This review may contain spoilers
Tempest: A Disgusting Recycled Version of Red Swan With Jun Ji Hyun
This drama treats itself as overly self-important, but the execution makes it hard to take seriously. The female lead is portrayed as if she’s the most crucial figure in South Korea’s survival, a diplomat so important that even the president personally interferes in her private life. In reality, ambassadors work behind closed doors, negotiating with careful words and securing national interests quietly, not being turned into celebrity-like figures with the president dictating whether they should divorce or accept minister positions. The idea that the president is heartbroken because she married his political rival, and that she alone can sway the nation’s future, feels like an inflated fantasy rather than political reality.
The attempt at political depth collapses further in the execution. The church scene was outright uncomfortable: the male lead secretly films a married woman, romantic music plays, and she knowingly stares into the camera as if inviting him. It doesn’t read as diplomacy or duty — it reads like an adultery drama in disguise, dressed up with diplomatic jargon that doesn’t mean much, because realistically, South Korea’s foreign policy is dependent on U.S. approval anyway.
The action sequence in the first episode is equally unconvincing. The male lead notices the soldier targeting the FL’s husband but doesn’t act, seemingly waiting for the husband to die so he can “save” her. The soldier miraculously spares everyone else but delays shooting the FL until the ML arrives, and then — conveniently — decides it’s time to pull the trigger. The directing makes it look intentional, as though the plot needed the husband to die for the romance to kick in. What’s worse is the framing: while the FL holds her dead husband and the ML holds the dead soldier, the camera lingers on their eye contact like we’re supposed to feel a budding romance in that tragic moment. It’s manipulative, disgusting, and undermines the seriousness of the setup.
Overall, instead of giving us a believable political drama, Tempest feels like a rebranded Red Swan — but now with diplomats and politicians instead of chaebols and business elites. The forced romance, especially with a married (later widow) FL, destroys any credibility the story could have had. What could’ve been a sharp, serious drama is reduced to another recycled melodrama with dirty, unrealistic romantic overtones.
The attempt at political depth collapses further in the execution. The church scene was outright uncomfortable: the male lead secretly films a married woman, romantic music plays, and she knowingly stares into the camera as if inviting him. It doesn’t read as diplomacy or duty — it reads like an adultery drama in disguise, dressed up with diplomatic jargon that doesn’t mean much, because realistically, South Korea’s foreign policy is dependent on U.S. approval anyway.
The action sequence in the first episode is equally unconvincing. The male lead notices the soldier targeting the FL’s husband but doesn’t act, seemingly waiting for the husband to die so he can “save” her. The soldier miraculously spares everyone else but delays shooting the FL until the ML arrives, and then — conveniently — decides it’s time to pull the trigger. The directing makes it look intentional, as though the plot needed the husband to die for the romance to kick in. What’s worse is the framing: while the FL holds her dead husband and the ML holds the dead soldier, the camera lingers on their eye contact like we’re supposed to feel a budding romance in that tragic moment. It’s manipulative, disgusting, and undermines the seriousness of the setup.
Overall, instead of giving us a believable political drama, Tempest feels like a rebranded Red Swan — but now with diplomats and politicians instead of chaebols and business elites. The forced romance, especially with a married (later widow) FL, destroys any credibility the story could have had. What could’ve been a sharp, serious drama is reduced to another recycled melodrama with dirty, unrealistic romantic overtones.
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