Following this thrilling intro, we return to the story with So-mun very much a part of the team and we seem to have wrapped up the school bullying storyline – though the evil mayor is hinted to return later on as a demon; this was a simplistic but enormously effective and cathartic part of the mix.

The top 10 K-dramas of 2020, from Start-Up to The Uncanny Counter

Starting around episode 5, the show turns its focus to the main plot lines: how did So-mun’s parents (and Mo-tak’s partners) die, how is it all connected to the mayor of Jungjin, and who is Ji Jeong-sin (Lee Hong-nae), the demon from the first episode who has been working as a contract killer for the villains?

With the growing scope of corporate malfeasance (illegally dumped waste) and political corruption (a shady presidential campaign in the offing), we begin treading familiar K-drama territory. While this does slow things down considerably, especially in the somewhat turgid sixth episode, we never lose focus on the show’s greatest asset – its four lead characters.

So-mun, Mo-tak (Yu Jun-sang), Ha-na (Sejeong) and Mae-ok (Yum Hye-ran) are all terrific creations who each have their stand-out moments, yet are at their best when they’re working together as a group. Like a modern Holmes and Watson dynamic, the four of them complement each other on their exciting missions, not just because of their separate skills, but because of their different temperaments.

Owing to the careful writing of their quasi-familial interplay and the terrific performances, The Uncanny Counter is positively electric any time the group lock their deathly stares on their opponents and the show’s cool and jaunty electro theme kicks in.

The close of episode 7, when villainous (yet buffoonish) henchmen unwisely try to dispatch the group the same way they did So-mun’s parents, is just such a moment.

It’s probably Mo-tak who has the most interesting trajectory in these episodes. Given his memory loss after being thrown off a building by the same thugs seven years earlier, his story largely takes the form of a procedural, but after he realises that he knew So-mun’s parents and that their death was no accident, his conflicting desires to protect So-mun from that horrible truth and be close to him adds some compelling dramatic tension to the series.

All of the counters are fierce bad asses, but Mo-tak gets to show off the most in this midsection, particularly when he goes on an Ill-advised one-man mission in a henchman-filled high-rise lair. In an earlier training sequence, he also shows off his toned physique.

Granted, gratuitous ab shots are a dime a dozen in K-dramas, but it’s normally dreamy twenty-somethings doffing their shirts.

Refreshingly, Mo-tak is played by the 51-year-old Yu. The show’s age-positive image also extends to Jang-mul, the corporate titan who finances the counters and who, as played by a goateed 61-year-old Ahn Suk-hwan in open-necked shirts, is probably the coolest character in the show.

Another highlight outside of the main story is Hyang-hee, a “black widow” (serial husband killer) who we are introduced to as she offs her beloved. Gleefully played by a ferocious Ok Ja-yeon, she is then possessed by a demon and the counters track her down in a department store, in a sequence that calls to mind the K-thriller classic Princess Aurora.

Hopefully the back half of the series will continue to delight us with counters facing off against new demons, in addition to getting to the bottom of its main mystery. It is probably also time for the show to shed some light on Mae-ok, the only main member of the counters whose backstory we’ve yet to learn of.

The Uncanny Counter is streaming on Netflix.