Historical Zombie Drama Kingdom Season 2 Review
This review is for the Korean historical zombie drama Kingdom Season 2. So if you haven’t seen Season 1 yet, then here’s my review of Kingdom Season 1.
Season 2 is brilliant. I’ve been gasping in shock, shouting at the screen, and covering my face with a cushion. If you thought Prime Minister Cho was bad, and nobody could be worse, get ready. Because there are surprises in store! I’m exhausted, but ready for Series 3. I know it’s coming…
But there was plenty of stuff I didn’t see coming. There are twists in the story as we are taken back and forth in time.
What don’t I like about this series? NOTHING!
I didn’t even skip the intro. It’s like the start of a Bond film – too cool and expensive. And the dramatic orchestra sound track, full of foreboding, booms to the core of my stomach.
I love it all: (Have I said that already?) The terrifying but artistic choreography of the zombies; the spectacular aerial camera shots; the perfectly timed and welcome moments of humour. Even the white mourning robes that create a dramatic canvas for blood…
(I can’t believe I just wrote that. I usually hate gory stuff. I’m not a fan of horror films and I don’t think I’ve ever watched a western zombie film. What’s going on?)
And let’s not forget the enigmatic characters.
We’ve still got stoic hero Lee Chang, dedicated nurse Seo-bi, wimpy (but getting a bit better) Magistrate Cho, and of course baddie Prime Minister Cho. But there are some new characters who come into their own too.
I was wondering how they were going to follow season 1. Could we accept another season of gory zombie scenes? Well, Season 2 is a bit different. Just as good – perhaps better. The zombies take a rest for a moment as we go into flashbacks to find out how it all began. And we get answers which are eye-opening!
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Writer Kim Eun Hee
Kingdom was adapted from the webtoon series The Kingdom of the Gods written by Kim Eun Hee and released in January 2019 as the first original Korean drama series by Netflix.
But Series 2 takes on a whole new meaning with the coronavirus spreading around the world, especially when you know how the idea of this drama came about in the first place:
Writer Kim Eun Hee got the idea after reading about a mysterious epidemic recorded in the Annals of Joseon…
Well that fact just sent a shiver down my spine.
When I watched the first series last year, I had no idea how different life would be in 2020. And how I would watch the drama from a whole new perspective! I had never even heard of the expressions ‘self-isolation‘ and ‘social-distancing‘. Ah, the good old days.
Today out and about in Seoul, most people are wearing masks. This was very depressing to see at first, but now I’m just grateful that we can go out! And that we’re not in lockdown.
Will the coronavirus die out when the weather gets warmer? Will it be back next winter? The characters in the drama face similar questions as they grapple with this unknown and new phenomenon!
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HISTORICAL ZOMBIE DRAMA KINGDOM SERIES 1
In series 1 we saw how the zombie plague spread from the capital to the south of the country.
Lee Chang and his team then scramble to find ways to battle and kill the zombies. They think they’ve worked out how the zombies operate: You have to decapitate or burn them to kill them. They don’t like water. They only come out at night.
But now, horror of horrors – it’s revealed that this is not completely true. As the temperatures drop, the zombies can come out in the daytime too…
Read a recap of the 6 episodes from Series 1
SERIES 2
We begin Series 2 in the south in Sangju where Lee Chang and Lord Ahn are trying to deal with the brutal zombie situation.
They have no idea that our baddie, Prime Minister Cho (am I the only one who finds him strangely attractive?) has arrived. Intriguingly, he’s brought a large crate that’s rattling around as though something is trapped inside…
This series should be about trying to stop the zombie plague and finding a cure, shouldn’t it? But the baddies are only concerned with their own power. So will they help the situation? Or will they make matters worse?
I think we can guess the answer to that question!
If you haven’t watched this series yet, I recommend you do so immediately.
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