The South Korean series Hellbound, produced by Netflix, is a show best watched without any real knowledge beyond its basic premise. Sinners in South Korea begin to have visions of Angels, who proclaim they will face judgement at a specific time and will face damnation to hell. Continue to read at your own peril!
The focus is initially on immediate impact the “demonstrations” have on the public and how separate groups react or use the events to push their own moral crusades and ideals. The police, lawyers, civilians and even streamers all attempt to stop, rationalize, or assist the in brutal deaths that appear to be unavoidable. No one knows for sure where the trio of hulking shadow beings come from or where they go, except for one man who has evidence of such deaths happening years before they occurred in the show.
A lone charismatic spokesman who quickly creates a religious cult around the demonstrations and is able to create a new normal which many are so happy to cling too. Individuals still resist and want to stop the “demonstrations” leading to a surprising mid series ending, where the fallout will be explored in the final few episodes.
The second half of the show focuses on a surprising target of a “demonstration” and how that challenges the concept of free will, destiny and even the morals of a God. This arc also contains a remarkably interesting exploration of how quickly an organized group can become more concerned with their power than their original purpose.
Thankfully, we have a promise of second season which already has the promise of an order breaking miracle. The overall concept could also be a very provocative stand-alone scenario for your table.
A career educator, dramatist, and newly minted author. Debuted as part of the Golden Goblin and Shoggoth.net collaboration Kickstarter project “Terrors of OctoberNomicon”. A long-time fan of horror and a constant companion to the void and an avid tabletop wargamer. He regularly streams Call of Cthulhu and Pathfinder @https://www.twitch.tv/danielanddice and will soon be releasing his own Miskatonic Repository scenario for Call of Cthulhu, “Operation Wagey Cage”.
