Devil’s Diner – Season 1 Episode 5 Recap & Review

SUSPICION: Heart Porridge 

Episode 5 of Devil’s Diner begins with a man about to eat a dish prepared by the bartender to forget his recent breakup.

The scene then shifts to An, who finds a drunk woman, Vy. As he helps her, they sense a connection and end up at Devil’s Diner, where they share a meal. This marks the beginning of their relationship. Vy and An spend time together, but An notices Vy, who works as a bartender, being particularly friendly with a customer.

Despite this, Vy eventually moves in with An, only to find another woman’s underwear in one of his cabinets. Neither of them mentions it, but later, when An sees a customer kissing Vy, he assumes she is cheating on him. In reality, Vy had been harassed and had threatened the customer.

Tensions escalate when An and Vy get into a heated argument, peeling away the layers of their hidden issues. Their relationship unravels, leading to their breakup and Vy leaving An’s house. After she leaves, An suddenly coughs up blood along with what appears to be a small, beating heart. He later discovers that his heart is abnormal and that he has little time left.

Meanwhile, Vy visits the diner, where the bartender promises to help her forget An. Later, An also finds himself at the diner, eating the same dish to erase his memories of Vy.

Days after both An and Vy have forgotten each other, they meet again in the same way. A homeless man, who has been observing them, comments on how they have been breaking up and dating repeatedly. It is then revealed that Vy also has the same heart condition as An.

Once again, they end up at Devil’s Diner, but this time, the bartender encourages them to open the gate. As they are about to do so, their memories come rushing back. Instead of opening the door, they choose to spend their remaining time together.

The episode ends with someone walking into the diner.

The Episode Review

This was such a well-thought-out and clever chapter. The episode not only builds upon its central theme of suspicion but also weaves in brilliant symbolism. To illustrate how suspicion grows, expands, and ultimately consumes a person, the episode follows a cyclical narrative, mirroring An and Vy’s journey. Additionally, it reflects the repetitive nature of human relationships, where love, heartbreak, and forgetting follow a continuous cycle.

The show also plays on the concept of heartbreak in a literal sense, with An and Vy spitting out fragments of their own beating hearts. Over time, these pieces grow, leading to their shared heart abnormality.

The episode further enriches its themes through subtle hints. For instance, viewers eventually realize that the lingerie Vy found in An’s house was actually her own. Similarly, the homeless man refers to An and Vy as a couple, even though the episode initially suggests they are meeting for the first time. The way this chapter unfolds is truly phenomenal. With this, Devil’s Diner continues to surprise us in the most delightful ways!