Parasyte: The Grey is a 2024 Sci-Fi Horror drama series directed and written (scripts) by Yeon Sang-ho (Train to Busan), based on the Parasyte manga by Hitoshi Iwaaki. It stars Jeon So-nee, Koo Kyo-hwan and Lee Jung-hyun. Netflix released it worldwide on April 5, 2024 with six episodes.
It takes places in South Korea where a silent invasion is taking place, consisting of parasitic worm-like creatures. One of them tries to infect Jeong Su-in, but it did not work and part of her brain survives the attempt. Jeong shares her body with a parasite named Heidi. Jeong teams up with Seol Kang-woo, a gangster who's looking for the whereabouts of his sisters, Seol Jin-hee and Seol Kyung-hee. Both were missing during the appearance of the parasites.
Meanwhile, the mysterious infections, disappearances and killings have led to the deployment of The Grey, a South Korean black ops agency tasked to investigate, combat and eliminate the parasite threat in secret. The unit is led by Choi Jun-kyung, who lost her husband to the parasite invasion.
Parasyte: The Grey contains examples of:
- Absurdly Sharp Blade: The parasites can make sharp blades that can cut through anything.
- Big Bad: The alpha parasite.
- Creature-Hunter Organization: The Grey has anti-parasite duties in South Korea, up to and including black ops missions where they get the cooperation of various police stations to help them.
- Cannibal Larder: The parasites operating together have several of these hidden away in the city, taking victims there on occasion to be killed, but mostly to store away the remains in order to be fed upon later. They mark down these larders of theirs with spray-painted sigils.
- Ear Ache: Jun-kyung lost her right ear when her husband was turned into a parasite. She is wearing a prosthetic one.
- Half the Man He Used to Be: How Heidi deals with Lee Kyung-Chun upon awakening after the latter nearly stabbed Jeong to death.
- Mythology Gag:
- Jeong Su-in's infection is based on Shinichi Izumi's perspective. Only this time, it's her brain that gets infected.
- During a debriefing of selected South Korean police officers, Jun-kyung explained that parasites can be taken out with shotguns instead of assault rifles.
- Jun-kyung also mentioned another way to detect if a person is a parasite is by taking a strand of hair to see if it'll wither and die.
- No Such Agency: The Grey is a South Korean black ops unit that's not known to the public, except for some parts of law enforcement and the government. Averted in the fifth episode after parasites raid the convoy. This allowed netizens to film/take photos and post them online, forcing the South Korean National Police Agency to admit the threat of the parasites and the unit. The end of the show has the unit having its own office, suggesting that they operate within the public eye.
- Religion of Evil: The Saejin Church is in fact formed solely out of parasites who have created their own organization in order to better survive and hunt among the humans. They are led by the alpha parasite AKA Pastor Kwon Hyuk-joo.
- SWAT Team: The Grey has a tactical unit tasked to eliminate parasites after they've infected humans through heavy firepower such as shotguns.
- The Stinger: Doubles as a Wham Episode. Jun-kyung was told that someone from Japan wanted to meet with her. His name is Shinichi Izumi, investigative journalist.
- Title Drop: The title refers to the The Grey unit.
- Wham Episode: The last episode shows Shinichi greeting Jun-kyung. As he extends his right arm out, the camera slowly pans in to his right hand.
- Urban Warfare: Most of the fighting takes places in the streets, buildings and alleys in Seoul.
