The Scandal Review: Son Ye Jin And Ji Chang Wook Give The Classic A New Spin

The Scandal brings Son Ye Jin and Ji Chang Wook together for a stylish Joseon-era romance filled with desire, manipulation and dangerous games. The 8-episode Netflix series is directed by Jung Ji Woo and also stars NANA as Hui-yeon. It premiered on September 18, 2026, with all episodes available to stream.

Inspired by the classic Dangerous Liaisons story and the 2003 Korean film Untold Scandal, the series gives the familiar tale a fresh historical setting. It mixes romance, temptation and emotional manipulation while keeping its three central characters at the heart of the story.

The Scandal Series Details

The Scandal Story Overview

Set in Joseon, The Scandal follows Lady Cho (Son Ye Jin), an intelligent noblewoman who finds herself restricted by the rules placed on women of her time. Behind her calm appearance, she is sharp, ambitious and willing to take risks to get what she wants. Her cousin Cho Won (Ji Chang Wook) is almost her opposite. He is known throughout Joseon as a charming playboy who enjoys seduction and has little interest in following conventional rules.

Lady Cho and Cho Won enter into a dangerous wager involving seduction. Their game eventually brings Hui-yeon (NANA), a young widow determined to protect her reputation and remain faithful to her values, into their complicated arrangement. What begins as a game soon becomes much more complicated when genuine emotions enter the picture.

Cho Won's pursuit of Hui-yeon starts changing the dynamics between all three characters, while Lady Cho struggles to remain in control. The rest of the story focuses on how desire, jealousy and manipulation begin to destroy the boundaries between the players and the game they thought they could control.

The Scandal Review: A Stylish Take On A Familiar Story

The biggest strength of The Scandal is that it does not simply copy the earlier versions of its story. The basic setup remains familiar, but the Joseon setting gives the characters' choices a different level of danger. Here, romance is never completely private. Reputation, family expectations and social rules constantly influence what the characters can and cannot do. That makes even a simple romantic decision feel like a major risk.

The screenplay takes its time building the central relationships. The first few episodes establish the wager and the personalities involved before gradually allowing emotions to complicate everything. The pacing occasionally slows down, but the 8-episode structure keeps the story reasonably focused.

The series also understands that its central characters cannot be divided neatly into heroes and villains. Lady Cho is manipulative, but she is also someone fighting against a society that gives women very little control over their own lives. Cho Won begins the story treating romance like entertainment, only to discover that emotions cannot always be controlled. Hui-yeon, meanwhile, refuses to remain just an innocent pawn in their game. That moral grey area gives the drama more depth than a straightforward love triangle.

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Son Ye Jin And Ji Chang Wook Lead The Cast

Son Ye Jin is one of the biggest reasons the series works. Lady Cho requires a performance that can communicate intelligence, loneliness and calculation at the same time. The actress keeps the character controlled on the surface while allowing small expressions to reveal what she is hiding.

Ji Chang Wook gets a very different role from some of his recent projects. Cho Won begins as a confident seducer who appears to treat everything as a game. As the story progresses, however, the character's emotional vulnerability becomes increasingly visible.

The chemistry between Son Ye Jin and Ji Chang Wook is particularly effective because their relationship is not built around simple romance. There is familiarity, competition and emotional tension between them, which makes their scenes more interesting.

NANA is equally important as Hui-yeon. Her character could easily have become the helpless woman caught between two powerful personalities, but the performance gives Hui-yeon her own emotional strength. Her changing relationship with Cho Won becomes one of the most engaging parts of the series. The supporting cast adds to the world around the central trio without taking too much attention away from them.

Visual Appeal And Period Setting

Visually, The Scandal is one of the series' strongest elements. The Joseon setting is presented through elaborate costumes, traditional interiors, carefully designed gardens and rich colours. The direction also uses physical details to build romantic tension. Glances, hand movements, distance between characters and moments of silence often communicate more than direct dialogue.

This works particularly well for a story built around forbidden attraction. Instead of making every romantic moment overly dramatic, the series often lets anticipation do the work. The intimate scenes are also handled with a polished visual style. The camera focuses on the characters' reactions and the tension between them, allowing the emotional side of the relationships to remain important.

The only drawback is that the series sometimes feels more restrained than its provocative premise suggests. There are moments when the story appears ready to become much more daring, only to pull back. That restraint may work for viewers looking for a character-driven period romance, but those expecting a more explosive scandal could find parts of it comparatively safe.

What Are The Weak Points?

• Uneven pacing
• Predictable turns
• Restrained sensuality
• Slow middle episodes

Is The Scandal Worth Watching?

Watch it if you:

• Enjoy historical romances
• Like complex characters
• Follow Son Ye Jin
• Love period dramas

Skip it if you:

• Prefer fast-paced romances
• Want light-hearted stories
• Dislike slow-burn plots
• Expect constant twists

Final Verdict

The Scandal succeeds by taking a familiar story and giving it a distinctly Joseon-era identity. The combination of social restrictions, emotional manipulation and forbidden desire gives the romance enough tension to remain engaging throughout.

Son Ye Jin and Ji Chang Wook are the biggest highlights, while NANA adds another emotional layer to the complicated triangle. The series is visually polished, well-acted and more interested in character emotions than simply creating shock value.

It does have occasional pacing issues, and its restrained approach may not satisfy viewers expecting a more daring adaptation. Still, for fans of historical romance and complicated relationships, The Scandal offers a stylish and emotionally layered watch.

Rating: 4/5

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