South Korean exports are becoming big business for Netflix, which has launched yet another smash-hit from the region with zombie drama All of Us Are Dead.
The series depicts a virus outbreak at a high school which turns the students and faculty members into flesh-eating monsters, with a small group of teenagers relying on their wits to escape the nightmare.
While zombies aren’t enjoying the feverish popularity they once had around the early days of The Walking Dead, the enormous success of this series proves that audiences are still fascinated by the morbid movie ghouls.
There’s a relatively large All of Us Are Dead cast, which includes one Squid Game alum, but naturally, many of the characters don’t make it to the final episode – find out who does in our recap below.
Who survives the zombie apocalypse in All of Us Are Dead?
The once packed corridors of Hyosan High School are devastatingly empty when surviving students On-jo (Park Ji-hoo), Su-hyeok (Park Solomon), Dae-su (Im Jae-hyuk), Ha-ri (Ha Seung-ri), Mi-jin (Lee Eun-saem) and Hyo-ryung (Kim Bo-yoon) return there in the final episode.
They are lured back to the site of the traumatic outbreak several months later, after noticing what appears to be fires being lit around the abandoned facility from the safety of their quarantine camp. On-jo is adamant that this is a sign that their infected friend and former class president Nam-ra is still alive.
She initially plans to go there alone, but word gets out to her fellow survivors and they ultimately head back to the school as a group, mournfully combing through the remnants of their old life before congregating on the rooftop. It is there that On-jo’s theory is confirmed, with Nam-ra emerging from the darkness for a tearful farewell.
How does the zombie virus variant work?
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Nam-ra is a fascinating case as she was infected by the zombie virus, but not transformed into a mindless, ravenous monster like so many of her peers. Instead, she has retained her memories and personality, but feels she cannot assimilate back into ordinary society.
“I wanted to go see you, but I didn’t think I should,” she begins. “You know how we’re not really kids, but also not quite adults yet either? That’s like me. I’m neither a human nor a monster.”
There can be no mistaking the profound sorrow that Nam-ra feels as she tells her friends she cannot go with them, explaining that there are other infected people like her still living around the school. She says that she needs to stay to reach out to them, while also implying that some have already fled and could well be among the living population already.
The show ends with Nam-ra hearing a group of her fellow infected approaching, leaping off the high roof as if it was nothing to join them. The others are left looking heartbroken and frightened about what she has become, despite saying just moments earlier that they will always be friends “even if we’re apart”.
Will there be a second season of All of Us Are Dead?
Despite the huge success enjoyed by All of Us Are Dead so far, with a colossal 124.7 million hours of the series viewed worldwide in just its launch weekend, there is no guarantee that a second season is on the way.
After all, this initial 12-episode series provided a complete adaptation of the webtoon that inspired it, meaning the writers might decide not to stretch out the concept any further.
For more on the future of the series, check out our dedicated page covering a potential All of Us Are Dead season 2.
All of Us Are Dead is available to stream on Netflix. Check out more of our Sci-Fi coverage or visit our TV Guide to see what’s on tonight.