Tempted (2018) User Reviews

Just finished - loved it

[tay-sedai · 8/10 · 15 February 2020]

I was one of those viewers who never saw any teasers, had no idea the show existed, so didn't have any expectations going in. I just watched it now in 2020, and really enjoyed it. I thought the actors did great jobs, and I was really rooting for the main characters to figure things out.

Some of the characters really were mean at times - but I could see why they acted as they did, given their messed up families / emotional problems.

The ending was 'okay', my main issue being that not all ends were tied up. I would have liked to see what happened for all the minor characters. It seemed like the end was a little rushed, with the two main relationship plot threads sort of being resolved in the last 5 mins. But maybe that's just me. I would have liked to see how things ended for the 'tutee' (e.g. girl who was tutored ;) ) and so on.

Well worth a second view

[teskaya · 8/10 · 4 June 2020]

First time i watched this i was stirred and frankly pissed off by the overwhelming amount of bad things people do throughout this drama. Stupid choices and unnerving plot twists that balance dangerously above the abyss of run of the mill, ridiculous soap-opera scripts. However, on second viewing it all somehow makes a near-perfect harmonious ode to the plight of the super-privileged, and rather intelligently puts it all on display. Would perhaps benefit from a slightly stronger actress to sell the very well written, infuriatingly righteous female lead, but who can blame an actress for going soft around Woo Do Hwan...? Anyway, point being: it's really well played and well put together and devastatingly sexy, even more so second time you watch, when you know how it all turns out.

After 5 years, everyone is an artist..

[markapiec · 6/10 · 30 July 2020]

This drama is a spin off of Cruel intentions or even Dangerous liaisons. It all starts with a pathetic bet and i say pathetic, because these 3 spoilt rich 'kids' are no longer kids, but in their early 20s, and should know better. But ok, they probably didnt. Choi Soo-ji was a horrible character, actually the worst out of them all. A bully and a manipulator. God knows why she turned out the way she did, but here we were, an evil woman and 2 idiots blindly following. Anyway, what they plotted together was cruel and made me resent them from episode 1. Of course it didnt go according to the plan, but it didnt somehow compensate for me. Maybe because i expect too much of morals and values from young people? Or maybe i just expect too much from movies. The storyline can be anything, but if there is a clear wrongdoing or injustice, there should always be a lesson learnt. Not here though, it just ended. Abruptly, with main leads meeting after 5 years and of course still having feelings for each other. Far fetched and nowhere near the reality. Or at least i would like to think people have some dignity.. in dangerous liaisons Valmont at least dies and de Merteuil gets humiliated, but in Tempted, nobody gets punished for their wrongdoings.. That being said, the acting wasnt as bad as the story, could have been better though if the characters were more developed as the actors are talented and would have pulled it off. As a woman i enjoyed watching Woo Do-hwan, until i got fed up of his inability to man up and either face his crazy friends or come clean to his girlfriend. All and all, it is ok to watch, no real surprises there, not too bad but also not left with the 'i want more' feeling either.

One of my favorite dramas of 2018

[gla9ya · 10/10 · 20 March 2019]

The Great Seducer (also known as Tempted) actually became one of my favorite dramas of 2018. There were certainly some issues with the script and direction; with the plot and writing at times letting down a talented cast. The drama isn't tied to one genre, with it shifting between a darker mystery and a romantic comedy. This could be confusing to some viewers, but I was able to enjoy the way the drama didn't fit neatly into one definition and I embraced both the comedic and the dramatic scenes. The two leads had great chemistry, with Park Sooyoung and Woo Do Hwan delivering fine performances ranging from romance, comedy, and heartbreak. Overall I thought the cast was able to make their characters compelling enough to make this drama a worthwhile view and one of my favorites in 2018.

Just okay

[tester-84146 · 6/10 · 3 February 2020]

I was excited to see this because i have a massive crush on Woo Do-Hwan but .... it was a bit of a let down. I get it , the series is about young love and it's target demographic is definitely not the mature crowd but I couldn't help but thinking his talent was wasted on this script.

The female lead was cute and I did feel she acted good at times, but most of the time she was not believable and really ditzy (not sure if that was on purpose). The other female lead (the mean girl) was tiring to watch constantly angry or pouting. The story was good ,a bit drawn out which is the case with most k-dramas but after the 10th episode I was losing interest. Only Woo Do-Hwan kept me watching..., I guess it was a fun project for him and he is trying to appeal to the young female crowds.

I would love however to see him in more mature love story ... maybe something similar to "Something in the Rain" with a more experienced/older female lead.

Korean cruel intentions twist

[meiwebbify · 9/10 · 26 April 2018]

It's reminds me of cruel intentions, pretty good so far

Did it have a purpose?

[kinogems · 6/10 · 26 January 2022]

Watching this was very weird. I still don't know if the drama served a purpose. The cast is mostly stellar and I think joy did a pretty good job in her debut role. But the main criticism is that what purpose did this drama serve? The plot is nonexistent and things just...happen for whatever reason. No lessons were learned and all characters are back to square one. Especially Se-ju whose story is barely explored.

Twisted game of human passions and emotions

[hanalisss · 9/10 · 6 February 2023]

Rewatching this one after a few years and I still loved it.

Is not perfect by any means but because it has many dark twisted plots you get hooked into it and you won't be able to stop watching.

The characters of this show and I mean all of them are impossible to like, quite hateful and full of flaws. You will like them at times and understand their struggles and past experiences so you will feel empathy for them but at the same time you will see how twisted, perturbed and imperfect they are and hate them too. Perfect depiction of the human nature, nothing is romanticized in this drama and i am all for it.

The main characters are playing a disturbing game of emotions just to relieve the pain they feel inside and its dark but beautiful. Love the loyalty they have for each other and their friendship and at the same time you can see their dislike for each others too at times. Such an unique and different concept.

The main leads have chemistry and although I am not a big fan of Joys acting, i have watched all of her dramas and Is very average and plain but Woo Do Hwan is just incredible here, you can see how he swifts from one side/personality of his character to the other, even his eyes and expressions change. Didn't rate his performance on Mad Dog but here and The King is just outstanding.

2nd leads are awesome as well, mostly Moon Ga Young who is 10 times the actresses Joy is and fills the screen when she is on stage.

Overall is very entertaining and non traditional. Could have been better? Yes, more darkness and more focused on the ill intentions of the ML and his relationship and feelings towards the FL would have been perfect. But still was a pretty good outcome.

Watch it.

It could've been better

[belassyaa · 6/10 · 8 June 2019]

Besides having the usual story of rich boy meets poor girl this show could have been way better if they had changed the plot a little, maybe evil wins? Maybe no happy endings because the story was twisted since day 1. The ending was very rushed and short. Actors were good, cinematography as well but the plot and script not so much.

Not Good Enough

[PennyReviews · 3/10 · 1 May 2018]

The great seducer was one of those dramas that got everyone talking about. The posters and teasers were full of a dark spark, promising the best dark romance in the drama land. Seductive and aesthetical was the description as well. And then, Episode one was a dive in reality. It seemed more of an episode from gossip girl rather than what it was promised to be. The characters were rich, spoiled youngsters, playing drama with anyone. Plus, the "great seducer" had, like one (?) girl seduced and that was it. So, seducer was more like a title that everyone repeated rather than the real deal. So, one should expect that the big plot will play nice and with a slow built up so that the drama will keep up with appearances. Well, that wasn't the case either. The romance was developed so fast, that we spent the rest of the episodes lovey dovey or breaking up. Wasn't the girl supposed to be cold and not to believe in love? In addition, there were too many secondary characters, so many stories here and there, to, probably, distruct you from the main story that wasn't going as planned. But, they were boring too. Even the secondary love story didn't help. And there was the ending. I personally don't really like the "five years later" spin offs, but here we are, having one of those meaningless time skips, with no real ending. Finally, the acting was okay, and it did got a bit better, though, I think that Joy didn't fit her character. Maybe I see her more of the younger girl characters, in a more happy concept drama. I really enjoyed Min jae at least. He was a nice delightful surprise. So, 3 out of 10.

Definitely Not Your Usual Romance!!!

[Chaokage · 10/10 · 8 August 2021]

It is an incredible thing to see how someone who lived all his life being someone who toys with people meet someone that peels off all the nonsense and realize that he's been living as someone else. Realizing who he actually is, he sends ripples in the lives of those around him and they slowly but surely follow foot. This is definitely a series that stands in its own genre being both beautiful and ugly, comforting and painful, Loving and hateful. A great experience overall. Despite the ending being quite concise, the journey remains worth every second spent.

The trailers and sneak-peeks were deceptive...

[srijasingh-41746 · 6/10 · 8 August 2021]

THE ONLY thing going for this show is the chemistry between the lead pair.... Quite literally that's the only redeeming quality.

My suggestion, only watch this if you have time to kill, coz it's not worth any time of your busy day.

PS: I watched this right after watching great stuff like go ahead, extraordinary you, it's okay to not be okay... Maybe that was the reason for my utter disappointment.

Had a great potential

[wichtigesbuch · 3/10 · 16 January 2021]

The problem with kdrama is it doesn't have the balls to be unpredictable, unorthodox, and daring to name a few. Hm. Had a great potential. For once, just once, we could have had a show featuring bad girl with a bad boy. That would have been some sight to see. But noo, good girl with a bad boy. like always. sigh. it the same old, same old rehashed plot line since boys before flowers days...And that's been like 10 years since. I'm tired of good girls with bad boys. Give me something exciting. Give me bad girl with a bad boy for once. I wanna see how bad it gets, how thrilling it gets, how heart wrenching it gets. I wanted to see Soo-JI and Si- HYun together. Well, they had something like that at start and then quickly nothing. I hoped too much for kdrama. Shoulda known it wouldn't deviate from the norm. Hm. Maybe in like 20 years time, or even 50 years time this may change.

Worth a watch

[michaelquinn1966 · 8/10 · 6 September 2021]

If like me you live K-Dramas then Tempted or the Great Seducer is well worth a watch.

The female leads are excellent, Moon Ga-Young is excellent as the crazy narcissistic Soo-Ji but I especually loved the performance of Park Soo-Young or Joy from the K-Pop group Red Velvet as she is probably better known. This is the second drama I have watched her in (The Liar and his Lover being the other) and find her quite adorable to watch and I am surprised by a lot of the negativity about her performances to date. I think she is a decent actress who will only get better with each role she takes on. Also, she has one of the best heart melting smiles you will ever find, so look forward to seeing more from her in the future

As for the show itself it's a new take on Dangerous Liasions/Cruel Intentions and the plot follows in a similar way. However, there are a number of sub plots which make this drama stand out and if it wasn't for what I felt was a very rushed ending, I probably would have given it a ten

All in all a very watchable K-Drama and well worth the time invested in watching.

What kept me going was Woo Do-Hwan

[crmn-22961 · 6/10 · 30 January 2021]

It started as an interesting drama with a nice spin off towards episode 10 but then it got lost. I feel like the script lacked something, the continuity didn't make sense anymore and what was the point of everything that happened? I don't know, I think the actors were great and I liked the 4 of them, especially Woo Do-Hwan and his sweet voice but after episode 10 I kinda lost interest but I finished it. Last episode...why the fight? Why the 5 years gap? And what happened to the minor characters, we don't know. Overall I am happy I watched it.

Underrated Korean Drama

[breadladyuga · 9/10 · 19 June 2022]

Three long time friends Kwon Shi-Hyun (Woo Do-Hyun), Choi Soo-Ji (Moon Ga-Young), Lee Se-Joo (Kim Min-Jae) are all from very privileged, wealthy families. To all appearances, they "have it all." They stick together through thick and thin, doing many wild things, push the envelope for boundaries on a regular basis, and are pretty outrageous in their behavior while always having each other's backs. Lacking nothing materially, we learn quickly that they have another area of common ground - emotional holes and needs.

For various reasons, each one has at least one area of abandonment by a parent, if not outright abuse. This has strengthened their bond to each other as they have supported each other through many instances of pain and suffering in their young lives. Shi-Hyun's mother died when he was younger at the same time that his father rejected him. Soo-Ji's living with her doctor mother who is consumed with her career and new love. Se-Joo is the whipping boy for his abusive father and family, who does his best to lay low and stay out of reach as much as possible, not always succeeding.

Due to their incredible good looks and very affluent pocketbooks, these kids have lived some wild times that many adults have not.

Into this scenario, Soo-Ji is dumped by a guy (whom she's better off without!) and to recover her pride tasks Shi-Hyun to go after the new girlfriend and win her away from Soo-Ji's ex. Only problem is, they don't know they have the wrong girl - or do they?

Enter Eun Tae-hee (Red Velvet's Joy), a very levelheaded young lady with her own pain-filled past. She's smart, savvy, and very skeptical of Shi-Hyun's tricks and charm. Instead of melting in a puddle or falling at his feet like most people do, she throws him repeated curves, challenges and leaves him scratching his head. The more time he spends with her, the more intrigued he becomes, which presents its own problems with his two friends.

Being intrigued with her differences keeps him returning to her like a moth to a flame, falling deeper all the time, a real problem when the original task was to love her and leave her.

A secondary love story in this is the long-term unrequited love of See-Jo for Soo-Ji. The hiccup is that Soo-Ji thinks she's in love with See-Jo's best friend Shi-Hyun, and See-Jo knows this. To keep from losing his two friends completely, he stays in the background, remaining supportive to them both and holds his love for Soo-Ji, and his wounds about that love, closely in his own heart.

The story gives us the opportunity to see how past as well as present trauma and pain affect people, affect how our characters respond to challenges, to others, what choices are available to them in each situation, then what choice they make and what outcome that brings. Overall, this is a story of the character of each one involved when presented with life's hurdles, set-backs and disappointments - which road will they take? It gives us the opportunity to ask ourselves, "What would I do?"

Ultimately, the main story is a Gidget kind of story, which is one of my favorite scenarios - a good girl changes a "bad boy" into a better man. With Joy as the leading lady, it shouldn't be a surprise that there are also some really good songs included. I think Tempted is a show with some real depth, presenting some real-life issues to ponder along with a pretty powerful romance.

Light kdrama with Cruel Intentions hint

[MoonsoulC · 7/10 · 21 March 2021]

I started watching The Great Seducer despite reading some not too flattering reviews. Haven't finished watching it yet (just reached ep13) but my first thought is that they should've put more work into the script. First of all, from the first episodes you'll notice a lot of Cruel Intentions' elements and if you saw it (CI) no other re-enactment will impress you. Not too much insight into the characters' pasts and actions, they just seem blunt, not well developed, the great seducer falls in love very easily with this clingy, quite annoying girl, who is begging the guy to make up after he ditches her (then she acts upset), one friend constantly gets beaten by his family for running away from home, the seducer's father apparently is losing his sight but that doesn't seem to be much of a problem and he is chasing "the love of his life" and ignoring other obligations...and so on...And there's the night of the accident, two years prior, which is showed in one way in ep 6 and another way in ep 13, both times as remembered by su-ji's mother. The acting is not too bad given the script. It's a light kdrama. I give it a 7 for the actors' struggle.

Kim Min-jae Makes This Worth Watching Every Minute - plays with emotions

[PalmBeachG · 10/10 · 25 August 2022]

Here I am in the US watching this late as alot of the K-Drama's I get on my TV service but I am glad I was finally made aware of it as Kim Min-jae has recently caught my attention as a really good main lead and has lots of talent. This is the second K-Drama I watched with him as main lead and looking forward to seeing more in the future in the US. He deserves 10 stars but I think the series as a whole does too. It was captivating, has a real love story, and really does make you emotional when you are watching it. There are a few times that get stressful but you know in the back of your mind that everything will be OK in the long run so you continue to watch and things get happy again. The ups and downs play with your emotions and can make you smile, laugh, and cry. The only small criticism I have is that the script's ending was satisfying however could have been a sooner resolution and a bit longer with the final love story and main lead Woo Do-hwan. #KimMinjae #Tempted #WooDohwan.

Disappointment after disappointment, but still...

[melis-aleyna · 5/10 · 26 September 2018]

This was disappointing. I've dived into this drama with little much to no information about it so I had no clue what I was getting into. Which means I had no expectations at all but despite all that this show managed to disappoint me.

First of all this show made me forget I was actually watching Kdrama. I had the feeling I was watching any US series which happend to have an all korean cast. First disappointment. I literally missed korean culture and tradition in this. Unfortunately, some people feel the need to westernized in order to become popular.

Second. The title is very misleading. Thi show had nothing to do with seduction. We'll see the male lead seduce literally one woman in the first episode and and then just fall in love with another. The whole romance happened so fast there was no time to catch a breath for anyone. The female leas is supposedly hate love and totally be against dating but here you go, seeing her head over heels in love with this seducing boy in just one day. I didn't see any romance developing. It just came from no where. Plus it was so cheesy I had pain cringing all the time. Another disappointment.

We've seen a lot love going on then. The male lead transforming from this supposedly sexy, dark man into a shy, little boy. The female lead turned out to be all happy smiling and laughing about everything he says and does, taking selcas and stuff..... I mean how did we get there...

Then it just went crazy. Fight after fight, followed by making up a day later, more fights, more breaking up and making up. One secret gets discovered another one comes up and right after that another. Ugh.... Of course one worse than the other.

And somehow they all end up bleeding and crying, getting hospitalized, more crying and woops di doops there is a '3 years later" spin off which I'm pretty sure we all hate. There is no real ending. No real confrontation about what exactly happened. It just... ended.

None of the romances made much sense. Not even the secondary love story which I rooted for from the first episode. They've been probably the biggest disappointment. All the remaining characters bored me to death. Their stories were boring and everything regarding them bored me. So, you guessed it, I skipped half the show.

Without the skipping I probably wouldn't have managed to get through this series. Even though the actors were really well casted and they delivered great performances.

Moon Ga Young was pretty sure my favorit. She pulled off her crazy, broken, rich girl role perfectly (I must admit though she got really annyoing at some point). Kim Min Jae and his character definitely deserved more. I didn't like any of the adults. Especially hated all the parents. I didn't like Eun Tae hee's best friends. She wasn't really promising and helping and I find her rather annoying then likable.

Nevertheless, it was okay to watch even if has a lot boring parts it had some decent parts as well.

I'll give it a 4,5. It would have been lower but I loved Moon Ga Young too much in this and despite the fact that I was bored most of the time it still managed to make me cry a few times and it was entertaining enough to continue until the end.

AMAZING STORY LINE AND BEST K-DRAMA OF 2018

[camillefernando · 10/10 · 15 June 2021]

If you understand and take it to heart, promise it's so beautiful worth your time and if you haven't watched it yet you'll miss out on this masterpiece and one last thing PLEASE SUPPORT RED VELVET. THANK YOU HOPE YOU WATCH IT :)

There could have been so much potential

[thilenapham · 4/10 · 25 February 2024]

At the beginning, it was enjoyable to watch but it kinda felt a little rushed to be honest for example a the mood suddenly switched from exciting to something sad in seconds. Overall I feel like there are still many things that need to be talked about and I personally think the whole thing with eun tae hee, her mother, si hyun father and his mother AS WELL as Soo jis mother, it's just weird that ALL of it is connected. The car accident etc... and I personally hoped that Si Hyun and Soo ji wouldve been endgame. Their chemistry was great and it wouldve been so exciting to see a "bad girl x bad boy" relationship because I rarely see these kind of dramas. I personally couldnt watch Eun tae hee, she was like every average female lead who is "positive" and "cheerful". It's not like I hate her or people in Real life who act like her but her kind of character appears way too often in dramas, and Im starting to get sick of them. Also, I just disliked the main couple in general. I actually started the drama for Woo dohwan but I genuinely disliked his character. Of course, him and the trio in general were toxic but it triggered me that he kept lying to Soo ji "Eun tae hee doesn't mean anything to me" this and that but meanwhile he kissed Tae hee. Overall I was rooting for Soo ji and was about to drop the series as soon as I noticed that she's the second female lead. Atleast the OST, cast and acting was nice.

LOVE

[Yoonluv · 9/10 · 11 March 2022]

I absolutely love this show. That's all I have to say. Literally had me gripping the closest thing to me out of anxiety whilst also giggling like a little girl.

Music in this series is just amazing!

[uaceiroz · 8/10 · 29 April 2021]

If for nothing else this Korean drama deserves high rating for music and pure aesthetics! It is indeed a version of Dangerous Liaisons, and I really like how different it is for me to watch it. Story could have been developed deeper, but all in all for anyone into kdrama, it definitely deserves watching 2x. So far on my top 2 list, together with Chinese version of Meteor Garden.

ONE OF THE BEST K-DRAMA

[rochellcedilla · 10/10 · 15 June 2021]

I don't know why other people hate the show so much if you understand and take it to heart, promise it's so beautiful worth your time and if you haven't watched it yet you'll miss out on this masterpiece and one last thing plsss support RED VELVET. THANK YOU ENJOY:)

Worst show ever

[ksrakhecha · 2/10 · 17 August 2020]

Soo bad show....my God. How can someone make a Dr that bad. I thought it's going to be interesting when they suggested marriage before there parents...but my God..after that so bad story. And Eun Tae hee actress...such a bad actress. Seriously never seen such a bad actress and such bad couple. Only thing I liked was Soo ji and Jae su.