The Fiery Priest – K-drama Season 2 Episode 1 Recap & Review

Episode 1

Episode 1 of The Fiery Priest Season 2 begins with a gang trying to kick out some monks from a temple. Father Michael aka Kim Hae-il is pretending to be a monk and takes them all out in one big swoop.

As for the rest of the Gudam gang, Sister Kim is busy taking care of the orphanage. Father Han Sung-kyu has turned into a mini angry version of Hae-il. Songsak has opened his own delivery service. Oh Yo-han is a store manager while Detective Gu Dae-young is the team leader. Not to forget Prosecutor Park Kyung-sun, she is out holidaying while telling her colleagues that she is homesick.

Back to the temple thugs, it is quickly resolved as the abbot has recorded everything. And it is revealed that Lee Sang-yeon, the altar boy is the one who alerted Hae-il of the thugs. He has dinner with Hae-il and as usual, they bicker over the priest’s short-tempered nature. In comes Detective Gu who bickers with Hae-il as well as he tries to remind him that he can only cover for the priest when he causes trouble in the Gudam area.

The rest of the Gudam crew regroup for dinner and they wonder about Detective Seo Seung-ah and Kyung-sun. It also happens to be Father Lee’s 5th memorial service the next day, and they miss him. That night, Sang-yeon is heading home when he is caught by some bullies. 

It cuts to Kyung-sun having dinner. It seems that her date is a drug dealer as cops show up and a shootout ensues. Her date takes her hostage but she easily beats him up. However, she is arrested as the cops believe she is his accomplice.

While Hae-il is invited to a Busan seminar, a dealer sells to a VIP at a club. Outside, a short-tempered girl waits for the dealer. She wants to go to the club but he dissuades her. He is an informant as the cops show up and raid the club. They find the VIP, Kim In-seok assaulting a girl.

He is arrested but the prosecutor, Nam Du-heon is corrupt. He has a tie up with In-seok’s father, Kim Man-cheon, a politician. As he resolves the situation with a dirty cop, it is revealed that the mob boss, Park sets up his clients by snitching on them.

He is also distributing to Gudam but Du-heon wants him to wrap up. And it seems that Park, has a new supplier, a dangerous drug dealer from SEA. The next morning, we see that In-seok has been released on bail and the news claims that he was roofied by a friend.

Back to Father Lee’s memorial. When Sang-yeon arrives, he is in a daze. Hae-il is worried but resumes the memorial. He believes that for a peaceful world, there needs to be equality. And this also means equality in punishment for everyone including the powerful.

After the service, Sang-yeon faints and is rushed to the hospital. He is in a coma and chances of regaining consciousness are low. From the reports, the Gudam crew learns that his heart condition was worsened due to a drug – hepanyl. Upset, Detective Gu starts an investigation.

Sang-yeon’s situation is covered in the news and it is shown that hepanyl is a new drug that is rampant among teens. Du-heon learns of this and is annoyed as it may ruin his plans. He calls Kim Man-cheon and has his people take over Sang-yeon’s case. The Gudam crew is upset as they know the prosecution wants to bury it and they decide to investigate on their own.

Elsewhere, the Gudam middleman, Gerald beats up the bully, Jang Si-tae for messing things up with Sang-yeon. The next morning, all news articles about Sang-yeon are deleted. Instead, there are rumours at school that Sang-yeon was a drug addict. Hae-il is upset and confronts his class. He points out that backbiting is the same as doing drugs. Sang-yeon’s friend, Wang-yu knows about Hae-il and confides in him that it is all Si-tae’s doing.

Meanwhile, Songsak enlists his deliveryboys to keep a look out for shady dealings. Hijinks ensue but they finally find Si-tae. Songsak, Gu and Hae-il head to his hideout and beat up the bullies. Si-tae finally reveals that during a deal, Sang-yeon spotted them and took a photo. They caught him and destroyed his phone. And to ensure he didn’t rat them out, he forced Sang-yeon to swallow a pill. Si-tae had hoped that this would make him a drug addict.

Hae-il is at his limits as he asks for the dealer’s name. When Si-tae refuses as he doesn’t believe he is in danger, Hae-il pretends like the Devil is possessing him. Scared, Si-tae gives up Gerald and a fight ensues at the dealer’s hideout. Gu, Songsak and Hae-il take down everyone and make them do squats.

As for Gerald, they torture him till he gives up a name – Busan Fire Eel. The Gudam crew is gone by the time the cops and the reporters are alerted, and Du-heon is confused by the events.

That night, Hae-il prays to God when Father Lee’s memorial photo falls. He thinks it is a sign to take down the Busan drug cartel. In trying to stop him, the Gudam gang end up bickering and fail to notice that the priest has already left for Busan.

The Fiery Priest Season 2 Episode 1 Epilogue takes place 5 months ago. The Gudam crew are having a picnic. Every time Hae-il tries to eat, Gu somehow interrupts. Annoyed, he chases Gu with a tong and accidentally stabs him in the back and they all scream. Gu tries to pull it out and they think he is a zombie.

The Episode Review

The Fiery Priest Season 2 Episode 1 kicks off the new season with style. 5 years may have passed but the hilarious K-drama retains the funny and over dramatic tone of season 1. Hae-il is childish and immature and the rest of the Gudam crew easily matches his energy. So does the technical crew with the comedy sound effects, the CGI and the clever plot twists. 

We love how the actors are so invested with Hae-il’s flourish with his coat, Songsak and his sunglasses, and Gu with his dorky expressions. Even with emotional and heartbreaking moments, The Fiery Priest Season 2 keeps it light and breezy. And along with the humour, we also get some didactic themes that Hae-il imparts in a funny manner, but the message is definitely received.

The mystery is similar to Season 1’s with corrupt politicians and gangsters but this time the show decides to take it up a notch by moving to Busan. But we do wonder how Prosecutor Park’s escapades overseas will tie up with the Busan cartel case.