For those hankering for a hardcore action thriller in the vein ofJohn Wick, look no further than the newNetflixoriginal seriesTrigger. Premiering on July 11, 2025, the hyper-violent South Korean series imagines what happens when a country with strict gun laws is suddenly inundated with firearms. With firearms suddenly in the hands of the most volatile and disenfranchised individuals, South Korea quickly begins to resemble America’s worst nightmares of mass shootings and unchecked gun violence.
With shades ofJohn Wick, Mercy for None, and Tyler Perry’sStraw, Triggeris less about blood-soaked revenge and more of a cautionary tale about the dangers of lax gun laws. The series imagines what a country historically opposed to public gun ownership would become if its laws were as lax as those in America.John Wickglorifies violence, whileTriggeramplifies it intentionally to critique it and warn against such laws ever existing in South Korea. Both deliver riveting results.
‘Trigger’ Is Netflix’s Latest K-Drama
Boasting the tagline, “Firearms are flooding into a gun-free country,“Triggeris a10-part original Netflix K-Dramanew to the platform on July 25, 2025. The series opens with a brutal mass shooting that shocks the citizens of South Korea to their core. The country’s strict no-gun policy is shattered when a mysterious mass influx of firearms reaches ordinary citizens.When the guns reach the hands of the most oppressed and societally aggrieved, those in power worry about the country turning into a perpetual bloody massacre.
As high-powered artillery circulates throughout the country, it’s up to sharpshooting police officer and former military sniper Lee Do (Kim Nam-Gil), who teams with Moon Baek (Kim Young-Kwang), a local criminal whom Lee Do has no clue is orchestrating the national crisis, to stop the bleeding. As more firearms are disseminated and more deadly shootouts occur, the show’s central thesis crystallizes: South Koreans, like gun-crazy Americans, will air out the most minor of microaggressions with the quick click of the trigger.
How ‘Trigger’ Channels ‘John Wick’
At its most basic,bothTriggerandJohn Wickrevolve around an imperiled character who feels slighted and deeply aggrieved, and through a series of unfortunate events, must lash out with ultra-violent desperation.InJohn Wick’s case, a stolen car and a murdered dog incite his vengeful warpath. Yet, by the fourth iteration, it doesn’t even matter why Wick is out for blood. The series has become a visual feast of unremitting carnage and unintelligible shootouts that have zero emotional impact and leave the audience numb.
Yet, due to slick editing, pricey set pieces, over-the-top gunplay, and 60-year-old Keanu Reeves leading the way,John Wickhas remained one of the most successful action movie franchises in the past decade. With a series so popular, it’s no surprise that other countries would adopt a similar approach to its fatal shootouts.
Once the criminals in South Korea get hold of the automatic assault rifles and high-powered machine guns,the breathless gunfightsare starkly reminiscent ofJohn Wick’s violent choreography. There’s also plenty of hand-to-hand combat in between the hail of bullets.The show channels the best of John Wick’s explosive bouts of expert gunplay, even aiming to take down the very violence it depicts.
While assassins and revenge do not figure prominently inTriggeras they do inJohn Wick, the relentless shootouts and polished visual aesthetic will remind viewers of Wick blasting his way through a throng of the High Table’s nameless, faceless minions. If that type of undying, hardcore action is missing from one’s life following the two-year absence sinceJohn Wick 4was released, by all means, pull theTriggerASAP.
How ‘Trigger’ Outshoots ‘John Wick’
AlthoughJohn Wickis a better-made action franchise due to its vast resources and monetary backing,Triggeraims for a more worthy target: reducing gun violence. South Korea already has stringent gun laws in place that have led to very low gun-related crimes in the country per year. The show’s central conceit suggests that, if given the same number of guns as a country like the United States, where gun fatalities are the number one cause of death for people aged 1-17, it too will suffer as many deadly consequences.
Yet, the most interesting aspect ofTriggeris how it depicts deadly gun violence not as the cause, but as the symptom, of a much more troubling national problem. Whereas the South Korean seriesMercy for Nonemore accurately resemblesJohn Wick,Triggershares more in commonwith Tyler Perry’sStraw.TriggerandStraware about broken, downtrodden ordinary people on the fringes of society meeting their breaking point (reaching their final straw, being triggered, etc.), where a simple slight, such as a loud noise from a neighbor or a wrong look by a stranger, can send someone into a violent rage.
In exploring the psychological factors motivating the marginalized to lash out with their newfound gun access,Triggeractively critiques gun violence in waysJohn Wicknever attempts. The problem, however, is thatTriggerrarely, if ever, offers a credible solution to prevent the hypothetical crisis. At times, it also glorifies the very violence it criticizes, but rarely as excessively asJohn Wick, which revels in extreme carnage without any hint of a significant message or societal statement.
Yet, by raising more questions than providing answers,Trigger’s looming existential threat remains. A country with long-standing gun laws suddenly bombarded with firearms cannot and will not end well; a stunningly simple outlook that has eluded a country like the U.S., which leads the world in gun ownership and gun-related deaths.
AsTriggertries to shoot its way to Netflix’s most-viewed TV charts, it’s worth noting that the show has a 100% Rotten Tomatoes rating, based on six early reviews. Despite theover-the-top action tropes redolent ofJohn Wick,Triggeruses gun violence to denounce its potential proliferation in a place free of such a scourge. It’s not about an aging assassin getting revenge on those who wronged him. It’s about what could happen to a populace suddenly armed in mass and the devastating ramifications that ensue if left unchecked.Triggeris available to stream onNetflix.
