The ending of Sweet Home leaves some answers while setting up future possibilities. Without giving away spoilers, the conclusion ties up key story arcs but leaves room for further exploration, especially regarding the origin of the monsters and the fate of the survivors. The series builds anticipation for future seasons.
Sweet Home Full Review: A Thrilling Dive into the Darkest Corners of Humanity
People say humans are more dangerous than monsters, but what happens when humans’ darkest desires come out and turn them into some horrifying monsters? Sweet Home presents something like that. Here you can see a world full of monsters who were created from the dark desire of humans. In the Sweet Home full review, I will tell you the story of the horrors of humans. Some people who fight against the dark desire of the other humans, safe to say the monster comes out as the hero of the story Sweet Home.
Well, this drama is based on a webtoon of the same name by two incredible writers Kim Carnby and Hwang Young Chan, and this drama is a Netflix original.
Plot Summary of Sweet Home
Cha Hyun Soo, who lived with his family, used to be a cheerful teenage boy but suddenly he started locking himself up in his room and barely came out. One day his family was going somewhere and they met with an accident and Cha Hyun Soo was the only survivor of that very accident. After this incident, he becomes even more devastated and shifts into an apartment complex called Green Home. The place was kind of weird and shabby and the neighbors also did not have a good relationship with each other. Cha Hyun Soo lives there and plans to die every day. However, one night something horrible happens. The world started acting weird and people all over the world were turning into monsters according to their dark desires. The residents of the apartment complex lock themselves and some of them come forward to stop those monsters and save the people of the apartment. Cha Hyun Soo is one of them who willingly came forward to fight with the horrifying monsters. But soon he also started having symptoms of turning into monster but he developed an ability to control it and turn it into his survival power.
Character Analysis
Sweet Home is a drama that includes so many characters in it such as the survivors, the saviors, the monsters and so on, but to keep it short, here we are going to know some of the key characters or the main characters without whom it’s hard to imagine Sweet Home. So let’s do it.
Cha Hyun Soo (Song Kang) – The Reluctant Monster
Cha Hyun Soo is the central character or the protagonist or the main hero of the whole drama. We can see him at first as a teenager who lost his family and started living alone in Green Home. He is depressed and is suicidal and only thinks about dying but when he finds himself he becomes a hero who is desperate to save other people’s lives.
As the drama moves forward we see him turning into a half-monster and he is tormented in between his human and monstrous instincts. But he chose to be a protector rather than be a heinous monster.
Symbolism: His character symbolizes the fact that monsters are not always with the claws; it’s their inner darkness that makes them monsters.
Lee Eun Hyuk (Lee Do Hyun) – The Cold-Hearted Genius
Lee Eun Hyuk is a medical student who lives with his sister in the Green Home apartment. When the apocalypse breaks down he is the first one who comes forward and brilliantly executes his plan of protecting others. Soon he became the unofficial leader of the survivors. He is cold, calm, smart and emotionally distant.
In first appearance, he comes out as a strong and emotionally distant person who does not care about anyone but later he can see his emotional vulnerability, especially for his sister. Anyways, with his strategy he takes the charge of the group and makes the hardest and most ruthless decisions. At the end of the drama we see him sacrificing himself to protect others that proves his leadership.
Symbolism: This charter represents pragmatism and humanity. Also symbolizes true leadership.
Seo Yi Kyung (Lee Si Young) – The Fearless Fighter
Seo Yi Kyung is the strongest woman both in physics and mind among the women of the apartment. She is a former firefighter and is searching for her fiance. After the monster outbreak, she comes to know about her pregnancy and she also has doubts about her fiance’s connection with this terrible outbreak.
She is like a lonely wolf who does not trust anybody but later she herself becomes a protector without thinking of herself. She then leaves the apartment at the end and takes on a mission to find out the truth behind everything and signals a new journey.
Symbolism: In this drama her character represents resilience, loss, and the search for truth.
Pyeon Sang Wook (Lee Jin Wook) – The Mysterious Enforcer
This character does not belong to the apartment, we see him torture one of the residents of the building. The other residents mistake him for a gangster but he ignores them and becomes another survivor who does not think about himself. If You see him you will also mistake him to be a villain. He is full of mystery but plays a very important role in every season of the drama Sweet Home.
Even if he is mistaken by the survivors later he earns their trust and becomes one of them. He looks like a rough man but his softness shows when he makes a good bong with a little girl at the apartment complex. He ultimately sacrifices himself but also hints at a possible comeback and you will be busy thinking about him.
Symbolism: The character Pyeon Sang Wook symbolizes justice and redemption. And also shows that not everyone who looks evil with their outer appearance is actually evil.
Lee Eun Yoo (Go Min-Si) – The Rebellious Sister
Lee Eun Yoo is the younger sister of Eun Hyuk who once used to be a ballerina. For some reason she is not happy with her life and does not like his brother. She is rebellious and does not think before saying anything. She pretends to be strong but actually is a kind-hearted and soft girl.
Eun Yoo is immature and reckless but with time she becomes mature and understands the weight of survival. As the story moves forward, she develops feelings for Hyun Soo and also acknowledges her love for her elder brother.
Symbolism: Her character stands for youth, lost dreams, and resilience.
Themes and Symbolism
Sweet Home is not just a story of some terrifying monsters it is more of a psychological one that explores humans and their nature. Homans are the most terrifying being on this earth and this drama is just a reflection of that. Now let’s talk about the main themes and symbolic elements that shaped the story in a horror yet perfect way.
Humanity vs. Monstrosity – Who Are the Real Monsters?
The show draws a line between the normal humans and the monsters and evokes a question of what actually makes someone a monster. The monsters are actually made of their own dark desires, the more evil their desire is the more terrifying monster he becomes. After becoming monsters they totally forget their human nature. The only thing they know is killing humans. However, they are evil for sure but Hyun Soo’s transformation challenges this idea. When he turned into a monster he did not forget his duty to be a protector. However, some of the survivors who did not turn into monsters selfishly pushed the other survivors in danger. Their selfishness is more heinous than monsters. The government of the country also showed their evil side with their treatment to the infected people.
Symbolism: The monster presented in the drama represents the inner self of the human being as they are made of their traumas and suppressed desires. Basically, they are the inner demons of every human being that shows every human being has the potential to turn into or do something terrible.
Survival and Morality – Do the Ends Justify the Means?
When survival is the question people often forget morality. In this drama also we see the trace of lack of morality just for survival. Some characters make ruthless decisions while some people hold onto their ethics for sure. The cold leader Lee Eun Hyuk comes with logic and is not afraid of sacrificing himself. On the other hand, some of the residents wanted to kill the infected, mainly Hyun Soo who was trying to help them. When they saw Hyun Soo’s symptoms they voted to kill him but ended up locking him in a room. The gangster also shows humanity and morality as he uses his brutality to save people and not to kill them.
Symbolism: The issue of survival is a symbol of the moral battleground of human beings where they choose morality or cruelty to save themself. And some people who are morally strong stand against the cruelty.
Isolation and Loneliness – Can You Survive Alone?
When the outbreak happened and the residents of Green Home were being affected people started either isolating themselves or pushing the infected to be alone but in the end, they could survive by being together.
At the beginning of the story, we see Hyun Soo is a suicidal kid who does not want to live anymore, there are some other people who were fade up with their lives but when the situation occurs they become protectors of others lives. The survivors who never liked each other started trusting each other and ultimately built a strong bond that we can see in the next seasons.
Symbolism: Being a cruel monster can also be the result of loneliness. When you sit alone or stay alone you will for sure find yourself in a negative situation where your dark desires evoke and you forget to care for anyone. So in that sense, isolation can be the symbol of evil.
Sacrifice and Redemption – A Price for Survival
In every survival show you see people sacrificing things and Sweet Home is not an exception. Though some people were selfish at the same time some characters chose to sacrifice their lives or something precious to save the lives of other people which stronger the emotional weight of the story. Eun Hyuk, who was the unofficial leader of the survivors, sacrifices himself to ensure the exit of the survivors. Sang Wook also proves himself to be a hero and not a villain by sacrificing himself. Hyun Soo also sacrifices his humanity and chooses to be a monster for the sake of the lives of others.
Symbolism: The sacrifices of those characters make them a true hero. So in that sense sacrifice symbolizes true heroism.
Cinematography and Visual Effects
The cinematography and visual effects are one of the most striking aspects of the drama which brings life to the idea of an apocalypse outbreak full of monsters. The cinematography and the VFX works not only scare the audience, it also has the capability to give the viewers a psychological nightmare. The color palette, the sounds, the lighting and also the monster designs make it stand out in the genre of horror and give the audience one of the best visual horror experiences. Let’s break it down.
Dark and Gritty Cinematography – Setting the Mood
The cinematography of the drama is perfect for giving a spooky horror vibe to the audience. The whole apartment both from inside and outside is spooky, and they use muted colors, dim lighting and shadowy space that pass a message that something bad is going to happen. Not only the lights and colors but even the attire of each character tells a different story. The dark interior reflects the hopelessness of the residents of Green Home. The hallway gives a claustrophobic vibe, and the rooms make the audience feel like they are also trapped in those tiny rooms. The extreme close-up scene shows the struggle, pain and the fear of the tenants. For example, the transformation of Hyun Soo.
Terrifying Monster Designs – Bringing Nightmares to Life
Each monster is designed differently based on their dark desires and emotions which also makes them terrifying yet symbolic. In the first season, there are three monsters, a blind one, a big one which is known as a protein monster and a tongue monster.
The Blind Monster: The security guard of the apartment building turns into a blind monster. He was neglected by the tenants when he was a human. When he becomes a monster he comes to the apartment and tries to find humans. As he can not see with eyes he relies on sounds. This monster creates an intense suspense and it is the very first monster that Hyun Soo faced.
The Tongue Monster and Protein Monster: The tongue monster represents the gluttonous nature of human beings. It comes from the outside of Green Home. It is the first one that the tenant sees and has the idea of what is happening outside of the world. It kills many of the residents brutally. And trust me I almost cried seeing it out of fear.
The protein monster is a very big one that represents obsession with bodybuilding. He was one of the tenants who used to live in the apartment home.
The VFX quality was so good that it gave the monsters a realistic texture and movement. The motion-captured technology was used in the scene of Hyun Soo’s transformation when he became a half-monster, and this sense feels so eerie and looks so real.
OST and Sound Design
There are a total of 25 official soundtracks including vocal and instrumental scores. As a viewer,I will say it’s the background music of the drama that keeps the suspense, horrors and the emotions alive from the beginning to the end. So I will here give you a full list of the OSTs of the drama, both the vocal and instrumental scores.
Vocal Tracks:
- Sweet Home by YONGZOO
- Side by Side by BewhY
Instrumental Scores:
- Dies Irae – Cho Yoon Jung
- Escape – Kim Yong
- Lost Time – Gae Mi & Park Jung Hwan
- Gnarled Hands – Park Jung Hwan
- In the Dark – Lee Seong Gu
- I Am a Soldier – Shoon
- Trauma – Park Yoon Seo
- Protein – Gae Mi
- Monster Slayers – Lee Jong Han
- Tears of Sweet Home – Gae Mi & Park Jung Hwan
- Cracked – Park Mi Sun
- Despair – Gae Mi
- Still Here – Kim Eun Jae
- Infection – Shoon
- 4 Strings of Sweet Home – Gae Mi
- Being Distorted – Park Jung Hwan
- Dark Sun – Gae Mi
- Chaotic Fear – Lee Jong Han
- Emergency – Park Yoon Seo
- Undead – Lee Joon Wha
- Go Down – Lee Yoon Jung
- What the Hell am I? – Shoon
- Dark Sun (Version 2) – Gae Mi
Comparison to the Webtoon
As I previously said, the drama Sweet Home is an adaptation of a webtoon with the same name. The webtoon has its own fanbase and the drama absolutely became a blockbuster soon after the release. So the question arises which one is better? The webtoon or the drama? Before coming to any conclusion let’s compare both of them and then decide.
Storyline and Plot Changes
The story of both the drama and the webtoon is pretty similar, as some of the residents of an apartment get trapped in their building when the people outside were turning into some horrifying monsters. But the drama version brings some certain changes and those are:
- In the webtoon, Hyun Soo’s backstory has a detailed explanation of why and how he into a depressed boy who once used to be jolly and cheerful and why he became suicidal. But in the drama version, we see a brief introduction and explanation of the past story of Hyun Soo.
- The monster transformation process also has some major differences between both the versions. In the webtoon, the infected people are infected because of a curse that makes them first hallucinate and then turns them into monsters. And in the drama version we see the inner struggle and desires make them monsters.
- There are some certain moments for example the final battle are different from each other.
Character Differences
Some of the characters have changed in the drama version, some were designed just for the drama and some were slightly changed. Such as:
- Hyun-soo (Main Protagonist): In the webtoon, this character was more detailed and was totally devastated. He was darker and mentally broken and he was even more confused and faced more intense inner conflict about his transformation. But in drama, he was emotionally more reserved and retrained and quite simply accepted his fate. Obviously he was also in pain but for sure his pain is less than his webtoon version.
- Yoon Ji Soo (Bassist): In the webtoon, she had a tragic past but she was lively and her optimism pushed her to leave her tragic past and become more outgoing. On the other hand, in the drama, we see her as a serious person who has faded up with her life and her backstory is slightly different from the webtoon.
- Seo Yi Kyung (Firefighter): Seo Yi Kyung is one of the most important characters of the drama who is a strong-headed woman who adds more suspense to the story but she is not in the webtoon. This character is specially created for the drama.
Monster Designs and Visuals
In the webtoon, you can see a different type of art style which is more grotesque and surreal. This made the monsters look weirdly horrifying. On the other hand, to keep the core element they redesigned some of the monsters using CGI and VFX and they looked slightly less horrifying than the webtoon art.
Ending Differences
You can notice a huge difference in the ending of both the drama and the webtoon. The ending of the original one is more tragic and dark in a way that questions the existence of humanity. While in the drama we see an open ending that left room for the next seasons. The drama part dragged the story to its 3rd and final season.
Final Verdict: Which One is Better?
So if the question is which one is better then let me tell you, If you prefer psychological horror with a deeper character development then you should try reading the webtoon. But if you enjoy intense action, more character diversity and finally cinematic visuals then the drama version is a must-watch for you. It is actually totally up to your preference.
In this article, I was talking about season 1 of the drama Sweet Home which masterfully blends horror, action and emotional struggles to create a gripping survival story. It also has two more seasons that you can watch. This drama keeps the viewers stuck on the screen with its unique storyline, compelling characters, cinematography, terrifying monsters and much more from the beginning to the end. Though it has some liberal differences from the webtoon it stands out with its unique direction and cinematic execution.
Unlike the other monster horror series, it focuses more on human nature and its dark sides, showcasing fear, hope and desperation altogether. To both the psychological thrillers and apocalyptic drama lovers this drama makes sure to leave an unforgettable experience.
In which way season one ends it leaves many questions unanswered that make the viewers excited for the next seasons. So will humanity survive or will the monsters take over? Watch the first season and then the next season is waiting for you with the answer.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
1. What is the plot of Sweet Home?
Sweet Home is a thrilling horror series about a group of apartment residents who are forced to fight for survival when monsters begin to invade their world. As they face grotesque creatures, they also struggle with the darker sides of human nature, making tough choices in a battle for survival. The show combines monster horror with intense emotional and psychological themes.
2. What are the main themes of Sweet Home?
The main themes of Sweet Home include survival, human nature, and the moral choices people make under extreme pressure. The series explores how fear, isolation, and despair can change people, revealing both the best and worst aspects of humanity. It also touches on themes of loss, personal redemption, and the fight between good and evil.
3. Who are the main characters in Sweet Home?
The main characters in Sweet Home include Cha Hyun-soo, a troubled teenager who is trying to survive the chaos, and Seo Yi-kyeong, a determined woman who takes charge of protecting the others. Other important characters include Lee Eun-hyuk and Jae-yeon, each facing their own internal struggles while trying to fight the monsters and survive.
4. Is Sweet Home based on a webtoon?
Yes, Sweet Home is based on a popular South Korean webtoon of the same name, written by Kim Carnby and illustrated by Hwang Young-chan. The Netflix series adapts the webtoon’s gripping plot and intense visual style, maintaining the dark, suspenseful elements that made it popular.
5. How scary is Sweet Home?
Sweet Home is a horror thriller with disturbing monster designs and intense, graphic scenes. The series does a great job of building tension, with jumpscares, gore, and psychological terror. It’s recommended for fans of horror who are comfortable with intense, sometimes violent content.
6. Is Sweet Home suitable for all audiences?
Sweet Home contains graphic violence, gore, and psychological horror, making it unsuitable for younger audiences. It’s rated for mature viewers due to its disturbing themes and intense scenes, which include monster attacks and personal tragedies. Viewer discretion is advised.
7. What makes Sweet Home unique compared to other horror shows?
Sweet Home stands out by blending traditional monster horror with psychological and emotional depth. While many horror shows focus solely on the creatures, Sweet Home delves deeply into the characters’ motivations and how the terrifying events change them. The show also emphasizes human survival instincts and the moral dilemmas faced when pushed to the limit.