fadel and Bison are hitmen, or that Kant is being blackmailed into spying on them. He just wants a car.

(By the way, I should have brought this up last week, but how crappy of a friend is Kant? He sends his best friend off to hit on some guy without telling him that he’s an assassin who is already suspicious of Kant and thereby anyone associated with him. Then he’s just like, “OK, good luck, bye!”)

It’s also hilarious to me how much effort they’re going to when it doesn’t seem to be necessary. Yes, Fadel is suspicious of Kant (and Style). And yes, he has made his dislike clear to both Bison and Kant. But also, Bison and Kant were alone together a lot during this episode, and they were only almost caught by Fadel once – when they were at the diner Fadel co-owns. The rest of it has been Bison’s self-imposed restrictions. My good sir, you could absolutely have kissed Kant in his own tattoo parlor, or in the parking garage. You can have one kiss, as a treat.

Also unnecessary? The shenanigans Style is engaging in, when all it apparently takes to get Fadel down bad is to just touch him, like, anywhere. He’s so repressed it’s not even funny.

My biggest surprise of the week? It may just be how quickly Style’s unique charm is working on Fadel. That scene at the end was a bit of a shock, but only in that it happened so soon; but then, after Style’s shameless display at the sauna, you can’t exactly fault Fadel. I think anyone would be affected by that.

As for the actual plot, considering that Fadel and Bison have repeatedly referred to “Mother”, I believe the assumption in the fandom was that this was a family business. However, Bison and Kant’s conversation indicates that “Mother” is a title. I’m just not yet sure if Kant knew that and was purposely trying to dig for more information, or if he was asking an innocent question and Bison realized that he slipped up.

Have I mentioned how much I love this show? Because I do. I cannot wait for next week’s episode. I am such a huge FirstKhao fan, but I’m honestly more excited for whatever is going to happen with Fadel and Style. Let’s goooooo.

Author: Jamie Sugah

Jamie has a BA in English with a focus in creative writing from The Ohio State University. She self-published her first novel, The Perils of Long Hair on a Windy Day, which is available through Amazon. She is currently an archivist and lives in New York City with her demon ninja vampire cat. She covers television, books, movies, anime, and conventions in the NYC area.

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