The Tyrant

What’s it about?

The theft of a dangerous bioweapon during a secret meeting between the US and South Korea sets off a frantic scramble among international intelligence agencies, which try to stop it from wreaking havoc across the globe.

The facts

• Directed by Park Hoon-jung
• Korean language (English subtitles and dub available)
• Runtime: 4 episodes, ~40 minutes each

Why did it get this rating?

This series was self-rated by Disney+. You can find out more about self-rating by streaming providers here.

Graphic violence & Cruelty

The violence in this series includes a large amount of blood as well as graphic details of injury. Torture and cruelty are also common themes in this series, and some scenes may have a lasting effect on viewers.

Some of the harder-hitting scenes with violence and cruelty in episode 1 include:

• A character is killed when a knife is pushed into their neck
• A video recording is shown of a man being experimented on. He is bleeding and in serious pain and then explodes
• A group are hung upside down with stakes in their stomachs. They scream and beg for the torture to stop. A man laughs at their pain and orders their heads to be chopped off

In episode 2, the strongest violence and cruelty happens during a fast-paced fight scene between a group of characters, and this shows a lot of injuries and deaths. During this scene, you see:

• A character is stabbed in the neck with a scalpel
• Other characters are stabbed multiple times, with brief blood spray shown
• A character is hit multiple times with a hatchet. This happens off-screen but you see a lot of blood

Episode 3’s most violent/cruel moments also occur during a fight scene, these include:

• A character is stabbed in the hand
• A character is stabbed in the arm, through their clothing
• Multiple characters are shot, some in the head

Horror

Horror ramps up in episode 2 when human-like monsters are introduced. They go after characters in the series and are very grotesque, with lots of wounds and extra limbs. When exposed to sunlight, the monsters explode into blood and guts.

Offensive language

Words including f*ck, f*cking, f*cked, sh*t and bastard are frequently used, both in a casual and aggressive manner.

Helplines:

We all have different lines and cruelty can be quite tricky for some viewers, especially when paired with horror and violence. Get in touch with any of the following helplines for support.

• 1737
• Youthline

Further information

• Why are ratings and content warnings important for me and my whānau? - Blog
• Staying safe when your parenting downtime gets hijacked by tough storylines - Blog