They Don't Kiss Until Episode 16

It get’s real folks!

Episode three opens with Hwang Pil-Gwang and So Mun having a strength showdown. Pil-Gwang threatens to collapse the whole building with everyone inside using telekinesis, and Mun is keeping him from doing it.

Tensions are high, but finally, Pil-Gwang stops, and no one except for the Gang is aware of what just happened. With their hide-out discovered, the crew gets a new state-of-the-art hide-out in Choi Jung-Mul’s corporation’s warehouse. Now the training begins in earnest, led by Mun. They also get new outfits. Mun explains to the crew that the Evil Trio is fast and strong. To beat them, they have to practice listening rather than seeing. 

Our new counter Jeok-Bong happens upon his new power: he can smell evil. This is a boon for the Counters. Usually, evil spirits wander into the Territory because they can’t see it. But The Evil Trio can and have been avoiding the territory, making it difficult for our Counters to find them. But this new power proves overwhelming for our new counter. 

In other news, The Evil Trio has a plan. They scoop up a level one evil-doer and use him to lure out Eonii’s Gang. Our Trio O’Evil doesn’t know that Jeok-Bong can smell evil. As the crew enjoys making food, Jeok-Bong alerts them that he smells evil nearby. The crew goes into action, but they are driving in circles as they try to follow Jeok-Bong’s nose, finally ending up on a cow farm. How ironic. Everyone is sort of dubious now of Jeok-Bong’s powers. Mun throws up the Territory but can’t sense any evil spirits. Jeok-Bong apologizes, telling them he was sure he smelled something, and Mrs. Chu tells everyone to back off Jeok-Bong as he just discovered his powers. Exactly. They all get ready to go home when Han-Na senses the evil spirit. She alerts the crew that the spirit is in a field and not one of the Evil Trio, but still a level three. They all go to handle business when Han-Na senses a surefire level one at the museum. 

They decide to split up. Jung-Mul and Mrs. Chu go to the museum to deal with a level one evil spirit, and the rest go to the field where Han-Na senses the other evil spirit. Jeok-Bong looks around and is confused; holding his nose, he tries to process what he is smelling. He knows something is bigger, but he doesn’t have the experience and, therefore, the language to say to everyone, I think this is a setup. 

Because it is!

Mrs. Chu and Jang-Mul arrive at the museum in good spirits, thinking that this exorcism will be a walk in the park, only to discover that the level one they sensed was a ploy by none other than Hwang Pil-Gwang and the skittery Wong.

On the way to the field, Jeok-Bong is mulling over his nose when the perceptive So Mun tells him to share. Jeok-Bong tells the crew that the smell is worse coming from the museum’s direction where the level one spirit is supposed to be, even though Han-Na hadn’t sensed it. They are torn. Do they go help Mrs. Chu and Jang-Mul with what they know to be a level one spirit despite Jeok-Bong’s smeller saying there is a stronger evil spirit there, or do they keep in the direction of the level three spirit and disregard Jeok-Bong’s thoughts since his powers are new and unstable.

Here is my thing… how come none of them thought, hmm, this could be a setup.

Because it is. 

Mun decides to phone Mrs. Chu. She doesn’t answer. That gives them the answers they need. They decide to split again, with Mun and Mo-Tak going to help Jung-Mul and Mrs. Chu and Jeok-Bong and Han-Na going to the fields.

Of course, Gelly is in the fields.

As the show closes, Wong has beaten down Jung-Mul and Mrs. Chu and Pil-Gwang is using his powers to force Mrs. Chu to kill a badly injure Jung-Mul while Mrs. Chu is using all her strength to resist the control.

In the fields, Jeok-Bong is OVERWHELMED, and Han-Na is getting her ass handed to her courtesy of Gelly. 

What will happen to the crew? We find out in episode four.

Before I review this episode, we must first discuss Mr. Ma. As we know, Mr. Ma’s wife Min-Ji, was brutally attacked and died due to her injuries in episode two. All the Evil Trio’s doing. However, the world believes Seong-Uk, who is also going to jail for the housing scam. Mr. Ma, in his grief, steals a firetruck and intercepts the police bus carrying Seong-Uk to prison in an attempt to kill Seong-Uk himself. Fortunately, Mo-Tak intervenes, but we already know where this is going. Mr. Ma is placed in prison until his hearing. He refuses to see anyone who could pull him from his despair and depression. In prison, he gets picked on because prison is prison, and he is new. Placed in solitary, Mr. Ma considers the unthinkable and tries to end it all. And, of course, at that moment, he is courted by an evil spirit disguised as his dead wife, and he takes the evil spirit in. 

This episode was frustrating for me. I was almost as frustrated with this episode as I was when I saw the Chinese Counters all murdered. You have been doing this for years!!!! Years!!!! Why are you acting brand new? Here are the facts that Eonii’s crew knew.

1. The Evil Trio have Counter powers. Having counter powers, they can also see the Territory and thus avoid it.
2. Instead of waiting to be found, Hwang Pil-Gwang walks his slick behind into the noodle shop, not to attack but to suss out just how powerful they are.

Yet there are no meetings, there is no research, and no one seems to be taking this seriously except for So Mun. So here you have new recruit with new powers who is saying I don’t understand what I’m smelling but the smell is worse in the direction of the museum, and not one of you goes, hmmm, this is probably one of the real evil MoFos? Not one of you thinks – we are being ambushed? Not one! 

Another frustrating aspect is the compromising of Mr. Ma’s soul, and I blame the crew. They have been doing this long enough, and while I understand they can’t intervene in everyone’s lives, they know how evil worms its way into people’s bodies. They should have known that Mr. Ma was going to be compromised. Shouldn’t they have? 

Episode three set us up for some possible loss. In a heart-to-heart scene with Mrs. Chu, Mo-Tak tells Mrs. Chu that he is exhausted. He never felt exhausted before, but the fighting and the getting beat down are starting to wear on him physically and mentally. This is a real moment in a high fantasy show, and I wonder what they will do with both of these characters. Mrs. Chu literally has to limit the use of her healing ability, or she will die, but the question is, who will replace them?

On a positive note, I will thank the director for giving us a fine shirtless moment of Mo-Tak. 

the duality