Summary
Seamlessly setting up for an engrossing climax, episode 14 amps up the emotion in anticipation of next week’s finale.
This recap of Netflix K-Drama series Bulgasal: Immortal Souls season 1, episode 14, contains spoilers.
Read the recap of the previous episode.
Picking up where we left off, Sang-un calms Hwal into a state of tranquility, his eyes returning to normal as he stands in distress. Elsewhere, Do-yoon and Si-ho discuss their worries over their ongoing capture, agreeing that they need to run away if an opportunity strikes before they reach their destination.
Bulgasal: Immortal Souls season 1, episode 14 recap
Back at the warehouse, Hwal continues to violently look for the man who has taken Do-yoon and Si-ho, with Ho-yeol helping in finding a potentially vital piece of information: the killer’s name (Gong Min-su), as well as his usual location. They deduce that Eul-tae must have hidden him in the rural property they’re currently at after he was wanted for a murder case, and that Gong Min-su must want the group to find him. So, they head out to do just that, with only Ho-yeol remaining behind with the corpse of Hye-suk.
Thanks a broken down tractor and chatty elderly man, Do-yoon and Si-ho seize on a chance to escape, running through farmland in a bid to steer clear of Min-su. And even though Do-yoon is weakening, his friend helps the duo continue their ambitious attempt to flee. As the two huddle up in a greenhouse, Si-ho holds onto her ally, but finds herself taken to a memory which shows Do-yoon as her past-life son. It shakes her, although time to dwell isn’t allowed as Min-su quickly tries to track them down.
In helping Si-ho escape, Do-yoon tries to draw attention to himself, but finds his friend doing the exact same. Sadly, it’s Si-ho that Min-su wants, so he advances on the mother-to-be, looking to strike her down. When Hwal does eventually arrive, Do-yoon is laid out bloodied on the floor, and discloses that Si-ho has been taken.
At that moment, Min-su stumbles upon Sang-un, dropping Si-ho as he looks to kill his real target. The murderous man is confronted over the death of Hye-suk, and stabbed too, but soon turns the conflict around, leaving Sang-un flat on her back. In the nick of time, Hwal strikes Min-su with a shovel, and chokes the man who turns out to be Yeongno, a monster who ate 100 noblemen. A fight then takes place, leaving Hwal stabbed multiple times as Min-su rages on top of him. As Bulgasal begins to cry bloodied tears, his strength returns, and once again Min-su finds himself being choked. “You’re just like Eul-tae,” Hwal’s told, a statement which results in a barbarous murder only quelled by Sang-un’s words.
“Where’s Dan Sol?” It’s the question asked by Hwal to Sang-un as he is calming down, which soon leads to confusion, as Si-ho’s past-life name had never been brought up before now. No definitive resolution is brought about from this though, as the relief of all involved in the kidnap – including the elderly man – being safe is brought to the spotlight. In the meantime, Ho-yeol delivers an ultimatum to the police force at the warehouse, and calls the relevant people to inform them of Hye-suk’s death.
On a drive, Hwal finds his eyes wrapped in a way which harkens back to his past-life son’s, bloodied and bandaged. They then stop in a field, and walk over to the tied up detective (Ho-yeol’s former colleague). He’s quizzed about his ties to Eul-tae, and given a burner phone once it’s established that he isn’t a minion. Hwal had come prepared, though, and threatens the policeman over any potential foolishness before he releases him. Sang-un naturally takes issue with this, and we finally see that Hwal has broken, no longer caring if he is seen as similar to his foe.
Now, we see Eul-tae standing menacingly, reflecting on the words of Hye-suk, and the actions of Hwal from centuries ago when he took his soul from him. “Find me and turn me into Bulgasal,” Hwal said all that time ago, stating that if that did not happen, the “soulless dark hole” would never close. In this flashback, Eul-tae appears genuinely upset, leaving doubts about the true antagonist of the whole situation.
At home, Do-yoon is tucked into bed as Si-ho and Sang-un worry, before the orphan begins to grieve over the harsh reality the group find themselves living in. The two sisters then begin to mourn themselves, regretting how things played out, as well as the fact that they didn’t even manage to eat breakfast one final time together. Si-ho directly blames herself, and cries into the arms of her older sibling.
After a meaningful conversation about everything happening, Hwal demands that Sang-un, Do-yoon and Si-ho leave the house. Sang-un resists, but Hwal is adamant that he is left alone to kill Eul-tae, and finds himself regaling the fact that he and his foe were on the same side 1000 years ago, also informing Sang-un that he wanted to become the monster he is now. The trio do end up leaving, leaving Hwal completely alone.
Next, Ho-yeol calls Hwal to inform him about his successful bid to avoid the police getting involved in Hye-suk’s death, but the former policeman finds himself also cut off by the increasingly isolated monster. Then, the private detective receives a phone call from his now distressed former colleague, who claims things have gotten complicated for him. So Ho-yeol arrives at the given location, but finds himself encountering Eul-tae instead. Provoking Ho-yeol about his deceased father, Eul-tae informs the curly-haired man that his dad was a monster too, swiftly then teasing that it would’ve been Hwal who killed him, not Eul-tae. We see confirmation of this fact in a flashback.
Continuing, Eul-tae further delivers a speech about Hwal and his unrelenting quest for revenge, leaving Ho-yeol distraught as he heads back to the car driven by the private defective’s former colleague. Here, we find out that Eul-tae’s aim is to turn those on Hwal’s side against him, so that everything can return to its “rightful place.” It then cuts to the fleeing trio of protagonists, who discuss their newfound separation from Hwal, Sang-un’s doubts over the formerly friendlier Bulgasal, and their own safety.
The ending
Taking off his bandages, Hwal sees Hye-suk in a hallucination of sorts, evidently upset by what’s happened. He starts recalling more things, from across her life, and we get a glimpse at just how much this person meant to Hwal. As he starts to break, harming himself, Sang-un returns to try and talk sense into him. Crying, she worries about the man who is so distraught over Hye-suk’s death, his chest feels tight. “I’m in perpetual agony,” Hwal says before he gets comforted by Sang-un, who offers her help in putting an end to this hellish situation. As we see Hwal, Sang-un, Do-yoon, Si-ho and Ho-yeol all reflecting in their various locations, the episode ends.
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