Review: Mr. Queen | if you haven't watch this, you're missing out.

My KDrama addict self was back to life because of Mr. Queen! I bump into a clip of This while scrolling on Facebook. I can't help but watch it. It has 20 episodes, which was longer than I expected. Most of the KDramas I watched had just 12 to 16 episodes.

about the drama

Title: Mr. Queen 

Genres: Historical, Romantic-Comedy, and Fantasy
Directed by: Yoon Sung-Sik  
No. Of Episodes: 20 episodes

Realeased Date: Dec 20, 2020 - Feb 14, 2021

Language: Korean

 

Jang Bong-Hwan (Choi Jin Yuk) is a chef who works in the Blue House (South Korea's presidential residence), when he accidentally feels into a pool and finds himself transported back into the Joseon dynasty and trapped in the body of Queen Cheorin or Kim So-Yong. He meets the King, Cheoljong (Kim Jung-Hyun), and soon found out his true ambitions and secrets.

 

 thoughts about the characters 

Kim So-Yong
The Queen

Shin Hye Sun absolutely nailed this drama; she's such a versatile actress. She's got it all, from drama to romance to comedy! I love Kim So-Yong (with Jang Bo Hwan as her soul). Since Kim So-Yong has Bo Hwan's soul, the queen acted as a man and was very tactless. So-Yong was oblivious to the right and proper etiquette, which makes So Yong a funny and really relatable character. It was the first time for me when So Yong showed her having her period. It was hilarious!

 

I love how witty and smarty-pant she is. She basically survived all the assassination and attempted poisoning through her funny and unintentional but hilarious replies and comebacks. Especially when she is in a dangerous situation, she can overcome it unintentionally through her silly antics. I absolutely love this woman!

 

Cheoljong
 The King

I also love Cheoljong, especially when he is at the palace court and gone mad. He is also smart. He appears as the puppet of the Queen Grand Dowager, but he has his own ambition. At first, he doesn't feel anything with So-Yong but hatred. which was understandable because the Andong Kim clan ruined and killed his family.

 

I like how smart and skilled he is. He is also unintentionally funny, especially when he is with So-Yong. He is also super sweet with So-Yong. Who is the king who deduced a whole dictionary for his queen? Cheoljong, indeed! It was also sweet that he never called So-Yong by her name but always "my queen". Kim Jung-Hyun ate this drama!

 

Ho Yeong & Court Lady Choi
The queen's servant

These two, along with the queen, have friendship goals. I like how loyal they are to So-Yong, so understanding and have a long patience. When I say long patience, I mean literally long. If I were them, I would be stressed so much. My favorite scene with them was probably when they oath to find the king after it was reported that the king had died. Those scenes were really sweet and heartwarming. The director and the writer did a great job of giving us those sweet moments before moving to the climax that painful scene that affected them both. That was emotional!

Prince Yangpyeong & Director Hong

I also liked these two, especially Director Hong. He was funny and fully supported all the plans Cheoljong made. I have mixed feelings about Prince YangPyeong because he always assumed the worst thing with So-Yong, which was understandable at first, but it was too much when he tried to behead So-Yong.

Though I also like him in some parts, I shipped him with Jo Hwa Jin. Eventually, the drama agreed with me.

 

Jo Hwa Jin
The Royal Consort Concubine

This woman made it impossible for me to hate her. I can't really hate her. She was so pretty, graceful, and really elegant. There are some parts that she annoyed me (lmao). I was waiting for her to really get mad at So-Yong and move herself to hurt the queen personally, so she and the king would be together. But as the drama turns on its own, she was actually really respectful of Cheoljong and So-Yong's relationship later on.

 

I thought she would push herself between the queen and king, but she backed down. She knows when to push and back off since she says that she was just in the palace to help the king, and she really did. She really loved the king for her to let him go. Jo Hwa Jin is one of my favorite actress.

Jo Daebi
The Grand Queen Dowager

Let's move on after gushing about Jo Hwa Jin to hate this woman. I really hate her. She is so full of herself and but pathetically funny. She believed in shamans, rituals, and more. But she was not as powerful as So Woon, the other Queen Grand Dowager. So she only relies on manipulating people and spreading rumours.

Son Woon
The Grand Queen Dowager

Jo Daebi is obsessed with her shamans and readings. Son Woon was obsessed with make-up, skin care, and anything to make her look youthful. At first, Son Woon is really funny, and the drama would make the viewers like her because she was in favor with So-Yong and he protected her in some cases. Eventually though, when her regency was finished, she didn't care about So-Yong and only focused on the throne.

Between Son Woon and Kim Jwa Geun, Jwa Geun is the character I despised the most.

 

Kim Jwa Geun
Son Woon's Brother

You know, money is not the root of all evil; it was this man! He was the main antagonist for me. He likes to be in power, full of greed and a manipulator. Though I'm really impressed with how he was so calm the whole time. He never got mad or shouted, he was just so calm. I liked his patience and his urge to just hold his anger back.

 

Kim Byeong In
Jwa Geun's step son & So Yong's step cousin

Kim Byeong In. *sigh* This man got my heart, ripped it off, put it back to pieces before he buried it. I hate how he was also Jwa Geun's accomplice, and he made everything complicated with the king and queen's situation. But I also like how protective he is with So-Yong and how strong and educated he is. He could do everything for So-Yong even though he was hurting inside. He just did it all just to protect the queen until the very end. He was just focused and so into So-Yong. I can't possibly hate him and still love him fully.

thoughts about the drama

I rarely watch KDrama these days, but Mr. Queen really made my 3AM sleep worth it. I rarely watch dramas set in historical times. Mr. Queen was so hyped last year and I don't really follow the trend. I despised the feeling when my expectations were ruined and especially the let down.

• historical-romantic-comedy? the best!

 The rom-com element here was so good. This is the real version of what would happen if a modern man was transported back to the old era. It is hilarious and relatable. Other historical dramas were made so that after two episodes of the main character being transported, he/she was already acquainted with the old society, which was very unlikely.

 

• political affairs and dysnasties 

The state was dynastic during the Joseon era. The director and writer nailed it with this type of complex affairs and dynasty, just like any KDrama.

 

• The water element as the transporter.

Water was the main transport element in a previous historical kdrama I watched. I find it so predictable and repetitive. Just like the Moon Lovers: Heart-Ryeo, the main characters were also transported back through the lake. I don't know if water or lakes specifically have a main purpose or very significant in Korean culture and tradition, though I hope they'll use another element as a portal.

 

• love-triangle or unrequited love

One I also noticed was the unrequited love and love-triangle in historical dramas. In Moon Lovers, there was also a love-triangle, and I hated it so much! I don't like it, especially if I was in favour and attached to the other guy that obviously the female lead won't choose. That's why I was so heartbroken for Byeon In!

 

• Unanswered question: the soul exchange

 Jang Bong Hwan and Kim So-Yong's souls were exchanged when they fell into the swimming pool and lake, respectively. Later on, the drama showed that Jang Bong Hwan's body was in a vegetative state or comatose. What happened to the real So-Yong soul? Was it in a state of comatose too and was also trapped in Bong Hwan's body? Or was it stuck in the lake? 

 

• Unanswered question: returning to their own body and soul

At the end, it was shown that Bong Hwan's soul goes back to its own body and also with So-Yong. In the last episode, Cheoljong noticed that So-Yong had become more formal. I'm really curious about what happened after that. I wonder if Cheoljong would still love So-Yong the same even though it was So-Yong with Bong Hwan's soul he fell in love with.

rate and end notes

 Overall, Mr. Queen is a wonderful rom-com and historical drama. This is a light-hearted, sweet, and heartwarming drama that really is worth watching for! It has a sweet romance, comedy, drama, intense and action-packed, with a political-elements theme and more.

 I rated Mr. Queen with four stars! 

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