This Bloodhounds vs Black Knight head-to-head review features two Kdramas that debuted on Netflix in 2023. Both series showcase protagonists who fight against bigger, tougher foes. And both bring on a whole lot of action!
In Bloodhounds, Woo Do-hwan (The King: Eternal Monarch, My Country: The New Age) is up and coming boxer Kim Geon-woo, while Lee Sang-yi (Hometown Cha Cha Cha) is rival boxer turned best friend Hong Woo-Jin. After Geon-woo’s mother is swindled by vicious loan shark company, Smile Capital, Geon-woo and Woo-jin join forces with President Choi Tae-ho (Huh Joon-ho), a no-interest money lender, and his gutsy granddaughter, Kim Hyeon-joo (Kim Sae-ron) to take down Smile Capital. Standing in their way is the CEO of Smile Capital, Kim Myung-gil (Park Sung-woong) and his henchmen.
Black Knight is based on a popular webtoon of the same name by Lee Yun-kyun. It takes place in a world where a comet strike has created immense air population over the Earth. Kim Woo-bin (Heirs/Inheritors) plays legendary delivery driver, 5-8, leader of an elite set of drivers that deliver oxygen and other supplies to people living in the harsher refugee areas. 5-8 and his fellow drivers work for the powerful Cheonmyeong Group, led by its ambitious heir, Ryu Seok (Song Seung-heon).
- Series Title: Bloodhounds (Korean: 사냥개들)
- Starring: Woo Do-hwan, Lee Sang-yi, Kim Sae-ron, Huh Joon-ho, Park Sung-woong
- Written by: Kim Joo-hwan
- Directed by: Kim Joo-hwan
- Network: Netflix
- Where to watch in the US: Netflix
- Year Released: 2023
- # of episodes: 8
- KafeNook Rating: 4.2
When one of the delivery drivers dies, a tournament to find a replacement is announced. Teen Yoon Sa-wol (Kang You-seok), a refugee with a secret, sees this as his opportunity to fulfill his dream of becoming a deliver driver. While Cheonmyeong claims to be building a new city that will house even the refugee’s, children are mysteriously disappearing. 5-8 joins forces with military officer Jeong Seol-ah (Esom) to find out what the Cheonmyeong group is up to.
- Series Title: Black Knight (Korean: 택배기사)
- Starring: Kim Woo-bin, Song Seung-heon, Kang You-seok, Esom
- Written by: Cho Ui-seok
- Directed by: Cho Ui-seok
- Network: Netflix
- Where to watch in the US: Netflix
- Year Released: 2023
- # of episodes: 6
- KafeNook Rating: 3.4
Bloodhounds vs Black Knight – Which One to Watch?
When I decided to write a Bloodhounds vs Black Knight head-to-head review, I thought it would be easy. Both are based popular webtoons. They each feature heroes who are easy to root for and villains just as easy to hate. Both feature big action sequences that are fun to watch. And – with fewer episodes than most Kdramas, the decrease in material would make it easy to knock this out in a jiffy. Right?
Wrong.
Like the parred down story of Black Knight, I found it hard to come up with much to say about the live action debut of delivery driver 5-8. The show certainly looks impressive and has a lot of potential. It just never lives up to its promise. Bloodhounds, on the other hand, makes good use of its source material and is riveting from the first episode through episode 6. It does lose much of the momentum in episode 7 and only just picks it up again in time to finish out the series in episode 8. Even with that hiccup, it is the much better drama and the one to watch given a choice between the two.
Bloodhounds vs Black Knight Head-to-Head Review — !!Spoilers Ahead!!
Black Knight
In Black Knight, Kim Woo-bin brings the mysterious 5-8 to life with the perfect dose of confidence and swagger. 5-8 is an intelligent, careful leader who is not afraid to jump into the action, especially when it comes to taking on Cheonmyeong’s henchmen. At the same time, many of the best moments in the drama happen between 5-8 and teenage Yoon Sa-wol (Kang You-seok).
Sa-wol is a tough kid who has suffered through a lot of heartache but somehow manages to stay cheerful and optimistic. 5-8 doesn’t think Sa-wol has what it takes to become a delivery driver, but between Sa-wol’s fighting prowess (helped by his mutant ability) and sheer guts he grudgingly wins 5-8 over. Sa-wol’s guardian, officer Jeong Seol-ah (Esom), is dedicated to her job and often at odds with 5-8. Once they join forces, there are some potential sparks between them. Two bad neither this relationship nor 5-8’s mentor/mentee relationship with Sa-wol are further explored.
The main bad guy in Black Knight is Cheonmyeong heir Ryu Seok. He chafes at being under the shadow of his father, Chairman Ryu (Nam Kyung-eub), and has a vision for Cheonmyeong’s new city that does not include refugees. When the refugees are promised a home in the new city, it’s Ryu Seok who orders their deaths – delivering it through “inoculations” meant to help them. Ryu Seok is also suffering from an unknown disease and believes that mutant children may provide the cure. As a result, he orders children to be abducted to help find a cure for him. Not Surprisingly, Sa-wol’s mutant blood is the answer to his illness.
Black Knight contains a number of good action sequences involving the delivery driver competition. In the first, competitors fight bloody, all out brawls where the last person standing moves on to the next round. Later, in a Mad Max like sequence, Sa-wol and the other competitors prove their driving skills on a course filled with deadly traps and foes. Unfortunately, the action isn’t enough to save the series. Given the six-episode run, Black Knight is easy to breeze through. However, not enough time is provided to flesh out these interesting characters and the fascinating world they live in.
Bloodhounds
A main premise of KafeNook is that Kdramas Are For Everyone but…. Bloodhounds is not for children or young teens. A subtitle for Bloodhounds could be “Brawls and Booze”, both of which it has in spades. Brawl scenes – yes please. Booze scenes – a bit snoozy. Still, there is a lot to enjoy in this short series developed, written, and directed by Kim Joo-hwan. For one, the staging and choreography of the fight scenes in Bloodhounds are outstanding. There is something satisfying about watching skilled boxers in action.
I am not going to lie. I watched Bloodhounds for Woo Do-hwan and as expected, he is awesome. In The King: Eternal Monarch, Woo Do-hwan plays two very different characters so I knew he has range. His physical prowess is heavily on display in My Country: The New Age so I knew he could easily handle playing a boxer. Woo Do-hwan succeeds on all fronts playing heart of gold, Geon-woo. I never once doubted Geon-woo’s sincerity or his bad-ass boxing skills (even when he gets the crap beaten out of him). My heart nearly broke when he had to abandon his sworn no-drinking policy to cut a deal to take down Myung-gil.
But wait—
I did not expect to be so impressed with the rest of the cast. Lee Sang-yi is a lovable TV show producer in Hometown Cha Cha Cha, but could he play a boxer? Answer – Yes! As Woo-jin, he exudes all the charm shown in Hometown Cha Cha Cha but with rougher edges and a great deal more physicality. The buddy scenes between Geon-woo and Woo-jin are some of the best in the series. Rounding out the trio is tough as nails granddaughter, Kim Hyeon-joo (Kim Sae-ron). Sadly, actress Kim Sae-ron had to leave the show before filming finished. I think there could have been some amazing moments between the three of them in the final two episodes.
A slew of veteran actors makes up the rest of the main cast of Bloodhounds with Park Sung-woong bringing the perfect amount of menace to his performance as Smile Capital CEO, Kim Myung-gil. He is the one to hate. Myung-gil’s dark intensions are apparent the moment he appears on the screen, but it is the scene where he calmy cuts up Geon-woo’s face that shows how evil he can be. Supporting him is Kang In-beom (Tae Won-soek), a man built like a truck but with little brains. Kim Geon-woo, and his friend Hong Woo-Jin may be great boxers but even they have problems taking on In-beom.
Episode 6 is, in a word, devastating and the black moment of the series. You know, the time when all seems lost for the protagonist(s)? The good news is – this means a turnaround is coming. The bad news is that given the loss of so many characters in episode 6 and the choice to do a time jump in episode 7, the series flounders a little. Yes, Geon-woo and Woo-jin, with the help of a few new people, eventually get Myung-gil and – the final episodes have some of the best fight scenes. I just wonder how much better it would have ended if one or two of the now deceased or missing characters had been around for the end.
Should Bloodhounds or Black Knight Have a Second Season?
Since villain Myung-gil is not dead at the end of Bloodhounds, the big question is – will he escape the law once he arrives in Vietnam and return for his revenge? If there is a second season, this could be the trigger. I normally don’t advocate for a second season of a show, but I could see it for Bloodhounds. However, this would be sad because the series ends with Geon-woo and Woo-jin planning to leave the Bloodhounds life behind and go back to boxing. In a second season, they would have no choice but to become Bloodhounds again. Update (7/7/24): Bloodhounds Season 2 has been officially announced by Netflix! It will be interesting to see where the series goes, especially with Rain as the new villain.)
Things seemed to wrap up well in season one of Black Knight with the take down of the Cheonmyeong group. If there is a second season, it would likely need to bring in a larger world view and a bigger bad. I could also see delving more into the delivery drivers and the mentor/mentee relationship between 5-8 and Sa-wol/5-7.
Bloodhounds and Black Knight Soundtracks
The soundtracks for both Bloodhounds and Black Knight complement the tone and action for each series, however I didn’t find anything noteworthy to add to my Kdrama playlist.
