All of Us Are Dead (2022)

Profile
Drama: All of Us Are Dead (지금 우리 학교는)
Network: Netflix
Episodes: 12
Release Date: January 28, 2022
Language: Korean
Country: South Korea

Plot: Hyosan High School becomes ground zero for a zombie outbreak and the kids fight their way to survive.

Main Cast
Park Ji Hu – Nam On Jo
Yoon Chang Young – Lee Cheong San
Park Lomon – Lee Suhyeok
Cho Yi Hyun – Choi Namra

Review
I love zombie movies/drama and I think South Korea has almost perfected this genre. This time, the setting is in a high school and the stories are about high school kids. What will they do (without adults or parents present)?

Out of all the kids in this drama (and there were a lot of characters), I liked Cheongsan and Suhyeok the most. Well, Cheongsan first, because he is the leader – he always thinks of what to do, he was brave and was willing to risk his life for his friends. Suhyeok was his more handsome and taller sidekick who follows him and helps him beat the bad guys. i really liked their friendship, but I was disappointed that when Cheongsan sacrificed himself, Suhyeok didn’t shed a tear or looked anguished for his friend.

I also didn’t like the girls. They were pretty much useless. Everything there were zombies, the girls were just mostly hiding behind the guys except for the latter episodes. Even Onjo as the female lead was very disappointing as she was portrayed as a damsel in distress, although I feel bad that she lost her best friend, father and potential boyfriend in the drama. I was hoping Cheongsan and Lomon wouldn’t end up with Onjo and Namra, and I was actually happy they really didn’t!!

We see different reactions from the kids when faced with this fight or die scenario. Some because the worst friend like Yumi, some didn’t want to let go and save their friends like Isak and Jimin, some were willing to sacrifice themselves for their friends. I particularly loved and shed tears for Joon Yeong (in the auditorium), Gyeong Su (in the broadcasting room) and Wujin (saved his sister).

We didn’t see a lot of parents in this drama, mostly just saw Onjo’s dad, Cheongsan’s mom, Jimin’s parents who risked their lives to save their children. I also cried when the kids saw what happened to their parents and the thought that they are now orphans.

I also thought there were a lot of unexplored or unsatisfactory stories in this drama. Let’s see:

1. Gwinam won’t f*ing die!! There’s no explanation why he is super strong and recovers fast other than needing to have a villain in the school.
2. Namra was useless as a halfbie. She just served as their radar to detect other zombies. She is supposed to have special strength like Gwinam but during zombie attacks she hides behind and do nothing except in the end.
3. There were a lot of unnecessary deaths like with Onjo’s dad (he didn’t have to lock himself in the tennis/badminton court), Cheongsan (he seemed like the main lead but killing him off was a big disappointment, and Wujin (he had to die so that there will be a sad story for him and his sister, like he they had to kill him when they’re almost free).
4. There were also characters who didn’t have to be in the drama like the pregnant girl who gave birth to a baby, Jae-ik who didn’t really do anything other than get the laptop, the assemblywoman who was mostly powerless and useless in the quarantine, the youtuber, the little girl who was crying.
5. There were potential issues that could have added depth to the story but the writer didn’t push through, like Nayeon, who didn’t have a chance to ask forgiveness from her friends before she got mercilessly killed by Gwinam. Gwinam fighting with Cheongsan just because he didn’t want to be caught murdering the principal. Eunji, who never got her revenge against Gwinam for the sexual harrassment, although her eating her coward friend was a little satisfying.
6. I don’t know if they were hoping for a season 2, but they didn’t explore what happened after the Hyosan bombing, other than the kids, gathering to mourn their friends, and meeting Namra on the rooftop. Maybe I was still hoping that Cheongsan is alive.
   

I still enjoyed this despite the dislikes. Better if they kept this at 8 or 10 eps. Not sure about the ending but I don’t really need a season 2.

Rating: 8/10

Advertisement

Happiness (2021)

Profile
Drama: Happiness (해피니스)
Network: tvN, TVING
Episodes: 12
Release Date: November 5 – December 11, 2021
Runtime: Friday & Saturday 22:40

Plot
The drama is about a new apartment that is locked down after a resident gets infected by a disease. Will the residents survive or will they succumb to the disease?

Main Cast
Han Hyo Joo – Yoon Sae Beom
Park Hyung Sik – Jung Yi Hyun
Jo Woo Jin – Han Tae Seok

Review
I love zombies! This time, they’re not called zombies but they have a mad person disease. They’re not exactly sure what makes the people infected, other than taking Next pills and biting other people.

The first episode made the show very interesting but the next couple of episodes were boring. I was watching them just walk around do nothing while on lockdown and then most good happenes in the last 10 minutes that will get you go hit “next episode”. The pace picks up after ep 8 and it’s just a wild ride from then on.

I like the main leads, Yihyun and Saebeom as a team, I think they complemented each other. Like Yihyun say, good cop, bad cop. I did like Yihyun more than Sae Beom, because Sae Beom was reckless and would have been infected earlier without Yihyun protecting her. I love that when one is down, the other is strong. Many times, they were able to fight off the infected people and the residents because they worked together. I also loved their friends to lovers story, although it took a long time for Sae Beom to realize her feelings for Yihyun, and I love that scene where she was able to calm him down and hugged him.

I cant decide who is the worse neighbor. Is it the doctor or the resident rep? I wish they got infected but i think jail is better punishment for them. They were so terrible, like an exaggerated version of all the possible evil in the world. One week lockdown and they went crazy, stealing food and water, even turning to murder. I mean, after 2 years of covid, I think humans are way better than how it was portrayed in the drama. There are more good people than bad people as we can see now with the pandemic still ongoing.

The drama is saying if you’re good you won’t suffer a terrible fate. Like the old couple who stayed at home, the siblings who supported each other, the son who realized the importance of family, and the wife who got cheated on. Too bad for 15th floor guy and cleaning lady, they didn’t deserve to die, but that’s also saying there are some collateral damage. They greedy ones got their own punishment — the lawyer lost his wife, the girl lost the money, and the serial killer who was killed.

Han Tae Seok had his own story, trying to find a cure and keeping Korea safe. I just wish he didn’t have to lie, he could have gotten cooperation if he had been more honest. I also wasn’t sure if he’s good guy or not, but I understand he had to do what he did to save the world.

The ending felt rushed. There was no explanation what happened one year later. Did they find the cure? Why did Sae Beom had the antibodies? Who else had them?

Rating: 8.5/10