Hwayugi Episode 17 Recap
Holding the sword, Son Oh Gong (Lee Seung Gi) recalls the previous protector’s words that he must kill Sam Jung with the sword. He recalls the Elder’s words that Sam Jung must die as part of her fate. Looking to avoid this, Oh Gong pushes the sword deep into the earth in the garden. He declares the sword should never return.
Jin Sun Mi (Oh Yeon Seo) sits alone. She spies a demon stalking a man and dispenses it. She knows this straightforward aid doesn’t qualify as saving the world.
The elder tells Woo Hwi Chul (Cha Seung Won) that Oh Gong has taken the sword. He complains the bracelet’s hold on Oh Gong is stronger than advertised. Hwi Chul points out that the elder lied that Sun Mi became Sam Jung because of his interaction with her as a child. Instead her fate was bestowed to her at birth. The elder counters that Hwi Chul has racked up plenty of deity points because of that lie. Hwi Chul declares working for the elder is no longer worth it. He’ll find the path to restore his strength without the elder. He walks away from the elder.
Hwi Chul finds Sun Mi waiting for him when he arrives home. She informs him she saw the end of the world vision except this time, a human was the catalyst not a demon. Hwi Chul notes that a human destroys the world so it makes sense that a human saves the world. Hwi Chul declares he’ll no longer be involved with Sam Jung’s issues anymore. Sun Mi counters that Hwi Chul must finish what he started. Hwi Chul states even if he wanted to engage, he doesn’t have the power. Sun Mi asks if there is anything she can do to help him. Hwi Chul says his son was fed human souls by his mother to keep him alive. Hwi Chul states demons get stronger by eating humans. He suggests if he were to eat a special human, his strength would return. Sun Mi has a vision of Hwi Chul sobbing. As Hwi Chul prepares to make his move, Sun Mi declares that she saw him sobbing over someone’s death. That gets Hwi Chul’s attention. Assistant Ma rushes into the room with medicine for Hwi Chul. She spies Oh Gong on the stairs. Hwi Chul turns and sees Oh Gong watching. Assistant Ma leaves to prepare the medicine. Oh Gong asks about her vision of Hwi Chul’s crying. Sun Mi believes Hwi Chul will lose something precious to him. Hwi Chul promises to be careful. Oh Gong concurs that Hwi Chul should avoid making sad things happen to him. Hwi Chul counters that per his conversation with the elder Oh Gong has plenty on his plate. He leaves to take his medicine.
The private conversation between Hwi Chul and Oh Gong was good. Hwi Chul made Oh Gong aware he knows about the sword and its purpose. Oh Gong let Hwi Chul know that he’ll protect Sun Mi and he should heed Sun Mi’s warning about upcoming sorrow.
Sun Mi scolds Oh Gong for getting angry with the elder without her in tow. Now that she’s got power, she wants to rip into the heavenly realm too. She wishes she could magically appear when he calls her name. Oh Gong appears next to her on the bed. He looks at her suggestively. Sun Mi sputters that a phone call or text is best. Oh Gong smiles and tells her to never be afraid to call him. Sun Mi asks if not removing the bracelet is best. If she does, his feeling will vanish and he’ll no longer be in danger. Oh Gong doesn’t believe his feelings will disappear. He warns her he’ll be busy for a while and not to be surprised by anything he does. He vanishes.
Hwi Chul wishes Asanyeo would return to him so he’d know that she’s okay.
Mr. Kang procures an unidentified dead body for Asanyeo. She plans to use the body to control someone that wants his son desperately. She’ll provide the body a human soul to reactivate it. She reviews her stash of human souls that include the Mr. Kang’s henchmen. Mr. Kang asks if he kills Sam Jung will she come to him as Asanyeo has. He chuckles at the thought.
Sun Mi stares at a picture of Mr. Kang. She recalls the strange energy between them when she passed him.
Hwi Chul states that Sam Jung will be sacrificed per the heavenly realm. He says once the bracelet disappears, Oh Gong will need to act. Oh Gong wonders if he’s feelings for Sun Mi will remain making his task impossible. Hwi Chul offers to remove the arm with the bracelet. Oh Gong retorts he’d die before accomplishing such a thing. They stare at each other. Hwi Chul states putting the bracelet on Oh Gong makes eating Sam Jung impossible. They both chuckle. Hwi Chul notes that originally the bracelet wasn’t part of his plan but he was fooled into using it. Hwi Chul walks away. Oh Gong tells Assistant Ma if Hwi Chul points a hand on Sam Jung, he won’t hold back. Assistant Ma explains that Hwi Chul is upset because the heavenly realm deceived and used him. Hwi Chul needs a clear explanation of what happened to his son from the elder.
Once again what isn’t said is the important part of the conversation between Oh Gong and Hwi Chul.
Oh Gong tells the elder to tell Hwi Chul everything he knows about Hwi Chul’s son. Miffed, the elder doesn’t want to know that Hwi Chul’s ladylove’s punishment has been transferred to Hwi Chul. Oh Gong warns the elder that Hwi Chul will make a move against him. Oh Gong asks why the elder lied that Sun Mi became Sam Jung because she freed him. The elder claims Oh Gong needed a sense of responsibility for Sam Jung. Oh Gong warns the elder again, tell Hwi Chul everything.
The elder goes to the magic shop but the grandson states his grandmother isn’t there. The grandson asks if his grandmother has a higher rank the elder. He’s not happy and spouts one day he’ll go up in rank. Ha!
Mr. Kang’s assistant pours animal blood into the coffin. Mr. Kang is shocked when Asanyeo touches the dead body in the coffin and it twitches. She tells him they must obtain the energy from the supposed father of the dead body.
Hwi Chul stares at his lady love’s portrait and wonder if their son looks like her. Assistant Ma brings medicine. She doesn’t want him to trust Asanyeo. Hwi Chul believes Asanyeo will come with evidence of his son’s status. If not, he’ll kill her.
Oh Gong’s brother Dae Sik is cleaning when Oh Gong returns home. Oh Gong tells his brother they need to identify the human that will be possessed by the big bad evil spirit. Dae Sik believes the human must be influential. Oh Gong states interfering in the human world isn’t something he does lightly, but has no choice. Dae Sik agrees to help.
To find the human, Dae Sik introduces Oh Gong as the never before seen owner of his company at a reception of important people. Dae Sik brings Oh Gong to the board meeting with the position of honor at the head of the table. The news reports the surprise development and tracks Oh Gong’s purchasing activities. Dae Sik tells Oh Gong many people want to meet him.
The news reports interest Mr. Kang who decides he must meet him. Mr. Kang wonders why Oh Gong has surfaced and what he wants. A reporter asks Mr. Kang about the missing museum director and the scandal that might put Mr. Kang’s foundation in a bad light. Mr. Kang asks for the reporter’s business card.
Mr. Kang returns home. Asanyeo isn’t there. He stares at the coffin wondering what Asanyeo is planning. As he leaves the room, the arm of the dead body rises into the air.
Asanyeo wakes next to her mother’s hospital bed. It seems to be a spot where she can get restorative rest. PK finds her. He’s pleased the Bu Ja got to meet her mother and thanks her. Asanyeo offers to bring Bu Ja back if PK helps her.
Assistant Lee can’t believe that Oh Gong is the mystery owner. Sun Mi doesn’t know why Oh Gong has revealed himself. Oh Gong appears with cotton candy for Sun Mi. She grouses that he bought cars and she only gets cotton candy. Oh Gong reveals he’s made a public splash to find the human that will be possessed by the big bad evil spirit. Sun Mi tells him that Mr. Kang gave her a bad vibe and she saw the vision of the world ending again. Oh Gong asks how she saw Mr. Kang. Sun Mi states that PK asked her to come.
If Oh Gong had shared his plan with Sun Mi, would she have told him about Mr. Kang sooner?
Oh Gong demands to know why PK called for Sam Jung. PK blurts that Asanyeo wanted to see her. The Jade Dragon pipes up that nothing happened to Sam Jung. Oh Gong is not happy with PK.
Oh Gong now knows that Asanyeo wanted Sam Jung to meet Mr. Kang. Oh Gong repeats Asanyeo’s words that she would summon a dragon. Dae Sik points out that dragons aren’t evil.
Asanyeo tells Mr. Kang that she will summon the dragon near where the coffin was buried. Mr. Kang asks if he will be crowned king. Asanyeo confirms this.
PK stares at the energy balls in Hwi Chul’s study. He flashes back to Asanyeo’s request that he plant an energy ball that will allow her to draw Hwi Chul’s energy without his knowledge. She promises to use the energy to return Bu Ja to PK while she moves to a new body. PK plants the energy ball Asanyeo gave him. The Jade Dragon doesn’t like PK doing Asanyeo’s bidding. PK promises this is the last time. The Jade Dragon warns PK could be killed for his actions. PK promises not to get caught.
The demons have no idea what team work is. They are a back-stabbing bunch.
Mr. Kang’s car rear ends Assistant Lee and Sun Mi while they are at a stop light. He provides his card to Sun Mi and states he’ll cover the repair costs of his distracted driving. When Sun Mi takes the car, she sees the vision of Asanyeo and Mr. Kang visiting an area. Sun Mi demands to know why Mr. Kang is hanging out with Asanyeo. Surprised he says nothing. Sun Mi asks if he’s a good person. Mr. Kang says nothing. Sun Mi walks away leaving a stunned Mr. Kang staring after her.
Assistant Lee asks Sun Mi why she dislikes Mr. Kang. Sun Mi asks what Assistant Lee would do if an evil spirit that would destroy the world was a reality. Assistant Lee doesn’t want to even consider the possibility.
The undead body is ready. Asanyeo tells Mr. Kang she will move his obstacles as she flashes the reporter’s business card. She declares it is time for chaos. The undead body holds the energy ball.
Hwi Chul sits in his study. The energy ball siphons his energy but Hwi Chul doesn’t notice.
As the energy ball pulls energy from Hwi Chul, it deposits the energy in the undead body. Asanyeo sees the reporter exit into an underground parking garage. The undead body strangles the reporter. Hwi Chul has a vision of the strangulation. He stares at his hands. Assistant Ma enters the study and asks what is wrong. Hwi Chul reports he left his body for a moment.
Sun Mi asks General Frost if Asanyeo is aligned with Mr. Kang because he is the human the evil spirit will inhabit. She apologizes for talking about Asanyeo because he lost his sister Fairy Ha because of Asanyeo. They discuss Mr. Kang’s land was where Asanyeo was unearthed. Sun Mi notes a river runs next to the ancient tree. She wonders if there’s a valley. She shares her vision of Asanyeo and Mr. Kang looking over a valley. She admits the vision frightens her.
General Frost reports Sam Jung’s vision of the valley to Oh Gong and Dae Sik. They wonder if this is where the dragon will be summoned. Oh Gong tells Dae Sik to find the valley. Oh Gong decides it is time to meet Mr. Kang.
Mr. Kang waits in the club to meet Oh Gong. Others tell him of the flagrant purchases Oh Gong has made. Oh Gong arrives with Dae Sik. He spots Mr. Kang. He smiles as he passes Mr. Kang.
Mr. Kang believes Oh Gong can help with his political aspirations. His older colleague says it is his turn in the spotlight and Mr. Kang must wait until next time. Mr. Kang isn’t fond of the suggestion. He bids his colleague goodbye. The colleague is drunk and staggers. Hwi Chul approaches him and strangles him. Hwi Chul wakes startled at the vivid dream that seemed so real. He stares at his hands. He feels like he killed a human and it wasn’t a dream.
Nice twist the undead body taking Hwi Chul’s form as he executes Asanyeo’s bidding.
Mr. Kang thanks the undead body for removing his obstacles but there is no response. Asanyeo states the undead body won’t interact so as not to tip off his surrogate energy father.
The elder tells Hwi Chul and Sam Jung that the evil spirit has appeared and is eating human spirits. Hwi Chul stares at his hands. The elder comments on Oh Gong’s popularity. Sam Jung says he’s doing this to find the evil spirit. Sam Jung asks if Hwi Chul is okay. He asks her to leave. She does so. When the elder tries to leave but Hwi Chul stops him. Hwi Chul asks if his child is eating human spirits to keep itself alive. The elder refutes that possibility. He leaves. Hwi Chul tells Assistant Ma to catch Sam Jung. Startled she agrees to do so.
Assistant Ma slits Sam Jung’s hand. Hwi Chul’s eyes go red.
Oh Gong finds Asanyeo looking at the valley. He asks if she’ll call the dragon here. She asks how he find this place. Oh Gong asks if finding Hwi Chul’s son was a lie. Asanyeo is belligerent. Oh Gong surprises her by promising to protect her. He tells her to proceed with her plans for Mr. Kang. This surprises Asanyeo. Oh Gong declares he’ll befriend Mr. Kang and join the “call the dragon” party.
Sam Jung waits for the demons to arrive with her cut hand. The undead body eyes her. He approaches. She stares at him. He rushes her. Hwi Chul appears and knocks him in a wall. Hwi Chul declares he’s the reason why he’s having vivid visions. Hwi Chul goes to strike the demon but stops. He stares at the demon feeling his energy in the demon. Assistant Ma and Sam Jung don’t understand why Hwi Chul hasn’t dispatched the demon. Oh Gong appears and grabs the demon. Hwi Chul tells him to stop, he must determine something. Oh Gong dispatches the demon. Hwi Chul isn’t happy. He goes to strike Oh Gong who yells the demon wasn’t his son. Oh Gong yells this is a trick from Asanyeo. Hwi Chul can’t believe Asanyeo played him for a fool.
Fed up with not knowing, Hwi Chul orders the elder to tell him what he knows or die. As Hwi Chul goes to strike the elder, Assistant Ma appears taking the blow. She falls to the ground. Hwi Chul stares at her in horror. She apologizes and goes unconscious. Hwi Chul sobs. He asks the elder by he did lied to him. The elder claims he couldn’t help it. Hwi Chul yells he will kill the elder. Truly frightened, the elder yells that Hwi Chul’s son is alive. Hwi Chul gets a grip and calmly tells the elder he should have told the truth from the beginning. Assistant Ma rises unhurt. The elder can’t believe he’s been duped. Hwi Chul demands to know where his son is.
Sun Mi is relieved that her vision of Hwi Chul’s tears wasn’t as serious as she thought. Sun Mi asks if Asanyeo and Mr. Kang are working together. She asks why he isn’t sharing details with her. Oh Gong retorts that Sun Mi isn’t calling him when she’s in danger. She states Hwi Chul was there. Oh Gong asks why General Frost knew about her response to Mr. Kang but he didn’t. She states Oh Gong has been busy. Oh Gong understand that Sun Mi worries about his safety and wants to protect him. Sun Mi asks if Oh Gong is interacting with humans when that is something she should handle. She wants to know what he knows. Oh Gong hesitates then states when the bracelet is removed he’s sure his feelings will disappear. He says the death bell fooled them into believing they are in love. Oh Gong declares they have a predator and prey fate. Oh Gong says the bracelet has blocked their deadly fate. He recommends she avoid him when the bracelet is removed. Oh Gong declares he won’t be able to eat her when he’s loved her as much as he does. With tears in her eyes, Sun Mi asks if they can’t see each other again. Oh Gong confirms this. She cries. Oh Gong tells her not to worry about him. He walks away.
Hwi Chul finds Asanyeo waiting for him. He’s pleased to see her. It saves him the trouble of finding her to kill her. Asanyeo asks if her undead demon displeased him. Hwi Chul retorts he couldn’t be fooled that easily. She counters Hwi Chul was able to find out what he wanted because of it. Asanyeo announces that Oh Gong is her protector. Hwi Chul states he’ll deal with Oh Gong later. Now he’ll deal with the demon that helped her. PK enters and confirms he aided Asanyeo. PK admits that Bu Ja’s face fools him every time. Asanyeo tells PK to keep being stupid. She strides out of the room. PK tells Hwi Chul to punish him. Hwi Chul removes his powers for the short term. PK is appalled. Hwi Chul tells Assistant Ma to escort PK out. He complains he’s a weak like a human. She doesn’t care. PK apologizes and leaves the room.
Assistant Ma asks if Hwi Chul will continue to search for his son. Hwi Chul recalls the elder saying his son should not be alive. The elder believes if Hwi Chul finds his son the heavily realms will extract retribution. Assistant Ma believes the elder is being truthful. Hwi Chul says his son being alive is all that matters. He wonders what Oh Gong is up to.
Mr. Kang makes his way into the social club. Everyone congratulates him. The reporter waits for him inside the club. Mr. Kang is shocked. The reporter turns away. His professor friend is in the club. Mr. Kang can’t believe the second dead person is here. Then he spies the colleague and political rival who is also dead. He grabs his head. Oh Gong stares at him while he eats ice cream. Mr. Kang sees Oh Gong motion him forward. Mr. Kang approaches Oh Gong. He introduces himself. Oh Gong offers Mr. Kang what he has. Mr. Kang asks why. Oh Gong declares he picked Mr. Kang because he’s the worst person in the room. Oh Gong asks if Mr. Kang wants to climb to the top of the ladder. Oh Gong declares he can help Mr. Kang become a king.
My Thoughts
The demons need to learn how to work together. Oh Gong is the only one that is trust worthy. Hwi Chul trusted Asanyeo to learn about his son. PK has no qualms about doing Asanyeo’s bidding to keep Bu Ja alive. It all comes down to being exploited and manipulated to save those they love. The elder’s lying came to light. The heavenly realm seems populated by users and losers.
Son Oh Gong (Lee Seung Gi) put distance between himself and Sun Mi. He loves Sun Mi, the woman. He lied that once the bracelet is gone, his love will be gone. He was irked that Sun Mi kept things from him. That’s the pot calling the kettle black. He didn’t listen to Hwi Chul and destroyed the undead demon. He practically shook his friend and declares the demon wasn’t his long-lost son. He’s going undercover to pretend to support Asanyeo and befriend Mr. Kang. Oh Gong is willing to do what it takes to save Sun Mi from the fate that awaits them. Pushing her away equates to keeping her safe.
Jin Sun Mi (Oh Yeon Seo) got the “we need a break” talk from Oh Gong. She was hurt when he decided they should spend time apart. Sun Mi’s storyline seems to diminish the more active Oh Gong is to protect her. She also kept things from Oh Gong to protect him. I want more for this character. She’s more than the human that Oh Gong protects and love.
Woo Hwi Chul (Cha Seung Won) finally learned his son is alive. His frustration with the lying and withholding elder and the heavenly realm was merited. Hwi Chul browbeat the elder and wrested the information from him. He foolishly believed Asanyeo would bring him information on his son. Instead she drained his energy to bring an undead spirit to life. Hwi Chul again shows his first loyalty is to himself.
Supporting characters contribute. Asanyeo and Mr. Kang walk down the path to dominate together. Using the undead body was an interesting move. Fueling the undead body with Hwi Chul’s energy was terrific. Asanyeo continues to be force to be reckoned with.
Ranking the episode (on a scale from 1-10) had me rank this episode as very good. My episode ranking chart is below.
The ninth song of the OST is “Believe” by Mackelli. Check it out:
Asian drama fan. I watch and blog dramas on https://kjtamusings.wordpress.com/.
amusings 
It REALLY bothers me that Hwi Chul 🐂 is so quick to think about devouring Sam Jung 🌂 for power BEFORE he has any evidence of Ah Sa Nyeo’s 🌹 claims; Hwi Chul 🐂 has been consistently selfish and has not earned my trust.
What is Ah Sa Nyeo 🌹 getting in return for helping Professor Kang 💩? I was glad Ah Sa Nyeo 🌹 went to see Bu Ja’s 🚶♀️💀 mom in the hospital 🏥. It gives me a little hope that we might see Bu Ja 🚶♀️💀 again; I miss the perky zombie 😢😥😭. It seems Ah Sa Nyeo 🌹 was touched with PK’s 🐷 kindness; the evil priestess seems to soften when PK 🐷 interacts with her. I’m not pleased that PK 🐷 continues to do Ah Sa Nyeo’s 🌹 bidding. ✳️SHAKING MY HEAD – NOT THE TYPE OF TEAMWORK WE NEED❕✳️
I’m NOT impressed with the “heavenly realm”, which uses deceptive practices to control demons and Sun Mi/Sam Jung 🌂. I concur with KJT “The heavenly realm seems populated by users and losers”. I can see why Hwi Chul 🐂, Oh Gong 🐒 and Sun Mi 🌂 are not pleased with the “heavenly realm”. ✳️PSST… SOME TEAMWORK MIGHT BENEFIT Y’ALL✳️
It was brilliant teamwork Secretary Ma 🐩 working with Hwi Chul 🐂 did to discover that his son was alive. Have we met the son? Could he be the peddlar’s ‘grandson’? If not, then who?
Then we have Oh Gong teaming up with Ah Sa Nyeo 🌹 to protect Sun Mi 🌂. Oh Mi’s 🐒🌂 efforts have him withholding full disclosure of her summons and her confiding in others to protect each other. Pot (Oh Gong 🐒) meet the kettle (Sun Mi 🌂). ✳️ATTENTION DEMONS: DITCH THE VAINGLORIOUS PURSUITS AND WORK TOGETHER FOR THE GREATER GOOD✳️
Oh Gong 🐒 becoming known for his wealth will put a damper on his lifestyle. I 💖💟💗 that Oh Gong 🐒 made Professor Kang 💩 see the people he had killed, but what was the purpose❓⁉️
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Hwi Chul 🐂 has been consistently selfish and has not earned my trust.
Agreed. That Goblin-like bromance isn’t to be.
It seems Ah Sa Nyeo 🌹 was touched with PK’s 🐷 kindness; the evil priestess seems to soften when PK 🐷 interacts with her.
It was telling when Asanyeo admitted she could sleep better near her mother. That’s Bu Ja influence.
Have we met the son? Could he be the peddlar’s ‘grandson’? If not, then who?
Inquiring minds want to know.
I 💖💟💗 that Oh Gong 🐒 made Professor Kang 💩 see the people he had killed, but what was the purpose❓⁉
That was a cool scene. The shock on Mr. Kang’s face was satisfying. Purpose? Good question.
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