bloomingtide

Imo, that is putting it too simply, as it was a mixture of both tbh. While chef was in the driving seat for most of it, the distinction isn't as clear cut as it had been during the pre-vegative state in the early episodes. Hence his/her/their confusion to the point where Queen is mixing up his/her/their own name and stuff like that. Both souls had influenced each other over the course of the story and changed their lives for the better in the end as they parted ways again. (Aka So Yong finding her voice and bpldness and Bong Hwan becoming less of an egoistic dick and more caring about others)

Plus Mr. Queen: bamboo forest shows that there was attraction at first sight between cheoljong and so yong. which turned sour the moment he knew the woman he met and liked was the queen to be from the hated kim clan. Here the chef really helped to bridge the gap between them and finding a common ground and understanding with his bold/unruly way giving So Yong a much needed voice and justice for herself that ultimately made the "fated lovers" kdrama trope for them possible, heh. But long story short, they are/were two sides of the same coin that complemented each other, and overall the king fell for the whole package.

I found it is hard to find a drama which blends all elements as well together as Mr. Queen does and the drama hungover is real whenever i finish watching it. But in terms of wacky humor/comedy and lovable characters, I can highly recommend Eulachacha Waikiki. Kim Jung Hyun is playing a bit eccentric but lovable dork in a main role in there as an added bonus too, in case you miss the king :D And the slow burn romance he has with a FL is surprisingly wholesome as well. Modern setting ofc, I haven't found another fusion sageuk yet that keeps the consistent level of quality that Mr. Queen has.

Tho Moonshine is, imo, a great watch /underrated one in this regard. So maybe give it a try too?

"King Cheoljong, one the other hand, is very intelligent when it comes to everything but his queen."

Hahaha, after finishing my rewatch of it last night i gotta say this is the most apt way to describe him, but hey he tries his best xD

(I really enjoyed reading this review, it sums up so well why i love this drama so much, bless.)

I liked the first two episodes, the suspense built there and the cute small scenes between both leads that promised a romance in the making. After the case against FL (who acted like a ditzy idiot for the majority of it) is resolved thru ML finding a conscience and doing the right thing and after he declared their encounter as "fate, ill-fate", it went downhill fast. Because then suddenly there is a timeskip of two years, which the FL spent in stalking him more or less subtly, which is a big no no NO from the get go for their romance. This is never cute but the show portrayed it and condoned it as such, ugh.

For some reason, i guess plot, ML still feels attracted/protective of her after two years avoiding her and thus he steps in when culprit returns and they move in together (????) where the first thing she does is watching him sleep... which is cute in other kdramas maybe (the lying on the table together scene... you know the one), but not with the context of her stalking history with him. It made me so fucking uncomfortable that i stopped watching asap. Sorry not sorry but their romance is unsalvagble for me due to that at this point. Doesn't help that FL is really damn annoying and too damn stupid for her own good, which is again played for as cute. Ugh. ML is not much better in terms of likability so yeah, all good reasons why i dropped halfway thru episode 4.

choosing this drama after finishing my rewatch of Mr. Queen gave me such a whiplash in terms of quality, likable characters, romance, and thus was overall a baaad decision. Dropping this according to my 4 episodes kdrama rule for reasons explained in the spoiler bit because i need to rant a little.

Mr. Queen in terms of stellar comedy (timing/execution) Another drama of KJH as well :)

Looks definitely like a very other activity lmao

I feel the lack of communication from her side was the most frustrating part of it all, especially since he reached out to her every time but she shut him down. No wonder they broke up, since good, honest communication is key to every relationship, fame or not. I feel he invested more into the relationship than she did, so it became imbalanced too quickly.

All in all it got a bit plot-dumb/contrived with all the misunderstandings to make the break up happen that was telegraphed for the last 6 episodes of the show or so, which i didn't like. Later half is too draggy too, so overall i found it a solid 7/10 drama for the slice of life/showbiz/family aspect. The romance plot is really the weak part of it and could have been left out.

Currently watching and it has their break up as ending spelled all over it, but i am okay with that since she is pretty weaksauce in regard of him/their relationship and makes the mistake to not communicate well with him either, so they slowly grow apart due to his growing fame/lack of time. Tho the romance is not the focal point of the show either, it is just how life/relationships are at times, fame or not.

Latter half is a bit draggy, but i do still enjoy the family stories as well as to see their struggle in the entertainment industry and the problems fame brings. Solid, if slow watch that is saved a lot by PBG's performance, imo.

Another small but very satisfying detail about this drama is how they are lampshading the whole "woman dresses as man to go outside the palace and won't be recognized as woman" sageuk trope. Here exactly that happens and everyone is immediately "yup, that is a woman" and i love that xD

Hard same, i love all the characters in there so far :D

Keep watching tho, it is imo a wonderful take on opposite attracts because they challenge each other to look past/grow past their pre-conceived notions. In the first episode Young is still pretty snobbish thanks to his upbringing and beliefs, but he will soften his stance quite a bit toward Ro Seo as the show goes on. You will see ;)

I don't get the negative comments this drama gets. Maybe it is because i am fond of sageuk's since my first kdrama last december was one (the king's affection), but i really really enjoy this show, the story line of alcohol probation/smuggling (which is finally a bit removed from the usual palace intrigues in sageuk's) and the budding, slow-paced romance of opposite people who complement each other so well and challenge each other at the same time to grow past their pre-conceived notions . All around a very enjoyable watch so far. Also probably the first drama of the ones i watched so far, where i get severe second lead syndrome bc i love the unruly crown prince with FL as well. Looking forward how the dynamic between them all evolves tho :D

Ikr? It is the premise of the drama, like why bother when you do not like that, lmao.

Mr. Queen is fantastic, so if you haven't seen it yet, i highly recommend it. It leans more into comedy than this drama, but it has something of everything and imo, one of the best enemies to lovers pairing/story.