The Scandal’: Even Son Ye Jin and Ji Chang Wook’s Performances Can’t Save an Unconvincing Remake
Despite strong performances from Son Ye Jin and Ji Chang Wook, Netflix’s The Scandal struggles with uneven storytelling and an unconvincing remake.
The expanded narrative is intriguing, but only briefly. From the mise-en-scène to the sluggish storytelling, there is plenty that leaves viewers wanting more. The Scandal has returned as a series after 23 years, but ultimately fails to make a convincing case for why it needed to be brought back at all.
Released on September 18, Netflix’s new original series The Scandal, directed by Jung Ji Woo, follows Lady Cho (Son Ye Jin), a woman whose extraordinary talents are constrained by the limitations placed on women during the Joseon era, and Cho Won (Ji Chang Wook), Joseon’s most notorious playboy. The two embark on a daring and dangerous wager involving love, with another woman, Hui Yeon (Nana), becoming entangled in their game.
The series expands the Korean film Untold Scandal, itself an adaptation of the French novel Les Liaisons dangereuses, into an eight-episode drama. With a total runtime nearly four times longer than the original two-hour film, the remake significantly expands the backstories of Lady Cho and Cho Won, whose relationship was explored in comparatively less detail in the movie.
The forbidden romance between Lady Cho, who is forced to suppress her ambitions and desires simply because she is a woman living within the restrictions of her era, and Cho Won, who becomes her intellectual companion before their relationship develops into something far more dangerous, immediately captures attention in the opening episodes.
Unfortunately, that is about as far as the series’ appeal goes. The production clearly attempts to fill out its extended runtime by giving more substantial stories to characters beyond Lady Cho and Cho Won. However, these individual narratives fail to come together into one cohesive storyline, significantly weakening the drama’s ability to keep viewers immersed.
Most damaging of all is the way the story places so much emphasis on Lady Cho and Cho Won that Hui Yeon, despite being central to their wager, loses much of her presence. The process of explaining why Hui Yeon, a woman who has steadfastly protected her chastity, eventually falls for Cho Won feels rushed and filled with abrupt leaps. As a result, her emotional journey becomes difficult to understand once she suddenly develops feelings for him.
The middle portion of the series, where Lady Cho and Cho Won’s wager finally begins to unfold in earnest, also feels frustratingly drawn out. The storytelling lacks momentum, with the tension coming alive mainly when the focus returns to the two central characters. Whenever the narrative shifts toward the supporting cast, the tension quickly dissipates and the series begins to drag.
Another misstep comes from Episode 7 onward, when the story suddenly accelerates at breakneck speed. The conflicts involving virtually every character erupt all at once, creating a progression that feels disconnected from what came before and giving the impression that the series is rushing to tie up its loose ends. In particular, Lady Cho and Cho Won’s constantly shifting emotions over how their wager should end create more confusion than immersion, ultimately undermining even the emotional foundation that had been holding the story together.
Despite the disappointing narrative and direction, Son Ye Jin and Ji Chang Wook’s performances are what keep the series watchable. Son Ye Jin uses her seasoned acting skills to capture Lady Cho’s subtle and complicated emotions as she wrestles with her desires for both love and status. Ji Chang Wook is equally compelling in portraying Cho Won’s unwavering feelings for Lady Cho and the path toward destruction that those feelings ultimately set him on.
Even with the two stars’ committed performances, however, The Scandal struggles to convince viewers why Untold Scandal needed to be remade and expanded into a series 23 years later. Adding to the disappointment, even the mise-en-scène showcasing traditional Korean aesthetics—which had generated considerable anticipation before the series premiered—falls short of expectations.
Sources: Naver