By Jae-Ha Kim
jaehakim.com
August 24, 2021
Ashin (played by Jun Ji-Hyun)
Ashin (child) (played by Kim Shi-Ah)
↑Note: Korean names denote the surname followed by the given name.
There are some spoilers in this review.
“Ashin of the North” is screenwriter Kim Eun-Hee’s concession to “Kingdom” fans, who are eagerly awaiting the third season of the popular Netflix series. This stand-alone episode — or film, depending on how you view it — is entertaining, but not nearly of the same caliber of storytelling as the first two seasons of this zombie period piece.
Set decades before Crown Prince Lee Chang became a zombie hunter, “Ashin” starts off with a child’s perspective of living in a caste system, where her clan is at the absolute bottom. Her father (played by Kim Roi-Ha) is the head of the village. Though life is rough, he is optimistic that his loyalty to Joseon will result in the official government position that has been repeatedly promised to him. But as the town butcher, he and his family are regarded as untouchables. When he helps a customer who was on the verge of collapsing, the latter’s wife spits on him and tells him to remove his filthy hands from her husband. She tells her daughter not to look at him, because he’s dirty.
The Deputy Commander has utilized Ashin’s father often to spy on their enemies. The officer has been assigned to investigate the odd deaths of 15 men and sends Ashin’s father on another mission to spread a rumor about the killings. With her father gone, Ashin is the de facto head of the household. With young siblings and a sick mother at home, she rushes out to find the resurrection plant that is rumored to revive the dead. When she returns to her settlement, she finds everyone has been killed. She also learns that her father has been murdered for being a spy.
She seeks out the Deputy Commander and begs him to avenge her father’s death, even if it takes decades to carry out what she considers justice. He doesn’t say yes, but appears to acquiesce. He sends the young orphan to live in the barn with livestock. As she grows older, her life becomes more miserable. Besides doing hard labor, she has to fight off the advances of the soldiers, who were waiting for her to grow up.
Though the rapes aren’t depicted, it’s disgusting how she was abused and passed around. When she fought back against one soldier, he pointed out, “What do you think your life is going to be like after killing a Joseon soldier?”
Seeing how she has been lied to and used by people in power, Ashin methodically initiates her revenge. Viewers learn how her family’s death was the impetus that led to the creation of the zombies that would terrorize Joseon. That said, “Kingdom: Ashin of the North” isn’t as zombie-centric as the previous two seasons. But when the appear, they appear!
Kudos to Kim Shi-Ah, 13, who plays the child version of Ashin. Kim — a deadringer for Jun Ji-Hyun — is an amazing young actress whose depth belies her age. Jun appears about halfway through and her simmering anger is contagious. The woman wants justice and that’s what she’ll get. She doesn’t need a man to save her, because all the men in her life — even her optimistic father — have failed her. She saves herself with her survival instinct, brains and years of warrior training she initiated herself.
Airdates: This 92-minute special episode/film released on Netflilx on July 23, 2021. My review of the first two seasons of this series is here.
Spoiler Alert: Presented initially as a fair-minded man, the Deputy Commander turns out to be an evil man whose actions caused Ashin to be orphaned. He set up her father to be tortured and held captive. Ashin is shocked when she finds her father alive. But he has been beaten nearly to death, had his legs amputated and is living in agony. He begs her to release him from his misery, and she does. From that point on, she is on a mission to eradicate Joseon of every single person who enabled an unfair system of life and justice. In one of the final scenes, she is back at her village, imagining her family and neighbors alive and happy, dining together and laughing. In reality, she had turned them into zombies with the resurrection plant. She drags their meal to them: one of the soldiers to who had raped her.
© 2021 JAE-HA KIM | All Rights Reserved
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