Tempest Season 1 Episodes 8 and 9 Review: A Thrilling and Redeeming Finale
Tempest Season 1 Episodes 8 and 9 tie up as many loose ends as they can, making for a nail-biting final two episodes.
Tempest has struggled throughout its past episodes to keep both its budding romance and much more serious political drama balanced, often feeling like it was trying to be two different shows. But the final two episodes reach a much better balance than the prior ones.
Seeing as how the end of the world seems closer and closer, it feels a lot more reasonable for Munju and Sanho to want to be so head over heels for each other – they have no one else to turn to.
Jun Ji-hyun continues to deliver calm and composed performances as Munju, but she visibly seems much more animated around Sanho, which is a good touch on Ji-hyun’s part. Gang Dong-won is also given much more to do in these past two episodes, as his heartfelt declarations of love for Munju were much more convincing than in the past.
Lee Mi-sook finally gets a bigger role and a chance to lean in to some true villainy, as all her calculations have come to a head. Especially in Episode 8.
There’s a moment where she is sipping tea, playing innocent, while talking to the head of the intelligence service, and her expression shifts ever so slightly but enough to make you feel very intimidated. It’s a great character choice, and Lim Ok-seon instantly becomes a much more interesting and pivotal figure.
But the prominence of Lee Mi-sook comes to the detriment of Won Ji-an, who fades away into the background after being a major player in Episodes 6 and 7. Although Kang Hanna appeared to be vindictive and calculating before, she seems to be written completely differently in Episodes 8 and 9, which is almost whiplash-inducing considering how vicious she was to Munju before.
Junsang also finally returns to the show, becoming a figure that you find yourself surprisingly rooting for towards the end. Junsang realizes that Ok-seon was the one responsible for her own son’s death, and he uses his investigative skills to find the truth and even help Munju as she tries to stop impending nuclear war.
The two episodes wrap up most of the characters’ arcs nicely, but there was one glaring issue with the final setup and reveal of the “true villain.” Although it is clear that Ok-seon is the person at fault for the brewing war because of her thirst for power, Tempest turns to an incredibly lazy trope of blaming a made-up Middle Eastern country and ruler for war-mongering.
The nation of Idicia is apparently who the nuclear submarine is destined for, all for its king to wage war on the United States to give them a taste of the war that the U.S. waged on them. King Nabu of Idicia asks the people of America, “Do you think what happens on our land cannot take place on yours?”
In a better written show, this could have been an interesting question, if handled sensitively. But Tempest rushes through its final episode to get to Ok-seon’s evil villain monologue, and the carefully drawn out money trail and mystery fall flat into stereotypes.
Although the final reveal of who was behind the plan to wage war on the United States falls flat, the final action sequence seems not to spare any of the budget or choreography. We get a better sense of how skilled Sanho is and get to see a much bigger action set and sequence than previous episodes.
But even with all of that, the connection between Munju and Sanho gets its time to shine towards the end, as we are left on a significant cliffhanger not knowing whether Sanho survived or not. Despite some lazy writing, Tempest Season Episodes 8 and 9 wrap up an intriguing mystery and riveting drama, with strong performances from both of its leads.
What did you think of these episode of Tempest? Share your thoughts in the comments below, and don’t forget to leave your own rating!
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Tempest airs new episodes Wednesdays on Disney+ and Hulu..
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Maryam Ahmad
Maryam Ahmad is a writer on pop culture and politics, specifically focusing on South Asian and Muslim representation in media. She is a graduate from Wellesley College with a degree in Political Science and Cinema and Media Studies, and her work has been published in outlets including Nerdist, JoySauce, and The American Muslim Project. She is also the world's biggest Ms. Marvel fan, and can usually be found chipping away at 1000-piece jigsaw puzzles, reading a new fantasy series, or listening to her meticulously curated playlists.