REVIEW: ‘Solo Leveling’ Episode 3 — “It’s Like a Game”

Few series have hit the ground running as intensely as Solo Leveling (Ore dake Level Up na Ken.) The stakes continue to rise in Solo Leveling Episode 3. When we last saw Sung Jinwoo (Taito Ban) he was facing certain doom in a dungeon before a mysterious screen popped up in his vision and changed his life forever.

Solo Leveling Episode 3 picks up shortly after the events of the second episode with Jinwoo awaking from a nightmare in a hospital bed. Jinwoo’s legs and arm that had been decimated in the dungeon are now back to normal. Combine that with the mysterious message he received shortly before death asking him if he wanted to become a “player” and it’s clear that something serious has changed in Jinwoo’s life.

Jinwoo learns that his recovery took three days, and he is not the only party member to survive. The healer Lee Joohee (Rina Honizumi) and the hunter Song Chiyul (Eiji Hanawa) have recovered. That said, Mr. Song’s arm is still missing and he will have to retire from being a hunter. Joohee is traumatized by the events that she’s likely to stop being a hunter as well. These revelations are a relief to Jinwoo, but they also help him realize how fortunate he is. By all rights he should be in the same boat as his two fellow survivors, but somehow he is not.

Solo Leveling Episode 3 does a great job of explaining this all while using in-world characters and mechanisms. Jinwoo learns about Joohee and Mr. Song and the events that happened at the gate from members of the Korean Hunters Association’s surveillance department. The Korean Hunters Association is the government agency that regulates all hunter activity, so it makes sense to use it as a platform for explaining the situation to both Jinwoo and the viewers.

All of this serves to highlight just how unique Jinwoo is going forward. His mysterious recovery shows he is never going to be the same weak hunter he used to be ever again. He walked away from an impossible situation not only alive, but without a single scratch. Jinwoo is an enigma to both the viewers and the characters he interacts with. He doesn’t quite understand it himself, not yet at least.

The easiest explanation is that Jinwoo experienced a so-called second awakening. Second awakenings are events that occasionally happen allowing an already awakened hunter’s skills to evolve at a more powerful level. The surveillance team tests Jinwoo’s strength and learns that his power levels remain unfathomably weak. This further increases the mystery around his survival and healing.

The message Jinwoo received asking him to be a player leaves him with a screen that only he can see. It’s a bit like a pop-up menu in a video game, allowing him to check messages and receive quests. No one can see this screen except for Jinwoo, and others think he’s crazy for even talking about it. The system helps support players as they increase their strength, a journey Jinwoo is about to set off on.

It is a simple system to understand, and viewers learn about it quickly alongside Jinwoo. Completing tasks grants Jinwoo a reward while failing to do so earns a penalty. He learns this the hard way when his inability to complete his daily fitness goals gets him sent to a desert where he has to survive for four hours while being chased by horrifying monsters. Jinwoo also unlocks the ability to increase stats after leveling up, a common video game mechanic that makes this feel more like a game than real life. The concept is easy to grasp, but that does not mean it will be easy for Jinwoo to master. At least not at first.

Jinwoo has been the weakest hunter for so long that even surviving his very first test is a massive improvement. He isn’t used to emerging unscathed from battle, let alone succeeding by himself. Still, now that he knows he can do it he is going to be able to build up strength quicker. While not entirely explored in Solo Leveling Episode 3, his first solo dungeon shows a glimpse of just how much more powerful he’s becoming.

While Solo Leveling Episode 3 does a great job of making the system make sense, the really impressive part is how much it makes viewers care about Jinwoo personally. It’s fun to watch a character get stronger and beat the life out of his enemies, but it’s more special when there’s a reason to want them to succeed. Jinwoo’s mother is on her deathbed in the hospital, and the only way he can possibly make enough money to afford to keep her alive is to be a hunter. His abilities in the past made this a struggle.However, now he has the ability to more comfortably help his mom while also taking care of his younger sister.

Giving Jinwoo’s personal life some time to shine was a great move for Solo Leveling Episode 3 because it gives viewers a reason to stay tuned in. It shows that there is more to Solo Leveling than just some epic fighting, although it does include that. Brutal action that is brilliantly animated is important, but having characters we care about at the center matters.

Solo Leveling Episode 3 shines by giving viewers a reason to care about Jinwoo’s quest for power. He is an underdog with the right motivations, so watching him succeed is sure to be satisfying.

Solo Leveling Season 1 is streaming on Crunchyroll, and new episodes of Season 2 air every Friday.