We’ve seen this before. Emperors who are out of touch with the realities faced by their people. The manipulation done by top royal advisors to centralize power and influence for themselves. Then there’s an emergence of a new brand of leader—one that acknowledges the needs of the time, just and moral in his ways, the country’s new beacon of hope.
In Joseon’s highly stratified and unequal society, we see corrupt power’s impact to the everyday lives of people. The vulnerable are always the lower classes—their lives are given no value, and they are the last to experience justice.
This is how we’ve come to know period K-dramas. Throw in some assassination, treason, a civil war and your episodes are all set. But reimagine the genesis of the living dead in the Joseon era? Suddenly everything about “Kingdom” becomes entirely different.
The series boasts of beautiful cinematography, with every detail faithful to Korea’s rich history. Its characters are given dimension. They are not just guided by sheer heroics, but instead are propelled by the complexity of their own values and beliefs. Every person in the show is given their own story that enriches the narrative as a whole. We don’t only focus on each one’s survival, we are given a glimpse of the rationale of their actions.
Here’s a list of everything I loved about the second season of “Kingdom”—with countless spoilers ahead:
We have patiently waited and now “Kingdom” has given us the answers we needed. Netflix’s first original Korean production has exceeded the intensity, action and disconcerting conspiracies it set when the series was first released—still able to stun its audience with the maddening and exhausting mystery of the plague of the undead.
In “Kingdom,” the Joseon Dynasty is forced to face a new century with remnants of a past invasion crippling its nation. But there is an emergence of heroics in the margins of survival, led by the country’s rightful heir to the throne, Lee Chang (Ju Ji-hoon).
Its second season leads us back to the battlegrounds of Sangju, where roaring hordes of flesh-eating beasts are determined to feast on the living. Dazed with the number of the undead that are no longer afraid of daylight, the prince’s men are forced to retreat.
Yesterday’s biggest pop culture news kept me up all night: Netflix’s “Stranger Things” will be premiering globally on July 4. There will be eight episodes for this season.
But unlike the previous seasons that had us submerged into a grotesque alternate reality where nighttime seemed to be longer than any of the days, the show’s third installment is giving us a glimpse of a warm, adventure-filled (and soon-to-be-gone-wrong) summer. It’s so much more vibrant than we remember it to be, and even lets its characters embrace the bold and eccentric neon colors of the 80s.
The first ever Netflix-produced Korean drama requires you to pay attention to every second it plays on the screen. The story has enriched itself with details that is revealed in perfect and patient pacing—a narrative that is intensely gripping, heightening its viewers’ senses with the atrocious politics it tries to depict.
There’s no denying that “Kingdom” is indeed an addition to the long list of Korean period dramas. But what makes it different is its effort to build the political landscape of the era. While it shows a power struggle, it gives time to communicate the difficulty of the times, the frustration of the people, and the battle of politics versus philosophies.
Stories of the walking dead aren’t at all new. It starts with an impossible endemic to stop, and we are all left to follow the survivors’ strife in a decaying city. But it was the South Korean film “Train to Busan” that introduced a new breed of zombies—ones that are lightning fast and blind in the dark—and, for our viewing pleasure, made a once worn out narrative exciting again.
South Korea clearly isn’t done telling its tales about these flesh-eating monsters, especially with the growing popularity of its thrillers internationally (among them “Okja,” “The Battleship Island,” and “The Prison”). And when you put the genre of historical drama and apocalyptic thrillers together, you’re sure to have a new show to binge-watch.
Netflix original “Kingdom” explores a new take on how period dramas are done—quite an ambitious undertaking for the streaming giant’s first-ever K-drama production. Well, the Joseon era had to have more problems than just the assassination of its emperors, right? In this horror series, the royal family is once again at the center of a power struggle, with the crown prince (played by Ju Ji-hoon) framed for treason.
Ju Ji-hoon plays the crown prince in Netflix’s newest horror series/Netflix
But here’s the unveiled twist:The prince also takes on a quest to uncover the origins of an infectious plague turning his subjects into the undead. His journey towards the truth is much rooted in familial redemption—because from what the trailer suggests, the king himself has become a monster of the palace.
Joseon is facing famine, but the unfruitful land isn’t just what strikes fear in the masses—now they are forced to satiate an evil hunger that lurks in the night.
“Kingdom” does seem to be cut from the same cloth as “Rampant,” a film by Kim Sung-hoon (the same man behind the famous movie with Gong Yoo as its lead actor), with its shared historical setting and the zombie narrative defying its dystopian archetype.
But one shouldn’t tag the series as an unoriginal concept. After all, the “Kingdom” unites two of Korea’s most compelling industry names—“Signal” screenplay writer Kim Eun-hee and “Tunnel” director Kim Seong-hun. The two industry greats are known for their exhilarating storytelling methods, often surprising fans and viewers alike with the unconventional and breathtaking twists they set.
All episodes will be available for streaming on Jan. 25 next year, and we know we’re putting this drama on our 2019 must-watch list!
Remaining in the shadows is the protector of Hell’s Kitchen, solidifying his status as a strong figure in Marvel’s television universe, even more so after the abrupt cancellation of two of its Netflix titles. It makes you wonder what sets Daredevil apart—how it stays inventive and impressive—and the third season has all the answers.
It’s not easy to mount yet another vigilante-driven story. And after the second season had degraded itself to setting the pieces for “The Punisher” and “The Defenders,” the next one had to embody the very core of what makes Daredevil the hero that he is: Redemption.
