Mr queen: K-drama review

What says you love a series more than staying up till 12 to finish it when you have class the next morning, and then writing the review immediately after?

I never write reviews this quickly...

⚠️ SPOILERS AHEAD⚠️

For those that haven’t watched it, Mr queen is a series about a man named Bong-hwan from the modern age, being trapped in the body of Queen Cheorin in the Joseon era. This is the most simplified version of the plot, much more goes on.

It was interesting to find out that the director of this show also directed hwarang, which was actually the first Korean period drama I watched, and a really good show.

I find the storyline of Mr queen to be a very interesting one, and I was curious throughout the whole series. For once, I actually had no idea how the producers would end it, I mean how do you write the ending to a drama like this. More on the ending later...

The actors all did a wonderful job, I already knew Kim Jung Hyun before I started it(he’s actually the reason I decided to watch it), but that doesn’t mean I wasn’t surprised by how much of a versatile actor he is, he was able to play the role of both the naïve king and the fearless king. I’m hoping to see him in more dramas, because I’m truly a fan. Shin Hye Sun could honestly not have done a better job in playing a man in a woman’s body, it must have been a very complex role to play, especially because it’s one she had to play for the whole series, but her acting seriously deserved some kind of award. Her mannerisms, facial expressions, and ability to make you feel like she really had the soul of a man was spot on, and for that she deserves the highest praises. The whole cast did very good, and I really appreciate their dedication to their roles. The show deserves a Baeksang.

The lead actors had such great chemistry together, it was so good that it’s sometimes hard to believe it’s a show, the way we were able to see the king slowly fall in love, and vice versa was really nice to watch. You could see that they cared deeply for each other in the end. The whole plot of the show was a captivating one, which is why I could not put my phone down once I started to watch it. Warning to those that have not watched it...clear you schedule. There was always drama coming from somewhere, if it’s not the the grand queen dowager, its the queen dowager, and if it’s not her, there’s about 10 more people with ulterior motives, someone is always trying to poison the queen, even though she’s the most unproblematic person in the palace, and rumors are the most dangerous thing.

All these storylines helped to keep the drama alive for all 20 episodes. I felt the anxiety like I was there, and the sadness like I was there, and I believe a show has really won if they can achieve that with their viewers. The setting was good to look at, so were the traditional outfits, and it has me wanting to learn more about Korean history. Really moving soundtrack (Bong-hwan a!) and I liked how they infused food into the storyline, they were very pleasing dishes to look at.

At first, while watching it, I did not know what to expect, the king seemed to be dumb, and he was already in love with someone else, and the queen...well we know how that went. So I really wondered how the writers would put them together, or if they would even get together at all, but they did. The romance was so effortlessly there. It also had humor and thrill to balance it all out. Now for the finale...

It actually started from episode 18, so I was really pumped, and it was good, and unexpected at the same time. I think that no matter how it ended, I would never be satisfied, because it is just that kind of show, the plot is really one of a kind (even though it is an adaptation :), and there is no ideal ending. I initially though bong-hwan would stay in the queen’s body forever, and in the drama, he ends up leaving, and that’s it. Okay not really, but you get the gist. At first I wondered if the king would still like the queen in the long run I mean we know he did cause we saw it in the history books, and she did keep some of bong-hwan’s mannerisms but we saw that the king could feel something was off and they obviously live together forever so he must have noticed the differences even more, but I realized, that so-yong did come out at some points, the times were she wondered why she cared so deeply for the king, or got charmed by him, I believe those were because of so-yong, so I am glad she was finally free at the end. Bong hwan came to help, and so he did. Doesn’t mean I’m not going to keep wondering.

There is so much I could say about this show, but for the sake of not making this 5 pages long, I will stop here.

This was a show that I really liked, it had all the elements of a good drama, and I’m really sad it ended. I would surely recommend this to anyone who would listen.

Moment of truth *drum rolls*

Rating: 9.9/10

This might be the highest I have/would ever give, does that mean I finally have a favorite k-drama?

I really want to give it a 10, because there was never a point where I lost interest, or cringed, watching this show made me so inexplicably happy. But I have heard of inaccuracies in relation to culture portrayals, so we settle for a 9.9. But in my heart it's a 10.

Ending note: Currently waiting to watch season 2 of love alarm, may or may not review. Also, I'm trying to be more refined in my reviews. This wasn't the best, but they're coming!

Thanks for reading!