The Fiery Priest – K-drama Season 2 Episode 3 Recap & Review

Episode 3

Episode 3 of The Fiery Priest Season 2 begins with a flashback. Prosecutor Park Kyung-sun knows about Father Michael Kim Hae-il’s illness. But he will only get treatment if she helps him with the case. 

At present, Heidi, the undercover cop introduces herself as Detective Gu Ja-yeon from Busan Drug Investigation Unit. She arrests Hae-il and Detective Gu Dae-yeong too, thinking they are thugs.

Hong-sik learns about the Gudam fiasco and threatens to kill Boss Park for messing up. He goes on about one mistake = one life and kills Park’s subordinate. Ja-yeon’s drug dealer boyfriend, Sang-man informs them of Fire Eel’s arrest and Hong-sik once again warns Boss Park to wrap things up. Desperate, Boss Park calls Prosecutor Nam Du-heon who orders Captain Lee of Uma Violent Crimes Unit to lure out Ja-yeon’s squad.

Meanwhile, her squad takes Fire Eel’s gang, Gu and Hae-il to an abandoned bathhouse which is their base. The Busan cops finally check Hae-il and Gu’s identity but refuse to let them join their investigation. Hae-il and Gu are even ready to get arrested with Fire Eel to find out more from him but Ja-yeon kicks them out.

As for Sang-man, he is in trouble for unwittingly dating an undercover cop. Hong-sik is annoyed that there is trouble from day 1 as he tells Boss Park to kill Fire Eel and Sang-man. 

Next, Gozhaev who had been stuck fixing the car, picks up Hae-il and Gu. And much to their surprise, he knows all about the abandoned bathhouse. They discuss their next course of action and realise that Ja-yeon’s unit doesn’t have much information and they have gone rogue. 

Hae-il tells Kyung-sun to come to Busan and she is enraged on learning that he is taken on a new case. He then puts Detective Gu and Gozhaev on bathhouse watch duty much to the con man’s chagrin. They wonder about Father Han and Sister Kim only for it to show the two joining a theater troupe at the Uma church in Busan.

Ja-yeon’s interrogations are futile as Fire Eel refuses to talk. Her superior, Hyeon Woo-cheol tells her to take him to Nest 2 as they know Prosecutor Du-heon is dirty. As for the prosecutor, he wonders who Gu and Hae-il are while watching the CCTV footage of Ja-yeon arresting them. However, Hong-sik has already tracked the bathhouse by hacking the cops’ phone locations.

Meanwhile, Dean Lee spots Hae-il sneaking in and out of the seminar but lets him go as the priest takes his mentoring duties seriously. Hae-il takes Chae Do-u to a neighbourhood in Uma where the elderly have been abandoned. They hate preachy priests as they have no money or food. The government doesn’t support them and many have become drug addicts.

The clerics spot an old lady collecting boxes and help her by cleaning and cooking. They learn that she has a bad lung and Chae tricks Hae-il into singing to cheer her up. They worry for her but she reveals that she has a new job at a food factory nearby. Hae-il gives her some money regardless and jokes that he is rich.

Alone, he tells Chae to watch out for the neighbourhood. And instead of preaching about faith, truly help them and assure them they are not alone.

Hong-sik’s vague actions come to fruition as we see that he has become the chairman of Uma Nursing Home. He provides free boarding and food to the elderly and offers them well-paying jobs at his factory should they want to work. But when he leaves, he is disgusted by the old people smell.

He goes on to meet Du-heon and they are amused as they take each other’s measure by threatening something valuable to the other. Assured that they are equally ambitious and effective, they agree to work together.

Of course, trouble arrives in the form of Kyung-sun who meets Hae-il, disguised as a runner. She learns of Sang-yeon’s situation and is ready to put everyone in jail. As she researches, she finds out that Du-heon convicted a drug dealer in the past and claimed that Uma is now a drug-free neighbourhood.

Back in Gudam, Yo-han and Songsak are upset to learn that Father Han and Sister Kim have run off to Busan too. As for our clerics, they show up at the Uma church but Hae-il instantly learns of their arrival. He confronts them with Gu but suddenly the detective sides with Han and Kim as they scold Hae-il for running away alone. He apologises but makes Han and Kim promise to stay away from danger.

Meanwhile, Hong-sik takes his people to a ship and reveals that it is a moving base. Ja-yeong gets ready to transport Fire Eel but Gozhaev notices that Hong-sik’s men have found the bathhouse. While Gu and Hae-il go after Ja-yeong, Gozhaev stays back when the Uma Violent Crimes Unit shows up. They have an arrest warrant for Woo-cheol and if he doesn’t comply, they have Du-heon’s permission to shoot.

Nearby, thugs crash into Ja-yeon’s car and head towards her. But Hae-il and Gu arrive and smile at her as they get ready to take down the thugs.

In The Fiery Priest Season 2 Episode 3 Epilogue, Yo-han’s thug of a twin, Cho-rong asks for money. In the past, he had stolen Yo-han’s money under the guise of helping their sick dad. Songsak comes to his rescue and punches Cho-rong. Emboldened, Yo-han wants to electrocute his brother but accidentally shocks Songsak.

The Episode Review

The Fiery Priest Season 2 Episode 3 continues the Busan drug mystery while keeping the tone light-hearted and entertaining. Every few seconds, there is some gag that is either amusing or downright hilarious that will have viewers laughing. We can’t pick a favourite moment as they are all funny but we love anything involving Kim Nam-gil. 

Not only does he look like the serious type, but in his previous priest role in Island, he had the cold, tsundere exterior down to a tee. Even in The Fiery Priest Season 1, he isn’t as carefree as he is in Season 2. But that is precisely why he shocks us every time we see all the antics Hae-il pulls out while beating the bad guys. 

Similarly, it is refreshing to see BIBI in a completely different role. Her debut was in a serious thriller and her previous 2 K-dramas are of the same gritty genre with her playing an underbelly pawn who is either cocky or desperate. So, seeing her as the fiery Ja-yeon who is fed up with Hae-il’s crew is definitely amusing and we want more!