Recap Korean Drama The Heavenly Idol 2023 Episode 2

Episode 2 of The Heavenly Idol starts with Kim Dal and Pontifex Lembrary talking at the broadcast station. He believes as she is the first person to see that he is not Yeon-woo, he can convince her that he is from another world. After explaining the situation to Kim Dal, she breaks down and cries thinking the stress of being an idol has caught up with him and driven him to madness.

Kim Dal asks why he is insistent on getting into the broadcast building. Pontifex Lembrary claims that the Evil One is in the building but Kim Dal explains that is impossible, the man he saw is the director of broadcasting. Pontifex Lembrary becomes worried that the Evil One has power in this new world.

Kim Dal tries to explain that the only way for him to meet the director is to become a successful idol. She doesn’t believe him and is only trying to calm him down. After realizing that he can’t get into the broadcast, Pontifex Lembrary asks Kim Dal to return him home.

Pontifex Lembrary inquires about her relationship with Yeon-woo but she gives him an anonymous answer. Jung-seo is happy to see Yeon-woo and hurriedly takes him home. At home, Pontifex Lembrary worries about how he can return home and get rid of the Evil One. He suddenly hears a church bell chiming.  He decides to pray because he thinks it is the bell from the shrine from The Other World.

He concludes that his only chance of returning home is to try and reach out to the real Yeon-woo and make a holy vow sealed by Lord Redrin. If one makes a holy vow and fulfils it, Lord Redrin grants them a reward.  He believes this is the only way he can switch back bodies with the real Yeon-woo. He tries to use his divine powers to start the process of making the holy vow but his power is depleted.

In the meantime, Sun-ja is happy that the interview with Makka is going viral. She doesn’t care if Yeon-woo is getting criticized as long as the video is gaining views. She argues they can find a way to change Yeon-woo’s public image later. As they celebrate, a staff member informs her that a famous director, Kim Mu Rok has reached out to offer Yeon-woo a position in his hit singing competition show. Sun-ja and her other employees are overjoyed to hear this.

At home,  Pontifex Lembrary is saddened to see the food they have to eat but he has no choice but to eat the food so as to replenish his powers. Jung-seo reminds him that he has a meeting with the director and Tae-in asks him to let them use him to get popularity again.

Later, Sun-ja and Yeon-woo head to the meeting but he keeps making mistakes and speaking too honestly. This forces  Sun-ja to ask him to wait outside and he asks to take the snacks on the table.  This leads him to discover the existence of chocolate and he is excited that he can soon replenish his power if he eats the “tributes.” He thinks that the snacks are tributes.  With him gone, Sun-ja agrees to let the director add Yeon-woo to his reality show and cast him as a villain as long as he adds one more member from Wild Animals.

Elsewhere, Kim Dal is still thinking about what might have happened to Yeon-woo. She deduces that he must have been traumatized and ended up suffering from a spilt personality disorder. As she thinks about this, she hears a thud and she is reminded of what happened two years ago. After the artist she used to manage, Liz Ri tried to commit suicide, she quit her job and contemplated killing herself. A notification from LL Entertainment (Yeon-woo’s agency)  seeking road managers brings her back to the present.

Meanwhile, at the LL Entertainment office, Sun-ja meets with Yeon-woo and Cash and informs them they are going for a photo shoot for the Sing Survival show. She asks them to do their best and sends them on their way. At the photo shoot, Jung-seo tries to help Cash who is having a hard time.

On the other hand, Yeon-woo is killing it. He does everything the photographer asks apart from when he asks him to do an evil pose. Yeon-woo was initially driven to do his best because he wanted to eat the “tributes.” Jung-seo gets angry with him when he refuses to do the last pose and tells him that all idols have to do an evil concept like being vampires.  Yeon-woo is shocked to hear that as an idol he will have to do evil concepts and refuses to embody anything evil. It starts to dawn on him that maybe he won’t be able to become an idol.

Jung-seo tries to ask for help from Sun-ja but she is busy interviewing Kim Dal for the position of road manager. Kim Dal does her best to convince Sun-ja to hire her, Sun- ja desperately needs a road manager so she hires her. Initially, she didn’t want to hire Kim Dal since she is a woman and is afraid of the fans’ reactions but Kim Dal promises she will act professionally and keep her distance from the boys.

Sun-ja asks her to pick up Yeon-woo, Cash and Jung-seo from the studio. She arrives just in time to save them from pestering journalists asking if Yeon-woo will appear on the Sing Survival show. Yeon-woo notices that Kim Dal is the same woman who helped him before at the broadcasting building. She drops Cash and Jung-seo home and takes Yeon-woo to see a doctor.

She had already talked to the doctor and booked an appointment and asked her to keep it a secret. The doctor evaluates Yeon-woo and finds no problem with him. As she updates Kim Dal on his condition, Yeon-woo locks himself in the meditation room and uses his divine power to contact the real Yeon-woo.

The real Yeon-woo is happy in the other world and doesn’t want to go back to being a washed-up idol. He agrees to make a vow but on the condition that Pontifex Lembrary turns his fate around and makes Wild Animal a successful idol group. He also secretly adds in another condition, for Pontifex Lembrary to make him a great actor too. The energy needed to make this vow is too much and after it is done Pontifex Lembrary faints.

Through Kim Dal’s conversation with the doctor, we learn that she loves and supports Wild Animal because Yeon-woo saved her life. On the day she had planned to end her life, she met Yeon-woo on the streets and he noticed she was depressed. He gave her a signed copy of their CD and took away the things she had planned to use to commit suicide. He also wrote a touching message as well as an autograph. This is why she is hoping to help him now.

After her talk with the doctor, she finds Yeon-woo locked in the meditation room. She is worried that something bad happened and hurriedly asks for the key to the door. Upon opening the room, they find Yeon-woo passed out.  She tries to wake him up and he tells her that he signed a slave contract, passing out again.

The Episode Review

I felt sad seeing Sun-ja betraying Yeon-woo for fame. She agreed to use him and destroy his public image because she wants Wild Animal to be successful. She is someone who should be protecting him and this was a reminder of what happens to many artists around the world.  Hopefully, Yeon-woo’s public image won’t be tainted in the end.

Kim Dal’s fight with depression is another reminder that mental health needs to be discussed more. Her interaction with Yeon-woo is what saved her life.  I am glad that music and Yeon-woo saved her life. It reminds me of when I hear stories of how BTS music has saved so many people dealing with depression.

Lastly, I don’t blame the real Yeon-woo for wanting to remain in the Other World but I still think it was selfish. However, the second episode keeps up the great momentum, leading to an exciting set of episodes to come!