The Fiery Priest season 2 came to an entertaining yet satisfying conclusion on 27 December 2024 with our heroes – the members of the Gudam church – emerging victorious once again. The last episode of the second season averaged nationwide ratings of 10.9 per cent, occupying the top spot across all channels in its time slot. So, what happened in the finale? Here are the details of The Fiery Priest season 2, with its ending explained.
A crime comedy K-drama helmed by Through the Darkness fame director Park Bo-ram, The Fiery Priest season 2 is laced with lighthearted humour, gruesome murders and fast-paced action. The fictional series is set five years after the events of season 1 and focuses on NIS agent-turned-priest Kim Hae-il and a cowardly detective Goo Dae-young as they fight against the increasing crimes in Gudam.
Season 1 of The Fiery Priest released in February 2019 and was an instant commercial hit. One of the most popular dramas of that year, it recorded 22 per cent finale viewership ratings according to Nielsen Korea.
Talking about season 2, director Park said in an interview with Korea Joong Daily, “Rather than believing that season two would definitely do better, there was more of a sense that working together would bring happiness and joy on set and that this sense of happiness and enjoyment would be something we could share with the viewers.”
The Fiery Priest season 2 ending explained: The cast and the characters they play
- Kim Nam-gil as Kim Hae-il
- Lee Ha-nee as Park Kyung-sun
- Kim Sung-kyun as Gu Dae-young
- Baek Ji-won as Kim In-kyung
- Jeon Sung-woo as Han Sung-kyu
- BIBI as Gu Ja-young
- Sung Joon as Kim Hong-sik
- Seo Hyun-woo as Nam Doo-heon
Spoilers ahead!
The Fiery Priest season 2 ending explained
The finale of The Fiery Priest season 2 takes off from where it ended in the penultimate episode. Kim Hae-il, Park Kyung-sun and Gu Dae-young return to Seoul from Busan to publicly expose the corrupt dealings of Nam Doo-heon, his association with drug lord Kim Hong-sik and the collusion of several top politicians.
The trio draw media attention to Doo-heon’s illicit dealings as a prosecutor which forces the commissioning of a special investigative committee at the National Assembly. Doo-heon coerces the corrupt politicians to take his side, threatening that he will otherwise make the drug-related offences of their children public knowledge.
What follows is a mix of hilarity and tug-of-war between the priest and his team against Doo-heon. Using a fake certificate, the cunning prosecutor convinces the squabbling members of the National Assembly that his medical issues won’t let him even take the oath required of all.
Hae-il, Kyung-sun and Dae-young attempt to present evidence of the murder of the former chief prosecutor by Doo-heon. But, honestly, this is where the show takes an inexplicable detour as the Gudam gang presents a song-and-dance sequence with the Polka Dot Ghost joining in. It was like a not-so-needed K-pop sequence thrown in with albeit catchy rap lyrics.
Nevertheless, the show goes on and Doo-heon weasels his way out on the first day of the hearing by forcing the cripple Busan mafia boss and a corrupt customs officer, who were called in by our trio to testify against the prosecutor, to commit perjury by threatening to harm their families.
Meanwhile, Hong-sik and his men do a recce of the National Assembly to figure out a plan to infiltrate. Hong-sik wants to even the scores with the Gudam gang as well as Doo-heon who betrayed him in the previous episode. He kidnaps a National Assembly member who is part of Doo-heon’s hearing and forces him to gain access to the building at gunpoint the next day. In the previous episode, it was shown that Hong-sik and his men had acquired guns from a Seoul arms trafficker. Hong-sik and his men use their weapons to find their way into the hall where the hearing is taking place.
On the other hand, a senior assemblyman blackmailed by Doo-heon testifies about the prosecutor’s innocence and attempts to create a false narrative that all the corrupt dealings were part of a plan to nab the international drug trafficker Hong-sik. The heroic trio from the Gudam gang then play audio recordings of the assemblyman with Doo-heon, exposing their lies on the spot. They also show a video where Doo-heon accepts having a hand in the killing of the former chief prosecutor.
A shocked Doo-heon is then told that the evidence came from the ‘honey jar’ – the hard drives containing the details of all of Doo-heon’s crimes and the high-profile names associated with him. It is then revealed that when the Gudam Gang thought all was lost the previous day, Dae-young receives a call from Gu Ja-young from Busan. Ja-young informs them that she succeeded in finding the ‘honey jar’ in a concealed wall in an apartment next to the one where the body of the Polka Dot Ghost was found.
Though Doo-heon attempts once again to move the assembly in his favour, Hong-sik and his men burst into the hall with a gunshot. Hong-sik moves towards Doo-heon, pointing his handgun at the prosecutor. Full of himself, Doo-heon tries projecting himself as a hero by looking directly into a camera he believes is recording the proceedings only to be told that it isn’t. Hong-sik pulls the trigger but no shot is fired. The ‘feared’ drug lord and his men discover that there are no bullets in their guns. At this point, Dae-young deduces that Hong-sik bought the guns from a seller known to be a forger himself.
Nevertheless, Hong-sik attempts to kill Doo-heon with a sharp dagger but the priest intervenes. There is a brief hand-to-hand action, at the end of which our priest emerges as the last man standing. Everyone is arrested, including Doo-heon.
As the Korean series draws to a close, the Gudam gang becomes the toast of the nation once again. The heroism of the members of the Busan seminary in fighting the drug crime is also revealed, following which applications for admissions at the seminary swell.
Does Kyung-seon win the election?
Hae-il hands over the millions of dollars our heroes managed to secure from Hong-sik’s ship to the national treasury, despite the hilarious protests of Kyung-sun, Dae-young and Dok-sung aka Vladimir Gozhaev (Kim Won-hae).
But Kyung-sun resigns from her job and Dae-young is removed from the police force due to pressure from higher-ups given that numerous high-level political leaders were exposed. Hae-il and Dae-young suggest that Kyung-sun should enter the National Assembly to make the country better. We see Kyung-sun becoming a frontrunner as an independent candidate, but the moment when the Gudam gang (and us) are supposed to know if she won, Yo-han (Ko Kyu-pil) accidentally spills his drink on the electrical socket which causes a blackout. Thus, whether or not Kyung-seon won the election is never revealed in the show.
As The Fiery Priest season 2 finale reaches its conclusion, we see a priest from the Vatican visiting the Gudam church to present a carved gold cross, inlaid with a gem, on behalf of the Pope for the heroism of the beloved gang. The priest also privately informs Hae-il that he is now wanted in the Vatican.
(Hero image credit: 디즈니+ 코리아/@disneypluskr via Instagram; Featured image credit: © SBS via IMDb)
Frequently Asked Questions
'The Fiery Priest' season 2 revolves around Kim Hae-il, a priest from Seoul who decides to protect a seminary in Busan and the residents of a neighbourhood from an evil drug lord and a corrupt prosecutor.
The ending of 'The Fiery Priest' season 2 sees Kim Jae-il, the priest, take down both the drug lord and the corrupt prosecutor from Busan while exposing the collusion of several high-profile leaders in Korea.
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