“The Tyrant” is a 2024 Korean drama series, with 4 episodes, streaming on Disney Plus/Hulu, and can be categorized as a Sci-Fi, Political, Action, and Spy Thriller.
SUMMARY: In “The Tyrant”, the workplace in South Korea for a secret science operation to develop bioweapons has been raided by police and one last sample had been taken as evidence. But then the sample gets taken again by an unknown party and an outsider gets hired to retrieve it. Meanwhile, the USA sends its own agent to find the sample and destroy it and a hitman is sent to kill anybody and everybody who worked on the secret project.
♦ If We Don’t Get That Sample Back …
In “The Tyrant”, one thing we must all remember is that life does not usually go according to plan. So even though after living a life full of violence and bloodshed you plan to retire, start a small legitimate business using your ill-gotten funds, and live your remaining life peacefully in a quiet island location … SURPRISE!! Life is full of surprises. If you suffer from a dissociative identity disorder, it can be even more surprising.
It seems a well-funded government-backed science team has been performing some questionable experiments. Episode 1 begins with a young man sitting in his car talking on the phone with someone telling him their place of work has been raided by the police, and even though they tried to destroy everything, the police got away with one “sample”. Uh oh! A sample of what? It’s a bioweapon. That’s “Uh oh!” times a bazillion!
One thing that’s not a surprise in life is corrupt politicians, especially those who have access to and authority over “secret operations”. There’s always a sly fox operating somewhere in political circles. Another typical thing is when a country’s ally discovers that a “friendly” country has been carrying out a secret operation without their knowledge. You know what happens when they find out. First, they use diplomacy and ask you politely to shut down the Project. Then, of course, they don’t trust you and believe that you will do as they ask, so they send their agents to make sure. The South Korean government was running “The Tyrant Project,” but the USA found out, and they were not happy!
♦ But why isn’t the USA happy?
The bioweapon was going to be used to enhance human abilities. It’s not like South Korea was going to spray something over a population and commit mass genocide. They just want humans with superpowers. Is that so bad? South Korea would have probably told the USA about The Tyrant Project … eventually.
On the other hand, once the USA got wind of it, they probably started imagining other scenarios, such as supposing The Enemy stole all of the intelligence and information about the Project before the USA knew anything about it. Had they known, they might have stopped them. Allies are supposed to work together and keep each other in the know! Secretly developing bioweapons and not informing the US is a “NO! NO!” The USA wanted The Tyrant Project terminated and also wanted that last sample. But guess what? Remember that life is full of surprises. Remember that imagined scenario? It got real! Somebody, and they don’t know how, got their hands on the sample before it could be delivered to the United States.
♦ It’s not Who Cares? It’s Who Knows?
Also, are you familiar with the expression “If I tell you I’d have to kill you”? It seems the people who worked on The Tyrant Project can’t just close up shop and go home. They know too much, so they must be eliminated.
- Director Choe is not just a director in the NIS (National Intelligence Service), he’s also the one who has been “unofficially” handling everything related to The Tyrant Project.
- Chae Jagyeong suffers from dissociative personality disorder. Even though she’s unstable, she’s the perfect person to hire for the job of retrieving the missing bioweapon sample. If anybody can get it back, she can.
- Lim Sang used to be an intelligence agent, but now he’s a hitman. He has to kill everyone associated with the secret operation. If Chae Jagyeong crosses his path, he’ll probably have to klll her too. Only … she’s not that easy to kill.
- Paul is a Korean-American US intelligence agent who has been sent to retrieve the bioweapon sample and destroy it.
Alrighty then. Let the games begin!
Main Characters:
- Chae Jagyeong (played by Jo Yoon-su, “True Beauty”, “Juvenile Justice”)
- Lim Sang (played by Cha Seoung-won, “Our Blues”, “Believer 2”, “Night in Paradise”)
- Director Choe (played by Kim Seon-ho, “The Childe”, “Start-Up”, “Hometown Cha Cha Cha”)
- Paul (played by Kim Kang-woo, “The Vanished”, “Wonderful World”, “Artificial City”)
(NOTE: Some of the K-dramas mentioned are TBR (to be reviewed). They are currently on my watch list. Check back later as the reviews will be published via PopGeeks soon.)
Viewership and Rating:
- IMDb: 7.1 out of 10 stars
- MyDramaList: 7.6 out of 10 stars
My personal rating is 8.5 out of 10 stars.
I love spy thrillers and got caught up in the plot for “The Tyrant” from the first few scenes in Episode 1. There’s this secretive, serious conversation taking place between two parties over a cup of tea. One of the parties is saying they knew they would eventually have to say Good-bye. Meanwhile, there is violent fighting going on outside. The fighters left standing will ultimately make their way inside. And then …
The buzz is that “The Tyrant” was initially supposed to be a movie, but it was later decided to break it into 4 parts, i.e. a miniseries. That’s cool! As long as it wasn’t stretched to bore the viewers with unnecessary scenes and dialogue that don’t relate to the main plot. There is already buzz about a possible Season 2. Already? The date of this review is August 16, 2024. This miniseries was just released two days ago (Aug 14th). Although I must admit that with the high-caliber actors, they cast for the parts, who wouldn’t want to see more?
LINKS OF INTEREST:
‘The Tyrant’ review: stylish spy thriller doesn’t overstay its welcome | NME
‘The Tyrant’ Kdrama: Release date, plot, cast and more | Lifestyle Asia
Korean Spy Drama The Tyrant Set for Disney+ | The Hollywood Reporter
Kim Seon-Ho’s Comeback K-Drama: Everything You Need To Know about The Tyrant | ComingSoon.net
TRAILERS/TEASERS:
Disney+ Singapore. “The Tyrant | Teaser Trailer | Disney+ Singapore.” YouTube Video. YouTube, July 11, 2024. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M1H4l04jzkU.
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