KINGDOM: Back With Ashin’s Revenge

Imagine there’s a country already gripped by political chaos that finds itself afflicted by a plague so new that no one understands it yet. As residents turn against each other, medical experts study the pandemic but still things keep getting worse and the dead body count rises. There’s no end in sight.

It might sound like the current situation of the coronavirus, but today we are talking about “Kingdom” a Netflix original series. The series is written by Kim Eun-hee and directed by Kim Seong-hun. It is based on the webcomic ‘The Kingdom of the Gods’. Set in the late 16th century during the mid-Joseon era, Kingdom showcases a royal court life with political tensions and tumultuous power struggles. Recent defeats against Japan render the king powerless and undermine the Confucian scholars, who are blamed for misleading the nation with their pedagogy. While strange rumors about their ill King grip a kingdom, the crown prince becomes their only hope to fight against the mysterious plague that has been spreading enormously.

“Kingdom” was first released on 25 January 2019 with a total of 6 episodes. In the first season, when the people of Hanyang (Seoul) get to know the king is sick, some show their true colors. Power-hungry politicians seek control of the throne while the literally hungry civilians suffer so severely that the civilians supposedly eat their dead neighbors who died of starvation. We get to know the first zombie is the ill king of the Joseon dynasty, who is held in chains and kept under wraps by his power-hungry new wife, the Queen Consort Cho (Kim Hye-jun), and her father Lord Cho Hak-Ju (RyuSeung-Ryong). If the Queen Consort could give birth to a new prince and get rid of the rightful son and heir Crown Prince Lee Chang (Ju Ji-hoon) before the state of the king is revealed, she and her family could seize the throne. With only six episodes, the plot moves swiftly as the characters find themselves deeper and deeper in trouble.

Then about a year later on 13 March 2020, the second season was released which picked up right where it ended the last season. It returned with more gore, heart-pounding pursuits, and an unraveling mystery of the dehumanizing plague. As our zombie fighters learn more about the plague and its origins, they become more strategic about navigating the zombie-infested lands. The zombies’ threat escalates in the enemy’s hands, and our hero, Crown Prince Chang, leads the charge to save his people and reclaim the nation from power-hungry enemies that seek to depose the royal family. As we delve into this bloody story from a more political angle, we see how revenge, systems of power, inferiority, and desire manifest to the detriment of the royal court and the nation at large.

With a budget (USD 1.7 million per episode) for movie-like cinematography and as it’s the first Netflix original Korean series, it seemed to set a high bar by balancing its appeal for a wider audience. Luckily, this fusion of Eastern and Western concepts like the Joseon dynasty and zombies created a noteworthy production, without sacrificing the essence of the K-drama. Both seasons of Kingdom are excellently paced and there’s no lack of a compelling story. More and more is revealed as the show digs into the pasts and unsure futures of all the characters, touching on class, privilege, and the failings of the powerful to round out everyone into a complete person that is in some way a product of the Joseon kingdom.

Unlike other zombie-related dramas, Kingdom doesn’t forget the zombie trope of not knowing where the zombie outbreak begins. To highlight especially about it, “Kingdom: Ashin of the North” will be out on 23 July 2021, a special prequel episode focusing on Ashin, a character introduced briefly at the end of season two. Ashin’s character will be played by Jun Ji-Hyun, who will be making her small-screen appearance five years after her last drama ‘Legend of the Blue Sea’. We can expect the special episode to be an expanded backstory of how it all began and explore Ashin and the plant's origins.

Those who saw both seasons know that at the end of season two, crown prince Chang and Seo-bi find a resurrection plant near the Chinese border and are told by the villagers that someone from China is selling it. We see the final shot of a woman smiling mysteriously. It's theorized that she is spreading the virus on purpose. That woman is Ashin, who appears to know the origins of the resurrection plant that started the zombie plague that swept through the Joseon kingdom. She discovers the plant as a child in a cave and the events of her past set her on a path of revenge. Though not much else is known of the plot so far, the special episode looks to once again be a mix of thrills and horror and will feature, among other highlights, a zombie tiger.

Netflix has just given Kingdom fans a glimpse of the upcoming episode in a tense teaser. The footage shows young Ashin holding a torch as she enters a dark, eerie cave. Inside, she discovers strange markings on a rock along with the resurrection plant. The accompanying text reads, “to revive the dead, a price must be paid”. We're then shown young Ashin, who's warned by her father "not to go there" but she still insists go there and says that she will not let her mother die like that. This prequel special episode foretells a tale of a woman’s thirst for vengeance for the loss of her tribe and family as she discovers a strange plant that could bring back the dead. She wishes for "them to shed tears of blood" and the trailer ends with another wish, "please avenge them" as Ashin stands on top of a temple, overlooking the scenery.

Overall, Kingdom is totally a perfect creation. It’s beautiful, it’s bloody, and showcases how Korea continually increases the bar for zombie productions. Whether you’re a fan of period pieces, political power struggles, zombies, or horror, you’ll find something to fall in love with this series.

* Rumaiysa M Rahman is a 10th grader at Viqarunnisa Noon School and College, Dhaka