Queen of Reversals (2010)

I began watching this drama for two reasons; I read on a blog that this was actually written quite well and I had just watched Prosecutor Princess and wanted to see more of Park Shi Hoo. At the time it was the first drama I attempted with episodes over 16 to 24. I wasn't disappointed in the least!

Queen of Reversals is one of the best melodramas I've watched. It tells the mature story of a marriage between two people who are struggling to make it work or having to decide to let go. The cast of actors all do a wonderful job. Kim Nam Joo and Park Shi Hoo are stand outs. Kim Nam Joo is wonderful as Hwang Tae Hee. The evolution of her character is a lot fun to watch. Park Shi Hoo is such a scene stealer. He has a great quality and screen presence.

The supporting cast was also well chosen. This was a melodrama but I loved that there were no birth secrets, no one had a deadly disease, no one loved someone they thought might be their sister. It was actually a pretty nice and refreshing change to watch something more real. The plot unfolded very nicely for 31 episodes and there were some real surprises along the way. This also has the funniest bromance between Goo Yong Shik and his secretary...Hilarious.

I ended up loving this show and giving it a 9. A few months later I stand by that rating. If you are looking for a great story about a woman really finding her strength you'll love Queen of Reversals.

Leggi di Più

Yes, it has 31 episodes, yes, it’s quite long, but well, IT’S WORTH IT.

Story: A romance drama which has a lot to offer than what you expected it to be. Believing and redeeming oneself, overcoming obstacles, trusting someone till the end, finding new love after heartaches, there’s more on it. I just loved how the story richly dealt on life’s lessons , it’s inspiring and heartwarming to watch. With a lot of best lines, indeed, the story was well- written. The flow of the story, though long was not dragging, there’s something you’ll want to watch for on the next episode. It’s a melodrama but it’s not too serious, it has its own laughable moments that kept me interested and enjoyed. The romance went well, it’s realistic and pulled my heartstrings, there are sweetest moments but at the same time not too cheesy, in my opinion, it’s rather, mature. I loved how the one I was rooting for from the start did win not only in achieving his goals but also in capturing the heart of the woman whose about to give up because of love. Since they finally got back together , the ending was really happy for me. Aside from that, the pairings I love eventually became couples as well!

Cast/ Acting : Just like the others in here, I initially watched for Park Shi Hoo and of course, I’m not disappointed. The acting was done quite good, I just love him and his smile, whenever he was sad, my heart went on him. Kim Nam Joo was awesome, I love her character in this. Her personality on her role was interesting to watch, and the mix of different emotions she portrays were really done well. Although KNJ was a bit older than PSH, they looked good together with obvious chemistry. The involvement of the supporting casts molded the story even more, no comments on their acting, they played well. I specifically loved Goo Young Shik’ s secretary, he’s the one who constantly entertains me., in simple ways, he can be funny, plus their bromance was cute!

Music: The songs tend to highlight the emotions portrayed by the characters, it’s touching and affects me much. There was a song there that when played, was heart-wrenching, I resist to cry though.

Rewatch Value: I'm not fond of rewatching dramas but it's rewatchable if you want a really heartwarming drama with rich storyline.

Overall: This is a romance melodrama that will give you mixed emotions , definitely worth the watch and a must –see for PSH lovers.

Leggi di Più

I am not a fan of dramas lasting more than 20 episodes. This is due to my experiences with Brilliant Legacy and Boys Over Flowers. They both went on longer than they should have. That's why even though I came across Queen of Reversals several times, I kept passing it up. However, after watching Jung Joon Ho in Iris, I needed to watch other dramas he was in. Therefore I decided to give QOR a try. The first two episodes were messy and confusing. But, after you get over the time jump in the third episode, the drama starts to find its legs.

What makes this drama is cast of different characters. You got the 2 male leads and the 2 female leads. JJH starts off as this immature wishy-washy character that you just want to punch because he is so clueless. By the end of the drama, his character grows into a mature, caring, successful in love and work. Park Shi Hoo doesn't have much as much character growth as JJH but you can see that his acting chops have improved since Prosecutor Princess. This is my first time seeing KNJ in a drama. She wasn't very impressive but she managed to play her role well. CJA from coffee prince did excellent as a vixen. She kind of reminded me of her role in CP though, a bit whiny. Somehow she manages to make the audience like her though in the end (although the cop wasn't a bad choice=( !) We can't forget the supporting cast who make the drama excellent. They all have different personalities and I like that although they aren't the main focus, they stay relevant throughout the entire drama so you can't forget about them.

The last 2 episodes were brilliantly written. Be ready to cry at the end of episode 30. All in all this drama is filled with many lessons so I think everyone should give it a try!

Leggi di Più

I just love this show. Truthfully, I started watching it because of Park Shi Hoo)I waited his appearing so much till the episode three)
But through the whole drama I was attracted by the storylines of other leads. I was really impressed by the acting level of all actors (especially four main leads). There are many thoughtful and wise scenes, there are funny scenes too.
To my mind, It's a story about a mature strong woman who wants to fulfil all her dreams concerning her work, but especially love life. All in all, it's about people who are lost but trying to find themselves, their place in life, work,love.
Try watching it, you'll never regret it if you're searching for some kind of a true touching lovelife story.

Leggi di Più

Queen of Reversals is what you get when the powers that be in Korean broadcasting let a production just be (let the writers develop the characters and story and the directors direct). When the writers of QoR found out the drama was getting an extension (not once but 2x), they began to actually write instead of retreading the same thing. They developed characters and the story. The cast and crew had time to breathe and create one great entertaining almost soap opera like show. QoR was just too much fun to watch. The cast is fantastic. The production top notch! This is one of the few dramas that truly show off Korean talent behind & in front of the camera.

Leggi di Più

31 episodes of an hour each, that is a huge amount of time spent on just one Kdrama right? What if you get bored halfway? What if the ending of the drama doesn't meet your expectations? Fret not! Because I can assure you that Queen of Reversals won't disappoint you.

This may not be the best drama out there but it sure does have many positive qualities that make it both addictive and endearing. Looking for this one strong and independent main female that Korean dramas seem to leave aside? Your prayers have been answered for Hwang Tae Hee is literally a queen. She knows what she wants and what she doesn't, she has pride, she is good-hearted. She is flawed but that makes her even more likable. Actually all the characters feel authentic. Every relationship as well. That is maybe why even if you want Hwang Tae Hee to end up with Goo Yong Shik, you actually wouldn't mind it that much if she were to rekindle her relationship with her husband. There is no manichean portrayal. The portrayal of the daily life of these characters -although obviously focusing mainly on Hwang Tae Hee- is thus simple and you have real life drama. That is to say no misunderstandings that drag for 10 episodes, no main lead finding out he has a cancer and dies leaving his girl crying on his grave, no one falling in love with his long lost sister and thankfully no psycho ex-girlfriend making a scene everytime she is on-screen. This is a simple story that portrays the reversal in Hwang Tae Hee's life and it is refreshing.

The actors did a great job portraying their characters. Even Chae Jung An, which I never could manage to stand was it on Coffee Prince or Cain & Abel, succeeded in making me like -little by little- her shallow-looking character. As for Kim Nam Joo, she was shining here as Hwang Tae Hee (though from time to time I felt like burning her wardrobe down). She managed to make a seemingly haughty ice queen a lovable character, which is not as easy as it sounds.

The soundtrack fits the drama. The tracks are not awe-strucking but you end up liking them nonetheless, maybe even putting three or four of them on your phone because they are catchy or just give you the warm feeling especially on a cold winter day.

Even though time flies while watching QoR, 31 episodes is still a lot of episodes to digest. I loved this drama and I don't regret any second spent watching it, yet it is true that the fact there is no big plot twist, no mystery to undiscover, no epic romance probably makes it harder to rewatch this drama daily.

To conclude, Queen of Reversals is a drama that you should at least see once because it is refreshing and well-written and warm and -bonus point- you have a strong female lead that knows her worth and doesn't let people messing with her.

Leggi di Più

A good story but still not amazing.
PROS:
1-Powerful twists.
2-Happy ending.
3-The comedy element is really good.

CONS:-
1-The scenario is kind of immature and silly.
2-You won't know what happened to the bad guys
3-Can't feel the chemistry between the leads.
4-Although there's swings in the story between the happiness and the sadness still were not enough for me.
5-Could've be less than 31 episodes.

It's good drama like average drama and I see the rating 7.6/10 reflects perfectly what it presents.

Advice don't make the highest priority to this drama especially it's 31 ep. but still not that good.

Hope that helps :-)

Leggi di Più

Why I watched it: Park Shi Hoo; despite certain scandalous events. He’s still extra good looking and I know that makes me somewhat shallow, but oh well.

Was it worth it: Not really. Dragged on to a point where even Park Shi Hoo wasn’t saving it.

What I liked the most: Strong female lead. Romantic relationship between female lead and male co-lead. A few good moments from mid to late in the drama. The romantic story line took an unexpected (and relieving) turn.

What I disliked the most: Male lead character. He made a lot of stupid decisions, whined a lot and was just downright unlikable. One sad moment made me cry. Also I tend to want to smack the shit out of characters that are as smug as some of these characters were.

Moment Meter: 4/10 – Not many “oh snap” or breath-holding moments. One or two good ones, but for as long as it was there could have been more.

Other thoughts: Sorry if this is one of your favs, but there are too many other stellar dramas out there to compare this one to causing it to fall a little flat for me. Not necessarily time wasted, but that’s only because I was multi-tasking while watching. Probably would have been better if it were the standard drama length.

Leggi di Più

It could have been better if shorter with more summarzing plot

The drama overall was not bad but too long with so many unnecessary scenes that if it was removed could have made the series more worth watchable.

The life of a married female lead who got cheated by her husband and ended divorced, is not the first tackled in this drama but what made it lighter and not provocative the character of husband who wasn't the party who cause the cheating, it is just his first love the second female lead who was so abominable but give up after she realized he couldn't forget the first female after divorce.

The first half of drama was so dull but more funny than the second part which made a little more worthy by being more serious.

The second male lead seems the eccentric and reckless person but when he meet the female lead and known her more closely at work by being in the same team, he did changed in another person holding onto to making especially when he was the first who catch the FML and SFL cheating on the FFL, wanting to protect her from more being hurting.

What give the drama the value that the SML was rejected several times by FFL and not giving up her though his position being as a director was shaken when the rumors spread in the company what made the FFL being fired make the SML holding into her more tightly.

The SML was so pathetic and weak character regarding being raised without his sick mother and being lonely not in a good relationship with his half brother and father but make you symathize with him doing a good job in acting always needing the FFL by his side.

The FFL going back and forth in her relationship with SML was infuriating but reasonable due pression from all the surroundings who were against them making her escaping at each bumping into each others.

I think when they made them separated as the FFL will be remarrying the FML but not working well and making the SML give up her but knowing lately that didn't happen, rushing to retrieve her back is the most exciting part as the fair end.
What the more rational that other leads had been together as the SFL had a crush in FML for several years.

The chemistry between leads is not bad but the story overall could have been more shorter and about 16 episodes as more usual korean drama are would be the best and earning more score overall points.

Leggi di Più

The drama that introduced me to Park Shi Hoo :D <3

Ahem... I'm not a fan of dramas with Married couples as Main characters but then . . . this movie changed my view. The story tackles obstacles we face at work, in life, in love, marriage, and divorce. It focuses on the reality of life that we face every day.

It's funny, it's cute, sweet and Bittersweet, it's also Inspirational in every way-- like how a lot of the characters grew individually and used their strength to rise as a team despite being looked down by others. Like how an Insensitive Boss turned to a true Leader. like how a broken heart can find true love, and (it sounds weird) a divorce leading to Happiness. It gives the viewer overflowing life lessons. And I swear its one of the best realistic dramas out there.

What makes it worth watching is that there are a Lot of Inspirational Scenes... like a lot I couldn't count. Really, a lot of scenes are heartwarming and full of lessons we all can relate to.

"A good man meeting and coming together with a good woman may not always result in good marriage life." ~Tae Hee and maybe the person you first thought you're going to marry may not always be your destiny.

Leggi di Più