bloomingtide

Hell yeah <3 He is such a lovable dork. One of the best tsundere i have seen and with such a good good character development that is not in your face but shows in little things (shift in priorities, his attitude toward other people and his willingness to help them. And PHJ's gestures/mimic/microexpressions when he says one thing but clearly means something else entirely.) Imo he was always a soft cinnamon roll with a big heart, but with the bad experiences made with people in his past and how they turned on his grandpa developed this callous, boisterous exterior to keep others at arm's length. Seulhae and co only help him to find back to his former, much more open and trusting self, and the difference between Chawoong in the end in comparison to the beginning is striking. He really goes full circle and it is beautiful to see.

Plus he has the BEST sulky walk and his minutes to hours of turning back into a giant toddler and general extra-ness never fail to crack me up (wearing a designer suit to volunteer work bc he wanted to look good for SH 😂). i love him sm and he will always be one of my fave kdrama male leads for being so much more than meets the eye and the complexity PHJ brings to what otherwise could have been an one note character. (I adore Seulhae tons too, but that is a post for another time haha.)

You made me rewatch mr. queen and search for the bit where they say what hairpin is reserved for the queen only lmao. Hours later (bc no matter how often i watch it, Mr, Queen is as addictive as crack lol) I know it is the golden phoenix hairpin. Sorang's here looks like a dragon and more jade than silver, but given how handwavey the drama is with the details/accuracy (far more than mr. queen even) i don't think it matters much. It could also briefly be before their wedding or so, hence she is "just" crown princess (i think) at that point. We will see. Either way she is going to be queen 1000000% and not only bc sleeping pill traitor minister mentioned something of "newly wedded bride" in the preview. There is also photo evidence of a cute crown prince on twitter😏

i think they had enough time to talk in between the events and everyone of them is in on the plan. See HY stepping down, GQ talking to Sorang's father and posing particular questions, Heon's appearance and speech there. He also completely expected SR to appear. And before that announcement, the ruse with "sorang having escaped prison" when she was released much earlier lol. Not all events/planning is shown every time but i bet they will fill us in in the next/last episode i bet.

So HER daughter can take her place as the oldest noble daughter in the household and can be selected as queen in order for EBM to control the throne (through an heir) and inner palace. That is the whole reason they do all of this shit (kidnapping, ban, killings) tbh. The ban was their doing to a) drive heon mad or at least subdued as a mentally unwell puppet king stuck in his grief with a yearly fresh reminder of his loss/failure, b) bring public sentiment against the king which would eventually justify to kill him off/to put someone else on the throne, and c) have enough time to make her bitchy daughter "the perfect queen" and take out the other eligible girls thru kidnapping/human trafficking, basically.

Same. As i said in my recaps thingie he sounds as tho he is holding in his piss and at 0,5x speed at that 😂

Me, when heon and sorang are reunited at the love tent, of all places: "Oh is it tent time again?" 👀
Sorang: "We can't today, i am too tired."
Heon: "That is a shame. I wanted to warm you up." 😏😏😏

I love it when i share one brain cell with kdrama characters lmao.

We start from Heon’s pov, and hell yeah of course he saw her when passing her by, but had to play it cool bc hey he is the king and cannot pay much attention to a “mere maid” without drawing the same on Sorang (sidenote I keep using Sorang as her name bc she is not yet “out of hiding”) His small smile afterwards is so cute. Yes, your wifey is back, hunny haha. Back to where eps 10 ended and his relieved kiss sorang like a starving man scene. I really love how the music swells right in this moment. Makes it suitable emotional, given they haven’t seen each other for WEEKS. She apologizes to him and it turns tearful. “I knew what you said was a lie, but your heart was sincere.” Hell yeah. KJD does a good job here in carrying his voice with a calm sadness and it becomes obvious that heon only barely kept it together for her and the countries’ sake but has feared her death and missed her so much. Absence makes the heart grow fonder and for him it is just a reason to never be apart from her again. Queen her up my guy, so you don’t have to: “Thank you for being alive.” Ohhh my heartuuuuu, So much to ppl saying he reacted way too nonchalant to her absence. This whipped dork was just faking until he made it, but totally loses it in front of her. I love their vulnerability shown to each other. Aaaand a much needed healing hug, aww.

Shiwon speaks with his future father in law about catching the kidnapper bc he is sure they will make another move on his daughter. Aaand like clockwork these assholes appear in their home, finding a sleeping Hwa Yoon who is so obviously Shinwon with an ill-fitting wig (or his “hair” let down, more like) I am cackling. These idiots maxed out their strength stat instead intelligence indeed, so they don’t notice and fall into the ruse. Not even that the dainty noble lady is suddenly like over six feet tall, broad-shouldered and muscular. Okay then. Quite the power move of SW tho, bc they led him right where he starts his arresting party with some cool fighting moves. It is super effective.

EBM and EBD are still condescending power abusing assholes and water is wet. So sure of their victory and queen selection too. Gotta give it to them, they do all the work for Sorang, so the true YHS does not have to lift a finger to become queen, lmao. Thanks for that, you clowns.

The oh snap moments between SR, HY and EBD are golden tho. I love HY’s fire in her words, she will be a good match for SW later on indeed.

SW struck gold, capturing the kidnapping leader and all of its ring. Same guy who did everything from SR’Kn to the killing of CP (most likely) So yeah newsflash to you, you ain’t leaving this cell because you are being thrown to the wolves by sleep mode evil minister.

While they have thrown most of palace etiquette out of the window, the queen selection is taken 1:1 from your usual sageuk, so it is tea ceremony time now. Probably with a lot of poison to spice things up lol. Sorang put a lotta stats in perception so she notices things being off and subtly warns her new bestie. So she only fakes to drink the tea, which is clever. Grand Queen remains dumb as bricks as she fell for the whole infectious disease ruse. Hope Heon can hammer some sense into this woman, fr. Lmao, EBD reaction when HY tells her the tea has been switched. Not at all suspicious xD I appreciate her being as equally as intelligent as the tea table in front of her tho. Really love HY, so eloquent and full boss lady vibes.

Heon is ready for murder himself after getting a report on that kidnapper dude. “He killed the CP and tried to kill Sorang” Pretty telling how he jumps up at that, as this is the worst of all misdeeds in his books. Heon is in protective, pissed off husband mode, as he storms off to find evil minister sleepwalking outside on the palace grounds. That request, Heon’s confidence and quiet anger, love to see it. Hah, yes interrogate your own man, will be quite the holler for the king, I bet.

Fake ass biatch daughter brings Sorang a round further in the selection, while the real Sorang/YSH is chilling on the sidelines, missing only the popcorn. I love how she is like, “yeah I already am way ahead of you all, like waaaaay ahead, night with the king and all.” lmao Hwa Yoon shows to be the boss that she is too, and sweeps the ranks after self-evaluation. I love her. But of course GC being stupid it ends up with SR being blamed for the tree laquor, because SR touched the tea to investigate and thus a rash on her heads. Also not her smartest moment, but as someone handling HY tea which GQ knew was contaminated should clear her from the ridiculous claims. That would require a bit of awareness and being way less gullible ofc so we can’t have that. Hence it is another jail time for now, inclusive ensuing kingly visit I bet. Seems to be a thing for them lmao.

SW is trolling kidnapper guy, enjoying his food while he left it untouched. Hmm fear of poison? Say it is not so xD SW is having so much fun with telling the guy what a loser he is and I love his sarcastic side. Should show it more often. “Stay in the middle of your cell, you don’t know who is going to try stabbing you.” Lmao, he and HY indeed will make a good pair.

Aww Heon cannot use his kingly Free of Jail Monopoly card for Sorang, but he is still in hubby mode, now of the worried kind. “there is no day I don’t have to worry about you.” that small smile tho shows he is not fully serious tho. SR he is already there, so let him enter your cell for some cuddle time haha. Oh, so it is the future queen who talks sense into the grand queen, how fitting. That honeyed talk as only SR can do it, of course. Bless. Hope the GQ comes to her senses now. Heon’s and Sorang’s scene of understanding without words, woah. He may not like her plan of staying there, but he trusts her.

SW keeps the sardonic burns coming, this time toward evil sleep mode minister, lmao. Where was this kind of character in the first 11 episodes tho? He would have been much more interesting a character this way tbh. But anyway, lets see how the evil snake sleep talks his way out of this highly awkward situation xD I hate his voice/infliction so much but I like how he is planning his own beheading with heon’s guided questioning, lmao. So much subtext here I am living. I always love implications like that. So the guy takes all the blame and wants Heon to lose it? I don’t get it what is the goal here? Why isn’t he throwing sleep mode minister under the bus? Heon, behead HIM instead fr Then again, shredding him to pieces sounds more appropriate so lets lawfully process this shit lmao. The veiled threat given here by heon was 🔥

SW's and SR's bestie moment after her jail release is the cutest, why did we have to go thru the whole love triangle bs to get to such wholesomeness, so late tho? Court Lady Won is back in da palace, hell yeah. Gonna clean it out asap, too many scheming, corrupt bastards in this place now. Aww her hubby remarried (her sister at that) and they are a happy fam without her, so sad if understandable. So her place is in the palace after all. But at least she found them, and saw them again. Always like the talks between SR and Won, she is like a mother to her and heon, so good to have her back. Full ahjumma vibes in how Won handles the corrupt court ladies. She is not angry she is just very disappointed, haha.

And we have not just one but two lover's reunion. First cutie eunuch and woo find each other again, then heon and his wifey sorang. Is it tent time again? 👀 The way she runs into his arms seems promising for this tho haha Omg, and I wasn’t the only one thinking this. “We can’t today, I am too tired.” “What a shame. I wanted to warm you up.” “don’t tempt me like that.”” …. I am screaming. They are the cutest even when horny 😏😂

So can everyone leave heon alone for the years of marriage ban? it was all sleeping pill minister's plan and now he is ready for the next step, which probably is to rile up the people for a revolt or something. Basic sageuk 101, really And i don't care for them any longer, besides them getting what they deserve which is a headless state of being. "the queen will be hyeon Seo" well at least they are right with that one lmao.

Pops is such a troll, lmao. He knows YHS gets chosen, but "Sorang will live according to her fate." which ofc, is being queen of course and his business will be booming once the ban is lifted. He is giving us all the spoilers since day one and i love him for this 😂

Ffw the whole soloes subplot bc i could not care any less for it. Good for them selling books i guess.So they gonna meet for a protest? How nice.

Ugh i hate when they make a red herring as obvious as this with the way the scenes are cut it seems as tho Sorang is kidnapped when it was actually murder time for the guy in prison instead. So sorang *escaped* from prison you say, sure sure and the king has absolutely no idea where she could be🤡 Heon could be an actor in his next life (pun intended) 😂

Their protest is cute tho, with the red paint on cheeks and the flowery props, aww. EBM gets her biggest burn yet with the court lady going “All the CL who know you are at the interrogation area” lmao what a boss. I hate how feeble Sorang’s father looks tho, will he be of any help? Hopefully so as he is with GQ now. But I guess this will be another of the show only half and keep the rest for the next episode deal with their conversation. Oooooh the way she posed that question was so good, finally something useful from her side. And she knoooooows now something is very off, bless.

HY is stepping down, so she is totally in with the grand plan of Heon and co. And Yu Hyeon Seowill be queen thanks to her bitchy fakeass sister. Didn’t even need to go through the arduous selection thanks to her and could enjoy kingly tent time instead lmao.

The protester are invited to the grand selection party, how nice. Everyone should see Sorang taking up her rightful place indeed. Such pretty camera work with the palace and the common people and heon having his big entrance. Is he blinding people again with his shiny sparkles? 😂KJD has not the presence of Kim Jung Hyun (yet) but he is still giving me Cheoljong vibes here with his angry speech.

Sorang will totally step out of the shadow any moment now, right? Look at Heon's face he totally knows what is up hahaaha. i love pop's face being like "YHS queen? this is old news, try to keep up you all, lol.

YEEEEEEEEEEEEES THERE SHE IS. SLAAAAAAY QUEEN 👑 👑 👑

The way GQ speaks you cannot tell me she is longer clueless about it all, it is part of the plan to catch all the schemers/uncover the lies. The level of restraint Heon shows here to not yell and point at Sorang when GQ asked who is the real YHS" is remarkable tho hahaha. What an entrance tho, what a queen. So ready for their wedding tomorrow.

Oh and preview shows SR/YHS in queen attire, I have reached inner peace and can die happy now haha.

Thoughts/recap of the second to last episode 11 under spoilers. (Finished now. Late but w/e)

kisskh has the eps now but it is still w/o subs. I could watch but i am feeling too lazy to watch it twice to get all the context so i probs wait for subs with lurking in on some scenes in the meanwhile.

Hmm sadly there are not many married couple or ex couple leads kdramas in general when it is not off the wall revenge cheating makjang. The most striking/memorable married couple dynamic is for me still in Flower Of Evil but that is a complete different genre and story haha. (And big mouth is ass while we are at it)

Maybe 2020 family drama Once Again fits the bill? It has divorced ML/FL and second chance romance as tag. Haven't watched it yet because 50 one hour eps is quite a commitment but heard/read good things about it, heh.

https://kisskh.at/44611-i-have-been-there-once

Oh can also rec Tomorrow With You, but mainly for the delightful strangers to spouse romance/dynamic between leads not so much for its plot. Has some of the sweetest and most natural romance scenes of a lead couple tho. But it is more like "married too quickly (due to circumstances) and having to learn to live together" situation with a sci fi touch than second chance romance, but worth it for the leads, like look at these cuties: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2dUQrmDh4m8 (some spoilers tho)

This sums it up perfectly tbh. I just hope they don't drag the mystery of it out for too long and rather focus on the leads working on themselves and the issues between them for a better life together in the end. Aka the happiness FL is still searching for.

Yeah he is basically the captain of their ship lol, like rooting *hard* for them to get back together. So he must know more than the viewer does atm.

Seconding Familiar Wife and GBC (I personally enjoyed the first one more due to its more mature setting and tone) There is also Our Beloved Summer but the leads are/were not married. Otherwise it is very much second chance romance with a bickering couple to a T.

Hmm, nah. There are some serious bits around adultery in their client's stories, since they are divorce lawyers after all (and regarding their own personal history and some "more than meets the eye mystery around it") But the courtroom stuff is minimal and just glue to stick the other parts of the story together. The overall tone is light and humorous with chaotic characters and situations in the best way.

Nah i used Kisskh for that, bc it is not available on prime for me. Actually Prime is pretty useless for me in this regard, lol.

Here too, just.... later lol

Yeah, no such thing here in germany. Sometimes it takes months to get a kdrama released on my countries' netflix, tbh So getting IOL at end of the month is already very quick. Gotta get me vpn one of these days to circumvent it, but yeah, haha.

Yeah true, haha. I do enjoy this rollercoaster of a comment section here tho, even without any knowledge of the actual drama. It is wild haha

Not in my country tho ;) So i will wait till the end of the month for it, instead to go out of my way to use dramacool etc

Just following the comment section here is a hell of a ride already, lol. Makes me wanna catch up on what seems like an entertaining trainwreck of a drama, but tbh i will hold off until netflix starts releasing the episodes (two per week) at the end of January. I already have too many kdramas to keep up with lol.