'Hellbound' season 1 recap: All the major events in the Netflix horror series explained (2024)

A Yeon Sang-ho directorial, Netflix’s Hellbound is all set to return with its much-anticipated season 2 this October. With fans ready to witness the resurrection of protagonist Jung Jin-su in the webtoon-based horror series, here’s a recap of all the important events that went down in season 1 of Hellbound.

With a screenplay by Choi Gyu-seok, Hellbound, one of the most-watched K-dramas on Netflix, focuses on mysterious unearthly executors condemning individuals to hell. After its release in 2021, season 1 of the K-drama recorded over 43.48 million viewing hours within the first three days. Not just that, the first episode of Hellbound season 1 also enjoyed a special premiere at the 46th Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF). The show eventually made history as the first Korean TV series to make it into the prestigious film festival.

Meanwhile, Hellbound season 2, which premiered at the 29th Busan International Film Festival this year, is all set to arrive on Netflix on 25 October 2024. According to the OTT, season 2 aims to “zero in on the hell in and of itself created by the collision of collective interests and desires.”

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Hellbound season 1 recap: The cast and the characters they play

'Hellbound' season 1 recap: All the major events in the Netflix horror series explained (3)

Yoo Ah-in as Jung Jin-su

Kim Hyun-joo as Min Hye-jin

Park Jeong-min as Bae Young-jae

Won Jin-ah as Song So-hyun

Yang Ik-june Jin Kyeong-hun

Kim Do-yoon as Lee Dong-wook

Kim Shin-rok as Park Jung-ja

Im Hyeong-guk as Gong Hyeong-jun

Hellbound season 1 recap: Who is Jung Jin-su and what is The New Truth Society?

'Hellbound' season 1 recap: All the major events in the Netflix horror series explained (4)

Netflix’s apocalyptic horror Korean drama Hellbound opens with a panic-stricken anonymous man sitting at a Seoul cafe, constantly checking the time on his phone. As the clock strikes 1:20 p.m., a horrific rumble shakes the streets and a trio of beasts barge through the city. Soon, they rip the man apart, burn him to ash and bones, and drag his soul to hell.

At the police station, detective Kyung-hun and other investigators discuss the incident. They have ample video evidence but with the nature of the crime defying logical explanation, the team is unable to arrest the culprits.

Elsewhere, Jung Jin-su, the mysterious leader of a religious group called The New Truth Society, claims that with evil taking over this world, angels are being sent by God to bind immoral people to hell. He uses multiple videos of criminals meeting their ends after being torn apart by the trio of beasts to support his claims. According to Jin-su, these horrific events are divine interventions meant to guide humanity towards righteousness.

What are the concepts of decrees, demonstrations, Sodo and Arrowhead?

11월 19일, ‘지옥’만 기다리다가 진짜 지옥이 되어버린 내 마음을 완벽하게 설명해 주는 트레일러.mp4 #살려줘 #온다 #지옥 #Hellbound #넷플릭스 #Netflix pic.twitter.com/8lvMsqc7iP

— Netflix Korea|넷플릭스 코리아 (@NetflixKR) November 8, 2021

The Netflix original, which centres around supernatural occurrences in the wake of political and religious turmoil set between 2022 and 2027, portrays decrees as death sentences announced by angels of God. These prophecies condemn sinners to hell at a specific time in the future — seconds, months, or years away.

While Jin-su, through The New Truth Society, teaches that only evil people receive decrees, professor Hyeong-jun informs lawyer Min Hye-jin that the executions are not based on any previous sins, but are random. He also informs the lawyer that Jin-su himself received a death decree years back, even if he has never wronged anyone. The series then shows Jin-su meeting his predestined fate. When Hye-jin tries to make the news public, Hyeong-jun shows his true colours and informs Arrowhead about her plan. Viewers also get to know that Jin-su had a deal with Hyeong-jun, according to which, the latter would eliminate Hye-jin and in return, Hyeong-jun would become the next leader of The New Truth Society.

Soon, members of Arrowhead, a radical group of violent extremists that conduct live streams to support The New Truth and beat up people who defy their teachings, arrive to lynch Hye-jin and later leave her to die. However, she survives and forms Sodo, a secret organisation that helps people who receive decrees vanish and die in peace before The New Truth can force them into demonstrations — public executions of the hellbound people by a trio of otherworldly beings.

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Does Young-jae’s baby survive the final demonstration? Who is resurrected from hell?

'Hellbound' season 1 recap: All the major events in the Netflix horror series explained (7)

One of the most important events that makes it to our Hellbound season 1 recap is Young-jae’s baby receiving a decree at the hospital a day after his birth.

Bae Young-jae, a television producer assigned to edit a campaign documentary for The New Truth, and his wife Song So-hyun, are blessed with a son. However, the couple’s world is turned upside down when their baby is condemned to hell. Young-jae tries to make sense of this unfathomable prophecy, which is the first of its kind according to the doctrines of The New Truth, and in many ways, raises questions on its credibility. So-hyun, on the other hand, names her baby Toughie and prays for his survival.

When the cult leaders find out the truth about the baby, they try to keep the news under wraps and take the baby from So-hyun. However, Hye-jin and Young-jae arrive at the headquarters of The New Truth Society and save both the baby and the mother.

Hye-jin then takes the family to a remote residential area where they await their baby’s fate. When the time comes and the three beastly figures arrive, the parents shield the child with their bodies. When the beasts try to burn the baby, the parents’ bodies first turn into ashes. Soon, the supernatural beings disappear and Hye-jin hears a baby cry. She then finds Toughie alive amid the remains of his parents’ burnt bodies.

Season 1 ends with the ashes of a prior hellbound victim Jung-ja turning into a fully formed body and breaking out of a glass enclosure. Before the credits roll, viewers see a naked and alive Jung-ja lying on the floor of her home.

(Hero and Featured image: Courtesy Netflixkr/X)

The information in this article is accurate as of the date of publication.

'Hellbound' season 1 recap: All the major events in the Netflix horror series explained (2024)
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