Devil’s Diner – Season 1 Episode 4 Recap & Review

DELUSION: Candied Gooseberries

Episode 4 of Devil’s Diner begins with a tragic accident—a woman cycling with her son, Tung, collides with a vehicle. Years later, Tung has become an addict, drowning in guilt and blaming himself for his mother’s death. Waking up to another day of addiction, he immediately seeks his next fix. He’s behind on rent and, in his drug-induced haze, heads to a construction site, only to be fired without pay after causing trouble.

Drifting through the streets penniless, Tung resorts to theft, snatching a woman’s bag before stumbling into the diner to hide. The bartender listens to his story and brings out a jar of candied gooseberries—the very treat Tung had loved as a child, tied to memories of his mother. Handing him a gooseberry, the bartender instructs him to lick it. Suddenly, Tung finds himself ten minutes back in time, just before he stole the bag. The bartender then explains the price of this power: each gooseberry will send Tung back to the time of his mother’s accident, but at the cost of ten years of his life. If he dies in the past, his soul will belong to the bartender. Consuming three berries would mean certain death.

Desperate, Tung eats the first berry and is transported back but fails to save his mother. He relives the same day and returns to the diner, where the bartender tells him that some things are beyond his control. Instead of clinging to the past, he suggests that Tung focus on changing himself. As he speaks, the diner trembles—a sign of the devil’s wrath. Forced by unseen forces, the bartender reluctantly gives Tung the second berry.

This time, although Tung still fails to prevent the accident, he makes small changes—arriving at work on time, earning his wages, and using his money to buy tea for his grandmother and offerings for his mother’s altar on her death anniversary. Yet, despite these improvements, he returns to the diner, unable to accept life without his mother. Against the bartender’s advice, he eats the final berry. A bulb flickers in the diner, a subtle yet ominous sign of his death.

Later, we see the bartender lost in thought, reminiscing about a moment when he, too, had to choose between saving two lives. He, then, drinks in the memory of his father. The episode ends on a chilling note, with the devil punishing the bartender for interfering and trying to help Tung. As flames consume him, he begs for mercy, ultimately submitting to the devil’s will.


The Episode Review

This episode weaves delusion as a recurring motif. Tung’s addiction-induced delirium, his warped self-blame, and his relentless attempts to rewrite the past all reflect the theme of “delusion”. The use of candied gooseberries as a symbolic device is particularly interesting. Much like how the sour fruit is transformed into something sweet, Tung has altered the reality of his mother’s death, distorting the truth and allowing guilt to consume him. The preserved nature of the candy further emphasizes his stagnation—trapped in time, unable to move on.

Another intriguing aspect of this episode is the bartender’s character. Previously portrayed as a sinister figure, we now see shades of humanity in him. His struggle suggests that he, too, is bound by forces beyond his control, making him a far more complex character than he first appeared.

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