[Dispatch=Reporter Yuha] An age of oppression and taboo, Joseon. A woman proposes a secret wager. To seduce a widow living a chaste life. A philanderer who has tasted all the love in the world readily jumps into the dangerous game.

The film 'Scandal: A Joseon Love Story' (2003) returns after 23 years. A 120-minute film has been expanded into an 8-part series. The characters' pasts and relationships have been added, and new colors such as pansori and folk painting have been layered on.

Certainly, more story has been packed in. Yet it has not become richer. While effort is spent explaining the characters, the wager and seduction—the core of 'Scandal'—have weakened.

The charm of the original lay in its taut tension. Will Jo Won truly topple the chaste woman, or will Sook Bu maintain her resolve to the end? The film kept audiences endlessly curious. In the rush toward the outcome, viewers were drawn into the two's game.

The series slowed that pace and examined the characters. However, the expanded 8-part narrative did not create new fun that the original lacked.

Director Jiwoo delved deeply into the inner worlds of contemporary people in works like 'Concubine' and 'Your Music.' This time, she turned her eyes to Joseon, where strict Confucian order reigned. She depicted the process by which desire twists under oppression.

The greatest difference from the original is the expansion of relationships. While the film rushed forward centered on the wager and seduction, the series methodically builds from the process by which characters enter that game. New stories have been added to the pasts and relationships of Jo Ssi (played by Son Ye-jin), Jo Won (played by Ji Chang-wook), and Hee Yeon (played by Nana).

Jo Won's transformation is exemplary. After being wounded by his first love Jo Ssi, he becomes a pleasure-seeking philanderer, and upon meeting Hee Yeon, he opens his heart again. In this process, the reasons for (emotions omitted in the original) are explained one by one.

The problem is that the explanation is excessively lengthy. In the film, after Jo Won reunites with his first love Jo Ssi after a long time, he readily throws himself into her wager. The series unfolds from the process of his departing on a long journey to meet Jo Ssi again. Substantial time is spent on their reunion alone.

The story widens as it progresses to the latter half. Not only the emotions of the three, but also the circumstances and relationships of surrounding characters are given significant weight. The number of characters has increased and the narrative has become richer, but the center has become blurred.

Ultimately, the most pressing question loses its force. Will Jo Won break down Hee Yeon, or will Hee Yeon endure to the end? The wager and seduction that pulled the original taut are buried among multiple narratives.

Of course, having expanded into 8 parts, new story is necessary. Unfurling the characters' pasts unseen in the film and supplementing the reasons for their choices is an attempt made possible by the series format.

If that narrative makes the present choices convincing, the expansion gains strength. But 'Scandal' failed to strike balance between the newly added story and the original. Some narratives feel as though they were added to extend an already complete story.

The emotional arc of Hee Yeon is particularly disappointing. She is a character who guards against Jo Won's approach and rarely permits her heart. Yet it is not sufficiently explained by what turning point that sturdy guard breaks down. The process by which her impulse to push Jo Won away transforms into love is ambiguous.

The actors each brought their own color to the familiar roles. Son Ye-jin coolly portrayed Jo Ssi, concealing desire behind a gentle face. Ji Chang-wook brought sharpness and smoothness to Jo Won, emphasizing the facets of a carefree philanderer.

Nana added a cold and resolute atmosphere to Hee Yeon. However, as that strength is pronounced, the exhaustion of a widow who has long been forced to maintain chastity is relatively faint. Add to this the insufficient convincingness of the process of falling in love, and the emotional shift in the latter half too loses its force.

The pacing problem becomes more pronounced from episode 7 onward. The story that spent long time explaining characters and relationships in prior episodes suddenly accelerates. The slowly built conflict erupts all at once, failing to naturally connect with the preceding flow.

Characters' conflicts, choices, and relationship changes all rush in at once. It gives the impression of trying to tie up the loosely connected story from before within the remaining episodes. Unnecessary time is spent in the early-to-mid portions, and at the very moment the emotional conclusion should be shown, the pace hurries.

In particular, the emotional shifts of Jo Ssi and Jo Won as they approach the wager's conclusion are confusing. Their desires, jealousy, and lingering affection toward each other reverse constantly. While the intent to show complex emotions is readable, as the process of change is not sufficiently connected, it becomes difficult to follow the characters' hearts.

In the end, the looseness of the beginning and the sudden turns of the end fail to mesh. An 8-part series was chosen, but the control of narrative pacing has failed. The extended time to examine characters' emotions deeply appears insufficient in the latter half.

The basic structure of 'Scandal' remains attractive. Jo Won approaches to seduce Hee Yeon, but he himself is shaken first. Jo Ssi too is swept up in unforeseen jealousy. What was merely a game becomes laden with sincerity.

Tension arises from watching who will waver first. The problem is that the series takes too long a detour to reach that emotion. As it passes through multiple characters and events, the temperature of the central conflict frequently cools.

Viewers who have not seen the original may feel differently. Simply following where the hearts of the three are headed and how their relationships will flip can be sufficiently engaging.

For audiences remembering the original, the hurdle is high. Since a familiar story has been revisited, new fun capable of surpassing it was needed.

The series sought that answer in character narrative. But the 8-part expansion did not surpass the density of 120 minutes. The original's distinctive tension has vanished, and the patience of binge-watching has culminated in disappointment.

<Photos provided by Netflix>