Blood Free 지배종 [Current]

[abs-oluteM]

Blood Free 지배종

SYNOPSIS by ASIAN WIKI

Ending millions of years of humans eating animal meat, BF now dominates the genetically engineered cultured meat market. There are people inside BF and outsiders who begin to have doubts about the path taken by BF CEO Yoon Ja-Yoo (Han Hyo-Joo). Yoon Ja-Yoo founded BF with On San (Lee Mu-Saeng), who has a Ph.D. in physiology.

 

Meanwhile, after graduation from the Naval Academy, Woo Chae-Woon (Ju Ji-Hoon) served in army, but he now works as a bodyguard.

 

Episodes: 10

Premieres: Apr 10, 2024

2 episodes every Wednesday

Original Network: Disney+, Hulu

[abs-oluteM]

Cast and Crew

Director: Park Cheol-Hwan

Writer: Lee Soo-Yeon ( Stranger S1 & S2, Life , Grid) 

 

Ju Ji-Hoon - Woo Chae-Woon

Han Hyo-Joo - Yoon Ja-Yoo

Lee Hee-Jun - Sun Woo-Jae

Lee Mu-Saeng - On San

Kim Sang-Ho - Kim Shin-Koo

Jun Suk-Ho - Seo Hee

Park Ji-Yeon - Jung Hae-Deun

 

From MDL

Spoiler

Main Role

• 
  Ju Ji Hoon

  Woo Chae Woon

  Main Role
• 
  Han Hyo Joo

  Yoon Ja Yoo

  Main Role
• 
  Lee Hee Joon

  Seon Woo Jae

  Main Role
• 
  Lee Moo Saeng

  On San

  Main Role
• 
  Park Ji Yeon

  Jung Hae Deun

  Main Role

Support Role

• 
  Jo Bok Rae

  Seo Hee [Research team 1’s head]

  Support Role
• 
  Kim Sang Ho

  Kim Shin Gu [Biotech doctor]

  Support Role
• 
  Yi Seo

  Hong Sae Ip [Researcher]

  Support Role
• 
  Yook Hyun Suk

  [Woo Jae’s secretary]

  Support Role

Unknown

• 
  Jun Suk Ho Unknown
• 
  Kim Byung Chul Unknown
• 
  Park Sung Kyu Unknown

[abs-oluteM]

TRAILERS

 

 

[mademoiselle]

@abs-oluteM I sense this one to be a dangerous one. Could potentially hint a season 2! 😅 That said, Han Hyo Joo had been busy!

[abs-oluteM]

@mademoiselle this 2nd season rubbish is  so annoying 😦.

 

Character trailers 

 

 

[abs-oluteM]

Here we go. This writer still owes me Grid S2. Just finish this show well & give me an ending that makes sense please.

Stills 

The cast talk about their characters during the press con

 

[abs-oluteM]

The first two episodes were pretty solid. You can tell there is substance in the writing - I do expect quite a bit from this writer since I have watched all her shows. She gets down to business very quickly revealing the main arc of the show, how the leads end up crossing paths and who the stakeholders are.

 

HHJ's CEO character (Yun Ja Yoo)  is depicted as driven, sharp and decisive. Since we are privy to her thoughts , we understand her thought processes and I have to say it is believable that she'd be the CEO of such a cutting-edge organisation. Given that Blood Free has put a lot of traditional industries out of business , and makes tones of money, it is no surprise that she has plenty of detractors who want her dead as well as those who want to take advantage of the success of the organisation. Within the first couple of episodes she's had people try to kill her or threatened her for money, had to deal with her organization's network being hacked & held ransom, and had to handle greedy politicians with their own agenda . 

 

I like that she caught on to things very quickly when she realizes that JJH's character (Woon Chae Woon) has approached her for a reason. In a very thorough interview for the job, she tested him on many levels and even asked him about why he approached her. Of course he was able to explain it away, but it is true that someone has sent him there on a mission. He was sent there by the former prime minister who thinks she could be responsible for the accident that he was involved in a couple of years back. However, this ex PM also has his own agenda and at this point , I don't think WCW realises he is being used. 

 

But given the enemies she has from within and without, WCW was the perfect candidate to be her personal bodyguard. He is a trained soldier ( Navy Command - similar to Navy Seal) and though has resigned from his post, is still physically fit and quick thinking. He proves himself by the end of episode 2 when he helped her realize that the issues she has been facing recently could be an internal betrayal. Regardless this working relationship is not at 100% trust both ways. 

 

Will there be romance ? Hahaha..your guess is as good as mine. It has been teased that he has a wife and daughter whom he is supporting and they are abroad. But one can hope that it could be a "red herring". 

[SilverMoonTea]

9 hours ago, abs-oluteM said:

Will there be romance ? Hahaha..your guess is as good as mine. It has been teased that he has a wife and daughter whom he is supporting and they are abroad. But one can hope that it could be a "red herring". 

Probably not all hope is lost lols

 

 

[mademoiselle]

Oh. Did not realise it is written by Lim Soo Yeon, who wrote Stranger! But she wrote Grid, too, and that one left us hanging.

 

You know, maybe the romance will be hinted and bare minimum because neither Stranger nor Grid have romance blossoming. OK @abs-oluteM @SilverMoonTea based on your review, I will watch them tonight. Tagging @Chocolate and @peperomia

Edited April 11 by mademoiselle

[SilverMoonTea]

1 hour ago, mademoiselle said:

OK @abs-oluteM @SilverMoonTea based on your review, I will watch them tonight. Tagging @Chocolate and @peperomia

How about @Tofu 😂 and calling @40somethingahjumma as well, I think she might like this. 

 

@mademoisellethe pace of the drama is decent, I haven't lost my concentration. And since the budget is high the cinematographic and BGM is quite nice. I think it did have some Stranger feeling to it. I'd rather forgot Grid from the list, it giving  'what did I just watched moment' similar to Sisyphus 😂 The storyline for BF is quite easy to follow and tbh so far nothing extra ordinary yet I think we have seen all similar plot from other dramas. But I have penchant for bodyguard and the lady that he should protect ( I actually like super old movie from 94's of Jet Lee - Bodyguard from Beijing ) and this kinda give me similar vibe to it. I think JCW K9 at the beginning also have similar theme but that one is a failure trainwreck lols. 

 

@abs-oluteM Nice summary writing from you, I have nothing much to contribute to the plot , but just want to fangirling JJH as in this show he will just catwalking around and so swag in his suit hahaha... 

[mademoiselle]

@SilverMoonTea I want @Tofu to watch Lovely Runner. Also not sure this is her cup of tea, so I didn't tag. LOL, I thought you were going to quote Whitney Houston's Bodyguard movie. Totally did not cross my mind about Jet Li 😂🤣. Never seen Jet Li romantically, I guess. I did watch the movie, but don't remember much of it now. K9 - just as bad as Sysphus I rather forget.

[abs-oluteM]

@SilverMoonTea I enjoy the part where they test him using VR . Love all these action scenes. 
 

@mademoiselle Among her dramas , I like Grid the least but I give her a pass since she did fine on the rest . I don’t need an overly convoluted plot . Just have a bit of romance & a tad amount of logic . These days my bar has been set so low 🤣🤣

[mademoiselle]

I thought the opening of episode 1 would appease vegans and cruelty-free supporters a lot. You guys should have told me not to eat while watching episode 1. I was having dinner...

 

Rather than learning who is behind all this, which I'm sure we'll find out later, I'm more interested to know the technology behind "cultured meat". It's definitely something to do with GMO (genetically modified organism). Professor Kim said it's not "filled with germs". But calling it "cultured meat" seem to suggest it is using bacteria to cultivate meat that's visually and texture identical to any type of animals' meats. Just from the way they show the "meat" grow exponentially, it's already suggestive it is "made of germs". Hahaha.

 

How do you guys feel about a future like this?

[Chocolate]

I've been looking forward to this and will start this weekend. For now, I am finishing 7 SEASONS of Billions which is like 84 episodes 😨.

 

I like all of this writer's dramas. But wondering how much they are paid per drama since it looks like one has to sustain 2 years of living expenses + savings etc ...

 

Blood Free | Jibaejong (Disney+ / 2024)

Grid (Disney+ / 2022)

Stranger 2 | Bimilui Soop 2 (tvN / 2020)

Life (JTBC / 2018)

Stranger | Bimilui Soop (tvN / 2017)

 

Singapore had a cultured meat facility which is now in limbo.

https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/cultivated-meat-producer-eat-just-pauses-operations-in-singapore#:~:text=Eat Just made international headlines,as 1880 in early 2021.

 

According to the article:

"Cultivated meat refers to meat products that are made from growing animal cells in a bioreactor – similar to the vats used in brewing beer – instead of slaughtering actual chickens."

 

[mademoiselle]

@Chocolate Scriptwriter is probably like a novel writer, living off earnings from their previously successful works, i.e. copyright and reprinting fees. Best example being J. K. Rowling.

 

1 hour ago, Chocolate said:

According to the article:

"Cultivated meat refers to meat products that are made from growing animal cells in a bioreactor – similar to the vats used in brewing beer – instead of slaughtering actual chickens."

 

Another thought I had about Blood Free is... why is that Research Director working as a medical examiner for 3 years? Was him working at a morgue somewhat helped with the technology behind the cultured meat?

 

"Growing animal cells" didn't sound very ethical either. 😅

 

I'm actually sceptical when it comes to sustainability and ethics. I don't believe the world can truly achieve both of this in an honest manner. Every day, I'm confronted by the reality that businesses will bend rules and company values for profit.

 

Edited April 11 by mademoiselle

[abs-oluteM]

@mademoiselle @Chocolate  Something that is artificial would have side effects? Of course it can be countered argued that most things are already genetically modified anyway. I see the merits of such a technology to deal with food security issues but I will need some convincing to eat them. 

 

@SilverMoonTea here for you . Funny thing I notice - drama discussions are more centered on whether he's married than who is the mole in the organisation. 

 

 

[mademoiselle]

12 hours ago, abs-oluteM said:

@mademoiselle @Chocolate  Something that is artificial would have side effects? Of course it can be countered argued that most things are already genetically modified anyway. I see the merits of such a technology to deal with food security issues but I will need some convincing to eat them. 

 

Side effects – most probably. It's all about "balance" with living things. Too much and too little of something cause disease or deficiency in our body. I think the issue with BF is also they are not willng to disclose what the meats are made of. Ingredient declaration is mandatory because the industry also have to deal with people with allergies.

 

Taking current affairs into account, I'd assume the company's point of sale will be pesticides / parasites / steroid / microplastic / mercury free. Here in begs the question, what else would they market? Will the nutrients in each different type of animal meat be similar to the real ones?—how do they determine because this fluctuates based on what humans feed the animals. Every humans' nutrient requirement also differ. Will they genetically modify the fish meat to contain more Omega-3 than normal fish as point of sale and difference? This is where the side-effects issue can kick in.

 

I'm open to the idea of cultured meat made from microorganisms. We're already eating some of them anyway e.g. yeast in bread, fungi/mushrooms, and lactobacillus in yoghurts. Before it can be consumed, it'll need a lot of clinical studies and research to convince me they are "safe". The issue is (same with the argument on the Covid vaccine), we likely would not know the side-effects until 10-20 years down the line, as it takes time for our body to become sensitized.

---

 

I don't feel the chemistry between Han Hyo Joo and Ju Ji Hoon yet, so I'm currently impartial with the romance bit. But I definitely think it would be a waste if he's married. Didn't Tea post above that the child is his sister's? The lady could be his sister too.

Edited April 12 by mademoiselle

[mademoiselle]

 

[SilverMoonTea]

2 hours ago, mademoiselle said:

 

But I definitely think it would be a waste if he's married. Didn't Tea post above that the child is his sister's? The lady could be his sister too.

 

The post seems to be from the initial character introduction not sure if it's recent one or not. So if the writer decided to change the storyline we also have no say on it 🤷‍♀️ At first I thought it was from his resume but it's not 😂 So I guess our CEO also already branded him as married with kid and out of her league. But there is some talk from the On San actor that he will stole her from him lols ( whatever that means 😂 ). It's also interesting that the rumour circling is that she broke On San's marriage, so far their interaction seems very professional. Eventhough OS seems more engrossed with trying to find perfect bodyguard for her and not so much with his work lols 

 

 

[Chocolate]

It’s got to be Lee Moo Saeng right? Otherwise why would he be one of the leads? It’s a bit like Ha Seok Jin’s character in Blind.

 

On 4/12/2024 at 6:51 AM, mademoiselle said:

 

I don't feel the chemistry between Han Hyo Joo and Ju Ji Hoon yet, so I'm currently impartial with the romance bit. But I definitely think it would be a waste if he's married. Didn't Tea post above that the child is his sister's? The lady could be his sister too.

Me too. But I think it’s more that I’m not really enjoying HHJ’s portrayal here. She’s been stern and steely, pretty much expressionless for 2 episodes. Hoping I like her better later.

 

On 4/11/2024 at 8:57 PM, mademoiselle said:

@Chocolate Scriptwriter is probably like a novel writer, living off earnings from their previously successful works, i.e. copyright and reprinting fees. Best example being J. K. Rowling.

I’m not sure they get royalties. For Squid Game, the director who also wrote the script said that they don’t get anything more than the initial agreed amount from Netflix despite it being such a big hit. Maybe if the drama was successful, they can negotiate for higher fees or profit sharing for the sequel.

 

On 4/11/2024 at 9:26 PM, abs-oluteM said:

@mademoiselle @Chocolate  Something that is artificial would have side effects? Of course it can be countered argued that most things are already genetically modified anyway. I see the merits of such a technology to deal with food security issues but I will need some convincing to eat them. 

 

If this is growing the meat from the animal cell, without growing the whole animal, it doesn’t seem so offensive. Unless of course the meat is “alive”.

 

Maybe we should all become vegetarians…

 

[mademoiselle]

5 minutes ago, Chocolate said:

Maybe we should all become vegetarians…

 

Hell no! I like a good balance of veggies and (real) meat!

[abs-oluteM]

BTS

 

[peperomia]

On 4/11/2024 at 12:49 AM, mademoiselle said:

Oh. Did not realise it is written by Lim Soo Yeon, who wrote Stranger! But she wrote Grid, too, and that one left us hanging.

 

You know, maybe the romance will be hinted and bare minimum because neither Stranger nor Grid have romance blossoming. OK @abs-oluteM @SilverMoonTea based on your review, I will watch them tonight. Tagging @Chocolate and @peperomia

 

@mademoiselle Thanks for the tag! Despite what we went through last with Grid, I'll eventually get to Blood Free. I do like Ju Ji Hoon and will always give Lee Soo Yeon's projects a chance. (I'm currently watching Nothing Uncovered, Hide and finally started on Queen of Tears so I'll need to find some time for this one.)

[mademoiselle]

The pacing is not bad, quite fast in revealing who is behind the ransomware.

 

I think there are multiple villains in this drama. The ex-President, his grandson who turns out to be the Prime Minister and his father are all up to no good. I find the Prime Minister's father (who is a former son-in-law of the President) very suspicious. The actor himself has played many villain roles, so it's hard not to suspect he could be behind the bombing.

 

LOL at when it was revealed human experiments were involved, since they can't do animal testing. Hence, the reason why they are so secretive. The person experimented on was Professor Kim's sick wife. Research Director On had an argument with Ja Yu on agreeing with the experiment, which led me to believe that could be why he worked in the morgue for 3 years because he needed to experiment on humans. There was also a flashback of Yoon Ja Yu having a seizure in a hospital bed. The flashback happened really quick, so I cannot confirm who the other woman was standing beside the bed. I hope Ja Yu doesn't have a twin sister, and assuming she regained her health. This suggests whatever experiment it was, it was successful. Perhaps this is what the ex-President was looking for. So herein, I make a speculation/prediction: since BF has the technology to "manufacture" meat, who is to say BF can't manufacture a pair of legs for the ex-President?

 

It also appears BF has other technologies that outsiders do not know about. They have a very good AI system which can track all the employees, down to their financial accounts.

 

[abs-oluteM]

20 hours ago, mademoiselle said:

The pacing is not bad, quite fast in revealing who is behind the ransomware.

Yes!  Was surprised that that was the case . But ok , I don’t mind that since it means that the plot has more to it than just the internal betrayal . 
Watched only till eps 3 . Will comment more after eps4