With the global success of its premiere season, Netflix’s zombie-meets-Joseon-era K-drama Kingdom has quite the reputation to live up to. And luckily, its second season might even be better than the first.
Season two starts off where the finale episode left us: zombies alive during the day, about to attack Prince Lee Chang (Ju Ji-Hoon), Lord Ahn Hyeon (Heo Jun-Ho), and the rest of their forces at the border of Sangju. Meanwhile, Seo-bi (Bae Doona) discovers the Resurrection Plant at the Frozen Valley together with magistrate Beom-pal (Jeon Seok-ho). Back in the capital, the Queen (Kim Hye-jun) searches for a fake male heir; while her father Cho Hak-ju (Ryu Seung-ryong) closes in on finding Prince Chang and prepares his own army to combat any form of treachery in the whole of Joseon to satiate his lust for power.
If you haven’t seen Kingdom, you’re seriously missing out. The FOMO is real with this Netflix Original K-drama, and the second installment of this thrilling tale should be reason enough for you to tune in. But if you’re still not convinced, here are spoiler-free reasons why Kingdom season 2 is a non-negotiable must-watch.
What I Liked About It
Season 2 is packed with unexpected twists and turns that are pretty ingenious.
If you’ve watched a fair share of zombie flicks and thrillers, it’s easy to predict what comes next when viewing shows of this genre. But what makes Kingdom so impressive is its ability to really surprise you. When you think you’ve seen everything, its refreshing plot-twists will make your jaw drop. You can expect this to happen at the end of almost each episode.
Though we want to see the Crown Prince reclaim his rightful place on the throne, the road to Cho Hak-Ju’s defeat is not an easy one. But it just gets even better. The conspiracies pile up but so does their loose ends. It’s a pleasure to see everything unravel as the plot thickens.
Writer Kim Eun-Hee outdid herself yet again with Kingdom, giving us another intelligent and beautifully suspenseful story that we can’t wait to see more of.
It’s even more action-packed.
Kingdom season 2 introduces an additional director, Park In-Je, who has released two conspiracy-driven films—Moby Dick (2011) and The Mayor (2017)—to his creative pool. His contribution is noteworthy and you’ll notice most of it in episode 2, where the show feels more fast-paced and action-driven. The camera-work is also a lot more dynamic and makes action sequences even more thrilling. There’s definitely a lot more gore as well, if you’re into that!
There are a lot of moral and political lessons to be learned.
Though Kingdom is set in a fictitious past, there are a lot of valuable lessons you can pick up from the drama. Creator Kim Eun-Hee previously said that the story generally talks about the perils of greed and hunger in every form; it also shows a very compassionate and realistically righteous side of humanity. Zombies may run lose all over the screen, but all isn’t about death and hopelessness. As you continue to watch, you find yourself rooting for good (in general) and not just for your favorite character.
What I Didn’t Like About It
We need more episodes and seasons!
We’re hoping season two isn’t the last of Kingdom. In fact, we're hoping for maybe one or two more seasons?
So Should You Watch It?
An absolute yes! If you’re a fan of the first season, get ready to get sucked into this rich historical world yet again. And it’s safe to say that Kingdom gets better over time, and this latest season is proof that this might just be Netflix’s best Original K-drama series to date—no exaggerations. We already know what we’re binge-watching over the weekend. So what are you waiting for?
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