The Uncanny Counter · Season 1 · OCN (S1) / tvN (S2) / Netflix
The Uncanny Counter Season 1
The Uncanny Counter Season 1 is a MUST-WATCH, BollyMeter 8.5/10. 16 episodes on OCN (S1) / tvN (S2) / Netflix from 28 November 2020.
Updated
What BollyAI Thinks
The Uncanny Counter premiered on OCN on November 28, 2020, and ran to January 24, 2021, becoming the highest-rated drama in OCN's broadcast history with an 11-percent finale rating. Based on a webtoon by Jang Yi, the series follows a disabled high school student, So Mun, who joins a covert team of demon hunters operating out of a noodle restaurant. Critics on Rotten Tomatoes approved at 96 percent, calling it suspenseful, heartwarming, and terrifically acted. Yeom Hye-ran's supporting performance earned the Baeksang Best Supporting Actress award in 2021. The show blends action choreography with found-family character work in a way critics noted was unusually sustained for a 16-episode run. IMDb audiences rated it 8.0. The balance of comic-book energy and genuine emotional stakes is what reviewers identified as its chief virtue.
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The Room
“Well written and terrifically acted, 'The Uncanny Counter' is suspenseful and heartwarming.”
Substack (Jae-Ha Kim)“The Uncanny Counter captured our imaginations from the get-go.”
South China Morning Post (Pierce Conran)
Standout Episodes
The hours worth arguing about — premieres, finales, and the turning points. BollyAI reads the room episode by episode.
- E1Episode 18.0
So Mun's birthday precipitates his bonding with a spirit and his first contact with the Counter team. The premiere efficiently establishes the supernatural rules and the noodle-shop cover without front-loading exposition. Critics noted the show announces its tonal blend early - funny and violent in close proximity.
The moment: So Mun's first Counter ability manifesting mid-threat - the scene that defines what the series is physically capable of and willing to show.
- E16Episode 169.0
The finale resolves the season's central threat and achieves the 11-percent viewership peak. Reviewers found it a satisfying close to the Counter team's first case - the action set-pieces land, and the emotional throughlines with So Mun's family get sufficient resolution without sentimentality.
The moment: The final confrontation with Myeong-hwi - the payoff for a season's worth of accumulated stakes.
“The Uncanny Counter captured our imaginations from the get-go.” — South China Morning Post (Pierce Conran)