Kingdom
Seasons 1-2
Pupule rating: 4.0 (out of 4)
Netflix
I never cared for zombie movies or TV shows. This is not a zombie series. It is class warfare and political games with the backdrop of a deadly virus that happens to be used as a bio-terror weapon.
Samuel L. Jackson mentioned recently on his “Stay the F*** Home” video that he’s been watching Kingdom. I just signed up for (free) Netflix recently, so this Korean series already appealed to me. I wound up binging both seasons, 12 episodes, in less than three days.
It is remarkable how all the elements I enjoy about Korean films are alive and powerful in Kingdom. Set in the 1600s, the most advanced weapons are muskets and clusters of mini-cannons. But the social classes are severely distanced, peasants are resorting to cannibalism rather than starve, and the anti-hero is a crown prince born of a concubine. His compassion is the reason the masses have hope in the face of a lecherous virus that turns people into human flesh eating zombies WHO CAN RUN.
Side note: I usually don't like dubbed dialogue. In this show, English-speaking actors verbalize the lines with full-on Korean accents. But it works. Much of the vocals are slightly different from the actual subtitles, often better and more explanatory.
‘Nuff said here. There is so much about Kingdom that is stunning , but now that I’m hungry for Season 3, I really shouldn’t have been surprised at all.
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