Diksha Sundriyal
Prime Video’s ‘Newtopia’ brings a twist to the zombie horror genre by adopting a tone that is significantly different from one the viewers might be used to. With the leanings of a typical K-drama, the TV show adopts an air of levity, but that does nothing to lower the stakes or make the situation with the zombies any less terrifying. The first two episodes set down all the chess pieces, all of whom are in rather precarious positions by the time the second episode ends. The premiere episodes are also made better by the fact that we immediately form connections with the characters, which would be ill-advised, considering that a few or all of them are bound to die at some point. SPOILERS AHEAD.
Jae-Joon and Young-Ju Find Their Romance at a Crossroads at a Very Bad Time
‘Newtopia’ begins with Lee Jae-yoon and Kang Young-ju struggling to keep their relationship alive. While both of them are in Seoul, there is a great distance between them. Jae-Yoon is at the A Tower, in the middle of his military service at the A Tower in the Gangnam district. He dreams of the day he’ll be discharged and go back to his girlfriend, who he feels is drifting away from him. And his fears are not unfounded. Due to his situation, Jae-Yoon is not able to carve out a proper time to talk with Young-ju, and she feels that the lack of communication is creating a chasm between them. He calls her at ungodly hours and talks about his feelings, but he doesn’t seem to care about how she feels.
At the same time, Young-ju is also forced to take stock of the situation, especially when her age and the nature of her relationship with Jae-yoon are brought into question by seemingly everyone around her. She is 26, a marriageable age, which means she should be thinking about being with a person with whom she can settle down. And with another year left in Jae-yoon’s service, things look pretty bleak for their future on that front. Meanwhile, Young-ju also finds herself at the receiving end of the affections of her senior, Jin-wook, who seems to be waiting for the couple to break up.
Eventually, when Young-ju and Jae-yoon get on a call, she tells him that perhaps they should take a break. Jae-yoon ends the call abruptly, but later, he leaves a voice message for Young-ju, confessing that perhaps it would be best for them to break up. He shows a kind consideration for her in the message, which tugs at her heartstrings, and Young-ju decides to meet with him. Whatever happens next between them should happen face to face and not on the phone through texts and voice notes. So, she heads towards the A Tower, joined by Jin-wook, who believes that he will finally have the opportunity to swoop and offer his shoulder to Young-ju when she breaks up with her boyfriend. Fate, however, has other things in mind.
A Mysterious Outbreak Upends the Order Inside the Tower
Jae-yoon’s military base is at the top of the A Tower in Gangnam district. Below it is the Eden Hotel, one of the premier places in the city where the elite gather. Arron Park is the manager of the hotel, and he has earned a certain reputation for himself. Jae-yoon and his junior, In-ho, who is actually older than him, are intimated by him, and there is a good reason for that. Another person from the hotel is Oh Soo-Jung, who works at the VIP lounge and often finds herself confronting the soldiers for using the floor’s services while the elevators are down. The soldiers also have a good understanding of Chef Jung, among others.
All these people are in the middle of their work when a plane crashes into a street in front of the hotel. At first, it looks like a terrorist attack, but then, it turns out that things are worse than expected. All through the first episode, we see and hear about the mysterious illness where people have become feral and attacked others. Jae-yoon notices something untoward in another building from the window of the Eden Hotel, but he is too preoccupied to make sense of it yet. The situation doesn’t come into focus until much later when the entire hotel is in the grips of an outbreak where people die right and left in front of him.
Meanwhile, the soldiers at his base are put on high alert when they discover that the country is now under martial law, and they can be called into action at any point. Before things went completely haywire, Jae-yoon and In-ho were sent to get gas but when they don’t return in time, their superiors decide to find out what happened to the duo. Two soldiers prepare to make their way out of the base and down the building, which is completely infested with zombies, to find the two soldiers and bring them to safety. Unbeknownst to them, Jae-yoon and In-ho are a couple of floors down, fighting for their lives.
Young-Ju’s Journey Takes a Sharp Detour
When Young-ju decides to go to the A Tower, she is entirely out of the loop with what’s happening outside. In her defense, things were seemingly normal at that point, but one accident changes everything. She and Jin-wook are stopped in their tracks when a person comes in front of their car out of nowhere. This sudden event leads Jin-wook to show his true nature, which is riddled with cowardice. At the same time, we see Young-ju taking charge. She tries to help the person, believing he is still alive. When she calls for help, Sung Tae-sik, aka Alex, who is an incredibly rich guy and the CEO of a massive company, shows up.
Soon enough, the situation gets worse on the road as vehicles bump into each other, and the number of zombies increases significantly as more people die. Young-ju, Alex, and Jin-wook are separated when each runs for their life, chased by a zombie. By the time the second episode ends, Alex is nowhere to be seen. However, Young-ju and Jin-wook reunite. Briefly, she takes refuge at a salon where she befriends the hairdresser. Meanwhile, Jin-wook finds a place where he changes into different clothes (which he desperately needs because he soiled himself following the accident). Later, he is robbed by a man who noticed a Rolex on his wrist, but he is saved by Young-ju and the hairdresser.
Considering the bloodbath on the streets, Young-ju and Jin-wook think that the best place is somewhere with guns. Young-ju is encouraged by her mother to find Jae-yoon at A Tower because she believes the soldiers will keep her daughter alive. Jin-wook has the same thought, though he thinks about the cops, not the soldiers. In any case, the idea and, hence, the destination for the duo is quite similar, so they make their way to the A Tower, which is technically only a few blocks away. Young-ju asks the hairdresser to join them, but she stays back, believing she will be alright. But in the background, we see a horde of zombies running towards her, so perhaps we shouldn’t get too attached to her. Meanwhile, Jae-yoon, In-ho, Soo-jung, and Chef Jung find themselves in a very difficult situation when they have a bunch of zombies in front of them held back by a glass door that can break at any moment.
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