Who else got “Kingdom” withdrawal after bingeing the second season when it came out last year?
ICYDK, the series is a wildly inventive take on the zombie apocalypse genre. It’s a rare mix of zombie horror and period drama—it’s set during Korea’s Joseon era—which on paper sounds like the worst combination but surprisingly works really well. It’s due in no small part to the strong characters that make up the show.
One of these characters will now be getting her own special episode, too. Releasing on July 23 on Netflix, “Kingdom: Ashin of the North” will take a closer look at Ashin (played by Jun Ji-hyun), a mysterious figure who made her debut appearance in the show’s second season. It was one hell of an introduction, too, with her wordlessly appearing in a sea of gore in the season finale’s last seconds. That ominous last frame showing her smirking to the camera? We didn’t even get her name yet and already I got the chills and knew she was going to be a big player in the next seasons.
The special will be pulling the veil on the mystery surrounding her, it seems. It’ll show her backstory, as well as the origins of the resurrection plant—I won’t be giving any spoilers, but this plant kinda sorta triggered the whole zombie plague that the series is dealing with.
If you’re curious, the teaser trailer of the special just dropped. Here’s Netflix’s summary of it: “We see young Ashin (the kid version of her is played by Kim Si-a) tell her father about discovering information regarding a strange plant that can bring a dead person back to life. Concerned about Ashin, her father warns her against searching for it. However, Ashin cannot be dissuaded due to her mother’s serious illness. Ashin returns to the forest searching for the resurrection plant when she hears the screams of many people. Lastly, Ashin voices her wishes for ‘them to shed tears of blood’ which foreshadows an exciting tale of vengeance.”
I don’t know about you, but I’m mighty excited.
Photo courtesy of Netflix
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