One of My Favorites

I'd heard a lot about this drama and it had been on my radar for quite a while. I loved every minute of each episode I watched. I loved seeing all the characters grow in their own way. In the first episode Mun-Yeong was cold and emotionless and seemingly didn't care about anything. In truth she was sad and lonely and suffered from a lot of darkness.

But as the series went on, she began to show her true self and in the end was able to break free from the darkness. Seo Ye-Ji gave a great performance as Mun-Yeong.

Kim Soo Hyun, one of my favorite actors also gave a wonderful performance as Gang-Tae. Gang-Tae was a young man who had spent all his time running away along with his brother Sang-Tae. He'd always prioritized his brother and shut himself out to feeling anything for anyone else. I loved seeing him let his walls down as the series went on and he realized he didn't need to live for Sang-Tae and finally started living for himself. He realized that he belonged to himself. I also loved how his relationship with Mun-Yeong grew.

I also loved Sang-Tae. Though he was autistic, he still showed he cared for and loved those around him. He protected Gang-Tae and Mun-Yeong when he needed to and I was so proud when he stopped being afraid of the things from his past and found his true calling in the end.

Another thing I loved was the implementation of Mun-Yeong's stories in the episodes. I loved seeing the illustrations and thought they were a cute touch.

The supporting cast was also wonderful. Each of them all grew in their own ways.

Perhaps my favorite thing about this drama was its theme of family. Gang-Tae and Sang-Tae had lost their mom (which Sang-Tae was witness to seeing resulting in his trauma) and Mun-Yeong had suffered her own trauma as a result of her upbringing. But the three of them were able to overcome those traumas and become their own family.

This was a show about healing and letting go of the past and learning that it's ok to not be ok.

I loved this drama and would definitely would watch it again. Definitely one of my favorites.

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My first dive into Korean zombies

I'm normally not one to watch anything related to zombies, mostly because it's usually the same thing over and over. When I first heard about this drama, it piqued my interest. Mainly because I love K-dramas and historical K-Dramas. No other zombie show or movie I've seen has done this. Usually all western zombie shows and movies are done in the present day, whereas this one is in ancient times technology hasn't advanced, there's less guns, and it makes me wonder what a period zombie show would be like.

The characters are interesting. I don't know who to trust or who's good and who isn't. The Crown Prince is someone who I fear for. I always worry he's gonna die if not at the hands of the zombies, then at the hands of the Cho clan. He's trying to do the right thing while keeping himself and the people alive. While I don't agree with certain things he's done, he's still trying to stay alive.

I also like the zombie origin in this: they come back to life from the essence of a plant. It's different from usual zombie origins.

South Korea does not play around with zombies. I've learned that from seeing Kingdom and other Korean films about zombies.

All in all, this is a great show and I can't wait for the next season.

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Amazing Zombie Drama

I usually don't watch things related to zombies, mainly because it's been done so many times and it's usually all the same. But Kingdom is a completely different story. It has so much action and suspense and also the elements you'd expect in a historical drama. There was just as much political intrigue and backstabbing as you'd see in a historical K-drama. But it's interwoven nicely alongside the zombie storyline.

Watching this, I didn't know who to trust or who was good or bad. I worried about who would die and who would survive. All the characters are well written, the story and world-building is amazing. I can't wait for the follow-up episode and see where it goes from there.

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