TV Review: Black Knight (2023)

Black Knight (2023) created by Cho Ui-Seok based on webcomic "Taekbaegisa” by Lee Yoon-Kyun

After an apocalyptic event, the Korean peninsula is left a desert with atmosphere that's barely breathable. People live in a social stratified society where everyone has QR codes on the back of their hands. It's a form of identity and a way to manage money and goods. Except, not everyone has it. The lowest level of society,the refugees, live in squalor on the outskirts of civilization. Most everyone else lives in domed living areas managed by the government and Cheonmyeong, a corporation that manufactures goods and bottles oxygen for public consumption. Naturally, the corporation wields a lot of power. They use Deliverymen to get products to the various citizens. The most famous deliveryman is 5-8 (Kim Woo-Bin), who is able to fight off bandits better than anyone else. All the refugees admire him, including Sa-Wol (Kang You-Seok). He wants to be a deliveryman since it is a way for refugees to climb away from their bottom-rung status. So he practices fighting with his friends. He's gotten good, but is he good enough to earn a place among the Deliverymen?

Meanwhile, Cheonmyeong is building a new, larger dome that will accommodate most citizens. The plan is ambitious. Ryu Seok (Song Seung-Heon) is the son of the CEO and is ready to take over the company. He leads the project and has side schemes to make sure things turn out well. He's not so interested in the refugees benefiting from all their work, though the corporation has been kidnapping children and performing mysterious experiments on them. So his evil knows no bounds. Seol-Ah (Esom), a military investigator for the Defense Intelligence Command (DIC), investigates various murders and incidents which all happen to relate to Cheonmyeong's activities. Also, she had taken in Sa-Wol as a refugee child, so she has an interest in the welfare of the refugees beyond the usual desire to promote justice in her society.

The world of Black Knight is a typical apocalyptic/environmental disaster story. People wear masks to breathe when they are outside. The very first scenes have a Mad Max vibe, though quickly a lot more civilization is seen. Certainly they have a lot more technology than the Australian desert apocalypse. Overall, the show looks good, not great. The plot has a tension between the violent action (which can get graphic) and the social and political intrigue. Some plot points seem out of place or unnecessary but things are resolved by the end of the six-episode arc. The plot is fairly standard with few if any surprises. It needed something more or something less, I am not sure which. Either more character development for the characters or a tighter story arc (so, fewer characters) would have made the show more enjoyable. The actors do a good job but the characters don't have quite enough growth, action, or motivation.

While there could be a second series, the story ends with this one. I am not sure what a sequel would do. I enjoyed what is in the show but was not wowed by it. Black Knight is a mid-level entry in the post-apocalyptic sci-fi drama category.

Mildly recommended.