‘The Black Knight’ (Netflix) final explained: This is how the foundations of season 2 have been laid

Spoilers for the end of ‘The Black Knight’

‘The Black Knight’ is already on Netflix. Social outcast and refugee Sa-wol (Kang You-Seok) has finally achieved his dream of becoming a ‘gentleman’. That means a lot in this post-apocalyptic world where clean air is manufactured and most citizens live in terrible conditions. He thought his new position would give him the opportunity to help others by providing clean air. He also envisioned a better life for himself. Well, it only lasted a day before he learned the truth about 5-8 (Kim Woo-bin) and his group of delivery guys, who are hell-bent on stopping the evil Ryu Seok from his attempts to wipe out all the refugees for always.

As ‘The Black Knight’ completes its six-episode arc, Ryu Seok’s growing influence tells us that his takedown won’t be easy. Are the rogue delivery guys up to the task? Here we leave you with a breakdown of the end of ‘The Black Knight’ and how the series is heading towards season 2.

‘The Black Knight’: ending explained

After five episodes, Ryu Seok (Song Seung-heon) has finally been defeated. Commander Seol Ah (Esom) has arranged a meeting with Cheonmyeong company president Ryu (Nam Kyung-eup) to brief him on all of Ryu Seok’s crimes.

Their gruesome feats include the kidnapping of mutant children (or those who could potentially be mutants) and the slow poisoning of refugees by filling the air of their districts with pollutants. Clearly, that wasn’t working fast enough for him because Ryu Seok also committed mass murder when he set off explosions in the said districts.

Principal Ryu is shocked to find out that his son has not only committed such crimes, but also involved the Cheonmyeong Group in such actions. The director rushes to put things right and informs the president of his son’s actions. He then transfers management of Cheonmyeong to the government, who will now have control of the oxygen supply, as well as the delivery and relocation plans of the refugees.

Fresh from a failed assassination attempt on his life by 5-8 and the other dealers, Ryu Seok goes to address his father when he is informed of the new changes that have thrown his plans into disarray. Father and son have a frank and honest relationship in which the former tells Ryu Seok that he must face his crimes.

Two Ministry of Defense-backed soldiers arrive to arrest Ryu Seok, but something seems a little off. Ryu Seok makes a big show of the situation and then without hesitation shoots the soldiers before placing the gun in his father’s hand and pointing it at his own head.

Clearly fond of theatrics, he urges his father to shoot him, and after a tense moment of indecision on his father’s part, he fires a gun. It is only Principal Ryu who has been assassinated by the defense minister, who is revealed to have been in cahoots with Ryu Seok all along.

They quickly move forward with enacting the last stage of their plan, which is to stage a coup to capture the president. Ryu Seok’s cowardly acts don’t end there; He continues to publicly blame the rebellious deliverymen for the recent deaths as terrorists and the manhunt for the 12 disgraced deliverymen is underway.

Meanwhile, Sa-wol’s friend Useless discovered that the vaccinations the refugees were being urged to take were actually intended to kill them. Of course. It was all orchestrated by Ryu Seok, who hates refugees. Useless runs to the physical exam center to warn them while one of the crooked delivery guys issues an alert. Useless tries to warn those who line up to get vaccinated, including the Dummies, but his screams go unheard.

5-8 and Sa-wol have come out of hiding to join in support creating a diversion with gunfire and explosions which works as the crowd disperses. Sa-wol tries to reach Useless but is too late. He is shot down by the soldiers working for Ryu Seok. In his grief, Sa-wol runs to his friend’s side, but he is knocked unconscious and taken to Cheonmyeong.

In an ironic twist of fate, Sa-wol, a refugee, holds the key to curing Ryu Seok of his mysterious deadly illness. His mutant blood will cure his disease and is the reason he doesn’t die outright.

Commander Seol Ah and the delivery men head to Cheonmyeong to stop Ryu Seok’s slow poisoning and massacre of refugees. They advance through the Core district, which is underground, and shoot their way through while searching for Ryu Seok. However, he is too busy literally draining the life out of Sa-wol while he receives a direct transfusion of his blood.

When alerted to the intrusion, Ryu Seok has an unconscious Sa-wol carried out of the operating room as he and his men head off to watch the action. In the ambush, the delivery men catch up with Ryu Seok’s right-hand man, Mr. Oh, and shoot him dead while the minister holds the president hostage.

The mayor is able to bail out the president and arrests the minister for treason before making the announcement, instructing Ryu Seok’s defense team to drop their weapons. Knowing that he has been defeated, Ryu Seok reacts like all sinister little villains do and doesn’t relent. Instead, he retaliates by overloading the Air Core power machinery, which will lead to a massive explosion that will wipe out the entire central district.

As he tells 5-8, who has now caught up with him, “I’m not going to let the refugee scum get away with this.” With “this · he means a safe place to live with clean air. His actions cause mass panic and citizens begin to flee to a safe place.

During Ryu Seok’s short speech, Sa-wol twitches slightly in his comatose state, and the QR code on the back of his hand activates the wheelchair he’s sitting in. This small occurrence is enough to distract Ryu Seok, who gets shot at 5-8. Knowing that he is dying, he decides to do it on his own terms and shoots himself in the head.

As the residents continue to fight for freedom where the refugees live, 5-8 takes Sa-wol to safety while the other delivery boys save the other mutant children being held hostage. They manage to get out, but in an unexpected twist to the narrative, Ryu Seok moves on. The camera stops long enough on his face to reveal metal under his wounds. Why is that important? Well, because mutant bones are made of metal.

It seems that Sa-wol’s mutant blood has worked, which means that Ryu Seok should be able to heal faster and possibly be saved from his disease. Before we can get any more answers, the power core explodes and he burns down along with the central district.

Not much is known about mutant blood and it’s quite possible that its rapid healing and ability to withstand what would be fatal to many could extend to explosions… Who knows? For now, all is well with the world once again. The president announces that they will begin the relocation of the refugees to a safe place, and better.

It also affirms that the classification system that separated citizens by refugee, general, special and nucleus will be abolished. He then stomped on Ryu Seok’s evil legacy further by vowing to reform the residential and oxygen supply system so that citizens could live on an equal footing, without discrimination.

We know that, with that, Ryu Seok is turning in his grave or writhing in the rubble of the central district. A jump in time reveals that the president has kept his promises. We have a much more stable and calm 5-8 and Sa-wol says something about the cleaner air and clearer skies in their oxygen supply work. However, if Ryu Seok is alive and well, we wouldn’t count on that to last very long. We are sure that he will prepare some kind of revenge in a possible second season.

All episodes of the first season of ‘The Black Knight’ are available on Netflix.