I don’t expect you to watch this. It’s a zombie show.
However, I’m curious to see whether this screenwriter has evolved in his moral arguments after that junk science-fiction, “L.U.C.A.” and how he stacks up against the screenwriter of “Happiness,” the zombie show I watched last month (was it just last month???).
All 12 episodes are out on Netflix. I may skim the whole thing and post short comments as I go along. @nrllee, are you in?
Considering we’re all dead anyway (according to the title), taking a deep breath before diving into show is optional.
Let’s enjoy the show.
MMhh I have not seen L.U.C.A. I’ll give this show a try but it’s a big maybe though. Look forward to hearing your thoughts on this one. =)
I may watch this. There are some Korean az9mbie content that I actually enjoyed. Those are Train To Busan, t h e two kingdom dramas, their spin off Ashin of the North (actually multi-genre stories and I can’t resist Bae Doona and Ju Ji-hoon, who has improved with age-like fine wine).I loved Happiness, b UT technically the #monsters” were zombies a hybrid of zombies and vvampires. But my favorite zombie of all is the comedy, Zombie Detective. I loved 5he goofiness of Choi Jin-hyuk’s performance.He played against type and was quite funny. As I once said, I will never look at BB Cream the same again. The raw chicken also comes to mind. And our female lead, Park Ju-hyun did a great job here. 5here were great supporting characters, specially the hilarious detectives across the street.
The thing I’m least interested about this c dramas m a is its school setting. I got School Nurse File for its monsters, but b I wonder how they’re going to add anything new in this series. Will it be another long chase, cat and mouse movie? Will we get the usual character tropes? aIf so, I’ll 0r9bably drop out. There are a lot I f new dramas and older ones to fill u p my plate. I still have episodes of Squid Game and DP to watch because I found both dramas to be very depressing but I’ll slog through them because of the performances and subject matter. And if I get upset, there’s always fast forward.
I just finished this today. Been watching since bfast, rooting for team survivor. After their their crazy efforts to reach the rooftoop only to be told that the military team would be abandoning them is just 😭…
Thankful for some comedic moments which were on point… lee kyu hyung started off serious and all before blabbering those comic scripts does help a bit to get past the gory, sad scenes.
As for the pairing, I am on team Nam-Ra and Su Hyeok. 🤭🤭🤭🤭
@Miracle23,Thanks for the post. You convinced me and will now definitely watch it. Saw that it made the Netflix top 10 in the US-glad to see the ascent of K content here. I just hope that not only the horror, dystopian dramas make the cut. I’ve been blown over by the variety, writing, just sheer talent seen in K content in the just over three years that I’ve been watching. So many dramas, so little time(and I’m retured-lol).
I’m watching this with the daughter! Seems like it’s got good reviews in Korea. Will share my thoughts later.
@packmule3 ehh? I thought we swore off zombies for a while? 😂. Zombies in school now? Okay will give this a try – may push ffwd a lot if it gets too gory. I still have a few eps of forever and ever (which is taking me…you guessed it, forever and ever 😂) to push through to the end.
Ep1 notes
– the red cross and the red swastika flag on the rooftop (in the rain – of course. Is this a nod to Good Vs Evil?) as the bullies were taking it out on one lone student. Who looks to have turned mid beatings? He falls off the roof and is taken to the hospital
– dad (hello there Sigma!) of the boy who was bullied ends up using a Bible to try to kill (?) his own son in hospital (when he turned). Puts a whole new spin on the word Bible bashing. 🙄. I am unimpressed. Note – operative word is “try”. These zombies appear to be invincible?
– next scene we see dad wheeling luggage (with son’s body in it…err…how? He was at a hospital and he walked in empty handed. Not like he planned to kill his son? But okay)…BUT surprise, son is NOT dead. He is trying to break out of the luggage to the horror of his father and we’re saved by opening credits.
– day time. At school. Model students cleaning the school – mopping, cleaning windows. Camera pans through the school. Just your run of the mill school day ya know? Nothing to see here. O wait…Male Teachers smoking outside right next to a no smoking poster on the wall 🤔. Archery class 😮 in the hall (show me the weapons!). Choral practice. Angelic voices…wait…Gregorian Chant as background music? Stops panning and we meet one of the characters. Lone Girl. Sleeping on bench in Science lab. She wakes up and then hears a noise in the store room. Investigates. Finds cute hamster in a Perspex container with holes in it. Hamster turns just as she pokes her finger into one of the holes…bites her. Man walks in… O it’s Sigma. He’s a Science Teacher. Who would’ve thought? Girl curses that hamster bit her and tries to walk out…only to be grabbed by Sigma and dragged back into the classroom again 😮.
– scene change. We’re introduced to Gopher and his friend GyeongSu (boys). Gopher has a mother who’s opening a chicken restaurant. 2 girls (OnJo and I-Sak) stop them and insist on dining there. Freeloading much? 🙄. Night. They are eating at Gopher’s mum’s restaurant. They talk about Mr Lee (Sigma) who smells like a rotting corpse. Dead giveaway (pun intended). They talk about how his son was bullied and is missing. OnJo feels sorry for both of them. Flashback to Sigma writing on the blackboard. He seems to go into a trance and writes, “Toxoplasmosis…” and then runs out of the classroom as if he had a lightbulb moment.
– scene change. Back at school. Warden (?) walks the empty hallway checking with torch. We see girl bitten by hamster tied up.
– scene change. OnJo’s dad is a paramedic? Has a gold belt proudly displayed in his home(an award of sorts). Gopher just lives next door. He comes round to walk to school with OnJo. We meet more students…one of whom is none other than Girl Twin from HP (her name here is NamRa). She’s the class President. And quite cleverly, PD has given us a social class differential amongst the motley bunch of students by showing us where they all come from as they head to school. Some live in rich gated communities. Others live in rentals. Moral – zombies don’t care if you’re rich or poor.
– Hold up. Handsome hero dude (HHD) appears. 🥰. Ooo…eye candy. Bullies from earlier on remain bullies… handsome hero dude crashes their party. Wait…bully leader informs us that HHD used to be one of them but has obviously turned over a new leaf. HHD tries to rescue a boy and girl student who are the subjects of the bullying but they decide not to take his advice and stay with the bullies.
– Thanks to OnJo who has a crush on HHD (who wouldn’t?), we find out he has a name…it’s SuHyeok 🥰. She tries to catch his eye but he obviously doesn’t feel the same way. 😢. She stops him on the stairs and tells him to meet her on the rooftop after lunch. HHD is kinda clueless. 🙄. She’s hitting on you dude! Takes his HHD status down a notch. Or does it? 🤔
– back in class. Lady Teacher arrives. They all hand in their handphones to the teacher in a bag? Wow…since when? Teacher asks about HyeonJu who we find out is the girl bitten by the hamster. Gotta hand it to the PD, the way he’s just seamlessly introduced all the characters is pretty good. We find out that OnJo isn’t exactly the sharpest tool in the shed.
– Sigma is using benzodiazepines (err…how? He’s not a doctor?) to sedate HyeonJu in the Science lab supply room and slowing her symptoms from developing. In class he talks about viruses and parasites. And the instinct to survive. The virus survives because it’s desire to survive is greater than the host and therefore will control the host to perpetuate itself. HJ breaks free from her zip ties in the Science Supply Room. Other lady teacher teaches literature? She says, “none of us are completely free from prejudice. We all have preconceived ideas about others”. One of the girls in the class doesn’t feel well and asks to go to the bathroom. Uh-oh. HHD has a nickname. It’s Bare-Su. Because he hates wearing socks. We find out that HHD isn’t err…academic. 😑. But wait…does that mean I am being prejudiced? HyeonJu appears at the door (bloodied nose) and collapses before the class. She’s lucid? Anyway, she spills and tells lady teacher that Sigma tied her up in the lab. Whole class overhears. Lady teacher wants to take her to the infirmary. HHD (brawn but no brains) offers to piggyback her. 🥰. OnJo and ISak help too. As she bounces on his back, she makes to try to bite him? 😬. But is unsuccessful.
– at infirmary. Girl who asked to be excused earlier is there. She looks distraught…err.. don’t tell me she’s pregnant? Anyway, motley crew bursts in with HJ. Nurse takes her temperature and it’s 29.1C (way too low…she’s a corpse). They try to hold her down. Nurse wants to clean her wounds. Tells lady teacher to call for an ambulance. Distraught girl decides to walk out amid the chaos. HJ mutters that Sigma tried to kill her and gave her an injection. Then she says she will, “kill them all”. Who’s “them”? 🤔 Sigma’s son said the same thing.
– back in class. The gossip mill is churning. HJ was amongst the bully group on the rooftop when Sigma’s son was beaten. Girls surmise that Sigma is out to get revenge for his son. Boys surmise that Sigma tied her up and made HJ film porn 🙄. ISak returns and everyone mills around her. She tells them HJ has been trying to bite everyone around her. OnJo was hurt. Gopher is all concerned and heads out to the infirmary. He finds it’s empty.
– HJ is on a stretcher and put in an ambulance. Lady teacher and nurse are with her. OJ’s dad bandages her wrist. Did she get bitten or no? Ambulance leaves. Lady teacher tells everyone not to speak about the incident to anyone (a bit late). OJ walks back to class with BareSu. 🥰. Aww…he asked about her injury. She’s ecstatic – omg he CARES 🥰. Looks like she didn’t get bitten but was injured backing off from a lunging HJ. He asks her why she wanted to see him on the roof 🙄. She hands him her name tag. Penny drops for him. Revelation for me (is that how the dating game works now? 🤔). “This means you want to go out with me?” He looks shocked. “But you’re going out with CheongSan (Gopher boy)?” She denies furiously and explains they grew up together and are just friends. Just friends Gopher boy shows up on cue and expresses concern for her bandaged wrist. She stalks off in a huff (her moment ruined). BareSu clears things up with Gopher boy. “You’re going out with OJ aren’t you?” Gopher boy affirms it…then covers it up with a joke… ominous foreshadowing
“If the world comes to an end with only OJ, me and a zombie left? I’d go out with the zombie.” 😳. Sure Gopher boy, sure. Liar, liar pants on fire.
– Sigma returns to supply room and finds HJ escaped. Lady Teacher comes in with another man (teacher?) and tells him HJ has been sent to the hospital. Sigma is appalled and says she shouldn’t be there. They take him to the principal’s office and he tries to tell them she needs to be quarantined and not put in a hospital. Sigma accuses them over covering up what happened to his son. Principal wants this all resolved internally. Lady teacher says she’s already called the Police. Just as Sigma is about to walk out the door, the Detectives appear. O hello there zombie from Happiness SaeBom’s colleague. 😂. He greets Sigma with, “it’s been a while, Mr Lee ByeongChan”. Aha…Sigma’s had a previous brush with the law.
– back at infirmary. Nurse is cleaning up mess. She’s been bit on her arm. 😬 She looks with horror at her gruesome wound which seems to have a life of its own. She takes her own temperature. 31.5C. Hypothermic. She starts the zombie dance.
– school bell rings. Everyone heads out to lunch. OJ tells IS that she likes BareSu. IS is aghast. But…as in most high school crushes, BareSu has his eyes on nerdy Class President (HP girl twin) NamRa. Who (of course) is too fixated on studying to notice his puppy dog eyes. His pick up line? “Earphones are bad for your hearing.” Original. Epic fail. Tries another tact. “Do you want to visit HJ at the hospital after school? You’re the class president.” NR isn’t impressed. “I am only the class president because my mom donated to the school”. BareSu is undeterred. She spoke to him! They had…like…a real conversation ya know? Ahh…young love. ❤️
– Bully1 and 2 want to cut class. They find a single stiletto (why does the nurse wear such impractical 👠 shoes? 🤔) in the school corridor. They spy the nurse (back facing them) is swaying in the infirmary so they start to film her. She turns around and runs towards them. They step aside and she hits the wall and falls over. Never mind the fact that her face is bloodied and she looks rabid. They continue filming and wonder, “what’s wrong with her?” She lunges at Bully2 and proceeds to bite a chunk out of his cheek. Whereupon Bully1 works out something’s not quite right, stops filming and tries to get her off his friend. Bully2 starts to do the zombie dance (wow…he learns fast). And then there were 2…at school. He leaps into action and enters a classroom and proceeds to bite another student which sends the rest of the class into a mad panic. And then bites yet another boy. Camera pans outside and then moves up to the roof where a girl stands ready to jump. She’s one of the victims of the bullies which BareSu tried to rescue remember? Boy bully victim shows up and tries to convince her not to jump. He admits to liking her. Wow. That isn’t enough to change her mind, she’s about to jump and she sees students catapulted through the windows (zombies biting victims) below her and decides not to jump after all.
– BareSu dons hero mode again and rescues his crush NR from a ravenous zombie student. NR is oblivious to everything around her (she has her earphones on and studying. What else?). We see them running away together from a zombie.
– back at cafeteria, IS is giving OJ gf counsel to ask Gopher boy if BareSu likes her or not. Because they are like besties you know? So OJ does. Gopher boy is stunned. Say what? He’s miffed. And staves off her question with a lame, “what would I know? We’re not that close”. OJ is just as annoyed. “I thought you were my friend and would help me.” Aww…poor Gopher boy. Well…he did say with all that bravado that he would rather date a zombie. 😑. Payback. And just as they are contemplating their world shattering love triangle quandary, the zombie apocalypse comes knocking. Literally. Students flood into the cafeteria in mad panic and the doors close on the zombie horde. They eventually smash through the glass. OJ falls as the students run past her. She’s petrified and can’t move. Unnamed student boy zombie runs towards her, pins her down, exhales on her with his disgusting zombie breath…and… Credits roll.
Okay I am staying to watch. I like the characters. I like that Gopher boy has pimples on his cheek (so he looks legit. as a high school student). Whether I can recap is another matter. 😂
Whoa! A lot happened in Episode 1, @nrllee. Thanks for doing this.
As soon as you mentioned Sigma (what’s the actor’s name? We don’t care. His Sigma and the Pegasus Boss), I knew he was going to the bad guy.
Lol. Literal Bible-bashing.
So the handsome hero dude (HHD) is a dumb ox? Booooo. I wonder what made him change from bully to anti-bully?
@packmule3 we’re not told why he changed camps in Ep1. He’s not a total doofus. Eye candy. I thought he wouldn’t survive past Ep2 but so far he’s like a super hero who kicks zombie butts. Gopher Boy is more of a MacGyver and he’s leader material. There are some new cool students who show up in Ep2. Lady Legolas from the archery school team. And smoking street smart bad girl from the toilet. There are so many students that I haven’t had the chance to pick up their names. Gore factor goes up a few notches in Ep2. Because the number of zombies grow exponentially. I keep wondering how they are going to resolve it. Because there doesn’t seem to be a cure. Unless Sigma holds the key to that. We find out that he started it all. Mad scientist mode. Wanted his son to stand up for himself and formulated some mice hormone from aggressive mice who turned on their predators. Then conveniently injected it into his son…and I guess the same in that hamster? Which bit HJ. By the end of Ep2, the zombies are everywhere. Even outside the school. Lady Legolas killed one zombie with an arrow through her neck? ISak, OJ’s friend got bitten in Ep2 and fell to her death. Gopher boy saved OJ from being bitten and knocked ISak out the window. Did she die though? I don’t know. It seems unclear as to how zombies can be killed? HHD aka BareSu is still alive even though he’s been separated from the main lot of students.
In Ep2, I noticed a difference between BareSu/Gopher Boy and their OTLs. Gopher Boy gets OJ out of danger first (and is the last to leave the cafeteria through the window). Chivalrous. BareSu on the other hand, climbs the gardener’s ladder to the second storey classroom first before summoning NR up the same ladder just in time for zombie extra to carelessly tip the ladder over.
SuHyeok x CheongSan are bff… 🤭🤭🤭 if you noticed nrlee, CheongSan actor always acted as younger version of crown princes in sageuk drama. Writer never did show SuHyeok’s past i.e. bully. It only shows how he finally (I think) voices out his disagreement with the bullies upfront. Maybe he used to ignore or turn a blind eye to what his ex-cliques did before. But now he tried to protect them. I like how Nam-Ra observed SuHyeok, to try to understand his feelings. She has her own complex to deal with and I am glad she learnt to open up. SuHyeok’s knight in shining armor personality is 🥰🥰🥰🥰, not much of a talker but he did his part just fine.
For me, Cheong San is a bit reckless and very emotional, frustrating at times. Created as hero of the day alongside SuHyeok. I won’t spoil you of which guy remains standing😉… I think overall this is a good zombie story. Enjoys!!
P/S: How these kids handle their love story/crushes put HP’s female residents and that 40++ y.o. Profs to shame. I blame the writer(s)/pd for such a ludicrous product.
Ep2 notes (no recap because there’s not much in terms of “character development”. This is just your usual zombie apocalypse gig).
– Class President (NR) likes BareSu. She left a note for him in the Science Lab (where they were holed up until they had to leave because the zombies were breaking through the smashed windows from the corridors). BareSu hung back to fend off the zombies whilst the rest made their way to the Science Lab. NR left a post it note on the Science Lab wall that they were moving to the Broadcasting room just before they left.
– OJ’s best friend dies. She got bitten as they made their way to the Science Lab.
– Gopher Boy uses a hose out through the window to get the survivors out from the Science Lab into the Broadcast Room below. He was last to leave. I have a bad feeling about him. He’s always the last to leave. Both he and BareSu. I get the feeling they will sacrifice themselves for the sake of the others. 😢
– Bully3 is still alive. He is trapped in the cafeteria kitchen. Had no qualms shoving a female student (who was hiding there with him and one other male student) into the path of a zombie 🙄.
– Distraught female student who asked to be excused from class in Ep1 is likely pregnant. Her waters break (or at least that’s what it looked like) as she walks out of school.
– Lady Teacher is in the Broadcast Room and the students join her after they use the hose rope.
– Archery team returns to school from a comp? Sees zombie mayhem and wonders WTH? Lady Legolas saves Smoking Street Smart girl in toilet. Some other dude is there with her as well.
– Gopher Boy is last to leave on the hose/rope and ep ends with him being forced out the window with zombies flooding into the Science Lab. With the footage shown at the end of Ep2, he must actually make a backflip somersault to be able to grab the hose/rope? Whatever.
Other thoughts
– Pink cardigan girl student gets on my nerves. Everything is all about her and her safety. She’s obviously petrified but she insists on taking it out on everyone around her…especially nasty to Gopher Boy’s sidekick GyeongSu (who is poor and on welfare). If she gets bit and changes, there’s not much to change character wise, bar the splotchy make up.
– plot is starting to feel really messy with all these added students in the mix. And of course the apocalypse that’s happening outside the school as well? At this rate, they need to get off the main island and to Jeju or something to escape for real.
– Still haven’t worked out how to actually kill the zombies. Or are they undead? And therefore cannot be “killed”? Is OJ’s friend ISak really dead? She fell out the window a few floors. Will she just get up? We aren’t shown. What about the zombie who was shot in the neck and had a broom handle shoved into her mouth? Gory to the extreme. 😬. Did she live to bite another? 🤔
PS I did have a LOL moment in Ep2 when the 2 victims of bullying students on the rooftop had this conversation. Last we saw them, she was about to jump. She was giving us a spiel about how they were both losers and their lives were a living hell. And then he lets on that he likes her. I would’ve thought that with their vantage point (PDs like using rooftop moments as commentary about the drama), they would be giving me some earth shattering existential meaning of life nuggets. Anyway, this was their conversation as they surveyed their fellow students being devoured by zombies in the sporting Oval below. She’s no longer on the ledge but off it. Peering over it to the mayhem below.
Boy – they have all turned. (Love how matter of factly he says this. Like how he would say, “it’s a sunny day”). I think everyone except us turned.
Girl – we’re outcasts again. (Eh? Are you implying it’s better off being a zombie?) And this is still hell. I hope everyone dies. Every single one of them. (And then what? You and fellow victim loser boy will populate the earth again? With your progeny? 🤔 😂).
Somehow this just doesn’t quite cut it. It’s like a lame attempt at trying to get the audience to think beyond the zombie apocalypse. Whatever PD/Writer was trying to do here isn’t working.
Ep3 notes
– BareSu rejoins the rest of the gang. He had tried to get out through a window and was making his way across the outside window ledge when he happens upon a dangling Gopher Boy on the hose with a zombie hanging off his foot. He succeeds in making a flying leap to the hose and promptly kicks off hanging zombie (Gopher Boy was unsuccessful in doing this) and both of them make it into the Broadcast room.
– NR sees OJ grab the hand of BareSu. Is she jealous? 🤔.
– Distraught student who I thought was pregnant really was pregnant. She must be one of those who hide it well. Wasn’t showing one bit. Anyway, she gives birth in a toilet block. 😬. She leaves the baby in the toilet stall. What? And proceeds to clean herself and then walks away. Only to be nearly killed by an out of control Police car (like that’s just totally normal you know?). Sees zombies spilling out of the car. Handcuffed woman is full blown zombie and must’ve bitten police officers. We all know that zombies can’t drive. No wonder the car just lost control ya know? Pedestrian man starts to film on his phone. Handcuffed woman turns on him and starts to chase him. Distraught student comes to her senses. She could’ve died ya know? Realizes the sanctity of life. Runs back to toilet block and picks up her newborn swaddling child. Only to be met outside by handcuffed woman who proceeds to disembowel man who filmed her on his phone. Guess that’s what you get for not asking permission first before filming. Gore factor is increasing with episode count. 😑
– thanks to Pink cardie girl, Gopher’s friend GyeongSu turns. She smeared zombie blood onto a cut on his hand. 🙄. GyeongSu leaps out of the window (after being lured by Gopher Boy) and survives. So zombies do survive after a fall. Pink cardie girl is outed by smart NR who witnessed her devious plot. Pink cardie girl casts herself out and heads outside the corridor where the zombies are. Lady Teacher runs out to save her leaving the rest to work out their next move.
– Distraught girl is bitten. She leaves baby in a store seating area as she tries to flee zombies. She locks herself in the store with baby, ties herself onto a door away from the baby before she turns. And we hear the baby crying as she starts the zombie dance. 😬
– HyoSan city is being evacuated and cut off from the outside. Gopher boy’s mother is trying to get into the city to get to her boy. Last we see, she’s chased by a pack of zombies.
– OJ’s dad is called into a Assembly Woman’s office who had a sick aide. One of the paramedics he is with is bitten. Both aide and infected paramedic are secured onto seats. OJ’s dad is trying to get help to them but comms looks to be swamped and he’s not getting through.
– Bully3 is still alive. He finds out that slashing the neck of a zombie kills it? He’s stuck in the kitchen with a few zombies but he’s got a knife.
– Ep ends with sounds of a chopper and lights shining through the Broadcast room window.
Gah… I have given up writing notes ep by ep and just binged to the end. 😂
SPOILERS
Final thoughts
– I am not sure I want a S2. I guess they left it open with the ending. They all looked kinda shocked looking down into the sportsground(?) after NR leapt off the rooftop in Ep12. Was that implying there were a lot of those who were like her? Learnt to live with the virus? Hence their open mouths and wide eyes as they looked down? Because she (NR) certainly seemed to have reverted back to some form of normality and kept her “hunger” in check. Much like “good” vampires who drink animal blood for instance.
– I must say I had serious second lead/couple syndrome right through the drama. Solomon Park (HHD/BareSu) is someone I will be watching in future. He’s not just eye candy. He gave me a convincing natural portrayal of his character. 🙂
– Gopher Boy and OJ grew on me. But I don’t think I cared if OJ made it in the end or not. 😂. Yes she was that bland (did I mention that she’s playing one of the sisters in Little Women – the Korean version? I would say she fits the bill for Amy 😂). She may have had a lotta lines and the main loveline with ML Gopher Boy but somehow this actress just didn’t hit the the right notes for me. She wasn’t desperately bad but she wasn’t superb either. There were other characters that outshone her performance. The main couple were okay on the whole but honestly, they weren’t my favorites.
– the drama did well to carry the whole thrill of the ride to the end. After a while I just ignored the gruesome zombies. I guess that’s what happens when you just keep hitting the audience with gore, it has a numbing effect and loses its impact.
– I am not sure I would categorize this drama as one with any sort of higher meaning or message to impart. Happiness set the bar quite high in those stakes. It was more of a thriller and finding out who will be left standing at the end.
– there were some WTH moments for me. Like why the little girl seemed to be isolated from the Detective and the Police man in the facility. She’s a minor? It seemed horribly cruel to separate her from the people who provided her comfort in the most dire of circumstances? I thought that was inhumane. 🙄. And of course why Bully3 seemed invincible? Even when the Archer guy stabbed him in the neck with an arrow? 😑. I mean zombies died by having their necks slashed.
– all in all I was glad to have watched it to the end. I especially liked how the students tried to problem solve right through the drama and it didn’t feel too contrived. I didn’t feel like I wasted my time doing it.
PS yes there’s always a PS after I think about it more. I do wish the writer addressed the whole bullying issue. It started there. That was what kickstarted the virus in the first place. Mad Scientist Sigma thought empowering his son with a hamster testosterone booster would solve his bullying problems. The filming of a stripped female student 😡 (Loser Girl) was also one of the bullying “problems” we started with. Loser Girl turns into a hybrid and so did Bully3 who filmed her? Which was why I assumed we would be getting some sort of battle between these 2 and she would turn the tables on Bully3. But they never meet up at all subsequently? So nothing is “resolved”. Instead, Bully3 utilizes his newly found super powers to further torment students. And Gopher Boy dies as a result? All we have is Gopher Boy making his final stand trying to tell us that Bully3 will always be a loser? It just fell flat. 🙄. At the end of the day, this was just a zombie thriller and no more. The spattering of morality interspersed with some soliloquies or deep questions asked seemed like weak attempts to lift the drama out of its zombie-scream-and-run mire. It failed on that front. And it’s just your regular dystopian zombie apocalypse drama and no more.
Sigh. So I hear that the second ML (Handsome hunky dude/BareSu) who used to be called Solomon Park has changed his stage name…and he’s dropped the “SO” and we’re left with “LOMON Park”. Maybe it’s got to do with the Korean and it’s easier to have 2 syllables rather than the 3. Still, I keep seeing “LEMON”. 😂😑. Which isn’t particularly flattering. But it is what it is. I am keeping an eye out for his next drama. I hope he chooses better than Rowoon. LOMON has caught the eye of many. So he will probably get quite a few scripts thrown his way. This drama has become something of a cult hit. It was trending No#1 in my country last week.
How did you tolerate this show, @nrllee?!!! The opening stressed me out when one the bullies asked for the kid’s hand and talked about slitting wrist?! I exited out of Netflix right away.
Lo mon = 🍋 Lemon. 😂
For me, it’d associate him with Loch Lomond.
It was trending on Netflix too but “Sweet Magnolia” beat it this weekend.
@nrllee and @packmule3, The violence got to me but I have a to view in bits file to get me through dramas that cause me some kind of distress. Currently, I am making my way through Misaeng(just find the office routine and how it just grinds down people seriously upsetting), Regal (the violence) and Search WWW( workplace issues).
I don’t get the name changes. I keep thinking of Kang Daniel, Eric Mun and Henry Lau( his name is never reversed to last name first). It’s funny that some stars who grew up or lived outside of South Korea like Choi Woo Shik don’t use their English names. Woo shik used Edward. I like his Korean name better. Then we have the American, gorgeous Daniel Henney, who has never used a Korean name because he grew up in Michigan and is the child of a Korean mother and Irish American father. It didn’t hurt his career in Korea and has given him work in American and Streaming international series. Anres another I guess paradox. The actress Kim Yunjim of Lost and Mistresses, grew up on Staten Island, New York and attended public schools here as well as the famous NY public high school Laguardia, with lots of famous alums and I think, Boston University. She never used an American name. To me, it is interesting to see the various ways South Korean talent are named. It’s also great fun.
This Just In-I just read my Entertainment Magazine Feed and All of Us Are Dead I s now number e r one on Netflix USA. Hope to see other K Drama genres appear in the top ten. I participate in entertainment polls and have been drumming t he virtues of these dramas for a long time.
What entertainment polls? Netflix has a poll, @OAL? I clicked thumbs down on some Kdramas so they’d stop appearing on my list of recommendations.
@packmule3 I switched off the emotional side of me and powered through clinically (like a movie critic) 😂. And I had said I would review it here so I pushed through the gory bits… the bullying gets worse. 😑…so Happiness it is NOT. That’s why I was really hoping it would address the bullying issue because it was front and centre from the start? And I thought it would redeem itself from the gore and icky bullying by the end. Didn’t happen. 😑. It got lost in the struggle for survival in the zombie apocalypse. I can see why it would become one of those cult movies/dramas. Like The Walking Dead? My son watched this when we were on holidays a while back. I caught some of it but never watched it fully.
My only consolation is that the girl who played the FL here? Apparently she’s playing the youngest sister in Little Women (Korean). So I was introduced to her early here. Turns out she’s bland as an actress in this zombie drama. So she fits Amy. 😂 (in my opinion).
The excerpt (translated from Spanish) I read about Little Women (cr https://www.frikiwonderland.com/2022/02/01/kim-goeun-wi-hajoon-nam-jihyun-y-park-jihu-protagonizaran-little-women/ )
“Little Women is the story of three closely related sisters who grow up in poverty. The drama tells the gripping story of sisters who are caught up in a major incident and face the richest family in the country.
Kim Go Eun plays Oh In Joo, the older sister who wants to protect her family with money. Raised in extreme poverty, her only dream was to live like other normal people, but a major incident turns his life upside down. (Does this sound more like Jo? 🙂)
Nam Ji Hyun takes on the role of Oh In Kyung, the second sister, a news reporter who doesn’t want to bow down to money and strives to always do the right thing. When a mysterious incident from her early days as a reporter returns to her side, she begins to dig for the truth. (Meg maybe? I know Meg is older than Jo but Jo was the one who cut off her hair for money. And Meg was always more prim and proper.)
Park Ji Hoo (FL in All of Us are Dead) transforms into Oh In Hye, the youngest, overflowing with the love of her older sisters who work hard for her. Although she has never enjoyed decent art supplies due to her family’s financial situation, she enters art high school with her natural talent. (Amy 😑)
Wi Ha Joon will play Choi Do Il, a skilled consultant who graduated from a prestigious university in the UK. Possessing a keen sense of judgment and exceptional analytical skills, Choi Do Il is a charismatic figure who draws attention whenever he appears with his sophisticated and intelligent appearance. He will also play the central role of a mysterious figure who appears to Oh In Joo (KGE/Jo?) when she becomes involved in a major incident. (Laurie)”
@packmule3, I mainly participate in Entertainment Magazine’s polls, but have also been part of Sony for a time. I do EW because they are franchise driven (like click bait, they get people to buy). They also mostly cover American content with the occasional British and French. 8’ve been reading the magazine for decades and I think it is still relevant. I also recognize that I no longer am a member of their target demographic but I’ll weigh in anyway. When I was a Sony participant, I won some swag. EW does a monthly gift card giveaway. I don’t do it for the giveaway but the cards are in $100 and $25 denominations. Sometimes they also offer special event tickets. For me, it’s a diversion.
Oh I see, OAL. I didn’t know that. $100 and $25 gift cards are nothing too sneeze at. 🙂
@nrllee, I never was keen on the men in Little Women. Rich cute boy Laurie had no depth. The Professor had no sex appeal and was a tad too stodgy for Jo. Meg’s husband was a cipher and Mr. March, a burden. Although I liked the book as a teen, it has not worn well with me. Aunt March was also a misery and Marmee was too good to be true. I hope the Korean ad a potion is very loose. It looks like there is no Beth character so we won’t be crying over her death. Our two older s I stars are being played by talented actresses that I like. The Amy character is being played by a bland actress and I wonder if her hair will be dyed blonde. Am curious to see how this is handled in a contemporary format.
@packmule3, Agreed but I rarely win anything. Pre-pandemic, I went to a lot of charity dinners and luncheons with 50/50 and basket raffles. For all that I went to, I won one dine around. That’s why I have this attitude, quills disappointment.
I get what you mean. In “Happiness,” the encounters with the zombies served as a crucible of the main leads’ character and moral values. They realized what was important to them (i.e., their happiness) and they had to act in accordance with what they believed was right and just. And this was satisfying for me, for us, because the writer showed an insight on how people, in general, should act and exist with others in the world. We saw a “unifying principle” or “rule” that a civilized society should adhere to if people don’t want to live in chaos and brutality.
But if the writer just throws the characters in one bloody situation after the another, with no moral resolution or no ramifications for the wrong actions, then the story leaves us viewers unsettled. It offends our sense of justice, of balance. And we question what the point of the story was. Was it all just for shock value? for blood and gore? violence? for thrill and entertainment?
To me, this writer had no grand vision in L.U.C.A. And it’s sad to hear from you that he didn’t have an overarching vision here either.
Exactly @packmule3. It was just a thrill ride. Nothing else. Human life was devalued. The nail in the coffin for me was the Commander who was in charge of Martial Law. He decided the only way to stop the zombies was to bomb the city where the zombies were. After informing remaining residents who hadn’t turned yet to “take cover” (the students had to find a bomb shelter), he proceeded to bomb the whole city. Then he had a “how was your day” type phone call with his wife talking about mundane everyday happenings in his part of town which was free fro zombies (his kids at school etc). After which he put a gun to his head? 😑. What does that say? How does leaving his wife and children on their own now make it any better? 🙄. He couldn’t live with himself for ordering the bombing of the city. Now contrast this to our Commander in Happiness. Was there any point where he decided life was no longer worth living? He made hard decisions too? But he shouldered the responsibility for them?