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[Upcoming Drama 2019-2021] Kingdom, 킹덤 - Joo Ji Hoon, Bae Doo Na - Netflix - One-Episode-Special to premiere in 2021


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After thinking about this season 2 all day, what were your favorite parts/scenes?

 

Spoiler

1. When the Prince’s teacher zombie bit the cheek of Minister Cho. It totally caught me off guard and for a second I fell into their trap thinking he will be a zombie and then I remembered that teacher was a Generation 1 zombie. Then to see Seobi cured him and to be taken out by his own daughter. Brutal!

 

2. Moo Yung’s death scene in the winter birch forest was so beautifully haunting shot and his apologies - gah - I cried and was rooting for him to make it back to his wife at least!

 

3. JJH’s tiny cameo was surprisingly effective even when I was looking for her character for the last part of the episode; I still didn’t expect that and how it was.

 

I can’t believe that Beom Pal survives....

 

 

Edited by stella77
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i dun quite understand.. first generation zombies dun infect people with their bites.. meaning the old king only feeds on human flesh.. so minister cho was not infected by minister ahn.. then come the few that the queen hid in the underground cell.. those were from mutated generation? the mutation came in when humans ate the victims bitten by the first generation zombies..

 

flower+egg into dead corpse > gen1 zombie

gen1 zombie bite victims > worms get transferred but they do not turn into zombies

worms are afraid of heat and water

 

since in season 1, the dead victim (physician lee’s student) was cooked in hot soup.. so dead worms inside alive humans caused mutation.. that caused the widespread of disease, does it mean only a flood the solution?

 

haha :skull: my brains are fried.. with wriggly worms

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I mean i liked this noble act of sacrifice from the prince for the better of all people.

But who had the idea that having a child king would be a good idea? That would be a first in history. It's usually everyone's biggest nightmare. The idea that it would lead to stability in the country and that people would not try to influence him.

Somehow it seems to have worked out miraculously well in this case. Apparently all the power hungry people got snacked so they don't have to worry about bad guidance of the child king.. Well it seems like they are going to learn it the hard way next season.

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https://www.straitstimes.com/lifestyle/entertainment/season-two-of-period-zombie-series-kingdom-about-blood-writer-kim-eun-hee

Season two of period zombie series Kingdom about blood: Writer Kim Eun-hee

By Jan Lee

 

5574381B-CC5A-4E35-A1B2-4DF28940E1B0.jpg

South Korean actress Bae Doo-na's character will play a crucial role in the second season of Kingdom.PHOTO: NETFLIX
 


SINGAPORE - The cast of period zombie series Kingdom, set in ancient Korea, may seem skilled at battling hordes of flesh-eating zombies on screen, but they are not that tough in real life.

 

In a telephone interview with Singapore media, actor Kim Sung-kyu, who plays a fierce fighter Yeong-shin, admits that he would quickly give up.

 

"I'll let them know where to bite to kill me immediately," says the 34-year-old.

 

The Netflix series, starring actor Ju Ji-hoon, was a resounding success when it debuted last year, winning over fans and critics. Its second season premiered on the platform on March 13.

 

The political thriller wrapped in a zombie-apocalypse epic is based on a comic series written by screenwriter Kim Eun-hee, who also helmed the writing of its adaptation. It is Netflix's first original South Korean series.

 

Actress Bae Doo-na, 40, known for works like American drama Sense8 (2015 to 2018), says she was touched by the response to the first season.

 

"Kingdom is a very Korean work of art. The costumes, the production, it's all based on Korean history and culture, even though it is a fantastical story. I'm very proud that the most Korean content can be the most global," she says.

 

Leading man Ju, 37, who plays protagonist Lee Chang - a righteous prince accused of treason - says a Netflix project did not feel different despite being produced in seasons, unlike most K-dramas.

 

He says: "It didn't feel different because we didn't know it would be divided into seasons. We're very happy because Season One was so well-received that it built up a lot of anticipation for Season Two."

 

Kim Sung-kyu says: "The biggest difference is probably curiosity about the story. My character is in a lot of fights and a lot of dangerous scenes, so for me, it's a question of whether he'll still be alive."

 

Though a year passed between the filming of the first and second seasons, the four leads say stepping back into the wardrobe and make-up brought them back into character immediately.

 

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South Korean actor Ju Ji-hoon as the protagonist Lee Chang, a righteous prince caught in the middle of a zombie outbreak in Kingdom. PHOTO: NETFLIX



However, the switch was more pronounced for Ryu Seung-ryong, the 49-year-old actor who plays a cruel, ruthless politician in the series.

 

He says with a laugh: "During the break, I played a very different role. I was frying chicken in an action comedy (the hit 2019 Korean film Extreme Job), so I was a bit worried."

 

The cast is tight-lipped about developments in the new season. But, in a separate e-mail interview, screenwriter Kim Eun-hee says that while the first season revolved around the idea of hunger, the new season is about blood.

 

"I wanted to tell a story about monsters who crave blood and humans who desire a particular bloodline and lineage," the 48-year-old says, adding that Bae's physician Seo-bi and the sinister Queen Consort are characters audiences should pay "closer attention" to.

 

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South Korean actress Kim Hye-jun returns to play the sinister Queen in the second season of Kingdom. PHOTO: NETFLIX

 


Screenwriter Kim, whose TV hits include crime thriller Signal (2016), has always been fascinated by zombie films such as Dawn Of The Dead (1978, 2004), the Resident Evil series (2002 to 2017) and World War Z (2013). She says her zombie series could only come to life via Netflix.

 

She says: "The Netflix partners didn't intervene at all in terms of the content and our freedom of expression was guaranteed. It's essential to show zombies beheaded in a zombie series, but a Korean TV network would have blurred all the beheading scenes."

 

She says she has a rough idea of how her characters will end up, but the actors do not know when their journeys end.

 

Ju says: "If my character has to die, I hope he dies after achieving what he has set out to achieve."

 

Actor Kim Sung-kyu says the question has been on his mind since Season One. "I've thought about how I'll want my character to die. The obvious answer is that he fights till his very last breath."

 

Ryu and Bae, however, are much more reluctant to exit the story.

 

"I'll find as many resurrection plants (a plant in the story that can bring the dead back to life) as possible - have some salad and bibimbap with that, have some tea with it. I'll grow my immunity, I'm not dying," Ryu declares.

 

The same goes for Bae, who says: "I've already told writer Kim I'm not leaving the show. Even if I die, I'm staying on screen as a zombie."

 

Kingdom is available on Netflix.

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Wow.. what a roller coaster! Was a little sad that there were only 6 episodes and before I knew it, I was already done. 
 

I am however still a little confused about one thing- 

Spoiler

Can someone explain to me some more about why Cho Hak Ju didn’t transform into a zombie like the rest of them when he got bit? I see some talk about “gen 1 zombies” but I’m still a little confused what the differences are.. what episode did they delve into this topic specifically bc I seemed to have missed something hahah 

 

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@stellalafemme

@sadthe1st


Re the turning of zombies and Minister Cho:

 

Spoiler

I try to explain and start the discussion. 
In the first season, when the Emperor was a resurrected by the old Doctor with the plant and turn into what I call a type 1 (generation 1 is too long) zombie = they can’t turn others into immediate zombies by biting. The emperor bit many maids and the young man that came with the doctor. None of them immediately became zombies. Seobi resurrected Minister Ahn and therefore he is a type 1 and that is why Minister Cho didn’t turn into a zombie right away. 
 

Zombie type 2 came about when the young man that was bitten by the Emperor was chopped up and fed to people. The bites of these immediately turn people into zombies. One think that wasn’t clear enough or maybe I missed it was about the zombies under the queen’s palace. These were from where - their own experiments because they are type 2! 

 

Seobi noted in the last episode that she found that the worms don’t like water and extreme heat. She also thinks baby have some immunity and also noted that some people don’t turn into zombies right away even after being bitten by the type 2 zombies. 
 

So I hope we get more answers in season 3 about how the worms survived in the child emperor or was he cured but the worms reintroduce via poison? Also I hope they explain more in-depth re how our gang survived as they didn’t turn into immediate zombies after being bitten by type 2.

 

i hope this helps? 

 

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17 minutes ago, stella77 said:

Seobi noted in the last episode that she found that the worms don’t like water and extreme heat.

there is one part she actually noted that the worms thrive in extreme heat (the part about cooking the physician’s student).

 

having infected the baby.. i think its going to be gen3 kind of mutation.. perhaps like in aliens vs predators where he can turn into a zombie at will.. but still look like a human haha :w00t:

 

but we do catch a glimpse of his birth mom working inside the palace as the court lady.. also, the eunuch (is he?) with the child king, could have been a spy or someone from china who also knows the usage of the resurrection plant..

 

now, another round of anxious anticipation for season 3..

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Am watching it the 2nd time round - 1st time with English subs, 2nd time with C-subs, and will post after I am done.

 

Just a quick advice for those who are watching with English subs:

There are 2 versions of Netflix English subs, at least where I am at.

Do not watch with the English closed caption subs. These are inaccurate, and its inaccuracy was what prompted me to rewatch the same scenes with C-subs to confirm what is actually being said. 

Please watch using the subs without closed captions.

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@stella77

 

Thank you so much for that in depth explanation! Makes sense now.. at first I was so confused and thought this was a plot hole. 

Spoiler

I wonder if there will be more of an explanation on why our prince and the other heroes didn’t change right away after being bit or if this was just for dramatic purposes. I guess we’ll have to see in season 3.... can it come out already?? 

 

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@sadthe1st

 

Spoiler

Ohh good point —- oh wait re the extreme heat - if the worms like it then why was Seobi able to escape with a fire cloak? Or is the extreme heat applicable only to certain ones? I will rewatch tomorrow since I could have missed something in my shouting at the Tv. I agree that it may continue to mutate and yah it will be an interesting season 3. I have faith in this writer; she’s good!


@stellalafemme no problem! I was still thinking hard about it all. Thank goodness I didn’t have zombie nightmares since this season was amped up!

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3 hours ago, liddi said:

Do not watch with the English closed caption subs. These are inaccurate, and its inaccuracy was what prompted me to rewatch the same scenes with C-subs to confirm what is actually being said. 

Please watch using the subs without closed captions.

 

What are among the differences?

 

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9 hours ago, dzareth said:

 

What are among the differences?

 

@dzareth Some differences I remember are:

 

Spoiler

 

Ep4,  7:47 min mark   (Seo Bi analysing the behaviour of the zombies at the Frozen Valley):

[CC] The stream that saved us wasn't even that deep, but the plague victims were all willing to cross it

[non-CC] The stream wasn't even deep, but the plague victims couldn't even cross the shallow waters.

 

Ep5, 4:24min mark   (The Royal Training Commander's reveal as to the whereabouts of Yi Chang): 

[CC] What on earth is going on here?

[non-CC] Royal Training Commander.

 

[CC] The traitor, Prince Chang, and soldiers from the Military Training Corps are waiting for backup outside Hanyang and Yeonggi Academy.

[non-CC] The traitor, Chang, is waiting for backup troops at Yeonggi Academy...just outside of Hanyang with soldiers from the Military Training Corps.

 

Ep5, 5:39min mark  (After firing arrows from outside into Yeonggi Academy):

[CC] I heard their screams

[non-CC] I do not hear any screams.

 

 

 

 

Once I verified against C-subs that the non-CC version is accurate, I stuck with those.

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Wait... if the worms/virus still exist in the young King, then do the worms/virus still exist in the people that survived the ice lake. Weren't they all bitten? Including the Prince.  

 

Also, on a different topic... was that Kim Hye-Jun as Zombie Queen?

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@stella77 i think the worms dun like cold water (autumn/winter) but thrive in boiling water..

not sure how there could have worms left behind inside the baby but lets assume that there could have been eggs inside him (not just worms) that do not get purged out with water.. then as royalty.. i think the child prince would be bathed in hot water (not cold) which could have hatched the eggs inside a live human body and become a gen3 zombie..

of cos, thats only my assumption :)

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 This is my logics, is it right? :lol:

 

Spoiler

 

Eggs on flower fed to dead corpse ---> eggs goes to brain to mature into worms which then seize control of brain, awaken the corpse.  The corpse cannot feel pain, seek blood and human flesh.  I think because the worm wants to replicate and not die in its first host, these corpses become generation 1 (walking zombies):  essentially carriers of the worms looking to multiply.

(Seobi resurrected Minister Ahn, Minister Cho resurrected the dead person that he used to fight the Japanese)

 

Generation 1 (walking zombies with carrier worms) after biting the living, the worm is transferred through bite marks then go to brain.  Victims grow cold and die.  Victims turned cold because the worms like cold temperature and weather.  The worms can only die and end the cycle if the victims (hosts) are burned or head is severed.  Otherwise, I think worms just hibernate in the buried cold corpses.

(Minister Cho would have followed the same path as the Japanese soldiers who died if not treated by Seobin at Beom-Pal's insistence).  

 

These sick victims can be cured if interventions were made in time.

1) Since the worms don't like water, they will leave the victims/hosts if the sick is submerged in water before the worms reach the brain. 

(Minister Cho was cured in his bath, Prince Chang/Beom-Pal was cured after plunging in the lake)

2) Seobin thinks since newborns don't have a fully developed brain, the worms cannot fully create zombie like actions.  She believed she was able to submerge the hand/feet of the baby into water in time to expel the worms.  This is based on her opinion that it was generation 1 zombies that bit the babies so the prince should have been cured.  

 

Generation 1 zombies and the worms inside them, when cooked can multiply.   Seobi couldn't answer is why the worms thrive and multiply in heat.  

 

At the end of S2, we get to see the worms migrate toward prince's brain. Is he newly infected by those who backed Minister Cho?  Did they wait until he is older to infect him with the plant egss/flowers? 

 

 

 

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Netflix Kingdom Season 2: What happens onscreen and behind the scenes (no spoilers)

MARCH 13, 2020 By KWOK KAR PENG ASIAONE

Kingdom Season 2 has arrived!

So in the last episode of Season 1, Seo-bi (Bae Doona) realises that it wasn't the sun that kept the monsters away — it was the temperature. As the chill rises in Sangju, so do the undead.

20200313_k2.jpg PHOTO: Netflix

PLOT DEVELOPMENTS

(No spoilers ahead)

AsiaOne got a first look at episodes one to three of the new season and we were absolutely floored.

 

Season 1 ended on a cliffhanger and Season 2 picks up with an amazingly horrific and blood-curdling battle between the Crown Prince and the monsters. There are revelations aplenty in the first episode — hints were dropped in the first season — and episodes two and three will be equally gratifying for fans. Be warned, there are sacrifices, and some hearts might break with plenty of tears shed.

 

In brief, Lord Cho and his daughter, the Queen, sink deeper into the darkness in their devilish desire for power as their actions are unveiled. When the Crown Prince and Lord Cho finally come face to face, secrets spill.

 

The creators promise "the biggest battle yet" in the season two finale.

20200306_k7_a1_0.jpg PHOTO: Netflix

THE ZOMBIES

The series may be fronted by big names but Kingdom would be nothing without these growling monsters. Prior to filming for season one, the zombie family of actors went through several months of auditions and three months of training by choreographer Jeon Yeong, who perfected their undead movements.

 

Conditions on the set were also far from comfortable with the freezing winter weather and sprints through mountainous terrain. The executive producer (EP) of Kingdom Season 2, Kim Seong-hun, told AsiaOne during a recent video conference interview that there were two main types of zombies.

20200313_k1.jpg PHOTO: Netflix

"There were the A-grade zombies who had to wear pre-made skin patches and fake teeth, and each actor would need three to four hours (to dress for the role). And then there were the 'easier' zombies, who are seen in the way back of the screen, and their make-up took only minutes. We had hundreds of zombies in some scenes, so we can't take hours to prepare each of them. We would give them dark make-up and (draw) some veins," EP Kim said.

 

The action scenes in season two utilised more than 850 martial artists, 1,300 zombie actors, and 3,000 extras!

 

WILL THERE BE SEASON 3?

That's a closely guarded secret, unfortunately. Popular Korean actress Jun Ji-hyun took on a crucial role for the last episode (episode six) of Season 2, and there were rumours that her scenes continue into the opening episode of Season 3.

 

Her management agency did not confirm it, however, and Netflix has also kept mum about the possibility of a third season — the question was even banned during a video conference interview with local media last week. 

 

cr. Asiaone

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I like season 2 very much! I become the fan of Doona Bae after watching season 2! Seo-bi is my favorite role in this drama. Intelligent and brave! Other characters I like: Lee Chang, Ahn Hyeon, the role played by Park Byung-eun, he is so cool in season 2 and Yeong-shin jein.

 

I hope there will be season 3, I am very interested in Jun Ji-hyun's role! Her look back is so cool in the end season 2.  

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