Stream K-Dramas at OnDemandKorea

[HanCinema's Drama Review] "Blood" Episode 11

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.

Advertisement

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.

Watch on Viki

❎ Try Ad-free