Blood Free (2024)

Alternate near present issues that are just set dressing

The show takes place a year or two from the air date with some technology that's quite a lot more advanced than what's commercially available presently, both in terms of software/hardware, as well as in biological advancements with artificial food and artificial replacement organs. The core or rather who should have been the core is Blood Free CEO Yun Ja Yu who is under constant threat by people in the meat and fishing industry who feel their livelihoods being threatened by her company. She's wary and shrewd, rightly suspicious of ex-military bodyguard Woo Chae Woon whose constant presence and connection to the recent events is way too many to be coincidental. The tiring romance trope has her brain cells evaporating in his presence with him easily gaslighting this brilliant woman out of her suspicions despite not knowing him at all. The show pays lip service to how she has protocol of switching hotels until her state of the art safe house is finished, but in the end she just chooses to go to Chae Woon's house at his suggestion which was already shown to be easy to be infiltrated with her own Blood Free security team breaching it and waiting for him while petting his cat Minshik. Chae Woon also is gone for long stretches of time with no mention of what arrangements of care made for his cat. Ja Yu is the one who is thinking of the cat's wellbeing more than he does. It's shown in flashback that she went to the same university as her co-founder On San as students of Dr. Kim, but she's never shown participating in the science portions. The show is so unwilling to let her take some kind of forward momentum of her own and when she does, she's instantly punished physically for it and spends the entire finale passed out with her organs exposed.

The show has a problem with giving their characters connection as well. They characters Ja Yu and Chae Woon would be having a conversation and you think they're finally going to get to the core of who the other person is, only to have them only show the audience, but all the pertinent information is just being thought of in the character's head and not being shared with the other character. It was so weird that they show us Ja Yu, Chae Woon, and the late bodyguard Ho Seung having a conversation and bonding in Chae Woon's yard after he's already dead, like the show suddenly remembering oh yeah, we need to form some emotional stakes. If the show doesn't want to explore the characters, it should at least explore and address the concerns that are brought up with the new technology that the farmers are concerned about displace them are protesting, but that's just back drop and everything in the show is basically centered on the characters searching for who bombed the former prime minister. Surprise, it's the current Prime Minister who wants Ja Yu's organs, his political maneuverings. The top secret area where the organs are stored look like a space ship in an unintentionally funny design choice kind of way. The best scene that takes place in there is Dr. Hong strangling the Prime Minister's goon with an intestine. The poor doctor had gotten kidnapped twice by traitor colleagues twice and she became tougher with every violent encounter. Her jumping out of the car that second time was smart too. If only Ja Yu got to do that. Her bodyguard driver did that, but she didn't jump herself. If's pretty sad that despite having a female writer, the female main character still gets the shaft in moments of agency to save herself or to outsmart her oppositions. I hope if there is a second season as it seems to imply, that it will be better.

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Intense action packed sci fi series

The show is about an ex-navy officer now working as a bodyguard to infiltrate corporations that he believed to be linked to a bombing of a korean foreign military base a few years ago, that killed a number of local children, his best friend and injured the prime minister of that time. He is now working with the former prime minister to track down the mastermind behind the bombing, which eventually brought him to BF, a biotechnology company that specializes in cultured meat - or so he thought. His time there unravels things that he could never have imagined, and eventually led to the real culprit behind everything that was happening around him then and now.

This show started off rather slow in building the plot, i almost dropped it cuz I thought it was more to corporate power struggle rather than an action packed show. Glad that I stuck through, it actually turned out to be quite an intense action packed thriller sci fi show. The Finale is mindblowing with plot twists I didnt expect.

The performance of every single person involved in this show is excellently mindblowing. I mean, even the unnamed lady who were lining up to send off the prime minister Seonu Jae was full of facial expressions that looked really genuine - she really looked like a staff who loved and admired her boss and is sad to see him leaving the office. The casts are THAAAAAT good.

The action is really intense, fights are superbly choreographed and thrilling. It really blows my mind how much fake blood had to be spilled for those action scenes. Theyre aplenty 😳

The music is good too. Sounded modern and intense in dual language. I think im looking it up. And i really love the futuristic setting with the Jang Yeongsil AI that gives off the ironman vibe.

They didnt leave any untangled knots regarding the conflicts at the end of the finale. No cliffhangers on the main plot. Everything is amicably resolved at the end although they kept the viewers on edge for hiding our leads throughout the last quarter of the episode, I really hope theyre making season 2.

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Thumbs up for the main plot, will add more rating if Season 2 is confirmed!

The story itself is very intriguing from the start because this kind of topic is not commonly used in a drama right.
The technology and CGI is probably the highlight of the drama as well. To add, Ju Jihoon as bodyguard and Han Hyojoo as CEO, combining both of their chemistry is just *chef kiss*. It's quite a fast-paced drama so I never found any boring moment.
Still, I would give 1 more point if it's not an Open Ending! On the last episode, I feel like the story in still on climax but why the running time is coming to an end? LOL and I got disappointed when I learned it's an open ending because we really have many questions about our main character's fate (although at the end it's clearly indicating that they're still alive but without HOW they managed to survive the massive attack on last episode).

It clearly have a sign for Season 2, so I really hope we do have the Season 2 that we desperately need!

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Intense drama that me people hooked

I started to watch Blood Free due to the casting of the ML (by Ju Ji Hoon) and FL (by Han Hyo Joo), actors/actresses that I really liked and I am happy that this drama did not disappoint.

The drama revolves around ML Woo Chae Woon trying to seek the truth of an accident that happened to him while he was in the army. Now, serving as a bodyguard, he ended up being employed by FL Yoon Ja Yoo and together, both of them worked together in seeking the truth of what happened to both of them previously..

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What makes Blood Free interesting was the creative story telling, which I had not seen so far in the K-dramas that I had watched. The cultured meat that Blood Free was well known for (part of the drama summary) sets the overall tone and the direction of how the drama progresses.

The drama was fast paced, filled with a lot of action (scenes by the ML) but at the same time, was able to show the backstories of the characters (in this case, the ML and the FL).

The casting for Blood Free was solid, and the actors and actresses were just amazing.

The only thing that I thought was a bit disappointing was the ending, which was like a cliff-hanger that left more questions unanswered. It would be good if Blood Free has a sequel that helps to address the questions.

Otherwise, it was still a great drama to watch, one that I will recommend.

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A fresh and intriguing watch

This science fiction drama gives a break from typical science thrillers.

The story lives in a world where people are hunting down for harming animals to satiate their carving. It includes a desire for non-vegetarian food. While developing livelihood, immense damage has been done to nature, and the company Blood Free or BF has been dictating this issue in this drama.

Highs of the drama
1. Fresh concept: Unlike typical science fiction, it feels close to reality
2. Performance: It lies in the shoulder of the actors to pull a great story. And actors in this drama deliver a high-quality performance that is smooth like butter.

Lows of the drama
1. A few twists were predictable: It is hard to create mysterious twists in every alternate episode.

This whole drama gives a thrilling vibe. As each episode unfurls, a completely new twist comes into account.

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Good Enough

Korean Drama '' Blood Free '' is a sci-fi, mystery, action drama.

The drama gives a lot of food for thought. It deals with a lot of philosophical and not issues and problems and it does a good job of combining them into the story.

The characters were also pretty intriguing and the performances from every actor and actress in the cast were enjoyable and well handled.

The action scenes were, in addition, entertaining and nicely choreographed.

On the other hand, the drama had a rocky pace and didn't allow things to develop smoothly and, therefore, the political intrigued suffered from it.

So, overall, six out of ten.

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Kept Me Hooked Till The End!

I watched this drama solely because of Ju Jihoon. I was kinda curious at first because the plot is a bit different than the romcom lovey-dovey dramas I usually watch. Tbh, the plot sounded very boring at first, but I watched it anyway. It was a pleasant surprise for me because the story revolved around the biotech company 'Blood Free', politics and prominent figures in South Korea who were affected by a terrorist attack or who were present during it. I honestly loved the cast because the acting was phenomenal. I'm not exaggerating or anything; even the side characters like the female lead's assistant were cast so well and they understood their assignment. Otherwise, I would never be interested in watching a drama like this. Also, the drama has several action scenes which were directed pretty well. But beware, this drama doesn't have any romance, but the ML and FL have a subtle platonic thing going on like friends (I wouldn't say lovers because they didn't show any scene of them being intimate toward each other). I hope there will be a season two! I wanna know how everything gets wrapped up now because the ending felt a bit rushed for me.

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GMO with the MOJO ⚗ The Birth of the 6 Bajillion Won Man °8.5° °innovative wows°

Okay, it's time to pick off another ep of BF. ⏱… ⏲… Where is it? What's wrong with my continue-watching…? Where's the beef? Hulu?

WHAT!?!

That's all there is? Just 10 eps? A cliffhanger?

I'm usually bringing up the rear guard and watching the older shows, which are all completed, so I haven't had this happen to me in a long time. Now I have to wait for S2 and it hasn't even been announced yet, smh.

Don't let that scare you. Unless people watch it, they won't make another season, and we should get another season of BF. It's excellent and has the potential to be a 9+. I've held back because it ain't over yet. As is, it's quite a rush. Let's get into its DNA.

He's got what she needs.

Ju Ji Hoon (Hyena, Kingdom-8.3) is Woo Chae Woon. He's ex-mil and now high-level security. He's about more than babysitting CEOs, though. He's on a mission to uncover the truth about a terrorist bombing that took place under his watch where he was one of the base commanders overseas. He's one of those guys - Like Uma Thurman in Kill Bill. He's lethal. Usually more like a statue in the corner, he doesn't show much emotion.

Han Hyo Joo (Moving, W) is Blood Free’s CEO, Yoon Ja Yoo. With her background in the sciences, she's quite stoic herself. Hints surface of past traumas. She started the company, which makes cultured meat, in order to provide human beings with a drug, parasite, and cruelty-free food supply. Things are going well. They've released their beef and are preparing to launch their seafood line. Just wait and see what they get into next.

Our ML's resume fits our FL’s job search parameters so perfectly that she's suspicious. She's not stupid, afterall. Yet Ji-hoon gradually gains her trust, then her admiration, then more. Plus he's a good cat-dad. Men that like cats are largely secure with themselves. It's a good sign.

BF is a 2024 release that is rated 88 on AWiki. It is 1 season consisting of a MERE 10 50-minute episodes. Screenwriter, Lee Soo Yeon, also wrote the popular Stranger. Instant stardom: This is director Park Chul Hwan's 1st effort. Wow. Other main players are Lee Hee Joon (Mouse) as PM Seon Woo Jae, and as aids to the powerful are Lee Moo Saeng (Cleaning Up, Maestra: Strings of Truth) playing On San, Jun Suk-ho Kingdom-8.3, Call It Love-8.4) is Seo Hui, and Park Ji Yeon (A Model Family) as Jung Hae Deun. Jeon Gook Hwan (Crash Landing on You-9.1, Empress Ki, and nearly everything else) is perfect as the former Prime Minister/ grandfather to the current one. He actually loses it in one scene, which is something new. As one could imagine, it's frightening. He's everywhere because he's authentic.

BF's successes in the lab threaten the power structure in K-country. The plot centers around corporate espionage and other intrigues. It's a hot second before the government steps on the mess and makes everything worse.

BF touches on the cruelty of the meat industry, but only slightly. I've considered going vegetarian, but I'm not quite there yet. The changes I have made are 1. I eat little meat, and 2. I insist on organic and humane products. A healthy person doesn't “need” meat but 2 or 3 times a week, if at all. Our food supply is polluted with chemicals, and our meat is polluted with them as well. {All those ingredients most of us can't pronounce? I've learned the hard way they have a cumulative and deleterious effect on our health, particularly gut health. Maladies that barely existed in the mid-20th are rampant now - IBS, Crohns, and mental health, such as the anxiety and depression epidemics. Serotonin receptors are in the gut (? Yep!), so poor gut health absolutely affects mood. I probably never would have made changes if my condition hadn't become ultra-extreme. GIGO (garbage-in-garbage-out) applies to our physical health, not just computers. A good start is to wean off of GMO wheat, grains, corn, and all sugar, which only harms and has no nutritional benefits whatsoever. Same goes for pet food.} Animal cruelty is just absolutely wrong. It is inexcusable. By now, the cruelty involved in the meat industry is common knowledge, so to be willfully blind to it is to be party to it. There is no room for it in Hinduism, Buddhism, or Judeo-Christian belief (yes, traditional Hebrew worship involves animal sacrifice, but the whole point is that it is supposed to hurt. It is supposed to make humans reflect on the consequencesof their tresspasses and regret the hurt that we cause). Regardless of belief-system, it is patently obvious that it's wrong to be cruel to animals except to the most ardent subscribers of “survival of the fittest.” This isn't political. I am not political. Politicians-at-large let our food supply become polluted and it's keeping us down. Politics is the new racism, and we've never sorted out the old racism. People make a mess of everything, and it's all for nothing.

Moving on…

There's a rich and powerful family depicted in which the grandfather, father, and son all have their own agendas and work at odds with eachother. So sad. This is contrasted with our ML who is making sacrifices for his niece and working for the sake of his lost comrades. He lives to bring them justice. It would be lovely to not have to worry about money. Sadly, many rich people don't manage to be happy, either. They develop habits and appetites, based on greed and pride, that can never be satisfied.

The writing is just splendid. Only the most finicky left-brained types will object to the plot twists. I found viewing pleasure near frictionless - an easy glide. BF is slick as culture in a petri dish. It's weighty. The CEO has a tremendous burden on her and the viewer can feel it. They build tension steadily. Slick techno music accompanies the tense scenes. There's respectable action in ep3. As of ep7, BF develops into an excellent thriller. There's a Hollywood style gun battle in which our protagonists are quite fortunate in their ability to avoid being shot while being amazingly accurate with their own shooting skills. Still, it works. There's very cool VR search technology featured while the actor is using VR gloves (Like Minority Report). Save a life - A very cool medical device inhabits BF's basement (Like The Fifth Element-8.9 and Prometheus-8). “Good artists copy, great artists steal,” per Picasso (if he even came up with that. Whether that quote is his original words has been brought into question, in full-circle irony. It amuses me to think that he plfered that line). The camera work, acting, directing, writing all blend together to culture a quality product. One can't pilfer that. They constructed this excellent work one cell at a time.


✏〰 IMHO
Directing 7.5
Writing 8.3
Acting 8.5
Romance 6
Flutters 5
Art 8.2
Sound & music 7.8
Ending ?

LEVELS
Laughs
Warmth 3.3
Action 7.8
Tears 5
Fright 4.5
Tension T Anxiety 4
Gore 6
Thought provocation 5.5
Snores 0

📣8.5 📝8.3 🎭8.5 💓6,🦋5 🎨8.2 🎵/🔊7.8 🔚? ▪ 🌞3.3 ⚡7.8 😅1 😭5 😱4.5 😯4 🤢6 🤔5.5 💤0


Age 15+ for Violence. One stabbing scene is gritty. American style shootouts. I don't have any notes on language but it's likely some scattered PG-13 vocalization.

Rated TV-MA: Mature Audience Only.

Re-watch? This is a prime candidate to crank up for the family in my attempt to broaden their viewing horizons. When S2 comes out (nothing official is set yet) I will probably rewatch S1.


In order of ~lite&trite~ to ~heavy&serious~ you may also like:

Modern Day -
Love to Hate You 8.9,
Her Private Life 8,
Touch your heart 8.2,
Crash Landing On You 9.1,
Oh My Ghost 10,
It's Okay Not To Be Okay 9,
Descendants Of The Sun-8.3
Love Struck in the City 7.3,
Hospital Playlist 9,
Move To Heaven-8.4
Mine-8,
Call It Love-8.4,
Iris,
Anna-8.1,
My Mister 9.5,
Hymn of Death-8.4
I'll See You When the Weather is Fine 9,
Mother 9


Historical/Period -
My Only Love Song 8.7 ~ excellent comedy,
Mr. Queen 8.5,
My Sassy Girl 8.5,
Saimdang 8.5,
The King's Affection 8.3,
Mr. Sunshine 9

Action/Crime/Sci-fi -
Glitch-8,
K2 8,
When the Camellia Blooms-8,
Inspector Koo-8.4

Private Lives 8.1, Vagabond-8
Sisyphus 8, Law School -8
Tunnel 8.5,
Signal 8.6,
D.P. -8.4,
The Cursed 8.3,
Flower of Evil 8.9,
The Man from Nowhere 8.9,
Parasite-9,
Black 9,
Squid Game 8.4,
Kingdom 8.3,
Sweet Home 8.4
The Wailing-8.8


Romance junkies only -
My Secret Romance 7 (if you ff thru overdone flashbacks),
Boys Over Flowers 8 ~ melodrama to the max,
The Bride of Habaek 7,
Heirs 7.3,
That Winter, The Wind Blows 7,
Something in the Rain 9,
C: Well-Intended Love 7.5 Rom-porn - extra points for the dopamine,
You are my destiny 6.8 cute, sweet & 1/2 padding,
A Little Thing Called First Love 8.5,
Find Yourself 8.9

Consider a Chinese romcom: The Romance of Tiger and Rose 9.8, Love Between Fairy and Devil 8.9, Love and Redemption 10 or Japanese romcoms: Maid Sama 10, Mischievous Kiss Love in Tokyo 7.8, Love, Chunibyo And Other Delusions 8.4, or Toradora 8.5

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Almost trope free, and the drama has a female CEO

Imagine a world where meat is biotechnologically generated and cultured. This eliminates the need to slaughter animals. Of course, such an advancement could solve world hunger. BF Company has hopes that in the near future all food will be cultured using biotechnology. Blood Free does not have many of my usual circle of acting friends in it. However, since it met my “Love it or Leave it” 15 minute criteria in 2 minutes, I thought it best to investigate further. Blood Free has a high technology driven plot-line. CGI and cinematography are through the roof.

I love a great romance drama. This ain’t it. However, the intelligently written story will keep you in suspense. Therefore, some should try to get out of their comfort zone and add Blood Free to their shopping list. Now for the guys. You have been asking for this Korean Drama. I think that you will enjoy Blood Free. For the girls. I know that actor Ju Ji Hoon starred in Kingdom, a drama I did not see, but wow, where did he come from?

The ML is Ju Ji Hoon (Jurisan, Kingdom) and FL is Han Hyo Joo (Moving, W:Two Worlds, Happiness).

I am excited about this drama Blood Free. The drama does not follow the usual Korean Drama tropes. The story is innovative and exciting. That acting and action are great.

A company has learned how to culture fleshly meat products and this company is poised to take over the world market. Can life be that easy? Not in a Korean Drama. I like Blood Free a lot. This drama is a total change of pace. The use of video gaming tools and drones to fight the bad guys is sure to please. CGI and Cinematography are great, with a great OST

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Will be waiting for the 2nd seasonn

With some high and low moments, getting better by each the episode. For me this season ended perfectly, with the desirable suspense and all. The main actors are amazing veterans, not news, and it was very nice to see Moo Saeng acting a good and trusty character for a change.
It's not a lightly drama but also not that heavy to watch. it brings a new concept, not very far from todays society. It was fresh to have a perpective of a possible outcome and consequences. Although I felt the story was not highly focus on that but instead on the characters own stories and the terrorist attack. Worth watching it.

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