Recap Korean Drama "Dark Hole" Episode 3

Episode 3 of Dark Hole starts with Hwa-Sun desperate to find Do-Yoon, who’s gone missing after the zombie attack. From afar, she notices a girl walking off with her hand in hand.

The infection continues to spread, turning all the infected into murderous rage-fueled zombies. Knowing this is the case, a large crowd gathers at Muji High School.

A young woman called Hyun-Mi is among those who manage to get over the gates, charging full speed as the zombies catch up and pour through the gates. These murderous creatures continue to stalk their prey.

Banging on the glass, Hyun-Mi pleads with the survivors to open up. It’s no good, and a boy called Seung-Tae is forced to watch her killed right before his eyes.

Meanwhile, Hwa-Sun tracks down Do-Yoon to a makeshift sanctuary for the “New Savior”. With soft organ music and candles, these men and women allow Do-Yoon the opportunity to stay with them. Hwa-Sun is not so sure this is a good idea, but it’s of course the girl’s decision over what to do next.

Elsewhere, Tae-Han is in a bad way. With a bite mark over his arm, he patches up his wound as best he can before helping a straggler out on the road. As he progresses forward to the hospital, the pair enter a strange smoke-filled area.

At the hospital are our two bumbling officers, Park Soon-Il and Zo Hyun-Ho. They show up to grateful applause from all involved – minus one guy who happens to be the loan shark we’ve seen across the previous episodes.

Anyway, Tae-Han eventually shows up at the doors with a patient needing medical attention. Officer Park is not so sure it’s a good idea, especially with the infected outside. Eventually they make the wise choice and allow Tae-Han and this other survivor inside.

With Tae-Han safe for now, he contacts Hwa-Sun and asks about Do-Yoon. They both confirm they’re safe and exchange survival stories. Hwa-Sun is intending to head up to the school the next chance she gets.

After hanging up, Tae-Han is attended to by his nurse, Sae-Byeol. It’s a small world too, especially when he finds out she’s connected to Young-Sik. Tae-Han can’t bring himself to admit the truth about his friend though. He smiles weakly when Sae-Byeol wonders hopefully if Young-Sik managed to hide.

In the hallway, Tae-San is approached by a woman who asks about the black smoke and whether he inhaled it. Tae-Han is confused but she tells him he’ll find out soon enough what she means.

Elsewhere, Hwa-Sun waits to speak to the Sister in charge of this sanctuary. Interestingly, up on the wall is a poster reading “The New Savior is waiting for you” with numerous butterflies on. Butterflies have been a recurring motif in this series so it seems like everything is connected together.

Hwa-Sun decides to leave but before she does, Do-Yoon starts coughing and doubling over. It turns out he has anaphylaxis and needs an adrenaline shot to keep him stable. Those in this cult have just what he needs, and they take him away.

While they do, the brothers and sisters inside the sanctuary drug Hwa-Sun’s water with a tranquilizer, knocking her clean out. They refuse to let her take Do-Yoon away and claim she’s going on to the new paradise.

As this cult give out a drink to everyone in the circle, Hwa-Sun finds herself tied up. Thankfully she uses the cut pieces of china to break free from her binds. Hwa-Sun immediately heads into the main hall and demands Do-Yoon be handed over.

Those inside the cult meanwhile, try to convince Do-Yoon to drink in order to be reunited with her Mother. Eventually Do-Yoon runs away, but not before Hwa-Sun fires a warning shot in the Sister’s general direction.

Unfortunately, this also blasts a hole in the window which sees black smoke swarm inside this woman. Thankfully Hwa-Sun manages to thwart the threat and shoots the woman in the head. As the smoke continues to swarm, Hwa-Sun and Do-Yoon both don air filter masks and head out, ready to arrive at the school.

Within our various different pockets of survivors, we cut inside the school where Dong-Rim notices her ex start to give in to fear. She antagonizes him in the bathroom and as he looks at the mirror, a small sliver of black looks set to consume his eyeball.

At the hospital, the group are shown footage of the surgery ward on the CCTV cameras. There’s a survivor too – which happens to be Ji-Hye, Hyun-Ho’s wife. Before we find out the solution to this however, we jump back to the high school once more where Hwa-Sun and Do-Yoon are approached by numerous infected. Hwa-Sun manages to fight them off but more are closing in from the horizon.

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The Episode Review

Dark Hole returns this week with a solid episode as we see three distinct groups of survivors trying to prevent succumbing to this deadly black smoke.

It perhaps makes sense then that the three areas of refuge we find are that of the school, a place of worship and a hospital. In a real survival situation like this you’d imagine these places would be the most likely havens. Of course, by the end of the episode we see that really there’s nowhere to hide from this oncoming rush of death.

What role does the shaman have to play in all this too? She hasn’t been in this show since the sinkhole incident but I’d imagine she’ll play a pivotal role in trying to stop this darkness.

The inclusion of a cult is a good one too, showing that Do-Yoon isn’t really safe anywhere. However, he does have more chances of survival with Hwa-Sun than these crazy cultists.

Meanwhile, the school looks like it could be a pivotal battleground going forward, especially if Do-Yoon and Hwa-Sun make it inside. By comparison, it looks like we’re going to get a big mission at the hospital with the surgical ward rescue a likely cause.