Hellbound’s season 1 ending twist explained

The halfway point HellboundThe new Netflix horror drama, ‘The New Netflix Horror Drama from Choi Gyu Seok and Busan: Train director Yeon Sang-ho, it’s clear that the emperor has no clothes. This is the only case where the Emperor is made up of otherworldly, hulking monsters. Their nakedness is the result of volatile rituals which kill pedestrians in the middle.

[Ed. note: This post contains spoilers for the ending of Hellbound season 1.]

Despite the gospel peddled by the New Truth church, it’s increasingly clear to many in the show that the monsters are not God’s emissaries sent to punish sinners. Rather, they’re “more like a supernatural thing that can’t be explained.” No one knows that (or, at least, wants to know that) better than Bae Young-jae (Jeong Min Park) and Sohyun (Won Jin-ah), whose baby received the decree only a few days after being born.

The baby’s fate becomes the ticking time bomb for the back half of the season, spurring every viewer to ask: Are they really going to kill that baby? But HellboundHe manages to twist that daunting question into a cleverer setup for Season 2.

So, uh… what’s the deal with Hellbound’s monsters?!

Image courtesy of Netflix

At the end Hellbound season 1, everyone wants something different out of the baby’s decree: The New Truth wants the whole affair concealed, so as not to spook their followers. Min Hyejin (Kim Hyunjoo), and her rebel group hope to publish the decree to expose the injustices of the situation. The Bae family wants nothing to do with this situation.

When decree time arrives, no one can get everything they want. Hyejin’s broadcast gets interrupted by a double agent; the New Truth’s attempts to completely derail the broadcast result in a conflict that brings out neighbors and their cellphones, the same social media power that helped rocket the church to power. As the time of baby Toughie’s judgment approaches, the parents crowd around her, shielding her from the light of the monsters. Once it’s done, only Toughie remains, her parents burned.

Little is ultimately confirmed in the moments after — Hyejin escapes with Toughie, disappearing into the city with a sympathetic cabbie who promises to keep her and the baby safe. As many Arrowhead leaders before him, the Arrowhead leader is forced to comply with his order. It’s brutal and desperate.

No one really knows the nature of monsters or their functions. While an issued decree was previously thought of as a death sentence, something about Toughie’s circumstances meant something changed — whether her parents’ sacrifice was some sort of supernatural shield, a la Harry Potter, or something else entirely. As the season 1 finale makes clear, they are much less like avenging angels and much more as Professor Gong describes them, as “just like an earthquake or any other natural disaster. Any one can experience it. It’s not about punishing or being punished.”

Hellbound Season 1: The Final Twist

Photo: Jung Jaegu/Netflix

Another surprise awaits us in Episode 6. In the bowels of the New Truth’s museum, Park Jungja’s burned body reanimates and comes back to life. It’s as mysterious as it is poetic; despite being the first intentionally publicized demonstration, even the former chairman of the New Truth acknowledged that he wasn’t sure Jungja — or anyone — had sinned enough to face such terrible judgment.

Even still, the decrees still explicitly mention that the receiver will be sent “to hell” following their demonstration, adding to the mystery of exactly where these monsters Dowhere they came from and the reasons their supernatural judgements are applied in this way. Jungja is back in life and the distinction between saints and sinners has been blurred once more. In a possible season 2, she’d likely be able to provide an account of what (if anything) she remembers, possibly further undermining the New Truth’s doctrine.

It’s not so easy, however. Hellbound. As the show wears on, Choi and Yeon are eager to show how God’s will could be interpreted, misinterpreted, and disregarded in ways that end up looking remarkably similar to each other. Both Myejin and her enemies are clamoring to publicize people’s tragedy, even if they do it for very different reasons. Jung Jin-soo (Yoo Ahin), chairman of his school, seemed relieved after receiving the doctrine. The church he founded continues this legacy until the violent ends that we witness in the second halves. Hellbound. Season 1 explores how random actions can be interpreted as judgments. The show’s world still remains a mystery as to what prompted these acts.