Kingdom (2019–2020) 🧟‍♂️

“Plague of the Joseon Dynasty 👑🧟”

Let’s start by showing y’all the trailers, shall we? 🎥

Season 1:

Season 2:

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Non-Spoiler Plot Overview

Netflix’s Kingdom takes us to feudal Korea during the Joseon dynasty, blending a gripping political drama with some of the most horrifying depictions of zombies put to screen. The story begins with rumors of the king’s mysterious illness, the crown prince struggling for legitimacy, and whispers of treachery within the royal court.

But the real hook? A strange plague spreads across the land, reanimating the dead with terrifying speed. Unlike slow-burn shamblers, these zombies sprint, thrash, and overwhelm with feral hunger. The court intrigue and social hierarchy clash with the primal, apocalyptic nightmare outside the palace walls.

This isn’t just another zombie series—it’s a full-on historical horror epic where the living are often more ruthless than the undead.


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Character Rundown

Crown Prince Lee Chang (Ju Ji-hoon) – The heart of the story. He’s determined to uncover the truth about the king’s “illness,” clear his name, and protect his people. He grows from a hesitant heir into a hardened leader.

Seo-bi (Bae Doona) – A physician who uncovers the nature of the plague. Intelligent, compassionate, and often the one with the answers when everyone else panics.

Cho Hak-ju (Ryu Seung-ryong) – The conniving chief state councilor who manipulates the throne. Cold, calculating, and unflinching in how he exploits the plague.

Mu-yeong (Kim Sang-ho) – The prince’s loyal guard, who brings heart to the series. His arc turns tragic in Season 2.

Young-shin (Kim Sung-kyu) – A mysterious hunter with knowledge of the infection. Rough around the edges but invaluable when survival is on the line.



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Pacing / Episode Flow

Each season is only six episodes long, but the pacing is tight. Season 1 carefully builds the horror: starting with whispers, moving to isolated outbreaks, and then unleashing full-scale swarms by the midpoint. Season 2 doesn’t waste a second—picking up immediately where Season 1 ended and raising the stakes with larger battles, betrayals, and shocking sacrifices.

The short seasons actually help; there’s no filler, no wasted subplots. Every episode ends with a cliffhanger that practically dares you not to hit “next episode.”


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Pros

Zombie Designs: These aren’t just “actors with makeup.” The attention to detail is insane. Their skin has a bluish rot, their joints snap and lock in grotesque angles when they rise, and their eyes turn glassy white like clouded marble. The way their jaws stretch unnaturally wide as they bite is nightmare fuel. The makeup team and stunt performers sold the idea that these corpses hurt to move, but hunger drives them forward.

The Zombies Themselves: Absolutely terrifying. Their speed, sound design (the snapping bones, guttural growls), and the way they hurl themselves at prey make them some of the scariest in modern horror.

Historical Setting: The Joseon dynasty setting is fresh and unique, blending swords, bows, and old-world medicine with the chaos of an outbreak.

Production Value: Gorgeous costumes, sweeping landscapes, and brutal battle scenes—this looks cinematic, not just like a TV show.

Court Intrigue: The politics are as ruthless as the zombies, which keeps tension alive even when the undead aren’t onscreen.



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Cons

Density: If you’re not used to political intrigue in historical dramas, the slow build of Season 1 can feel heavy.

Short Seasons: Just when the story heats up, the season ends. Some viewers may wish for longer arcs or more closure.

The Cure Problem
For all the brilliance in Kingdom’s world-building, the one major flaw is the cure. The show spends hours making the plague feel grounded, terrifying, and unstoppable… only to reveal that the solution is as simple as dunking the infected in water. Excuse me? Parasite worms that can override human biology, reanimate corpses, and spread like wildfire are suddenly deathly allergic to the most abundant element on Earth? Rain alone should’ve wiped them out centuries ago.

It’s not just biologically nonsense, it’s narratively deflating. The moment water becomes the magic answer, the dread softens. The same show that gave us court conspiracies, period-accurate warfare, and chilling body horror suddenly expects us to believe a bucket of water fixes everything. It feels less like science or folklore and more like the writers painting themselves into a corner.

Guess the Joseon Dynasty should’ve just invested in more wells.




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Final Thoughts

Kingdom proves that zombie horror can still be scary if done with care, creativity, and grounded stakes. It’s not just gore for the sake of gore—it’s tension, atmosphere, and tragedy. Every outbreak scene is chaos, yet beautifully shot. And beneath it all is a pointed message about class, corruption, and what desperate people will do to survive.

This is the kind of zombie horror that leaves you unsettled after watching, not because it’s just gross, but because it feels almost plausible if transplanted into history.


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Rating

9.5/10
A near-perfect blend of horror and political drama, with some of the scariest and best-designed zombies ever put on screen.


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Spoiler Warning

⚠️ From here on out, full spoilers for Seasons 1 & 2. ⚠️


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Spoilers

Season 1 begins with the king supposedly ill, locked away in the palace. But the truth? He’s already dead, reanimated by a mysterious plant. The Cho clan keeps this secret to hold onto power, using the king’s “condition” as a smokescreen to crush the Crown Prince’s legitimacy.

The real horror ignites when Seo-bi discovers that the resurrection plant brings back the dead as ravenous creatures—monsters that only rest in daylight, then rise again at nightfall. Watching corpses stiffly awaken with snapping joints is pure nightmare fuel.

The plague spreads from villages to entire provinces. There’s one unforgettable moment where peasants locked in a house by soldiers suddenly begin thrashing and tearing each other apart, the doors shaking under the force of dozens of zombies trying to break free.

By Season 2, the infection becomes unstoppable. Entire armies of the dead flood battlefields. One standout set-piece shows the undead swarming through palace walls, forcing soldiers into desperate melee combat with swords and spears, hacking through endless hordes. The claustrophobia of torchlit corridors filled with sprinting zombies makes it feel more like a horror gauntlet than a war.

The politics turn even darker. The Cho clan doesn’t just hide the plague—they manipulate it. They literally weaponize the infection, using it to control the throne. That chilling thought—that men are willing to unleash zombies for political power—is almost scarier than the creatures themselves.

The finale of Season 2 changes everything: Seo-bi learns the infection can lie dormant in carriers for years, only to awaken later. This sets the stage for further chaos, and the cliffhanger tease of Ashin of the North confirms the story is far from over.


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👉 Bottom Line: Kingdom takes the zombie genre back to its roots of fear and unpredictability while setting it in a fresh, striking period piece. It’s not mean-spirited or gratuitous like so many modern zombie shows—it’s horrifying, emotional, and oddly elegant.