The Island Episode No 3 Recap
Episode 3 of “The Island” begins with Baek-joo telling Yeom-ji a story about how weak people start looking for a spirit named Benjulle when they need strength. In exchange for power, the spirit would collect what these people could afford. Yeom-ji asks if the spirit still exists, and Baek-joo claims that it’s still around and helping people in need. The episodes then cuts to Mi-ho, who is in a groovy mood because she slept well because of Ban.
Butler Jang reminds him that he will start work at school that day, and he is suddenly flustered. She says she hired Ba to help her, and asks Butler Jang to clean a room for her in the mansion. Butler Jang is initially skeptical of Ban, but calms down when he sees the demon hunter.
Instead of driving her to work, Ban takes the back seat as Mi-ho stays to go to work, since Ban doesn’t know how to drive. He asks her about Butler Jang, but then ignores all of Mi-ho’s questions about her personal life. Mi-ho arrives at Tamra High School and tells the principal that Ban will be with her as a bodyguard, explaining that her situation needs to be around him.
Mi-ho takes Ba to the teacher’s room and starts giving him instructions. The two have a small argument and Ban asks her to stop ordering him around. Mi-ho is in class and her students start asking her questions about her personal life. He loses his cool and threatens to mark all the students as absent for not responding to his challenge. Yeom-ji stands up and leaves the classroom without fear of punishment, which shocks Mi-ho.
On her way back, Yeom-ji goes to see her friend Su-ryeon, who is sobbing in her room. Su-ryeon is beaten badly by her boyfriend Gyeong-jun. Yeom-ji gets angry and scolds him for not breaking up with her. A flashback takes us to Su-ryeo’s interaction with her boyfriend the day before. This guy was usually the one who beat people up just to teach them a lesson.
When he finds out Su-ryeon taped the conversation to punish him, he starts beating him with a microphone in the karaoke room. Yeom-ji asks Su-ryeon if he has anything left of the recording, but the guy sends Su-ryeon a ton of candid pictures he took of her. The high school student worries that he’s exposing them online and ignores Yeom-jin’s pleas to report him to the cops.
Gyeong-jun calls Su-ryeon to ask if anyone is with her, but she lies, and when Yeom-jin sends her something to further threaten her, he kicks her out. The next day, Yeom-ji is at school and talks to Mi-ho about the incident, since she’s now the school’s guidance counselor. He tells the teacher about Su-ryeo’s situation, adding that there’s no hard evidence to report her to the police.
Yeom-ji hopes that Mi-ho can use her powers to help them, but the teacher turns her down, asking Yeom-ji to go to the cops instead. Meanwhile, Butler Jang visits Baek-joo’s diner and talks to him about Mi-ho, known as Wonjeong years ago. Baek-joo recognizes Butler Jang as a young priest from Ancient Jeju who witnessed Ban’s activities as a demon slayer.
Butler Jang claims that Ban is worried that he might hurt Mi-ho again like he did when he was Won-jeong years ago. Baek-joo asks Butler Jang to trust Ban since he was guilty of hurting Mi-ho all those years ago. After talking with Butler Hang Baek-joo, he relaxed a bit. Later that night, Mi-ho goes on a rampage and tries to compensate Ban with a suitcase full of money in exchange for working for him.
He also gives them new clothes and is excited to think that she is falling for the tactic of luring him with money. The butler tries to get Jang Ban to settle in the room and asks him to protect Mi-ho, but the demon slayer isn’t one to be tamed so easily and disappear right away. Su-ryeon tries to kill herself after Gyeong-jun’s constant threatening texts and photos, but she remembers Yeom-ji’s story about Benjulle the other day.
Yeom-ji had advised Su-ryeon to summon a spirit and get its help to gain strength to fight Kyeong-jun. Su-ryeon successfully performs the ritual to summon the spirit, which shocks Baek-joo and Ba, who sense something bad. Meanwhile, Mi-ho meets Fr Giovanni when she is in the forest learning to fight demons.
Butler Jang introduces Giovanni as his nephew Johan (John). The two have a chaotic conversation with Mi-ho, preventing her from dressing informally, and joking about Mi-ho’s online popularity due to the Yohan scandals. Both Yohan and Mi-ho get drunk on wine as Mi-ho starts talking about how Ba isn’t there to protect her from any demons that might attack her.
Suddenly, Ban appears out of nowhere, and Mi-ho continues to bombard him with complaints as Yohan watches. After the butler puts Jang Mi-ho to sleep, Yohan asks her about Ban and learns more about the demon slayer. Yohan meets Ban and talks about his age, clothes, looks and other trivial things. Ban leaves Yohan with a warning asking him to stay away from the demon hunter, but Yohan seems agitated after the interaction.
The next morning, Mi-ho wakes up with a hangover to find Yohan praying by her bed. He is shocked to see how he tells the real priest about ghosts. Johan continues to make fun of her as she dresses for work. Ban is already in the car when Mi-ho goes in for work, and this time Johan joins in because he wants to kill time. Mi-ho still remains on driving duty as she takes the two boys to work.
Suddenly, Ban asks to stop the car and runs into the forest, leaving him alone with Johan. Yohan promises to help Mi-ho with faith and hope as they face a threat that leads to another chaotic interaction. On her way to school, Mi-ho runs into Su-jin and introduces her to Yohan. As they cross the road, Yeom-ji pulls up in front of Mi-ho’s car and asks the teacher to help her.
He tells Mi-ho and Yohan that Su-ryeo was possessed by Benjulle and explains how the spirit helps people in need. Yohan agrees to follow them, and Yeom-ji changes into his priest clothes before taking him and Mi-ho to Su-ryeo’s house. The two enter the house and find Su-ryeo’s mother at the door.
Meanwhile, Ban sees the mountain structure he built with demon stones collapse and new insects emerge from the hole below. Su-ryeon’s mother invites them in, and Yohan asks her to stay back as he and Mi-ho try to talk to Su-ryeon.
Despite their serious condition, Johan scares the already scared Mi-ho before entering his room. Upon entering the room, Mi-ho tries to wake up Su-ryeon, but the spirit begins to have a seizure. Johan begins an exorcism and asks Mi-ho to tie up the girl. Johan begins the exorcism, and the spirit doesn’t leave Su-ryeon, instead saying, “I got you.”
Both Yohan and Mi-ho are shocked when bugs appear under Su-ryeo’s bed. Yohan and Mi-ho are no longer in the room but in the forest, and Ban runs into a familiar face in the forest.
Episode Review
I absolutely loved Yohan in this episode and it was fun to see him bond with Mi-ho. The two actors, Cha Eunwoo and Lee Da-hee, are an absolute delight in how they interact, and it’s amazing to see how Eunwoo differs from other tsundere roles in the past in this drama.
I’m not sure I understand the Benjulle myth and how it helps Su-ryeo get stronger, but I’m sure we’ll find out what it does to her in the next episode. Ban’s chemistry with Goong-tan is something I’m looking forward to seeing, and I’m sure both demon slayers were once in love with Wonjeong (Mi-ho).
The show is in a pretty interesting place right now, and I’m sure the low number of episodes might be jarring for some fans. However, knowing that this will be followed by another season, fans may have more to look forward to from this story.