REVIEW: ‘The Whirlwind’ Is Standard Political Fare

Clashes between political parties are nothing new in Kdramas, especially when chaebol groups get involved. In Netflix’s latest Kdrama series, The Whirlwind (Dolpung), political tensions are immediate, with the series taking on its “whirlwind” namesake. As the dust settles amidst the initial drama, screenwriter Park Kyung-soo‘s latest is pretty standard political fare, with little baked in to differentiate it from the rest of its predecessors despite its strong cast.

Within minutes, the stage is set in The Whirlwind. Prime Minister Park Dong-ho (Sul Kyung-gu) is being set up to be arrested. As is revealed in The Whirlwind, Dong-ho has a strong sense of justice. At the start of the series, this puts him on the opposing path of South Korean President Jang Il-jun (Kim Hong-fa) and the president’s puppet master, the Daejin Group. Within the president’s Blue House, it becomes apparent corruption has long since taken root and those who are not for the corruption will ultimately be removed.

Dong-ho, however, reaches his breaking point. Rather than wait to be removed from the playing field, the Prime Minister goes on the offensive with the help of his assistant, Seo Jeong-yeon (Im Se-mi). The aftermath of a verbal confrontation between the President and Prime Minister reveals how far Dong-ho is willing to go via an attempted poisoning assassination attempt. This attempt is unsuccessful, but it is enough to shift the balance for Dong-ho and his opposition, Deputy Prime Minister Jeong Su-jin (Kim Hee-ae).

The Whirlwind spins up at an overwhelming pace.

If this reads as overwhelming, that’s because all of these developments take place in The Whirlwind Episode 1. After the initial onslaught of information thrown in the viewers’ faces, the remaining episodes allow time to get caught up to speed and make sense of this ensemble cast. The main takeaways are about the same as what one would pull from any political drama. There is a tug-of-war in the political offices of South Korea, with no one absolved from the widespread grip of corruption. Those who ultimately claim to be for justice, more often than not, succumb to the corruption they aim to eliminate.

While this truth makes for effortlessly compelling viewing, Park Kyung-soo’s writing does little to dive deeper and explore the intricacies of this corruption. Nor does his writing expand and explore the archetypal characters in The Whirlwind. Thanks in part to Kim Yong-wan’s direction and the capable skills of the two leads, Sol Kyung-pu and Kim Hee-ae, there is an attempt to fill in the gaps to give more for viewers to cling to. It doesn’t hide the deficits of the writing, but it does smooth out the rough edges.

The material they have to work with offers some great moments to monologue, but with cliches baked in. There is little room for nuance when the tone is overly serious, but the actors do try. Kyung-pu struggles the most, with his character Dong-ho too closed off from those around him and, subsequently, the audience. As his rival, Hee-ae’s Su-jin is given more to work with. Su-jin is similar to Dong-ho in that both idolize the President. With time, these feelings shift and change with the influence of outside parties.

Ambition is The Whirlwind’s weakness.

Su-jin ultimately succumbs to her own ambitions. In the beginning, she needs to protect the interests of those she serves. This leads to her making groundbreaking decisions that alter the course of those close to her and the entire country. Hee-ae plays around with the mask Su-jin wears in public versus how she is in private. Viewers get more of an inside look at the character that is missing from Dong-ho.

In the end, the overwhelming themes of corruption and the checks and balances of The Whirlwind are very much at play. The power struggle between Dong-ho and Hee-ae is interwoven throughout the series, with some surprises but, more often than not, hitting familiar, predictable trope points. The series ends with a brief glimmer of hope as decisions made come back to haunt those in power, but the power plays leading up don’t land as impactfully or as surprisingly as they could have.

As political dramas go, The Whirlwind is anything but after its opening episode. The intricacies of the Blue House are familiar ground for devotees of the genre, with the topic of corruption proving to be well-trodden territory. A deeper exploration of the two opposing characters could have led to something greater. Unfortunately, the actors do most of the heavy lifting in developing their characters beyond their respective archetypes. If you’re looking for a political drama that plays it safe and checks off the genre’s boxes, The Whirlwind is one to add to the list.

The Whirlwind is now streaming on Netflix.