Journalist, Author & Syndicated Columnist
Before starring as a highly skilled bodyguard in the Disney+ sci fi thriller “Blood Free” – currently airing in the United States on Hulu – Ju Ji-hoon won acclaim for his portrayal of a determined crown prince in the Netflix zombie horror series “Kingdom.”
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.
“Hyena” shows that being called the best doesn’t mean anything in the real world. The plot depicted South Korea’s insidious system of revering lineage as flawed (and stupid). And that referring to a human being as disposable — because they don’t hail from the proper background — depicts who exactly is the human garbage here.
Before tucking into the new episodes of “Kingdom: Season 2,” let’s take a look at the roles that got Ju Ji-hoon and his co-stars to this point in their careers.
“Five Fingers” is what I categorize as a “Melrose Place” series, where an evil character treats people like garbage, but viewers are expected to root for them, because they occasionally show signs of humanity. No. Just no!