The Uncanny Counter Season 2: Counter Punch (2023) Episode 11

Episode 11 of Uncanny Counter season 2 starts with Pil-gwang being absorbed by Ju-seok. Having read his memory and realized he’s the real crook here, he kills the Spirit outright and absorbs his essence. In doing so, Jeok-bong’s sense of smell is distorted as he realizes two have become one.

When Mun and Ha-na show up, they see Pil-gwang’s lifeless body being taken away and realize the worst has happened. They consult the Spirits, who warn that raising the Territory will be dangerous for them. If they do this, Ju-seok will figure out exactly where they are. Summoning the territory is pointless and the only solution now is to kill the spirit outright. They can’t simply expel the evil spirit, they need to kill the host too… which would mean killing Ju-seok.

Mun’s pleas to try and bring Ju-seok back to the light falls on deaf ears. They have no choice, and Mo-tak points out they’re at the end of the line, they have no choice now but to kill him.

The police station is overrun with reports of Ju-seok, and Mo-tak encourages the other officers to take this seriously, pointing out that someone may have risked their life to reveal this info. As for Mun, he summons the territory out in the open with Ha-na, and ends up seeing Ju-seok in his subconscious. Only… it’s not the Ju-seok he remembers. This version has been controlled by Pil-gwang.

Pil-gwang/Ju-seok goads Mun into fighting, and he finds himself in the strange black goo. The spirit tries to drown Mun, but thankfully he’s saved by, what appears to be, the light side of Ju-seok’s spirit still kicking about.

Mun returns to the Spirits and he’s even more convinced now that the soul of Ju-seok is deep inside. This changes Wi-gen’s mind and she points out that this is a huge risk… and it’s not worth the cost of that. She tells Mun that elimination is the only solution.

Mo-tak teams up with his associate from the station, Han-ul, to investigate the old Baekdu Planning Construction Firm Office building. This is, of course, where Ju-seok has been hanging out. Mo-tak goes alone and finds broken glass and spatters of blood on the floor. Unfortunately, this is Ju-seok’s doing and he controls Han-ul, almost making him shoot himself in the head.

Mo-tak is no match for this stronger evil spirit, and he finds himself cut numerous times. Mo-tak lulls Ju-seok into a false sense of security before slashing him with the knife. Han-ul gets involved and shoots Ju-seok, who in turn throws the knife into Han-ul’s body. Mo-tak is shocked and shoots Ju-seok at point blank range. Unfortunately, Ju-seok recovers quickly, and even worse, he seems to snap Han-ul’s neck too.

Mo-tak is warned to get out and save himself, but he’s forced to watch Han-ul choked out and the life leave before his very eyes. Mo-tak reluctantly leaves to regroup. In doing so, the light spirit of Ju-seok comes back and pushes back against Pil-gwang’s, contemplating just what he’s done.

Mo-tak is broken and he heads back to base, collecting up a whole bag of gear to take the fight to Ju-seok. Mun tries to convince him to stop but Mo-tak has had enough. He smacks Mun in the face and points out that his comrade is dead. There’s no going back now and for Mo-tak, he’s going to kill Ju-seok as revenge. When he returns though, Ju-seok is nowhere to be seen. 

As for Mun, he speaks to Ju-seok’s mum in hospital and contemplates what to do next. He still believes that Ju-seok can come back and even after everything that’s happened, he has faith, even if it’s wavering a bit. Ha-na, interestingly, s also on Mun’s side, as she also doesn’t want to kill him. But she’s tagging along with Mo-tak as she doesn’t think anyone should be left alone after what he’s endured. After all, they’re family.

Mo-tak receives a call from the hospital and rushes there with Ha-na. Together, they find Han-ul who’s still alive but in a rough way. Ha-na reads his memory and sees that Ju-seok actually used his healing powers to revive the guy. Ha-na is shocked and immediately realizes that Mun was right – Ju-seok can be saved after all.

Elsewhere, there’s more Jeok-bong shenanigans before he suddenly starts vomiting all over the floor. It turns out he’s sniffed out Ju-seok, who is actually at their hideout. Learning this, all the other Counters rush back to base. It turns out Pil-gwang read Ju-seok and the Evil Spirit’s mind and learned exactly where they were. I mean, wouldn’t he know this anyway given they’re both one and the same now?

Anyway, Ju-seok shows up and tries to find the Counters, with Mae-ok, Jeok-bong and Mr Choi all hiding under the table. They’re worried about being consumed but honestly, Jeok-bong is so useless it wouldn’t be much of a loss. They could use him as a good distraction to get away, couldn’t they? Anyway, I digress. Jeok-bong instead is tasked with finding a hidden self-destruct button to blow the base up and destroy Ju-seok.

Mun shows up just in time to prevent this from being triggered, as Jeok-bong is captured and thrown onto a shelf, which topples on top of him. Ju-seok turns his attention to Mun, but he’s knocked down, prompting the others in the room to jump in and help.

Wi-gen communicates and warns Mun that what they’re doing is fruitless and they need to leave. Mun agrees… and triggers the self destruct protocol. He tries to grab everyone and takes them out the shutters, watching as they close and leave just Mun and Ju-seok in the room together.

However, the shutters are suddenly lifted against the odds as all the other Counters show up, including a returning Mo-tak, and decide they need to save their comrade. They’re convinced that Ju-seok can be brought back, and with 4 minutes left, they intend to work together and find a way to exorcise the spirit and bring Ju-0seok back.

The Episode Review

I’m not saying this was a filler, but nothing substantial actually happened here. None of the Counters have been damaged or hurt, nothing was lost, and we’re back at the exact same position we started, albeit with a big stand-off inside a different room this time.

Uncanny Counter has been a real disappointment in this second season, with characters like Mae-ok and Ha-na wasted in the grand scheme of things. We’ve had a half-arsed attempt at a romance for the latter, and a motherly-angle for the former, and neither have enhanced our characters in any way.

There’s really not a lot else to say about this one, and the fact that you could theoretically skip this episode completely and jump into the finale speaks volumes about how unnecessary this was.