Summary
The kids launch a surveillance mission while a cliffhanger changes things significantly.
This recap of All of Us Are Dead season 1, episode 5 contains spoilers.
With martial law having been declared throughout Hyosan, a distinct us versus them mentality is beginning to emerge. Helicopters are circling outside, but haven’t even attempted to pick up the students, who decide — probably correctly — that they aren’t important enough to prioritize. The kids have been left to their own devices for much of the season, and that doesn’t look to be changing anytime soon. Perhaps it’s the point.
All of Us Are Dead season 1, episode 5 recap
Gwi-nam’s knife bounced harmlessly off Cheong-san’s back, undermining the previous episode’s cliffhanger, so this one finds him still on the run, being pursued by the bully for the phone. The chase takes them into the library, where after a fun free-running session atop the bookshelves finds them wrestling over the phone. Eventually, a desperate Cheong-san stabs Gwi-nam in the eye with it, and he falls to the floor, immediately getting set upon by the many infected below. Cheong-san’s escape attempt, though, is stifled by the bookcases toppling over, and he finds himself temporarily trapped beneath them. Eventually, he’s able to make it out by the skin of his teeth but only finds himself in corridors that are equally infested by the undead. Out of options, he makes his way into the building’s pipework, climbing high enough to make an emergency call… just as Martial Law Command shut down all internet and cell service in order to quell the spread of “fake news” about the virus.
With Cheong-san isolated and alone, On-jo figures out a plan to look for him using a drone in the science lab. But that would mean retrieving it. On-jo volunteers herself, and Joon-yeong has no choice but to accompany her since he knows which missing parts the contraption needs. This partnership doesn’t exactly fill me full of confidence, but they’re able to retrieve and repair the drone, and then send it out with a message attached to look for both Cheong-san and potential rescuers.
The drone narrowly misses Ha-ri and co., who’re making their way to the archery center to try the phone there and recover more arrows, but they do spot one of the arrows. The drone is a good way to survey the carnage around the school, and the episode is careful to linger on it for maximum effect. Eventually, though, the tour ends with the drone discovering Cheong-san, just as the drone’s battery is about to die. Since the kids now know where he is, they send the drone outside to try and locate a potential rescuer, which is how they get their first glimpse of how far the devastation has spread. Almost immediately, the camera settles on Ji-min’s father’s truck, which is crashed and smoking, with him clearly infected inside. The zombies nearby swipe the drone to the ground.
Elsewhere, Jae-ik and his new idiot pal make their way to Cheong-san Chicken and discover both Hee-sun and her newborn baby, which is thankfully still alive, while So-ju and the politicians land in the quarantine zone. None of them are allowed to go anywhere or speak to anyone until they have been examined, which will be a 12-72 hour wait. We also learn that Gwi-nam is still alive. Now, this is strange, since he was clearly bitten, and the infected in the library no longer attack him, exactly as we saw when Eun-ji was bitten. But he’s totally conscious and aware. Some of Mr. Lee’s vlog voiceover chimes in to explain how the virus responds to attempts at counteracting it, mutating and changing. The theory is that it’s adaptable, and if it can adapt to human consciousness, then a new breed of human being will be created.
It looks like Gwi-nam, of all people, might be the first.
You can stream All of Us Are Dead season 1, episode 5 exclusively on Netflix.
