The creator of the Netflix original, All of us are dead, Lee Jae kyoo, was successful in creating a highly engrossing tale. It revolves around zombie survival in a high school in Korea. Notably, several characters that the show wants us to root for, are problematic. 

The zombie action drama on Netflix is the second zombie import from Korea after the tremendous success of Kingdom. The drama begins with a riveting first episode and maintains a quick pace throughout. It explores a huge number of themes notably, bullying, fat-shaming, teenage pregnancy, suicide, cronyism, and pornography blackmailing. The rinse and repeat nature of the narrative can tire viewers after the first few episodes once the pandemonium dies down. 

All of Us are Dead Plot

The drama begins with a scene of school bullying. A group of bullies beats up a student until he suddenly turns into a monster and starts attacking them. The scene ends with him falling down the building. The bullies don’t look remorseful but are instead afraid that they have become murderers.

In the next scene, we are introduced to the school layout and our main characters as they race to school on a sunny day. 

On-jo and Cheong-san have been childhood friends. Not knowing about Cheong-san’s crush on her, On-jo mustered up her courage to confess to Su-hyeok. Su-hyeok used to be a school bully but has mended his ways, and is quite popular in school. He only has eyes for Nam-ra.

Nam-ra has a cold demeanor and is the envy of her classmates due to her rich background. She is also quick to admit that she gets everything easily due to her mother. Gwi-nam is the villain of the series, who has predatory characteristics. The creators of the show make sure that viewers know that the character is irredeemable throughout the 12 part series. Gwi-nam is introduced to the viewers in an act of sexual harassment and pornography blackmailing. 

All of Us Are Dead – Problematic Message

The most problematic part of the series is the subplot about the creation of the Jonas Virus. It is linked to the act of bullying. Lee Byeong Chan justified his creation of the virus to save his son, who was on the brink of taking his own life because of severe bullying. 

He wanted his son to live, no matter the consequences. 

As the civilization descended into chaos, he was unbothered, as the weak were preying on the strong for once and it was the only way to change the system. The girl that was bullied by Gwi-nam and was forced to strip turned into a monster. Her only goal was to destroy the cellphones and burn down the hellhole. At the end of All of us are dead season 1, she was reduced to a monster who was no better than Gwi-nam. 

The message of the show would have a far-reaching impact on the youth, especially the bullied, who would consider it okay to turn off their empathy and become monsters to exact revenge on their bullies. It also further reinforces the stereotype around victims of sexual harassment-with no help and no choice they often have to take the wrong path to attain justice.