As expected, the ending of Hellbound season 2 left us with more unanswered questions than we initially began with. [Spoiler Alert] By the end of season 2, we still have no idea where the monsters came from or on what basis people were getting their decrees. Obviously, it wasn’t based on their sin as Jung Jin-Su believed, because in such a case, why would a newly born, practically sinless Jaehyeon receive a decree from an angel? In season 2, we also came across a new set of individuals called the “Resurrected One,” the people who have come back from the dead. And to be honest, I think the time people spend in hell does shed some light on how things work in Hellbound. As per the show’s timeline, Jung-Ja was the first to be resurrected, and then some 4 years later, Jin-Su followed suit. But if you noticed, Jaehyeon was resurrected in a matter of seconds. So, what’s really the criteria here?
Even though Jin-Su had been resurrected back on Earth, the monster didn’t stop haunting him. Whenever he looked in the mirror, he saw these monsters coming for him and, therefore, was eagerly looking for answers behind these terrifying visions. It was for this reason that Jin-Su wanted to meet the other resurrected one, i.e., Jung-Ja, so he could ask her if she was having the same visions as well. But it turned out that both Jung-Ja and Jin-Su had been blessed (or cursed) with different powers. While Jin-Su saw the monsters in the mirror, Jung-Ja could foresee how people were going to die. Well, one could say that Jung-Ja had the same powers as the angels, the faceless entities who announced people’s decrees in the Hellbound universe. All the religions in the world see humans as either good or bad, i.e., they are closer to angels or demons. We are mostly without sin registered to our name the day we are born, but as we go on to lead our lives, we commit a number of sins that eventually pile up, as they say in Hinduism and Christianity. You might have heard that popular phrase about how everyone has to repent for their sins, and I guess that’s what is happening in Hellbound.
Here, I am considering the fact that these angels and demons, or any higher power that’s ruling them, could see a person’s entire life, and based on that, they announce their decree. My reason for considering this is that Jin-Su was only a young teenager when he got his decree, and he most likely didn’t deserve it. The same thing happened with Jaehyeon, who obviously hadn’t committed any sin since she was born only weeks ago. Now, when Jin-Su got his decree, he had a choice in life: either to grow up hating his mother for leaving him in an orphanage or not let his trauma guide his actions and live the life he wanted to. Jin-Su chose the former and decided to spread fear of the demons, and in doing so, he not only harmed other people but also committed the worst sin of his life, which ultimately turned him into a monster. When Jin-Su was taken to hell, he went through a series of different realms when he re-lived the most terrifying memory of his life, i.e., his mother leaving him in childhood, again and again, from different perspectives. These different realms (or perspectives) could also be the nine circles of hell, as mentioned in Dante’s Inferno.
You see, Jin-Su wasn’t able to forgive his mother for leaving him. He wasn’t interested in knowing the reasons why she had abandoned him. He grew up hating her, and therefore, living those moments on a loop became his personal hell. It could also be surmised that Jin-Su went through endless suffering for eight long years, and as the memory came to an end, he was ripped apart, beaten, and burned to death by the executioners of hell. The tenure of his punishment was also calculated depending on the sins he had committed in his life so far, and once he had repented for them, he was sent back to Earth as the resurrected one. In the case of Jung-Ja, I guess she lived a pretty normal life with her kids, and the list of her sins wasn’t as long as Jin-Su’s, which was why she was condemned to hell for only 4 years, and even though she was locked in her own traumatic memories, she didn’t lose faith and was determined to come back to Earth to meet her kids again. Again, it wasn’t just the tenure of one’s imprisonment but also one’s determination to return to Earth that allowed these people to resurrect. And at the risk of repeating myself, Jin-Su has always been a strong-willed individual who would go to any lengths to survive.
After returning to Earth, Jung-Ja had just one desire left, i.e., to reunite with her kids, while Jin-Su, being an ambitious leader, wanted to regain his position so he could rule the people with a new order. And obviously, between these two people, you can easily point out the one who hasn’t learned their lesson in hell. The reason why Jin-Su turned into a monster is clear as water. He committed the same sin again and didn’t make any changes in his life to become a better person. Jung-Ja, on the other hand, spent her days in silence, waiting for the right moment when God would allow her to go back to her kids. She had her utmost faith in a higher power and didn’t want to fall prey to her desires or fears, unlike Jin-Su, who let the monsters condemn him for the second time due to his actions.
Now, coming to Jaehyeon, I am again assuming that the angel or the higher power who announced her decree had seen her entire life, and that was the reason why she was condemned. But Jaehyeon’s life took a drastic turn when her parents sacrificed themselves to save their child, and because Jaehyeon hadn’t committed any sin so far, she was resurrected in a matter of seconds. But you see, no one really knew how Jaehyeon’s life would turn out after her parents’ sacrifice. She could have become another Jin-Su if Hye-Jin hadn’t taken her under her wing and decided to become her mother. I am sure a person like Hye-Jin would only bring out the best in Jaehyeon and wouldn’t let her end up having the same fate as Jin-Su. Additionally, I think a young Jaehyeon too might have some angelic powers, which will be further explored or revealed in season 3.
I believe Jin-Su’s resurrection wasn’t a coincidence. The show’s creators introduced it only to point out the fact that angels and demons are not separate entities from human beings. Anyone who falls prey to their desire and becomes a slave to their fear and ambitions eventually turns into a monster, while those who are determined to be righteous even in the worst of times and don’t lose their faith become angels. And the purpose of a mass decree at the end of season 2 was to cleanse the world of the sinners. Everyone who got their decree would go through endless suffering in hell, living their most terrifying memories, whose purpose would be to teach them a lesson so they could become a better version of themselves and not repeat the same mistakes again if they got resurrected. I am sure we are not going to see Jin-Su again, at least not as a human being. He might come to Earth as an executioner to take people to hell, and therefore, he would remain a prisoner or servant of hell for all eternity.
