The Guest: Episode 13

by odilettante

Lives are in the balance as the trio risk everything to save someone close to them. Despite working together, their friendship once again becomes fractured as doubts about Park Il-do’s identity cause friction between our psychic and our priest. As they deal with the growing distrust, we finally learn where — or in whom — Park Il-do has been hiding all this time.

 
EPISODE 14 RECAP

As they drive to meet the person who was supposedly possessed by Park Il-do, Kil-young realizes that Detective Go is actually the one possessed. When Hwa-pyung calls to warn her about what he saw in his vision, Kil-young shouts her location just as Detective Go crashes the car.

When Kil-young comes to, clutching her arm that’s either broken or dislocated, she sees Detective Go peering in the rearview window, a scary grin on his face and a large knife in his hands. She hurries to lock the doors so he can’t get in, but an open window allows him to desperately slash at her until she manages to escape.

Kil-young limps down the highway as Detective Go chases after her. She tries to hide in an old hotel that’s closed for renovations, but Detective Go merely grins as he follows her up the stairs. She runs into a room and locks the door behind her as Detective Go maniacally laughs and bangs on the door, demanding that she open it.

He sounds more like her partner as he pleads with her to come out, but Kil-young refuses to fall for the demon’s ploys. Detective Go says he has no idea what she’s talking about, and starts begging her to help him since the surgery he got for his knife wound is hurting him.

She starts to edge towards the door as if to open it, but Detective Go screams in his demonic voice, demanding she open it. If she does, he’ll kill her nicely. If she doesn’t, he’ll break her neck.

Kil-young listens intently through the door, but there’s no sound in the hallway. That’s because Detective Go has climbed up through the window. She fights as best she can, but with her injuries, she’s easily overtaken by Detective Go’s supernatural strength.

He drags her down the hallway and throws her out a window. Kil-young grabs onto a wire with her one good arm, clinging tightly so she doesn’t fall hundreds of feet to her death.

Hwa-pyung and Yoon find the empty, crashed car. Hwa-pyung notices the nearby abandoned hotel and realizes that Kil-young and Detective Go must be in there. They arrive at the hotel in time to see Kil-young dangling from the window. Detective Go spots them, too, and he snarls that of course the psychic and the priest are here.

The two men race upstairs and Hwa-pyung is greeted by Detective Go, who tells him that all of this is his fault. In fact, all of his family’s deaths are his fault — Kil-young’s just another to add to the long list. Yoon orders Hwa-pyung to go save Kil-young while he chases after Detective Go.

Kil-young’s strength is evaporating, and she’s close to letting go when Hwa-pyung grabs her arm. Defeated, she wearily tells him he’s too late. He yells at her to stay focused and hold onto him, but instead she lets go of the wire.

Detective Go’s mocking words ring in his ears as Hwa-pyung remembers the family members he wasn’t able to save — particularly his father. With an extra burst of determined strength, he drags the nearly unconscious Kil-young into the room, saving her life. Whew.

He helps her downstairs and into the car, then calls Yoon to see if he caught Detective Go. Yoon didn’t, but that’s because Detective Go is behind Hwa-pyung, ready to swing at his head with a large stick. Hwa-pyung turns around and sprays Detective Go in the face with pepper spray, then handcuffs the agonized man to the car so he can’t escape. Oooh, was it a trap?

Writhing, Detective Go screams at Hwa-pyung that “he” will find Hwa-pyung, adding that Priest Choi already told him twenty years ago who “he” is. Echoing Priest Choi from that night, the spirit in Detective Go screams “Come out, Park Il-do!”

Yoon finds Detective Go seemingly hypnotizing Hwa-pyung with his seriously creepy mutterings about death and dismemberment, finishing with “kill the priest.” Alarmed, Yoon runs over and grabs the dazed Hwa-pyung, snapping him out of whatever weird spell the spirits were trying to weave on Hwa-pyung.

Yoon assumes this means that Hwa-pyung really is Park Il-do, but Kil-young wearily says that it’s a different spirit, and pleads with them to save her partner who continues to snarl and writhe.

They return to the abandoned hotel and set up a room for the exorcism. Detective Go mocks Yoon’s efforts, pointing out that Yoon doubts Hwa-pyung and believes that Hwa-pyung is possessed.

Hwa-pyung watches in worry as Yoon’s passionate prayers seem to have no effect on Detective Go, as the spirit inside taunts the priest, telling him that God has given up on him and he’ll join his family who died at the devil’s hand.

Annoyed, Hwa-pyung tells Yoon to try something else, and Yoon grabs his vial of holy water. But in his haste, he drops it as he dips his finger in the vial, spilling the water on the floor. The holy water at least has some effect, as the spirits writhe in agony, but they also defiantly remind Yoon that they warned him the second time they met, Yoon’s body and soul would rot.

Yoon covers Detective Go’s mouth before he can say what will happen the third time they meet (which we know is that Yoon will die). He orders Hwa-pyung and Kil-young to leave the room — perhaps because they’re a distraction, but also perhaps because he doesn’t want them to hear about his curse.

Kil-young’s worried about her partner, and blames herself for what happened. She pleads with Hwa-pyung to save him, and he gently reassures her that Yoon is a skilled exorcist priest. She notices Detective Go’s wife calling on his phone, and she hesitates before answering.

Detective Go’s wife is worried about why she can’t get in contact with her husband, who should still be in the hospital. Kil-young’s voice breaks as she reassures her partner’s wife that Detective Go is fine — they just needed to talk to a suspect, but he’ll be back soon.

Kil-young chokes back her sobs as she tells Detective Go’s wife that she’s sorry for what happened, and that it’s all her fault. The wife reassures Kil-young that there’s no way Detective Go blames Kil-young for anything, since she’s like a little sister to him.

Meanwhile, Hwa-pyung returns to the exorcism room, demanding to know if it’s not working because Yoon is distracted by his doubts about Hwa-pyung. But Yoon realizes that he needs more holy water. Wait, they were able to apparently find a gazillion candles no problem, but now it’s a frantic hunt for some water?

Hwa-pyung finds the main water valve and turns it on just as Yoon discovers an old bathtub. Once the tub is filled with water, Yoon blesses the water and drops a crucifix into it.

At that moment, Detective Go — who’d fainted — now wakes up and stares at something in the room, saying that it’s time. Suddenly he jerks and twists as Hwa-pyung and Kil-young try to hold him. Kil-young tearfully pleads with her partner to fight against the evil spirit.

They carry Detective Go to the tub and drop him into the holy water. Detective Go screams and writhes while Kil-young and Hwa-pyung hold him down. The possessed man shrieks for Park Il-do to kill them all as Yoon continues to pray. The lights flicker as Detective Go once more screams for Park Il-do, and then Yoon pushes the detective’s head under the water.

Kil-young watches in worry, afraid her partner is drowning and wanting to intervene, but Hwa-pyung holds her back. Yoon finishes his prayer and suddenly Detective Go sits up, vomiting water. The exorcism is over.

Detective Go returns to the hospital, where he has no memory of what happened while he was possessed. Kil-young is also there, getting treatment for her injuries. Hwa-pyung sits with her, telling her that she needs to take care of herself, too. Aw.

He also doesn’t accept her thanks, since even though he saved her life and helped save Detective Go, they wouldn’t have been in that situation in the first place if it weren’t for him. Hwa-pyung admits that’s why he said they shouldn’t work together anymore. He didn’t want to see anyone else hurt — or killed.

Kil-young points out that she’s still alive — and it’s thanks to Yoon and Hwa-pyung. Kil-young: “The three of us have to stick together.” Damn straight!

Yoon also checks on Kil-young, but his and Hwa-pyung’s polite nods to each other are a little frigid. Hwa-pyung follows him out of the hospital, demanding to know what the spirit meant by meeting again for the second time and what will happen the third time.

Yoon cooly reassures him that it’s no big deal (lies!), but Hwa-pyung, hurt, wonders if the reason Yoon won’t tell him about the prophecy is because Yoon doesn’t trust him, still believing him to be Park Il-do. Yoon doesn’t answer and just walks away.

As he sits at the bus stop, Yoon hears the cursed prophesy again and suddenly clutches his chest. He runs off to a nearby bathroom to regain his composure, but as he stares in the mirror, he slowly unbuttons his shirt to reveal ugly red scars across his chest.

He sees the spirits laughing at him in the mirror, reminding him that the third time they meet, he’ll die. Angry, Yoon smashes his fist into the mirror — which does nothing except break the glass and hurt his hand.

Yook Kwang gives Hwa-pyung grief for making him worry, since Hwa-pyung was out all night and then just came to Yook Kwang’s to nap. Aw, Yook Kwang nags like a mother as Hwa-pyung just idly plays with the breakfast Yook Kwang made him, not eating much.

Hwa-pyung points out that Park Il-do is targeting all the people close to him — including Detective Go, who is only close to him due to Kil-young. Hwa-pyung’s worried about Park Il-do attacking his friend, but Yook Kwang retorts that he’s a legit shaman and can handle himself.

Everyone’s surprised when Kil-young immediately returns to work, but even more surprising is that Detective Go returns to work, too. Kil-young tries to focus on her paperwork as Detective Go cheerfully chatters at her, wondering if she got her injuries from beating up gangsters (not realizing they’re because of him).

Hwa-pyung returns to the hospital, pretending to be a detective as he asks to see the CCTV footage the night Detective Go’s unknown visitor stopped by. But the CCTV footage he needs has been mysteriously deleted.

Kil-young’s also at the hospital to track down the same information (as a real detective). Aw, there’s some character growth as she just wryly asks if he’s found anything out, instead of threatening to arrest him for impersonating an officer.

Hwa-pyung is shocked to discover that Kil-young’s suspicious of Priest Yang due to his connection with Hong-joo, since he also suspects Priest Yang because of the phone call the night his father was possessed. Hwa-pyung walks through the hallway, trying to remember what he saw in his vision, and he realizes what he saw wasn’t just from the perspective of a possessed person about to kill someone (like his last few visions have been), but from Park Il-do himself.

Yoon shows up to Yook Kwang’s unannounced. The shaman is surprised that the priest is there for a visit, but Yoon is there on a mission — he wants to know more about Hwa-pyung. Yook Kwang says he’s known Hwa-pyung for the past ten years, ever since Hwa-pyung showed up on his doorstep, demanding to know if the shaman could exorcise evil spirits.

Yoon wonders if Yook Kwang has noticed Hwa-pyung acting strange lately, and Yook Kwang immediately assumes it must be because Hwa-pyung has found a girlfriend. Pfffft. But Yoon, stone-faced, asks if Hwa-pyung has been acting like he’s blind in one eye, and Yook Kwang admits Hwa-pyung’s eye has been bothering him.

The shaman laughs at Yoon’s assumption it’s because of Park Il-do, revealing that Hwa-pyung’s actions lately are due to the suppression exorcism wearing off. Not because Hwa-pyung is Park Il-do.

With wide, crazy eyes, Yoon makes his case for Hwa-pyung unknowingly being possessed by Park Il-do. His brother’s last words were that Park Il-do was still in Hwa-pyung’s house, so it only makes sense that Park Il-do possessed Hwa-pyung that night — and stayed there ever since.

Yook Kwang reassures Yoon that there’s no way Hwa-pyung is Park Il-do, even volunteering to find a way to prove it, but Yoon doesn’t seem to be listening. Without saying goodbye, Yoon scurries out of Yook Kwang’s home, and Yook Kwang muses over the fact Priest Choi said Park Il-do was still at Hwa-pyung’s house.

Hwa-pyung returns home — hey, there’s actually water in his fridge! He takes a drink and then the searing, blinding pain hits his right eye. Glancing into the shadows of his room, he sees what he thinks is his father’s ghost — but it’s just Yoon, lurking in the darkness.

Surprised to see the priest, Hwa-pyung asks why he’s there. Yoon, staring intently at Hwa-pyung, demands to know if his eye hurts and if he’s gone blind. Hwa-pyung shakes him off, annoyed that Yoon is still convinced he’s Park Il-do.

Yoon grabs some holy water and the two men fight, since Hwa-pyung is still hurt and offended that Yoon believes he could be Park Il-do. But Yoon is obsessed and finally overpowers Hwa-pyung, pinning him to the ground.

Furious, Hwa-pyung tells him to go ahead and try. Yoon prays and holds a crucifix near Hwa-pyung’s face, but there’s no reaction. Yoon sits dazed and defeated as Hwa-pyung pleads with him to face the fact that Hwa-pyung isn’t Park Il-do — it’s Priest Yang.

Yoon refuses to believe it. A flashback shows him as a boy at the orphanage, being bullied by the other children because he was a weird, silent kid that everyone said was possessed by a demon, just like his older brother. Priest Yang intervened and shooed the bullies away, but Yoon threw a rock at the priest, tearfully insisting that his brother isn’t a demon and wasn’t the one who killed his parents.

Priest Yang hugged young Yoon, reassuring him that his brother didn’t do it. As Yoon bawled into Priest Yang’s shoulder, the older priest promised Yoon that he would take care of him from now on.

Adult Yoon stops by Priest Yang’s office, but the nun tells him the priest is out. Yoon starts to walk away, and then decides to sneak upstairs to Priest Yang’s office. Everything seems normal (including the crucifix that is now hanging right-side up, whew).

Hwa-pyung stops by Yook Kwang’s home to talk to him about the fact he might be having Park Il-do visions, but the shaman isn’t there. That’s because he’s on his way to Hwa-pyung’s hometown.

Yook Kwang performs a ritual at Hwa-pyung’s old home, but there doesn’t seem to be anything nefarious there. He’s about to leave when he suddenly senses something, and he frantically digs at the ground, just like he did when he discovered Priest Choi’s body.

He stops when he sees something that horrifies him. He backs away in terror, but an invisible force grips him by the throat, lifting him in the air.

Meanwhile, Hwa-pyung makes himself at home at Yook Kwang’s. A candle blows out on the shaman’s shrine, so Hwa-pyung relights it — but it immediately blows out again.

Yook Kwang, dangling in the air, gasps for his life. He tries to put up a fight, but the invisible entity tosses Yook Kwang around like he’s a rag doll. Yook Kwang manages to escape long enough to retreat to the car, just as Hwa-pyung calls him. Yook Kwang gasps out that he’s found out who Park Il-do is, but before he can say anything more, the invisible spirit grabs him around the throat.

Yook Kwang drives off, but the stranglehold causes him to veer off into a field. He spits up blood as runs from the invisible spirit. Then he suddenly turns around and yells at the spirit to leave Hwa-pyung alone.

The spirit grabs Hwa-pyung and breaks his neck, and Yook Kwang falls down dead as someone slowly walks towards his body.

Back in the city, Yoon searches through Priest Yang’s desk, but doesn’t find anything strange or that might be a clue that Priest Yang isn’t what he says he is. About to give up, Yoon picks up Priest Yang’s Bible.

He opens the Bible, only to discover that every page has been scribbled over and blacked out.

Someone reburies the thing that Yook Kwang uncovered, then turns around to face the camera. It’s Priest Yang.

COMMENTS

Not gonna lie, my heart leapt into my throat a little bit when Priest Yang suddenly broke the fourth wall with that glance and smirk at the camera. It totally felt like Park Il-do was looking at me. (Which was probably the intent, but hey, it still got me!)

I kept thinking that Priest Yang would turn out to be another red herring just like Grandpa, so it’s satisfying to know that my hunch after all this time has turned out to be correct. Buuuuuuut it also means that the only parental figure Yoon has left in the world is now the vessel for the most evil spirit ever, who also just happens to be the spirit responsible for killing Yoon’s real parents. Yoon’s definitely going to need some therapy to deal with that — if he lives that long. After all, if we go by the prophecy, there’s only one exorcism left Yoon can do, and then he’ll die.

So now I’m even more nervous about our trio making it to the end, alive and… well, maybe not “happy and healthy,” but at least not stalked by demons. Especially since we no longer have Yook Kwang. Sob. I was so happy that we managed to save Detective Go, only to have the show turn around and take my other favorite sidekick from us. It’s not fair! I know Park Il-do wants to kill everyone around Hwa-pyung, but I thought Yook Kwang would survive! Who is going to feed and care for Hwa-pyung now? (I’d say Yoon would, but he’s not exactly in the right state of mind at the moment.)

As terrible as it sounds, though, I do appreciate that this is a show that isn’t afraid to kill off characters. Since we managed to save Grandpa (despite being in a coma) and now Detective Go, I’d fallen into the assumption that our little misfit family would survive whatever Park Il-do threw at them — with some injuries and scars, of course, but they’d still survive! Yook Kwang, however, has shown us that there are consequences. Characters will die, and it could even be the characters we’ve grown to love.

I’ll still blindly live in hope that there’s somehow a “happily ever after” for our trio, but I’m growing increasingly worried that Yoon is on a suicide mission and that Hwa-pyung’s guilt will also make him a willing sacrificial lamb, since we’ve repeatedly heard the only way to truly get rid of Park Il-do is to kill the body he’s inhabiting. While it’s unclear yet how or why Hwa-pyung has his visions, it does seem like there’s a connection to Park Il-do. Maybe Hwa-pyung isn’t possessed the way Priest Yang is, but it feels like it’s more than just psychic ability that gives him his visions, and that even if we kill Priest Yang (which… as evil as he is, I don’t want the trio to have even more death on their hands), some part of Park Il-do might still live on because of the connection with Hwa-pyung.

For now, though, I’m dying of curiosity about what’s buried in Hwa-pyung’s grandfather’s back yard. Was it something that the human Park Il-do buried when he used to live in that area, before he killed his family and then drowned in the sea? Or is it something more recent, from that night twenty years ago? If it’s destroyed, will Park Il-do then be destroyed — so that neither Yoon or Hwa-pyung will have to sacrifice themselves? I’m going to tell myself it can happen, that there’s a way to defeat Park Il-do that won’t fulfill a curse. Maybe I’m being blindly optimistic, but for my own sanity, I’m clinging to the desperate hope that our heroes will win — that they’ll triumph over evil and, most importantly, live to tell the tale.

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