Tempest Episodes 8 and 9: Release date news, time, streaming details, and more

The storm is almost over, but Tempest has saved its fiercest waves for the finale. After weeks of political intrigue, espionage, and fractured loyalties, the Korean drama is preparing to close its first season with back-to-back episodes 8 and 9. Fans who have followed Seo Mun-ju’s descent into conspiracies and Baek San-ho’s fight for redemption and love now stand at the edge of answers and perhaps devastating sacrifices.

Release date, time, and where to watch

Tempest season 1 will conclude on October 1, 2025, when episodes 8 and 9 drop together at 1:01 PM KST. Each episode runs for about 56 minutes.

The series is available for streaming worldwide on Disney+, while viewers in the United States can also access it through Hulu. In India and select regions, the finale streams via Disney+ Hotstar or JioHotstar.

This double-episode release follows the show’s rollout pattern: three episodes premiered on September 10, followed by two episodes every Wednesday until the finale.

Secrets and betrayals before the storm

By the end of episode 7, the web of secrets and betrayals had become almost impossible to untangle. Seo Mun-ju, once a celebrated diplomat, has been forced to uncover the corruption rotting the system after her husband’s death. Alongside her is Baek San-ho, a shadowy operative whose loyalty is questioned at every turn.

What began as a mission for truth has spiraled into a fight for survival, where accusations of espionage, political manipulation, and shifting identities threaten to explode into open conflict.

Episodes 6 and 7 of Tempest revealed critical new layers. The discovery of a modified 3,000-ton Romeo-class submarine poised as a trigger for war added urgency to the narrative. There was also the shocking revelation that more than one person is operating under the pseudonym Stella Young, and San-ho himself was framed as a spy.

The episode ended on a note of tension and tenderness, with Mun-ju and San-ho facing each other by the sea, their bond deepening even as the stakes of betrayal reached their peak.

Tensions that will shape the finale

The season finale promises to deliver answers to the burning mysteries while pushing the characters to their limits. More than just tying up loose ends, these last two episodes are expected to magnify the themes that have carried Tempest since the beginning: power, betrayal, and the unbearable cost of truth.

The truth about Stella Young

The mystery of Stella Young is no longer hidden in shadows. Episode 7 of Tempest confirmed that the real Stella Young is Im Ok-Seon, Jun-ik’s mother, a revelation that reframes every twist leading to this point. Far from being a secondary figure, she emerges as the architect of the conspiracy, the one pulling strings across borders and institutions.

Stella was never just a name passed around in the game of power. It was the mask Im Ok-Seon wore while constructing a network of manipulations that reached into the highest levels of politics.

What remains uncertain are her motives. Did she act out of ideology, trying to reshape the political order according to her own convictions? Was it survival, carving a place for herself in a system that dismissed women of her generation? Or was it vengeance, born from wounds in her past and turned into a mission that consumed everything in its path?

As the finale approaches, her role as Jun-ik’s mother adds another layer of complexity. Her choices are no longer just about strategy, they are about legacy and bloodlines.

If she sees herself as a patriot, she might be ready to torch the system just to rebuild it in her image. If it’s revenge or self-preservation pushing her, the fall could be as raw and brutal as the betrayals she’s spun. Either way, the revelation throws Seo Mun-ju against an enemy who isn’t just a manipulator but a mirror of what power turns into when family and nation get tangled too tight.

The submarine gambit

The discovery of the modified Romeo-class submarine injected the series with new urgency, shifting the stakes from political scandal to potential war. As the finale approaches, the submarine becomes more than a weapon, it becomes a bargaining chip that could destabilize the entire region.

Whether the truth about the existence of a major threat is exposed to the public or buried by those who benefit from silence, the other submarine will shape the outcome of Tempest. For Mun-ju, the decision to reveal it could save lives or spark the very conflict she has fought to prevent.

Mun-ju’s impossible dilemma

Mun-ju has carried the weight of diplomacy, personal grief, and national responsibility since the first episode. The finale is expected to confront her with an impossible choice. Does she sacrifice her reputation or even her life to stop the conspiracy from spiraling into open war, or does she protect herself and let the truth remain hidden?

Either choice could wreck what’s left of her world. Mun-ju’s journey was never just politics, it’s a test of how much one person can carry when integrity crashes headfirst into survival.

San-ho’s loyalty on trial

Branded a traitor and shadowed by his past, San-ho’s loyalty has been questioned at every turn. Yet his actions have shown a man deeply entangled in Mun-ju’s cause, torn between the world that made him and the woman who sees through his façade.

The finale will test whether his devotion can withstand the final onslaught of lies and accusations. If San-ho falls, his downfall may serve as the ultimate proof that truth is a casualty no one escapes. If he prevails, his redemption could become the most unexpected victory of Tempest.

Romance under fire

The bond between Mun-ju and San-ho has grown in the cracks of violence and mistrust, making their relationship one of the most compelling threads of the series. Episodes 8 and 9 of Tempest may finally determine whether their connection survives beyond stolen moments of tenderness.

The finale of Tempest could lean toward bittersweet romance, two people finding comfort against impossible odds, or tragedy, where love itself becomes another sacrifice to the storm. Either way, the tension between duty and desire ensures that their final scenes together will leave a lasting mark.

The price of truth

Beyond individual arcs, the finale is poised to underline one of the drama’s most pressing questions. What is the cost of revealing the truth? Every character has been navigating a minefield where secrets function as both shield and weapon. To expose the masterminds behind the conspiracy may deliver justice, but it may also bring destruction on a national scale.

Episodes 8 and 9 are expected to leave us with the haunting realization that in Tempest, truth is rarely liberating. It's devastating.

Why the finale of Tempest matters

Tempest has built its momentum on deception, shifting alliances, and a haunting romance born in the crossfire of conspiracies. Episodes 8 and 9 are set to answer long-standing questions while leaving viewers to wonder whether survival comes at too high a cost.

The importance of this ending goes beyond the satisfaction of tying off plotlines. If the series fulfills its promise, it will stand as one of the boldest political thrillers of the year, daring to mix grand-scale diplomacy with intimate human drama.

The fate of Mun-ju and San-ho will be decided in these final hours, but so will the broader vision of what Tempest represents: a portrait of a nation on the edge, of individuals caught between truth and survival, and of love tested in the harshest winds.

October 1 will not only mark the conclusion of a season but potentially establish Tempest as a story that lingers long after the credits. Viewers will be left to ask whether peace has been secured, or whether the storm has only just begun.