Queen Woo

Queen Woo: An Unexpected Masterpiece from Korea

First things first, I did not expect this level of brilliance coming from a Kdrama (no offense), but "Queen Woo" has completely exceeded my expectations. The series is amazing, with a perfect story and deeply thought-out characters. Each character has their own motivation for what they're doing, and they all have well-written backstories. Every decision made felt right, and every detail about the story was perfectly logical—something I truly appreciated.

The story showcases a strong queen, which is not what we typically expect from historical dramas. Usually, we see queens who stay in the palace and accept their fate like every other wife of the princes. However, "Queen Woo" shows that if we try our best, we can change our destiny. We shouldn’t stay within the borders someone else has set for us; maybe those borders are too small for us. Seeing such a strong woman was refreshing and exciting. Her presence alone kept me on the edge of my seat.

The king who passed away (played by Ji Chang-wook) was portrayed as a lovely man and a strong king, making him a logical choice for the crown. His character's background and motivations made perfect sense, highlighting why his father chose him. I enjoyed watching his performance immensely.

I must also mention how deeply I feel for the loss of Song Jae-rim, a strong actor who played the role of the first prince. His performance was moving and powerful. And last but not least, my favorite actor Lee Soo-hyuk—only God knows how much I adore his role here. His increased screen time and flawless acting skills brought the character to life perfectly.

The entire cast and crew were incredibly talented and skilled. I deeply appreciate the director, the makeup artists, and the special effects team—everything felt real and immersive. "Queen Woo" is a perfect masterpiece that deserves to stay on top and go viral. I hope to see more genres like this coming from Korea. They’re typically known for cheesy romances, but "Queen Woo" has shown me their true potential, and I am excited for what's to come.

Read More

An amazing drama that keeps you hooked till the end

Despites story line is simple and expected, the casting and filmography, and their acting were excellent. Better than I expected, scenes are not boring at all. The alliance between patagonist and hidden villians is actually fantasy as this really never happened in the real history but some characters are based on written history. If you like the Game of Throne and Korean historical political dramas then this is one to watch.

Ji change wook, Jeon jeong so, Lee so hyuk and everyone else are at their finest in this. The thrill and perfection is every episode will have you literally jumping from excitement..
Loved every bit of this series

Read More

It's a very captivating piece.

I have finished watching Queen Woo, although I have skipped so many scenes due to it being rated-R. But it makes the story more intense, serious, and historical. It's quite my first time watching a non-vibrant kind of saeguk (historical drama), since I've always liked romance and chill ones, but this one just easily captivated my attention. It is a type of drama that you want to binge, and can never stop watching—not until all episodes are finished. I can say this is a good drama, hoping for Part II. I would only recommend this to those who are adults or mature enough, since it is a bit gory, and also includes rated-R parts.

Read More

Lee Soo Hyuk need I say more?

Ok so I started watching this as I found the chinese dramas right now bland and boring. Originally I thought, "who knows it may surprise me?" Right away I was drawn in with the king dying, the prime minister obviously in love with the king, the jealous sister who messed up by allowing her sister to marry for her, and now the queen has to find a prince to marry to survive. Que the third prince who is obviously a villain based on what we are told, then I hear his voice 🫠 I knew immediately it was Lee Soo Hyuk! He never disappoints as a villain. With that deep sultry voice and devilish charm he is by far my favorite korean villain 😍. So now I'm hooked and I really hope this ends up being worth my 10 rating and it doesnt fizzle out.

Read More

Could've been better.

Okay so I recently completed Queen Woo. I am a huge huge fan of Ji Chang Wook. So he is the only reason for me to watch this drama. And expected his acting was crazy. His acting during the war scene was soo good and I thought he deserves better scripts and directors. Though many did not like his previous works I was able to watch them just for JCW. But even he couldn't save this drama..tbh the story was good but the way the director portrayed those characters was very poor. The female lead's face was dead. There are many female actors out there who could've done a great job in this role. And I agree with the others who said the nudity and sex scenes were unnecessary. Like they were not at all needed in those scenes. And I seriously did not want to see JCW in such a scene. The ending was so open and there is no expectation for season 2 either. It could've been a straight 12-14 episodes drama with JCW being alive for a few more episodes, with better side actors and with a better female lead and with no nudity. If you are a JCW fan and you watched all of his dramas and you have nothing of his works to watch anymore you can watch Queen Woo.

Read More

Lost Potential

Watching this drama was exhausting for me. The plot felt chaotic and fragmented, making it difficult for me to fully immerse myself in the story. Although the events unfold within 24 hours, the fast pace does not justify the superficial character development and their motivations. Some storylines remained unclear, and the main female lead seemed too passive, lacking anything that could have piqued my interest.

The ending was left open, which disappointed me. What I had been waiting for throughout the entire story was essentially taken away. In my opinion, a second season is unnecessary, as the main idea has already been exhausted. Instead, it would have been better to add a few more episodes to bring the story to a logical conclusion.

I really liked the costumes—they stand out from the usual styles we are familiar with. I saw that they sparked debates, as many found them more Chinese than Korean. Given the historical connections between Korea and China, this might have some basis, but I don’t quite understand why so much attention is given to this aspect, as it is not a key element of the drama.

The 18+ scenes came as a surprise to me. This is not the first time such elements have appeared in dramas, but without a doubt, there were more of them here than ever before. They didn’t feel out of place; on the contrary, they added a unique touch to the story.

Overall, this drama could have been a more cohesive story if the script had been better thought out and the characters more deeply developed. It seems to have resonated with many viewers, but for me, it feels more like lost potential rather than a well-executed narrative.

Read More

It is a must watch.

I only started this show based on a review I read on another site and I have to say, I am glad I did. I have finished watching the 4 episodes released so far and I absolutely cannot wait for the last 4!

I was so disappointed to read all these critic reviews on the show being a huge disaster with the story not being very clear, etc. For someone who doesn't watch fast paced, mystery shows- this would seem like a really confusing story but to someone who is used to this genre, I found it extremely thrilling.

The story is a re-enactment of the most important 24hrs in the Queen's life. The pressure is bang on- not just for her, but for every character involved in the story, as well. The clock is ticking fast for everyone to play their pieces. The reason why it seems that without building on the back story of a character, the pov changes already is because the direction is intended to make us feel the heightened sense of urgency around, when literally all the stakes are high in the game. I absolutely loved the pacing of the story!

The comparison that some people are making of the show with GOT and failing miserably- I understand where that is coming from, but GOT had 8 seasons to showcase the storyline spanning over years of their drama. These characters here, in the story only have 24hrs and not a moment can be missed.

I don't understand why some people think the actress portraying Queen Woo doesn't give off the vibe of a Queen on-screen, because based on how her character's backstory goes, the actress is doing a marvelous job at it. The Queen is full of confidence and is incredibly sure of her skills, but at the same time is mourning & dreading the consequences that might ensue if she fails in her conquest.

Kudos to the costumes, the cinematography, the lightening and the beauty of the direction- it is a well built show that deserves a watch from anyone wanting to enjoy a good brain squeeze.

There is so much hue and cry over the explicit scenes, which I get- I mean, kdramas are never about them. I do think, even without these scenes, the plot could have progressed and felt the same way but some of the explicit scenes with the gore involved, just make it all the more interesting to see the cruelty of being obsessed with power and greed. I do have a complaint about them though- there is only female nudity and if the screenwriter felt that these scenes were that necessary to the story, male nudity should also have been explored or we could have avoided all of it together. Alas, can't have everything thought out, haha.

Since it is largely a true story with major fictional elements, I kinda do know how it ends but I am still eagerly awaiting to see how it will all pan out, at the end.

So, if you are planning on watching it, please do so with ease because it's worth a watch!

Read More

one of the best historical kdramas

In my watch list, I have over 400 kdramas, of which at least 100 are historical, (with plots ranging from fantasy love stories to reality-based hysterics) This drama is one of the best historical kdramas I've watched (including Empress Ki being one of them) Amazing screen acting / perfect casting The actors did an amazing job especially the female lead. Jeon Jong Seo and Ji Chang Wook I knew he would never disappoint. I think everyone who complains about nudity scenes are people who are simply not used to this genre. Because this is far from your average historical kdrama. What was special about the drama was that it was historically based. The production was accompanied by a historian who made sure that the details were accurate, including amazing costumes. The production was so invested on an international level. I'm not sure why they made such a big deal out of the "sex" scenes (historically, that was the case). And that was also a tactic intended for the queen. The drama was accurate in terms of the number of episodes as well as its ending. The queen, who was historically strong, managed to keep the throne for a short period of time. It's true that there is violence in the drama, but it was also historically correct (the historical period was very cruel, that's a fact). In my opinion, a drama that deserves all the praise, for the casting, the soundtrack, the set... and of course Ji Chang Wook, who did not disappoint with a phenomenal performance.

Read More

A new form of historical Kdrama

I'm only at the 5th episode but I think this drama wants to highlight the behaviors before the New Confucianism that we then find in historical dramas, it's a raw drama in which sociopaths, bipolars reign whose only goal is power. The hard scenes are no less than the splat scenes. The soundtrack is wonderful and engaging. It's not a Kdrama for everyone if you are used to watching dramas full of clichés, hypocrites and far from reality, there is no yellow umbrella, there are no touches of hands, everything is a game of chess, it looks more like a horror and I watch it from this angle,😱

Read More