‘The Whirlwind’ Netflix Series Review - Dirty Politics

My reaction towards the new South Korean political drama titled The Whirlwind turned out to be similar to my response to the recent superhero drama titled Supacell. Both shows intrigued me for the first couple of hours, after which they started overstaying their welcome. If Supacell, with its six episodes, eventually becomes tiring, The Whirlwind, consisting of twelve episodes, comes across as incredibly exhausting. Initially, though, the political games keep you hooked, and you are constantly surprised by the narrative twists. It all begins when Prime Minister Park Dong-ho (Sol Kyung-gu) assassinates the President, Jang Il-jun (Kim Hong-pa), using poison. This sets a lot of schemes and backstabbing in motion. Amidst all the secret meetings and plannings, what remains crystal clear throughout the show is that Dong-ho is the good guy and the Deputy Prime Minister, Jeong Su-jin (Kim Hee-ae), who wants to overthrow and undermine Dong-ho is the villain.

Is Dong-ho truly a good guy? He kills the President because he wants to eliminate corruption. Dong-ho believes he needs power to take such a drastic step. Since the President himself is corrupt, Dong-ho decides to take his place in order to remove other dishonest government workers like Il-jun. How does he plan to accomplish his mission? By engaging in the same unethical practices he despises. Only corruption can eliminate corruption. Dong-ho confronts lies with even bigger lies. He uses his men to intimidate his opponents, some of whom are enticed with money or promises of power. Nevertheless, The Whirlwind often reminds the audience that Dong-ho's immoral actions are not harming the constitution or the citizens. They are merely exposing the rot in the system. At times, Dong-ho behaves much like the President, whom he used to despise so much. However, his actions ultimately benefit the entire government by removing corrupt individuals from the organization.

Dong-ho's real objective is to expose Su-jin and Kyung-gu, as the man on a tough mission, wears a stern countenance. His face acts as proof of how serious he is about his operation. But among all the actors, it's Hee-ae who captures your attention. With a wily smile and an unrelenting spirit, Hee-ae renders Su-jin dedicated, dangerous, and hostile. It would have been better if the story had given her more opportunities to emerge as a winner, as this would have imbued more tension into The Whirlwind. Once you get over wonderfully contrived situations like the one where one character is treated for a fatal case of poisoning while the other becomes conscious at the same time, you realize that the series is simply recycling a single trick: First, make the circumstances difficult for the Acting President and then take him out of the complications by the episode's end.

The Whirlwind's style is heavily influenced by Money Heist. These shows have a habit of repeatedly pulling the rug from beneath the audience's feet by making them believe in one thing and then hitting them with another thing. This lame trick overly relies on red herrings. Crucial scenes are initially not shown completely, so we can return to them later to find out that the characters actually knew what was going to happen to them, and they prepared themselves accordingly. Sometimes, flashbacks are introduced to reveal that the characters had caught someone's plan almost immediately and, till now, were just acting to trap or manipulate their enemy. Such a mode of storytelling can be diverting for a while - let's say up to Episode 4 or 5. You should, however, not expect the audience to be entertained for 12 long episodes without offering them anything new or amusing. Once you get a grip on The Whirlwind's storytelling style, nothing on the screen looks interesting. You even stop caring if Dong-ho would lose or win. The series lacks visual excitement, so the story does all the heavy lifting. You are initially eager to see who will do what to defeat the rival team, but without strong visual energy, The Whirlwind eventually becomes insipid.

Final Score- [4.5/10]
Reviewed by - Vikas Yadav
Follow @vikasonorous on Twitter
Publisher at Midgard Times