A peek at the male lead’s agonizing past in the latest episode of Jirisan added more layers of puzzling situations in the story.
We sure also want more moments of Hyun-jo listening patiently to drunk Yi-gang in the future. As they share their experiences with each other, they grow closer and connect seamlessly as ranger partners.
In case you missed it, Jirisan also announced a stellar music talent line-up for its original soundtracks. Previously leading with BTS Jin was already announced. Adding to that, Girls’ Generation’s Taeyeon, NELL’s Kim Jong Wan, and Gaho are also confirmed to join the roster. Rounding up the star-studded lineup are fan favorites: Paul Kim, Kim Feel, Jukjae, Lee Sungyeol, O3ohn, and Rothy.
abbyinhallyuland watched Jirisan on iQiyi
Episode Recaps: 01 & 02 | 03 | 04 | 05| 06 | 07 | 08| 09| 10| 11 | 12 | 13 & 14 | Finale Week + Review |
Jirisan Episode 3 Key Moments
Startled at the sight of yellow ribbons inside Chief Jo’s desk cabinet, Yi-gang rushes to fix his things when she heard him arriving.
Later, Da-won reports she successfully set the signal Yi-gang asked her to do. Subsequently, spirit-Hyun-jo sees the signal sent by Yi-gang.
“You’re destined to roam the mountains even when you’re dead.”
In one of Haedong Branch missions in 2018, Hyun-jo first experienced dealing with illegal religious activities. He interacts with a young girl who told him that he is bound to roam the mountain even when he’s dead.
“She drank sweet potato makgeolli.”
After a day’s work, the team head for some drink as the senior rangers chat about how Hyun-jo topped the exam of his batch. That led to the teasings of the three batchmates especially Yi-gang who has failed miserably in ranger exams.
Calling the day off, Yi-gang goes home as her two batchmates worry about her gulping sweet potato makgeolli. Hyun-jo volunteers to walk her home as Il-hae tells Gu-yeong to allow Hyun-jo a taste of sweet-potato-makgeolli-intoxicated Yi-gang.
Curious at why Yi-gang became a ranger when she hated the mountains, Hyun-jo was dragged by his already-sitting senior to join her sitting on the road.
He listens to the drunken blab of her mountain hiking journey and feats from when she was six years old up to 13 years old. The day after, Gu-yeong beamingly quipped how lucky Hyun-jo was he didn’t get to hear Yi-gang’s first love story.
“I’m not sure if it’s a ghost or guardian spirit. But I think it gave me a gift.”
Answering a call about a notoriously famous grandmother who does illegal hiking, Yi-gang and Hyun-jo proceed to check on her. They find the spot where she usually pays respect to her mother still not tidied up.
Continuing their search based on Hyun-jo’s vision, they also met training soldiers. One of them tips them of seeing a pink bag belonging to Granny Geum-rye. When they found her, unfortunately, she can’t be revived anymore.
Hyun-jo asks Yi-gang to radio the station, but she struggles with a panic attack so he had to help her calm down first. Revealing a sad story about witnessing death at Jirisan, he confessed that a junior soldier when he was serving as a military captain died because of him.
After finding his dead junior, his cryptic visions of seeing people in danger at Mount Jiri also began. Thereafter, he has considered it as a gift to save people.
Their conversation gets halted when his soldier friend called relaying one of his team members is missing. Fortunately, he was found in time and was rushed to the hospital.
“Who gave you the yogurt drink?”
Later, Hyun-jo learns from Goo-young how Yi-gang fainted after finding her dead parents in the mountain. It gave understanding to the panic attack witnessed by Hyun-jo. Questioning why his senior opted to take a rough path, Goo-young answers to wait for “her drunk story when she’s 24”.
Hyun-jo visits Yi-gang and relays the food poisoning was intentional, caused by a yogurt drink that both Grandma Geum-rye and the soldier took.
Alone at Jirisan, Hyun-jo realizes the vision he had was not related to Grandma Geum-rye and Private Ahn. It was a vision a year ago before his junior soldier, Private Kim, died. With that, he concludes, someone has been killing on the mountain since then.
Jirisan Episode 3 Musings
By now, we should be acquainted with how Jirisan narrative flows. It touches on the present timeline and with 2018-2020 events interspersing in the story.
We finally get the meaning of the poster released featuring the lead characters’ cryptic lines: “A place I can’t climb again after that day” and “A place I can’t break away from after that day”.
In the present timeline, Hyun-jo has become Jirisan’s wandering spirit called the “messenger from hell” among villagers and climbers. Rumor has it that anyone who sees it will die.
Moreover, the latest episode reveals Hyun-jo is able to see clues to victims on the mountain through his visions that are not just in the future but from the past as well.
Like Yi-gang, we also can’t help but be suspicious of Chief Jo who is in possession of the blood-stained yellow ribbons. But the roaming man suggests a smile similar to Hyun-jo, thus, making this episode quite a trigger point with escalating cryptic clues so far.
Jirisan has a strong tendency to confuse because the narrative is pumped with clues, not to mention that it’s moving to different timelines. Hence, attention to detail is pertinent to stay in the story.
Writer Kim Eun Hee has a penchant for weaving narrative in a mind-stimulating manner. Spreading hints along the way, sometimes she goes to viewers’ inklings, most of the time she surprises with unexpected twists.
Currently, Hyun-jo feels like a hard-to-crack puzzle that we all want to solve. Unfortunately, the series seems intent to only give more intrigue as the story goes along.
Don’t miss the episodes of Jirisan on iQiyi every Saturday and Sunday!
Photos: iQiyi
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