Netflix’s first season of “Hellbound” debuted three years ago and spilled a nightmare world onto screens from its very first scene. The dark supernatural K-Drama excavated faith, organized religion and the instant evaporation of societal niceties when our fundamental, existential beliefs are called into question.
“Hellbound” Season 1 saw the world turned upside down when unearthly beings start condemning people to hell, allowing new fanatics and schemers to rise to power under the guise of spiritual purity.
It’s been a long time since Season 1, and it was a dense six episodes, so if you need a refresher, here’s the “Hellbound” Season 1 recap you need to get prepped for Season 2.
Angels, Demons, Decrees and Demonstrations
The central premise of “Hellbound” is that the world is turned upside down when inexplicable, brutally violent and seemingly divine deaths emerge in the public eye and the social contract dissolves as cults and new faiths rise. Here’s how that all breaks down:
A person will receive a prophetic “decree” at random, delivered by a giant, ghastly face of an “angel,” who appears suddenly, announcing that the recipient is “bound for hell” in a predetermined amount of time. That amount of time can range from seconds to decades. Once that time arrives, a trio of hulking, sinuous “demons” spring from the Earth and brutally beat the person who received the decree. Finally, the “Hellbound” monsters encircle the victim and execute them in the style of a ritualistic burning, leaving only their charred remains behind.
As these violent displays become more public, they are framed as a divine judgment by a mysterious figure, Jung Jinsu, and his New Truth church, who label them “demonstrations” … as in a demonstration of the suffering that awaits the condemned in hell. That narrative comes to reshape every facet of society.
Detective Jin Kyunghun, the New Truth and the Arrowhead
Detective Jin Kyunghun is on the case of a man who died in a demonstration and his investigation quickly leads him to Jung Jinsu and his church, called the New Truth; a cult-like faith built around the idea that the demonstrations reflect god’s will, meaning all those who receive a decree are dubbed sinners and publicly condemned, along with their families.
This mode of belief also radicalizes members of the Arrowhead, an unofficial offshoot of the New Truth, which is motivated by the belief that “when god decides to release an arrow, the Arrowhead should fly and hit the target.” An anarchic and violent sect, the Arrowhead is fuelled by social media — especially a mysterious, neon-painted, livestreaming provocateur. That means information travels fast and they work quickly, attacking the condemned, their families or anyone who tries to help them. They even go after anyone who publicly defies the Arrowhead’s interpretation of god’s will.
Though Jinsu believes they are extremists who misinterpret the New Truth doctrine, the Arrowhead wavers between supporters, allies and antagonists of the New Truth church throughout the season.
That’s not all for Detective Jin. His investigation also leads him to his daughter, Heejung, but we’ll get to that.
Park Jungja and the New World
A single mother of two, Park Jungja receives a decree on an otherwise quiet day at home with her kids. Her son encourages her to turn to the New Truth and Jung Jinsu, who offers her an exorbitant amount of money to livestream her demonstration when the time comes.
Jungja agrees, but an Arrowhead extremist within the police department releases her information and family photos in an Arrowhead livestream, along with the identities of those who try to help her. After a race against the clock, her lawyer, Min Hyejin, and Detective Jin escort her children safely out of the country.
Park Jungja remains, holding to her contract to ensure her children are paid and she is subject to the demonstration, which is live broadcast for all to see. It causes a complete societal meltdown: roads, hospitals and police stations remain empty as the terrified people refuse to return to daily life, instead lining the streets out of the New Truth headquarters and turning to Jung Jinsu as their savior. In the aftermath of Park Jungja’s demonstration, a new world is born.
Jung Jinsu’s Decree, Jin Heejung and the New New Truth
Jung Jinsu constructs the new world order, but he doesn’t get to see the aftermath of what he creates — not much of it, anyway. With the public in despair, Jinsu makes an appearance on the news. The broadcaster reveals that they have reported on him many times in the past as the nameless hero in several stories: he runs into a burning building to save people, he disarms a robbery with a hug. Now, live on broadcast, he unveils a bible for a new era. He tells people that doing nothing out of the fear of sinning is not the solution, that they have to get back to their lives. He’s the hero they need.
But he’s not. Detective Jin’s investigation once again leads him back to Jung Jinsu, when Jin discovers footage that implicates his daughter, Heejung, in a horrific crime. Jinsu manipulated Heejung, a true believer in the New Truth, to participate in the murder of the man who killed her mother, and they incinerate his body to fake a demonstration. When Detective Jin discovers video footage of the murder, Jinsu reveals he manipulated her to give Detective Jin a choice, ensuring that free will is still a part of god’s plan.
Why? Because Jinsu himself received a decree many years ago and will soon be subject to the demonstration, which he has ensured Jin is there to witness. Jinsu explains that he never did anything wrong or bad out of the desperate belief that his mother, who abandoned him, would return if he was good enough. And yet, he received a decree 20 years ago condemning him to hell, leaving him to go mad with that knowledge for decades. He orchestrated the New Truth and fixed the narrative, because he believes that fear of violent damnation will set the world free from sin.
But he leaves it all in Detective Jin’s hands, giving him a choice. Jin can either film Jinsu’s demonstration and reveal it to the world, which would undermine the New Truth and the belief system Jinsu built, causing more societal collapse. Or he can reveal the tape of the murder, which would explain why Jinsu received a decree and help restore order, but condemn his daughter. Or, he can witness Jinsu’s demonstration, stay silent and go home to his daughter to live in the new world. Which is exactly what he does, allowing Jinsu’s new world to take hold in order to protect Heejung.
Min Hyejin, Sodo and the New New Truth
Park Jungja’s lawyer, Min Hyejin, has her own brutal entry into Jung Jinsu’s new world. After she is doxxed for helping Jungja, she and her ailing mother suffer a brutal assault by members of the Arrowhead, who beat them with bats. Her mother dies in the attack, but Hyejin survives and discovers Jung Jinsu’s secret.
Following the clues, Hyejin learns not only that he received a decree, but finds the man he selected to succeed him as Chairman of the New Truth: the weaselly, unscrupulous Kim Jeongchil, who immediately aligns himself with the Arrowhead and calls them to execute Hyejin. That first act is indicative of the new New Truth under Chairman Kim’s rule; more extremist, violent, and in cahoots with the Arrowhead.
Hyejin survives another brutal beating at the hands of the Arrowhead, something we learn when the series jumps forward four years and we meet her again as a leader in a secret society named “Sodo.” Named after a sacred place of asylum, Sodo helps the condemned maintain their privacy, hiding them until the time of their demonstrations, which they ensure are in secret, and then discarding of the evidence. Sodo is a counter-organization to the New Truth and Arrowhead, offering people escape from their cruel spotlight and maintaining a more scientific belief that the demonstrations are simply random tragedies, like natural disasters, that could befall anyone, not just sinners.
It’s a belief reinforced by the experiences of one of Heyjin’s accomplices at Sodo, Hankuk University Professor Gong Hyeongjun, whose innocent young daughter received a decree and was given mere seconds to live before her demonstration. Professor Gong and another Sodo member are captured and tortured for information before their corpses are displayed by the radical Arrowheads, but Professor Gong’s story and beliefs have a major influence on a couple who receive their own unimaginable decree.
Bae Youngjae, Song Sohyun and the Baby’s Decree
All of “Hellbound’s” disparate storylines come together with poor Bae Youngjae and Song Sohyun, two young parents whose newborn baby, called “Toughie,” is given a decree while still in the maternity ward. Nobody could argue that the baby is a sinner, and because the New Truth’s bible doesn’t include original sin or salvation, Toughie’s decree threatens to topple the new world order.
After witnessing his colleague’s demonstration, Youngjae learns about the Sodo organization and meets Hyejin and Professor Gong. Echoing Jinsu’s request of Park Jungja, they ask to livestream the infant’s demonstration in order to undermine the New Truth and the Arrowhead’s reign of terror, but promise that Sodo will help them even if the grieving parents wish to keep it private.
Youngjae and Sohyun naturally face a horrendous struggle with their decision and while Youngjae is at work, Sohyun takes the baby to the New Truth headquarters, seeking the wisdom of the Deacons. When they realize what the baby’s decree could mean for the future of the church, the New Truth deacons immediately try to separate the baby from Sohyun, and almost succeed until Youngjae, Hyejin and some Sodo enforcers break them out of the compound. Hyejin takes the family off-grid to the residence of a condemned man — one who doesn’t look familiar at first, but reveals himself to have a minor yet crucial role in the narrative.
The Streamer, the Messiah and the “Hellbound” Season 1 Ending Explained
Hyejin takes Youngjae, Sohyun and the baby to hide with Lee Dongwook, a man who employed Sodo’s services when he received his decree. He expresses tremendous relief after learning about the baby’s decree, because it means he’s not a sinner. When Youngjae and Sohyun discuss livestreaming the baby’s demonstration, he reveals he’s got plenty of streaming equipment — Dongwook is the fanatical neon-painted streamer who helped radicalize the world.
That fanaticism makes him an easy mark for New Truth’s deacons. He slips out and calls the church, revealing that his demonstration is scheduled for five minutes after the baby’s. The deacons use that information to manipulate him, convincing Dongwook that he’s the messiah, chosen to do to the divine duty of covering up god’s mistake (the baby’s decree) with his own. When he returns to the apartment, he immediately attacks, driving Sohyun and the baby out to the courtyard, where she pleads with the people around them to witness her baby’s demonstration. But when the trio of demons arrives, she instinctively tries to protect Toughie, dodging and running away until she can’t escape anymore.
With the demons advancing, Youngjae and Sohyun huddle around Toughie and tie a cord around themselves so they can’t be pulled off. The demons continue with the burning ritual, all the same, leaving behind their charred remains — with a perfectly fine baby between them. Youngjae and Sohyun died, but the baby lived. Dongwook tries to stab Toughie, but Hyejin stops him and moments later, the demons reappear for his demonstration.
The innocent baby never received the demonstration that could change the world, but Youngjae and Sohyun’s sacrifice has a similar effect. Witnesses livestream the entire event, and the pious veil around the New Truth is punctured. The change is immediately evident when a police officer arrests a violent New Truth deacon instead of coming to his aid. Hyejin leaves with the baby, catching a cab. The driver recognizes her and aids in her escape, taking side streets to avoid police checkpoints. Youngjae and Sohyun’s sacrifice has reshaped the world again.
But that’s not all — “Hellbound’s” ending has one last game-changer in store. Park Jungja, the single mother whose livestreamed demonstration first changed the world forever, makes an impossible return. In an exhibit at the New Truth’s headquarters, which was built around the site of her demonstration, Jungja’s body begins to reconstitute from the ashes of her remains until she returns, fully formed, within the protective glass cage of the exhibit.
Where does she go next and how does the world handle the knowledge of resurrection? You’ll have to watch “Hellbound” Season 2 for those answers, but if we had to guess, it’s probably going to be something culty!
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