All of Us Are Dead Season 2: Overcoming the Challenges of a Time Skip

Similarities Between All of Us Are Dead and Sweet Home

All of Us Are Dead season 2 will have to use a divisive narrative trick that brought a lot of criticism for Sweet Home. Two of the best Netflix Korean shows, Sweet Home and All of Us Are Dead share many similarities. The idea of young characters trying to survive a monster outbreak while confined in their home or school can make for a fun story, and both shows did it well. Just like the first seasons of both series mirrored each other in a lot of ways, All of Us Are Dead’s second season may be similar to Sweet Home’s newest installment in terms of worldbuilding.

A custom image featuring On-jo, Su-hyeok, and Nam-ra in All of Us Are Dead

Like All of Us Are Dead, Sweet Home’s cast features many important characters, most of which have their own mini story arcs told across the show. Both shows successfully got viewers invested in their characters, which is why taking the series in new directions can be risky. The announcement of a second season of All of Us Are Dead was not surprising, but the show will now have to solve a tricky challenge.

Nam-ra smiling in All of Us Are Dead

The Potential Time Skip in All of Us Are Dead Season 2

Considering that more than two years will have passed by the time All of Us Are Dead returns, season 2 will likely include a time skip to make up for the actors aging out of their characters. This is exactly the approach Sweet Home season 2, which premiered three years after the first season, took. It must be noted that All of Us Are Dead season 1’s finale already included a time skip, although not a significant one. The final scenes of episode 12, during which Nam-ra reunited with her friends, took place a couple of months after the city was bombarded. Things were relatively well for the surviving All of Us Are Dead characters at the end of season 1, as they were now living in a quarantine zone and had learned Nam-ra was okay. Therefore, for season 2 to have any sort of conflict right away, it cannot begin exactly where season 1 ended. Additionally, the cliffhanger of Nam-ra revealing she is now living with other halfbies should not be addressed too soon. All of Us Are Dead season 2’s story will probably center on Nam-ra and the halfbies, meaning everything about them should be slowly revealed as the season progresses. That said, a time jump like Sweet Home’s is risky.

A custom All of Us Are Dead image featuring Cheong-san, On-jo, Mi-ji, and Su-hyeok on different scenes

Sweet Home season 2, episode 4 stars one year after the previous three episodes and the end of season 1. Not only was the time skip shocking, but it was also the symbol of how much the show was about to change. Most of Sweet Home season 2’s new characters, which were a lot, were introduced after the time skip. Suddenly, audiences no longer knew where their favorite characters were, and the show was now trying to make them care about new heroes and villains. Most importantly, Song Kang’s Hyun-su, Sweet Home’s main character, was nowhere to be seen after the time jump. Sweet Home was bound to become a very different show after season 1 considering it had already covered most of the source material. The show needed to reinvent itself and introduce new players that could be important later, not to mention how the younger characters aging three years between seasons needed to be addressed. The reasons why Sweet Home went for a time skip are similar to the challenges All of Us Are Dead is facing, including the fact the zombie series already adapted most of the webtoon it is based on. Still, as Sweet Home proves, nailing a time skip is not easy.

A custom image featuring Sweet Home's Hyun-su in front of a blue and red background full of blood

Making the Time Skip Work in All of Us Are Dead

The biggest problem with Sweet Home season 2 is not necessarily the time skip but what happened after it. Revisiting the show’s main characters in the near future without showing what happened during that year is not a problem by itself, and many stories benefit from similar narrative tricks. However, Sweet Home offered little to no context regarding what happened during that year, leaving viewers to pick up the clues while also introducing new stories. From episode 4 onward, Sweet Home became too convoluted and sidelined some of its most important characters, including Hyun-su. This is a mistake All of Us Are Dead cannot make.

Lee Jin-wook looking serious in Sweet Home season 2

There is a lot All of Us Are Dead’s upcoming season can learn from Sweet Home, as the former will have to find a way to expand the show beyond its original premise just like the latter did. However, what gives All of Us Are Dead the advantage is that season 1 was a relatively self-contained story. It can even be argued that the zombie K-drama series did not need to continue, meaning a time skip would not be getting in the way of important reveals or character development. Sweet Home, on the other hand, had way too many ongoing plotlines before its abrupt change. All of Us Are Dead and Sweet Home are both streaming on Netflix.

Chief Ji, Hyun-su, and Yi-kyung in Sweet Home season 2