Moon in the Day – K-drama Episode 2 Recap & Review

Episode 2

Episode 2 of Moon in the Day starts 1500 years from the present day, during the period after the Silla War. Ri-ta and Do Ha are romantic lovers who get married. However, Ri-ta betrays Do Ha’s trust and kills him to avenge his family’s death. As Ri-ta used a specific sword to kill Do Ha, his spirit is cursed and he is forced to follow Ri-ta every time she is reincarnated.

After following Ri-ta through her 17 reincarnations, Do Ha finally grabs hold of her after being allowed to enter actor Joon-oh’s body. Back in the present time, Do Ha, who has possessed Joon-oh, manages to grab a hold of Ri-ta’s reincarnation – Young-hwa. He tries to strike her with a knife and kill her to break his curse.

However, a force protects Young-hwa and keeps Do Ha from doing so. Do Ha is confused by Young-hwa’s reaction to him. Meanwhile, Young-hwa is happy that her prayers are finally answered and that actor Joon-oh is alive. Joon-oh/Do Ha tries to kill Young-hwa using the knife, but she checks his temperature, wondering if he is running a fever.

Do Ha is taken back to the past recalling how Ri-ta done the same thing to him. He drops unconscious in Young-hwa’s bed. Min-o is at the funeral home for Joon-oh when he learns that his brother has walked out of the mortuary and that he is alive. Min-o also learns that Joon-oh is nowhere to be found in the hospital.

The next morning, Do Ha/Joon-oh wakes up in a hospital bed and finds Yoon-je in the room with him. He learns that Yoon-je was Joon-oh’s manager from Joon-oh’s memories. Do Ha/Joon-oh leaves the room and heads out to look for Young-hwa.

Min-o coaxes the doctor, asking him to keep the news of Joon-oh’s cancer a secret. He states that since Joon-oh is back alive, it’s best for him to refrain from making the news public unless asked by the cops. Min-o recalls a past interaction between him and Joon-oh during which the actor stated that the two brothers were poles apart.

Back then, Joon-oh had asked Min-o to promise that the news of his collapse would not make it out in the media as he wanted to protect his reputation and didn’t want to look like the inferior brother. At the same time, the news of Tae-joo’s affair spreads like wildfire after Attorney Go hands the information over to a reporter.

Min-o asks Attorney Go to prepare for Joon-oh to lead the period drama opposite Yi-seul. Later that day, Young-hwa is discharged from the hospital and notices Joon-oh staring at her from the hospital rooftop. She wonders what was wrong with the actor and leaves to go back home.

However, Joon-oh is mobbed by the hospital patients who recognise him as the star that he is. Yoon-je tries to save Joon-oh from the media but Do Ha decides to test Joon-oh’s popularity. He goes to the hospital reception and finds a mob of reporters waiting to talk to Joon-oh. 

Meanwhile, Tae-joo meets Yi-seul in private and discusses his public scandal. He wonders how she came out unscathed in the controversy as she was the woman he was having an affair with. Yi-seul ignores Tae-joo and tells him that she is not going to meet Joon-oh despite the news of his apparent resurrection as they had broken up.

Yi-seul also adds that Min-o would stoop to any length to make sure his brother gets what he wants, hinting that it was he who made Tae-joo’s scandal public news. Later that night, Yoon-je notices that Joon-oh is not being himself. He tells him that Young-hwa was the woman that saved his life. Do Ha/Joon-oh asks Yoon-je to take him to see her.

Meanwhile, Young-hwa’s roommate welcomes her back home, praising her for her merit in saving so many lives. Young-hwa goes outside to see Joon-oh and finds him waiting for her at a nearby park. Do Ha/Joon-oh tries to attack Young-hwa but the force protects her and stops him from attacking her.

Yoon-je calls up Min-o, seeking his help to bring the actor under control. Just as Young-hwa tries to talk to Do Ha/Joon-oh, trying to get him to leave her alone, she gets a text message from Min-o. Min-o asks to meet her in private for a chat but Joon-oh breaks her phone away, making her angry. Do Ha/Joon-oh asks if Young-hwa had a deity protecting her but she is confused by his insinuation.

Do Ha/Joon-oh notices that the force around her becomes more powerful every time Young-hwa gets upset. Yoon-je drives Joon-oh home while Min-o talks to Young-hwa about his brother’s condition following the accident. Young-hwa understands what Joon-oh is going through and agrees to spare the actor this time.

That night, Do Ha/Joon-oh goes to the actor’s residence and is shocked to see how a top star of the 21st century lived. Do Ha wonders what kind of a person Joon-oh is when he talks to Min-o in a squeaky high pitch. Min-o hands over the script of the period drama to Joon-oh and asks him to start preparing for it.

On his way out of the house, Min-oh calls the doctor to confirm if Joon-oh’s behaviour has changed because of the trauma. Meanwhile, Young-hwa thinks about Joon-oh’s trauma response and recalls her own trauma. She remembers drawing a man dressed in a purple hanbok as a child, which coincidentally was Do Ha.

Do Ha/Joon-oh reads the script of the period drama but suddenly recalls seeing young Monk Hae-in give Young-hwa an amulet protecting her. He wonders if Young-hwa is still wearing that and decides the only way to kill her is by destroying the amulet first. Do Ha decides to bring Young-hwa closer to him by using Joon-oh’s star power.

A flashback from 1500 years ago shows how Ri-ta had tried to kill Do Ha when he was unwell. Ri-ta confesses to Do Ha that she’s trying to avenge the death of her family. Despite the confession, Do Ha shows mercy and gives her a chance to change her life. Do Ha ask Ri-ta to choose between trying to kill him in a sword fight or giving up on her revenge to live in submission with him. Ri-ta finally picks the second option and Do Ha is pleased.

Back in the year 2023, Yoon-je tells Min-o and Attorney Go that something is seriously wrong with Do Ha but both parties refuse to believe him. Do Ha/Joon-oh show up there and put up a show of being like the old Joon-oh. However, he warns Yoon-je in secret, stating that he is an imposter who just looks like Joon-oh.

Later that day, Do Ha/Joon-oh as well as the rest of the cast for the upcoming period drama gather for a press conference. Do Ha/Joon-oh forces Yoon-je to bring Young-hwa there. Upon seeing Young-hwa, Do Ha/Joon-oh makes a scene and thanks her for saving his life in front of the cameras.

Yi-seul who is also at the press conference is shocked that Joon-oh was giving so much attention to the firefighter and leaves the stage. Young-hwa, who is jarred by the sudden media attention flees from the room and hides away. At the same time, Yi-seul finds Joon-oh and tries to talk to her.

Do Ha remembers how Yi-seul had treated Joon-oh in the past and ignores her without a word. Instead, Do Ha/Joon-oh goes to the same room that Young-hwa was hiding in and confronts her. Young-hwa tries to keep it cool, considering the actor’s trauma. Instead, Do Ha/Joon-oh tells her that he would like her to be close to him at all times going forward.

Young-hwa tries to explain how she was a firefighter by profession but he goes close to her. Tae-joo is furious after seeing the press conference on TV and decides to make sure Joon-oh is ruined. At the same time, Yi-seul finds it odd that Joon-oh is paying attention to someone who isn’t her.

Young-hwa goes to work and looks up the reports from the event. She gets a call from Yoon-je who asks her to collect her bag that she had accidentally left behind at the venue. Seeing how Joon-oh was obsessing over Young-hwa infuriates Yoon-je too. He asks the actor to give it up but Do Ha/Joon-oh tells the manager the truth.

Do Ha/Joon-oh reveals that the real Joon-oh had died and adds that he was a poltergeist who had possessed the late actor’s body. Do Ha manages to scar Yoon-je straight by playing a few magical tricks. He asks Yoon-je to look for the temple that made the amulet that Young-hwa was wearing if he wants the poltergeist to leave.

That night, Monk Hae-in is at the temple with Chief Monk. The two monks discuss the sudden turn of events in the days to come. Meanwhile, a drunk Tae-joo shows up at Joon-oh’s house causing a scene. Tae-joo threatens to reach out to Young-hwa which pisses Do Ha/Joon-oh. Do Ha warns Tae-joo and asks him to stay away from Young-hwa.

The next morning, Min-o amps up security for Joon-oh after seeing what Tae-joo had tried to do. Yoon-je brings in Joon-oh’s bodyguard when Do Ha/Joon-oh knocks the bulky bodyguard out in one move. He tells Min-oh that the guy was inept to protect him, asking him to bring in someone of his choosing.

At work, Young-hwa receives a special award for her contribution. Young-hwa and her team gath`er for drinks, celebrating the fact that she would finally be dispatched to Antarctica, the same base camp where Young-hwa’s boyfriend was posted. Young-hwa gets drunk and starts threatening one of Joon-oh’s posters on the street.

Do Ha/Joon-oh finds her there and asks her to be his bodyguard. He promises that he will not let Young-hwa go to Antarctica at all costs. The conversation reminds Do Ha of his own chat with Ri-ta from the past wherein she challenged him to fight.

Do Ha recalls how after their initial interaction, Ri-ta started falling for him despite being the person who tried to kill him. Do Ha also remembers how Ri-ta trapped him by going against the rules, making him fall for her. The episode ends with present-day Do Ha/Joon-oh promising to trap Young-hwa in the same way.

The Episode Review

I wish there was more of Do Ha pretending to be Joon-oh while hating it in his heart. I am sure this would ensue chaos if the maker continued to make this ancient soldier behave like a 21st-century actor. The story looks promising so far though and it certainly has a lot of potential.

As the show heads into the second week of it’s release, there is hope for Young-hwa to fall into Do Ha’s trap as she agrees to be his bodyguard. We’ll definitely miss Joon-oh’s chaotic, fun self but the way Do Ha treats Yi-seul is a great sign to see instead. It is possible that Yi-seul and Tae-joo will team up to bring Joon-oh down, prompting Young-hwa to protect him in the episodes to come.