REVIEW: 'Tempest' promises a perfect storm of K-action and intrigue
When a presidential hopeful advocating for Korean reunification is gunned down in front of the world’s media, his widow must use all her skills as a former U.N. Ambassador to unravel a plot that could lead to World War III. While the synopsis for Tempest makes it sound like any number of political thrillers, Disney+ viewers can rest assured that the actual program is anything but; featuring a story by acclaimed screenwriter Jeong Seo-kyeong (Lady Vengeance, The Handmaiden, Decision to Leave) and starring an A-list cast led by Gianna Jun (The Berlin File, Kingdom, Il Mare), Gang Dong-won (A Violent Prosecutor, Broker), Lee Mi-sook (Queen of Tears), and Kim Hae-sook (Hospital Playlist), this is blockbuster streaming at its peak.
PhilSTAR L!fe got to attend the press conference for the series, where it was revealed that many of the cast were attracted by the chance to work with writer Jeong Seo-kyeong (known for her multiple collaborations with director Park Chan-Wook) and award-winning co-director Kim Hee-won (Vincenzo, Queen of Tears), as well as action-oriented co-director Heo Myung-haeng (Badland Hunters).
Amidst the prerequisite jokes about the cast’s overwhelming abundance of attractiveness (Park Hae-joon and Gang Dong-won, in particular), one got the impression that—despite the series’ decidedly heavy subject matter—the shooting set was a happy and lighthearted one. Having viewed the first five episodes, one can attest that the cast’s enthusiasm shows through in their work, as Tempest seizes the viewer’s attention with a compelling narrative built on well-placed twists, character work, and action beats.
In the lead role of grieving widow Seo Mun-Ju, Jun is an inspired choice, playing the former Korean envoy to the United Nations as intelligent and resourceful beyond her years. Co-director Kim Hee-won praised Jun’s casting, saying, “When Korean directors include a powerful woman in their projects, there aren’t many actors who could fill the role besides Gianna Jun.”
Indeed, in the first few episodes, Jeong’s script is perfectly tailored to Jun’s strengths, a character that the actress herself described as, “A quiet, yet approachable character—strong, but also possesses remarkably bold initiative.” In Jun’s capable hands, the Mun-Ju projects a relatability that makes it believable when she decides to take her husband’s place in the presidential election.
On the rare occasion that the story calls for Mun-Ju to falter, however, it’s usually with the intention of highlighting the abilities of her (supposedly) self-appointed bodyguard Baek San-ho, played by Gang Dong-won, in full action-hero mode. A man without a country, Baek is a hardened operative in every sense, except when showing a more vulnerable side to let the audience know he’s got layers. When asked about San-ho’s mercenary motivations, Dong-won shared, “He’s a character with many worries. After meeting Seo Mun-ju…he’s a character who undergoes a change, deciding that he must protect the woman without hesitation.”
Right off the bat, tension is established, whether it’s between Mun-ju and her ambitious husband Jang Jun-ik (Park Hae-joon, When Life Gives You Tangerines), or the nuclear-powered standoff between superpowers, described here by Kim Hae-sook’s pragmatic South Korean president as each bringing their “own brands of crazy” to the table. The central narrative conflict may be largely external, but the best parts of Tempest involve characters’ internal reflections, with each episode opening with someone imagining themselves in someone else’s shoes. It’s an intriguing device, in and of itself, showing how individuals can be interrelated, while simultaneously highlighting just how little each character really knows the people around them.
To wit, for all his so-called patriotism, Mun-Ju’s husband had hitherto unknown connections to U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Anderson Miller (Star Trek’s John Cho, in his K-drama debut), to say nothing of San-ho’s own colorful past as a hired gun. But even as the outwardly stoic Mun-Ju ponders pursuing the presidency while wondering if she failed in her duties as a wife, she finds herself under the ever-critical gaze of her husband’s clan, led by mother-in-law Lim Ok-seon, played to ice queen perfection by Lee Mi-sook. Initially resistant to the notion of Mun-ju even marrying her son in the first place, Ok-seon quickly realizes the advantages of backing a popular widow as a presidential candidate. It’s as transactional as these sorts of relationships get, and Jun and Mi-sook play their scenes like old sparring partners.
This devotion to character makes Tempest compulsively watchable—where lesser series would generate pathos solely from the threat of thermonuclear war, the showrunners—in true K-drama fashion—extend the manipulations and behind-the-scenes intrigues far beyond the geopolitical level, while throwing in an action scene every now and then to keep things lively. As much as we’re invested in Mun-ju and San-ho’s search for the truth, it’s a testament to Jeong Seo-kyeong’s writing that we also want to know the hows and whys of at least half a dozen other characters.
As of this writing, we’re not allowed to reveal the events of Episodes 4 and 5—suffice it to say, there are enough twists, turns, double-crosses, and reveals to power Tempest on to as many seasons as the ratings will likely justify. High-tech thrillers with increasingly overt political commentary may be somewhat commonplace these days, but when they’re packed with as much respect and care for character as Tempest, we’ll stick it out for as many seasons as the showrunners see fit to make.
Tempest is now streaming on Disney+.
Watch the trailer below.
