Sacrifice Her Soul, Dear Brother
Detective Ho-Yeol wakes up to find himself in a dark alley. He looks around and sees a figure standing over him, holding a gun. “Who are you?” asks Ho-Yeol, trying to get away. The figure doesn’t answer for a moment, and then it drops the gun. It’s revealed to be Hwal, the Bulgasal! “I’m sorry,” says Hwal, “I didn’t mean to hurt you.” “It’s all right,” says Ho-Yeol. “But I think I saw Bulgasal…I think he was behind that monster!”
The strange Dark Hole monster was responsible for killing Sang-Yeon that night, brandishing a knife and stabbing her right in front of her sister. The memories of that night keep coming back to Sang-Yeon, and she can’t help but feel like she’s being watched.
With all hope lost, Dark Hole prepared to strike until he sensed Hwal nearby. He ended up getting spooked and hurried away, in turn saving Sang-Un’s life. Although he managed to slip away, the fact remains – Hwal is not responsible for killing Sang-Yeon.
Sang-Un wakes up in Hwal’s house. While she’s all smiles, Hwal tries to control his rage. He’s not happy with Sang-Un, locking her up in the bedroom and refusing to let her leave.
Meanwhile, Si-Ho is keeping a close eye on Hwal and his best guys are tracking down her captor, Si-Hoon. She’s obviously cautious but she’s taken to the relative safety of the butcher’s market by Hye-Suk.
After the Bulgasal was spotted roaming around, Hwal realized it was too dangerous to head to the well and reclaim his soul just yet. For now, he sets his sights on working out who this shadowy man is – and what he wants. ..
400 years ago, Bulgasal was a rumour. General Hwal heard about it and decided to investigate. If there is another Bulgasal, he wants to find out how it works. ..
After Sang-Un tries (and fails) to get away, Hwal questions her about what her ties to Bulgasal actually are. She opens up about the past and how he tried to kill her family, but for Hwal’s interjection. Hwal is interrupted by one of his burner phones ringing. It’s Dark Hole, other Bulgasal. He wants to meet.
Ho-Yeol, having been rebuffed at the police station, decides to look for evidence to incriminate Dark Hole and prove Bulgasal is real. ..
Hwal meets with the other Bulgasal at a fancy restaurant. The Bulgasals are both monsters, and Hwal is not Dark Hole’s enemy though - Sang-Un is. He wants her location and is desperate for Hwal to reveal it. If he doesn’t, this could erupt into a big fight - a bloodbath where they settle their differences in this room and cause carnage. ..
This twin Bulgasal seems to know something about the curse that befell Hwal and why there was another Bulgasal cursed as a child. In return for spilling this information, he wants Hwal’s help in destroying Sang-Un’s soul.
Sang-Un is a scarred man. He has a dark hole on his chest that never heals and keeps rotting over time. In stopping Sang-Un, Hwal believes that he will finally be free from this pain. However, Hwal’s friend and mentor, Hwal says that Sang-Un’s pain is only beginning. ..
The rivalry between the two Bulgasal is intense, and seems to have stemmed back for years. Hwal refuses to let him destroy Sang-Un’s soul, prompting Dark Hole to stab him through the hand, promising to best him. Smiling, he promises they’re not equal and divulges his name – Ok Eul-Tae. Personally I prefer Dark Hole, but there we go. ..
Elsewhere, Ho-Yeol heads over to Hwal’s house and notices Do-Yun acting strangely. When Sang-Un starts pounding on the door, Ho-Yeol kicks open the door and saves Sang-Un, recognizing her immediately. However, Hwal soon returns home and confronts the ex-detective. As he slams the man to the ground, flashes of the past come echoing through, key scenes of when Ho-Yeol was a general. ..
Just as things seem to be going too far for Sang-Un and Hwal, Sang-Un steps up and admits that she’s working with Hwal and there is no foul play involved. As the pair drive off together, Hwal tries to shake Eul-tae’s taunts about Sang-Un lying in his mind.
The group of drivers set out early in the morning to make the long drive to the mountain in order to trap Bulgasal. After refusing to talk with Eul-Tae on the phone, their destination is Sang-Un, who they believe is responsible for the death of her husband. ..
Hwal admits that he wants to imprison Bulgasal deep in the well for all eternity, letting it suffer and repent for what’s happened. As Hwal turns to Sang-Un, he reveals that she used to be Bulgasal, responsible for slaughtering his wife and son. Now it’s payback time.
As Hwal grabs Sang-Un around the throat, he prepares to stab her. Only, just before he does, Hye-Suk comes bounding into the room with big news. Someone has taken Si-Ho. This is enough for Hwal to stop and reassess his priorities, especially when he learns Dark Hole has taken her.
Sang-un foolishly heads off alone, desperate to find her younger sister. As she screams for Si-Ho, she heads out to the lake but Hwal saves Sang-Un and stops her from walking into this trap. She’s overcome with guilt though, bemoaning her trust in him.
Hwal remains adamant on destroying Bulgasal, no matter what. Until he kills the creature, Hwal is going to let Sang-Un live as a human; an uneasy alliance between our two main characters. ..
The Episode Review
This slow episode of Bulgasal: Immortal Souls keeps the story moving and provides plenty of intrigue as it unfolds. It’s possible that there are more than one Bulgasal involved and that they’re split into two parts. Or even more than that, who knows!
Regardless, the inclusion of Eul-Tae (Dark Hole) really helps to add an extra dimension to this series and balance out the power being played with here. It would seem like this maniacal power struggle is going to engulf the upcoming chapters. ..
The supporting players in the show are not as important as the main characters yet I am sure they will play a more important role as the series progresses.
The preview for tomorrow’s episode looks like it will continue to increase the pace, which should be an exciting chapter. You definitely won’t want to miss that! ..
Episode 5 of Bulgasal: Immortal Souls continued to deliver compelling drama right to the end. Although it was a bit slower, the fleshed out role for our antagonists helped to raise the stakes considerably. We can only wait until tomorrow’s follow-up to find out what will happen next. ..
