‘Bulgasasl: Immortal Souls’ has come out with the fourteenth episode of season 1 on Netflix. It depicts the ancient Bulgasal curse is brought to life through spectacular and brutal action scenes from the past and today.
Recap
Hye-Suk’s death has left Sang-Un and the others stunned. Kwon is well, with the exception of a shattered arm and claims to have recognised the assailant’s face.
Hwal obtains a photo of Min-Su and information to help guide them to the monster’s location using Captain Han and Kwon’s resources. He claims she’s already dead and leaves her on the ground while he searches for Do-Yun and Si-Ho.
Si-Ho and Do-Yun, on the other hand, wait their turn and manage to break free from their shackles, eluding Min-Su. Unfortunately, he follows them across cornfields and gives chase. Si-Ho realises that hiding is hopeless and sacrifices herself to let Do-Yun flee.
Hwal and Sang-Un arrive and charge through to try to save Si-Ho. Do-Yun cries angrily.
When Hwal arrives at their destination, he discovers Do-Yun has left a bloody mess on the floor. He is, nevertheless, still alive. Min-Su had snatched Si-Ho, put her over his shoulder and knocked her out.
All of this was merely bait for Sang-Un, who dropped Si-Ho and began pursuing her once she was alone with this monster. Sang-Un swings her knife frantically, but it’s ineffective. But, Hwal arrives and grabs him by the throat.
When Hwal looks him in the eyes, he recognises him as Yeongno, a monster that once ate 100 people. Min-Su, on the other hand, fights back, using Sang-blade Un’s to slice Hwal across the eyes. Hwal retaliates by thrashing him to a pulp.
Min-Su informs Hwal that he’s the same as Eul-Tae. Min-Su is slain, and the threat is averted for the time being. Hwal, on the other hand, is hurt and has his eyes bandaged.
The group travels to the location where Captain Han is imprisoned. Hwal takes the tape out of his lips and questions Han about how and when he began working with Eul-tae.
Han is recognised by Hwal from the station, and he threatens to kill Han’s family if anything goes wrong. So Hwal gives him the finger and tells him to call him if Eul-Tae calls.
Sang-Un is concerned that Hwal is becoming more like Eul-Tae after learning about the morally ambiguous region he is traversing.
Do-Yun and Si-Ho strive to deal with the consequences of Hye-Suk’s death in the aftermath of this attack. Sang-Un sits outside with Hwal.
Hwal coldly asserts that they have no time for the deceased at the moment and goes on to argue that she has never been family. Sang-Un sees right through him and believes he’s retaliating because he’s hurt by her loss.
Sang-Un should go with Do-Yun and Si-Ho, according to Hwal. He goes on to say that Eul-Tae and he were willfully Bulgasal and bloodlusting together 1000 years ago.
Hwal pushes everyone out of the safehouse, forcing them all to get into their cars and leave.
Unfortunately, Hwal’s action puts all of his friends in grave danger, particularly Kwon, who is approached by Eul-Tae later that day. Eul-Tae admits that he only killed to provoke Hwal and then reveals that Kwon’s father is a monster, the reason why he was murdered that night by Hwal.
Eul-Tae continues to reveal the painful truth, stating that Hwal is just interested in avenging himself. Captain Han is now driving Eul-Tae around on the condition that he doesn’t injure Kwon, which is why he hasn’t been killed. Eul-Tae cleverly incorporates his promised forgiveness into his persona.
Eul-Tae has kept his word but when he gets back into the automobile, he insists that everything will be as it was before. Specifically, how everyone will abandon Hwal totally.
That night, Hwal has a vision of all the people he has lost and driven away in the past and it all becomes too much for him. He’s suffocating, his chest constricted and he’s clearly suffering from his own emotions. Sang-Un appears just as he picks up a knife and prepares to stab himself.
Hwal mulls over what’s transpired, admitting that he’s in a state of constant misery. He also saw Hye-Suk as a daughter but he’s been trying to maintain his composure the entire while.
Sang-Un wraps her arms around him and implores Hwal to cooperate. As he hugs her back.
Review
- Through most of these recent episodes, Lee Jin-Wook has done an excellent job of maintaining a reserved stoic demeanour, teasing just a hint of emotion while remaining chilly and tough to sort out.
- There’s a lot of action in the first half of this episode, before things start to slow down.
Rating 3.5/5
Also Read: Bulgasal: Immortal Souls season 1 episode 13 recap & review