'Hellbound' Season 1

So I finally went and subscribed to Netflix the other day as it looks like the only way I'm ever going to be able to see stuff like 'The Witcher', 'Squid Games' and all those other shows that the cool folk watch. Oh yes, and 'The New Legends of Monkey', more on that another time ;o)

I was completely unprepared though for the number of shows that Netflix would throw at me though, based on making three choices before logging on for the first time. Honestly... There was so much to choose from that I really didn't know where to start. I had to start somewhere though, especially after yet another hard slog at work, so I went for 'Hellbound' based on... I don't know really, the title more than anything else.

Six episodes later and damn... What a first show to pick for my journey through Netflix. I'm sat here waiting 'kind of' patiently for Season 2.

All of a sudden, unearthly monsters are appearing and violently ushering chosen sinners to hell. No-one knows why but a new church preaches a life of righteousness and for the chosen sinners, a televised death to drive home the churches message. But when a decree of death is passed on the unlikeliest of people, theological discussion soon devolves into a need to stay relevant and in power. And all the while, a life hangs in the balance.

'Hellbound' absolutely blindsided me with what it was really about. Those opening shots of a man being chased by monsters, down a busy street, suggests a show that's going to be all action and apocalyptic and who knows, it may still become that show. For now though, those monsters play second fiddle to a much wider discussion on the nature of sin but also how power can corrupt and what people will do to keep hold of it (although don't get me wrong, they look awesome when they are on the hunt, all sorts of scenery is just sent flying...) It feels like every episode, you're being asked to consider some deep questions and from where I was sat, that did work against the show on a level. There's just not enough time, in these six episodes, to get to those answers, let alone the questions that the show asks of particular characters, especially what happens in the very final scene... In that sense, it feels like this first season of 'Hellbound' is only here to set things up for a second season (which is on it's way from what I understand) and something just a little more self contained would have been good. I mean, I get the whole need for the time jump halfway through, we needed to see how the New Truth Society grew, but Jin Kyeong-hoon's arc never made it into that second half and that didn't feel quite right somehow. Talk about building someone up and then just leaving us hanging (I can guess what he did but I would have liked to have seen him live it, I guess I just really liked him).

But while you're in the middle of it all, it's really easy to forget all of that and just concentrate on this really intriguing tale that is unfolding in front of you. 'Hellbound' loves to ask questions of it's plot, it's characters and just about life in general. It's not as 'scattershot' an approach as it sounds, it's all very focussed and will engage you on one level or another. And it's got giant monsters who leave as mysteriously as they arrive. What's not to like? Like I said, I'm really looking forward to seeing what happens in Season 2.