Catch A Breath
Episode 8 of Dark Hole picks up with Hwa-Sun alongside Hee-Tae and Seung-Tae. She breathes heavily, wondering where Soo-Yeon is. Well, it turns out she fell from the top of the building, losing her grip on Hwa-Sun’s ankle. Back at the hospital, Ji-Hye and her child are safe. Soon-Il meanwhile, breaks free from his binds and hurries out the room he’s being held in. He catches up with Hyun-Ho and together they try to grab their radio from the trunk of the police car. Unfortunately Sunnyeo and her newly found worshipers arrive and stop them. Together, they tie the men down and keep them captive. Sunnyeo isn’t done yet though. She grabs one of the women who doubted her abilities before this outbreak and locks her outside under the pretense that the Lord will help her. She watches in glee as the girl is ripped apart by the mutants. Heading back inside, Sunnyeo prepares for the coming of the deity, who’s apparently on the way. It soon becomes apparent though that Han Ji-Soo is actually trying to find a cure to this disease. A fair amount of flashbacks this episode prove as much, but right now she hasn’t been successful. Back at the supermarket, our motley group of survivors all tuck in for the night and hold out as best they can. Hwa-Sun speaks to Hee-Tae and reveals all about the tentacled monster and how it seems to be after her. However, they’re interrupted by Dong-Rim returning. Apparently she’s okay but claims not to remember very much. But how did she survive? Hee-Tae has concerns. Dong-Rim confirms she’s definitely breathed in the smoke but for now she seems to be okay. Sitting down with Hwa-Sun, she reveals more of her past which sees this girl bullied at school for writing a journal. Hwa-Sun sits with her though and promises that she’ll do her best to stand by Dong-Rim’s side if she falls down the metaphorical dark hole. After, Hwa-Sun inexplicably starts seeing visions. She stands with Hee-Tae and clutches her head, seeing visions of Muji Hospital in her mind’s eye. She knows the shaman is bad news and feeds this back to Hee-Tae. He hurries up, determined to free Soon-Il and the other survivors from her tyrannical grip. We then skip back to the day after the power outage, with Ji-Soo told to stay strong in the wake of the smoke. She’s encouraged to try and do her best to find a cure, which gives the girl purpose moving forward.
The Episode Review
With the tentacled monster taking a break this episode and all of our characters given a respite, Dark Hole slows the pace down for a more character-driven chapter. While there’s nothing inherently wrong with that, Dark Hole doesn’t quite have enough moving parts to make a chapter like this as gripping as it could be. That’s to say nothing of the bizarre comedy thrown in with Do-Yoon and the fried chicken gag feeling like a jarring inclusion. However, the show does have an interesting dynamic shift now with Sunnyeo rallying the people to her cause and seemingly welcoming her shadowy deity to the world. This seems to be the driving force of this show and could well be a nod toward the tentacled monster we’ve been seeing so much of. It also looks like we’re growing closer to catching up with the moments at the start of episode 1 too. With that in mind, it’ll be interesting to see what’s next for our characters. Dark Hole is certainly an enjoyable series though and the ending leaves the door open for an exciting double bill next week.
