The Haunted Palace Episode 8 Review: Big Villain Revealed; Truth Hurts

The previous episode plunges deeper into the supernatural and political chaos as Yeo-ri is cursed by a drowned spirit, prompting Gangcheol to do everything in his power to protect her—even enlisting the King as bait. While romantic tension brews between Yeo-ri and Gangcheol, palace intrigue intensifies with a poisoned maid, a ghost-afflicted Queen, and suspicions surrounding the Queen Dowager.

As the curse begins to manifest on both Yeo-ri and the Queen, the race to stop the spirit leads to a daring plan involving royal blood—culminating in a jaw-dropping cliffhanger as the spirit drags the King into the river before Yeo-ri’s horrified eyes.

The Haunted Palace Episode 8 has a runtime of around 60 minutes.

This new Korean drama has 16 episodes and will be released every Friday and Saturday.

The Haunted Palace Episode 8 Recap

The episode starts with Gangcheol battling the drowned spirit to rescue the King from the river’s deadly grip. Though he manages to catch the King in time, Gangcheol’s own weakness in murky water puts him in danger. The spirit seizes the opportunity to choke him, threatening to end the fight right there. But the King, remembering the arrow Gangcheol had given him earlier, takes a bold shot into the water—aiming not at Gangcheol, but near him, calculating that the spirit must be close. His gamble pays off. The spirit’s hold breaks and Gangcheol tumbles down, freed.

Taking advantage of the moment, Gangcheol conjures a powerful whirlpool and plunges his blade into the spirit. The King watches, stunned by the sheer force Gangcheol commands, realising just how far from ordinary his protector is. Moments later, Yeo-ri arrives and finds Gangcheol collapsed. Her relief is short-lived—he’s now marked by the same curse. Wasting no time, she whips out a voodoo doll and traps the spirit within it, instantly lifting the curse from Gangcheol, herself, and the Queen.

In a rare moment of raw emotion, Yeo-ri hugs Gangcheol, who is too stunned to react. Their connection is briefly, sweetly visible—until the King and his men loudly clear their throats, snapping them back to reality. Embarrassed, Yeo-ri pushes Gangcheol away. With the immediate danger contained, the trio interrogates the trapped spirit while the King returns to his wife and embraces her, finally free of her haunting ailment.

Though the spirit initially refuses to speak, Yeo-ri addresses him with empathy and promises to fulfil his final wish. She asks the King for permission to locate the spirit’s daughter and give him a proper burial. Surprisingly moved, the King agrees and shows genuine warmth toward Yeo-ri, which irks Gangcheol—especially when the King grins at Gangcheol’s jealous expression.

Yeo-ri, Gangcheol, and Soldier Seo travel to the spirit’s village and track down his daughter. The spirit makes a final request: to briefly possess Yeo-ri so he can speak to his daughter one last time. Despite knowing it will drain her energy, Yeo-ri agrees. The spirit, true to his word, assures his daughter she bears no blame for his death and urges her to live without guilt. Before departing, the spirit reveals that he was cursed by a blind shaman named Aguji—though his real name remains unknown.

Gangcheol insists Yeo-ri rest while Seo begins investigating this Aguji. The group takes a short break in a nearby village, where Yeo-ri and Gangcheol share a peaceful meal. In a moment of stillness, the two quietly lock eyes, neither sure what to make of the feelings stirring between them.

Back at the palace, the King orders the arrest of all blind shamans. Poong San, anticipating this crackdown, orders his servant to burn any incriminating evidence. When he’s eventually captured, Poong San feigns ignorance of Aguji’s identity—though in reality, he is Aguji himself. The King finds this suspicious, but palace pressure forces him to release the shamans. Still wary, he secretly instructs Seo and his guards to monitor them discreetly.

Later, the King chats with Yeo-ri about her grandmother. He’s startled to learn she died in the Year of the Rabbit—the same year his father passed. When he asks how she died, Yeo-ri lies and says it was an accident, concealing the painful truth that Gangcheol was involved. Stirred by the memory, she grows cold toward Gangcheol, who’s left confused and hurt. The King, sensing there’s more to the story, begins to suspect Yeo-ri’s grandmother’s death was no accident.

Meanwhile, the wise scholar Won-woo searches for a mysterious book but hides its details from the bookseller. As he leaves, the one-legged spirit attempts to harm him, but Monk Ga-sub appears just in time to intervene. The monk warns Won-woo that someone harbours a grudge against him. Though Won-woo pretends ignorance, Ga-sub hints that remorse might be long overdue.

That night, Yeo-ri learns from the mischievous child ghost that her grandmother once visited the palace during the Year of the Rabbit. The revelation shocks her. Rushing to the King, she demands to know whether the eight-legged spirit was in the palace back then. The King solemnly confirms it—his father had been possessed by the spirit, and it was Yeo-ri’s grandmother who had fought it off.

The truth hits Yeo-ri like a thunderbolt: Gangcheol didn’t kill her grandmother after all. As the pieces begin to fall into place, the final scene delivers the biggest shock yet. Kim Bong-in, the King’s maternal grandfather, is revealed as the true villain. Furious over Aguji’s failure to stop Yeo-ri, Bong-in tortures him. Under pressure, Aguji reveals Yeo-ri’s true identity—she is the granddaughter of Neop Deok. At the mention of her name, the cursed fire blazes to life once more, signalling the eight-legged spirit’s furious awakening.

The episode closes on a chilling note, hinting that Neop Deok’s death was no accident—and that the past is about to crash into the present with deadly force.

The Haunted Palace Episode 8 Review

The drowned spirit’s watery assault ends in an explosive clash, with Gangcheol and the King teaming up in a surprisingly coordinated effort. From whirlpools and arrows to cursed voodoo dolls, the action doesn’t let up. Yeo-ri proves once again she’s the heart of this ghost-hunting trio, saving not just Gangcheol and the Queen, but also the spirit himself with an offer of compassion. Just when the tension starts to melt into tender moments and longing stares, the plot throws us a curveball: a blind shaman named Aguji, a suspicious Poong San, and the ominous rise of a new mystery.

But the biggest shocker? The real villain is hiding in plain sight—Kim Bong-in, the King’s own grandfather. As secrets unravel, we discover that Yeo-ri’s grandmother, Neop Deok, was a ghost-fighting heroine herself, and her death may not have been accidental after all. A once-dismissed name now burns with supernatural significance, and the fire that responds to it is more than just symbolic—it’s a warning. Add in political intrigue, stolen identities, and ghostly possession for closure, and you’ve got an episode that deepens both the lore and the emotional stakes. With enemies growing bolder and destinies intertwined, The Haunted Palace sets the stage for an epic clash between the living, the dead, and those caught in between.

The Haunted Palace is streaming on Viki.

Also read: All The Haunted Palace Reviews