Zombieverse: New Blood (2024)

Expectations were high, but disappointments are higher

*Disclaimer: These are just just my opinions, and if I say anything that seem like I'm hating, I'm only saying it
from my objective point of view.

I think Zombieverse season 1 was a success, and the staff should've known what the strengths of season 1 are. But instead of doing that, they said fuck all and made the show into complete bullshitry. The first thing they should have done is create a solid and intriguing storyline for this sequel. Season 1's storyline was progressive, realistic and above all felt "natural" -- remember this word as it becomes a recurring thing in this sequel.

Throughout season 1 the cast were moving forward in a direction that made sense in order to escape the zombies and survive. In season 2 we are introduced to a handful of new cast and how they meet the original cast; ultimately sharing a goal of helping humanity cure the undead. But in that quest of saving humanity, the staff somehow write a storyline that feels like nonsense for the most part.
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I'll discuss points throughout season 2 in this section:
- The introduction to the sequel was good, new cast members were introduced as evacuees in Jeju Island and face problems because the facility has been infiltrated with zombies.
- Dindin and Tsuki should've not been reintroduced in this point of the story. They should've been reintroduced later on when they were trying to leave Jeju. Imagine them being the presence that could've saved the evacuees as they could've been reintroduced on the boat that they boarded last season -- this creates a sense of continuity from the previous season. It could've been a delightful surprise to the viewers and would have been more impactful than having them be part of the initial evacuees.
- The challenges from the Jeju facility were decent. It's essentially a tutorial for the new cast and I don't mind that.
- But it would've been nicer if Dex and Lee Si Young showed up later in the facility. After the tutorial phase, the new cast should've faced a challenge that was practically impossible to complete, that's when Dex and Lee Si Young should have been reintroduced -- in a dramatic way.
- After being saved by Dex and Lee Si Young, they still gather at their hideout. After that, the staff should've made a boat escape instead of a helicopter ride. The team would make a critical mistake in trying to find the rescue boat but then Dindin and Tsuki arrive in their fish boat coincidentally to save the remaining survivors.
- After this the cast go to Yangyang, and this is where all fucks are thrown out the window. I don't mind them introducing special zombies that inherit their attitude before becoming undead. But the main problem here is how the staff essentially created games that required a survivor the be sacrificed. The natural and somewhat realistic aspect of the show ended quite literally. Things felt forced and the show completely turned for the worse.
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Fixing things from this point on would prove to be harder compared to the start. So I'll talk about things that they did wrong or what could've they done instead.

- Forced challenges or games: this was the worst, why create challenges that felt entirely like games. How can the viewers get immersed in the show if the show itself is making it look like things are fake. Eliminations felt unnatural unlike season 1 where survivors who died were killed due to their actual circumstances.
- they didn't utilize and capitalize on the strengths of season 1: everyone knew that at the end of season 1 the main characters were Dex and and Lee Si Young. They displayed heroic feats and amazing leadership in season 1, but in season 2, Dex, despite trying his best, took a backseat wherein his action scenes were few and far in between -- they should've purposefully created scenes that would make him feel more important just like in the prequel. Lee Si Young was relegated as Hong Chul's babysitter -- as the "badass woman" why wouldn't they make her more involved. She was still leading a lot, but not as much as the sequel. The comedic part of season 1 was also a strong point but mainly due to the constant bickering some of the cast had with each other. But in season 2, it felt like the cast that were asked to bicker with each other was trying to do too much and the balance was way off. Actually, the balance of comedy in the whole show was off; this show has turned into a complete clown fiesta.

Finally I'll just talk about the cast:
From the original cast:
- Dex and Lee Si Young did good but the spotlight should've been more on them.
- Dindin did quite well
- Tsuki and Patricia did good but it made no sense that they were eliminated super early for bs reasons.
- Hong Chul - he was supposed to be one of the best, but the things the staff asked him to do were nonsense. even his damn "death" was stupid.

From the new cast:
- Chef Rush did good, I think it's only right that he was eliminated early. Though I think the challenge they prepared for him as a zombie was bs.
Defconn - honestly, he was ruining the cast team dynamic for me. He wasn't needed in the show.
Taeyeon - I liked her, a character needing extra care is always needed in these kind of shows.
Code Kunst - He was reliable and I liked him. But I feel like he was lacking personality in this show.
Se Ho - He was a gread addition to the cast. He provided great comedic scenes but he desperately needed a comedic partner that could keep up with him.
Sungjae - he was the best out of the new members. he was reliable and funny. It made no sense that they killed him off.
Eunbi - I'm a fan of Eunbi but she totally ruined it for me. Her acting sucked and throughout the show she didn't feel immersed. The staff probably wanted to get Dex and Eunbi chemistry in the show, but nothing of that type happened. Her character honestly felt unnecessary in the show.

People they could've gotten instead:
Hong Jin Kyung - very funny and I could see the chemistry between her and Se Ho
Yang Se Chan/ Jeong Jun Ha - both are funny and would change the dynamics a lot. this was a hard choice because Hong Chul in season 1 was perfect for this role.
Key - having him would make Taeyeon more active. He also reacts quite well.

The final lineup:
- Dex: leader, main character
- Lee Si Young: leader, main character
- Dindin: experienced survivor maybe plotting betrayal
- Tsuki: little sister
- Patricia: little sister
- Hong Chul: funny semi-antagonist
- Se Ho: comedy veteran
- Sungjae: clumsy, funny, but also reliable
- Taeyeon: damsel in distress
- Key: high maintenance character
- Hong Jin Kyung: comedy veteran, Park Na Rae replacement
- Yang Se Chan/ Jeong Jun Ha: comedy veteran, always arguing and maybe plotting betrayal
- Code Kunst: unexpectedly reliable
- Chef Rush: wild card

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Wasted potential

Let me preface by saying that I love the zombie genre so I will pretty much watch anything with zombies in it. I think it's the thrill of the chase and the simple survival theme that makes it fun and exciting which is why this show was so disappointing. It felt too contrived and scripted and the stupid mission games disrupted the sense of urgency that comes with the zombie genre. I had mixed reactions with Season 1 too, but this season was far worse. I wish they had made this show more like the zombie episodes in The Great Escape which was done so well. In the Great Escape, you can feel the cast member's fear and urgency to survive. There was a narrative and clues that helped them figure out what to do on their own so it felt more genuine. I get that this is more of a scripted show, but there's a way to do it more naturally. The script was so obvious and jarring like a slap in the face. I don't mind that the acting is bad and the cast are laughing at the silly acting as it is funny at times, but to make every scenario predictable and forced just dulls things. Where's the thrill and fun in that?

DISLIKES:
1) The stupid mission games - if you are going to go in this direction, at least make the games exciting. Most of them were so lame esp the curling game. so boring and felt so out of place.
2) Too many cast members. S1 had it's issues, but the cast chemistry was good. You should have capitalized on that esp with fan favorites like Dex and Siyoung. But in S2, by introducing too many new members, less time is given to each so nobody can really show anything.
3) Too much screen time given to the Extras. I really didn't need to watch the twin athletes showing their stunt moves or the annoying ajumma trying desperately to get the cast to do what the staff wanted for the script.
4) The lack of urgency. There were too many times where it felt like the zombies or even the cast members were just "waiting" for their turn. Like you knew the zombies wouldn't bite key members and were just "waiting" for the extras or the less popular members or waiting for their cue from the staff to kill or be killed. Like the whole ending bit on the bridge was so dumb. They were basically waiting for their cue to "fall" off the bridge.
5) The split teams - by having the teams split up, the story didn't feel cohesive

LIKES:
1) DEX - I just love this guy. Huge fan. I find him so entertaining, but he did not get to showcase his coolness in this season although his hurtle jumps were impressive lol
2) Si Young - I love her. I love how tough she is. I love her bulldozer ways. and I love her relationship with hong chul
3) Din Din and Hong Chul - I think both of them are needed in this show. Both are quick witted, sly, and have leadership that helps move the story forward.
4) Sae Ho - I normally don't find him funny, but his bad acting was hilarious here
5) Sung Jae and Code Kunst - I liked the hint of Sungjae's bromance with Dex and I liked Kunst's surprising athleticism at the end, but don't think it was enough

I hope the PDs rethink their direction for this show because it could be really great. I think if they can capture what the Great Escape did with their zombie episodes, they'd have a hit show on their hands. Sorely disappointed the potential was wasted.

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Watch To Reduce Your Survivability Skills

This is a sequel to the Zombieverse, with returning characters from the storyline. However it is getting sloppy and terrible with the scripting, that the writer needs to relearn how to write creative writing for scripted series. And do not compare this with The Great Escape, they are totally from a different set of crew and broadcaster. At least compare with The Zone: Survival Mission, since every episode is made into a survival game match, and that iconic cheap highlighting UI across every element. Nonsensical drone shot out of no way at times, that doesn't highlight anything. Zombieverse series wasn't exceptionally great in the first one, but it is still better than this second season. Characters in this season, tend to become much more dumber and lack cognitive thinking during situation. It was pure screaming, shocked, awe, and stupid zooming in.

The plot could have been planned better, if there was already decision for this to be spread across two seasons. No point to have them escaping from Seoul, then going over to Jeju Island only to get back to Seoul again. It is already mentioned that the state of Seoul is under lockdown and everyone have to escape to the island. It is great that you want to have another set of team entering, as though there are multiple similar survivals that escaped from Seoul. However don't create a situation where both teams have a disparity in their decision making, it just make the whole story sloppy.

When you have terrible cast such as Defconn and Siyoung in the team, who basically doesn't do much than to create senseless decisions. It is conflicting if the whole team have had grudges with Hong Chul already in the first season, then the whole team goes the whole turn of getting remorseful over their death? Didn't one of the NPC also have emphasised on your decision whether to kill them if you had the chance, this should have been a good judgemental point on where the team wants to lead. Other minor roles, such as Sae Ho, Eun Bi, Seon Tae, can be kept as guest NPC in single episodic role, but not as a full character. Good partners that can be kept, are DinDin and Tsuki, DEX and Code Kunst, Patricia and Jonathan. These are the ones that keeps the show entertaining.

And what is with that last episode of revival, I rather it be that characters come and go as their adventure continues. If you had the antidote, would you rather save or duplicate for mass manufacturing to cure the country? And now that they have Hong Chul's blood in them, do the revived have an immune towards zombies? You had to go through that swaying bridge battle, when you could have just disconnected the bridge? This is the same as boarding the train scene.

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A flawed Sequel

Zombieverse: New Blood (ZNB) is a continuation of last year's Zombieverse. Picking up from the open-ended Season 1 finale, the remaining survivors - Dex, Lee Si Young, Din Din, Tsuki and Patricia managed to escape teh zombie-infested Seoul.

ZNB introduced a fresh batch of cast members to the apocalyptic chaos: Taeyeon (SNSD), Sungjae (BTOB), Jo Se Ho, Defconn, Code Kunst, Kwon Eun Bi, Kim Seon Tae and Chef Andre.

However, the show's format takes a significant departure from its predecessor. Instead of the gripping narrative of survival and escape, ZNB adopts a more game-like approach, with quests like subduing zombies, rescuing stranded members, and battling the undead in a gymnasium.

This shift in focus dilutes the intensity and character development. While Season 1 highlighted Dex's resourcefulness and his physical capabilities, ZNB struggles to give him significant screen time. Sungjae shows promise, but his character arc feels rushed. In contrast, Code Kunst shines throughout the series, demonstrating bravery, impressive problem-solving skills, physical abilities and composure.

The large cast size also present challenges. Some members, seemingly added for comedic relief, undermine the show's survivalist premise. Moreover, a member only appeared in the show for 1 episode raises questions about the initial purpose of such a large ensemble.

While ZNB may appeal to fans of Code Kunst, it falls short of the gripping narrative and character-driven storytelling of its predecessor.

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