Netflix has upped its Korean content outcomes, and the ones riding on the Hallyu wave have all the more reason to feel blessed. The latest outing (좀비버스) on the OTT streaming giant created by Park Jin-kyung and Moon Sang-don dropped on August 8, 2023, and revealed the last remaining Zombieverse survivors on the same day unlike many other reality TV titles that have released a certain set of episodes on a weekly basis. The show stars Korean celebrities like Lee Si-young, Park Na-rae, DinDin, Noh Hong-chul, Tsuki of Billlie, DEX and others as part of its main cast roster.
The quirky reality series doesn’t exactly fit the bill of the format so mentioned, and its 8 episodes comically lead us through an ostensibly horror-ridden path overtaken by the zombie virus outbreak in Seoul. Throughout the course of the show, the cast members are met with several hurdles and realistic quests along the way, solving which they take a step closer to the final safe ground.
However, as can be estimated, each of these challenges is a survival play wherein the DO or DIE binary doesn’t quite solve everything because there’s a great chance of the contestants dying even while doing all they can to make it to the finish line.
Then comes in the moral dilemma of what to do with those companions who are infected along the way – Do you simply abandon them or take them along with you while risking your safety as well? While difficult questions like aren’t necessarily gravely studied through the show, it can still be an entertaining bet for those willing to take a chance on it.
In the end, it all comes down to the ones who make it through it all, so this article will cover all the gory details of what went down during the final moments, and if the cast members were together to share the feelings of accomplishment or not.
Zombieverse Contestants
All contestants of this reality survival show mostly emerge from the Korean entertainment, or are at least big public names there. The first episode introduced us to merely 5 people who’d ultimately be running from their lives after a mishap breaks out on the sets of a dating show. Hosting this supposedly sidelined show were Lee Si-young (known for Sweet Home), entertainer Ro Hong-chul, comedian Park Na-rae, TV personality Lim Cheol aka DinDin, the K-pop Japanese singer – Tsuki of Billlie.
Eventually, the second episode gets them to unite with more survivors at a supermarket. This lot includes “Kkwachu Hyung”, ie Hong Seong-woo – a urologist, Kim Jin-young aka Dex – a former UDT soldier (known for his appearance in Single’s Inferno), the Yiombi siblings – Jonathan Thona Yiombi and Patricia Thona Yiombi, Yoo Hee-kwan – former baseball player and others (presented as customers or employees at the mart, but since they’re inconsequential to the plot in the longer run, they’re all left unnamed).
Also read: Heartbeat Episode 14 Recap and Review: Woo-hyeol Makes a Difficult Decision
Zombieverse Survivors : Who All Made it to Safety in the End?
Park Na-rae and Kkwachu Hyung had gotten infected early on, but since their injuries were’t as pronounced as the usual major zombie bites, it took them a long time to finally turn into the human-hungry undead creatures. They tagged along with the rest of them until the Zombieverse finale, whereas Jonathan who was severely bit after they got hurt, turned into a zombie before the team took off for their final escape mission.
Na-rae’s demise was partly blamed on Hong-chul, so she never quite moved on from her grudging thoughts against him, and built up the plan to finally take it out on him in the end by treating him with a similar end. On getting out of the Ferris wheel, Dex, Si-young, Tsuki, DinDin and Patricia took off to get on the second rescue boat as prompted by Sal-man, an undercover reporter they’d met during their journey.
On missing the first boat, the squad took to the nearby amusement park as their resting abode at the time, which ultimately threw even more survival challenges at them. But once it was all over, they all found their way to the dock in the morning, awaiting the arrival of the boat they were direly looking forward to board.
Yet they were all late again, their means of transportation had put some distance between them and the water as it almost taken off before their arrival. Not taking no for an answer, the quintet found some equipment at their disposal that helped them pull themselves closer to the boat while it moved further away.
Dex and DinDin were the first ones to jump onboard, following which Tsuki climbed up and then Patricia tried to close the distance between herself and their final safety vessel. She failed to get onboard and struggled to climb up. Dex got off to pull her up, but seeing that it was all to no avail, they pulled themselves back to the land and joined Si-young awaiting her turn to get on.
All this while, a lot of time has flew by and the zombies that had s far been held back by a gate, finally broke in and raced closer to the three survivors on land. They thought that all their hard work and strife had gone down the drain and despite everything they’d been through, this was the final moment they’d be sharing together.
Meanwhile, Tsuki and DinDin tried to persuade the boat’s captain to turn around and rescue their friends, but it turned out that he wasn’t the contact Sal-man had mentioned to them at all, and they’d just gotten on the wrong boat during their desperate attempts to put some distance between the zombies and themselves.
Simultaneously, as the other trio feared for the life’s final moments, a bus blasted past the same gate and flung away all the zombies in its path. Si-young, Dex and Patricia finally made it on board the bus and realised that this had always been the rescue vessel they’d been waiting for and not the other boat they’d been trying to get onboard earlier. Although Patricia’s failure to get on up had landed them in the right place, it eventually ended up separating them from DinDin and Tsuki.
The bus driver then drove the vehicle straight into the water, and though the new passengers were scared of the outcome, they were glad to wait and see what happened next when the bus started floating on the water like a motor boat. So, these five did make it out alive as the Zombieverse finalists, but they didn’t get to relish this achievement together due to their separation.
The show doesn’t quite end there. Picking up a “1 year later” montage, we’re then pulled into a dark deserted alley, which helps us get acquainted to the picture of a dreary future, proving that the cure for zombie infestation hasn’t been found yet. With several zombies lying about in abundance, we then catch a glimpse of a familiar silhouette which is them revealed to be Hong-chul.
He’s a zombie now, but also appears to be quite in control of what he’s doing and his movements unlike average zombie appearances. Playing a tune on the melodica in his arms, he’s seen dancing and laughing manically in the end, possibly hinting at the chances of a new season if there’s to be one in the future.
What did you think of the Zombieverse ending? Do you think the series will return for another season? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.
Also read: Zombieverse Review: Disastrous Reality TV Concoction That Gets You Cackling at What a Big Mess It Is