The Uncanny Counter Season 2: Counter Punch (2023)

Power of Faith and Redemption!

Once again, “The Uncanny Counter 2” does not fail to disappoint. While I feel that the first season was stronger overall, the second season is solid and a lot of fun as the counters take on new evils and new challenges.

The first season had more of a mystery and thriller element to the story, which actually made for more captivating and taut storytelling. This season’s themes are about faith, trust, and redemption.

Things start off when three high-powered evil spirits slaughter the Chinese counters and take their powers and abilities. Psychokinesis is one of the prevailing skills, and So Mun—who is the only counter to master this ability—is trying to teach his teammates with hilarious results. Uncanny Counter still has plenty of humorous moments, especially from Mo-Tak.

So Mun is not only the most powerful counter, he also seems to have taken on the leadership role of the team. So Mun’s greatest strength is his unswerving faith in people and never giving up on them even under the most dire circumstances. In short, So Mun doesn’t hesitate to act even when the odds are stacked against him, even from Yung itself.

Do Ha-Na is a bit more loose in this season. She smiles a bit more, perhaps because she was finally able to let go of her past from the first season. Do Ha-Na also finds a potential love interest, but her strength is to be with and protect others at all costs. She painfully puts her love interest’s livelihood above her own desires, and when Mo-Tak storms off, she goes with him even though she doesn’t agree with his decision. “I’ll never leave any of you alone,” she tells him.

Ms. Chu, of course, is the caring, nurturing teammate, and she also meets up with a young man from her past with the hopes of helping him.

Mo-Tak is still the fierce warrior of the team who has no “quit” in him, and there are some tense moments between him and So Mun. And Mo-Tak can always be relied upon for some of the funniest moments.

Jeok Bong is the newest member of the team. He’s a bit goofy and his “special” ability is to literally smell evil spirits and being able to track them down. I’ll admit that it’s an odd thing, and I believe is played more for laughs as Jeok Bong is often seen with his head out of the car window—much like a dog—sniffing the air.

This season sees a beloved friend in Ma Ju Seok, whose beautiful, young pregnant wife is murdered by the three evils spirits. Absolutely distraught and overcome with grief, Ma Ju Seok swears revenge. His rage is so consuming that he unwittingly opens himself up for possession by a truly sadistic spirit. It doesn’t take long for Ma Ju Seok to begin wreaking havoc as he tries to track down anyone and everyone responsible for his wife’s death. Even his beloved friends, the counters, are warned to stay out of his way or face the consequences.

Hwang Pil Gwang is the leader of the evil spirits whose sole purpose is to kill So Mun and steal his powers to add them to his own. He manipulates Ma Ju Seok by sending him off in the wrong direction to seek his vengeance.

Sometimes the monster created is far worse than the despair we feel due to the loss of a loved one. The Chinese saying, “Before seeking revenge, you must first dig two graves” is especially poignant here. We can understand, and perhaps even relate to Ma Ju Seok’s grief and rage, but he’s so blinded and consumed by revenge, that he threatens to destroy everything that his beloved wife stood for. I found it interesting that nobody attempted to tell him this; he was destroying his wife's memory and their love. Would she really have approved of his actions? Of course not.

As Ma Ju Seok continues to gain in power—mostly due to Hwang Pil Gwang’s influence, the counters are forced to ask the hard question: do they try to save Ma Ju Seok, or kill him? Even Yung believes that Ma Ju Seok must be eliminated, and for a time, So Mun stands alone because he still believes that Ma Ju Seok can be redeemed. And, of course, So Mun finds a way to do the unthinkable and the uncanny, and thus live up to his namesake. In short, it is So Mun’s faith in the goodness of his friend, that ultimately saves Ma Ju Seok.

There are plenty of tense action sequences and several that put you on the edge of your seat because you couldn’t help wondering if we might lose one of the counters. We’ve all come to love these characters, from their humorous moments to the obvious love and devotion that they feel for each other, to learning how to overcome their differences and obstacles in order to work together. Such is the hallmark of a true family.

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