Black Knight ending explained: Does 5-8 stop Cheonmyeong Group’s evil plans?

Black Knight, a new dystopian K-drama, is now available to stream on Netflix – so, how does Black Knight end? Does Ryu Seok die and does 5-8 overthrow Cheonmyeong Group’s evil plans? We’ve got the answers. 

Based on Lee Yoon-gyun’s webtoon, Black Knight is set in a future South Korea as what’s left of humanity attempts to survive in the harsh wasteland that was left behind from the comet strike. However, a brutal social hierarchy has been established, separating people into various classes and leaving those determined to be refugees without the resources needed for survival. 

A group of delivery drivers led by the powerful 5-8 are the heroes in this story, as they seek out to thwart the plans of the evil heir to a powerful conglomerate named Cheonmyeong Group. 

The question is: does 5-8’s plan work? And does Ryu Seok die? We’ve broken down the ending to Black Knight on Netflix…

Warning: Major spoilers ahead for Black Knight.

Does 5-8 stop the Cheonmyeong Group’s evil plans?

Yes, 5-8 and the team of Black Knights manage to put a stop to Cheonmyeong Group heir Ryu Seok’s evil plans to wipe out refugees and continue his sickening experiments to save himself. But a lot happens in the run-up to these events. 

Episode 6, the finale of the show, kicks off with 5-8 and 4-1 attempting to assassinate Ryu Seok, who has gone against the wishes of his father – the Chairman of Cheonmyeong Group and the creator of the Air Core.

Just prior to this, we learned that Ryu Seok had been purposely polluting the air in order to boost Cheonmyeong Group’s profitability and maintain power. But 5-8 and his team fail to get a hit on Ryu Seok, with the attack only accelerating his anger. 

Elsewhere, the Chairman – at a loss of what to do about his evil son and his plans to wipe out all refugees – visits Tuktak, the grandfather figure to 5-8’s protege Sa-wol. Through their conversation, we learn that Tuktak helped to build the now-broken social system alongside the Chairman before departing the project, realizing it would have done more harm than good. 

Tuktak, who’s been examining the air and soil quality in other areas, recommends that the Chairman drop the relocation plans, suggesting that society should move down south where the air is getting clearer. 

In a bid to stop his son, the Chairman hands over control of the Air Core to the President, who has good intentions and hopes to ensure everyone gets the resources they need. When an embittered Ryu Seok later storms into his father’s office after hearing the news, the Defense Minister walks in to arrest him. 

Ryu Seok pulls out his gun and shoots the Minister’s troops before handing the gun to his father, urging him to kill him. Just as the Chairman is about to pull the trigger, a shocking twist unfolds as the Defense Minister shoots the Chairman instead, telling Ryu Seok that the next stage of the plan is to stage a coup and capture the President. 

Ryu Seok and his team put out a bounty on 5-8 and his team, except for Sa-wol, a mutant who may hold the key to his survival. Earlier on in the season, we discovered that Ryu Seok is dying from a disease, and he’s been experimenting on mutants in a bid to find the stem cells he needs to be cured. 

Over in the refugee district, people begin dying after getting the health check and vaccine required before supposedly being upgraded to the General District. As we know at this point, the plan was never meant to go ahead – instead, Ryu Seok was staging a ruse to kill off even more refugees. 

Tuktak realizes what’s going on, and sounds the alarm. The Black Knights manage to intercept the physical examinations while Sa-wol runs to his best friend Useless, who sadly gets caught in the crossfire and dies. As he mourns the loss, Ryu Seok’s cronies are able to kidnap him. 

Ryu Seok, who is angered by the attack, expresses his plans to kill off all refugees. Little does he realize that the delivery drivers led by 5-8 have teamed up with Seol-ah and the Defense Majors to put a stop to his evil plans. 

Tuktak shares with them the blueprint of the Core, and they start marking their way to the district armed with every weapon they can find. What follows is an epic showdown of bullets and mayhem. 

While all of this is happening, Ryu Seok is hooked up to an unconscious Sa-wol, who is being harnessed for his blood, in a secret location. As Seol-ah arrives to save the President and arrest the Defense Minister for treason, the Black Knights take out Ryu Seok’s cronies before finding him at the Air Core.

Does Ryu Seok die at the end of Black Knight?

Yes, Ryu Seok dies in the epic finale. Under attack and backed into a corner, Ryu Seok turns the Air Core up to 11, sending it into overdrive so that it will explode. However, 5-8 manages to break into the room and opens fire. 

After wiping out his team, 5-8 turns his attention to Ryu Seok, who has an unconscious Sa-wol beside him. “You massacred the refugees, you polluted the atmosphere, you conducted experiments on kids,” he says. “Your death won’t bring forgiveness.”

Just as it looks like either one of them could go, Sa-wol inadvertently distracts Ryu Seok, giving 5-8 his chance to finally deliver the kill shot. But while the evil b*stard might be dead, there’s still the small matter of the Air Core, which is about the blow up. 

5-8 grabs Sa-wol and they make their getaway, as does everyone else in the area before the explosion, incinerating Ryu Seok’s body in flames. 

The final scenes wrap Black Knight in a nice little bow, showing the President as she announces that everyone will be moved into a home with the resources they need, while removing the status system classifying people into Refugee, General, Special, and Core. 

We’re then shown Sa-wol – yes, he survived, and he’s got a new haircut! – as he works alongside 5-8, finally fulfilling his dream of becoming a deliveryman. What’s more, without the Cheonmyeong Group polluting the air, the atmosphere is beginning to return to normalcy, indicating a bright future ahead. 

Black Knight Season 1 is available to stream on Netflix now. Check out our other Netflix hubs below:

The Night Agent Season 2 | The Gentlemen | Will there be Firefly Lane Season 3? | Sex Education Season 4 | Beef Season 2 | Monster Season 2 | Will there be Ginny and Georgia Season 3? | Black Mirror Season 6 | All the Light We Cannot See | Stranger Things Season 5 | The Witcher Season 3 | Chicken Run 2 | Heartstopper Season 2 | FUBAR | Florida Man Season 2 | Obsession Season 2 | The Sandman Season 2