Series Review: Bloodhounds S.1
This Netflix-Original K-drama tells an enticing story about two skilled boxers suddenly thrust into a cold life of street crime. Warning: inexorable spoilers included.
Intense technical fight scenes, a slew of endearing and menacing characters, and a whole lot of the ‘marine spirit’ and you are left with an enticing Netflix Original K-Drama.
Normally, I’ll peruse through the projects I review a second time around to further digest the details and intricacies of the storytelling. But I candidly can admit that it was hard for me to revisit this show without getting fully submerged or taken aback by the conniving brutality that this show bolsters.
Kim Geon-woo(Woo Do-whan) meets his best friend/soon-to-be loanshark partner Hong Woo-Jin ( Lee Sang-Yi) first, as his rival in a boxing tournament. It is in this early scene that we see the fundamental differences between the two that serve as a buffer in their dynamic.
Kim Geon-woo is a polite and complacent momma’s boy who wouldn’t hurt a fly. Yet he boasts the boxing talent to end most of his fights with a single punch. Hong Woo-Jin serves as the fire to Geon Woo’s ice, He’s a more showoff-ish -still equally likable- and competitive fighter who credits everything to “the spirit of the marines”-in several hilarious accounts.
Bloodhounds immediately set its audience up to fall in love with the kind boyish charm of Geon-Woo to ironically rip our hearts out with a harsh realization of what it means to owe money in this universe.
His innocent mother (Yoon Yoo-soon) got conned by loan sharks and signed a contract with ridiculous hidden stipulations to keep her small business open. It’s also worth mentioning that this show is set during peak covid-19 years so many small businesses have fallen victim to these loan sharks in order to stay afloat.
It’s then we learn that evil has no humanity. We are introduced to our main antagonist Kim Myeong-gil(Park Sung-woong)- a bloodthirsty businessman who uses this loan shark- or should I say bloodhound- ventures to fuel his crime empire “Smile Capital”.
y Extortion, blackmail, and theft are synonymous with Myeong-gil’s business practices. Unfortunately for Geon-Woo and his mother, the time has come to settle up. Myeong-gil and his goons destroy their small corner store and nearly beats the young fighter to death.
Let me clarify, Geon-Woo is nearly successful in coming to his mother’s aid as he is a talented boxer and ex-marine. He fairly easily takes out nearly a dozen of Myeong-Gil’s lower-level henchmen. But its Myeong-Gils grizzly-mannered second in-command Kang In-beom (Tae Won-suk) that finishes the job. Geon-woo’s naivety in the no holds barred nature of a street fight prevails and he is left with a nightmarish scar across his face at the hands of Myeong-gil.
The antagonistic duo of Meong-gil and In-beom easily deliver one of the most formidable villainous one-two punches I’ve seen in a tv series. Anytime you saw these two- Myeon-gil usually bearing a devious smile- you knew it was about to go down. I really cannot speak to how impressive a character performance these two gifted throughout. Myeong-gils brains and In-beom’s bullish ferocity proved quite the mountain for Geon-woo and company to climb.
On the subject of company, a now desperate Geon-Woo and Woo-jin are introduced to Choi Tae-ho- a mobster turned saint who loans people money during these tough times, completely interest-free. Tae-Ho or Mr.Choi as he’s referred to; comes off as an endearing wheelchair-bound grandpa. But he was formerly a loan shark himself with mercenary-esque combat skills. He formerly employed Myeong Gil until he was double-crossed, and robbed then consequentially paralyzed by In-beom. He is truly a kindhearted man who wrestles with his hardheaded adopted daughter Hyun-Ju (Kim Sae-ron) who has a growing appetite for the business of Bloodhounds. Tae-ho offers Geon-woo a job to protect his foster child in exchange for the money he needs to pay back Smile Capital.
The young duo eventually convinces both Tae-ho and Hyun-ju to employ both of them and the rest of the hard-fought story to thwart the communities evil unfolds. The trio made for an eclectic team that was unfortunately cut short.
In May of 2022, Kim Sae-ron was under investigation for a drunk driving incident. This ultimately derailed her hitherto bustling acting career and cost her the role in this hit K-drama.
In a heart-wrenching sequence of events, Mr. Choi’s past finally catches up to him and he is killed by Smile Capital. Thus Jun Ho-heo and Kim Sae Ron’s time on the show come to an unfortunate end.
A tough loss certainly however the show still kept its overall watchabillity with the introduction of a new set of characters to surround the duo.
I’ll spare you the rest of the details but let’s just say their efforts involve fellow loan sharks, longbows, and newfound strength to topple Smile Capital and avenge Mr. Choi.
Bloodhounds boast eight episodes that roughly run for an hour each. While a second season hasn’t been officially announced yet the best-case scenario is somewhere in the 2025 range considering the production schedule of the first season.
