A sweet but rushed love story

Let me start this by saying that the chinese original is probably one of my all-time favourite chinese dramas, and being a mostly kdrama fan, i had high expectations for this remake. I think anyone that watched both versions would agree that the kdrama is a disappointment, and is simply a less-dramatic, more innocent and rushed version, showing only the highlights of the original story.
Expectations and comparisons aside, this is not the type of drama that i would enjoy. It felt pointless, with everything mostly centering around the main leads innocent love story. And sadly, i didn't feel much chemistry between them, especially with the endless time skips that made most advancements magically happen. It didn't feel like there was enough build up.
The acting was definitely not very lacking, but i just didn't understand the characters. Most relationships, especially the second lead's fondness of the FL, felt forced and unnatural.
Nevertheless, watching this lightheartedly made it an overall cute and entertaining watch.

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beats any other drama in being slow-paced.

I only asked one question throughout this whole drama: how is it so highly-rated?
I am not too picky with dramas, but i almost dropped this multiple times and only didn't so i could see if it gets better. so i waited. and waited. and it finally somewhat picked up the pace halfway through or so. enduring the painfully boring first half was somehow worth it by the end, but only because this was something i could watch while working on the side.
the sounds and photography were off (why was the screen always foggy), and the acting was exaggerated at times, but not by all actors. i usually like the fl actress but her character never really becomes confident. her voice is always too low, which is frustrating although it improves by the end. i honestly didnt feel any chemistry at the start either.
What i enjoyed most was the friendship, especially between the two fls, and the second leads story. honestly shouldnt have continued this drama, but its not too bad overall if i count my enjoyment towards the end. 7.5/10

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Starts slow, ends perfectly.

So glad i listened to the reviews and gave this a chance.
This is a strange drama. most dramas start out perfect, fast-paced and gripping, making you immediately fall in love but then have a disappointing second-half and a horrible ending. This show is the exact opposite. It started out slow, boring, and frankly i didnt think waiting was worth it, but im so glad i did.
6 episodes in, the pace starts to pick up, the comedy finally starts actually being funny, and then 12 eps in it became one of my favourite shows once everyone starts working together with a Vincenzo-type teamwork. ive fallen in love with kim nam gil after this, and all the other actors, even supporting, did such a great job! i would definitely come back to see them again for a second season.

the first quarter 7.5/10
the second half 9/10

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Consistently entertaining and unique!

This is perhaps the first time that I'm not even slightly hesitant that a drama deserves 10/10. 2020 dramas proved to me that most kdramas, no matter how good, lack consistency. And frankly, I was slowly losing interest in them. But Mr. Queen on the other hand was the definition of being an effortlessly fun and engaging watch from start to its very last minute. Even better, the fun never took away from the drama's seriousness in its plot and emotions, making it impossible to not get attached to the characters and their stories.

The acting was also never lacking, even by the supporting characters. Shin Hye Sun doesn't need to do more to prove how versatile she is as an actress. Even just within this drama, she perfectly portrayed the two contrasting roles given to her. First, the heartbroken and innocent So Yong who is about to marry the King which doesn't love her back, and the hilariously outspoken 'Mr Queen' who is Jang Bong Hwan, a chef from modern times whose soul somehow gets trapped in So Yong's body. Jang Bong Hwan has to live as a noble woman in the palace, marrying a dissatisfied 'puppet king' planted by the So Yong's family, which was played by Kim Jung Hyun.

The above was a recipe for misunderstandings and uncertainty between the Queen and King, so I was quite unsure of how their relationship would progress but the writer outsmarted my thinking every time.

Also, I see how the ending could have ruined it for some, but I thought it made perfect sense as the drama justified it with proper explanation on the soul's control in So Yong's body.

Its been a while since I was so entertained, all-in-all, Mr. Queen is a flawless watch, no matter what genre you enjoy!

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A Wholesome Trip of Emotional Growth

Travelling is really a test of patience when it comes to any relationship. Now putting together seven strangers in unfamiliar conditions in foreign countries and having them live and experience every single day together for 20+ days? That sounds chaotic. But let me tell you, the DHTR crew have gone through literal rain, hail, snow, and storms to bring to life a genuinely heart-warming show following the days of the 'Big Dipper Seven'.

Besides the mesmerising views of both nature's and man-made beauty from each of Saudi Arabia, Croatia, and Iceland, the travel is made a thousand times more meaningful by the masterfully cast actors. I have never seen a group of people so harmonious, each of them with visible personal growth by the end of the show. You will find yourself comparing their chemistry to not just friendship, but to how a family should be. And not only is every person in the cast simply a joy, the editing, directing, music,.. are all too perfect. Anyone can tell how hard it must have been for the production crew to get such an incredible, meaningful result. It's only a variety show, but i dont think anything has ever so powerfully spoken to me like it did, being not just a fun ride of people who get along, but an eye-opening story of learning to be understanding of others and truthfully being yourself.

Anyone who chooses to watch this show of sunshine will truly be making one of the best choices they could make, coming from someone who usually doesn't watch other variety shows due to their scripted humor, but ended up loving the natural enjoyment from watching almost a 100 videos of content related to DHTR and would watch a life-long show following the cast. 10000/10

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Realistic, *Almost* to the point of being boring.

As a student who also graduated in 2020, this was very relatable, although the lockdown and fear was even more intense than shown, but maybe the situation in China was contained more efficiently compared to other countries. It's not particularly a drama i would recommend due to its heavy, realistic theme, but the drama of families with last-year students at the time of the covid outbreak really did get me invested and each story was quite moving and well acted. The least realistic thing must have been the parents admitting their faults and apologizing after messing up 😂. A shame that it doesn't have decent english subs out tho, i tried online video auto-translators and they made more sense compared to the iQiyi subs.
Almost rated this 8/10, but overall, it is a decent watch with especially great actors.

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Fantastic, even for a non-sport fan, yet CRIMINALLY underrated. *slight spoiler*

Hu Xianxu. This guy is definitely a top-tier actor. Not gonna lie- although i don't usually start a drama for a certain actor, starting Pegasus was 100% just to see him acting again after Hikaru no Go. So while there were already high hopes for the acting, which proved to be great all around, i did not expect to like this too much as a mostly-romance watcher. But man, with every episode, every race, I'm sure you will start to dream of drifting along tight tracks and matching the speed of their cars just as i now have a new-found love for racing.

While the racing parts are sure to satisfy, the body-switching/time-travel on the other hand... kinda tricky. With multiple huh moments and conveniently adding rules for the sake of the plot, i feel it wasn't done too well. We could have done without it, but 2027 veteran racer Zhang Chi was the catalyst for most of the progress for 2022 Lin Zhendong to steadily and deeply fall back in love with racing and his new home, the 'Speeding Team'. Annoyingly enough though, the final episode was made to basically cancel out the entire story, especially for Lin Zhendong, to avoid China's censorship on such supernatural ideas. Quite pointless really, but i have learned to not see final episodes till the end after watching 'The Day of Becoming You', which has a similar ending.

There is a much smaller focus on the body-switch after around episode 12, which took away from the essence of the original story but added a lot too, although i admit it made the show less light-heartedly fun, and there really wasn't enough closure or even enough development between 2027 Zhang chi and 2022 Lin Zhendong. I see it as a wasted opportunity which was much more essential compared to the awkward attempt at adding a tiny hint of romance in the story. But honestly, the cars on the track, the excitement each race brings, the energy Lin Zhendong's race to his dream brings to the viewers, it's all just too fun to pass this show, and just for the adrenaline rush, i wish i could go through it all again.

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Thrilling scenes, corny writing

One thing I'm sure of is this has got some insane keep-you-on-the-edge action scenes. but pretty much everything else feels mediocre; the acting, the plot, the writing.. all very unnatural to the point where it's noticeable. especially what happened with the fl.. i dont undestand why they felt they had to replace her with another awkwardly placed female character when the initial trio were just done. 4 main characters were just written off 2 episodes before the finale, and the show lost its purpose which is such a shame honestly.
overall fun really, but mostly only because of the fights.

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Not as exciting as I thought it would be, but still great.

Perhaps it's because of the high expectations I had before starting this, but this was not the masterpiece I expected it to be because of the reviews. It is definitely a perfectly romantic and heart-fluttering drama but not for those who prefer something more fast-paced.
It started out with the story of him helping her out for a game tournament during his break, which is a unique and sort of engaging storyline but after that not much was going on besides their romantic life, which i found cute but overdone as it went on for the full last quarter of the drama. The first half did have my attention, but i had to skip a lot of boring scenes (including most of the male lead's work), which made me wonder if i should keep watching. Overall not a bad drama, just wish it didnt entirely revolve around their romance.

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Nerve-wracking and exciting but very underwhelming ending

Slight spoiler?-
The first 8 episodes were really fun to watch, last 4 episodes got progressively boring - also morals where?
Acting by the supporting characters wasnt the best although gi osung and seo ji hoon did great even towards the end when their characters were barley making sense (in terms of motives).
This isn't a romance drama but the fl and ml had great teamwork and chemistry, and their gradual friendship was natural which made me root for them to get together. But somehow, the moments that were meant to be romantic at the end felt awkward - the whole drama just wasnt wrapped up well which is really disappointing because i was actually really enjoying it and looking forward for new eps.
Fun overall. solid 8/10

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