Dear Hongrang – K-drama Episode 3 Recap & Review

The Review Geek

16-05-2025

Episode 3
Episode 3 of Dear Hongrang begins with Jae-yi and Hong-rang being surrounded by Bang-suk's men and they fight. Hong-rang hears a bell and is disoriented for a minute. It allows Bang-suk to take Jae-yi hostage. Hong-rang pretends to trade places with her and kicks Bang-suk off the cliff. While escaping, Jae-yi twists her ankle. Hong-rang roughly advises her not to let wounds fester and carries her like a sack. He lets her go once Mu-jin and the sleuths show up.
Jae-yi is conflicted by his rough attitude as a flashback shows Little Hong-rang promising that the world will be kind to her. At present, she locks eyes with Hong-rang from the roof and Mu-jin watches them with trepidation.
Onto the investigation, Hong-rang is upset that their one lead, the maid, is dead. He knows that the Snow Man takes the kids to the Painter who then drains them. He decides to look into guild members next.
It cuts to Grand Prince Han-pyeong returning from his retreat. He has an artist's block. In the city, he watches buyers fight over a Du-ryeong painting. He is kind to an orphan kid and pretty much adopts him. Hong-rang coincidentally ends up watching this interaction.
Luckily, he is allowed to accompany Yeol-guk who is meeting the Grand Prince. We learn that the Grand Prince had enlisted the military to look for Little Hong-rang 12 years ago. Hong-rang is still suspicious of him since his studio is located in the woods.
Once they arrive, the prince abandons his painting to enthusiastically greet them. When Hong-rang heads out, he sees the orphaned kid being treated kindly.
All of this helps rule out the Grand Prince as the Evil Painter. Hong-rang also reveals that the prince is right-handed and uses gentle brushstrokes, unlike the Evil Painter.
Jae-yi pops up and tries to scare Hong-rang with bugs. Flashbacks show Little Hong-rang being scared of insects. He also falls for a prank where Jae-yi pretends a leaf is a bug. At present, to retaliate, Hong-rang plays the same leaf prank, surprising Jae-yi. However, she is confused when he grabs an insect and leaves. She follows him and finds him worrying for a crying kid before the mom shows up.
Back at the studio, the Prince asks Yeol-guk about Du-ryeong. There are rumours that Du-ryeong paints corpses and beasts. Men on the verge of death are forced to model for him. Such scandalous rumours have led to his fame. The prince finds it insulting and claims no one can replicate his own brushstrokes which capture life.
Meanwhile, Mu-jin meets Hong-sik, a cousin who felt inferior to Hong-rang. He suddenly has an idea to expose Hong-rang as a fraud. That night, Jae-yi tries to play the hide-and-seek hand game with Hong-rang. But before he can reciprocate, Mu-jin interrupts and tells her he has a plan to expose Hong-rang.
It is Hong-rang's birthday. Mu-jin riles him up by gifting him a bow, befitting of his assassin past. Hong-rang doesn't take the bait and they make a toast. Once everyone drinks, Hong-sik causes a scene. It is pomegranate wine and Hong-rang is allergic! No one knows since Little Hong-rang and Hong-sik had promised never to tell anyone.
Hong-rang looks scared when he suddenly breaks out in hives, confirming that he is allergic to pomegranate. It cuts to Yeon-ui beating Jae-yi who ends up taking the fall. Her maid, Eul-bun, who swapped the wine, and Mu-jin, who was the mastermind, try to protect her but Yeon-ui doesn't stop. Finally, Hong-rang stops Yeon-ui and she is ashamed when he looks disappointed.
Mu-jin tries to rationalise Hong-rang's tricks but Jae-yi is tired of the constant second-guessing. She points out that if it is the real Hong-rang, Mu-jin just tried to kill him. Anyway, she is the one who is locked up as punishment.
Yeol-guk watches them and looks troubled as his assistant reveals that Mu-jin's reputation is now tainted. Yeol-guk orders his man to get an object from Jin Arts ready.
That night, Jae-yi dreams of Little Hong-rang telling her the story of a rat doppelganger. He worries that she may not recognise him if he has a doppelganger. She wakes up and finds that Hong-rang has brought her food. He is upset that she went along with the plan to hurt him but understands why. He tells her how he had no one and how he will earn the title of her little brother. She is sympathetic and hopes he is not in pain.
At the end of Dear Hongrang Episode 3, Hong-rang secretly asks a nobleman how he knew that the real Hong-rang is allergic to pomegranate. Looks like Hong-rang is a fake after all!
We learn that Fake Hong-rang and the nobleman are investigating the Min Guild and the Painter.
A flashback shows the nobleman giving Fake Hong-rang poison ivy. During the toast, Fake Hong-rang watches Mu-jin and Hong-sik acting shifty. He drinks the wine and applies poison ivy to his neck which causes the hives.
The Episode Review
Dear Hongrang Episode 3 is the perfect example of enjoying a puzzle despite being aware of the big picture. Hong-sik and Mu-jin's trap initially has us second-guessing Hong-rang's identity when he gets the hives. And then there is the hide-and-seek game which Hong-rang almost plays with Jae-yi. Ironically, she finally seems to be buying into his act while the show outright confirms to the viewers that Lee Jae-wook's character is indeed an impostor, pretending to be Hong-rang.
However, the show keeps the suspense high by introducing a new mystery, and that is, who has hired Fake Hong-rang and how does he know all about the real Hong-rang. Then there is the main conflict of the Evil Painter who apparently seems to fit the description of Du-ryeong rather than the Grand Prince. This chapter may be full of questions with barely any answers, however, the investigation is bound to keep viewers hooked.
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