Queen Cheorin (2020)

Great comedic actress, ultimately a mess

What if a modern man landed straight in the middle of your standard Joseon era plot, but into the body of the queen instead of the king?

The actress here (Shin Hye Sun) is really amazing, and plays all the bodily quirks, humor and slapstick in a truly wonderful way. The first 10 episodes sail along on her sheer acting ability plus some love triangle intrigue. The male actors that form the love triangle are a bit one note, but they show good connection with the actress.

It quickly became clear that no one knew how to end the plot, and the writers just stuck to the same themes and gimmicks of the first 10 episodes. The rest of the actors and plot devices are somewhat mediocre, and so everytime the main actress is off screen it was hard to pay attention.

By episode 17, I was skipping rapidly (I did finish it). Music was fine, I would not rewatch. I grade on other criteria:

Complex Themes: 6
Love can come in unexpected ways. Embracing what life throws at you with sincerity can be rewarding. The gender and body dynamics are not explored much at all.

Character Growth: 7.5
The male chef in Kim So Yong's body goes from being dismissive and treating it all as a game, to sincerely wanting to help the people he encounters, and feeling more open to emotions. It was an expected transformation, but still decently done.

Complex Women/Relationships Between Women: 7
There's lots of women characters but besides the main character, they are all somewhat caricatures with very thin backstories. Kim So Yong's rival was the only other female character that had a bit of depth.

Cinematography/Production Budget: 7
Competent, in the way most modern dramas are. But, the sets, costumes etc. all feel like you've seen them twenty times before. The fight scenes are fairly uninspired.

Leggi di Più

A melhor comédia romântica do ano?

Entrou com certeza para um dos melhores dramas que eu já assisti. Sou uma amante de dramas e filmes de comédia e esse drama está perfeito. Em TODOS os episódios eu consegui me divertir bastante assistindo. E pra ser sincera, depois dos episódios especiais eu sinto cheiro de uma segunda temporada e no momento NECESSITO para sobreviver.

Não é meu primeiro dramas com os principais, e posso dizer que eles mudaram a imagem que eu tinha sobre eles (que era boa também) para melhor.

Shin Hye Sun teve uma performance incrível, ultrapassou todos os sentimentos pela sua atuação maravilhosa magnificamente. Eu ri, chorei, gritei de raiva, me decepcionei junto dela. Acredito que nesse drama ela se superou, conseguido colocar tudo de sí. Nesse trabalho ela juntou todos os seus anos de experiência em um só. E aqueles olhares com raiva na hora da vingança? Uau, apenas. Incrível.

Kim Jung Hyun, um ator versátil que conseguiu superar todas as minhas expectativas. Eu já conhecia ele por Waikiki e Crash Landing On You e sei o quão bom atuando em comédias ele é. Ver todas as cenas de ação, seus picos de raiva, o olhar vingativo e mais.. Foi inovador e surpreendente para mim. E eu amei, apenas amei ver o quão valorizado seus trabalhos estão sendo. Por que ele é um ator foda.

Eu não esperava muito do drama por que recentemente muitos dramas novos de "comédia" tem sido bem diferente para mim. Mas ainda bem que assisti esse, não me arrependo de jeito nenhum.

Eu estava preocupada com o final, por que muitas pessoas estavam insatisfeitas e refazendo o final no youtube. Então pensei que ia ter morte dos principais ou algo do tipo.

Foi um final bom, entendo o Bong Hwan voltar para os tempos modernos. Afinal, sempre acreditei que ele tinha voltado ao passado apenas para ajudar o Rei.

E pensei que assim como eu muitas pessoas tinham percebido que as não era só o Bong Hwan no corpo da So Yong, estavam os dois ali e eles trocavam e seus sentimentos se misturavam. Mas vi tanta gente falando da Rainha, que pensei até que eu estava tendo uma visão errada kkkkk

E apenas vou citar o meu ódio e pena pelo primo lá, o vermelho. Cara, se ela negou na sua cara milhares de vezes que gosta de você POR QUE insiste? Inconveniente e chato, porém não mereceu a morto que teve, afinal do início ao fim mesmo do jeito chato dele ele protegeu a rainha do início ao fim. Era um cara legal, merecia mais.

Court Lady Choi, A MELHOR. Todas as expressões dela me fizeram chorar litros de rir. Quando ela gritava "MAMA!", eu ria pra caramba.

Eu penso que uma segunda temporada com o mesmo elenco nos tempos modernos não seria loucura, seria um presente dos céus para nós. Assim como muitoa dramas de época onde envolvem viajem no tempo tem. E o final dos episódios especiais me deu a sensação que TALVEZ no futuro tenhamos algo do tipo e eu estarei aqui assistindo e apoiando.

E pra finalizar, a melhor ost.
BONG HWAN-NAAAA~~~

Leggi di Più

I can't give this show a small grade bc it brought me a LOT of joy, laughs and heart-warming moments. I tried not to ship the main couple because I knew this could happen in the end, but the writers made such an effort to make us ship them, and root for their journey that there was no other way. In the end, this show was about the love story of two men and the writers were too coward to give it the ending it deserved, it comes across as unfair both to the characters as to the viewers. Nevertheless, I'd definitely recommend watching this show since all 19 episodes before the finale are a must watch. The characters are all highly interesting and nicely built and Shin Hye Sun makes the watch worth it! Unfortunately, the ending may give a bitter taste on your mouth.

Leggi di Più

Extremely entertaining and fresh but an ending that might leave you dissatisfied

Firstly, if you do decide to see this drama, please bare in mind that you should not watch it seriously and be bothered by the logical repercussions of certain actions depicted. I actually wanted to give it a 10 purely on the basis of the ENTERTIANMENT VALUE this drama has but I did not due to my disheartened viewpoint regarding its ending.

Reasons you should watch:
-The Queen (Bong-Hwan) and the King understanding one another and slowly falling in love.
-The perfectly timed comedy that save all the serious moments too from getting overly-dramatic.
-The support cast add a lot to the story and are full of characters with distinct personalities.
-Never not entertaining- there is no dull movement and I would wait each week for this drama to take me by surprise.
-Brilliant modern day references incorporated in the Joseon Era.
-Last but not the least, THE ACTING. Shin Hye Sun does emerge as the star playing two characters with different genders simultaneously but Kim Jung-Hyun does an equally good job! Scenes were they are together- none overpower the other and they seamlessly deliver powerful performances. The entire support cast does an excellent job too.

My one and only complaint:
-The ending. I do not want to include spoilers in the review and so I won’t expand on this but it sort of undermines the purpose of the journey BH and CJ shared as CJ fell in love with BH as the Queen.

The ending might not sit well with you just as it did not with me but I do see people interpreting this as a happy one as well. However, I would still go on to say the show was refreshing, entertaining, comic, surprisingly romantic and worth a watch!

Leggi di Più

Finally a fresh, less-homophobic take on the body-swap genre

What made me love Mr Queen was how the romance between Cheoljong and the Queen (who isn't really the Queen) crept up on me while watching the show. When I first started it, I didn't think I'd last long because I usually prefer romances. But then... BAM! They took me by surprise and it was delightful!
Never had I watched a K-drama that had dared this much in relation to gender and sexuality, so I immediately fell in love with the drama.
However, it didn't come without its' flaws.
I didn't expect a happy ending. Eventually, Hwan Bong would have to leave everything and everyone behind, of course. And that's just what happened.
The expected "no-homo"ness of it all resulted in an ending where they try to trick you into thinking it was a happy one. I'd prefer to think that the interactions between Cheoljong and the Queen with Hwan Bong in her body were all genuine, it makes the story much more interesting and powerful. You can't just sit there and tell me that it wasn't all real and that Cheoljong fell in love with the Queen, actually. Not only that, but that Hwan Bong's feelings for Cheoljong only came from the Queen's soul that lived inside her body.
Still, it felt like the creators pushed for it, but I bet they couldn't make the ending a more satisfactory one due to censoring reasons.
The ending had to be at least bittersweet for it to work (considering that Hwan Bong *had* to go back), but I wish the bond between Hwan Bong and Cheoljong had been spelled out better for the viewer and recognised for what it was.

Besides that, I have to congratulate Shin Hye-sun for her portrayal of the Queen, this is by far the best performance I've ever seen in a drama. She ate and left no crumbs. I also enjoyed Jung Hyun Kim as the male lead, I really like despite of all the controversies lol.

Leggi di Più

Smooth Sailing Plot So Grab Your Popcorn!!... Mine!!

Mr. Queen was a breath of fresh air because at that point, I had lost my interest in Kdramas and was moving onto Cdramas.
Surprisingly, Mr. Queen got me hooked from the start of the drama to the end, it was a smooth journey. Most Kdramas become tiring to watch by Episode 12, 13 or 14 but I didn't want this drama to end.
I have to applaud our Main Female lead for her exceptional and professional acting skills, it really impressed me.
All other casts worked really hard and put their best. There was almost no character I could dislike even the supposedly antagonists.
The OST is also good.
I really enjoyed the drama and it's a big go ahead for me.

Leggi di Più

Comic, well acted, clever , a must to watch!

Ok you need to watch this! It is hilarious, super funny, great acting, great facial expression, intrigued political schemes, a bit of drama... Yes, it also makes you cry a bit... well at the very end.. but everything just turned up fine... with a great and satisfactory finale. This is my second Kdrama as i usually watch Cdrama... but i think it got me converted to korean productions now! The FL is amazing, fantastic, she can impersonate a man in a female body so naturally, jeez made me laugh out loud a few times...
Every episode is worth watching, you got very strong friendships and unrequired love, which was dealt with in a mature and realistic way. I have appreciated that people were direct, straightforward. Nice!
On my list of re watching when i want something funny 😁 😂 😀
The second lead for me was the chef, and the court lady and those two were so well matched and super funny! Ahahahahhaha i LOVE THEM! Ah, also, please don't get me started on the way the king laughter! Oh my god! A strong, deep voice, nearly a sarcastic one, dome with a serious look... he was taking the piss, big time! BRAVO!

And... I also must comment on the flirting side... the kissing... oh my oh my... love that kissing! Initially I didnt particuarly like the king , both the actor and the character... just to realise later on that i found him super sexy.. and every scene this couple was spending together... was hilarious! Add this kdrama to your list to watch, you won't be disappointed

Leggi di Più

If u r reading this review to decide whether u should watch it or not so my suggestion is watch it, it’s a good drama.

Things I liked-

1. Casting was perfect
2. All actors acted very well especially the actress who played queen.
3. Cinematography was good.

Things I didn’t like-

I thought the show was a little draggy. In some episodes same thing was happening again and again, it was entertaining but after a certain point I felt bored and I skipped some unnecessary scenes. If they made 17-18 ep instead of 20 ep then it does not make any difference to story.

Minor spoiler-

If u watching this because of BL then don’t watch it because it’s not BL. I could say go princess go was sort of BL but this is not.

Leggi di Più

WHAT A GREAT SHOW! Loved the ending too, it was perfect!

Our Queen Shin Hae Sun was ABSOLUTELY AMAZING AND INCREDIBLE. Her mannerisms, her acting, her reactions, her voice, her humour, her aura, everything was perfect! She made the role iconic in every way possible. Her iconic dancing scene alone was worth watching the whole drama, to be very honest.

Our King, Kim Jung Hyun, I've already seen him in two shows (CLOY, and School 2017) and he was brilliant as always. He was the perfect balance of dumb yet mysterious. I didn't like the arc where he was kinda involved with two women at once, and tbh I got the romantic angle but it did make me very uncomfortable that our straight male lead had to be physically and romantically involved with the King butttt but the actual leads looked so cute together! (I wish I could've enjoyed it as a gay/bromance type thing but I just couldn't).

Also I LOVED Kim Byung In AND Hong Byul Gam SO MUCH.
Kim Byung In was SO SEXY in his relentless love for the Queen, and he was steadfast and determined and didn't change his feelings till the very end! Hong Byul Gam was SO DAMN HOT whenever he had any action scenes, and he had a confidence in the show which was damn SEXY. Also he really reminds me of Oh Jung Se.

Also the Court Lady Choi, she was hilarious. Her arc with the Royal Chef was funny as hell.

The villain arc in the show could have been better, but I LOVED watching Kim Jwa Geun as the 'real power behind the Kim clan'. The other villains were forgettable lol.
However the story would've been great in a 16 episode format. The episodes were perfect till about 14, afterwards it dragged till 20.

Overall the show was fresh, thoughtful, all the characters had GREAT comedic timing, and the show was overall a delight to watch.

Leggi di Più

Perfection in Drama: Mr Queen!

I've been watching dramas since 2011 technically, and this one is close to perfection. This drama sets a benchmark in the world of K-DRAMAS. It offers everything that you want in a drama - political drama, mystery, romance, comedy (no end to it) - skillfully delivered through great acting, OST, cinematography! MR QUEEN is a standout for years past and yet to come.

Special Mention for:
♡ Shin Hye Sun as Mr Queen: She is such a talent! Have been seeing her as a support actress for so long, this is the drama that will catapult her to a leading lady. It is her time to shine and how! Her dialogue delivery, facial expressions, body language bring out the duality and conflict that she is experiencing as a man in woman's body. This role was made for her!

♡ Kim Jung Hyun as King Cheol Jong: This was my first drama of his and what a talent. The way he switches from acting like a fool to being cold/cunning and then bringing in the warm/kind personality is masterful.

♡ Supporting Characters: Court Lady Cho, Hong Yeon, Kim Byung In, Kim Hwan, Grand Queen Dowager Sunwon, and Man Bok add significant value to the story. They support the main characters while establishing their own memorable presence.

♡ Cinematography: The clothes, set, direction, pace, and cliffhangers are all tastefully done, making you click the next episode automatically.

♡ OST: 10/10. From comic songs to romantic ballads and action scores, the OST is a masterpiece and deserves a place in your music playlist.

This is an iconic drama that you should watch and recommend to others forever! I know I will #BongHwanA

Leggi di Più

Well-deserved hype

Story: The plot is straight to the point. A king wants power to eradicate corruption & evil doings in the palace and have his revenge as well. The key to enjoy this drama is not to expect anything and it’s what I did, that’s why it was very entertaining for me. First few episodes were highly entertaining, the middle was a bit flat while the rest were good enough for you to be curious to know what will happen next. The drama will get you hooked first that you have no choice but to find out how it will end.

Acting: They were all amazing and perfectly casted, even the side characters. I think I only noticed one acting that was not passable and it was one of the court maids who were gossiping but overall, they were all phenomenal actors.

Music: Ahhh, the music(not all osts but effects) is like a mix of mission impossible & ocean’s series. When it’s time to cry, the songs were just perfect to cry on.

Rewatch value: Definitely the funny parts. Those laugh out loud ones.

Overall: It was 8.5-9 for me. The politics issue was just right and there were some unpredictable moves from the queen and king. However, there were some episodes that I found boring and some humor of the side characters weren’t that hilarious. Despite that, I still recommend this drama and will be one of the top kdramas this pandemic years.

Leggi di Più