The Scandal

DESIRE HAS ITS PRICE

There’s something so deeply unhinged about watching Yun and Won sit there and basically go, “You know what would be fun? Destroying this woman’s life for entertainment.” Like hello??? Hui-yeon has already lost her husband before they were even married and these two looked at her situation and decided it was apparently the perfect opportunity for a little recreational emotional terrorism.

And what makes it worse is that neither of them is exactly doing this because they’re happy. Won is desperate for Yun, Yun is miserable and completely trapped in a life where she has basically zero control over anything, and instead of either of them dealing with their actual problems like normal people, they decide to turn someone else’s feelings into a board game. Incredible coping mechanisms all around.

But honestly, that’s what makes the premise work for me. The wager isn’t really about seduction. It’s about control. These people live in a society where they’re constantly being told who they’re supposed to be, what they’re allowed to want and how they’re supposed to behave, so naturally they respond by becoming pathological little liars who manipulate everyone around them. Nobody says what they actually want. Nobody enters a relationship with completely honest intentions. Everyone is hiding something, and every time somebody thinks they’ve finally gained control, the situation immediately goes to hell.

And Hui-yeon is probably the most painful part of that whole mess because you KNOW she’s going to get hurt. You can see the disaster coming from approximately 18 miles away. You’re sitting there like GIRL PLEASE DO NOT FALL FOR THIS MAN. HE IS LITERALLY DOING A BET. But she has no idea, and watching her slowly become emotionally invested makes the whole thing increasingly uncomfortable. Especially because Won’s feelings start getting messier too, and suddenly the question isn’t just whether he’s manipulating her, but whether he has started believing his own bullshit.

Yun is also way more interesting than I expected her to be. She could’ve easily been written as the "Evil Seductress Who Starts The Bet And Smirks In A Corner" but there’s actually a person underneath all of it. The more we understand her history with Won and how little control she has over her own life, the more the wager starts feeling like this incredibly f***ed-up attempt to reclaim some kind of power. Not a healthy one, not even remotely. But you understand where it comes from.

And Son Ye-jin and Ji Chang-wook??? They are SICK for this. Their chemistry is genuinely ridiculous. The tension between Yun and Won does so much heavy lifting because these two can look at each other for five seconds and suddenly I’m sitting there like okay apparently we’re doing incestuous emotional warfare today. Nana is also really good, especially because Hui-yeon’s vulnerability could have easily become annoying or overly saintly, but she gives the character enough warmth that you actually feel awful watching her get dragged into this disaster.

The whole thing is also ridiculously pretty. Like everyone is committing emotional crimes against each other but at least the lighting department is having the time of their life. The drama has this dreamy, almost romantic visual quality that makes everything happening underneath it feel even nastier. You’re watching gorgeous people in gorgeous clothes ruin each other’s lives and somehow the show makes you want to keep pressing “next episode” like you’re not actively witnessing a social experiment conducted by demons.

My biggest problem is the pacing because JESUS CHRIST. This thing takes its time. And then takes some more time. And after that it apparently needs a little walk around the block before it decides to move the plot forward. There are stretches where the drama is clearly trying to build tension but instead of tension I’m just sitting there thinking okay girl we understand the point now. Some character decisions also feel suspiciously like the writers needed them to happen rather than something the actual characters would logically do, which does occasionally pull you out of the story.

But underneath all the scheming and seduction, there’s a genuinely sad story here about people who desperately want freedom and have absolutely no idea what to do with themselves when they can’t have it. They want control over their own lives, so they start controlling everyone else’s. They want to be loved, so they manipulate people into loving them. They want freedom, so they make other people pay for the fact that they don’t have it.

And eventually the funniest part of the whole wager is that nobody actually wins. Because once real feelings start getting involved, the entire game becomes completely useless. You can manipulate somebody into falling in love with you, but you can’t control what happens to you when you start falling in love too. And THAT is where this drama gets really good.

Full review coming soon! Stay tuned.

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They Understood the Seduction — But Were Afraid of the Consequences

The Scandal is now on Netflix.

First, just for context, it is worth clarifying where this story comes from, because there already seems to be some confusion about it.

The Scandal is a direct adaptation of Les Liaisons dangereuses, the novel by Choderlos de Laclos, published in 1782, as Netflix itself credits it.

At the same time, director Jung Ji-woo has described the series as a remake of the 2003 Korean film Untold Scandal, directed by E J-yong, which transplanted Laclos's story to the Joseon era.

And when E J-yong made that film, he also pointed to the 1988 Hollywood adaptation Dangerous Liaisons, directed by Stephen Frears, written by Christopher Hampton, and starring Glenn Close, John Malkovich and Michelle Pfeiffer, as a predecessor.

So there are several layers of adaptation here: the original 1782 novel, the famous 1988 film, the 2003 Korean reinterpretation, and finally this new 2026 series.

With that out of the way, let's talk about the series.

What a way to butcher and sanitize a story.

Because The Scandal did understand one part of the original material: the eroticism, the seduction, and the games of manipulation. In fact, there are episodes where it handles those elements extraordinarily well.

The problem is that it understood the seduction, but was afraid of the consequences.

And there are five changes that dismantle much of the tragedy of Choderlos de Laclos.

First: Cho Won's death.

Come on.

In the novel, Valmont dies after a duel with Danceny and, before dying, hands over the correspondence that will eventually contribute to Merteuil's destruction. His death is part of the machinery of consequences that he himself helped set in motion.

Here, Cho Won simply goes out alone in a boat, lets himself fall into the water, and dies. Worse still, nobody even knows that he died. They believe he ran away.

A death directly connected to revenge, guilt, and the downfall of these characters is transformed into a melancholic, romantic disappearance.

Second: Hui-yeon survives.

In the novel, Tourvel's emotional destruction ultimately leads to her death. Here, Cho Won confesses that everything began as a wager, breaks her heart, a year passes... and Hui-yeon returns to his house still hoping that she might find him there.

Tragedy becomes romantic nostalgia. The woman destroyed by Valmont's game is turned into the typical long-suffering heroine who continues waiting for the man who destroyed her.

Third: So-ok, or Cécile.

In the original work, Valmont's corruption of Cécile is one of the darkest and most ruthless demonstrations of who this man really is.

Here, Cho Won never goes through with that part of the plan, and the pregnancy is tied to In-ho, the Danceny counterpart. By doing this, the series removes from its version of Valmont one of the actions that would make it far more difficult to keep selling him to the audience as a misunderstood romantic lead.

Fourth: Lady Cho gets away practically unscathed.

And for me, this is one of the most serious changes.

Merteuil ends up being devoured by the very game of manipulation she created. Lady Cho, on the other hand, retains her position, is never publicly exposed, loses none of her status, and ends up simply crying over her cousin.

And fifth: the letters.

Throughout the entire series, we are shown letters. Letters used to seduce, letters used to lie, letters used to manipulate, letters used to conceal identities and move people around like pieces on a chessboard.

And in the end?

Nothing.

In Laclos, the correspondence is not decoration. It is practically the murder weapon of the story. What these characters wrote in private eventually becomes evidence of what they did and directly contributes to their destruction.

Here, the series spends its entire runtime using the letters, and when the moment finally comes for them to explode, it defuses them.

Nobody learns the truth. Lady Cho is never exposed. Cho Won disappears almost as a romantic tragic figure. Hui-yeon keeps waiting for him. And So-ok ends up established as a concubine with her child.

That is my problem with this adaptation.

Not that it changed events. An adaptation has every right to do that.

The problem is that it changed precisely the consequences of those events.

And without consequences, Les Liaisons dangereuses loses its teeth.

In the end, they chose to turn a tragedy about manipulation, desire, arrogance, and self-destruction into a far more conventional and sanitized romantic melodrama.

They knew how to make them desire.
They knew how to make them manipulate.
They knew how to make them fuck.

But when the time came to make them pay... they made a K-drama.

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I’m Still Waiting for the Plot... ???

I honestly don't know what I just watched.

I went into The Scandal with pretty high expectations. The cast and the premise sounded promising, so how could this possibly go wrong?

Well. Somehow, they managed to make eight episodes feel like a very long punishment.

I kept waiting for the story to grab me. It never did. I kept waiting for the chemistry. Still waiting. I kept waiting for the big psychological game, the tension, the emotional payoff, the moment where everything would finally make sense.

Nothing.
Ι get that Ji Chang-wook wanted to challenge himself with a role like this, and honestly, I’m 💯on his side. More power to him.
BUT…
The biggest problem? There was barely a plot.
What was the director doing? And the screenwriter? Apparently, they both went on vacation.
And
The leads had about as much chemistry as two people waiting in line at the post office. And Son Ye-jin? Terrible casting for this role. Her frozen, 🥶 🥶 emotionless expression killed whatever passion the scenes were supposed to have, and the chemistry with Ji Chang-Wook was nowhere to be found, the whole thing fell flat. She was a huge disappointment.

They may be good actors, but for some reason, they just didn’t work together as a pair… at least that’s how I saw it.

And for a drama supposedly built around seduction and desire, that's quite an achievement.

And yes, there are plenty of provocative scenes.
The nude scenes didn’t bother me. What bothered me was the apparent formula: beautiful actors + nude scenes = success

But after a while I started wondering if they were there because the writers had run out of actual plot. Take away the nudity, the beautiful costumes and all the dramatic staring, and there really isn't much left.

The worst part for me was that I never understood what the creators were actually trying to say. Was this about love? Desire? Freedom? Power? Manipulation? Self-discovery? Manipulation? Trauma? Apparently all of it, and somehow none of it. I honestly have no idea. They seemed to want to say everything at once and somehow ended up saying nothing.

And then came the final episode.

After all the betrayal, manipulation, suffering and deaths, the FL's big concern was finding out whether the King liked the text she had secretly written announcing the widow's death— Seriously now???

People are dying, lives are falling apart, and she's basically waiting for her royal book review.

“Did the King like my writing? That's what she needed to know ????

And then, because apparently the drama hadn't reached peak absurdity yet, the ML jumps out of a boat and dies because two women want him.

How absurd

Two women want me? Better jump out of the boat. Goodbye.

And then she ( Son Ye-jin ) waits for him.

I was genuinely sitting there thinking: how bad can this possibly get?

Apparently, this bad.

Honestly, I have to wonder what the actors saw in this script that made them agree to be part of this drama in the first place. With a cast like this, I expected so much more.

Instead, I got eight episodes of beautiful people, pretty costumes, provocative scenes, dramatic staring and absolutely no idea what the hell the point was.

Did I miss an episode? NO.
Did I miss the plot? NO.
So… that was it. Nothing.

By the end, I wasn't shocked, moved or devastated.

I was just disappointed.

All Scandal. No chemistry. No momentum. And apparently, the King's opinion was the ultimate literary validation.

What did they see in this drama?

Because I'm still trying to find it.

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THE ONLY SCANDAL IN THIS DRAMA WAS THE UPMOST LACK IF IT

A disclaimer I'm giving because of people in comments my review on this show has to deal with how boring i found it not because i believe erotica isnt a good genre.

As someone who absolutely loves the 2003 Korean film Untold Scandal and the French classic book it’s based on, and even the American adaptation,Cruel Intentions, I have been completely disappointed by everything this show has done.

First of all, the series is merely sensual, not erotic. You don’t need dozens of sex scenes, naked women, and confusing, supposedly "erotic" dialogue to convey true passion. A single breath or a shared look between two leads should be enough to speak thousands of words. Do I think the leads have chemistry? Yes, but not nearly enough to justify an "erotic" tag. Even the psychological mind games between the main character and his cousin felt incredibly boring to me; they lacked any heavy, genuine tension and felt like nothing more than cheap jests and banter.

And am I also the only one who hates it when massive A-list celebrities sign up for a project promoted as highly explicit, only to consistently avoid participating in the exact scenes they promised the audience? I just don't get it. There is only one actual sex scene between the main leads. The rest of the explicit content is carried by relatively rookie actors who are stripped down and thrusting together to provide the "erotica." But let’s be honest we didn't tune in to watch them, did we?

Aside from the botched erotica, I felt absolutely zero excitement watching "the chase" play out. I found it boring and practically pointless. I know this is a story that has been told over and over again, but creators can still add their own twists and get creative. That is exactly why we watch fiction the possibilities are literally infinite.

The side characters were okay not particularly interesting, but decent enough to keep me awake while watching. At the end of the day, I was just bored, tired, and honestly glad when it was finally over. Watch it if you want, but this definitely wasn't the one for me.

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THE SCANDAL: Or how a great story was badly told

I went into this with an open mind, decided not to be biased or have my opinion “tainted” by its predecessors, Untold Scandal and Dangerous Liaisons, and told myself this was a fresh take on the story. But the fact remains (read it in Viscount Du Valmont’s voice) that those previous amazing works of ART share the same core, the same main idea: that a lecherous, vicious, and cruel womanizer finds love and redemption in the arms of a very pious, devoted woman, destroys her and himself in the process, taking along the very calculating Lady Cho/Marquise de Merteuil.

I have several problems with this adaptation:

For one, it is too long. Instead of a tight, pressure-cooker narrative, the show dilutes the tension with heavy palace intrigue, slowing down the mind games that should be at the forefront of the story, because they indeed, are the story. Additionally, this is supposed to be psychological warfare, yet the writers chose to show the story through the prism of tragic love. Yes, there is an element of that, but at its core, it’s about a psychological chess game where no one wins in the end.

Secondly, I did not see the chemistry, not between Son Je-yin and Ji Chang-wook, and neither between Ji Chang-wook and Nana. One might argue that the three leads are considered to be among the sexiest, prettiest, and most seductive actors in Korean entertainment, but that is no guarantee that chemistry will appear and translate onto the screen. Ji Chang-wook plays Cho Won, at times, like a caricature of the character. He breaks the fourth wall, laughs at everything and everyone, and even when trying to seduce Ahn Hui-yeon, his attempts border on buffoonery. I know Hui-yeon’s character is supposed to know nothing of men and the world, and that she has lived her life being very guarded, but anyone, I mean, even the simplest of minds, could see he was lying through his teeth.

Nana, instead, plays Ahn Hui-yeon like a frightened child cowering in a corner. There were scenes where she was actually hunched over, as if trying to make herself smaller. Her character is supposed to be a woman of deep moral conviction; her spiritual dignity and virtue are her armor. Instead, the actress gave us a woman who trembled at the very look of Cho Won, rather than slowly breaking down under his relentless pursuit.

This lack of chemistry directly impacts the characters’ arcs. We don’t see Cho Won transitioning from a man who holds nothing and no one in high regard, into a man who slowly starts to comprehend that he could have a better life next to a woman who truly loves him. We don’t see this knowledge dawn on him. Where is the doubt in his eyes? Where are the tenderness, the yearning, the passion?

Yes, they do give us a very explicit scene involving the seduction, but I, for one, did not see the flashes of tenderness or the realization that he might have feelings for this woman whom he has won over completely. We don’t even see him relishing the fact that he has won his bet with Lady Cho, and is now entitled to cash in his prize. We do see him, though, following Lady Cho around like a lost puppy, but the element of viciousness is missing from their relationship. If anything, he remains under her spell, almost to the last frame his character is on screen. Yes, he does show remorse over his treatment and betrayal of Ahn Hui-yeon, but not for a single moment did I believe he had fallen prey to his own trap, that he loved her, or that this was a tragic waste of an opportunity. By the final episodes, the story was sinking faster than Cho Won jumping into the river, and I can sympathize with him taking himself out of it.

To add insult to injury, Lady Cho faces no reckoning. She simply lives on, gliding effortlessly through society, always behind a mask of politeness and boredom, boredom that I was sharing at this point, if I’m honest.

Lady Cho loved her position in society and her power more than anything. She did not truly love Cho Won beyond what he could do for her, or how useful he could be. Yet, in the last scene, the director tries to make us believe she is suffering in silence because he has disappeared. What irks me is that they stripped her of her downfall and tried to frame it as though she had always loved him, making her punishment the realization of that love when it’s already too late. They took one of the greatest villains known to history, and turned her into a woman pining for a man she can no longer have. She should have lost her place in society, she should have faced ridicule, been ostracized, but nothing really happened to her. That was a poor way to wrap the story. That is the real scandal here.

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This was a huge disappointment for me. I absolutely love K-dramas, mainly because of their atmosphere, tension, chemistry between the characters, and that amazing feeling of anticipation when you simply need to know what’s going to happen next. And Scandal was missing all of that for me.
The series felt strangely flat and emotionless. I barely felt any chemistry between the characters, and even the relationships that were supposed to be intense or dramatic didn’t create the kind of tension I expect from a K-drama. The story tried to be dramatic, but to me, the whole thing felt more like a Western melodrama with Korean actors than an actual K-drama.
Maybe in trying too hard to feel modern and “more Western,” the series lost what I love most about Korean dramas. K-dramas don’t need to imitate Western shows to be modern. Their charm lies in their own pacing, unspoken emotions, meaningful looks, slowly building tension, and that unique atmosphere that makes you anticipate every little moment.
With Scandal, I simply didn’t feel that tension. I was watching, but I wasn’t waiting for anything. And when it comes to a series that is supposed to be emotional and driven by dramatic relationships, that’s a pretty major problem.
As someone who genuinely loves K-dramas, I just felt like this wasn’t it. Weak, lacking chemistry, and completely missing that famous “just one more episode” feeling. Such a shame, because I think the potential was there.

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Everyone is focussed on the least important issue it's no wonder y'all missing the context!

I am writing this review as someone who has not seen the 2003 film nor read the French novel upon which this was adapted my perspective is solely based on experiencing this drama as a standalone work. Before you dive in, be aware that this show is not for everyone.... I would urge you not to let negative reviews hold you back try it for yourself.

This production departs from the usual Joseon-era K-drama recipe. It is a scandalous web tying together three central figures: a noblewoman whose husband intends to take a concubine, her playful and cunning cousin, and a widow. The central conflict arises when the cousin makes a bet to woo the widow, who has sworn never to be touched; if he wins, he claims the noblewoman as his own. It is a provocative premise, but as the title suggests, you shouldn't expect a flowery or polite ride. The story delves into jealousy, anger, selfishness, lust, and obsession mistaken for love, as well as the complexities of greed and the historical context of certain relationships.

I strongly disagree with critics who claim the show lacks a story or plot. Confusion is often mistaken for a lack of direction, but the plot is clearly established and the execution is precise neither too fast nor too slow keeping the viewer intrigued by the chaotic relationships.

The acting is particularly noteworthy; Ji Chang wook, Son Ye-jin, and Nana deliver masterclasses in subtle, "micro-acting" that is neither overdone nor underdone. If you watch at 2x speed, you will miss the nuances in their speech delivery, micro-expressions, and emotional outbursts.

Finally, regarding the debate over the erotic scenes: I have tried to explain that such portrayals are appropriate given that the show's very subject matter demands them. While it is understandable to feel uncomfortable, it was clear from the outset that these scenes would be included. Shaming the cast for fulfilling their professional roles and meeting the requirements of the script is unnecessary.

If you reduce the scandal to just it's erotic scenes then you missing the context, the show actually had cultural significance to it, they talked about topics like widows and how they had to mourn three years and couldn't get remarried, how men could take in concubines back then and their wives had to train and even choose them, how people married at the age so young and were groomed, and the use of pansori to narrate for those that watched jeongnyeon would know what iam talking about, saying the show is shallow because you forcussed on the bet made to seduce and ignoring the stories being told in the background.

Ultimately, this show may not be for everyone, but if it reaches its intended audience, it has succeeded.

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Not Nearly as Scandalous as Expected

I came for the same reason as a lot of people — the lead cast. Son Ye-jin is finally back, paired with Ji Chang-wook, and Nana is in it too. That alone was enough to sell me on it. I was also curious how scandalous it would actually be… but honestly, it’s nowhere near as scandalous as I expected. It’s much safer than I thought. For me, this is easily one of the worst Korean dramas of the year.

The story is incredibly boring from start to finish. The pacing is painfully slow, the plot is stretched thin, and it feels like there’s barely any real story at all. Eight episodes is way too many for this material. It’s promoted as explicit, but it’s only sensual, not truly erotic. The sex scenes between Ji Chang-wook and Nana are the most bland and possibly the most unnecessary scenes in the entire series. The directing tries really hard to hide the fact that they used body doubles — long shots and certain angles just don’t look natural at all. The seductive scene of So Ok teasing Cho Won is done much better. And overall, there aren’t even that many of these scenes.

Son Ye-jin as Lady Cho… I don’t have much to say. She has strong presence, but at times she feels a bit stiff. Ji Chang-wook as Cho Won is excellent. The gradual mental breakdown and collapse of his character is portrayed with great detail and nuance. His persistent pursuit of Hui Yeon is also quite funny. Nana as Hui Yeon is a miscast for me. She looks very beautiful in this role, but her face just doesn’t fit the Joseon era at all. And while I know it’s her personal choice, I really don’t like her lip fillers. Her performance also feels stiff and quite flat. For me, there’s zero chemistry between Ji Chang-wook and Son Ye-jin. The chemistry between Ji Chang-wook and Nana is better, but still nothing special. The music doesn’t really fit the period either. The cinematography, lighting, and visuals are gorgeous.

Overall, The only reason I would recommend this drama is if you’re a fan of Son Ye-jin, Ji Chang-wook, or Nana. If you’re not, you can safely skip it.

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Never Cast a Married Woman for an 18+ Drama

JCW carried this entire drama on his back. His acting was the only reason I could feel the love, pain, and desperation of the ML.
As a woman myself, I have nothing against married women, but for an 18+ drama, the casting just didn’t work for me. The FL was painfully emotionless. Her acting was painfully stoic throughout. I had to watch JCW just to understand what emotion her character was supposedly feeling. Even when she was jealous, I felt absolutely nothing from her. And the plot didn’t help either. Her motivations felt confusing, while the entire widow subplot seemed unnecessary and forced. The ML loved her so deeply, yet all he received in return was lies, manipulation, and heartbreak. Still, I’d recommend the drama. It’s good, but frustrating. Forget the ratings and judge it for yourself.

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