(very light spoilers, nothing major revealed)
As everyone else, I was very excited for Hellbounds release. And I wouldn’t say that I was let down, but I still think that this drama left a lot to be desired.

Without a doubt, this show has a lot going for it, including cinematography and a few stand-out performances, especially coming from cult -leader Jung Jin-soo who had me captivated every time he was on screen. But this is a very plot-heavy show so it feels fair to focus my review of this drama mostly on that.
Hellbound has a few interesting concepts that I really appreciated. I think the most interesting aspect of this show, is how it explores the exploitation of tragedies. How would we act, if the existence of God and hell were confirmed in our universe? Wouldn’t our first instinct be to capitalize on those events? How long would it take us to try and rationalize what is happening, to twist the stories until they fit in our world-view? I think it was very fitting that no matter how out of control the events of the drama got, even after literally proving the existence of Angels of death, capitalism was the one thing that prevailed. That gave the entire show an air of capitalist-realism that I found really interesting. I got a strong Death Note vibe from the whole premise but the story had enough additions to make it feel like its own thing. Analyzing how we as our society would react to such a setting, factoring in the internet, mob-mentality, streamers, and video virality made this feel fresh and relevant. I also know that South Korea has a pretty serious cult-problem so the premise of the show also appealed to me on a cultural level.

So yes, in theory, this drama could have been great. But as the MyDramaList score shows: it’s not. It’s merely alright.
When I first read the synopsis of this show I was wondering, how the hell (no pun intended) they were going to pull off a story as complicated as this one in six episodes. The answer to this question is simple: They don’t. While I could, more or less follow the plot, Hellbound ended up being not only a confusing but also sadly a deeply confused show that doesn’t seem to know what it wants to be. A lot of elements, metaphors, and subtext were introduced and then quickly dropped, because six episodes simply weren’t enough to tell this story. I think the best example for this problem was demonstrated in detective Jin Kyung Hoon who, for a good amount of this drama on every level seemed to be its main character but suddenly disappeared when a new protagonist was introduced by episode four. Now I enjoyed both these characters but still was left kind of stunned when the show, past its mid-point, suddenly decided to tell the story from the point of view of someone we never even met before. Then there is, of course, the open ending, which I did sort of expect but at this point, I am very doubtful that we’re ever going to get a Hellbound season 2, and considering that, this story left way too many knots untied for my taste.

Also, and I don’t know where else where to mention this as it’s only a half-serious criticism of the show, but good God Bae Youngjaes baby is ugly. I felt like laughing every time it was on screen. I understand that the majority of the CGI-budget probably went to the monsters and action (and understandably so) but this has to be the worst animated infant I have seen since Twilight.

I read that many people were disappointed with the drama's lack of gore and that many were hoping for an experience more similar to Sweet Home. While Sweet Home is a show close to my heart, this is not the case for me. I think all the ingredients were there to make this drama special. I didn’t need any more blood from it, just a bit more focus. Sadly the potential to be great doesn’t make something great and so Hellbound simply isn’t.
Still, it’s not a total waste of your time. I am not mad about having watched this. The questions this story poses were interesting enough to keep me engaged. There’s enough about this drama to be somewhat enjoyable, plus while the short runtime might have weakened the quality of the show, this way it at least doesn’t feel as big of a commitment. Should you watch this? Sure but lower your expectations. I will say this: If you liked Death Note you’re probably going to get some kind of kick out of Hellbound. Just bear with it for those few episodes. You’re not going to get a whole lot of explanations from this show but a few interesting thesis statements about the state of the world (plus an ugly looking CGI baby).