The Uncanny Counter (or directly translated to Amazing So Mun) is another Netflix Original K-drama that began airing last year and revolves around a group of mystically-powered beings known as Counters who hunt down evil spirits who've escaped the afterlife and are running rampant in the living realm to prey on human souls. Based on a webtoon of the same name, think of our heroes as Grim Reapers meeting superheroes and you get a pretty good idea of this drama's direction. Starring Kim Se-jeong (School 2017, I Wanna Hear Your Song) as female lead DO HA-NA and Jo Byung-gyu (Sky Castle, Hot Stove League) as male lead SO MUN, this fantasy thriller drama is sure to draw in a lot of viewers and keep us on the edge of our seats. Let's dive in.
INITIAL THOUGHTS AND COMMENTS (SPOILER ALERT)
Our titular hero So Mun is a high schooler who became crippled after getting into a car accident 7 years ago, an accident which killed his parents. It's made very apparent to us that the accident was caused intentionally by some evil parties and as the drama progresses we're sure to get a better understanding of events. Fast forward to the present day and we see that a now teenage So Mun lives with his grandparents and has a strong talent for drawing, working on a superhero webtoon with his schoolmates. Throughout the first episode, it's clear to us that despite his scrawny appearance and physical disability, So Mun has a strong sense of justice and will do anything to uphold it, even if he's weaker than others.
Along the way, we are introduced to the Counters, Grim Reaper-like superheroes who apprehend evil spirits roaming the human world and send them back to the afterlife. They masquerade as the owners of Eonni's Noodles, a massively popular noodle shop with a snaking queue, and is also where So Mun first meets Ha-na, the youngest member of the Counters. They're initially a quartet, three members running Eonni's Noodles while the fourth Counter Cheol-jong roams around more freely. In their pursuit of a powerful evil spirit referred to as a Level 3, we see that the Counters possess extraordinary powers, some that they share and some that are unique to individuals. Generally, they all seem to have superhuman physical attributes, while Ha-na demonstrates psychometry, being able to read memories upon contact. We don't get too much information on the Counters' unique abilities yet but we'll probably delve into them as the series progresses. While they initially seem to have the upper hand, the spirit is far too strong and escapes, ultimately killing Cheol-jong and stealing his soul. It is here that we get a bit of backstory to the Counters, where we find out they were all comatose patients who were awakened by benign spirits from a place called Yung, which serves as the border between the living world and the afterlife, and they now share their bodies with each other. After Cheol-jong's death, his partner Wi-gen leaves in desperate search for a new partner, which she somehow finds in So Mun, who much to her surprise is definitely not comatose. Wi-gen describes that her new host is filled with so much anger and passion that it's somehow overridden the requirement to be comatose, and the Counters are now heading to scout So Mun.
In school, we see that So Mun's good friend Woong-min is constantly bullied by Shin Hyuk-woo, the mayor's son and essentially an untouchable due to his father's political power. Being the upright person he is, So Mun attempts to stop the bullying, even though he's clearly at a disadvantage. Wanting revenge, the bullies harass him after school, only to get stopped by Ha-na, who has come to bring So Mun to Eonni's Noodles, where he meets the other two Counters. Second female lead CHOO MAE-OK [Yeom Hye-ran (Chocolate, Mystic Pop-up Bar)] is the kind matriarch of the Counters, trying her best to make So Mun feel at home as part of this superhuman group. Her homely manner is in stark contrast to second male lead GA MO-TAK [Yoo Jun-sang (Distorted, Liver or Die)], who has a gruff and no-nonsense attitude, being frankly quite opposed to having the crippled So Mun in the team. While episode 1 doesn't give us much backstory to the individual Counters, we know a bit more about Mo-tak than the rest. In the flashback scene at the start, Mo-tak was shown to be a detective working with So Mun's father and we see him being chased by a group of unknown assailants, all while heavily injured. He warns So Mun's father over the phone and tells him to survive, before being overwhelmed and pushed off a rooftop, landing on a car below and entering a coma. Right after that call, So Mun and his parents end up in the staged car accident. Naturally, these events are linked but in the present day, Mo-tak seems to have lost his memory as a result of the accident, although there's a flicker of recogition when he sees So Mun, which he quickly brushes off as mistaken identity.
So Mun ends up rejecting the Counters' recruitment offer and leaves Eonni's Noodles, only to receive a call from his schoolmate Woong-min, who's being savagely beaten by Hyuk-woo and his lackeys. Even with his disability, he attempts to save Woong-min but is clearly out of his league here. Just as Hyuk-woo is about to punch him, So Mun's powers manifest and he catches his fist, overpowering the bully just as the episode ends. Recently, we've been talking a lot about school violence especially with the previous drama I watched (Live On) and in the first episode alone we get treated to some sickening scenes of bullying. I genuinely felt sick to my stomach when I saw the bullying and I could feel my blood boiling so let me tell you I was so relieved to see So Mun gain his powers right at the end and will probably use them to first stop the bullies in the moment and subsequently exact revenge on them.
As of the first episode, there really isn't too much going on yet. In fact, we're not even getting too much backstory on the Counters yet or even So Mun for that matter. We've merely gotten a little bit of set-up by giving our hero his supernatural powers and introducing to us the basics of the Counters. As the drama goes on, we'll definitely get a more in-depth look into the individual Counters and their lives, and I'm especially intrigued to find out how Ha-na plays into the mix, considering that Se-jeong was honestly the reason why I started watching this drama. Fantasy dramas are generally really entertaining to watch and this time, it's made even better because the Counters are basically superheroes and superheroes are always fun to watch. This drama finishes airing next week and at the pace I'm watching, I'll definitely be able to finish just in time. So join me, as we follow the adventures of So Mun and watch his journey into becoming The Uncanny Counter.
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