It’s another day on the job for our reliable red rescuers, who prove they’re still full of fighting spirit in our latest sneak peek into the fantasy world of tvN’s The Uncanny Counter 2: Counter Punch. This time, a demon has taken control of a school bus driver, sending him careening straight through the roads.
The first hero on the scene is our demon radar Do Hana, played by Kim Se-jung (Today’s Webtoon). Immediately clocking the evil energy, Hana reports the situation to her teammates while swinging herself off a bridge to land on the bus below. The other demon hunters swiftly launch into action, with Ahn Seok-hwan’s (Love in Contract) Choi Jang-mul driving a beat-up car to the scene and Yoo Joon-sang’s (Alchemy of Souls) Ga Mo-tak blocking the bus head-on with his bare hands.
Not to be outdone, the team’s healer Chu Mae-ok — played by Yeom Hye-ran (The Glory) — proves that she’s just as capable in combat by hurling a steel pipe right through the bus’s windshield with perfect aim. We don’t see the outcome of this altercation, but we do know that the trusty team will soon welcome the new recruit Na Jeok-bong, played by Yoo In-soo (The Good Bad Mother).
It’s certainly good news, since they’ll need all hands on board against this season’s vicious villains. First of all, we have the versatile Kang Ki-young (Extraordinary Attorney Woo) as the sharply-dressed, telekinetic predator Hwang Pil-gwang, whom we see undergoing a beastly transformation. By his side is my love Kim Hieora (The Glory) as the chaotic Kelly, who revels in battles and bloodshed. Then there’s Kim Hyun-wook (Kill Heel) as Wong Li-qiang, whom we catch in the midst of sucking the life force out of his latest victim.
With such terrifying adversaries, do our heroes stand a chance against them? Definitely, since there’s also an unpredictable variable in the mix. Jin Seon-gyu (Behind Every Star) is the trump card whose allegiance is yet to be revealed — as the firefighter Ma Joo-seok, he’s bent on avenging his late wife and unborn child at all costs.
Given the glimpse we get of Kelly being magically strangled by an unknown assailant, it’s clear our demonic villains aren’t so infallible after all. The titular hero So Moon — played by Jo Byung-kyu (Stove League) — isn’t fazed one bit by their misdeeds. “No matter what rascals appear in front of us,” Moon declares, “we’ll make sure to match their strength.”
Helmed by the first season’s PD Yoo Seon-dong (Bad and Crazy) and writer Kim Sae-bom, The Uncanny Counter 2: Counter Punch is slated for a July 29 premiere.