‘Twelve’ Episode 3 Recap – Things Are A Little Too One-Sided

Good TV conflict always creates the impression that the villains have the upper hand, only for the heroes to rally and save the day in the end, but I do wonder if Twelve might be going a bit far with it. In Episode 3, they’re so firmly on the back foot that it’s hard to imagine how they might even get on an even footing with the better-organised, more powerful demon cohort, let alone emerge victorious. It makes it kind of hard to engage in the story, since you’re relying on some contrivance to turn things around down the line.

It also doesn’t help that not a great deal happens here. Ordinarily, so early in a season, this wouldn’t seem like an issue, or at least not a huge one, but I’ve already praised Twelve for its brevity and pace, and now it has made me look like a bit of an idiot. The enjoyably simplistic premise now seems a bit too simplistic for its own good, given how easily O-gwi seems to be getting ahead in the fetch quest. There’s not enough drama.

The opening stretch, picking up from the end of the previous episode, is a good example of how outmatched the angels are at this juncture. To be fair, Tae-san and Bang-wool aren’t even there, and are instead back at HQ, wondering what’s going on, but the others catch a licking from the demon cohort and have to be bailed out by Mal-rok while O-gwi and Samin simply watch on. Mal-rok’s primary contribution here, aside from a bit of freezing, is to sense who’s behind the attack, reeling a bit from the realisation it’s Samin.

The angels crawl home battered, bruised, and embarrassed, which isn’t their only problem. The fact that they come across as a bit of a useless outfit is exacerbated by the fact that, over the years, Tae-san has become a bit disillusioned by humanity in general and doesn’t believe that their supposed duty to protect them from evildoers is necessarily mandatory. Tae-san clashes with Gan-ji particularly over this, but it’s a worthwhile concern. Human beings typically aren’t good news. But a divine mandate is a divine mandate, one supposes.

Only this is a point of contention for Tae-san, too. He has interpreted the loss of the angels’ powers as God having abandoned them, and therefore, why bother? Again, it isn’t the worst point in the world. I enjoy that there are radically differing points of view within the group itself, with Gan-ji offering the counterpoint, but I also don’t feel like it’s really going to amount to a great deal since there wouldn’t really be a show if Tae-san didn’t come around to the idea of fighting back, even if he’s initially unmoved by the news that Samin is responsible.

Twelve Episode 3 spends a lot of time on this conflict, and similarly, the idea of an impending doom for the angels, which makes a lot of sense given how we’ve seen them conduct themselves thus far. But this also in some way validates Tae-san’s point of view; if he’s to sacrifice his family, he wants to do it for a just reason, and if he doesn’t believe saving humanity is worth it, that makes Mir’s prognostications even more ominous. It also doesn’t help that the very people he’s refusing to fight for seem quite convinced of the idea he’s their saviour. Could he live with the guilt of leaving them to die?

Whatever he’s thinking, he’d better get a move on. Mal-rok tasks Won-seung with finding the demons and encourages him to keep going, but O-gwi and Samin are way out in front, since the episode ends with O-gwi in possession of a relic stolen from the museum that one assumes is the first of the soul stones. That isn’t bad going to say he’s had no opposition whatsoever, and even though there are still some to collect, the head start doesn’t bode well for the angels. Or for the audience, for that matter.

RELATED:

• Twelve Episode 4 Recap