With the zombie genre being saturated with content that has nothing new to offer, South Korea chipped in with the fantastic “Train To Busan” a few years back. Now with the COVID 19 lock-down in place, it was time for me to watch Kingdom, another zombie drama from the same country on Netflix. After watching the first season, I must say that South Korea is undoubtedly the world leader in this genre.

In fact, the first season was released in January last year and gained some instant admiration. It is fascinating that with just six episodes in the season, the show manages to pack a tense, nail-biting story with sufficient character development. The best part is that the limited number of episodes prevents it from being bogged down by any unnecessary plot points.

What about the story?

Kingdom starts at a slow but steady pace with creators Kim Seong-hun, Kim Eun-hee letting the ball roll easy in the first hour. But when the action starts it flows in a breath-taking pace that guarantees a rollicking time for the genre fans. At the same time, it throws light of the feudal structure in South Korea just after a Japanese invasion while balancing the threat of a Zombie plague with a struggle for power in the royal palace. The king is unwell, the struggle for power is on and the crown prince (Ju Ji-hoon) finds himself being cornered by his rivals. Following the footsteps of the crown prince of the country, Kingdom leads us through a wild ride. I wouldn’t add anything else here and allow the show to unravel the plot for you.

Kingdom is as much the story of self-discovery of a young prince as it is a bloody and violent horror drama. It also takes a look at the moral dilemmas of a person of integrity sitting at a position of power, while a poverty-ridden, class-divided country is ravaged by zombies with a vampire syndrome. On top of that, it also focuses of greed and apathy that often blinds human beings from the truth. Viewers will find some familiar elements in the story-telling but even then the series is no less fascinating. The creators throw in quite a few surprises at regular intervals and the season ends with a bang that will definitely make you rush towards Season 2. Thankfully, that is available on Netflix too.

The good thing is, the makers also provide specific answers about the origin of the plague and it is evident that Kingdom has a definite finish-point in mind. Some of the scenes are genuinely scary and if you are accustomed to the usual zombie-flicks, the zombies of Kingdom will surely surprise you by their capabilities. A kingdom in political turmoil while the savage zombie epidemic wreaks havoc sounds like a mashup of Game of Thrones with The Walking Dead. But the truth is, Kingdom is nothing like you have seen before.

So if you are already watching more TV than usual, Kingdom is definitely something that you need to add to your viewing list. It does inject fresh life into the genre and one of the rare Netflix series that makes binge-watching worthy.

By Suvajit Banerjee

© 2020 teleratz.com