Netflix's new action-thriller show is a dark revenge tale perfect for 'John Wick' fans — and you can binge-watch it now
If you left the theater after watching 'Ballerina' and felt that familiar void only a pulse-pounding revenge thriller can fill, then 'Mercy for None' on Netflix might just be the perfect fix. This gritty Korean thriller that hits all the right notes for fans craving the kind of dark energy the 'John Wick' franchise is famous for (minus the Hollywood gloss).
What surprises me though is that 'Mercy for None' hasn't even cracked Netflix's top 10 list yet after landing on the streamer on June 6. Honestly, I'm worried it'll slip through the cracks and get lost in the endless scroll of new releases, because it deserves way more attention than it's getting.
The show follows a former ruthless enforcer who vanished after sabotaging himself, only to return when his brother is brutally murdered. With his baseball bat in hand, he tears through rival gangs and corrupt cops in a pulse-pounding quest for justice.
So, if you're craving some brutal action with a strong emotional core, 'Mercy for None' is the hidden gem you didn't know you needed on your Netflix watchlist. Here's why you need to binge-watch it now.
'Mercy for None' follows Nam Gi-jun (So Ji-sub), a former ruthless mob enforcer who vanished 11 years ago after deliberately injuring himself to escape the criminal underworld.
Living in exile, Gi-jun's quiet life is shattered when his younger brother, Nam Gi-seok (Lee Joon-hyuk), is found murdered under suspicious circumstances. Forced out of hiding, Gi-jun returns to Seoul determined to uncover who is responsible for his brother's death.
As he investigates, Gi-jun becomes entangled in a fierce power struggle between two rival crime syndicates — the Juwoon Group and the Bongsan Group. Using a baseball bat as his weapon of choice, he violently confronts gangsters, corrupt law enforcement officers, and scheming heirs as he works his way through the tangled web of betrayal.
Get instant access to breaking news, the hottest reviews, great deals and helpful tips.
So Ji-sub owns 'Mercy for None' as a deeply wounded man hell-bent on revenge. It asks you to overlook a few unlikely moments, but overall, it's a tough, adrenaline-fueled thriller that delivers exactly what you want: a heartbroken guy brutally tossing gangsters around like ragdolls.
And that's the best thing about the show. Anyone watching a revenge thriller is most likely looking for some brutal fighting sequences, and fortunately 'Mercy for None' delivers in that department, with the baseball bat feeling like a character all its own.
There's actually an impressive scene in the first episode where Nam Gi-jun tears through a bunch of smug teens hanging out in a café and it's easily the show's most intense moment.
Aside from the action, it's So Ji Sub's acting that kept me watching, especially with how calm and controlled he stays the whole way through. He comes back to find his brother murdered, and instead of breaking down or losing it, he just starts taking people out.
There are no big speeches or dramatic outbursts either which is something I appreciate. It very much feels like an unofficial 'John Wick' spinoff and I think that's why I was instantly hooked.
The only real thing that lets 'Mercy for None' down is the story. It's a simplistic revenge thriller so don't expect anything grand, and the first episode fails to offer proper context meaning I ended up feeling a little confused.
The show gives you names on screen to help keep track of who's who, but that's just the tip of the iceberg. There's a lot you're left to piece together on your own. By the time Gi-jun starts his path of revenge, you're already knee-deep in a sea of serious-looking men in suits, and it's hard knowing their roles within each gang. It also would've been nice to see more of an emotional backstory for Nam Gi-jun but the show never fully delves into it.
However, despite the weaker story, 'Mercy for None' still makes for a thrilling watch. There's enough brutal action to keep revenge fans satisfied, and the cinematography is incredibly dark and gritty, giving this a very bleak feel.
'Mercy for None' deserves to be on your Netflix watchlist, not just because it somehow got overshadowed by other newly released shows at the beginning of the month, but because it's an intense kind of revenge story perfect for 'John Wick' fans.
The pacing is solid, the action scenes are choreographed with real weight, and there is plenty of tension from start to finish to keep you clicking 'next episode.' Plus, there are only seven episodes, meaning you can probably binge-watch the entire show in just one weekend.
I'm holding onto hope that 'Mercy for None' might crack the top 10 list at some point, but even if it doesn't, I hope enough viewers will notice it on the homepage and give it a chance. So, if you're after a show to binge that serves up a raw, bloody story of vengeance with a mob enforcer coming back from exile to settle scores, this is it.
You can stream 'Mercy for None' on Netflix now. For more streaming recommendations, see what else got added to Netflix in June 2025.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
UPI
3 hours ago
- UPI
Jake Weary: Playing charismatic Cane on 'Waterfront' is a game changer
1 of 3 | Holt McCallany (L) and Jake Weary star in "The Waterfront." Photo courtesy of Netflix NEW YORK, June 21 (UPI) -- Animal Kingdom and Walking Dead: Dead City actor Jake Weary says he wanted to star in The Waterfront because the new Netflix drama gives him the chance to play a type of character he doesn't usually get offered. "It was a character that I've never really explored before, someone who is really outwardly charismatic and charming and trying to use his charms to get certain things and manipulate people," Weary, 35, told UPI in a phone interview Thursday. "I'd always played more introverted characters and characters that are harboring secrets and there's just a lot of darkness," he said. "There are elements there with Cane, but I think, for the most part, he's someone that actually smiles. I usually play characters that just scowl all the time, so I thought it was kind of a nice game changer for me." Now streaming on Netflix, the show was written-produced by Dawson's Creek and Scream creator Kevin Williamson. It follows the Buckleys, a wealthy North Carolina family as they try to save their fishing empire by smuggling drugs. Weary plays Cane Buckley, while Holt McCallany plays his father Harlan, Maria Bello plays his mother Belle and Melissa Benoist plays his older sister Bree. "I always thought Cane is kind of the glue that kept the family together," the actor said. "I feel like he's the one that creates the big Buckley family group chat, just to check in with everybody," he added. "When he notices that the family is in dire straits, he really jumps at the opportunity to take the bull by the horns and fix things." Weary and his co-stars quickly bonded when they arrived on the show's set in North Carolina. The actor described himself and Bello as "besties" and said they frequently text since she has been working out of the country and haven't been able to see each other for awhile. "And me and Holt have this really, really strong relationship, too, because I think there are a lot of parallels in our lives," he added. "We both had mothers who were big-time divas. His mother was a ballroom singer and my mom was a soap opera actress," Weary said, referring to McCallany's mother, entertainer Julie Wilson, and his own, Guiding Light icon Kim Zimmer. "We both grew up on the East Coast and have similar interests and can, literally, talk for hours. Having the two of them together [Bello and McCallany] together was just a dream come true." Further connecting the cast and crew was the fact that Hurricane Helene ravaged North Carolina while they were there. "There's a lot of people on the crew whose homes were affected by the hurricane," Weary recalled. "You could see how it brought the crew together. Everybody was super-supportive of each other," he said. "It was just really beautiful to see." One perfect Holt McCallany scene to welcome you to The Waterfront. The new series from Scream and Dawson's Creek creator Kevin Williamson is now playing. Netflix (@netflix) June 19, 2025
Los Angeles Times
3 hours ago
- Los Angeles Times
Korean American artist reflects on her parents' immigrant experience in Tustin gallery exhibit
When Korean American artist Wendy Park was growing up in Southern California in the 1980s and '90s, the Compton Fashion Center swap meet was her playground. 'I grew up with immigrant parents from Korea and we worked in the swap meets all over L.A. We did Norwalk, Palmdale, Paramount and Compton was a place that I remember vividly,' said Park. 'I remember it being such a beautiful, colorful place.' Park's early life at the swap meet and her parents' immigrant experience are at the center of her third solo exhibition at Various Small Fires OC gallery in Tustin. Titled 'Of Our Own,' Park's paintings explore artifacts and rituals of daily life as an immigrant and the objects that can connect a current home to one left behind. In the exhibition, the large doubled paneled work, ''90s Compton Swap Meet' captures an uncharacteristically quiet moment at the swap meet, void of both customers and vendors. A carousel of sunglasses for sale with hand mirrors tied to the display sits along side a jungle of plants, some hanging and others potted in plastic pink swans. A broom, trash bag and metal hand truck lean against the brick wall, evidence of the work being done, next to a stall that sells baby strollers and battery-operated toy puppies that bark and flip. 'My mom was telling me how this really was a place of community,' said Park. 'It used to be a Sears building and a Korean man bought it and made all these little stalls and inside there were more kiosks and stalls. It was a place where Korean immigrants who don't have access to starting a business could come and work.' Swap meets themselves tend to be place of community for immigrant populations. They are places where they hear their own language spoken and purchase products and ingredients specific to their needs. 'This is painted from a woman's perspective of that era,' Park said of the work. 'It was a place of opportunity for Korean immigrants.' The subject matter is an incredibly timely one, given the countless raids made by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement across the nation in recent weeks with immigrant marketplaces and hubs like Santa Fe Springs Swap Meet, MacArthur Park and downtown Santa Ana targeted locally. 'Immigrants are the most hardworking people. They leave their families, they leave everything they know to come and start a new life. It is tragic that they finally get here, overcome their struggles and maybe live a good life and then get taken away,' Park said about the current climate. 'It is heartbreaking to see. It is an unfair situation and done poorly.' Park received a BFA from Otis College of Art & Design and spent 13 years in Disney animation. The bright colors that inform her work draw on that experience while also reflecting her point of view as a child, how colorful and alive the world seemed to her then. She references both American pop and Korean folk art in her work and makes newspaper kiosks, coin laundry carts and pots of Tiger Balm worthy of investigation. In 'Charms Cash' wads of dollar bills are tightly rubber-banded and stored in a can used to hold hard candy. 'It's really difficult for immigrants to trust the banking systems,' said Park. 'They are afraid of how much information they have to give or what might happen. My parents would hide money in the house or store it at the swap meet in candy containers like this.' Park's father sold plants at the swap meet and she got in the habit of hiding things in the plastic swan pots popular in the era, which are present in 'Go Swan' alongside an open can of beer and lit cigarette over a Korean board game. Some pieces are also historic documentation of sites that might otherwise be lost to fleeting memory. 'Western and 5th' depicts Korean market signage that no longer exists, but Park recalled visiting the center as child with her grandmother and aunts. The memory was unearthed with the help of an old photo of the 1992 L.A. riots. The concept for the '90's Compton Swap Meet' piece is an idea Park said she has carried in her mind for a while and its completion was made possible partly by oral history shared by her mother. When the two of them couldn't agree on the coloring of the building facade of the Compton swap meet, Park used a hip hop music video for reference. 'My mom members it as a brick-colored storefront but I was telling her I remember it like a rainbow,' said Park. 'I was watching a Tupac music video and it showed it with these colors in it.' Her memories helped Park piece together a more accurate representation of the place she and her family spent long days. Hours at the swap meet were so demanding in fact, that the family often couldn't get to church on Sundays. 'There was actually a room inside the Compton swap meet where they would all have fellowship and pray and have Bible study on Sunday,' said Park. The religious community found at the Compton Fashion Center is depicted in the wooden crucifix featured in the work. While Park remembers the swap meet fondly, she admits her mother has expressed a desire for her talented daughter to choose a more pleasing subject to paint. 'She is like, 'you can paint anything in the world, why are you painting the swap meet?'' said Park. But while her mother sees the family's tenure at the swap meet as a time she would just as soon forget, Park said the memories give her a sense of pride and reminds her how hard her parents worked to create a better life. 'For me, it is so admirable,' said Park. Mostly, Park hopes her art will encourage people to keep an open mind about others who might be living with fear for themselves or their loved ones as ICE raids continue. Park said now is the time immigrant families like need their community more than ever. 'The biggest thing is empathy; have an open heart and protect those who need it right now,' said Park. 'A lot of people are afraid to go out and get groceries, or do simple things.' Wendy Park's solo exhibition 'Of Our Own' is on view through July 19 at VSF OC, 119 N. Prospect Ave., Tustin. The gallery is open to the public Wednesday through Saturday, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Yahoo
6 hours ago
- Yahoo
The Creator of Scream Has a New Netflix Hit. It's Salty, Soapy, and Fully Adult.
The Waterfront If things continue at their current pace, all of television is in danger of turning into a genre that I like to call 'Yellowstone, but … ' Of course, we have the Taylor Sheridan show's many prequel spinoffs, but their success also seems to have inspired waves of Westerns and dramas about locally powerful families who have fallen on hard times. The latest 'Yellowstone, but … ' show is The Waterfront, now streaming on Netflix, where it has immediately shot to No. 1 on the charts. This is a story set in a seaside town, following the locally powerful Buckley family, owners of a fishery, a restaurant, some beautiful houses, and undeveloped tracts of coastline, who have—you guessed it—fallen on hard times. Like the Duttons trying to hold on to their Yellowstone Ranch, the Buckleys need to arrest their downward mobility; their attempts to do so without betraying their beliefs, or one another, will be the meat of the story. The Waterfront is a Kevin Williamson show, set (like his Dawson's Creek) in coastal North Carolina, so it's full of salty, beautiful people who do soapy things. But unlike Dawson's Creek and Williamson's latter-day hit The Vampire Diaries, this is a full-on adult show, with no teenage romance, and with moments of hyperviolence that startled me into audible exclamations of 'Oh!' Adventuresome Netflix viewers looking for 'Outer Banks without the treasure hunt' will likely find themselves confused, and hopefully minimally traumatized, by this one. The Waterfront stars Holt McCallany, the granite-faced father-figure standout from Mindhunter and The Iron Claw, as the patriarch Harlan Buckley, whose own father was involved in the drug trade, but who has been running 'clean' businesses for a couple of decades, ever since his father's illegal activities ended in his death. Maria Bello plays Harlan's wife, Belle, who tolerates her husband's drinking and affairs, for reasons that are somewhat hard to parse. Jake Weary is his golden-boy son, Cane, a former football player and reluctant participant in all this crime who becomes the heart of the show, and Melissa Benoist is his daughter Bree, an addict in recovery who, we find out, has good reason to hate her family. Will the Buckleys, having trouble keeping their businesses in the black, get back into running drugs? You bet they will! And for the sake of the show, it's a good thing they do, because that's what brings Grady, a drug dealer played by Topher Grace, into the mix, significantly livening up the action. Grace has gotten really good at being in on the trick that his face plays on you. You see those features and think 'preppy; professional-managerial; Connecticut.' But there's something creepy about a guy that clean-cut; a Topher Grace villain knows it. Here, as Grady, Grace creates a really weird—maybe not always successful, but always interesting—villain. Topher Grace and Holt McCallany are the most recognizable actors on the show, and The Waterfront has placed them in opposition to one another, playing contrasting versions of powerful manhood. After the Buckleys eliminate the middleman they've been working with, they find Grady, who has a big drug operation set up in a farmhouse heavily populated by hired badasses, and try to do business with him. Grady at first looks like a vest-wearing tech bro, but we find out he has—as Harlan says—'no code.' We first see how disturbing he is when Grady orders his men to turn a minigun mounted on a truck on a henchman who's displeased him and is running away across a field. Grady jokes about how loud the gun is, and mocks how the guy's body jumps around as it's riddled with bullets, while Harlan stares, shocked. Grady is there to show us that some people shouldn't have power, to draw a contrast between his infatuation with it and our heroes' supposed reluctance to use it. But he's also kind of funny, which is good, because the dominant feeling you get from spending time in the world of the Buckleys is one of hungover, self-serious misery. (In that way, this show is, indeed, 'Yellowstone, but … ') Out of some sociopathic impulse of friendliness, or maybe in order to control the situation, Grady cozies up to the Buckleys, showing up at their restaurant, convincing their teenage grandson Diller (Brady Hepner) to go on a hunting trip, and directly asking Harlan if they can become like family. When Harlan, Grady, and Diller walk in a field, hunting quail, the series best gets at the contrast it's trying to draw between these two men. Grady is a guy who loves violence but doesn't really know how to use a gun. Harlan tries to teach Grady how to aim, how to be disciplined with his hunting rifle; Diller, taught by Harlan, already knows. McCallany's calm, paternal intensity, heightened by being thrown into this situation with an unpredictable and dangerous person, ramps up by the moment, until he gives off a wave of gravitas that makes you believe that indeed, Harlan is the kind of father who can be so-so, but who has (as Bree puts it) 'moments of spectacular.' But just as often, when McCallany and Grace face off, the manic energy rolling off Grady crashes into the stone-faced Harlan in a way that's less effective, giving McCallany less to do. In one scene, as the two debate the terms of their relationship, Grady describes Harlan as having 'resting stress face'; Grace pulls down the sides of his mouth, making a perfect simulacrum of McCallany's. That's funny! But it also makes Harlan into more of a caricature—something the show needs to break down, rather than build up, since it's picked such a perfect Big Daddy actor for its Big Daddy character. This first season of The Waterfront sets more tables than the waitresses at the Buckleys' seaside restaurant. We see Cane's moral dilemmas, Bree's tragic history. But the best seeds it sows are in the relationship between Harlan and Belle. Belle is the kind of wife who accepts the appearance of Harlan's out-of-wedlock son with barely a blink, but also one who tries, behind Harlan's back, to sell a piece of land in a development deal that goes against Harlan's principles but that would have gotten the family out of the drug business for good. This scheme aside, in this season, the parents are mostly on the same page. But by the end, we see that we may get a lot of McCallany vs. Bello next time around. That's a good idea. Yellowstone always suffered because John Dutton had no plausible opposition inside his family. (Jamie does not count.) If The Waterfront is about a family managing its own decline, it only makes sense that in such a family, Mom and Dad would, quite often, find themselves fighting.
