Addicted :P

Amazon Prime just released k-drama zombie romcom tv show called Newtopia and I am just hatewatching at this point. I’m on episode 4 and I am rooting for the zombies.

It has the usual plot of a zombie outbreak and people are panicking. Panicking a bit more than usual and I think it was the director’s attempt for comedy, but the characters come off as incredibly stupid and annoying. I am not sure what the director/author of the show was planning.

And somehow throughout the zombie panic, a boy and a girl tries to save their relationship.

Spoilers Rant Below

First off, the romantic leads are infuriating. The lead couple overplay the k-drama couple stereotype of an aloof, whiny and easily annoyed at her boyfriend leading lady and the inept simpy leading man that can’t help himself but grovel at his girlfriend. The guy can’t seem to get a hint that his girlfriend is just leading him on, while the girl seems to want her cake and eat it all and somehow suffer no consequences.

The group of soldiers are more than misfits. I know the K-drama like Descendants of The Sun about Korean men doing their mandatory army deployment is popular in Korea. However, Newtopia brings the comedy up to a certain level that the soldiers are borderline idiots. Just for laughs probably.

Another problem I see is the story doesn’t seem to be able to decide if it’s your typical k-drama romcom or a zombie outbreak tv show. There is a way to combine both. But this tv series is not doing it well.

To be fair, I’m still on Newtopia episode 4 and I’m currently watching a long flashback that doesn’t really seem to benefit whole show as of the moment. The flashback should have been in small bites as the cast navigates the zombie outbreak, but the director seems to be desperate to ship the two. I predict in the later episodes, a second lead syndrome happens. Or the supporting actor and actress has more chemistry than the actual lead. It’s that blegh.

Discovering A Hunk in Newtopia

As I’m writing this, the flashback is just rambling on and on. I think I’ve forgotten I was watching this for the zombie outbreak storyline. What makes me stay is the hopes of seeing one of the supporting role come back! Chef Paolo of Newtopia played by Justin John Harvey.

Justin John Harvey’s instagram (@justine.irrelevance) hints he’ll be back after his brief appearance in the earlier episodes. It’s amazing that he got a law degree in South Africa, moved to Korea to become a model and he speaks multiple languages, Korean is one of them.

Idiotic Cast of Characters in Newtopia

The setting seems to be in modern day South Korea so zombies should be common knowledge by now. However, most of the cast seems so incompetent that I am hoping the zombies bite them all. As I am writing this, one of the civilians that got into the army barracks was infected and came back as a zombie. So what to the soldiers do? They panic, despite having weapons. And one idiotic soldier grabbed the zombie in a headlock and he got promptly bit. Even then, the officer got angry at one soldier that killed the zombified civilian. I don’t know why, I guess to create a tension and foreshadow a future pseudo-villain?

And right now, the soldier that got bit wasn’t even secured. The soldiers just put him in one room and they went off to eat. Right after seeing a civilian turn into a zombie. And again, they panicked. They have weapons and none of them were willing to shoot the soldier. And again, one soldier chose to get close to the zombie soldier and the zombie soldier managed to get a hold of him. The incompetent male lead in Newtopia was about to shoot it with his eyes closed which could probably lead to him hitting the healthy soldier instead. And who shoots the zombie? A female civilian. And again, somehow the officer got angry at her and not at the fact that he could have lost another soldier if the female civilian hadn’t shot the zombie.

Going back to the female lead, they run across another person who got bitten and she stops her male companions from wasting the potential future zombie. *super spoiler* Somehow, the guy doesn’t become a zombie for some reason. And just as the story was finally moving… Another flashback.

Ya, Newtopia is half-assing the romcom part, and somehow half-assing the zombie outbreak drama part.

The only reason why I’m still watching is because of Justin.

So, I’m giving Newtopia a bit of a chance. It might get interesting. But I’m not feeling optimistic. There are only 8 episodes and I’m already half-way through.