Summary
Action-packed and full of intriguing plot developments, episode eight seamlessly sets up an enticing second half.
This recap of Netflix K-Drama series Bulgasal: Immortal Souls season 1, episode 8, contains spoilers.
Read the recap of the previous episode.
Following on from last episode’s ending, Hwal and Sang-un bond slightly, discussing what will happen in the future. Sang-un claims that Hwal needs to find a reason to live, and let go of the past, explaining her goals to break free of Eul-tae and live normally with Si-ho. She also apologizes to her temporary partner, before we’re taken to the renovated, modern Hwal residence. The good feelings don’t last long though as Hye-seok, who appears possessed over a burning hob, prophesises death once someone regains their memories. When interrogated about it, she cannot recall her actions.
Bulgasal: Immortal Souls season 1, episode 8 recap
Continuing, Ho-yeol soon arrives with a picture of Eul-tae and some intel, but Hwal agitatedly warns him against doing this pursuit alone. Sang-un explains the plan they have, and Ho-yeol concedes, but Hwal soon prods further in private, wishing to know why Bulgasal is at the top of Ho-yeol’s agenda. The two then drink together, the former detective hoping that they can open up to each other, but he ends up pouring his heart out about his links to the case 15 years ago and the deaths involved instead. He does, however, omit his further link to the monster.
Elsewhere, Si-ho explains Hye-seok’s situation to Sang-un, before suggesting she attempts to look into her sister’s own past life. Sang-un naturally rejects, trying to brush it off by saying that she can’t have her first kiss looked at by her younger sister.
Later on, Hwal is confronted by Sang-un about Hye-seok’s earlier foretelling, the former honestly explaining her past life as a shaman. As such, he requests that she does not attempt to remember anything (Sang-un is the presumed subject of the prophecy) as he will take care of it, before he retreats to his bedroom staring at the picture of his reincarnated blood father.
After suffering another nightmare, Sang-un goes down to see the familial atmosphere in Hwal’s house rife, but notices his absence. It turns out Hwal had left early to track down his past-life father who abandoned him, observing the drunken wreck he has turned into. Meanwhile, Sang-un and Hye-seok bond slightly, the awkwardness between the two softening palpably.
That night, Hwal walks his drunken former dad home, only to be greeted by his feeble son at the door. He sees the neglect and abuse of the young boy firsthand, intervening by angrily grabbing his arm and saying that the “complete mess” always uses his wife’s death as a buffer given the parallels to their past. He stares at the crying boy for a short while, but leaves without any further action, only the crushing of a bottle.
After arguing with Hwal upon his return, Sang-un is soon forced to come clean with Si-ho about everything. The younger sibling is in minor disbelief, claiming it’s a lie, but allows Sang-un to leave for the hospital in the night in search of answers.
Now, we’re greeted with a weary Eul-tae. He hasn’t slept all night and cannot breathe nor talk stably, wishing to meet Hwal due to the fact he appears to be getting along with his mortal enemy. He appears to have aged, urgently leaving his house — where Ho-yeol begins tailing him — to drive into a forest of sorts. When there, Eul-tae confronts Ho-yeol, calling him Detective Kwon.
When Sang-un arrives to find Go-bun, she asks her about Hwa-yeon but receives no answer. That is until she pretends to be her, something which tricks the old woman into discussing the fire, but she is further hoodwinked into believing it’s a dream. Go-bun does drop an interesting nugget of information, though, claiming that she wishes that everyone believed Hwa-yeon back on the day of the fire, as her older sister had warned that Bulgasal was coming, and told everyone to run. The blame is on Dark Hole instead, as the alleged arsonist actually tried to save people.
Cutting back to the confrontation between Eul-tae and Ho-yeol, the monster insists he did not kill the detective’s former colleague, but before long the death of Ho-yeol’s father and sister is brought up. Ho-yeol is told about the existence of a second Bulgasal, and Eul-tae implies that the more dangerous of the two is the person who hasn’t yet regained their memories. Then, the monster requests that Hwal is told that he cannot wait any longer, but Eul-tae doesn’t touch the detective, and rejects his assistant’s thoughts that it may be better to do away with him.
There is a car collision, though, the assistant taking matters into her own hands instead. She then calls Sang-un, who relays a message to Hwal about the hostage situation. The assistant wants Hwal at the scene, not Sang-un, as she knows that he is the true owner of the soul. This is because she is the monster Dueoksini, making it plausible that she is acting in her own interests.
As Hwal goes to track Ho-yeol down, Do-yoon calls Eul-tae about the kidnapping, leading to him looking frustrated. Hwal finds the private investigator hanging, immediately turning to choke Dueoksini when she appears in front of him. That doesn’t stop her from injecting Hwal with poison, something which allows her to taunt him by saying she knows his weakness (assumedly, it’s his old family). When Hwal gets close to a recovery, a needle is placed in him once more, Dueoksini stating that it would have been better if the soul was taken from Sang-un as he could have been killed more easily.
Fortunately, Ho-yeol is saved, but Hwal gets his neck slit. When the assistant then wants the former detective to die in place of her tormentor, Eul-tae arrives, biting on her neck as she collapses in a heap. The monster then frees Ho-yeol, who notices the wound Hwal has recovering. Discovering that identity of the second Bulgasal, the grey-haired man runs aimlessly, leaving the two monsters to talk. Eul-tae warns Hwal about trusting Sang-un here, saying that he will never harm those close to him, but that one can never be too sure about the woman who put the curse on him in the first place.
The ending
Just like that, though, Sang-un arrives. It enrages Dark Hole who screams that he remembers everything. “She will kill you one day,” he then says, but Sang-un challenges the fact, emphatically stating that it was indeed Eul-tae who killed Hwal’s family 600 years ago. It leads to the older monster to once again request that Hwal doesn’t believe her, but it’s Bulgasal’s actions that link better to the prophecy given earlier.
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