Barrier
Episode 13 of The Uncanny Counter begins at Jahye Children's Centre, an abandoned patch of land which Cheong-Sin drives up to with his demons. He heads in alone and now we see why.
As a child, Cheong-Sin was a labourer and recruited by a man who adopted him as his own. This man whom he called Father caused the scar across his face. As Cheong-Sin visits his Father now, he telepathically turns the shotgun on him and fires, severing the tie to the only thing left binding him to this world. The consequence of this sees Cheong-Sin consume the man's spirit and become even stronger.
With Cheong-Sin now complete, Wigen and the others brief the Counters over what this means. He's nigh on unstoppable now and can even heal himself like Mae-Ok. Now that he's become all-powerful, that spells bad news for Mun who learns that after a month, his Mother and Father will perish. However, there is a way out.
That comes in the form of the Counters conjuring up a barrier; the only way to contain a level 4. Wigen and the other spirits showcase this power, as the whites of their eyes show and form a cocoon of brilliant light around them.
This weakens any Counter standing inside but also does harm to the Counters as well. When the territory is gone, so too will the barrier so they only have a limited time to get this right. This then falls to Mun to do, given he's the only one out of the group who can conjure the territory at will.
Joining them on this quest is of course Jang-Mul, who rocks up with his usual charisma and enthusiasm. Ha-Na however, isn't sure whether he can handle himself in the field.
Mo-Tak continues to be haunted by the ghosts of his past, desperate to find who killed Jeong-Yeong. He finds someone nearby parked up nearby who may hold the clues needed. His dashcam footage could show the detective responsible for killing her.
After obtaining the footage, Mo-Tak repeatedly plays that fateful moment over and over again. Unfortunately the angle is difficult to see so he turns it over to Kang Han-Ul, hoping that he can trust the officer.
At the station, Han-Ui shows his hand as the detective and the Chief both incriminate themselves. Chief Choi finally finds the bug under his desk but it's too little too late; Han-Ui shows up with Mo-Tak to swiftly give justice. It turns out it was the Chief who pulled the trigger after all, making it all the worse given Mo-Tak's previous allegiance with him.
At Taesin Group, the fall of Mayor Shin sees another snake take his place. Cho Tae-Sin sits with Chang-Gyu and asks whose side he's on. While Chang-Gyu remains conflicted, Mayor Shin starts to lose his cool and calm composure, desperate to fight back – and fight dirty.
In fact, Shin decides to use Ms Jang for his own devices. When she leaves the police station however, Chang-Gyu grabs her and guides the woman into the car where Tae-Sin happens to be.
Thanks to Tae-Sin and Ms Jang working together, they manage to uncover evidence to use against him once and for all, catching Shin in the act of killing courtesy of a hidden camera.
Meanwhile, Mae-Ok sits with Mun and they have a heart to heart. She apologizes to him for what happened in the past, admitting that she pretty much forced him into becoming a Counter. She does, however, given him an important life lesson about enjoying being a Counter as they sit and share noodles together.
Outside, Mun meets his friends and eventually spies Hyeok-U on the floor being beaten by the other thugs. Now that he's turned into a murderer's son, the boy isn't able to hide behind his father's facade any more. Mun heads over and tells them to leave him alone. While Hyeok-u fails to accept his help, it is a turning point for Mun who decides not to use his Counter powers unnecessarily.
Well, we spoke too soon. Mun heads home and suddenly summons the territory when he saves a child in the street about to be hit by a car. Realizing others being in danger is seemingly the trigger, he finally starts to understand.
Back at the Children's Home, trouble brews in paradise as one of Cheong-Sin's subordinates looks set to hurt one of the children. Cheong-Sin is having none of it though and grabs the man, absorbing his spirit. On the back of this, Cheong-Sin decides to leave, just as the Counters show up.
The group conjure up their barrier. It seems to do the trick too, as Mun walks purposefully toward the demons and Cheong-Sin. The four Counter members hold firm and it all looks set to go their way.
"Let's end this," Mun rasps, as he heads after Cheong-Shin and starts beating him down to the ground. Summoning Cheong-Sin's spirit to Yung, one of the little kids there suddenly catches him completely off-guard and asks Mun to let the man go.
Pointing a gun to his own head, Cheong-Sin grins and tells him to watch what happens to his parents. And just like that, he shoots himself in the head and drops to the ground.
Meanwhile, news breaks that Mayor Shin has been found unconscious in the police station. According to a source nearby, he hasn't recovered.Is this the end for him?
The Episode Review
If you haven't ben following the Korean drama news, The Uncanny Counter hit a new broadcast record for OCN last week and even managed to bag itself an early season 2 renewal. For those of you who have been watching Korean dramas for a while, this is incredibly rare and great news too. Congratulations to all involved in making this thriller!
In terms of action-orientated Korean dramas, The Uncanny Counter has balanced its action with a heavy dose of the supernatural and Uncanny Counter is all the stronger for it.
Mun is a lot better as a character now than he was several weeks ago too, and the other supporting characters have interesting arcs here.
The fragments of the past we saw with Mae-Ok is certainly welcome but surprisingly it's Cheong-Sin who gets the plaudits. Taking the time to actually understand where he's come from and the difficult upbringing is a really nice touch and something that helps to give a bit more depth to this drama.
For now though, The Uncanny Counter delivers an excellent show and that cliffhanger leaves the door open for tomorrow's follow-up.
