"The Scandal" Netflix Review: Son Ye-jin and Ji Chang-wook’s Twisted Romance Explained
The Scandal arrived on Netflix with almost everything needed to become an instant K-drama obsession.
Son Ye-jin is back in a major role. Ji Chang-wook is playing a charming Joseon-era playboy. Nana joins them in a story filled with desire, manipulation, and forbidden emotions.
Add the 19+ rating, lavish period visuals, and the fact that the drama is inspired by Les Liaisons Dangereuses, and expectations were understandably high.
Now that all eight episodes are available, the question is much simpler: is The Scandal actually worth watching?
The answer depends heavily on what you want from a historical romance.
What Is The Scandal About?
The Scandal follows Lady Cho, played by Son Ye-jin, a talented noblewoman trapped inside the strict social rules of Joseon.
Her husband takes a young concubine, leaving Lady Cho with very little control over her own life. Instead of quietly accepting the situation, she turns to her cousin Cho Won, played by Ji Chang-wook, and proposes a dangerous game.
Cho Won is famous for his romantic conquests and sees love more as entertainment than something serious.
Lady Cho challenges him to seduce Ahn Hui-yeon, played by Nana, a young widow who has promised to remain faithful to her late husband.
What begins as a game gradually becomes much more complicated when genuine emotions enter the picture.
Son Ye-jin Is One of the Biggest Reasons to Watch
Son Ye-jin's Lady Cho is probably the character that holds the entire story together.
She is intelligent, controlled, and fully aware of the limitations placed on women around her. Rather than making her simply rebellious, the drama gives her a complicated relationship with power.
She knows how to manipulate the people around her, but there is also a sense that she is trying to regain control over a life in which very few choices actually belong to her.
Several reviews have highlighted Son Ye-jin's performance as one of the drama's strongest elements, particularly the way she communicates emotion without always spelling everything out.
That restrained approach works especially well for a character who is constantly hiding what she really wants.
Ji Chang-wook Finally Gets to Play the Charming Menace
Ji Chang-wook is clearly having fun with Cho Won.
He is confident, flirtatious, and used to getting what he wants. At first, the seduction game appears to be exactly the kind of challenge he enjoys.
But the character becomes more interesting once the game stops being completely under his control.
One of the most discussed aspects among viewers has been the chemistry between Ji Chang-wook and Son Ye-jin, particularly because their relationship is built around manipulation rather than a straightforward romance.
The drama does not ask you to immediately root for either character.
Instead, it lets you watch them make increasingly questionable choices and wait for those choices to catch up with them.
Ji Chang-wook himself has also spoken about building Cho Won as a mysterious womanizer rather than playing him as a simple romantic hero.
Nana Is a Surprise for Many Viewers
Nana's Ahn Hui-yeon has perhaps the most difficult position in the central triangle.
She enters the story as a young widow who has chosen to remain faithful to her late husband. She initially has no interest in becoming part of Cho Won's romantic games.
That resistance makes her relationship with him more interesting.
Some viewers have particularly praised Nana's performance and said she surprised them, while others have been more critical of her scenes and found her expressions distracting. The fan reaction is noticeably mixed here, which makes her performance one of the more debated parts of the drama.
Still, Hui Yeon's emotional position gives the story another layer beyond the rivalry between Lady Cho and Cho Won.
The Visuals Are Definitely Doing Some Heavy Lifting
If there is one thing The Scandal rarely struggles with, it is presentation.
The drama looks expensive.
The costumes, interiors, cinematography, and carefully staged scenes create a very polished Joseon setting. Some viewers have described the series as almost theatrical, with scenes unfolding like carefully composed performances rather than a conventional modern K-drama.
That style fits the story surprisingly well.
The characters are constantly performing for one another, hiding intentions behind manners and saying one thing while wanting something completely different.
The elegant visual style therefore becomes part of the storytelling rather than simply decoration.
The Mature Romance Is Not Just There for Shock Value
The 19+ rating was one of the biggest reasons people became curious about The Scandal before its release.
And yes, the drama is much more openly sensual than the average mainstream historical K-drama.
But the intimate scenes are not the entire point.
The story is more interested in desire, temptation, power, and the consequences of treating other people's feelings like pieces in a game.
That is also why the drama's connection to Les Liaisons Dangereuses matters.
The original story is built around aristocratic characters manipulating relationships for their own entertainment and ego. The Scandal transfers that idea into Joseon society, where social restrictions give the characters even more reason to hide what they actually want.
What Fans Are Saying About The Scandal
The fan reaction has been interestingly divided, but the acting and production are frequent positives.
One Reddit viewer called it a beautiful show and praised the performances of all three leads, specifically saying Nana was a pleasant surprise. Another viewer praised the artistic presentation and said the historical details made the series feel almost like watching theatre unfold.
At the same time, other viewers have questioned some acting choices and felt that certain parts of the story did not maintain the same strength throughout.
That mixed reaction actually fits The Scandal quite well.
It is the kind of drama that some viewers will appreciate more for its atmosphere, performances, and psychological tension than for a constantly moving plot.
So, Is The Scandal Worth Watching?
If you are looking for a fast historical romance packed with twists in every episode, The Scandal may test your patience.
But if you enjoy complicated characters, slow-burning tension, beautiful production, and a romance where nobody is completely innocent, there is plenty here to enjoy.
The performances are the biggest draw.
Son Ye-jin brings control and emotional depth to Lady Cho, Ji Chang-wook gets to play a very different kind of romantic lead, and Nana gives Hui-yeon her own emotional conflict rather than leaving her as a simple third point in the love triangle.
The result is not a conventional romance.
It is closer to watching three people enter a game believing they understand the rules, only to discover that emotions do not follow them.
Where to Watch The Scandal
The Scandal is a Netflix original, and all eight episodes are currently available to stream worldwide.
Netflix lists the series as a romantic period drama and describes it as a steamy, bittersweet story based on a book.
Final Verdict
The Scandal is not perfect, and the mixed reactions make that clear.
Its strongest qualities are easy to spot: a heavyweight cast, striking visuals, complicated characters, and a more mature approach to romance than many historical K-dramas.
Its slower pacing and some divisive character performances may not work for everyone.
But if the combination of Son Ye-jin, Ji Chang-wook, Nana, Joseon politics, and a dangerous seduction game already caught your attention, the drama gives you enough to make the eight-episode binge worthwhile.
The series is really asking a much more interesting question: what happens when people who think they are manipulating love discover that love can manipulate them right back?
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