Hilarious - dealing with gender identity crisis
This drama was hilarious. Jang Bong Hwan, a casanova and chef at the South Korean Presidential Palace fell into the water and was transported back in time into the body of a newly wed queen of the Joseon period, Queen Kim So Yong. She committed suicide throwing herself into a lake in the palace.This sparked off a series of humorous events when Jang faced an identity crisis being a man in the body of a woman - like having 'her' period and getting pregnant. He was infatuated with the King's favourite concubine and tried to seduce her. Given the two women were rivals and he was in a woman's body, all his advances was futile, of course, and very funny.
It was hilarious when King Cheol Jong tried to be intimate with his 'queen' and Jang tried his best to get away. Jang went berserk when the King claimed that they had an intimate wedding night when he remembered nothing of that sort as he was drunk. At the same time, there was a power struggle between the King and the Grand Queen Dowager, the regent who was from the same Kim clan as the Queen. As 'enemies' from different camps, the King and Queen were also suspicious of each other.
What I like about this drama?
1. It was hilarious and I laughed at every episode, although some of the jokes were a little snapstick.
2. Excellent chemistry between the lead actor and actress.
3. The lead actress was impressive acting a 'tomboyish queen' who was actually Jang with his rough modern ways.
4. The lead actor was equally good at acting the hypocrite.
5. Although clearly fictitious, it was very convincing.
6. Although time travel had become a common theme, this story was quite creative. The writer had picked a short-lived king and made him into a successful character who had changed history.
7. The period architecture and costumes and backdrop and cinematography were great.
8. The entire cast did an excellent job with no weak spot.
What I dislike about this drama? Not much, but if I am to nitpick, it would be the following:
1. The music befitted the comedy and the funny scenes but there was not much melodies.
2, The fighting scenes were good but not that well choreographed and a bit simplistic. But I like that they did not drag on to lengthen the drama.
So overall I would highly recommend this drama.
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Good but could’ve been better
This drama was so so refreshing and entertaining, I normally don’t watch period dramas but this one is so unique I had to watch it. I liked it overall but felt like some episodes were just “fillers” I feel like you could skip a couple episodes and go to the last two without any issue. Would’ve loved to see more of the implications in the present time of the decisions the king made, and where was the queen’s soul this whole time? how did Joseon change with the king’s new ideas? what was of the life of the chef after he returned to his body? So many questions and stories that could’ve been answered without extending the amount of episodes.Was this review helpful to you?
Really was wondering how that was going to play out
Ok, so I always scroll through the top ranked and popular dramas and this has been in that list and it’s popped up many times for me on Netflix. The little preview on Netflix made it look funny so I was interested recently and I cheated and read some comments/reviews which made me a little nervous but psh! I should not have in the end I was happy/satisfied with the ending.Overall this kept me entertained and I loved almost every all the characters at one point even like some of those nemesis characters at one point I liked. Ok there’s a few that can’t just pew pew go away I hate chu. But overall most characters were loveable and silly. This was a very humorous and silly drama!
For 20 episodes I was actually able to finish it from start to finish with no breaks to watch something else huge gaps which means something for me!!! I have a short attention span idk I killed to many brain cells.
The ending!! So some people say they aren’t happy. I can understand but I’ve also gotten to endings that kill me. So I also am very content with this ending. Because who does the king think he is with? And whose feelings and memories are also influencing the actions of the person he ended up with. Who does the king love? Both of them really. And that’s my vague little thought 💭 it’s a happy ending so I’m happy :)
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Hard Time-Healer
As we know we are still facing hard time until now, this drama came like an oasis, like healing and giving a reminder, that laugh sometime is a cure for all of your situation ❤️Not lying that the historical fact bothering me, but at the end their performance steal the viewer's heart.
With this drama came to end, its feel like you are left behind by your best entertainer person in your hardest time :)
Bless all the actors, production team, and all the people involve in this production.
Your hard work worth to remember in this hard time. Thank you for especially giving back my laughing time :D
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Delightfully Comical
When I picked this drama to watch, I did not read any reviews. I was just intrigued by the Title. The promo photo looks like a period drama, yet the first episode is in modern times.What I like about the drama?
First it is Shin Hae Sun - really great acting, though in the eyes of the king she is a woman, her acting is that of a man trapped in a woman's body. I really could not stop laughing as she is no ordinary queen - very candid, open, expressive and perhaps her maids had thought of her as crazy and vulgar. Though you may look at her as distressed at her situation, her interaction with all her maids and even the king made it even more comical.
2nd, King Cheol Jong could not seem to control his queen. Even if this is a period drama, So Young and Cheol Jong seem to be equals in many ways. Perhaps the king was really perplexed to see her behavior.
Court Lady Choi was really fantastic, together with another maid who constantly try to control the situation. Their loyalty and love for the queen are undeniable. Then comes the royal chef who is so insecure with the queen. These supporting characters added to the comic leads.
Though we see a political struggle and violence, overall, the drama is easy and light to watch. And in the end, the order of things both in the Joseon era and in the modern times had some justice and peace.
Though we may see other dramas with time travel or body swap, this one is way up that category. Love the series, love the actor, won't change anything at all.
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This review may contain spoilers
Your non-conventional Sageuk Rom-Com
Had been so long since i finished a 20 eps Korean drama and I will say it was super worth it? While I won't say the whole drama was perfect (few loops holes & rushed ending) but I thoroughly enjoyed the series during it's run :)While it explored the dark areas of the political agendas, all the characters provided great comic relief (aka Kim jwa Guen & GQD). It was smart to infuse time travel traits as it means antics and laughter when people from the past can't understand the modern lingos. It was even funnier with the touch of modern food & beauty LOL. What was special was a male soul entering a Queen's body. While it was disturbing at first, I think I was able to get past it with the great directing and stellar acting from the leads.
STORY
Before I touch on the things I liked + my own interpretation of the ending, I probably want to list down some points I did not like/ felt rushed:
- Hwajin x Cheoljong: It felt kinda weird because the King had liked HJ for a long time (though it was because he mistook her for Soyong during the childhood trauma trope) and moved on rather quickly to the Queen suddenly? The story does suggest King's change of heart was of course due to his realization of his childhood sweetheart / peculiar Queen behavior, and the change in HJ due to her jealousy. I get it was for drama development, but I still feel like there should be more screen time between the 2 to justify this change of heart.
-Hwajin's Redemption Arc: While she isn't the main villain in the series, she does have a great redemption at the end. It's good, but it felt kind of abrupt for me? Her sudden change/ realization that she can't be compared to the Queen...
-HY's Love Triangle: So she rejected Kim Hwan, so was there any progress with Inspector Hong? They just dropped this subplot after the rejection LOL
-*Sobong's Soul: I had not finished watched the spinoff which supposedly will help viewers understand the ending better, but I doubt the reason the Bonghwan's soul entered Soyong's body was explained? I think this was also probably a big reason why there are mixed reactions to the ending with Soyong x King. But it was still a satisfying ending for me if I were to intepret it my own way (continue below). Also, they did not explain what triggered this soul entering gimmick as well?
-Bonghwan's life: The ending was too rushed? Obviously BH has feelings for CJ now that he had returned, but he seemingly got over everything at the end? After all he has been through?
*ENDING INTEPRETATION
So in the end, Bonghwan returns to his world, while Soyong had awaken herself in the body. She lives happily with Cheoljong, and others who obviously saw her change from before.
Many felt like BH did most of the job in the romance between the King & Queen. I feel the same, but I will interpret the ending this way:
There is definitely a link between Queen & Bonghwan, and since no explanation were given, I will just take it as reincarnated souls/ parts of the same souls. What linked their souls was maybe the brink of death etc that cause the soul lapse to happen (if anyone watch Love Destiny - thai drama, you are probably more receptive to such explanations).
For Soyong's personality and who the King truly loves, here's my own explanation: Using my soul explanation above, I will say Soyong & Bonghwan are essentially the same soul*, but Soyong & Bonghwan and extreme ends. So at the start with the depress Queen persona, she tried ending her life because of the familial pressure & how she doesn't enter the King's eye even when they felt in love at first sight (from spinoff) just because she is a Kim. So her suicide kinda trigger another persona in her, aka Bonghwan whom happens to be at the brink of death (just think of it like Oh My Ghost! / Kill Me Heal Me). While Soyong's depress persona was triggered, her "defense mechanism" aka BH who happens to leave his body (while its recuperating) and enter her soul since there were linked*. This also explains why SY & BH personalities were like extreme ends? Just think of it like bipolar/ defense mechanism for personality changes. All this while, I believe SY & BH co-existed in Queen's body, just that while SY's soul was trying to recover, BH trait stays dormant. So at the end, BH essentially helped the Queen recover and stayed true the final personality we see in the last episode, as a mix of BH & SY. If any of you watched Oh! My Ghost (Shin Hye Sun was in it too LOL), I think it is not hard to understand that this was what the writer was trying to show at the end. So essentially, King loved SY & BH whom are both a part of the Queen at the end - SY was love at first sight (the spinoff), BH helped him throw aside his Kim stereotypes and embrace SY truly.
ACTING
Actually the whole male soul in female Queen trope felt disturbing to me at first because it is like spiritually BL lol, but i must say SHS X KJH nailed their roles? I did watched SHS in a couple of series, and i really love how natural her acting was??? I only watched KJH in CLOY, but I am so surprised with his acting as the King?? As far as i know, sageuk dialect is so difficult? And he has to master all the emotions & incorporate it in his lines? (okay fyi, i think King's way of speech is more difficult than normal saguek characters) so i am impressed? Plus their chemistry was awesome and the acting was so intense and on point that I could look past everything and enjoyed the series.
All the characters were cute, Court Lady Choi and Royal Head Chef, the bamboo forest couple LMAO.
Grand Queen Dowager was funny too lmao, she can do a Joseon mukbang spinoff man together with her court lady hahhaa
And Kim Hwan was so cute, even though I felt he wasn't much of a value-add to the story until the last episode?
Prince YP, yes i was so worried he will turn evil because he loved HJ, but thank god he did not. It was a open ending for him and HJ, but i think they make a good fit, i will just believe they eventually end up together!
All in all, this series was fun. It will be great to rewatch this some day. It had really been a long time since i completed a Sageuk (probably 2 years ago) so this was really good enough imo!
At last, can we get SHS & KJH in a modern drama??? :)
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This review may contain spoilers
High Quality Comedy
What a hilarious show! Only two dramas with historical set ever made it to my watchlist, and this is one of it. This show has an impressive mixture of comedy and romance, in an unusual setup: Joseon era. Even with all evil plans scattering all around the palace, you still can find the comedy. There are a lot of twists as well. I also like how they potray King Cheoljong as an intelligent king disguised as a dumb man. He set up an incident, and put spies here and there. Most of the casts did an outstanding performance here. Shin Hae Sun is the only correct person to play as the queen. She played a lot of characters: Kim So Yong, Jang So Yong, and the mixtures of them both. Extraordinary job! The visual effects team also did a great job. I love the beautiful scenere of the palace, and I also love the royal wardrobes!The comedy level is very generous and pretty consistent, but there are several episodes with no comedy at all. As other historical shows, the pace is painfully slow. There are also several plot holes. I can't understand why Queen Dowager Jo kept siding with Kim Family until the end. The original plan was to replace the queen with Lady Uibin. However after she got deposed, whoever took the reign will be from Kim Family and Queen Jo would gain no advantage. Judging by her nature, she normally would come up with another plan, especially when she had no idea about the pressure on his family by the treason letter. Lady Uibin threatened her family if they ever harmed the King. But after the King disappeared, she took no actions on them. On the day before her escape, the Queen visited Prince Yeong Pyong and Captain Hong at the prison, but nothing happened. Jang Bong Hwan lived 200 years later than the period, but he rarely used his knowledge about the history. I don't like the ending, not because they're not "together", but because how easy it was for Secretary Han.
The soundtracks are good, especially in latter episodes. The ending is visually sweet but considerably sad. The King was left with someone he didn't love. The one he loved was the eccentric (Jang) So Yong. Jang Bong Hwan was left alone in the modern days. It's worth to rewatch for the humour, but maybe the ending will stop you from doing so.
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Historical kdrama which was actually fun
REVIEW OF MR QUEENFirst thing that comes to my mind is that, it's a historical kdrama which was actually fun, had great comedy instead of the usual sad painful types. Every minute, every second, of each episode I was so thoroughly entertained. The cast is so perfect for their roles.The leads are so amazing. The script is so well written that you can never guess what will happen next . The chemistry between the leads is terrific. I was excited for it since the trailer was out🤩 I love how the series makes you laugh even in the intense scenes. Literally a stress buster.
There is no dull moments or boring part. The blend of historical and modern switch was very neat and smooth. Even amidst the tension between the political scenes, there was lot of entertainment. Viewers also got new words like "no touching, anti-fan, dragon brunch, cctv, dragon, Mc Dunaldo and others. Plus there were many food scenes which was actually very appetizing 😋
Even though all the cast did amazing job, special appreciation for Shin Hye Sun for portraying a character of male in the body of a female was done fantastically. Her expressions, her emotions were all on point.🔥 I remember watching it and waiting for the next episode for a week feels like a decade 🤣 The comedy element in this drama is beyond funny. There will never be a moment where you get bored. Even in the midst of a scene that you would think to be serious, you will almost always end up laughing. And speaking of laughter, your stomach will probably ache at the end of each episode. The music was so perfect and there will be one particular song which will stay in your head😆! So overall it was a great kdrama 🤩
If you want to laugh and have a great time, MR QUEEN is highly recommended 💯🙌
- KDRAMAAA_LOVE
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pips should watch this, jinjja.
At first I thought that it doesn't makes sense because of the soul shifting or whatever it is. Many people recommended it to me to watch but I didn't watch Mr. Queen because just like what I've said, it doesn't makes sense. But man, I was wrong. It was funny from the start that it almost made ROFL! It was another character portrayed by the FL which highlights how K-drama artists handle their characters well. It was well written and they gave justice to their history. I first watched the ML on Waikiki and I thought he can't pull off CJ's character but I was wrong again. He's not attractive but when he played CJ, he became more and more attractive in my eyes. I love how the story goes and I didn't regret watching it. It's nakakagigil at the same time but it's a good thing cause it only means that the characters are effective.I know a lot of people watched this already but gor those who haven't, please give it a try. Worth watching again.
However, the OSTs are not for my liking but it's still okay. For the production, two thumbs up for the team.
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This review may contain spoilers
Most hilarious and chaotic historical K-drama
A riveting historical drama that has you on the edge of your seat with each episode. It is widely entertaining and I love the relationship balance of the main leads. Bong Hwan is unapologetically herself and when the King fell in love, he was like a infatuated clueless puppy.Internal palace drama is intense and the concept of the King and Queen teaming up, unlike other dramas where it's the opposite, is satisfying to see. The humor is top-notch and when the stakes are high, you are definitely invested in the outcome.
The storyline is enthralling yet the ending was one of the worst I have ever watched. It's like you're running towards the finish line and instead of scoring, you turned around and did jumping jacks. It made no sense why the actual FL in the body would go back when the ML fell in love with her and her craziness? Otherwise, a fun drama to put on when you need a good laugh.
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DON'T WASTE YOUT TIME, WATCH THE ORIGINAL VERSION
This "Go Princess Go" adaptation is nothing compared to the original Chinese one. First of all, the main leads. Deleting the sexuality element is totally deleting the whole story and the main topic. FL doesn't know who he (she) is, ML doesn't know why he falls in love and with who he falls in love. The intrigue political scheme is non-existent.There is no balance in comedy and seriousness, it's more like a parody ( when the beauty of the original is in their balance).
The modernity of the topics doesn't exist, it lacks the flavor of a new field.
It's bland, and the actors can't act. She is even not cute and nor elegant or femenine at all. Beauty doesn't exist. Their climb to understand who she really is to reign is deleted. I'm not surprised, when Korea is only able to ruin Chinese masterpiece making them a laughingstock.
The tragedy is 0.
Don't waste your time with this trash and watch "Go Princess Go".
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This review may contain spoilers
Like everyone else says, what's with that ending?
Okay, so before I finished watching this show I'd heard that the ending of the series was somewhat controversial but thought to myself, 'how bad can it be?' and didn't actually read any of the reviews - the answer? Very. However, things started going wrong with the storyline long before that, in my opinion...Let's talk about what I liked about this drama first and then I'll go on to giving certain aspects of it a good kicking. First off, the overall acting performances all round - top of the pile, of course, with all the heavy lifting duties was Shin Hye Sun who effectively ended up playing multiple characters (So Yong as an individual and the Bong Hwan-So Yong mixture at its various stages of existence). I was pretty much equally impressed with the acting by everyone involved, from the various members of the royal family through the household staff and on to the ministers. Excellent work all round. Secondly, the initial set-up for the storyline worked really well, with a real 'fish out of water' aspect to it and I particularly liked the fact that the queen's internal monologue was (for a while, at least) in Bong Hwan's voice.
Now the problems - it's all about internal logic for me. When we first hit Joseon, we've got the consciousness of a male modern day individual in the body of a woman of that time, with a male internal voice that works with that, and then suddenly that internal voice changed to a woman's. Was this meant to signify that the queen was now a mixture of both individuals, rather than a (male) consciousness with added memories? If so, that doesn't really come across in the way the scenes are written.
Likewise, in the final episode after Bong Hwan's consciousness leaves the queen's body, it's pretty clear that this is So Yong again, just with a wider vocabulary and a few less shits to give. Poor king, he might have reclaimed his throne but the woman he's come to love over the past 19 episodes doesn't actually exist any more and we don't get any on-screen recognition of this. Meanwhile, what does poor Bong Hwan get out of this? Dude has been through a sexual identity crisis and risked his life, but for what? A warm and fuzzy feeling and that's it.
The only one who's got what they wanted out of this situation is So Yong, with zero recognition of the impact of these story decisions on anyone else. Where was the 'soul' of So Yong all this time? We know Bong Hwan's body was in the hospital, his consciousness was in So Yong's body, so where was she? The story would have been much stronger (and probably less contentious) if more thought was put into how to show her 'return' and also some recognition on her part of what she (and the king) have lost by Bong Hwan's departure, as well as how they were both going to adjust to that going forward.
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