Hellbound Season 2 is a rollercoaster ride that you don’t want to get on, and not in a good way at all. The second season completely falls short of its predecessor and progresses in a terribly melancholic direction. Yes, it’s a dystopian world, but the lack of hope is a bit too drab. The season follows the political landscape of South Korea after the resurrection of Jung-Ja and Jin-Su. Unlike earlier, the Arrowheads have now taken over the country as the most powerful organization, and the whole place is in chaos. Kim Jeong-Chil is now under the thumb of Lee Soo-Kyung, a member of the government who is determined to keep the country from being completely doomed, but how does one do that? According to her, it’s by dividing everybody into two teams, The New Truth and Sodo, leaving Arrowheads eradicated. At the time of making the plan, Soo-Kyung only knew of Jung-Ja’s resurrection. So, she decides to create a “New Will” using Jung-Ja as the skeleton for a completely new doctrine. With everybody’s attention on the resurrection of Jung-Ja, she hopes that her plans will turn into reality, where everybody’s back under control of the government.
Spoiler Alert
Does Jung-Ja Also See The Monsters?
During Hellbound season 2’s ending, Jin-Su does everything he can to have one word with Jung-Ja. He also knows exactly what Secretary Lee is planning with the Sodo group and The New Truth. He is desperate to know if Jung-Ja also sees the monsters as he does, and she tells him that she doesn’t. He wonders if she’s also struggling to remember who she is ever since she came back. Jung-Ja looks massively flustered at this moment, but when he asks her if she knows who she is, there’s one thing she’s completely certain about. She is and always has been Eunyul and Hayul’s mother. Then she tells Jin-Su that the reason he’s seeing monsters is because it’s what’s inside of him. The monster’s not coming for him; it’s growing within him (what in the Venom?). She then says that the reason he was chosen was because he was a coward. Is this really a sin? I suppose not, which is why he came back? Jung-Ja looks empathetically at Jin-Su, almost as if she wants to protect him. It’s an odd scene to watch surrounded by chaos, but this is when the monster decides to break out of Jin-Su finally. I guess his fear completely takes over him, which allows the monster to grab the upper hand. I guess, since Jin-Su had been living in fear of dying for 20 years and cursed the world with the same paranoia, this is his karma.
But what does this mean exactly? Well, now Jin-Su’s turning into an executioner, but he’s desperate to be saved yet again. In the meantime, Hye-Jin has saved Jung-Ja from danger and decides to drive away, but a transforming Jin-Su (this literally looks like it’s out of Sweet Home, but okay) asks her desperately to save him. Hye-Jin, being the most righteous person on this show, of course, tries to help him, but in vain. Jin-Su then completely transforms into an executioner, with the white light radiating from within him. He then runs towards some people and disappears into nothingness. I suppose this could mean that the executioners are people who died and went to hell already? Or is this some kind of power?
Is Hye-Jin Killed In The Fight With Sung-Jib?
After getting away with Jung-Ja, Hye-Jin is hit with a new shocker. The biggest betrayal is that Sung-Jib has been working under Lee and is now trying to kill Jung-Ja because that’s the only way order will be restored in the country (a bit stupid if you ask me). Hye-Jin’s the moral iron pillar of Hellbound. In both seasons, she’s stood her ground for what’s right; she’s a good person, and that’s what we get to see here too. All she cares about is keeping her promise and bringing Jung-Ja the mother back to her two children. We already know that that’s the only thing Jung-Ja has ever cared for too. The action sequence is pretty intriguing despite the lack of storytelling this season, and in the end, good presides and Hye-Jin wins and saves Jung-Ja from becoming pulp in a car junkyard. What’s interesting is that Hye-Jin sees a car with an elephant on it and assumes she’s going to die right there. This is because Jung-Ja has predicted her death will be around a children’s toy and she also sees an elephant in her vision. But this is not what happens, which means her death is stowed away for a potential season 3.
Is the world ending?
Short answer: yes. In the final act of episode 6, Jung-Ja tells Hye-Jin that it’s time to do something that she desires and stop worrying about anything because the world’s going to end soon. It’s the “we are doomed, so just do as you please” situation. On the other hand, at the same time, Lee gets a decree from the angel. This is actually the first time we see a decree this season, though we’ve seen people with timers to their deaths. Soon after Lee, it appears as if loads of people are getting decrees at once. So this is a symbol of something new underway. A new world for those who survive? Oh, it’s like the Thanos effect, but we don’t know who’s snapping their finger yet. On the other hand, Hye-Jin fulfills her duty and drops Jung-Ja off, telling her that a young man will take her to her kids. To her utter shock, the young man is actually Eunyul.
What Happens to Kyung-Hun?
Remember that detective who popped up for 5 minutes and disappeared yet again in season 2? Well, his daughter finally dies of her cancer, and now he has no purpose in life anymore. He spent this whole time hiding the truth about Jin-Su from her because she was such an avid believer. What’s sad is that there isn’t even a sliver of a chance that Hee-Jung can come back because she died of natural causes and didn’t go to “hell.” Whatever that means right now. This is again setting him up for another season.
What’s Hye-Jin’s purpose?
Hellbound season 2’s ending is a profound one because the thing that Hye-Jin wants to do now is look after Jaehyeon, i.e., Toughie, as her own daughter. If the world’s ending anyway, at least she can give her the love and nourishment the kid deserves. The Sodo group is dissolved, and Hye-Jin leaves her colleagues behind to start afresh. I spoke about her giving Jaehyeon love because there’s a flashback scene at the end of the show, one that’ll leave you gobsmacked. Remember how we thought Toughie had survived the monsters because her parents’ love saved her? Well, that wasn’t the case. Toughie did burn up, but she was resurrected just at that very moment, making it appear as if she survived. I guess what we can infer from this is that nobody’s born a sinner, and maybe if Hye-Jin hadn’t saved Toughie, she’d have turned out like Jin-Su too. A baby was tainted by the hand of hell, but she was rescued by Hye-Jin, who changed her fate for good.
What Can We Expect From Season 3?
At the time of writing this article, there’s no confirmation of a season 3 of Hellbound, but with the way the second season was set up to be a filler, it’s likely the story will continue sooner than later. We still have way too many questions unanswered about this dystopian universe, and instead of answering a few of them, the second season simply makes us think up more. What is this hell, and who is behind it? Surely this isn’t plain supernatural, and there must be something or someone controlling the monsters. I guess we’ll get to see more political and religious factions in the new world. The question is, will humanity be able to survive the hell that remains on earth?
