Our favourite demon-hunters are back in K-town with demons that are more difficult to subdue.
Season 2 of the fantasy action series, The Uncanny Counter on Netflix, continues in the fictional city of Jungjin where the Counters, with the aid of their partners at Yung (the Spirit Management Agency), find and exorcise evil spirits that escape from the afterlife to gain immortality.
Adapted from the Kakao Webtoon webtoon/manhwa Amazing So Mun (also Amazing Rumour) by Jang Yi, it centres around the title character So Mun, a high school student who becomes a Counter.
In the new season, we have our old Counters and their Yung partners along with a new recruit to help catch the new improved evil spirits.
So far in the series, we have been introduced to Hwang Pil Gwang and his immediate subordinates Gelly and Wong who are all level three evil spirits that have absorbed the powers of the previous Counters they killed. What remains to be seen is how our Counters would fight spirits with powers that they too possess.
The Uncanny Counter Season 2 Episode 3 Recap: What is Na Jeok Bong’s Superpower?
Hwang Pil Gwang (henceforth addressed as Hwang seonsaeng) confronts So Mun at Eonni’s noodles. The two attack the surroundings with their telekinesis cracking the windows of the establishment in the process.
They reach a stalemate as both seem to be equally matched. As Hwang seonsaeng leaves the premises, both he and So Mun bleed through their noses due to the strain.
On the other side, Mu Tak is with the new recruit Jeok Bong to test his powers. With black paint in his hands, he jumps to put his mark on the wall, literally… and the handprint is unbelievably lower than expected. So low that Mo Tak doubts whether Jeok Bong is connected to Yung.
Mu Tak receives a call about a fire truck stolen from the station by a fireman, Ma Ju Seok.
The said fire truck and fireman are a tunnel blocking the way of an emergency escorting bus. The bus is escorting criminal Park Seong Uk who is also charged for the murder of Ju Seok’s pregnant wife, Lee Min Ji.
Ju Seok attacks the escorts and goes after Seong Uk with an axe. But Mo Tak appears and stops a reluctant Ju Seok. He is a first responder who values human lives and is unable to kill another.
Ju Seok gets arrested and imprisoned, awaiting trial, for his attempt at murder.
Ju Seok has been rejecting visits from his mother. So Mun visits him. He empathises with Ju Seok as not long ago he too faced his parents’ killer.
Ju Seok says that he was afraid. He wanted to kill the man who killed his wife and unborn baby. He scoffs at his cowardness and inability to kill a person, scaring So Mun.
Choi Jang Mul, Jang Mul ahjussi, prepares a new hideout for the Counters in his company. As a welcome gift, the Counters also receive new and improved suits. But there are four rooms and five Counters. Jeok Bong and So Mun end up sharing a room.
The Counters don their boxing gloves and get to training against their evil spirit substitute, So Mun. Predictably, everyone ends up licking dust at his hands.
Ha Na, relentless as ever, refuses to yield. She So Mun’s advice to stop following with her eyes and let her bodily instincts guide her. Ha Na finally lands a hard punch, defeating So Mun.
Ju Seok has a confrontation with fellow prison inmates who bully him for not being able to kill his wife’s murderer. The guards put him into solitary confinement.
He makes a makeshift noose with his t-shirt to hang himself. But his sadness in his inability to save his family and the excruciating rage for his inability to get revenge attracts an evil spirit.
The spirit shows him a hallucination of Min Jae who asks him to let her help him. As he agrees, the spirit enters his body.
Still from Episode 3 of The Uncanny Counter Season 2Ha Na leaves for her daily run and Jeok Bong joins her, having underestimated the intensity of her exercise.
Ha Na meets her high school crush who still harbours feelings for her. While she’s trying to evade him, Jeok Bong enters trying to act all macho… and promptly falls face first, busting his nose.
Jeok Bong smells a disgusting smell and it is saying something since he used to manage his father’s cowshed.
Apparently, the disgusting smell belongs to an evil spirit, the piano tuner, who was at Ha Na’s friend’s piano shop. Ha Na banishes the spirit alone considering Jeok Bong’s lack of Counter strength.
The Counters at the hideout are excited for his blessed nose as the evolved spirits are able to see the territory. But Mo Tak seems a little down as the Counters gather around Jeok Bong praising him.
Later that night Mo Tak takes his frustration over the fight with Wong out on a punching bag. He shares with Ms Chu that he feels like a hindrance. Ms Chu hits some sense into him and then proceeds to soothe his worries with an exclusive bowl of noodles.
The Uncanny Counter Season 2 Episode 3 Ending Explained: How Accurate is Na Jeok Bong’s Superpower?
Jeok Bong smells an evil spirit but is unable to direct the Counters to the exact location. While the Counters berate him for it, Ha Na senses the presence of evil spirits in two places away from their current location.
Ms Chu and Jang Mul ahjussi head over to subdue the level one spirit while the rest head over towards where the level three spirit is.
On their way to the reed field, Jeok Bong hesitantly reveals that he smells a strong spirit in the direction of the museum. So the four split up and So Mun and Mo Tak head over to the museum.
Hwang seonsaeng and Wong are at the museum with the level one spirit that Ha Na had sensed.
Wong single-handedly bashes Jang Mul ahjussi and Ms Chu. Ms Chu attacks Wong with a spear but Hwang seonsaeng controls it and directs the blow towards Jang Mul ahjussi.
Ms Chu does her best to apply reverse force before So Mun appears, sending the spear towards Hwang seonsaeng.
The Uncanny Counter Season 2 Episode 3 Review
Na Jeok Bong seems way too weak for a Counter. Counters are supposed to have thrice the strength of normal humans outside the territory. As someone who engages in manual labour, he should have more strength.
Ga Mo Tak’s self-doubt, although unreasonable, is understandable. Ha Na can read subconscious memories and detect spirits at a wider range, Ms Chu has the power to heal and So Mun can summon Yung’s territory. He also has telekinesis but is teaching it to the other Counters. Mo Tak is showing the least progress in that regard too.
The Counters have subdued an evil spirit at the final level. Though not easy, they should be able to take care of these level three spirits too. They can see the territory so are least likely to step on it but Na Jeok Bong’s nose would play a major role, if the man can work on his powers.
With Ma Ju Seok, we’re learning about how evil spirits possess a human. This was something that was not featured in the previous season. Considering the fact that Ju Seok is inherently a good person, the evil spirit has its work cut out for it, if it ever succeeds in completely possessing Ju Seok.
