Summary
There’s an exciting pace to Hellbound that reels the audience in from the first minute.
This recap of Netflix K-Drama series Hellbound season 1, episode 1 contains spoilers.
Netflix is enjoying their binge-model K-Drama series releases, but after Squid Game, they must be wondering how else they can take over the world with addictive television.
Hellbound could well have a chance to be the next addictive drama. Let’s see.
Hellbound season 1, episode 1 recap
Episode 1 opens with a few people watching a video in a cafe. In the video, Jung Jinsu claims that angels arrive and bound people to Hell, and then he shows a video of monsters terrorizing a community. A man nearby seems nervous as he notices the time (1:20 pm). There’s a disturbance in the city, and three giant monsters (presumably the prophecized angels) enter the cafe and chase after the man. Eventually, they grab him and smash him against a few vehicles. The man is shredded apart until his death before all three monsters perform a ritual in unison to reduce him to ashes before all disappearing.
This is an explosive, violent start to reel audiences in.
At the police station, investigators discuss the incident as they have plenty of video evidence. Detective Kyunghun appears interested in a video by Jung Jinsu called ” The New Truth”, but his superior tells him to get off his phone. However, once his superior stops giving out orders, he tells Kyunghun to look into “The New Truth.” Apparently, ” The New Truth” is God’s work to bring those to Hell who deserve it. Kyunghun tells his colleague it does not matter if they are good or bad, they need to be brought to justice.
Kyunghun checks out the crime scene, but there’s not a lot of evidence apart from bloodstains. Nearby, Jung Jinsu presents the prophecy to an audience, showing videos of criminals facing the consequences for their sins. He states it is God’s work, showing us what Hell is like. He believes it’s a sign to show we should be more righteous.
Kyunghun and his colleague talk to Jung Jinsu regarding the murder case. He laughs, feeling it strange that they are investigating God’s deeds. However, Kyunghun gets distracted after seeing his daughter Heejung nearby and wonders why she’s in the city. She knows Jung Jinsu and helps out his cause, which irks her father. Jung Jinsu tells Kyunghun that he’ll make sure his daughter does not volunteer moving forward. It’s clear as Kyunghun and his colleague spend more time with Jung Jinsu that he’s well-respected.
Jung Jinsu tells them that he planned to take his life a long time ago in Tibet, where vultures devour dead bodies. Flashbacks show that’s where he saw the monsters. Since then, he traveled the world, looking for traces of God. In the present, Jung Jinsu regrets how people claim that “The New Truth” is linked to deadly influencer Arrowhead. Kyunghun is skeptical about Jung Jinsu’s theories. But then, Jung Jinsu offers Kyunghun condolences about his deceased wife and wonder if the murderer was shown true justice. Later in the night, Jung Jinsu’s knowledge of his wife plays on his mind.
We see flashbacks of that fateful day, and Kyunghun was understandably distraught to learn his wife had been murdered. A dark day for the character. The murderer only got a light sentence for a murder crime. The culprit was released from prison after six years.
Hellbound season 1, episode 1, then flits to Park Jungja, who arrives home to her children who wish her happy birthday, but then, a spirit appears and tells her she has five days left until she’s hellbound. The episode flits to the Arrowhead; they believe they are doing God’s work and attack those they feel have done wrong in society; they influence young adults to hurt others and put it on a live feed.
The following day, with Arrowhead influencing children to attack a teacher, Kyunghun meets the victim and his lawyer Min Hyejin for questioning. The children are minors, so they cannot be prosecuted. The children are arrogant and ask if they think they know more about Hell than them.
The ending
Lawyer Min Hyejin returns to her workplace. Park Jungja meets her and tells her she is bound for Hell, which causes confusion with colleagues. The moment when the spirit told her she was bound to help was recorded. Park Jungja explains that “The New Truth” sent her a decree, and Jun Jinsu would like to do a live broadcast when she goes to Hell.
What an explosive start to Hellbound.
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