The Queen is ‘Mr. Queen’
“Mr. Queen” follows Jang Bong-hwan (Choi Jin-hyuk), a chef at one of modern Korea’s most famous restaurants, who finds himself in Queen Choerin’s (Shin Hye-sun) body in the Joseon period after falling into a body of water at the same time that she tries to drown herself.
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Shin Hye Sun’s Instagram
He is immediately confronted by the dangers and pain that the soon to be queen had to face, the first being an impending marriage to King Cheoljong (Kim Jung-hyun) who clearly does not like her and an attack on her life a couple of days after he woke up in her body.
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In an attempt to help himself return to his own body Bong-hwa tries to piece together what occurred the night of So-yong’s attempted suicide while dealing with being stuck between the Kim clan and King Cheoljong.
The drama manages to capture us in moments of complete comedic genius through the use of Bong-hwa having reactions from the perspective of a man while in the body of a woman who is meant to be poise and relatively meek. They also make use of the characters of Court Lady Choi (Cha Chung-hwa) and Royal Chef Man-bok (Kim In-kwon).
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The ironic and hilarious moments brought on through these characters make the moments of rage, hopelessness and pain so much more heavier, creating a balance and allowing the audience to experience the emotional range of the main character seamlessly. One such instance is when King Cheoljong and Queen Choerin’s relationship accelerates after she figures out that he tried to kill her and still stands up for him and his concubine, Jo Hwa-jin (Seol In Ah). The rage shown by Bong-hwan during this scene reminds us of the gravity of all that has occurred and how unprotected the queen is simply because she refused to betray Cheoljong.
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“You should have understood me before putting a sword to my neck.
No. You should have understood this woman when she tried to commit suicide the night before the wedding.”
When much later Queen Choerin collapses in the royal kitchen, we see a shift in the attention of Cheoljong from Hwa-jin to the queen and we’re also shown how caring and loving he can be when he simply allows himself to trust that she has no ill intentions towards him.
Seol In Ah’s Instagram
The pacing of the drama allows for their relationship to progress and for tension between Cheoljong and the Kim clan to grow simultaneously. We’re shown how desperately he wants better for his people and how he is willing to put his life at risk in order to obtain that. When their relationship then becomes a weapon used against him by her clan, and they almost poison her, he tries to shield her, but Bong-hwa’s spirit is not meek so he stands up for Queen Choerin and in extension himself.
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“Saving you is how I save myself”
It’s during this part of the drama that you start seeing the duality of the two spirits working as one; the queen’s gentleness, her unconditional love for Cheoljong, her physical want for him and comforting him when he is at his lowest and the friendship between them formed by Bong-hwa, as well as his tenacity, humour and courage. All these characteristics make the queen’s character so much more layered and enjoyable to the audience.
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Just when we think all is working out, Queen Choerin’s pregnancy is announced, yes the irony of Bong-hwa finding out about this was comedic gold but then rumours start to spread about Queen Choerin having slept with her cousin Kim Byeong-in which put her, the king and their baby in danger. At this point King Cheoljong makes a choice that puts his life in danger in order to save them and overthrow the Kim clan once and for all.
Episodes 18 through to 20 feel like a payment for all the joy and laughter we have enjoyed in prior episodes, Shin Hye-sun carries Bong-hwa’s anger and fatigue with So-yong’s grief and defeat so effortlessly it makes each moment feel full and so beautifully painful.
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The ending is bittersweet; Bong-hwa returns to his body to find his life has changed for the better. However, both Cheoljong and Bong-hwa seem to miss each other dearly.
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“Did I lose something?”
There is such a beautiful balance in the storytelling in this drama, every moment feels full of emotion and captures you completely. The lightness of the drama makes it easy to binge watch without feeling emotionally and mentally drained and the performances make it feel so diverse and colourful in terms of delivery but also as if the cast is moving as one. The technical aspects of the drama are beautiful in a way that does not outshine the story and the soundtrack feels like icing on the cake.
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I give this drama a strong 8/10. “Mr. Queen” truly is the girl she thinks she is.
Review by Thabang Mashiane
