[HanCinema's Drama Review] "Blood" Episode 11
By William Schwartz | Published on
After a shockingly violent cliffhanger where a furious Ji-sang physically accosts Jae-wook, this hard-hitting action is followed up by...their going into Jae-wook's office to discuss the finer points of ethics in regards to using terminally ill human test subjects for dangerous experimental treatment. This is why you have trouble making friends Ji-sang. That really should have been your first reaction. Although admittedly the cliffhanger probably would not have been quite so exciting.
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In all seriousness, though, the fact that Ji-sang and Jae-wook have this little talk does a lot to establish the basics of the conflict. Ji-sang is unsatisfied with Jae-wook's explanations mostly because way too much about what he's doing is still veiled in apparently unnecessary secrecy. All of the doctors not aligned with Jae-wook are now in basic agreement on this point, and Ji-sang finally admits that if they want to get anywhere they're going to have to pool resources.
Such as Hyeon-woo. You may remember him as the random guy who lives with Ji-sang who made rather questionable programming choices in regard to the robot. Now that he can meet other actual characters, Hyeon-woo can...not really act all that different actually. Kudos to Jung Hae-in for being able to effectively communicate social awkwardness. Heck, I'll even give Ahn Jae-hyun some credit too, since Ji-sang's look of infinite disgust is a lot more appropriate when Hyeon-woo acts like a nerd in front of other people.
None of this is enough to put a damper on Jae-wook, though, mostly because he's consistently the only character to have a good grasp on what's going on. Although I do have to question why he thinks going to the trouble of setting up an elaborate plot twist is a more effective preventative measure than actually trying to get the doctors on his side. Well, it's not that much of a mystery. "Blood" is just more dramatic that way is all.
While I don't know if I'd go so far as actually call "Blood" good just yet this episode definitely takes a turn for the more watchable. The comic relief makes a decent amount of contextual sense, and now that the characters are actually making a serious effort and failing anyway, it's easier to see them as incompetent rather than just oblivious and repetitive. Progress along these lines might eventually result in turning "Blood" into a genuine guilty pleasure- but don't set your hopes up too high.
Review by William Schwartz
"Blood" is directed by Ki Min-soo, written by Park Jae-beom-I and features Ahn Jae-hyun, Koo Hye-sun, Ji Jin-hee, Jung Hae-in, Kim Kap-soo, Son Sook and more.
Staff writer. Has been writing articles for HanCinema since 2012, having lived in South Korea from 2011 to 2021. He is currently located in the Portland metropolitan area. William Schwartz can be contacted via william@hancinema.net, and is open to requests for content in future articles.