Recent Obsessions

Part 2: Kingdom

Apparently I've been watching Netflix a bit :)

Dim the lights, grab the snacks, and start streaming Kingdom.

Kingdom is fantastic. Think The Walking Dead meets Game of Thrones meets the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco. You have action, intrigue, betrayal, zombies, and...HATS! So many cool hats. I had no idea!

The sets and costumes in Kingdom are incredible. As a world history teacher, I felt like I had a decent understanding of Chinese and Japanese medieval history, but for some reason, I didn't know much about Korea. That will now change -- I'll definitely be reading up more about Korea and the Joseon dynasty.

And the hats! I've seen pictures of medieval Korean hats before, but I never appreciated them until now. Here are some paintings for reference:

Dance with two swords (쌍검대무 雙劍對舞), by Shin Yunbok

Portrait of Kang Io by Yi Jaegwan (1783–1837)

I just finished season 1 of Kingdom and am about to start season 2.

How about trailers?

With just six episodes in each season, Kingdom is easy to binge. My whole family has been watching it together, and we can't wait to gather on the couch again tonight.

Note: Kingdom has zombies ("the infected"), which means blood and gore and the severing of body parts. If that's not your thing, you should skip it.