The Whirlwind – K-drama Episode 7 Recap & Review

Feign Disorder & Crush Him

The Whirlwind episode 7 begins with a flashback to five months ago when President  Jang II Jun won a Nobel prize, and Dong-ho declared war on him for his corrupt ways.

At the time, President Jang II Jun promised Dong-ho to step down after winning the election but Dong-ho refused to be his successor. He was even more disappointed after learning that Su-jin, his trusted Deputy Prime Minister, had betrayed him.

He always saw her as a virtuous warrior of justice, only for her to turn into the people she protested against in her university days. This was also the day he learned about the case against him.

Currently, Dong-ho is anxiously waiting for Su-jin’s downfall. Her confirmation hearing is around the corner, and rumours about her corrupt husband are swirling. She meets with Sang-cheon, and he offers to give her a break if she joins his side. However, Su-jin rejects his offer because she would rather die than team up with the man who tortured her for six days in the past.

Sang-cheon is offended by her attitude towards him and makes a call to summon Hyeon-su to be a witness against Su-jin at the confirmation hearing. This immediately causes the public to come to Su-jin’s defence, and she gives an interview talking about her hearing being about two opposing sides. One is attacking President  Jang II Jun’s legacy, and the other is protecting it. She denies all accusations against her, saying they are baseless rumours meant to destroy her reputation.

While Su-jin tries to find a way to survive, Dong-ho meets with the Former First Lady and threatens to expose her fraudulent crimes. He gives her the option of leaving the country and tossing Su-jin aside. Su-jin is surprised to see on the news at Dong-ho’s office that the First Lady is going on a trip and won’t be by her side as he defends President  Jang II Jun’s legacy.

If anything, the former First Lady publicly asks Su-jin not to mention her husband anymore. Dong-ho relishes seeing Su-jin struggle to keep it together and says he is doing it all for Gi-tae and won’t stop until the very end. 

However, Su-jin doesn’t sit back and let Dong-ho win. She feeds Jang-seok information that Dong-ho was involved in President  Jang II Jun’s death. She is subtle but gives Jang-seo enough to make im suspicious of his old friend.

When they meet, Jang-seok brings it up and informs Dong-ho that he will pursue the case no matter what. He has proof that Dong-ho met with President Jang II Jun minutes before he collapsed and doesn’t believe it is a coincidence. Dong-ho plays it cool and subtly admits that at one point, they will have to meet as a prosecutor and defendant. At the same time, Su-jin calls Dong-ho to make sure he knows that they will go down together and she won’t stay still. 

The plot continues to thicken when Dong-ho meets with Chairman Park, and they talk about switching committee members just three days before Su-jin’s confirmation hearing. You see, Dong-hoo wants to turn this from a confirmation hearing to a prosecutorial interrogation by suddenly adding former prosecutors as Committee members. He even meets with Jung-gwon, the Director of the CIO and orders him to investigate Min-ho’s company.

He also invites the party representatives to lunch to ensure that  Su-jin has no time to convince them to go easy on her. He is worried that Jang-seok will come for him before he is done with Su-jin and can’t slow down and let that happen. 

As if reading his mind, Jang-seok calls to invite him to meet and celebrate Gi-tae’s birthday. They meet at Gi-tae’s grave, and Jang-seok reveals he has received more evidence that he can’t overlook. He and two other prosecutors will look into the case and will stop at nothing to find the truth. Dong-ho asks his friend to do what he must do and keep his promise. He says they both need to fulfil their duties and keep their promises. 

On the other hand, Jeong-yeon visits Sang-woon in prison and convinces him to testify against Sujin in the confirmation hearing. This pushes Su-jin to reconsider Sang-cheon’s offer. Sang-cheon is optimistic that he can quell his supporters’ anger with time. He says he has learned that for the South to survive, the North has to die. He argues they would make a great team if they worked together. 

The next day, Su-jin meets with Yeong-ik and threatens to make him the main suspect in the PE funds case if he doesn’t get Sang-woon to back down. She uses herself as bait to prove she means business. She then brings up an incident in the past that links Yeong-ik to the North and asks him to get in touch with an old acquaintance.

Yeong-ik is hesitant but agrees with her demands before she speaks to the reporters. It turns out Sang-cheon had  Su-jin broker a deal with a North Korean soldier who then executed his dad and step-brother on the charges of treason. He then uses this opportunity to get his supporters back and implore their mercy. 

At the same time, Su-jin turns her hearing into a clash between the committee members. The hearing ends with the members fighting instead of asking her questions. To make it worse, Sang-cheon summons Dong-ho as a witness, which is unprecedented since he is the sitting President.

Dong-ho is pissed but willing to go to the hearing and risk it all. Yeon-suk tries to warn him and informs him that Sang-cheon also summoned the former First Lady.   Dong-jo admits he underestimated Su-jin and will have to pay the price.

Simultaneously, Jan-seok arrives at the Blue House as a prosecutor looking to investigate Dong-ho but is denied entry. He calls Dong-ho, and the latter tells him there will be no investigation and his team will be dissolved as they can’t bring charges against a sitting President. Dong-ho knows Jang-seok won’t stop looking into it and is only hoping to slow him down.

In the meantime, Su-jin is ultimately selected as the new Prime Minister, and Dong-ho is forced to appoint her. The episode ends with her appointment ceremony, when she asks Dong-ho not to lead her into making the same mistakes—in other words, not to make her come after him as he did with President Jang II Jun. 

The Episode Review

 We were right about Su-jin surviving the slaughterhouse. Unfortunately, Dong-ho forgot an important rule: never leave the door open for your enemy. He failed to make sure Sang-cheon won’t help Su-jin. He counted on Su-jin’s hate for Sang-cheon to keep her from making a deal with him. The problem is when it comes to self-preservation, humans will do anything to survive. Not even a deal with the devil is off the tables. 

On the other hand, we have Jang-seok, who keeps wondering what is going on with his dear friend. Dong-ho keeps switching between being a friend and a President, using each card carefully when it is convenient for him. What will happen with the case? After getting Su-jin, will Dong-ho really stop there and confess his crimes?