Recap Korean Drama The Heavenly Idol 2023 Episode 11

Episode 11 of The Heavenly Idol starts with Sun-ja angry with the stunt Yeon-woo pulled on the Music-Music. Kim Dal Protects Yeon-woo from Sun-ja and points out that his antics worked in their favour as the group is trending online and their song rose ten spots on the chart. Sun-ja becomes happy once again and another assistant rushes in with the good news that the group has been invited to attend Korean Music Awards.

Later, Kim Dal and Pontifex discuss what they can do to stop the Evil Boys from winning Artist of the year. Pontifex wonders why she is keeping her distance while they are in the office and she says she wants to avoid a scandal. She is also curious why Pontifex wants to help the Evil Boys and he says the young member asked for his help.

Unfortunately, it looks like there is no way for them to prevent the Evil Boys from winning and turning into goblins. Kim Dal suggests he tries to meet his deity but he mentions he has given up as he broke the rules. Kim Dal tells him that he shouldn’t give up because of her as she doesn’t want him to suffer.  In the end, they decide that only a scandal can lead to the Evil Boys being disqualified.

Kim Dal meets with  Mr Park who is tasked with planning the Korean Music Awards and suggests that Wild Animals collaborate with Evil Boys to make the show a success.

Elsewhere, the Evil One is found sleeping on the streets by an old man. He is currently weak and needs help to get more powerful. He uses his power to convince the old man to murder someone and gains power from the evil deed.

On the other hand, Sun-ja remembers her drunken deal with Woo-sil that they will get back together if Wild Animal wins an award. They even sealed the deal with a kiss.

The next morning, the two idol groups meet to practice for the awards. Wild Animal feels intimidated by Evil Boys as they are really good. Jung-seo begins having a hard time as a leader and Yeon-woo tries to cheer him up. In reality, Jung-seo is stressed about the offer the master of Hongwoodaedae made to him. She offered him fame and his mom’s cure if he can bring Yeon-woo with him to Hongwoodaedae. As he ponders what to do, he starts avoiding Yeon-woo

Later that night, Kim Dal, Gam-jae and Pontifex brainstorm on a way to stop Evil Boys. Pontifex suggests they get help from the grim reapers but Gam-jae says that is too risky. He believes Hongwoodaedae is involved in turning people into goblins on the order of Lord Redrin. However, Pontifex disagrees and gets angry at the mere thought of it. He insists that Lord Redrin is a benevolent deity and they start bickering again.

Gam-jae asks him to think logically about how he ended up in this realm and why Lord Redrin has not helped him and Pontifex says that he is handling himself.  He asks Gam-jae to stop speaking ill of his deity. After their talk, Pontifex leaves and Gam-jae warns Kim Dal about involving herself. He believes that she shouldn’t let Pontifex shake up his life.

The next time Pontifex meets Evil Boys he tries to learn more about the contract they signed but they refuse to tell him. He results to using force and with the help of his group members he is able to place his hands on one of the Evil Boys. He discovers that most of the Evil Boys have lost their memories, they don’t even remember they have parents.

At LLL Entertainment, Kim Dal receives a call that Yeon-woo has been invited to the Drama Awards and is a candidate for the Best Rookie Award. Pontifex approaches her and asks her to look into the family members of the Wild Animal. He gets an epiphany on how to help the Evil Boys. He sets up a meeting with the youngest member of the group who tells them that he signed the goblin contract with Hongwoodaedae. Before they can learn more, Raken, another member of the group interrupts them. He warns Yeon-woo to stop interfering or he will kill him.

The next evening, the groups attend the KMAs and Pontifex notes that Jung-seo is being too quiet. As the rest of the team feels sad about not winning most of the awards, Jung-seo excuses himself to use the restroom. He accidentally leaves the  Hongwoodaedae card and Pontifex follows him out to confront him.

Jung-seo confesses that he received an offer and upon seeing members of the Hongwoodaedae arrive to capture them, Pontifex misunderstands and believes Jung-seo betrayed him. It turns out the Hongwoodaedae members are there to take them because Jung-seo reported their master to the police. Pontifex manages to overpower them and he and Jung-seo make a run for it.

As they hide, Jung-seo apologizes and Pontifex tells him it is okay. He also says that Jung-seo is the glue holding the team together and that helps Jung-seo feel better. As they talk, they hear Wild Animal being called to the stage to receive the Discovery of the Year Award. They make their heartwarming acceptance speech and watch a video portraying all the hard work they have been putting in.

Yeon-woo reminds them that it is their hard work that led to them receiving their first award after 5 years. Jung-seo also receives a message from his mom informing him that Yeon-woo visited her and she feels better. She congratulates him and he is overwhelmed with emotions.  Meanwhile, Kim Dal informs the Drama Awards that Yeon-woo won’t be able to attend.

Next up, they prepare for their performance.  Yeon-woo suggests they do a cheer before the performance. He uses his power to remind the Evil Boys about their families. Raken realizes what he is doing and pulls him aside. He tells him that he is willing to give up his memories and family to be famous. Raken starts turning into a goblin but he still remains stubborn to the end.  Yeon-woo switches up his approach and right before the performance, he shows them where their parents are sitting. The members begin to cry but push ahead with their performance.

They get to the stage but before they can bring the house down with their performance, the Evil One makes a grand gesture. He makes everyone remain statue and attacks Pontifex. Kim Dal arrives to save Pontifex but he asks her to leave and promises to get back to her.

A fight ensues between the Evil One and Pontifex, unfortunately, Pontifex is hurt. He trips on the stairs after being stabbed by the Evil One and loses consciousness.  Pontifex wakes up in his realm, the Other World and is nearly killed by one of his soldiers. The soldier thinks that he is Yeon-woo, who endangered the people and set the shrine ablaze. Luckily, Pontifex is able to confirm his identity.

We learn that Yeon-woo wreaked havoc in this land because he was unable to heal the sick and bless the people with his divine powers. In the end, he opted to run but the female soldier chased him down and that was when he confessed who he was. Before she could execute him, the body switch happened again.

Back on Earth, Kim Dal finds an unconscious Yeon-woo and rushes him to the hospital. Once he regains consciousness, he tells them that Lord Redrin was the one who made the body switch in the first place. She had promised to make him a pontifex and he took her offer. Meanwhile, Hongwoodaedae embarks on a public campaign to collect human souls. Gam-jae becomes concerned as the only person who can help is Pontifex. After hearing Yeon-woo’s story, they realize Pontifex might be in danger in the Other World. Kim Dal asks Gam-jae a favour to travel through the realms and save Pontifex.

They meet with the master of the Afterlife and Kim Dal convinces her to allow her to go to Pontifex. The master agrees but informs her that they will remove her memories after the mission. Living humans are not allowed in the Afterlife but an exception is made for her.

In the meantime, Pontifex makes a desperate plea to Lord Redrin in the shrine to save the people and he failed. Lord Redrin appears before him looking haggard and hurt. She tells him that she made a mistake and it is all her fault. She says the only way to defeat the Evil One is if Pontifex kills himself. She pretends to be distraught by this and says she was betrayed by the Hongwoodaedae master who stole her powers and the holy relic of the afterlife. Pontifex is ready to kill himself to save his deity and the people. He feels indebted to her after saving him when his family was killed

She hands him a knife but makes the mistake of mentioning how the Hongwoodaedae master sided with the Evil One. Pontifex questions how she would know this if the master cut off all contact after betraying her. This is when she drops the act and starts telling Pontifex the truth of how she was in cahoots with the Evil One and the Hongwoodaedae master. She did all this to get Pontifex’s powers. She insists that Pontifex must kill himself as she was the one who created him, she feels like his parent. Therefore, she doesn’t want to kill him with her own hands.

Pontifex is disappointed to learn about the darkness in his deity. He ruins her shrine and this weakens her tremendously. He moves to kill her after learning she had a role in his family’s death. She manages to escape and leaves Pontifex weeping and hurt that the deity he served and dedicated his whole life to was evil. Kim Dal arrives to find him in this state and embraces him.

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The Episode Review

That was quite a saddening twist. Pontifex didn’t deserve such a betrayal from his beloved deity. My heart breaks for him and what he must be going through.

I am also confused, didn’t the Evil One say that Lord Redrin betrayed him? Isn’t that what set him on this evil path in the first place? How come they have been working together all this time?

Also, we never got to find out who won the Artist of the Year Award and the fate of the Evil Boys. Who knows, maybe Yeon-woo also won the Best Rookie Actor Award. We only have one episode left so hopefully they will tie up all loose ends.