Released this week, a special episode for the Korean historical action & horror series Kingdom titled ‘Ashin of the North’ premiered on Netflix. Starring Jun Ji-hyun whose character Ashin was introduced at the very last moments in season 2’s finale. It plays as a prequel to the series as we get to learn about her backstory. Growing up on a border village between Joseon and the Pajeowi Jurchen tribes, however their loyalty is to the Joseon. We also follow another character, Min Chi-rok played by Park Byung-eun whose commander of the local forces in the region. He finds dead Jurchens in a forbidden area of the forest called Pyesa-gun and finds clues to their killer. Learning that it can lead to war, Min Chi-rok devises a ruse of a tiger hunt to ease tensions in the area. Putting blame on a tiger which turned out to be zombified but during the whole incident, did not infect anyone to the point of resurrection. A quick retread, Min Chi-rok had earlier sent Ashin’s father to explain to the nearby villages that a tiger was to blame but this caused some Jurchens to confront the Joseon soldiers. They tell Min Chi-rok that they’ll pay a price soon. Later in the night, Ashin’s village is razed and pillaged as she had left in search of the mysterious resurrection plant she had found in Pysesa-gun. She wanted to use it to help her ailing mother after hearing ghost stories of the forbidden plant and area. After mourning, she heads to the nearby Joseon city and pleads Min Chi-rok to avenge her village even if takes decades. Overtime, she develops her skills and since her lowborn status she helps the locals with their chores. Once older, she ends up spying the local Pajeowi outpost and gives Min Chi-rok her notes. However, one day she is sent to get a closer look and finds her supposedly deceased father still alive. He begs her for mercy to kill him which she hesitantly does so. Arriving back to the city, she finds several clues that leads her to find that the Joseon were also responsible for the destruction of her village. She snaps and enacts her vengeance by killing a Joseon soldier and resurrecting them with the plant causing an outbreak. On the rooftops, she shoots arrows at whoever appears to gain the upper-hand in saving themselves in the onslaught. In the end, she drags her sexual abuser from the city whose limbs were dismembered by her and we’re revealed to learn that the residents from her old village have been resurrected for some time. Chained in a hut and fed regularly by the local wildlife until Ashin learns that they desire human flesh. She proudly feds them her abuser, ignoring his pleas. Later, she meets up with a Jurchen patrol group whose their leader was responsible for razing her village and she fires an arrow at him. The television film is a great watch even if you haven’t binged on the series as it gives some backstory behind the horrors. ‘Kingdom: Ashin of the North’ is a great television film that runs at 93 minutes, the film is available currently on Netflix. Despite only meeting Ashin at the end of season 2’s finale, ‘Ashin of the North’ allows us to know her and behind her reasonings.
It earns a 4 out of 5.
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