The beginning of the episode began with Hwal in a tussle with SangUn over a wooden stake. Hwal wanted to stab the Detective with it, but SangUn wanted him to restrain himself otherwise he’d turned into a savage killer like EunTae.
Earlier, EunTae vowed that he would show her Hwal’s true colors. He said, “I want to show you the true colors of the man who has your trust and who protects you.” But SangUn placed her trust on Hwal doing the right thing. Thus, even though she was frightened by her visions of Hwal killing people, she continued to reason with him.
SangUn: Snap out of it. Please. You can’t become like Ok Eultae. Look at me. Are you the Dan Hwal that I know? The one who wanted to remain human?
Hwal: (getting a grip on himself) Let go. You’ll hurt yourself.
Thanks to SangUn, Hwal controlled his rage. She was able to sway him by reminding him of their private conversation that morning. He told her that ever since he became Bulgasal, he had never killed an innocent person. He only killed murderers. He tried his best not to forget that he was once a human, and that he was still a human.
That’s his Bulgasal Oath.
Next, Hwal decided to go after the monster who abducted SiHo and Doyoon.
Hwal: We have to hurry.
SangUn: Wait. What about this place? What about Ms. Lee?
Det. Kwon: I’ll stay with her. You two should go. I’ll report this.
Hwal: Don’t.
SangUn: (shocked)
Hwal: The police will only get in the way.
SangUn: (protesting) We’re just going to leave her lying on this cold floor?
Hwal: (coldly) She’s already dead. We should find the others first.
SangUn: (quiet)
She was shocked at his lack of emotions. She must have wondered whether she was seeing his true colors. Was he really this heartless?
But then, she raced with him through a field of feather dusters. (lol. Are those amaranths?)
She understood how rage could drive one to kill because she herself didn’t hesitate to stab the monster when she saw her sister unconscious on the ground.
SangUn: What did you do to my sister?…Where you the one who killed Ms. Lee? …The woman back at the warehouse! …Both you and Ok EulTae want me. You could only have killed me. Why did you have to harm the others? (slashes him again)
That’s why when she saw Hwal beating the guy dead, she didn’t shout at him hysterically like she did in the barn with the Detective early.
SangUn: That’s enough. It’s over. (holding his arm) Please stop.
Note: he stopped as soon as she laid her hand on him, like a miracle worker. lol.
Hwal: Dan Sol?
SangUn: Dan Sol? Who is that?
Hwal: Your sister.
Here, he was also displaying his true colors. He was showing that he cared for her sister.
After saving Siho and Doyoon, then they returned to the spot where they tied up Detective. Hwal wanted to talk to him alone, out of SangUn’s hearing.
SangUn: What did you guys talk about?
Hwal: I said I’d kill his family.
SangUn: (clutching his arm) You threatened to hurt his family?
Hwal: I’ll do anything I can to get Ok EulTae?
SangUn: You do know that’s what Ok EulTae says all the time, right? He threatened to kill my family if he couldn’t break my soul.
Hwal: That’s why I’m doing this. I won’t stand back anymore.
His true colors were showing. He was fiercely protective of his family. He wouldn’t hold back when his family was threatened.
SangUn: Then what makes you any different from him?
Hwal: I don’t care if we’re the same.
More of his true colors showing. He was single-minded and inflexible, and he thought he had to do this alone. He looked like a lonely man as he walked away.
SiHo asked about him that night.
SiHo: How’s Hwal? Is he okay?
SangUn: I don’t know. I think he’s very upset about what happened. That’s why he’s been acting out and saying things he doesn’t mean.
SiHo: I understand. Mrs. Lee was probably his only family. I’ll stay with Doyun. I can’t be alone, and I’m concerned about him. You should go to Hwal.
SangUn: Okay.
I’m looking forward to the episode when these two realize that they were both in an intimate relationship with Hwal in their previous lives. Lol. SangUn has dibs on him.
SangUn joined him at the porch.
SangUn: Did Ms. Lee have any family? We should let them know.
Hwal: Eopso
Netflix subbed it as “She had none.” His reply was terser. It was a simple “no.” He didn’t want to talk about this. Still she persisted.
SangUn: How about her close friends? We should a funeral.
Hwal: The police took her. They’ll be investigating. Let it be. We have no time to worry about the dead.
SangUn: We have no time? We’re talking about Ms. Lee here.
Hwal: That’s not important right now.
SangUn: Then, what is?
Hwal: Do you really not know?
His true colors were showing. He was rude because he was hurting.
SangUn: Catching Ok EulTae? Yes. That’s important. But a family member just passed away.
Hwal: She wasn’t my family. What we had was only an ill-fated relationship. She was a shaman who told villagers to kill me 600 years ago. I just kept her close to keep an eye on her in case she turned into an enemy again. I had no choice but to keep her near.
SangUn: Don’t lie. You’re just saying that because you’re mad and can’t accept her death.
Yes. SangUn saw his true colors. He was mad and couldn’t wait to get his revenge on Dark Hole.
SangUn: But don’t say things you’ll regret. It’ll also hurt you.
Hwal: I won’t regret it. Everyone dies. If you live for a long time, you get used to seeing people die. I’m completely fine.
SangUn: (holding his arm again) Do you really mean that?
Hwal: (not saying a word)
I like how she would place a hand on his arm to get his attention. Normally, he wouldn’t notice that she was imploring him to listen to her and to comply. Here, however, her touch seemed intrusive, so she pulled her hand away.
Hwal: Leave. Take Siho and Doyoon. Leave this place. I’m going to stay here and kill Ok Eultae.
SangUn: I told you over and over again that I wasn’t going to run away without you.
Hwal: I’m not telling you to run away. I want you to stop hindering me. To be honest, none of you are helpful to me. You’re only a burden.
SangUn: I’ll make sure we don’t get in the way. And this is all because of Ok EulTae and me—
Hwal: (correcting her) That’s not true. You asked me about what he said that shook me. A thousand years ago, I asked him to turn me into Bulgasal.
SangUn: What are you talking about?
Hwal: It’s not a coincidence you attacked me and took my soul 600 years ago.
Tell himmmm! Tell him about your vision of him as a Bulgasal 1000 years ago. Come on now, girl. He had red eyes, scary claws, and that animal grunt. He was not human 1000 years ago; he was a Bulgasal.
Hwal: (continuing) I was also the reason why my family was killed.
SangUn: What are you saying?
Hwal: I wanted to become Bulgasal. Ok EulTae and I were on the same side 1000 years ago. He and I are the same. So there’s no need to stay with me.
1000 years ago, he was already a Bulgasal. But something radical happened that made him want to give up his Bulgasal life for a human life, hence he took EulTae’s soul. He wasn’t the same as ET.
Hwal: So there’s no need to stay with me. Take the others and leave right now.
SangUn: But what about you? You can’t even see.
Hwal: Exactly. I can barely defend myself in this state, let alone all of you. You were all just a nuisance. Siho, Doyoon, Detective Kwon, Hyeseok, and you too. Protecting you all has worn me out.
True colors? The reason he wanted them out is that he feared he couldn’t protect them while he was blind. He felt powerless to save them from EulTae’s attack.
Hwan: (continuing) I can’t be bothered anymore. I’m exhausted. I need to confront Ok EulTae as soon as possible. I need to put an end to all of this. To everything.
Lol. There were so many tropes going on in his little rant. There was the “hurting hero” trope. Didn’t Mr. Rochester in “Jane Eyre” do the same thing when he became blind? He wanted to be left alone. There’s also the “hero fatigue” trope when the hero feels overwhelmed after saving the whole world countless times.
And the “pity party” trope. It’s his party, he can cry if he wants to.
So they left him as he wished.
Meanwhile, in another part of town, EunTae was campaigning on his “true colors” slogan.
ET: How is Hwal? Has he shown his true colors yet?
He wanted to drive a wedge between Det. Kwon and Hwal so plant the seed of doubt in Det. Kwon’s mind. He told him that his father and sister were killed by Hwal and he denied taking part in those deaths.
ET: It was Hwal the man that’s been by your side all this time. Not only did he kill your father, but he also left your sister to die. Do you know why? Because he couldn’t care less about people dying. The only thing he cares about is his family from his past life. But even that isn’t true. He’s just been obsessed with family ever since his father left him as a boy. He doesn’t have any human emotions. All he ever wanted was revenge. A thousand years ago, and even now.
This reminds me of an insult heard in playgrounds. It went like this, “I’m rubber, you’re glue, whatever you say bounces off of me, and sticks to you.”
Meaning, whatever EulTae said about Hwal applies more to him than it did to Hwal. His characterization of Hwal is self-referential.
EulTae’s goal was to turn Hwal’s people against him one by one, so he’d end up all alone…like him. He felt he was abandoned by Hwal so he wanted Hwal to feel the same rejection.
However, the ending scene showed that his plan didn’t work on SangUn. She saw his true colors and decided he was worth staying for. She returned to his side, just in the nick of time.
SangUn: Hwal! What are you doing? (grabs the dagger)
Hwal: Why did you come back here?
SangUn: I came back for you. I don’t think I can just leave without you. But what are you doing right now? Do you want to die?
Hwal: (shaking his head) I can’t kill myself even if I wanted to, so just let go. I feel suffocated. That’s all. My chest feels tight. I have to do this to ease the pain.
In a way, he was the opposite of Dark Hole. Dark Hole felt pain from his open wound while Hwal felt pain from his pent-up emotions. Dark Hole could feel the emptiness, but Hwal felt suffocated.
SangUn: Stop! Why in the world are you doing this?
Hwal: (puts down his hand) She wanted to live with me but I never let her. I was afraid that she would grow on me. I was angry about what she did to me 600 years ago, so I never comforted her even once when she was in pain. When in fact, she was like a daughter to me. My daughter died.
Essentially, he repeated what he had done to AChan 600 years ago. He didn’t want to be close to his son because he felt guilty about passing his Bulgasal curse on him. He only regretted the missed opportunity after AChan’s death.
He unwittingly did it all over again with Ahjumma Lee.
Hwal: (continuing) I never wanted to go through the pain of losing my family ever again. But because I wanted to become Bulgasal, my family keeps paying the price with their deaths. I’m in perpetual agony. I can’t die even if I want to. And I can’t cry even if I want to.
This reminds me of what he told the Painter Monster. He said he wanted to get his soul back and end his Bulgasal life because immortality had been a never-ending hell of pain for him.
Also his true colors.
SangUn: (embracing him) It’s okay. I’ll help you. I’ll help you put an end to this agony. I’ll help you protect your family. And I’ll protect you as well. I’m going to keep you safe from Ok EulTae. I don’t care that you wanted to become Bulgasal in the past. It doesn’t matter if you and Ok EulTae were on the same side before. I hate seeing you in pain right now, so I’ll be by your side. I’ll protect you. So come with me.
Hwal: (hugs her back)
In sum, seeing Hwal’s true colors didn’t scare SangUn as EunTae had hoped. Instead, seeing his struggles with good and bad opened her heart even more to his imperfect self.
That’s it for Bulgasal this week from me. Two more episodes to go.
Kalimera @Packmule3,
You gave us a perfect glimpse in Hwal’s true colours.
I could even say a glimpse to his psyche.
I was so shaken by the last 15 minutes of Episode. I think the director did an amazing job showing to us what Imu / Mrs. Lee meant to Hwal.
They gave us a better understanding to that complex man that fights with both light and darkness within him. I was happy that Sang Un returned back at him and tried to stop him and consoled him.
Hwal said he cannot cry, but if you see clearly the scene, a tear did fall down his left cheek.
Same, @Cleopatra. His flashbacks of Ahjumma Lee over the years, in her different stages of life-crisis, was heart-wrenching. He rebuffed her each time, but she kept coming back. No wonder he was clutching his chest in pain. All those missed opportunities! He was regretful all over again.
It was a nice touch, too, that he was blinded and wearing bandages. He was a blind man, literally and metaphorically. And he looked like AChan, his son, too. Which reminded me that his curse was pretty much self-inflicted. He couldn’t blame the Bulgasal curse for his stunted relationships. Those were his own creation. He made the choice not to have a relationship with his son, and Ahjumma Lee.
Okay…I’ve to focus on “Our Beloved Summer” now. I’ve only a small window of time for writing this morning. 🙂
@Packmule3,
so true. Hwal was blind. I liked the parallel with AChan as well.
Hwal took his pain earnestly like a martyr and he tried to cut everyone around him, in order not to have great expectations of him. When, on the contrary, he was craving for that closeness with both his son and Mrs. Lee.
I believe in the beginning as a child, Hwal didn’t know how to connect with others and when the General adopted him, he tried to be the perfect soldier / son, but not a better person / husband / father.
Not that he was bad. Hwal was / is a good person that his past haunted him.
He felt that he didn’t deserve anything good in his life. In his distorted image he had in his mind, Hwal was not worthy. Hence his choice not to form relationships that would warm his life.
I don’t know if that was also a reflex based on what happened with Lady in Red in their 1000 timeframe. A mechanism that has turned him into ice.
The first sequence with Mrs. Lee cleaning his fridge was amazing. She had unshed tears in her eyes, like she was anxious what he will be like without her.
We can talk when you have time! Enjoy “Our Beloved Summer”!
@Cleopatra: Additionally Hwal was able to kill all of the monsters in the 600 timeline because he was not an ordinary human to begin with. Just like the monsters reborn as human in the contemporary timeline carried aspects of their souls in their reincarnation, Hwal carried his not-evil but tough bulgasal characteristics into his birth as human.
I was pondering in the beginning of the series as to why a human would suddenly kill all of the monsters when they have been around for a very long time and no one did that before. So there must be something special about Hwal. OET refers to this passingly in their restaurant meeting in his typical gaslighting fashion “I am the sole survivor of the late Joseon massacre of monsters, a crazy man killed all of them” (not exact words).
I think the triumph of this drama is the fact that the deceptive character is the one who remembers everything. Its quite like the Murder of Roger Ackroyd technique where the murderer is the narrator and has been lying/hiding things from the reader. And all the characters embody the relationship of the reader to the narrator, in that they trust OET from time to time and is manipulated by him.
@Soulsearcher,
Yes I pointed out earlier that, during the Joseon period, Hwal’s quick rejuvenation wasn’t possible for a human. This “gift” (or curse) was a holdover from his Bulgasal life. It enabled him to kill off those monsters and survive.
Similar SangUn’s trembling hands to detect the monsters, and fighting skills to fend off the monsters.
To add to Hwal’s “supernatural” skills that he retained even when he became human, did you also notice that he seemed to be healing or recovering from his injuries faster with Sangun at his side?
I noticed that he hadn’t been drinking animal blood. Ahjumma hadn’t delivered since she joined them. But he seemed fine without his regular supply of blood. I attribute this to Sangun’s presence.
Also, re. your question about the massacre of monsters during the Joseon period, from what little I know of Korean folklore, history, etc., the violent power struggle during the nascent years of the Joseon dynasty could be downplayed and revised as the King’s purge of monsters. Monsters = opposition camp
I thought that was the angle of that “Joseon Exorcist,” the drama that was cancelled. It was written that the crazy king’s massacre of his own people was committed because of his delusion, hallucination, and/or The Monster residing in him. He was taken over by the “evil spirits” so he wasn’t in his right mind when he killed his people.
Anyway, in context of this drama, the monsters used to live in the mountains and regions uninhabited by people. But because people began encroaching on monster-land (IIRC, the Japanese invasion and the collapse of Goryu empire were mentioned in Ep 1 as reasons for human migration into monster-land), the encounters between monsters and people became more regular. Of course, the people were the losers in any encounters between monsters and humans. The king, being the ruler of people and the territory, would have ordered his generals to eradicate these monsters and protect his citizens. 🙂
@Soulsearcher,
Welcome on B.O.D!
If you have read my comments in the first Bulgasal thread, you would see that I was saying from the very beginning that the Narrator was Unreliable. I knew that something was missing from Hwal’s memories that was being revealed little by little to us. In a way, this story reminded me of the movie “Memento”.
At the same time, I knew that we -the spectators- should not trust Dark Hole. I agree with you that he knew the story and he was manipulating everyone for his own reasons, since he was the perpetrator.
The fact that OET was infatuated with Hwal / The Man in Blue shows that he admired him for all everything he was. In a way the Man in Blue was a Monster, but also a powerful being in contrast to Dark Hole’s fragile human self. Something even his tribe father was telling to his second in command and OET overheard.
I agree that Hwal as a human hold a part of his Bulgasal’s power, as Sang Un did, as you and @Packmule3 said.
Why he was killing Monsters? Because he was thought by the villagers as one.
After he was named as Hwal and became a person, Hwal wanted to be a good son to his Father. His Father was a general, so he became the best soldier. I have written that to the Episode 13-14 thread.
I do hope you will post your thoughts on the Finale as well!
See you in another thread again !
Thank you @Packmule3 for the historical context and @Cleopatra for your observations!
All you women and BOD makes watching dramas so much more rewarding!
@Soulsearcher,
You are welcome! Stick around to see more of our analyses!