By Jae-Ha Kim
jaehakim.com
March 3, 2021
Crown Prince Lee Chang (played by Ju Ji-Hoon)
Seo-Bi (played by Bae Doona)
↑Note: Korean names denote the surname followed by the given name.
I’m writing this review, while still trying to digest Governor Greg Abbott’s orders to lift the mask mandate in Texas. And as of March 10, all businesses in Texas will open up to 100 percent capacity, because he said his constituents “don’t need the state telling them how to operate.”
There are several scenes in “Kingdom” where this type of mentality plays out. Experts tell people that the only way to prevent more zombies from destroying Joseon is by decapitating or burning the bodies of those killed by the creatures. But the naysayers come up with a litany of reasons why they don’t want to, starting with disbelief, but mostly the discomfort of desecrating the bodies of their loved ones.
Like “Train to Busan,” “Kingdom” was released well before the coronavirus outbreak cause pandemonium worldwide. Both are sociopolitical projects disguised as zombie horror thrillers, where those in power don’t try to prevent the outbreak, so much as they try to stop news of the outbreak from being released. The public’s ignorance suits their own needs.
“Kingdom” is a smart series set in Joseon, with superb acting, beautiful costumes (those hats!) and jump scares that will leave many startled. Crown Prince Lee Chang wants to see his father, who hasn’t stepped outside of his palace in weeks. Rumor has already started to circulate that he died, which would make Lee Chang the new king. But the youthful and very pregnant queen and her father have other ideas. The king is merely ill, they say. And if he should die, the heir to the throne is not Lee Chang — whose mother was a concubine — but the soon-to-be-born prince. How she can guarantee the baby will be a prince is sordid, but not implausible.
Meanwhile, the villagers in the country’s southern province start dying from an unknown disease, but come back to life at night seeking human flesh. Lee Chang suspects that his father has contracted the same disease and is, in fact, a zombie. With the help of Seo-Bi, a physician who understands what will happen if this pandemic isn’t stopped, Lee Chang finds purpose in his life as a royal who will fight to protect all of his kingdom.
Unlike the slow creatures in “Night of the Living Dead” — which scared the bejeesus out of me when I was a kid — these Korean zombies are fast and bendy, contorting their bodies and necks at will and killing their prey in seconds. They are mostly stupid, but resilient and prolific.
There’s a lot going on in this series, but writer Kim Eun-Hee handles the storyline so well that there are no major plot holes. She also introduces despicable characters (the spoiled mayor of an infected city), who are depicted as caricatures at first, before she fleshes out their roles, showing incredible growth.
Though I knew this series was a critical and fan favorite, I resisted watching it until recently, because I am not a fan of zombies, gore or terror. But the humanity of this series was well worth sitting through the gross-out parts. It also felt like a parable for today’s real-life coronavirus outbreak.
Airdates: Netflix released all six episodes of Season 1 on January 25, 2019. The second season — also comprised of six episodes — released on March 13, 2020. Season 3 is anticipated to release at the tail-end of 2021.
Spoiler Alert: The king had been infected and is being kept alive (in chains) until a new prince is born. He is fed handmaidens, to quench his thirst for human flesh. Near the end of the series, the queen and her father set up Lee Chang so that his only chance for survival is to kill his (zombie) father — which he tearfully does.
Meanwhile, the queen, who is faking her pregnancy with the help of a strategically-placed pillow, has set up a home for pregnant widows. When they deliver baby girls, she has both mother and child killed. The stillborn male babies are given proper burials (but their mothers are still killed). Lee Chang’s trusted bodyguard had left his pregnant wife in the care of the palace, thinking she would be safer that way while he was away guarding the Crown Prince. When she gives birth to a healthy baby boy, the child is passed off as the heir apparent. She is rescued before the Queen’s henchman could kill her. When we last see her in a flash forward, she is working in the palace and watching as her son grows up. By this time, the Queen has long since died at the hands (er, mouths?) of the zombies she unleashed on her kingdom.
The baby had been bitten by a zombie, but Seo-Bi is positive that the newly bitten can be cured after being dunked in water (when the parasites that cause zombieness are released from the body). But one of the final shots of the second season show that the boy king still has the zombie bug coarsing through his body. Dun dun dun!
© 2021 JAE-HA KIM | All Rights Reserved
I binge watched it a year ago during my first lockdown. I too, couldn’t help but recognize the analogies to irl coronavirus throughout the seasons. Well directed, nice cast and epic music. It reminded me of GoT (which I try to forget). Loved the series and your review.