I give it to OCN, Dark Hole is gripping as it is unsettling, and that’s one thing they never do, shy away from the unsettling. And whatever this black mist thing maybe it seems to feed off and grab a stronger hold of those whose souls are darkened by trauma, fear, rage, revenge, greed, and whatever else may be buried deep within the soul.
It explains why it couldn’t take complete hold of Lee Hwa Sun for, despite her anger and grief for the loss of her husband, she hadn’t let it take ahold of her soul. I guess the bigger question is what it is, or maybe I should say they; is it human-made or something born out of humanity’s greed; why Mujishi; what significant about a small country town; so many questions. It almost feels like someone has taken on the responsibility of punishing humans by focusing on the worst aspects of humanity, the bad, blinkered, idle, vain, vengeful and selfish, and turning them against each other, like a technological terror attack.
Off all the strange happenings of Mujishi, I found the Shaman the weirdest. I get the sense that she’ll be the only one to see the mist as a sign from whomever master she serves. She scares me, and I wouldn’t at all be surprised if she ends up being the black mist’s vessel. Clearly, the darker the soul, the stronger the grip, and no darker soul than a cowardly bully. It’s like the mist is putting out what’s already inside of the souls it possesses, turning their mind’s hallucinations into the reality they want to see, with one goal in mind mass hysteria.
I was shocked with how fast the mist spread its hysteria within just the first two episodes and how unaware everyone in the city and the country for that matter was of it happening, or even the extent of it. What’s worse is there doesn’t seem to be any measure, at least at this early stage, to defend against it or even warn others of it. It’s not like the city or the people in it even know what they are fighting, let alone how to fight it. One thing is for sure, though, if I lived there and saw a man coming at me with darkened eyes and popped out blood vessels looking like a monster. I’m running from it, not towards it. I like Kim Ok Bin and Lee Joon Hyuk in their respective roles; they balance each other out. His carefreeness versus her seriousness. I get the sense they will come to depend on each other as they try to survive through the dark mist and even help others survive it as they try to figure out who is behind the dark hole and what it really wants. Watch Episode 2 here.