The Uncanny Counter Season 2 Episode 3: An unexpected visitor arrives at the door of The Counters’ noodle shop. Ga Mo-Tak trains a new apprentice, Na Jeok-Bong, who unexpectedly discovers his own unique power that even The Counters have never seen before. Meanwhile, Hwang Pil-Gwang’s evil spirits start causing trouble with abilities and strategies that catch The Counters off guard, putting them in a disadvantaged position.
The Uncanny Counter Season 2 Episode 4: Ma Joo-Seok struggles with his desire for revenge against Park Seong-Uk as he tries to control his emotions. Despite restraining himself, the burning desire for vengeance continues to call out to Ma Joo-Seok, tempting him to accept it and seek justice for Min Ji. Will Ma Joo-Seok succumb to becoming an evil spirit after wrestling with his inner moral dilemma?
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The Uncanny Counter Season 2 Episode 3 Recap
Continuing from “The Uncanny Counter 2 Episode 2 ” Hwang Pil-Gwang visits his sister’s noodle shop and So Mun quickly recognizes him. Hwang Pil-Gwang mentions that everyone is curious about what he wants, but in the end, all he can offer is money or their lives.
So Mun firmly declares that he will catch evil spirits like Hwang Pil-Gwang and rescue the trapped souls within them, sending the evil spirits to hell. As they engage in a psychic battle, Do Ha-Na and Chu Mae-Ok both sense the presence of this power and strive to protect the children present at the scene.
Hwang Pil-Gwang senses that So Mun has many things he wants to protect deep within his heart, which could potentially be his weakness. Ga Mo-Tak is confident in training Na Jeok-Bong to become an even more formidable Counter than So Mun (since Do Ha-Na has already given up on Na Jeok-Bong for lacking talent). However, Na Jeok-Bong’s performance turns out to be extraordinary beyond expectations, surprising even Ga Mo-Tak.
Suddenly, Ma Joo-Seok hijacks a fire truck and attacks a prison vehicle inside a tunnel. It turns out his target is Park Seong-Uk, who killed Min-Ji. He feels remorseful as a human for committing murder. Eventually, Ga Mo-Tak brings Hwang Pil-Gwang back to the police station where legal sanctions await him.
So Mun confesses to Ma Joo-Seok that two years ago he also encountered someone who killed his parents and had wanted desperately to kill them too; thus understanding why Ma Joo-Seok would act this way.
However, Ma Joo-Seok considers himself despicable because at the moment when he struck back against his enemy like an idiotic fool, fear overwhelmed him—thus not wanting So Mun to see him as a good person.
In order to defeat evil spirits, So Mun intensifies his personal training and often ends up with injuries all over his body. To prevent the evil spirits from finding the noodle shop again, Choi Jang-Hong finds a perfect new base for The Counters.
The Counters immediately began rigorous training, especially when So Mun learned that Hwang Pil-Gwang was as fast as him. It became necessary to train everyone’s reflexes. In the prison, Ma Joo-Seok couldn’t bear being bullied and lost control of his emotions, getting into a fight with someone else.
When he reached the point of wanting to end it all, he felt the presence of angry and sorrowful evil spirits approaching him. Subconsciously, Ma Joo-Seok sensed that they wanted him to seek revenge.
The next day during personal training, Do Ha-Na heard a familiar piano sound and was surprised to find out it was Park Do-Hwi, her high school crush. When Do Ha-Na tried to deny her true identity as Do Ha-Na, Na Jeok-Bong suddenly appeared there.
However, he couldn’t stand the smell coming from Park Do-Hwi; it turned out that Na Jeok-Bong could smell the odor emanating from a piano repairman who had been possessed by an evil spirit. This discovery allowed Do Ha-Na to realize that Na Jeok-Bong could detect the scent of evil spirits.
This ability proved useful for The Counters because Hwang Pil-Gwang’s group could see their location but The Counters were unable to locate where the evil spirits were hiding. Therefore, Na Jeok-Bong’s nose came in handy as they could easily find hidden evil spirits – even more accurately than Ha-Na’s ghost radar.
As for Ga Mo-Tak, he also needed to prepare himself quickly in order to confront “Wong,” the thug-like evil spirit who had previously defeated him. He didn’t want to be a Counter who couldn’t help others so he sought out Na Jeok-Bong; this felt like his final mission and Ga Mo-Tak even considered stepping down from his position.
The following day, Na Jeok-Bong suddenly detected the scent of an evil spirit. Do Ha-Na sensed that it was a level three evil spirit, armed with a knife – most likely a robber. There was also another level one evil spirit present.
The team decided to split up, with Choi Jang-Mul and Chu Mae-Ok going to the art museum to confront the level one evil spirit. However, they soon realized that Na Jeok-Bong’s nose had been correct all along because Hwang Pil-Gwang’s group had deceived them. In fact, the location where Do Ha-Na believed the level one evil spirit was turned out to be where Hwang Pil-Gwang actually was.
In order to protect Chu Mae-Ok, Choi Jang-Mul fought back against Hwang Pil-Gwang but his psychic powers were too strong. He cruelly forced Chu Mae-Ok to attack Choi Jang-Mul; however, she resisted his control and luckily So Mun arrived just in time at the scene.
The Uncanny Counter Season 2 Episode 4 Recap
In continuation of “The Uncanny Counter 2 Episode 3 ” , So Mun initially gets subdued by Hwang Pil-Gwang during their confrontation. However, deep down, he thinks about how the tragedy intentionally caused by evil spirits made Ma Joo-Seok give up on being a good person.
So Mun becomes increasingly unwilling to accept this and sees protecting Ma Joo-Seok as his resistance against Hwang Pil-Gwang. However, because there are too many people that So Mun wants to protect, Hwang Pil-Gwang uses a gun to attack Choi Jang-Mul in an attempt to divert So Mun’s attention and make his escape.
On the other hand, Na Jeok-Bong gets attacked by Gelly and injures his nose, losing the ability to smell evil spirits. Although Do Ha-Na manages to hurt Gelly momentarily, she also escapes. As for the evil spirit Wong, Chu Mae-Ok has already summoned him for assimilation and bids farewell properly to Mrs. Su. Back at the new headquarters, Na Jeok-Bong feels guilty for not being useful in missions and decides to leave everyone on his own accord.
Ma Joo-Seok finds himself torn between seeking revenge against evil spirits while resisting crossing his moral boundaries through such dealings with them. The Counters set out to bring Na Jeok-Bong back only after learning that he can no longer smell due to being hit by an evil spirit; he blames himself for causing harm despite everyone’s heartfelt pleas for him to return. Meanwhile, Ro Ji-Hung is burdened with guilt over not being able to provide comfort or support for his father as a result of lacking abilities required as a Counter.
Just then, when the village chief’s son plans on harming his father with a knife after failing in selling off land scheme gone wrong, Ro Ji-Hung discovers Seong-Sik possessed by an evil spirit and recklessly pursues them, even enduring beatings to protect his father.
Ro Ji-Hung is delighted when his sense of smell returns after getting injured and uses this newfound motivation to single-handedly defeat the evil spirit, even performing a summoning for the first time. He is deeply moved by his own progress and receives affirmation from his father.
Gelly reveals that she has accessed Do Ha-Na’s memories and deduces a deep emotional connection between Min-Ji in the elevator and The Counters. She suggests to Hwang Pil-Gwang that they could potentially exploit Ma Joo-Seok’s current desire for revenge. The voice of vengeance grows stronger in Ma Joo-Seok’s mind, which he continues to hear during an interview with a lawyer.
Ga Mo-Tak worries about what might happen if he accidentally says something wrong as a witness in court that could harm Ma Joo-Seok. However, neighbors and community members rally together to testify on behalf of Ma Joo-Seok, providing ample evidence of him being a good person.
However, during the trial, Ma Joo-Seok unexpectedly confesses regret for not killing Park Seong-Uk. This statement pleases Hwang Pil-Gwang but leaves So Mun dumbfounded.
The Uncanny Counter – Season 2 Episode 3+4 Review and Theory
Hwang Pil-Gwang: “Why do you only want to use that power to protect this kind of thing?”
So Mun: “You may think that after obtaining our power, you can be invincible, but in the end, you will all go to hell.”
Hwang Pil-Gwang: “You… have too many things to protect.”
In “The Uncanny Counter season 2 episode 3” it is discussed that having superpowers is a fact. However, when people with different thoughts and desires possess these powers, there will be different applications and outcomes. It’s similar to how humans wield “power”; some use it for good while others satisfy their own greed. Unlike the first season, “The Uncanny Counter season 2” emphasizes more on the blurred line between good and evil.
I quite like the character Hwang Pil-Gwang because he understands human thoughts and knows their weaknesses. He understands that protecting emotions involves considering many factors. When Hwang Pil-Gwang asks, “Why do you only want to use that power to protect this kind of thing?”, I find it intriguing. I believe the writer of “The Uncanny Counter 2” wants to explore human desires, greed, and obsession through Hwang Pil-Gwang’s character – an instinctive nature within us.
Logically speaking, when humans possess great power, they would naturally want more from using that power. Therefore, in “The Uncanny Counter season 2 episode 3” when Hwang Pil-Gwan comes looking for The Counters team members (presumably) with doubts about these righteous individuals.
This also resonates with Wi-Gen’s emphasis in episode 2 of finding partners who are willing to sacrifice themselves to save others as part of The Counters’ mission. Now I understand why Wi-Gen stressed this point because humans inherently have desires and various emotions influencing their thoughts and decisions – this is what makes them realistically normal. Therefore, to find truly kind and pure souls is what qualifies someone as a member of The Counters. Otherwise, people with supernatural abilities will naturally use them for evil purposes.
In “The Uncanny Counter season 2,” Hwang Pil-Gwang specifically mentioned the phrase “You… have too many things to protect.” My first instinct is that this will become a weakness for The Counters.
Hwang Pil-Gwang will manipulate and attack The Counters using humans’ inherent emotional attachment and desire to protect, just like in episode three of “The Uncanny Counter season 2” when they were protecting the children at their sister’s noodle shop. Emotions and kindness will become the greatest weapon for evil spirits to attack The Counters.
So Mun in episode four of “The Uncanny Counter season 2” is an example of this. Ma Joo-Seok’s love for him and their mutual care will become So Mun’s power to resist Hwang Pil-Gwang. So Mun cannot bear to see Ma Joo-Seok turn into a dark villain because of tragedy.
The connection between people’s hearts and those they want to protect is what drives The Counters to become stronger. However, echoing what Hwang Pil-Gwang said in episode three of “The Uncanny Counter 2,” it may not be So Mun that Hwang Pil-Gwang attacks, but rather the people precious to So Mun. Therefore, in order to protect these people, So Mun won’t be able to use all his strength against Hwang Pil-Gwant, which becomes his weakness.
After watching the preview of the next episode, it seems that Hwang Pil-Gwang will go to great lengths to manipulate Ma Joo-Seok’s deep-seated hatred and make him believe that So Mun killed Min-Ji. This also echoes the events in Episode 3 of “The Uncanny Counter Season 2,” where Ma Joo-Seok loses control and tries to kill Park Seong-Uk after losing Min-Ji. Losing someone they want to protect can push people into a state of irrationality, and Hwang Pil-Gwang plans to exploit this emotional attachment as a way to deal with The Counters.
In Episode 3 of “The Uncanny Counter Season 2,” Ma Joo-Seok admits, “I’m despicable. Even though I really wanted to kill that guy Park Seong-Uk, when it came time to act, I was like an idiot, afraid.” Through the character development of Ma Joo-Seok, the writer portrays the transformation and vulnerability within human hearts. I believe this will also become a weakness for evil spirits who manipulate human emotions – when people have given up on being good, it becomes an opportune moment for evil spirits to take advantage.
However, on the other hand, perhaps it is also because of the strong emotional connections between people that can become the most powerful weapon. The sense of mission and innate empathy make The Counters work even harder to protect their loved ones (which is why So Mun becomes more dedicated to personal training). And those who struggle against their anger and grievances can also become good people because of love, fighting against the darkness within their hearts.