Mr. Queen

Strong start, awful final episodes

I'm really pissed after watching it. Why? Because the the show was great but after episode 16 it becomes so bad that I was considering to drop it right there.

Everyone points to the bad ending, but I started to fast-forward from episode 19 until the end, so it's actually bad even before the ending.

Let's start wit the good pars.

The acting was great, I can't complain there at all.
The comedy was really good and truly made me laugh outload.
The music fitted the show really nice with the comedy aspects and hit the mark.

Then the turning point for me was episode 17 when the show started to go downhill. (or more like falling in a hole)

Imagine a live version of twitter reenacted in a history drama, but only the gossip part of twitter, that was episode 17 for me. The first time was OK but the second... it was just stupid. And the plot started to rely on that twitter gossip... oh my... how can I describe how stupid it was. We have a saying in my country that describes episode 17 perfectly: "Your sister is a wh*re... now go and explain that you don't even have a sister".

After that we got the "eureka" moment when a specific character figured something out for no specific reason, turned evil and after 2min turned "good"... and after the moment the fast forwarding started for me and I didn't care for the show any more.

There were soo many bad things in the episodes after that, that it's hard to explain it without spoiling something.

It almost seemed that they switched the screen writer at some point, I don't understand how can the same person produce the golden 16 episodes and then sit and sh*t out the rest of them in this state.

Score:
1-16 eps - 9/10
17-20 eps - 4/10

So lets give it a 7/10.

I can't say if I can recommend it or not... it's good but brace yourself some really bad plot points in the end.

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Amazing show all around. Would recommend to everyone

Hands down one of the best shows I've ever watched. I was hooked on every episode. Although the ending was a bit rushed, it was extremely heartwarming and gave nice closure especially with the spin off episodes. I really just want to see more of everyone.

I was hesitant at first because I was never one for comedy dramas before but it this show kept me wanting more every week. The writing and plot are amazing, interesting, and very well thought out. This drama did not feel slow or draggy at all. All the actors really shone in this one even the side ones. Amazing acting all around, couldn't think of better fits and they all showed incredible range. All the characters were all super well written and acted. I will definitely be on the look out for their future works. This drama had me crying from laughter, happiness, fluffiness, and sadness. I just cannot with how amazing everything about this drama was.

Especially during a time where you just want to escape from the troubles of the world, this drama was perfect. I cannot tell you how many times this drama lifted my mood just by looking forward to the next episodes. I physically cannot write in words how amazing this show is. Just everyone needs to watch it.

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Does the body rule the mind or does the mind rule the body?

The Game of Thrones comparisons amuse me as a huge ASOIAFhead.

Frankly, I only prioritized watching Mr. Queen so soon after finding it (had a long drama hiatus) cause I wanted to see how far the gayness would go. For the first 12ish episodes I generally found the humour tiresome and the politics boring. By ep 13 something clicked and I was suddenly invested in the whole thing. I stayed engrossed until, surprise surprise, the infamous finale.

Before I get into that, Shin Hye-sun deserves all the praise she's gotten. She IS the show and gave it its... soul. The occasional comedic moments that worked for me were always due to her, and the range she displayed as this hybrid character was Mr. Queen's success.

Everyone's already complained about the ending, okay, yeah. Still, I have a few things to say.

No matter how you cut it, I don't see how the ending could be viewed as anything other than a failure. I never expected Bong-hwan to remain inside So-yong's body, as much as I would've enjoyed that as an actual subversion of typical body-swap stories. How that would've worked, I'm not sure. Something to do with them having the same soul? The initial body-swapping was already done on flimsy enough grounds—there was no precise Freaky Friday-esque lesson to be learned. Regardless, it's pretty much expected that he'll come home to our modern era by the end, so while not preferable to some (me!), it's understandable. I also don't think there's anything wrong with So-yong reaping the political benefits of Bong-hwan's actions in and of itself, yet it is a bit boring. As a victim of court life, it's obvious the writers were going to compensate her. The compensation is fine, but as a tragic figure and little else, it's rather banal. As others have asked, why should we care? Everything Bong-hwan achieved was essentially for So-yong's sake, regardless of his intentions, including capturing Cheoljong's heart. This would've worked better if it had been done ironically and with a sense of humour—Cheoljong does fall in love with So-yong's body... which houses someone else. Instead, we're supposed to be pleased by the unadventurous angle imposed by this need for reparation. But it brings into question how much was So-yong and how much was Bong-hwan...

You can't actually identify what's exactly going on with So-yong/Bong-hwan, so there's almost no debate to be had. Ultimately what matters is what's narratively interesting and satisfying. Bong-hwan's "My feelings for the king, a man, are due to the queen's lingering essence and hormones blah blah" explanation was so silly I didn't mind it. The show kind of takes it seriously, but it's just funny. Beyond the relationship, was his survival instinct purely that, an innocent, selfish intuition, or were his efforts partly driven out of compassion for the queen? Yes, it's basically confirmed by his explicit late-stage denial of having any charitable feelings, which has proven to be untrue. But then how much of this compassion is the queen's unintended influence? What about Byeong-in's assertion that Bong-hwan's So-yong is not So-yong? She's kind of there, but really isn't. The muddle's good enough because it's thorny and, therefore, interesting, albeit too convenient. The problem is it just doesn't go anywhere interesting, or rather, the show's incompetent imagination snuffed out any possibilities for satisfying closure to this muddle. It's indicative of the show's overall inability to integrate story with the bare-bones formula, as Park Min wrote in their review, though the ending still could've rung truer than it does, I think.

The glaring issue is that no time is given to Bong-hwan once he's back in his body. There's no time for him to gain his bearings and observe the potential consequences of his choices in a slightly altered Korea, let alone reflect on his feelings and selfhood and what he wants in the future. We can presume he's a more caring person now and nothing else. We don't even see him faffing around after he confirms Cheoljong's victory; we don't see him do anything. Bong-hwan as So-yong consistently talked to himself to work things out, but I guess he doesn't need that now that everything's normal. The cutesy moments between Cheoljong and So-yong felt surreal and hollow. Who cares if Cheoljong notices a difference, the viewer does. Quite simply, it's too easy. It's not as tragic or bittersweet or triumphant as it could be, and the middle ground is aggravating. The momentum built is dampened to nothing. If it had all been played for laughs then none of this would matter, but it's this halfway point between comedy and sincerity, and the sincere note it ends on seems phoney and unearned. Even if you're fine with where the characters end up, I don't see how you'd get a real sense of fulfillment from that final episode.

I'm being critical because Mr. Queen is a popular show, and while Bong-hwan's character typically felt alive and emotionally honest (one of the best compliments I could give), everything else was relatively uninspired, and that eventually tainted him. I'm not asking for the show to do anything revolutionary, and it obviously worked for many, many people. My issue is that it almost really worked for me—it's been days and I'm still thinking about Bong-hwan and Cheoljong's relationship and its implications—as messy as it all was. I guess if you're looking for a chaotic mix of gender, love, and political elements, the back-to-back Cersei/Jaime/Brienne AFFC chapters hit a little harder.

I liked it though, and as punishment, I'm in a drama slump.

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AWESOME

●No wonder that this drama received so much hype and every SNS has lots of spoilers, yeah even MDL went into a slump with a major spoiler post that wasn’t marked spoiler. I saw that and kind of waited for the hype to die down before watching it.
So finally after watching this drama my every bit of feeling says it's AWESOME.
Since there are so many good reviews already I would keep it short

●LIKED
>in terms of story spiced with action, comedy and romance are fabulous.
>excellent cast from leads to supporting actors everyone gave a topnotch performance. Loved Shin Hye Sun, Kim Jung Hyun, and Choi Jin Hyuk
>superbly tuned music makes the mood of scenes more enjoyable.

●DISLIKED
>Kim Byung In, and his forcing himself and showing that what he is doing is for the queen's good but I think he was selfish wanting to be happy because he was affection deprived.

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Love at the first sight

I must admit, watching the first teasers for this drama, i knew that i would love it. The following 20 episodes just proved my intuition right.
I love historical dramas, so this one was really up my alley. But i think even people not into historical dramas would love it. It has the right amount of comedy, present time references that balances out the usual politics of the palace.
Someone would have to pay me to stop singing praises to Hye Sun and Jung Hyun, they are just such good actors plus they had amazing chemistry. So if you want to watch a drama with actors who really have skills, this is the one. Probably the first good thing the producers for this drama did, was cast them both, i can't imagine anyone else doing justice to their roles.
The OSTs made the drama so much fun, whenever you heard Bong Hwan-ah~~, you knew things would be going down lol
Anyways, I fell in love so much with this drama, that i watched every episode at least 3 times, just can't get enough of it. And i will rewatch it more, that's how good it is. Hopefully a lot more people will get interested into it, it's currently my most favourite drama of all time. 10/10
Also, ignore the last episode, ep 20 doesn't exist, it won't hurt you, just watch the bamboo forst spin off!

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Unsatisfying ending

I was really excited to watch this show because the plot seemed really fun and lighthearted. And the first few episodes were exactly that but it quickly changed to a more serious tone, which I didn't hate but made the transitions between the two atmospheres in the show a bit confusing.
The cast did a phenomenal job. The (serious) crying scenes weren't spot on for me but the rest was really well done. The actors fit their roles really well. I have to admit I liked the Queen a bit more in the first half of the show because I felt like the chef's personality was completely there, but then it wore down when she regained her memories. Nonetheless, Shin Hyesun was great at portraying this character: I truly believed she was a male stuck in a female body. The side characters were great as well and made me both laugh and tear up at multiple points.
The soundtrack was INCREDIBLE and couldn't have fit the show better.
Now, about the ending...
Everyone was fearing an ending like Scarlet Heart's but I would rather have that kind of tragic ending to this one, which isn't much less tragic. Less people died but the two main leads got one of the worst endings possible. You can try to prove me wrong but the king fell in love with the chef's personality, that happened to be in the Queen's body. In one of the episodes, he states the reasons for having fallen in love with the Queen and all of them had to do with her personality, the way it was after the chef took over her body. Just like Kim Byung In realised he couldn't love this Queen wholeheartedly because she wasn't Soyong anymore, you can't make me believe that the King could love the Queen wholeheartedly after the Jang Bong left the body. Not to be mean or unfair towards Soyong who had suffered so much in her life, but the chef was the person who attracted the King's attention and affection. He even says in the last episode that he feels like he lost something...and the Queen even treats him differently now! No one can convince me that he will feel the same deep love for Soyong, even if he seems to have accepted this... shell? of the Queen he loved. She wasn't there throughout the show, the chef was! Therefore, it was him whom the King loved! On top of that, Jang Bonghwan is back to the present days, which I'm not mad about. What upsets me is how dismissive his attitude was when he found out that the King had survived. I'm probably not explaining this very well but he seemed to be like "Oh okay, he survived and did well in life. That's good!". It was like the King was just a friend who the chef was rooting for or someone whom he had grown attached to. Not someone he had been deeply in love with (and had a child with!!!), and, once again, no one can change my mind that that was exactly the case. The relationship between the main leads was treated almost as a casual thing in the end after having riskd their lives for each other and had so many dramatic moments. I can't help but think their relationship and true feelings were dismissed in order to have a "happy ending". And that to me is much more tragic than Scarlet Heart, where the viewers were at least sure the main leads loved each other to death and that the whole story wasn't in vain. On the other hand, Mr Queen... I wish both main leads had either ended up together in the past or the present OR that they had suffered for being apart. I wish the suffering was shown, for me to feel satisfied and sure of the relationship they had developed throughout the show. Judge me. Or maybe had found an alternative solution? This ending was not only unsatisfying but, in a way, more tragic that Scarlet Heart's.
I know the writers went as far as they could go not to portray homosexuality but I wish they had crossed that line and just accepted the criticism from close-minded people. Had they done that, the show would have been unforgettable. Now it's just... another show? I gave it 9 stars because of the acting and the production but I'm so sad I might change it to 8.5 later. I appreciate the risk but the show ended up being quite meaningless.

P.S.: I'm sorry but I can't accept that Soyong's feelings were mixed with Jang Bong's personality and that's why he liked the King. They had a baby together, I can't accept it LOL. And even if the special episode shows that the King was already in love with Soyong before the chef took over but was holding himself back because of her family, that to me just sounds like an excuse, as it does not match the character development shown throughout the drama. If that is the case, then the King wouldn't have promised his brother he would kill the Queen if she was a traitor. He also wouldn't have tried to kill her. Nope, it's just an excuse from the producers that fits their narrative that "THIS ISNT A HOMOSEXUAL SHOW!!!" A pity.

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Disappointing ending

This was an amazing drama from episode 1 till episode 19. But the last episode was very disappointing. The story and the acting was just phenomenal, but the writers screwed up with the ending. It did not make sense how the original queen ended up happy together with the king. It should have been Mr. Queen and the king ended up together and ruled till they turned gray-haired. Only then, after dying from old age, should Mr. Queen have returned to his future self. Other than that, I enjoyed the ride. I would have given the story and re-watch value 10 too, if the ending was different.

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I am very much conflicted with what to feel about this drama. I'm not a fan of historical dramas in general, because of how complex and overwhelming the story, production, and everything. I honestly did not expect myself to finish Mr. Queen, but I somehow did.

Shin Hye Sun and Kim Jung Hyun were exceptional! Their acting is top-tier, especially Hye Sun. This is so different from her previous characters and she really showed off her skills here. It's so amazing how the audience can tell the difference when So Young's soul was ruling her body, compared to when Bong Hwan was taking over. In the last episode when BH returned to the present time, even without the big moves and foul language, Hye Sun was able to exhibit SY-- just through her facial expressions and change in pitch.

However, what bothers me most is how it ended. Almost the entire plotline, it was BH in SY's body whom the King loves. And then, in the end, BH just went back to his body and SY's soul resurfaced. This is just queer baiting. There could have been a better ending. I feel like how the story developed and all was written wonderfully, yet it all went down the drain with SY and Chel Jeong being happy together, and BH is alone.

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I loved MOST everything about this drama

Here's the deal: Episodes 1-19 were some of the best moments I have had the privilege to watch in a k-drama- hell even the first half of episode 20 was quality entertainment. It's the second part of episode 20 that ruins it for me. I did Really enjoy everything else in the show! It had a very creative range of comedy and I felt In tune with all of the characters and their stories. It was almost ridiculous the way I would count down to the very hour up until English subtitles were available. This drama gave me lots of moments to laugh so loud that I would wake my family, but also moments that made me cry until my face hurt. There really is a lot to love about this show and I recommend it to everyone. Now that being said, I think it was unfair for SY (So Yong) to reap the benefits from all of BH's (Bong Hwan) hard work. Throughout the drama, we get to watch BH grow and develop as a character, his connections with everyone in the Joseon era were real and completely and utterly HIS, so for SY to swoop in at the end and claim it as her own is frustrating. BH has to live the rest of his life knowing that another woman gets to love the man he risked everything for. SY loves the king too, but definitely not to the same level in which BH and CJ (Cheoljong) did. CJ fell for BH's loud and unruly behavior. There are several times that he expected her to act a certain way, and when she didn't he found himself becoming more and more wrapped around her finger. SY, despite her attempts, just won't be able to give him the same thing.

Overall, I have to say that this Drama is amazing. And I'd give it a 10/10 if it hadn't ended the way that it did.

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Do you love the shell or the mind? My answer by the end...Love. Is. Love.

Shin Hye Sun is what drew me into watching this drama in the first place - I've loved her in everything I've seen her in. The beginning of Mr. Queen was pretty rough for me. The first couple of episodes were sincerely awkward and over-the-top silly to watch. I've watched a number of historicals, most of which I enjoyed, and so watching this felt like satire. But slowly (VERY slowly), I came to appreciate the beauty in this story; it took until about half way through the drama for me to no longer feel bored and start genuinely enjoying the story and character dynamics.

Shin Hye Sun really is what carries this drama. Her acting is impeccable - I could feel all her emotion in just her facial expressions. And the way she impersonates a man was spot-on!
Kim Jung Hyun unfortunately just didn't do it for me. I've never really had an opinion about him either way in all the dramas I've seen him in (so far, I've liked him best as Alberto in Crash Landing On You), but in this one, I just don't think he was the right fit. He doesn't have the presence for the type of character he was trying to embody, which was a pity. But by the end of the drama, I had simply come to terms with his lacking qualities in portraying his character and just enjoyed the drama for what it was.

Plot-wise, I found the second half of the drama much more interesting and entertaining to watch than the first half (which, honestly, was terribly boring for me). And I'll be completely honest: It took a little while, but I really came to terms with the odd romantic dynamic between the King and Jang Bong Hwan...and liked it and rooted for them!

Mr. Queen sincerely challenged the way I perceive romantic love; it was something I had to acknowledge about myself and then push past the initial discomfort so I could see the beauty of this love. The portrayal and development of their romance was really so well done on the writer's part, where it had nothing to do with gender, that I couldn't deny their love. Do you simply love the shell? Do you actually love the mind regardless of the shell? Is it both? And what I came to realize is that there's no real right answer. Love. Is. Love. *Sigh*
So yes, I am one of the people who just wasn't satisfied with the ending.

If the story was not going to turn out having a romantic ending for Jang Bong Hwan, why have him feel those romantic feelings toward the King? I don't agree that So Yong's spirit inside the Queen's body made Jang Bong Hwan feel romantic feelings for the King. I just don't think it was that simple. Jang Bong Hwan came to care for the King as a person while seeing him struggle and looking past the mask he wore in front of the court. You see this breakthrough in the first half of the drama while the King struggles with maintaining his façade in the palace.
To be clear: I'm okay with Jang Bong Hwan going back to present day. I mean, come on, if So Yong's spirit is still in there, she deserves to live too. I'm totally for that. BUT, why doesn't Jang Bong Hwan get a romantic ending too? It felt like Jang Bong Hwan did all the hard work in getting the King to fall in love with the Queen, his feelings getting tangled up along the way, but he doesn't get to reap the rewards. And honestly, the King loved the Queen BECAUSE of Jang Bong Hwan. I'm not sure if he would have been drawn to her had Jang Bong Hwan not been impacting her behavior. It's even implied that the King noticed that things were different....the dramatic irony is that Kim Byung In didn't notice the change in the Queen...with the King noticing it, you'd expect him to then long for what was missing, right?
Also, you've seen it so many times in dramas - why didn't they do some form of reincarnation of the King in present day as a woman so Jang Bong Hwan gets his romantic happily ever after??? They've done it so many times before. Such a wasted opportunity.

Due to these points, I am having trouble feeling satisfaction with the ending of this drama. I understand that due to social taboos in South Korea, the writers felt pressure to be more conservative in representing sexuality, but it just feels supremely unfair to Jang Bong Hwan. I truly believe based on their dynamics, inner monologues, and interactions, he romantically loved the King, not just So Yong's affections coming through and imprinting on him. His feelings developed and grew over time in a reasonable fashion. Even though Mr. Queen is not nearly as tragic, this ending reminds me of the lacking ending from Scarlet Heart. *sigh*

The OST was really great! "Here I Am" by Jo Hyun Ah was my absolute favorite in the entire drama. I absolutely adored her voice and the melody. *applause*

I don't think I would be able to rewatch this and I personally didn't enjoy it enough to warrant recommending it to others. Shin Hye Sun was amazing, but...the story, the comedy, and the unsatisfactory ending are enough for me to just feel meh about it.

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A new type of time travel. It is in my top 10. A must see

Absolutely loved it. What a great storyline kudos to the writers with a fresh new concept on time travel not a typical stereotypesThe cast is killing it the roles and compatibility they played. It's funny, sassy, murderous, ignorance, power trips, love, jeousley, misunderstanding and more.
Jang bong hwan chief chef and Queen of joseun Kim so yong both fall into the water and switched souls as he remembered she
kisses him. He wakes up to find out that he's in the Queen of joseun body and only has his memories . He/she has to figure out what happened to them as someone is trying to kill both of them As she learns about who the queen was he uses his cooking skills and modern time recipes as to win over the empress and Queen dowager.
Then she finds out that everyone is trying to kill her as they all think that she knows the bad things the king, consort, queen dowager and empress did and thinking about. As time goes bye she realized that she wasn't a pleasant person in the palace. As she trying to figure how to get back home nothing is working. So she gets the pond filled up and jump backs in then. All of a sudden the king saves her, they get out and start fighting about there feeling for each other and she tell him they will have a "no touch" relationship.

Then one day while in the kitchen she grabs her heart and he see himself having cpr done and colaspes into a vegetable state. The queen wakes up and gaines more of her memories good and bad, but now he doesn't hear his own voice and she starts being attracted/romantically to the King. Now she has to remember they are in a no touch and needs to stay away from the king , but now consort jo is jealous and trying to kill her. unwind as she figures out that everyone want the king gone so each family Kim & joanyon each uses the queen and consort jo to hate each other. As Kim jwa geun the grand queen brother plots against the king and brought into court the king private army which had fake ID at his request so they wouldn't be compromised. Kim jwa geun calls the king out and embarrassed him and tells him be should just be a puppet. A few day's later the Kim family makes him read a ltr as he turn around an explosion happens and he's hurt. Thats when the queen realized that he has no power/backup so she brings in 3 consort for herself from the Han family who is able to support the king. Due to his injuries he and the queen got closer & consummated there marriage. So they make a plan in which most think he lost his hearing and they talk about him so he uses this to his advantage. A few day's latter in court everyones giggling n talking as he snapps and give the court a blow, when he's able to prove Kim Ja geun scandal and removed him front court the queen dowager is furious everyone is confused that he could do everything without them knowing.
So now the Kim family is targeting and trying to kill the queen, with a ice drink that has poison, she is stopped by a maid and Kim jwa goes nuts and sentences her to death as an example. Later the king tells her to drink the poison as queen trys to stop it but to late she goes nuts yelling at the king how could he she was 8yo. The king tell her it the rules and walks away she see his fingers crossed stating that she's OK. They released her and her mom to get away. So now the grand dowager is spreading rumor about the queen being unfaithful and should be killed, so to protect her Kim byung tells the king to leave(its a trap) to go after the infraction, but fights with Kim byung and he goes off the cliff. Kim Byung comes back and tell everyone the king is dead and the queen was upset, but not even 1 day passed he tells to join the Kim family again for protection she decline and he's mad. She starts to realize that the king isn't dead and checks the body and isn't him so plans to leave the palace in search. She meets the palace maid and they goes together then they run into minister guards who court lady choi try to stop.and is injured.. They run more and now Hong yeon(maid) makes them chase her, but the queen is caught by kimbyung and winds up at the same cliff as he strangles her all the memories come back and he doesnt kill her for that. As he protects against his men he gives her proff and tells her to run. Now alone and afraid she thinks it's bad man instead the king. He takes her to camp and maids are alive and the king plan to take his throne back. They sneak Into the palace and start to get control, but empress moved the coronation time up and they can't make it in time. The queen has Kim hwan steal the king stamp and the coronation can't proceed. On the way to throne a sniper shoots her and then the king they colospe and she wakes as her self and he as himself. He escaped from the hosp. to the library to see if history changed and they lived and he finds out he turned Han pyojin into police and was in protection. The queen/king are all alive and
made changes. There is so much more, but you need to watch

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