Good Enough
Korean Drama '' Queen Woo '' is a historical drama with a focus on the political scene of the time.The drama has a strong female lead whom we see bloom into a leader despite her gender and those against her. Her fight to establish herself was interesting to follow, as she is canning and understands how to masterfully manipulate the palace politics. The more tender storyline with her and her husband gave her another dimension to her character.
However, the ending was anticlimactic, with the upcoming final battle never coming and the season-ending kind of open, with an unluckily second season on the horizon.
Still, the performances were great and the cinematography was impressive.
So, overall, seven out of ten.
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This review may contain spoilers
Exhilaratingly Dark Sageuk - Non Vanilla Kdrama
It's an exhilarating, treacherous and dark Sageuk drama with profanity and gore detailing that at least I haven't seen in a Kdrama specially period Kdrama before.Jeong Jong Seo in first 2 minutes of opening scene of first episode sets the mode of the show being fast paced & quite thrilling. With the next half or the episode being totally dominated by never seen before avatar of Ji Chang Wook as a fierce warrior King who absolutely loved his Queen & kingdom.
IT'S a non vanilla period drama with some nude scenes as well (quite a rage & reason of low rating I believe).
The THIRD prince & him Killing his wife gave me chills down the spine. Cinematic brilliance with extremely great acting and direction. Screenplay is quite exciting considering a lot of characters are involved.
Take your time & absorb the brilliance of this tale where a Queen reclaims her throne overnight.
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POORLY DEVELOPED EPILOGUE...
The drama started strong, teasing us with an epilogue of the queen fighting and winning, setting the stage for a gripping conclusion. However, those scenes only resurfaced in the final moments of the last episode. It felt like the writers and editors were telling the audience: "Figure it out for yourselves, the clues are there."With a budget of 235 million US dollars, it’s clear the resources were meant to cover just 8 episodes. But the real problem was trying to fit everything into such a short span. This story clearly needed 15 or more episodes to unfold properly.
The writer overcomplicated the plotlines and ultimately failed to tie them together. In the end, many questions remained unanswered, and the resolution felt rushed and incomplete. It’s as if the mysteries and their solutions were brushed aside, leaving viewers disappointed with a poorly developed epilogue.
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A Woman against Patriarchy
Honestly i was super suprised at how people reacted to the nudity in the show. i do think there can be shows where the nudity just seems obscene and unnecessary but i didn’t rlly felt this when watching the drama. they’re also some scenes where nudity isn’t connected to anything sexual and “just because”.i think if you watched this show you are probably at least over 16 and to think nudity ruins a show is honestly crazy thinking to me.
The story is so much more but people only ever talk about omg boob here breast there like wow… are y’all really so immature?!
i can understand that they’re some people that don’t like these kind of shows, but it does seem worrying when people think nudity in a drama ruins the “korean” aspect of it and its westernization of a drama (which is a crazy thing to say about a historical drama btw).
like yeah western shows in comparison show more explicit scenes than kdramas but that doesn’t make them bad? i feel like in the recent years kdramas have been way more open about explicit scenes or even just hinting about more than just kissing and to me it seems like a good direction.
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This review may contain spoilers
A Queen's Struggle for Survival in a Male Dominated Society
A woman can win the world once she sets her mind to it!The drama exclusively focuses on the candor of a queen from a foregone era; in times when women were merely considered as pawns in power play. Starring Jeon Jong Seo in the titular role, “Queen Woo” charts her journey from childhood to her later years when she rises to power as the Queen of the nation. She holds the tower while her husband King Gogukcheon/ Go Nam Mu (Ji Chang Wook) is on the battlefield conquering their lost territories. Jeon Jong Soo and Ji Chang Wook have an amicable chemistry, that’s the first thing you notice about this pairing. King Go Nam Mu adored his wife, and she was the only love of his life (we are talking about an era where Kings didn’t take concubines). Despite being the Queen, Jeon Jong Soo is inevitably caught in the power struggles in the royal court. Her life is turned upside down when Go Nam Du is poisoned; left with no choice, she has to marry one of the King’s brothers to protect herself and the dynasty. The show has explicit depictions of sex, violence and gore; obviously not for the fainthearted.
Read the complete article here-
https://kcdramamusings.wordpress.com/2024/09/18/queen-woo-series-review/#more-1181
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Here for Ji Chang Wook
My first time watching historical K-Drama, before I've watched Alchemy of Souls, but it was a different genre. Watching it only for Ji Chang Wook, even after knowing that he is a guest star here. Lee Soo Hyuk's acting was on point alas he doesn't have screen time. Only if they used his character well enough I might have enjoyed the series. I liked the story but something about it didn't keep me hooked. I was skipping a lot of screens. I didn't like the screen of the White Tigers chasing after the Queen. Hated Woo Sun. In every C-Drama & K-Drama there will be a character like her. I'm confused about the relationship between the Yeon Bi/Jolbon clan & the Go Family. What is the North Queen Family?? Are they the four prince's wife family that's why they're called North Queen Family or their Ancestor were Queens.I don't know why, but I wasn't excited while watching it. Rather, I wanted to end it as soon as possible. Although Politics & Historical series are my type of genre. Anyway, the story isn't finished yet. They're more to it. I think there will be a 2nd season. Whether I will watch it or not is debatable.
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This series is overflowing with an extreme feminist narrative—portraying women solely as victims of their time, constantly needing to fight men for their place.
My main issue lies in how they depicted the female lead—very much like how HOTD portrayed Rhaenyra. She’s written as a flawless victim, a "good woman" who can do no wrong, with her flaws excused as products of circumstance. But the real women these characters are based on were far more complex. They were strong, ambitious, and capable of being selfish or ruthless in pursuit of power.
It would have been much more compelling if the show had stayed true to the real Queen Woo—who held power not just because of her family but also because of her own cunning and ambition. She was, from another point of view, a villainess—but she won and kept her power until the end. That kind of female lead would have made for a far more interesting story.
As for the casting, it's generally solid. However, I don’t think the female lead stood out as much as the rest of the cast. The actress tends to have the same expression in all her roles, regardless of her character's personality. Her face often feels blank—even though she's undeniably beautiful, especially with her sharp features. But over time, you start to notice the lack of emotional depth in her performance.
I’ve watched many Korean historical dramas, even the older ones, so I wasn’t too shocked by the explicit scenes. These types of dramas often include sex scenes that feel unnecessary or awkward anyway.
Overall, it’s not terrible—but the plot isn't particularly compelling. The storytelling tries too hard at times and often falls flat. I blame this on poor writing, not the actors, who generally did their best with the material they were given.
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Lacking in both story and characters
This was more like a parody of a historical drama Queen Woo than the actual drama. Putting this much money in the hands of virtual amateurs was a very bad decision. And giving them the best kdrama actors, to only appear in short and random moments. Queen Woo is the ultimate failure in storytelling. All you get is violence, shock effects and 2 minute characters. A drama that is unique in a very bad way. Queen Woo lacks a fully developed storyline. We don't get to know the characters, which is highly unusual for a k-drama. We don't even get to SEE the characters actually, because it's all in the dark.We hear that writer rewrote this 90 times. I'm tempted to say that obviously the rewriting involved removing all the dialogues. Because the characters mainly do not speak. If they do, it's max 2 sentences per each character. Except for the soldier arguing about pay - he's not exactly a comedic sidekick but close to one. And the only character getting something of a distinct character,
This content and situation would easily have made a good 20-40 episode sageuk. We would have learned all about why the clans fight with each other, what is at stake. We would know how the situations and strifes evolved, from the very start. We would have started from the childhood of the main characters. We would get to know all the characters, including supporting ones, through and through. We would have deeply cared about happens to them. We would have understood every party's motives and goals, and had the chance to reflect ourselves on where people make mistakes. We would have been shown how the new king or prime minister is just as ruthless as the previous one after all this fighting (as in Empress Ki).
Many who say this is "one of the best historical dramas" or "refreshingly different historical drama" have not actually watched the classic sageuks at all. With classic sageuks I mean (of course) Six Flying Dragons, Tree With Deep Roots, Scarlet Heart Ryeo....I don't think I can ever forget the personalities of the main characters in these dramas. Now we get 2 minute characters. And a lot of meaningless killing and violence which we're supposed to enjoy? (with the 2 minute characters).
There was no build up to the important moments, like putting the swords on the table. Who were the 2 older guys with the swords? Nobody knows, nobody cares. The queen's explanation of why she chose to go into war came like an afterthought, in the last episode. One minute given to that. Which actually needed an extended buildup. And her addressing the army should have been a long speech, with an extended buildup (again). I doubt the armies would have followed a woman if they were just addressed at the door for one minute when the enemy was already there.
Eun Pa Sol was given the most screentime as the key person trying to solve the kings's murder. Plot twist: no, actually a weird traitor who kept his grandpa's skeleton in his closet. So why did he end up supporting the queen? Nobody knows, nobody cares. What was the point of introducing the cult? Just to shoot an impressive scene of some crazies wallowing in the pool. And then a fight afterwards, none of it visible bc the screen was all dark. We got more of the gritty sex scenes which from a mind so dirty no amount of soap will help to clean it. The sex scenes were like a nail which busted the balloon, bc of their out of context and degrading nature.
JWC proved his virtuoso acting and I hope all the k-drama veterans at least had fun sitting together and drinking after each days shooting. JJS as FL: I don't know how people don't see or hear how she is just not good enough in this role. The mistakes and awkward moments (scenes and lines that needed to be reshot) are in plain sight in Queen Woo, imo Just like in Wedding Impossible she's just saying the lines in a completely flat tone, there's no sparkle in her. I guess people just buy the idea of what she's supposed to be and don't see the failure in delivering it.
Although this drama isn't actually boring and the fools will lap it up like dogs on a hot day, I assure you it's not good for your immortal soul. Congrats to those who can edit it their minds to make a fully fleshed out story and characters. That's a talent I don't have, all I saw was a sketch of a drama instead of the actual drama.
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A very personal point of view, so don't take it to heart
Story: 7Not because it isn't good enough, but because it just isn't my cup of tea.
Acting: 10
And there's nothing more to add. Bravo!
Music: 7
And I'm being generous here. I suppose it was a good match, and it served its purpose, but to me, it was too loud. Extremely loud, and felt obnoxious.
Rewatch value: 1
Because I need to give a score, otherwise I would give 0. There is no need to rewatch.
I very much enjoyed the acting, the fast pace and the fact that not too much amount of time was wasted on presenting the conspiracies. For the first time, my intelligence wasn't insulted with all those unneeded details they usually give, as if people are unable of connecting the dots, or making logical deductions. (Yes, I know that many actually aren't able, but then there are us, those who are. :-D Forgive my "modesty".)
The cruelty of some scenes was too much for me to endure, but this is a personal sensitivity of mine. Also, I assume this risk whenever I decide to watch a historical drama. But still, I had to mention it. The sex scenes were also filled with a feeling of cruelty (some of them with more than just the feeling), which makes them hard to stomach. So I guess this is the reason why so many are complaining about them. Yes, they were rough and cruel, but the characters were too, and so was the general atmosphere of the film. I think everything was actually very well-matched.
Everything is more complex than I have stated here, but I'm a little bit of a slack, so I'll just stop.
Then again, the acting was top-notch.
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Good story but weak characters
This drama has a good story and great cinematography with great actors which makes the expectations higher.But I think the story has weak characters and understanding the plot and every other dominations are though the relationship between each of them is rarely shown making hard for me to understand.
And some scence were very unnecessary obviously the adult ones with no logic and the shamans for fortunetelling.
However give it a watch it won't waste the time
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It's the worst series of all time.
This series is pure garbage. The first 4 episodes are full of porn. Episodes 5-8 are good, but the ending is horrible. How is it possible for a director or writer to end a series with this ending? Maybe they want a second season, but when it comes out, those who watched it no longer remember the story. That is why the rating for Queen Woo should be 0 (zero). It's the worst series of all time.Was this review helpful to you?
Not for mass audience
Okey..... I have just finished this series and am still thinking about the ending 👾 Hope we get Season 2. Let's Talk About The Series. The story is phenomenal. You won't be bored for a second. The cinematography was insane, the direction was top-notch and let's not forget about the outstanding performances by all the actors and actresses(especially Queen and Ji Chang wook). For me, this is not a fully perfect drama. But one thing is for sure that this is one of the best historical kdrama ever (personal opinion tho). And yeah, there are some negative things in this drama. But Nude/Sex Scenes Are Not The Problem. Actually, the main problem was they did color grading too dark, and the story telling should be improved. End Of the day Watch this if you like historical drama. Don't listen to the haters happy watching 👍Was this review helpful to you?
