The WONDERfools Episode 1 Review: A Wild Supernatural Mystery Begins
There’s something oddly refreshing about a drama that refuses to play by normal rules. The WONDERfools opens with the emotional weight of a terminal illness, suddenly swerves into dark comedy, and then somehow ends with supernatural slime, disappearing corpses, and secret powers. By the time Episode 1 finished, I honestly had no idea what genre this show wanted to be anymore, and that unpredictability is exactly what kept me hooked.
The story begins in the small town of Haeseong, where Eun Chae-ni receives heartbreaking news from the hospital. At just 27 years old, she learns that she is terminally ill. Instead of quietly accepting her condition, Chae-ni immediately becomes consumed by one thought: she wants to see the world before it’s too late.
Unfortunately, the one person capable of helping her financially refuses to cooperate. Her grandmother, Kim Jeon-bok, completely shuts down the idea of funding a trip abroad. Their arguments quickly reveal years of tension between them. Chae-ni feels trapped in a life she never wanted, while Jeon-bok treats her impulsive dreams like irresponsible nonsense.
At the same time, the drama introduces Lee Un-jeong, a low-level civil servant who initially comes across as socially awkward and painfully average. His first encounter with Chae-ni happens after he catches her stealing ice cream from a child, which immediately creates a hilariously bad first impression. One of his coworkers even warns him that Chae-ni is strange and tells him to stay away from her.
Of course, that warning only makes their paths cross even more.
Elsewhere in Haeseong, a scavenger named Kim Bong-pal experiences something horrifying while searching through trash at a local dumping yard. He accidentally falls into a strange black substance hidden among the garbage. The slime burns his skin so severely that part of his ear melts away before he loses consciousness.
That disturbing scene instantly changes the tone of the drama. What initially seemed like a quirky small-town story suddenly becomes something much darker.
A few days later, Bong-pal is reported missing. One of his friends visits City Hall hoping somebody will investigate, but most of the employees dismiss the complaint without concern. Around the same time, Son Gyeon-un arrives to file yet another report about the same dumping yard.
Apparently, he has been trying to warn the city for a long time.
Because the office workers are tired of hearing him complain, Un-jeong gets assigned to deal with him instead. Gyeon-un insists people are disappearing around town and even claims that similar incidents happened decades earlier. Un-jeong tries to remain professional, explaining that the dumping yard is privately owned and outside their authority, but Gyeon-un refuses to let the issue go quietly.
His warnings become even more unsettling when he later gets abducted by members of a mysterious religious cult.
The episode doesn’t explain who these people are or why they’re targeting him, but their involvement immediately deepens the mystery surrounding Haeseong.
Meanwhile, Chae-ni continues obsessing over leaving town. She asks her close friend Kang Ro-bin for money, but he’s dealing with his own financial struggles after spending everything repairing his apartment roof. With nobody willing to help her, Chae-ni decides she’ll simply escape on her own.
While shopping for supplies at a hardware store, she unexpectedly runs into Un-jeong again. The scene is incredibly awkward because both characters silently become suspicious of each other after noticing the strange items in their carts. Their chemistry works surprisingly well because neither of them behaves normally.
Things become even more ridiculous outside the store.
Chae-ni struggles to carry her heavy suitcase and borrows an abandoned shopping cart nearby without realizing it belonged to the missing Bong-pal. Un-jeong, already paranoid after hearing Gyeon-un’s warnings earlier, starts convincing himself she may actually be involved in murder.
Convinced he’s uncovering something criminal, he suddenly grabs her suitcase and demands to inspect it.
The moment backfires immediately.
The suitcase bursts open and spills clothing everywhere instead of revealing evidence of a crime. Un-jeong is left completely humiliated while Chae-ni angrily watches him scramble to help pick everything up again. Before leaving, he awkwardly hands her his business card and promises compensation for damaging her belongings.
The drama balances these comedic moments surprisingly well with the heavier emotional themes running underneath the story.
Back at home, Gyeon-un’s personal life is shown to be equally miserable. His wife constantly criticizes him, blaming the dumping yard for hurting their flower business, while his daughter barely acknowledges him out of embarrassment.
Eventually, Gyeon-un and Ro-bin end up drinking together and complaining about money problems when Chae-ni suddenly appears with a reckless proposal.
She wants them to help fake her kidnapping.
Her idea is simple: they record a ransom video, scare her grandmother into paying money, and then she can finally travel before her illness takes everything away from her. It’s a terrible plan, but the desperation behind it makes sense for someone who feels like time is running out.
The three of them film the fake hostage video together, but the situation suddenly turns tragic when Chae-ni unexpectedly dies while tied to the chair.
The shift happens so abruptly that it catches everyone off guard.
Gyeon-un and Ro-bin completely panic after realizing they’re now alone with a dead body. Instead of reporting the death, they make an even worse decision and attempt to dump Chae-ni’s corpse at the same mysterious dumping yard tied to the disappearances.
Naturally, everything goes wrong.
While trying to secretly dispose of the body, they run into Un-jeong again. Suspicious of their behavior, he attempts to inspect the wheelbarrow they’re hiding. During the struggle, the wheelbarrow tips forward, sending Chae-ni’s body directly into the strange black slime.
What follows is pure chaos.
Gyeon-un and Ro-bin desperately try to stop Un-jeong from discovering the truth while both men accidentally fall into the slime themselves. Somehow, Un-jeong remains untouched during the entire incident.
Then the impossible happens.
Chae-ni’s body disappears completely.
At this point, Un-jeong finally contacts the police, convinced he has uncovered a murder case. But when officers arrive at the scene, they discover Chae-ni standing alive behind everyone as if nothing ever happened.
The reveal leaves every character stunned.
The episode closes with one final flashback showing that Un-jeong secretly possesses supernatural abilities. Earlier in the day, he unknowingly used his powers to shield Chae-ni from injury when her suitcase burst open.
That final moment strongly hints that Un-jeong may be connected to the mysterious Wunderkid Project he has been privately investigating throughout the episode.
Episode 1 Review
Episode 1 throws an overwhelming amount of ideas onto the screen, but somehow the chaos stays entertaining rather than confusing. The drama constantly shifts between comedy, mystery, supernatural horror, and emotional tragedy, yet the bizarre tone becomes part of its charm.
Park Eun-bin immediately makes Chae-ni feel believable despite the absurd situations surrounding her. Underneath her rebellious personality and reckless decisions, there’s a genuine fear of dying without ever truly living. That emotional core keeps the character grounded even when the story becomes completely ridiculous.
Cha Eun-woo’s Un-jeong is equally interesting because the drama intentionally hides so much about him. He presents himself as a shy government employee, but Episode 1 repeatedly hints that he’s carrying secrets connected to the missing people and the Wunderkid Project.
The biggest strength of the premiere is probably its unpredictability. Every time the episode starts feeling familiar, it suddenly introduces another strange twist, whether it’s cult kidnappings, supernatural slime, or hidden powers.
There are still plenty of unanswered questions, but that mystery is exactly what makes the series intriguing after only one episode.
