Bloodhounds (2023)

July 2, 2023

Our Take: An action-packed drama that combines friendships and intense fights.

Kim Geon Woo (Woo Do Hwan) is a reserved and quiet boxing prodigy who competes in an amateur boxing tournament in hopes of earning money to help pay off his mom's debts. He quickly defeats his first few opponents and gets matched against Southpaw Hong Woo Jin (Lee Sang Yi) in the final match. After an intense fight, Geon Woo eventually outwits Woo Jin and wins the tournament. Afterward, the two go out to dinner and become fast friends.

As their friendship grows, so do Geon Woo's mother's financial problems. Out of desperation to save her struggling café, she gets tricked into signing a predatory loan from a ruthless loan shark business named Smile Capital. Run by Kim Myeong Gil (Park Sung Woong), Smile Capital has been preying on vulnerable families and small businesses in Seoul during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

When Geon Woo's mother fails to pay them back, Myeong Gil brings his henchmen to smash up her café. Geon Woo clashes with Myeong Gil and ends up getting his face slashed. After Woo Jin finds out what happened, he works with Geon Woo to scramble together enough money to pay off the loan and set things right. 

They end up becoming bodyguards for the one lender in Seoul who is operating in good faith. Along with his adopted granddaughter Kim Hyeon Joo (Kim Sae Ron), billionaire paraplegic Choi Tae Ho (Heo Joon Ho) offers interest-free loans to people who need urgent medical treatment. When Tae Ho learns about Myeong Gil's ruthless strongarm tactics and rises to power, he enlists Geon Woo and Woo Jin to protect Hyeon Joo. Myeong Gil was President Choi's former protégé and was taught everything about the business, including some of the less glamorous sides of it.

But, Hyeon Joo has been secretly investigating Smile Capital and learns about Myeong Gil's nefarious plans to install a casino in a high-rise downtown development. To prevent this, they hatch a risky plan to bring down the most powerful and vicious loan sharks they know. 

The relationship between former Marines turned boxers Geon Woo and Woo Jin anchors the drama. Their mutual respect and effortless rapport quickly turn them from opponents in the ring to ride-or-die brothers who form an unstoppable team in the world of loan sharks. 

Despite their contrasting personalities and fighting styles, the duo have a lot in common and work well together. Geon Woo's defensive fighting style reflects his quiet and gentle nature. He does not swing a lot, but his punches are powerful and hit hard. Meanwhile, Woo Jin is loud, flashy, and brazen, frequently showing off and throwing wild punches around. 

Yet, they both have a strong sense of justice and a boxer's heart. They care deeply for those around them and complement each other's strengths and weaknesses. Their natural dynamics and nuanced performances make it easy to root for them to the very end. 

As the plot progresses, plenty of intense action sequences get incorporated into the storyline that leaves you on the edge of your seat. While Geon Woo and Woo Jin, in particular, are protected by plot armor to some degree, the choreography for the fight scenes is well-crafted and fast-paced. Hyeon Joo's fight scenes are also entertaining to watch, as she is fiercely independent and more than capable of defending herself.

While a fair bit of comedy and action is sprinkled into the story, the repercussions of the pandemic play a pivotal role in driving the plot forward. At its core, Bloodhounds is about people's livelihoods getting uprooted by a global public health crisis. It is about everyday folks who watched their dreams get derailed and the vicious predators who take advantage of the opportunity to exploit people at their most vulnerable points in life. 

Although Bloodhounds delivers high-stakes tension and tightly choreographed fight scenes, there are several weak spots. The tone of the show's latter half abruptly shifts, likely resulting from the consequences of Kim Sae Ron's DUI. Around episode 6, the pacing escalates, and Geon Woo and Woo Jin suffer a tremendous setback that nearly costs them their lives. 

Because of the last-minute change in the script, we don't get full character development and closure for President Choi, Hyeon Joo, and some of the side characters' backstories and motivations. There is also a time jump that feels jarring compared to everything that was going on in the first half of the show. The boys run away to hide and train in the countryside for several months while Smile Capital conducts business as usual. The late introduction of Oh Da Min (Jung Da Eun) also, unfortunately, fails to make up for Hyeon Joo's noticeable absence. While Da Min is a skilled archer who is not afraid to fight back, Hyeon Joo played a major role in the plot before her departure. 

The ending itself felt anti-climatic and lackluster, especially considering how brutal Myeong Gil and his henchmen are. Given how much everyone lost in the process, the revenge did not feel as epic as it should have. There was probably a different finale planned before the scandal, but it's hard to say what was in the writers' minds.

Final Thoughts

At only 8 episodes, Bloodhounds is easy to sit back and binge. It's set in an intense environment filled with strong characters and electrifying fight choreography. Although the show has shortcomings, if you are a fan of boxing or crime thrillers, Bloodhounds is for you.