First Lady Episode 1 Review: A Kiss for the Cameras But a Divorce in the Shadows

The premiere wastes no time in setting its tone, opening with unsettling imagery and plunging straight into political ambition and personal sacrifice. Soo-yeon and Min-cheol’s marriage becomes the stage for power, loyalty, and betrayal. What begins as a story of resilience quickly spirals into a battle of image versus truth.

First Lady Episode 1 has a runtime of 65 minutes.

First Lady Episode 1 Recap

The episode begins with a chilling image. A small child slips into a pair of bright red high heels meant for an adult, staring at a television screen where blood is splattered across the glass. It is a disturbing opening that lingers in the mind before the story moves into the present.

Soo-yeon and her husband, Min-cheol, are travelling towards the union strike grounds. The car is heavy with unspoken thoughts until Min-cheol finally asks his wife why she has not tried to stop him from entering the National Assembly. Soo-yeon replies calmly that he would have gone ahead regardless, but as his wife, she wants to stand by him. She only asks for one thing. Whenever he faces difficult decisions, he must think of their daughter first. Min-cheol gives his word.

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Their conversation is cut short when the situation turns deadly. During the strike, a fire breaks out. Soo-yeon escapes with her life but is left horrified to learn that Min-cheol has been terribly injured. He is rushed into the hospital, where she waits in anguish. The surgery is a success, but the relief is clouded by devastating news. His legs are paralysed. In the future, through relentless physiotherapy and with his wife’s constant support, he will learn to walk again, but for now, they must face the reality of his condition.

Soo-yeon, determined to help her husband rise again, takes on the responsibility of shaping his image. She presents him to the people as the man who represents the future of Korea, urging them to vote him into the National Assembly. Her efforts succeed.

The story leaps forward to the year 2025, when Min-cheol is running in the presidential election. On the day of a crucial live broadcast, he disappears. The cameras search for him, but he is nowhere to be seen. We discover that he is at a mortuary, staring at a body. The audience is not shown who it is, but his heavy silence speaks volumes.

He then gathers himself and joins the broadcast, his heart clearly burdened. He speaks about his childhood in a town known for its fog, where people would fade from his life as quickly as the mist itself. He reveals that once again, someone dear to him has just gone. He also confesses his enduring love for his wife, who has always been by his side. Yet despite these words, it is clear that their relationship has become strained.

Meanwhile, Soo-yeon is at home preparing for what she knows will be the most important day of her life. She fully expects her husband to win and carefully chooses her outfit to present herself as the First Lady. Already adored by the public for her elegant style and trendsetting wardrobe, she knows how to command attention. When Hwa-jin arrives with her senior assistant to present the final dress choices, the scene takes a sharper turn. It becomes evident that Hwa-jin is romantically involved with Soo-yeon’s daughter. Soo-yeon, with a cutting smile, warns her not to take what belongs to someone else, whether it is an object or a person.

Min-cheol goes on to win the presidency, and Soo-yeon steps into the public eye as First Lady. A flashback reveals a private moment between mother and daughter. The daughter confronted Soo-yeon about her husband’s affair, but Soo-yeon brushed it aside. Her ambition to become First Lady outweighed her concern over his infidelity. This memory hints strongly that the woman Min-cheol mourned at the mortuary may have been his mistress.

In the present, the public celebrates the power couple, cheering their love and unity. The joyful image shatters when a protester throws a tomato at Soo-yeon and shouts that they killed Tae-hoon to secure the election. Suspicion begins to swirl, and Soo-yeon’s composure seems to hide more than it reveals.

After the chaos is contained, the President and First Lady return to the stage to address the crowd. The people chant for them to kiss, and they oblige. The kiss is picture perfect, but when they part, Min-cheol leans close to his wife. With cold fury in his eyes, he whispers that he wants a divorce. The episode ends on that devastating revelation, leaving their glittering facade ready to crack.

First Lady Episode 1 Review

This episode delivered on spectacle and political drama, but the execution often felt uneven. The opening with the child in red heels and blood-stained television was a striking, eerie image, yet the story quickly slipped into predictable beats. Min-cheol’s injury and Soo-yeon’s transformation into his political partner were compelling on paper, but the pacing was rushed, leaving little room for emotional weight. The mortuary scene added mystery, though withholding the identity of the corpse felt more like a cheap trick than a carefully woven suspense.

The final act was messy yet memorable. Soo-yeon’s ambition to be First Lady overshadowed her personal life, while Min-cheol’s public devotion contrasted with his private resentment. The tomato-throwing protester, hinting at foul play, added intrigue, but the public kiss, followed immediately by the whispered demand for divorce, pushed the melodrama into almost theatrical territory. It was a dramatic cliffhanger, but one that highlighted the episode’s tendency to prioritise shock over depth.

Also read: First Lady Season 1 Review