Red Swan ended its broadcast on July 31 but I just started checking this series days ago. This is the first South Korean drama I finished watching this year because I mostly watched costume C-Drama.
Red Swan has only 10 episodes and the reason why the story appealed to me is because it's a suspense thriller, and yes, Rain!😄 Haven't watched Rain in a long time. And safe to say - I was hooked on this drama, finishing it in just two days! I love the elements of thrill and suspense presented every episode.
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| Rain!☺️ |
But unlike its promotional slogan that this drama is a romance/revenge K-drama, it's neither. It is not a romance drama nor a heated revenge story. It is basically a family scandal drama. There's a hint of romance, but the essence of the story is not centered on that aspect.
The opening episode was set in Metro Manila, Philippines, but looks like the photography was taken elsewhere. The Makati area shown in the scene looked like an old Manila.
The plot of the drama:
The plot is a typical modern K-drama where a chaebol (in South Korea it means, extremely wealthy/business family) is in disarray due to inheritance.
It follows Oh Wan-soo played by Kim Ha-neul, a celebrated professional golfer who married a chaebol heir, Kim Yong-guk (played by Jung Gyu-woon), the Vice Chairman of the Hwain Group.
She headed the Now Foundation of the Hwain Group that helped disadvantaged members of the society. And due to the advocacy of the foundation, she came under the assassination threat of ISIS when she helped the victims of the group.
When she traveled to Manila, Philippines to attend a meeting in connection to the activities of the foundation, she was nearly killed by an unknown assailant, thanks to Seo Do-yoon (played by Rain) who timely saved her. He eventually became her bodyguard.
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| The chaebol family in Red Swan |
Major characters:
- Kim Ha-neul as Oh Wan-soo
- Rain as Seo Do-yoon
- Jung Gyu-woon as Kim Yong-guk
- Seo Yi-sook as Park Mi-ran
- Yoo Je-moon as Han Sang-il
- Go Yoon as Kim Yong-min
- Kim Yoon-ji as Seo Ji-yeon
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| The wealthy Kim family |
Our Review:
Red Swan is a compelling and suspenseful drama that chronicles the scandal of a wealthy South Korean family. It is not a romance drama as the story is centered on the mission of Seo Do-yoon to find out who murdered his police buddy/best friend.
In his mission to uncover the truth behind the death of his best friend, he discovered the big scandal of money laundering within the Hwain family.
Do-yoon was convinced that the murder of his friend have something to do with the death of the Hwain patriarch. In his journey to track down the "murderer", he encountered Oh Wan-soo. And after saving her from a failed assassination, he became her bodyguard.
The story is compact with a smooth presentation of events in every scene. I like how everything is seamlessly woven into a suspenseful drama packed with betrayal and conspiracy.
I like the vibe of thrill presented in each episode and the clear storytelling. It's smooth and logical, you won't be scratching your head trying to decipher the progress of the story.
Rain as Seo Do-yoon is so good! Hopefully, he will play more roles in the action genre because he has good martial arts skills. I still remember him in the 2009 martial arts movie, Ninja Assassin!
But Oh Wan-soo looks like just a support character. Could not really feel her presence in the drama. She's the weakest character in the story, but it's not Kim Ha-neul's fault, it is on how her character was written.
Couldn't feel any extraordinary contribution of her character in the drama other than her decision not to divorce her husband. All throughout the story, she just looked like a damsel in distress who needs to be saved by the hero all the time which is the weakest point of this drama.
The biggest weight of the story relies on the strength of Seo Do-Yoon and his sensible decision, he did all the lifting to make this drama worth watching. But what I love about Red Swan is its consistent storytelling from start to finish.
The story has two main plots: Seo Do Yoon's mission to find out the real murderer of his best friend and Oh Wan-soo's goal not to divorce her husband due to her father-in-law's pleading to stay within the family until "that time" comes. I understand that the Hwain patriarch wanted her to remain married to his heir until his "Last Will of Testament" is revealed/divulged to his "greedy" family.
These two main plots are consistent in every episode until the finale. The progress of the story moves to the direction how the main plots should be resolved. Which I like most in this drama. There's a clear logic presented and sensible storytelling.
And it has good resolutions, ending it just how the story should end. I am glad also that the plot development did not sway on the romantic angle between Oh Wan-soo and Seo Do-yoon because it would be a total destruction in the progress of the story if the script had given more screen time to their supposed romance.
The ending is satisfying!
Just the right finale of the story. Everything is resolved. All the questions laid at the beginning of the story are answered and put in the right place. And the characters ended the way their story should end.
Some fans are disappointed how the husband of Oh Wan-soo ended (killed) and the "hanging" romance between her and Seo Do-Yoon, and demanded a second season lol!
I don't know if they understood the elements of novel writing and seamless storytelling, but this drama is well written and ended beautifully. Just how the story should end. Everything is resolved, no questions left unanswered based on the main plot.
Kim Yong-guk's death is necessary, in fact, very crucial to the progress of the story. It opens to a scenario of bringing everything to a riveting finale. His death paves the way for Kim Yong-Min to be exposed as the real murderer of Yong-guk's father. That scene was necessary to nail Yong-Min's "sin" and gave him the right finale.
Yong-guk's death also cleared the path of the romance between Oh Wan-Soo and Seo Do-Yoon. If he did not die, the story between them might have been more complicated.
Asking if Red Swan should have season 2? For me NO! There's no need for season 2. The story ended just how it should be. Everything is resolved and wrapped up just how the plot points are presented.
The finale where Seo Do-Yoon and Oh Wan-soo meet at the airport indicates that they are ready to start a new beginning, a new chapter of their lives together after the tumultuous period. That's just how this story should end.
Remember that the logic of the plot is not about romance, it's a murder case and scandal of a wealthy family.
I am just confused as to why the English title of this drama is Red Swan lol! The Korean title is "The Scandal of Hwain Group". So I tried checking the internet what is the meaning of the Red Swan, well it says: "Red Swan symbolizes the ability to undergo a comprehensive and profound change in the path of one's existence".
This is highly recommended for people who like suspenseful drama.
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