I’ll start by saying that I have no clue if Bloodhounds was intended as a one and done series, but I sincerely hope not. Or at the very least, let the two leads of this show work together again as soon as possible.
With that, let’s actually talk about this cool South Korean show! I suppose from a high level this could be considered a K-drama, but when I think of that term I always think soap opera quality, both in acting and sometimes production. That was not the case here, but maybe that means I need to broaden my horizons on some South Korean shows and movies. Though there is plenty of drama to go around, this series is a violent, action-packed, gut-punch (pun intended). We start off the season with the nicest nice-guy out there, Geon-woo, a former Marine who’s now attempting to make it in boxing. The pandemic severely sidelines that dream, but he does encounter a friend for life in a fellow opponent, and also former Marine, Woo-jin.
At first I was a little thrown by how close these two became almost instantly, but then I thought, “who cares?” I know I’ve made fast friends before and it’s necessary for these two to have such a strong bond for this whole story to work. They become even closer as Geon-Woo’s mother is fooled into signing a loan that would be impossible for her to repay. Geon-woo tries his best to fight off the goons sent by evil personified, Myeong-gil, and his corrupt Smile Corporation, but he’s left with an ugly face wound and a large debt to repay in almost no time at all. Through many efforts, he and Woo-jin land a job with Choi Tae-ho, who lends money interest-free as a way to make amends for his past behaviors. Mr. Choi has a dangerous past with Myeong-gil and vows that they need to take him down.
Geon-woo and Woo-jin team up with Choi’s granddaughter, Hyun-joo, and two of Choi’s former right-hand men to get to work on Myeong-gil’s complex network of bad guys. They succeed, to an extent, but the sixth episode was absolutely brutal. I could see where it would be discouraging to finish out the series after that episode, but it almost acts as a reset, with only a few characters carrying over to the final two episodes. Ultimately, the good guys come out on top, but not without a tremendous amount of loss and bloodshed in between. Also, Geon-woo has to contend with the fact that what he is doing goes against a lot of the principles he’s set for himself. But to his credit, he never kills anyone, though he does beat a lot of bad guys up.
This series was really well-made, but it’s quite dark. It takes some of Korea’s biggest issues and faces them head. There’s no turning a blind eye here. Loan sharks are brutal, but Myeong-gil might be one of the most ruthless villains I’ve seen on TV in a while. He’ll haunt me in my dreams, I fear. With all of that darkness though does come a levity amongst the close friendship, bromance, if you will, between Geon-woo and Woo-jin. Both provide innocent laughs, and the amount that they care for and look out for each other was such a pleasure to watch. As I said before, with the chemistry between those two actors, I would love to see them work together again. Go check out one of the best series on Netflix right now, please!