Warning: Spoilers ahead for Sweet Home season 3!
Summary
After watchingSweet Home’s third and final season, I really hope that one ofAll Of Us Are Dead’s best characters faces the same major problem as Song Kang’s Cha Hyun-su.Sweet HomeandAll of Us Are Deadare two ofNetflix’s best K-dramasand have found resounding success on the streaming platform thanks to their deftly written scripts and intense storylines. As horror K-dramas, they share a lot of similar themes, ideas, and characters. However, I hope that their similarities don’t also come with their mistakes.
Despite airing two years ago,All of Us Are Deadhas been confirmed to have a season 2. Although there was speculation that it would finally return this year,Netflix’s 2024 K-drama slate was bad news forAll of Us Are Deadfans as the series was noticeably absent from the schedule. Thankfully,Sweet Homeseason 3 was able to fill in the gap. The conclusion of its monsters versus humans story places Cha Hyun-su front and center once again while also hinting at the fate of one ofAll of Us Are Dead’s leading characters.
8 Harsh Realities Of Rewatching All Of Us Are Dead Ahead Of Season 2
Rewatching Netflix’s All of Us Are Dead ahead of season 2’s release reveals some harsh truths about the zombie K-drama that became a global hit.
They Are Both Half-Human
Sweet Home’s Cha Hyun-su andAll of Us Are Dead’s Choi Nam-ra (Cho Yi-hyun) are alike in many ways. Both characters become infected with the virus of their respective universes and are shunned by their peers due to the exposure of their symptoms. However,Hyun-su and Nam-ra do not evolve in the same way that the normal laws of their universes dictate, leading them both to become something entirely new and unseen, which greatly impacts the future of their stories.
Cha Hyun-su is able to control the monster infection and become one ofSweet Home’s special infectees, who are humans infected with the monsterization virus but can control their instincts and stop themselves from fully turning. Similarly, Choi Nam-ra becomes a “hambie” after being bitten by Yoon Gwi-nam (Yoo In-soo). Though she does possess the desire to eat flesh, she is able to control her instincts and retain human consciousness. She also develops a series of enhanced abilities that make her a powerful foe, much likeSweet Home’s Hyun-su.
A “hambie” or a “half-bie” is the name given to characters like Choi Nam-ra, who are half human and half zombie.
Despite not fully succumbing to their infections,Hyun-su and Nam-ra struggle to find a balance.Sweet Homeseason 3 sees Hyun-su’s monster side take more prominence, while Nam-ra chooses to isolate herself inAll of Us Are Deadafter she struggles to control her impulses. Plus, both characters' newfound states play a crucial part in defeating their show’s antagonists while also helping to protect their friends. Despite his importance, I can’t help but feel likeSweet Homemakes a big mistake with Cha Hyun-su that could be detrimental to Nam-ra ifAll of Us Are Deadseason 2 repeats it.
All Of Us Are Dead
Cast
All of Us Are Dead is a South Korean series that centers on a high school overrun by a zombie virus outbreak. The students, facing an unprecedented crisis, must navigate survival while combating the threat of becoming part of the undead horde.
Sweet Home Took Too Much Focus Away From Cha Hyun-su
His Storyline Could Have Been Even More Interesting
Song Kang’s Cha Hyun-su is no doubt the face ofSweet Home. Yet,Hyun-su is mostly absent fromSweet Home’s second season. This was a controversial move that sawSweet Home’snew characters take center stage as opposed to the original survivors of season 1’s Green Home. As a result,Sweet Homeseason 2 is entirely different from season 1. Although I appreciate the thought behind it, the time skip and the absence of Cha Hyun-su were bold choices that resulted inSweet Homeseason 2 not panning out as well as I had hoped.
Sweet Home 2’s mistake proved to be fatal and could never be recovered, even with Hyun-su’s additional screen time.
WhileSweet Home 3solved Hyun-su’s screen time issue, a plethora of leftover storylines from season 2 meant that Hyun-su’s storyline was criminally underexplored, in my opinion. There was a lot of potential with his monster side being prominent in this season that could have added a lot of sorely missed action to the series. Plus, it would have been great to have seen this new side to Song Kang’s acting too, as he excelled at showing the contrast between Hyun-su’s different sides. However,Sweet Home 2’s mistake proved to be fatal and could never be recovered, even with Hyun-su’s additional screen time.
10 Best K-Dramas To Watch After Sweet Home
Sweet Home’s third and final season draws Cha Hyun-su’s story to a close, but there are plenty of other K-dramas that match its unique appeal.
She Is The Key To The Introduction of New Hambies
IfAll of Us Are Deaddoesn’t want to repeatSweet Home’s biggest mistake, then I think they really need to put a lot of focus on Nam-ra in its upcoming season.The existence of hambies adds a lot more complexity to the world ofAll of Us Are Dead, much like the special infectees ofSweet Home,and sets itself up for a great potential storyline in season 2. However, this storyline could only succeed if Nam-ra is at the helm.
Nam-ra isn’t the only hambie inAll of Us Are Dead. Gwi-nam and Min Eun-ji (Oh Hye-soo) are currently the only two confirmed hambies in thezombie K-drama, and there is always the potential of there being more. They add much-needed complexities to the show and make the character’s unique situations all the more interesting, especially as Gwi-nam and Eun-ji are morally complex characters. This makes Nam-ra an even more important character, as she is the most sympathetic, and her newfound sense of belonging is key to the introduction of new hambies that are likely to be prominent in season 2.
The existence of hambies inAll of Us Are Deadalso allows the show to bring back fan-favorite characters from the dead, just asSweet Homedid with Lee Eun-hyeok (Lee Do-hyun). A popular fan theory suggests that Lee Cheong-san (Yoon Chan-young) turned into a hambie just before he died, which allowed him to survive his death in the same way as Sweet Home’s Lee Eun-hyeok did. This could make for another exciting storyline inAll of Us Are Deadseason 2.
As All of Us Are Deadhas almost covered all of its source material, it will most likely follow inSweet Home’s footsteps and make its second season very different from its first, expanding its universe outside the confines of the school. I believe this is the right direction forAll of Us Are Deadto move forward as it has already proven it can make positive changes to its source material. However, if it neglects Nam-ra and the hambies just likeSweet Homedid with Hyun-su and the special infectees, then it will be detrimental to the series' potential.
