Netflix original series ‘Sweet Home,’ a key player in the trend of K-contents, unveiled season 2 after three years after season 1 in December 2020
Since its global release on December 1, “Sweet Home 2” has garnered diverse reactions. While some viewers praise the expanded setting and the increased scale of the story, others express negative feedback about the growing complexity due to a larger cast of characters. These mixed responses generate curiosity about the ultimate outcome of the series.
Expanded Worldview Offers Visual Delights
In season 2, the storyline depicts the survivors, including Song Kang, Lee Si-young, and Go Min-si, navigating a world where humans turn into monsters based on their desires. The characters venture beyond the original setting of Green Home Apartments in search of a new refuge.
While Song Kang, a special infected who maintains his reason despite undergoing monstrous transformation, volunteers as an experimental subject for vaccine development, Go Min-si and others struggle for survival in the safety shelter ‘Stadium’ and the outside world.
The battles between military forces and monsters, as well as Song Kang’s transformation into a semi-monster, are vividly portrayed with stunning computer graphics (CG). The actions of some characters, more brutal than the monsters themselves, constantly prompt viewers to question the essence of humanity.
Building on the success of season 1, which became the third-most-watched TV show globally on Netflix, marking a milestone for K-dramas, the series quickly climbed to the 9th position on Netflix worldwide just three days after its release, showcasing its global popularity.
The US film specialist media outlet Collider commented favorably, “Although we can expect a couple of upgraded monsters, Sweet Home 2 brings into question who the real monster is. After all, desires, controlled by fear and mistrust, are just as horrible, if not worse, than the blood-thirsty monsters preying on human beings. At the end of the day, Sweet Home 2 is a portrayal of just how fragile human nature is, especially when their lives are at stake.”
Viewer Reactions Are Mixed
However, viewer reactions have been mixed. While some viewers empathized with the drama’s message, others criticized the introduction of new characters, making the storyline seem scattered. Criticisms included a lack of cohesion and a decrease in the synergy between characters compared to the previous season. The addition of new plotlines left fans with a sense of disappointment that the stories of the characters in the previous season were not fully developed.
Comments on the portal site Naver’s real-time comment section included statements like “The story got too extended, making it hard to focus” and “It’s regrettable that it’s just like a middle step for development for Season 3.” The drama ranked first in “Today’s Ranking” on the OTT integrated search site Kinolights. Still, the user satisfaction index, which measures viewer opinions, only reached 43.59%, reflecting a divided response.
Director Lee Eung-bok addressed concerns about the side effects of expanding the series, stating, “We focused on the process of introducing new characters and a new worldview.” He encouraged viewers to pay attention to the changes and charms of characters who have ventured outside into the world.
Source: naver
