when i first stumbled across this drama , i thought okay, it's just got to episode 6 ,so i was gonna wait till it's finished then watch but then i found out it is gonna be a multi-seasoned drama in Netflix and i was just so happy because it was way past time for it to happen in k drama world. k drama has talented writers , actors and directors and ... it deserves to be seen with its full potential on display ; yes we make romantic series (which is what a lot of people think when you talk about k drama with them) but we are capable of much more and we've seen it in recent years but i think Kingdom is the first to have more than one season and be presented in Netflix with a theme that compels even the more cynical viewers to give it a shot.
1-opening credits: yeah it doesn't necessarily mean that just because we got a good one , we have a great series . but almost every good show got a good one with an enticing even legendary music that we don't forward because of how good they are...Game Of Thrones, West World , The Expanse, friends, etc. and Kingdom has a really mysterious with a few Easter eggs and a haunting music. 8/10 ( I'm really obsessed with opening scenes)
2- actors : Bae Doona 's name is almost enough to make me give a show a try ,add in Ju Ji-hoon and i'm convinced . i really liked their portrayal of their characters( Bea Doona really nailed the meek almost shy but a hard ass portrayal of the nurse)(i loved her in Sense8 but really her acting is soo good , not even for one second I thought of Sun while watching Kingdom).also i was not familiar with the queen and the minister's actors but i hate them enough to know that they have done a good job . 10/10
3- characters : most important thing to me after story is the characters (i like when shows have a lot of main characters) and their development. let's count ; we have crown prince, the nurse,THE cook(!), evil minister, queen , that other creepy/mysterious- who- looks- good -but- probably -is- not minister , the admirer, the bodyguard(1 season is really soon for me to remember the names)+some good supporting ,supporting characters.it has enough characters so far but i think we can use more point of views in different parts of the country and also different levels of society who one by one will join the action , in future.
the characters have have good enough reasons for their actions so far and it's not hard to understand them even if you look down upon their actions (THE cook comes to mind) . also i know what greed is and how it's a driving force especially in historical dramas and how power fells good but since i don't have any purpose in life, i don't have that much greed i don't understand fully how can people like the minister and queen sleep at night; power ! am I right?(i like my villains with a purpose more than just wanting power and wealth ) . I also like how the prince is not the saint that we see in price protagonists in historical dramas that are royal to a stupid extent to their fathers ; he remind me a little of Rhaegar Targaryen , they both knew their fathers are terrible rulers and wanted to make a move to change it ,be it through a coup or not.
another thing that i enjoyed a LOT was how the governor who fancied Bae Doona transfomed from a scared little shit to a little less scared one who didn't immediately run away when he could.
4-story: it has interesting and mysterious story up until now ,. it's a zombie one so it's a thriller . it's a little too soon to judge it over all.
IT WAS A GOODDRAMA THAT I ENJOYED A LOT.(i need at least 2 seasons for a drama to become my favourite)