Undeniably an intriguing concept, “ The Sweet Blood” did have the potential to be a fairly well-rounded web series with original characters and storyline. However, this series simply becomes its own worst enemy with poor-production value in screenwriting, sets and acting .

The acting quality in " The Sweet Blood" is questionable to say the least. It was not unwatchable per say, however , there were certainly dire line deliverances worryingly throughout the series by the main cast consisting of Chae Yun, Eo Jun and Ji Woong. ( As well as the ridiculous amount of makeup plastered onto Ji Woong’s face in scenes.)

By default, Yeon Seo as a character should have been a well-written female lead. She could have had a profound backstory, a likeable personality as well as having conflicted beliefs as someone stuck between human and supernatural societies. Instead, " The Sweet Blood" reduced Yeon Seo to nothing more than an angst-ridden teenager (rather than a seeming immortal), self-inserted into a formulaic love triangle ( square if you wish to include Do Hyun Je) with lacking character development. Even a potentially intriguing side-storyline (regarding Yeon Seo’s relationship with her mother), was disregarded nearly entirely from the series.

Then there’s our main lead Meo Ru; the foundation of Yeon Seo’s love triangle. Throughout the series, Meo Ru rarely seems to ineffably be unfazed by the supernatural, he is absent-minded enough to put himself in danger countless times for the sake of "plot" (despite Yeon Seo’s warnings ) and seems unable to develop emotionally as a consequence. Even more intriguing elements to his character such as his visions and his actual involvement as " The One" were often half- heartedly thrown in near the ending of the series . (And even then, rarely had an active role.)

Following on from Meo Ru, was Yoon Chi Woo; the second male lead of the series. Yeon Seo’s old flame and a dangerous vampire who seemingly poses both a threat to Meo Ru as well as being "unpredictable", Chi Woo was undeniably an intriguing character. However, his greatest flaw came through his half-baked romance with Yeon Seo.

Despite the constant references towards Yeon Seo and Chi Woo’s " days together", there was no sense of actual significance of this relationship either through flashbacks, memories or accounts by either character. This also contributed to the lackadaisical vampire lore of the web series by the adequate detail with both characters’ backstories also.

Sadly, not even the side characters could make up for this with many side characters being thrown in as " quick fixes "for tension, rather than being entirely necessary for the plot.Do Hyun Je ( Cho Eun Ho), the Vatican’s werewolf ( not even kidding with this one) who ( for reasons unknown to most characters and viewers)seemed to like Yeon Seo. ( Admittedly, there was an arguable reason, but the revelation felt more like a rushed solution to erase the " fourth component for a love square", than actually an intriguing part of his character.) Then there’s Yeon Seo’s best-friend Kim Su Jeong ( Yoon Da Young) who is oblivious for a major part of the series to the supernatural, is dragged ineffably into supernatural scenarios for plot development and her later reactions are just lazily-written .

Adding to this, the seeming " threat" of Yeon Seo’s father as a "big bad" near the end of the series, should have been a decisive story moment , but instead, was anticlimactic and lacked development. ( Despite his intriguing paternal bond by blood *no pun intended* with Yeon Seo.) The ending wasn’t bad per say, but it was obviously a quick and thrown-in solution without any sense of completion or at least a cliffhanger to finally wrap up the web series .

So, what’s the best way to describe this web series and is it actually worth watching ? This entirely depends what you’re looking for in a web series. A quick binge-watch for something which is trope-filled and a time saver from a 16-hour drama? Then, yes. A well-written, original web series with good acting and casting decisions alongside an engaging OST? Then, it is advisable to look elsewhere because " The Sweet Blood" isn’t it.