In Bloodhounds, two young boxers team up with a moneylender to take down a loan shark who is making money out of destroying others’ lives. The series is now streaming on Netflix.
Warning: This article contains heavy spoilers
Plot summary
In December 2020, Kim Gun-woo and Hong Woo-jin become friends after competing against each other at the Rookie of the Year boxing tournament. Gun-woo ends up winning the tournament.
Since the COVID-19 restrictions are still strict, many local businesses are struggling, including the cafe of Gun-woo’s mother. Gun-woo won this tournament to earn money, which he can give to his mother.
Kim Myeong-gil, a wealthy loan shark who is the CEO of Smile Capital, scams Gun-woo’s mother and several local shop owners. He offers them loans with lower interest rates and makes them sign a contract without letting them clearly see the mention of an extension fee.
When Gun-woo’s mother fails to pay the extension fee, Myeong-gil’s men attack her shop and destroy it right away. Gun-woo comes to her rescue, and though he puts up a great fight, he gets beaten. He is warned against contacting the police. If he does, his mother will be killed.
At times like these, Woo-jin does his best to help his new friend. One of Woo-jin’s contacts leads the two to Mr. Choi, who is known for offering loans with zero interest to poor people who need money urgently.
Mr. Choi is investigating an old client of his named Yang Jae-myeong, who disappeared after taking money from him. Mr. Choi hires both Gun-woo and Woo-jin to be the bodyguards of Hyeon-ju, who regards Mr. Choi as her grandfather and is investigating on his behalf.
Gun-woo is offered money in advance to pay off his mother’s debts and get back to work. Gun-woo also recognizes the man Jae-myeong is meeting as an associate of the CEO of Smile Capital.
Gun-woo throws himself into a fight during a quiet operation on Jae-myeong in order to save a poor man. The move puts their team under fire. Mr. Choi is forced to get involved, and when he learns that the CEO of Smile Capital has a scar on his face, the reveal sends shivers down his spine.
It turns out that Myeong-gil has a past with Mr. Choi. Myeong-gil once worked under Mr. Choi, and when the latter abruptly stopped his loan shark business, Myeong-gil went rogue.
He stole from Mr. Choi, and during a struggle, Myeong-gil’s associate, In-beom, threw Mr. Choi off the building. Hence, Mr. Choi can’t walk anymore.
Mr. Choi asks Gun-woo, Woo-jin, and Hyeon-ju to lay low, but they go against his wishes to capture Jae-myeong. The trio ends up walking into a trap. Although they all survive, it’s clear that things are far too dangerous now.
Mr. Choi brings his top lieutenants, Lee Du-yeong and Hwang Yang-jung, into the picture. He safeguards Gun-woo’s mother and also gets most of his wealth moved, considering that one of Myeong-gil’s associates knows its location.
Mr. Choi’s group targets Myeong-gil’s two important associates and manages to kidnap one of them. They capture Jang-do, a former police cadet.
Mr. Choi’s group tortures Jang-do, and he finally reveals how Myeong-gil uses dirt on others to manipulate them and get his job done. Myeong-gil has 50 videos against many people stored on a hard drive.
Before Mr. Choi’s group can make their next move, Myeong-gil’s men track Lee Du-yeong down and threaten to kill his pregnant wife if he doesn’t give them Mr. Choi’s location.
Despite giving them the location, Lee Du-yeong and his wife are killed. Following that, Myeong-gil and his goons also kill Mr. Choi and Hwang Yang-jung. They steal Mr. Choi’s wealth and set his house on fire.
Only Gun-woo, Woo-jin, and Hyeon-ju get out of the massacre alive. A devastated Hyeon-ju, after losing Mr. Choi, goes far away from this. Meanwhile, Gun-woo and Woo-jin start training harder to get better and take Myeong-gil down before he can hurt more innocent people.
Mr. Oh, who served Mr. Choi, allows the two of them to go against Myeong-gil again. Gun-woo and Woo-jin start off by looking for allies who despise Smile Capital and Myeong-gil.
They bring the heir of the Iil group, Mr. Min-beom Hong, and his cousin, Gang-yong, who is also a cop, on their side. Iil group has been fighting with Smile Capital over a contract. Myeong-gil has an edge over them only because he has a private video of Mr. Hong.
Gun-woo and Woo-jin know where that private video is, and with Gang-yong’s team of detectives, they can take Myeong-gil down.
Bloodhounds ending explained in detail:
Does Myeong-gil kill Gang-yong and his team?
As told by Jang-do, everything Myeong-gil has against his enemies is on a hard drive. Access to it can be found through Myeong-gil’s phone. Min-beom is asked to stage a contact signing with Myeong-gil.
During the event, Min-beom tricks Myeong-gil by saying that he wants to delete his video himself. He manages to get Myeong-gil’s phone connected to his office’s Wi-Fi.
This way, Gang-yong’s team is able to collect evidence against Myeong-gil by accessing this drive. However, Myeong-gil learns that someone is onto him, as the original hard drive, which is inside a highly-secured safe, started destroying itself the moment Gang-yong’s team accessed it.
With the help of a mole inside the police department, Myeong-gil tracks down everyone who is investigating his case. He plots their deaths differently. However, each one of them barely survives while Myeong-gil prepares to escape.
Do Gun-woo and Woo-jin find Myeong-gil?
Myeong-gil tried to get rid of Gun-woo and Woo-jin by kidnapping Mr. Oh. Unfortunately, the two managed to rescue Mr. Oh. Meanwhile, the cops made their moves and arrested Myeong-gil’s associates, including the mole inside the police department.
Min-beom fears that Myeong-gil will flee from Korea. The only person who might know Myeong-gil’s plans is Jang-do, who used to smuggle things for Myeong-gil.
Gun-woo and Woo-jin get in touch with Jang-do, who is in hiding. Once Jang-do is paid in billions, he offers them the name of the ship Myeong-gil is secretly boarding and his container number.
Gun-woo and Woo-jin are forced to board the ship to catch Myeong-gil. After putting up a fight against Myeong-gil and his associate, In-beom, Gun-woo and Woo-jin finally defeat them.
What happens after Myeong-gil is arrested?
Gun-woo and Woo-jin discover the gold bars Myeong-gil has in his possession. They steal them and Myeong-gil’s phone to ensure that he doesn’t leak Min-beom’s video.
Gang-yong contacts Interpol for backup so that they can arrest Myeong-gil in Vietnam. Min-beom picks Gun-woo and Woo-jin in the middle of the ocean.
Gun-woo and Woo-jin don’t want any of the gold bars. When Gun-woo expresses that he wants the money from these gold bars to be spent on the poor and those who need medical help, which would have been Mr. Choi’s wish, Min-beom promises to start a welfare foundation and set up a hospital.
Min-beom hands two gold bars each to Gun-woo and Woo-jin though Gun-woo claims that they don’t want them. Min-beom says Mr. Choi would have done the same in his place. Therefore, Gun-woo and Woo-jin must accept these.
Gun-woo remembers Mr. Choi and agrees. Gun-woo and Woo-jin then go back home and reunite with Gun-woo’s mother.
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