Warning: Spoilers ahead for Sweet Home.
All of Us Are Deadcan learn a lot from the mistakes made bySweet Homeseason 2, which failed to live up to the monster K-drama’s successful debut. It’s difficult not to compareAll of Us Are DeadtoSweet Homegiven how they’re both Netflix original K-drama webseries about a group of characters trying to make it through a monster apocalypse.Sweet Homepremiered in December 2020 and returned with a second season three years later, whereasAll of Us Are Deaddebuted in January 2022 and has yet to return for season 2.
Despite being one of the most popularK-dramas on Netflix,Sweet Homestruggled to recapture the quality of season 1. After three years with very few updates on theK-drama starring Song Kang,Sweet Homereturned for season 2 as an almost entirely different show.All of Us Are Dead’s journey has so far mirroredSweet Home’s in a lot of ways, including the fact they were both renewed for new seasons despite covering their respective webtoons in season 1. I hopeAll of Us Are Deadwill avoid the mistakes that played against Netflix’s previous horror K-drama hit.
10 Best K-Dramas To Watch While Waiting For All Of Us Are Dead Season 2
With a lot of time to spare before All of Us Are Dead season 2, there are many K-dramas to watch while waiting for the show’s big return.
Sweet Home’s Time Skip Was Controversial
WhileSweet Home’s time skip was very controversial,All of Us Are Deadseason 2 could benefit from something similar. The problem withSweet Homeseason 2 was not the time skip itself but rather how the show used it, meaning thatAll of Us Are Deadjumping a few months or even years in time would not necessarily be a bad thing. In fact, considering just how long it has been since the zombie K-drama premiered, it would make sense to acknowledge the passing of time in the story.
All of Us Are Dead season 2 has yet to officially enter production.
All of Us Are Deadincluded a small time jump at the end of season 1, after which the characters were cleared to walk around the quarantine camp. Still, having a time skip of at least one year would be a great way forAll of Us Are Deadto set up future stories. The surviving characters are relatively fine and safe at the end of season 1 thanks to the sacrifices made by their friends, including Cheong-san. A time skip would help these sacrifices hit harder, especiallyif Cheong-san ends up returning.
Sweet Home Season 2 All But Ignored Hyun-su
One of the biggest problems withSweet Homeseason 2 is that it moved away from the show’s main characters. To put things in perspective,Song Kang’s Cha Hyun-su missed most of the second half of the seasonafter being defeated by Ui-myeong. While it made sense to separate Hyun-su from the rest of the group for a while,Sweet Home 2completely ignored Hyun-su during three of its eight episodes. Hyun-su was not the only characterSweet Home“forgot” in season 2, with most of the Green Home survivors having a smaller role.
For example,Park Gyu-young’s Ji-sudied in episode 3 and never returned, not even in flashbacks or visions.Sweet Homeseason 2 brought in several new characters, especially after the time skip, most of which were living at the stadium.I expectAll of Us Are Dead 2to introduce new charactersas well, but the zombie series must not lose track of who its protagonists are. AlthoughAll of Us Are Deadhas an ensemble cast, its main characters are On-jo, Su-hyeok, Nam-ra, and Cheong-san, the last of which may or may not be dead.
Sweet Home Struggled To Make Us Care About The New Characters
The easiest way forAll of Us Are Deadto avoidSweet Home’s new castproblem is to make us care enough about whoever new characters are introduced in the second season. InSweet Home, apart from the fact they were all living in the same place, there was no connection between the new characters and the original ones. Even the ones that did exist – such as Eun-yu’s history with Ye-seul – were established offscreen during the time skip. This is a mistake thatAll of Us Are Deadmust avoid.
The quarantine camp where the survivors were taken is a good way of introducing new characters who may have had very different experiences from the Hyosan High kids.Other potential new characters inAll of Us Are Deadare the hambies Nam-ra encounteredin the wreckages of Hyosan, whom I assume will play an important role in the upcoming season. If the season 1 characters continue to be the focus,All of Us Are Deadshould have no problem introducing new friends and foes.
The Main Characters Should Always Be The Underdogs
AlthoughSweet Homeseason 1’s story included the military and their role in what was happening, season 2 focused way too much on the soldiers. One of the reasons whySweet Home’s first season was so good was seeing a group of regular people – some of whom had just met each other – having to work together to survive in the middle of a monster apocalypse. By introducing a group of experienced, highly trained soldiers in season 2, the show lost some of its magic. Hopefully,All of Us Are Deadwon’t repeat this mistake.
All of Us Are Deadshould continue focusing on the kids and their fight against all odds to survive.
The point ofAll of Us Are Deadwas that the students would have to save themselvesafter realizing that help was not coming. Between the difficult logistics and the discovery of asymptomatic zombies, the military decided not to rescue the Hyosan High survivors. The commander in charge also decided to bombard the city to contain the outbreak.All of Us Are Deadshould continue focusing on the kids and their fight against all odds to survive.
This Underrated K-Drama From 2 Years Ago Is Perfect To Watch While Waiting For All Of Us Are Dead Season 2
Korean actress Park Ji-hu shows her acting skills in All of Us Are Dead, but she really shines in the 2022 Netflix mystery K-drama Little Women.
Sweet Home Season 2 Wasn’t A Complete Story
Sweet Homewas renewed for two more seasons shortly after its debut on Netflix, confirming how successful the K-drama had been for the streamer. Seasons 2 and 3 ofSweet Homewere filmed back-to-back, which is part of the reason why the show took so long to return. While having two additional seasons ofSweet Homewas exciting,the second chapter of the Song Kang K-drama felt like an incomplete story.Sweet Home 2dedicated a lot of time to introducing characters and concepts that would only come into play in season 3.
For example, Ui-myeong’s true identity was teased throughout season 2, but it was only discovered by the other characters in season 3. Likewise, Sargeant Taki’s secret was built up to be a major part of the story but was only really important in season 3. The same thing applies to Chief Ji’s secret inSweet Home.
Jeon Bae-soo
Nam So-ju
Considering how longAll of Us Are Deadseason 2 is taking, plus the fact that season 1 was quite successful, I would not be surprised if the zombie show also ends up renewed for a third season. Netflix has used a similar strategy not only withSweet Homebut also withSquid Game. That said, even ifAll of Us Are Deadseason 3 is being planned or considered, I hope that season 2 is satisfying on its own instead of being just an extended trailer for another chapter.
Sweet Home’s Main Trio Only Reunited In Season 3
In addition to sidelining some of its main characters in season 2,Sweet Homealso separated them. For example,Cha Hyun-su only reunited with Eun-yu in season 2, episode 7,having spent all previous episodes away from his friends. Likewise, Yi-kyung spent most of season 2 on a solo journey that only intersected with Hyun-su’s story in flashbacks and at the finale. That’s not to mention the characters who were killed off or whose fates were unclear such asLee Do-hyun’s Eun-hyeok.
While saving Eun-hyeok’s return for season 3 made sense, I was disappointed with how little time the remaining Green Home residents spent together after season 1. This is why I hopeAll of Us Are Deadseason 2 doesn’t separate its main characters too often or for too long.All of Us Are Deaddoes have the advantage of having a larger set of main characters – at least four names can be described as protagonists – whereasSweet Homerevolved primarily around Cha Hyun-su.
Regardless of the new characters or the lack of Hyun-su, the main problem withSweet Homeseason 2 is that it felt like a different show in terms of tone. Rather than a survival horror series set mainly in just one location,Sweet Home 2was a large-scale story featuring different factions and organizations.There’s a tonal whiplash going from the first to the second season ofSweet Home, even though the stadium was supposed to be the new Greem Home.
All of Us Are Deadfaces a similar challenge given that Hyosan High was destroyed at the end of season 1. Without the school, it may be difficult to replicate the tone of season 1, which doesn’t meanAll of Us Are Deadshould now be a radically different show like what happened toSweet Home. That’s not to sayAll of Us Are Deadshouldn’t try something new for season 2, only that the show shouldn’t abandon its identity.
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
Sweet Home follows the story of Hyun-soo, a reclusive high school student who moves into the Green Home apartment complex after losing his family. When a mysterious epidemic turns people into monstrous creatures, Hyun-soo and the residents of Green Home must band together to survive, confronting their inner demons and the horrifying threats outside.
