The Whirlwind – K-drama Episode 11 Recap & Review

The President You Murdered!

The Whirlwind episode 11 starts with Man-gil secretly handing over Min-ho’s tablet to Jang-seok. Did he jump ship? He asks Jang-seok to spare him and his family in return for the tablet that allegedly has all the information on all of Min-ho’s illegal deals at Namsan.

Returning to where we left off in the previous episode, we find Su-jin at the prosecution’s office, ready to face Jang-seok’s interrogation. But she’s not defenseless. Su-jin has tampered with Min-ho’s diary on the tablet, making President  Jang II Jun appear innocent. She crafts a narrative where her husband was in cahoots with Sang-cheon, and  President  Jang II Jun betrayed his son. 

Unfortunately, Daon-ho holds a press conference clearing Gi-tae’s name based on the so-called evidence on Min-ho’s tablet. He insists that all facts on the tablet are true, not knowing that Su-jin added her version of events to the diary. That must be what she was typing in the last episode.

By the time Dong-ho realises his mistake, he has given Su-jin what she wants. Su-jin paints him as a cold-hearted man who killed an innocent President, Jang II Jun. 

The next day, Dong-ho thinks back to what President  Jang II Jun once told him about lying confidently enough until the other party starts doubting what they saw. Dong-ho meets with Jang-seok and admits that he was wrong.

President  Jang II Jun’s supporters will never believe teh former President was capable of any wrong. As such, they need to adapt to living in a world where President  Jang II Jun remains a saint.

Unfortunately, they don’t realise someone is taking pictures of them as they talk. At the same time, Dong-ho gets a call informing him that Su-jin has submitted a special prosecution bill and it has been passed.

She recommended Attorney Choi Jin-su as a special prosecutor and is working to make Jang-seok lose his credibility as a prosecutor. She uses the photos taken of him talking to Dong-ho that morning and stirs things up further. On the other hand, Dong-ho vetoes the bill and faces questions about his relationship with Jang-seok. 

Su-jin keeps her feet on Dong-ho’s neck by blackmailing her former university contacts, currently holding big positions in government unions and organisations. She helps them organise protests all over the country demanding Dong-ho’s resignation. The prosecutors also turn against Jang-seok, and Su-jin has her case dismissed. Jang-seok calls Dong-ho and despondently tells him it is all over. 

Pressure continues to mount, especially after President  Jang II Jun’s followers assume that Dong-ho killed an innocent man. They come for him in every way.

The ministers supporting President Jang II Jun resign, and Dong-ho is left with no support as Su-jin drives the country to a standstill. After marching to the National Assembly, she instigates teh protesters to turn their attention to the Blue House.

Yeon-suk begs Dong-ho to go into hiding at the safe house, but he refuses to let Su-jin win. He has Jeong-yeon meet up with Man-gil and trick him into believing she needs help sneaking out of the country.

She gives him blank documents meant to help Su-jin deal with two politicians and secure her seat as the next President. She pretends her phone is dead and needs to say goodbye to her mom. Man-gil gives her his phone and she takes it and locks him inside the random house they were meeting at. 

Dong-ho uses the phone to threaten Su-jin, and asks her to meet him at the hill behind the Blue House. She temporarily halts the protest to the Blue House and asks the leader to await her signal. Through numerous flashbacks, we learn that President  Jang II Jun, Su-jin and Dong-ho used to climb that hill on many occasions and watch the sunset.

President Jang II Jun was always happy spending time with them and expected the two to protect and keep him in line. In a way, Don-ho ended up keeping him in line while Su-jin protected him.

At the hill, Su-jin gets sacred as Dong-ho gives her mere seconds to decide if she will go down alone or with the 50 assemblymen. He also threatens to reveal that she is the real killer of President Jang II Jun.

She is about to decide when the police rescue Mang-il and he calls her. He apologises and explains that Jeong-yeon took his new phone and it has nothing. Instead of calling the protesters off, she gives them the signal to come through. She already asked the police to stand down and warned the commissioner to stand on the ‘right’ side of history. 

However, Dong-ho decides to stage signs of struggle and tells her that she will go down as teh killer of the President. Su-jin assumes he means President  Jang II Jun and mocks him for having no evidence. Sadly, Dong-ho meant himself. He grabs her handkerchief in an effort to frame her further before jumping off the cliff.

The Episode Review

What an interesting turn of events. Su-jin must have nine lives because she has managed to survive from the beginning. Every time, she barely comes out unscathed. The only time it got to her a bit was when Min-ho died. But even then, she still staggered a bit before reimagining herself and coming for Dong-ho. 

Now that Dong-ho has decided this is his last move, will it pay off? It would be sad if he died for nothing. Curiosity is driving us up the wall, so let us dive into the last chapter.