Queen In Hyun’s Man – 12-16/ final thoughts

We originally wrote this post the day after we finished the drama but never got around to putting it up, so we guess this is better late than never…

We watched episode 14 and thought to ourselves that it was perfect, it should just end right now and let them live happily ever after. It was satisfying and exactly what we wanted but no, it wouldn’t be a Kdrama without the writer making us squirm in our seats for another two episodes as we anxiously wonder whether they can pull off the impossible and not ruin a near perfect drama.

Trust us when we say we sweated it out in anticipation wondering whether this would be another 49 days shudder*

After we finished episode 16, we felt strange. On one hand we were terribly sad that it was over and that we wouldn’t be able to watch more of this wonderful drama that reignited a feeling that we thought we had lost for dramas but on another hand we felt kind of disappointed by the conclusion and the rationality of his return.

She called him back to 2012… not only was it cheesy but it made little sense in a mystical drama where the writer had managed to successfully set guidelines and rules as to how the magical elements of the drama would work.

The reasoning was too abstract and flimsy and well we just hoped for more, considering the writing and pretty much everything else had been spot on.

We like the notion that his phone was Hee Jin’s equivalent of the talisman and that her love ultimately brought him back to her and out of harm’s way but still, it just didn’t feel like a solid enough explanation. This drama is better than that and sadly as much as we tell ourselves not to expect too much, we still had our hearts pinned on it being that rare drama that was perfect from start to finish.

We’re not going to cry too much because this has definitely been our favourite drama of 2012 (so far).

Yes, it may not have turned out how we hoped but frankly perfection is overrated.

This drama had us emotionally and mentally hooked from episode one. It’s been a very long time since a drama has managed to solidly hold our attention from start to finish without us wavering at one point or another. It’s been even longer since we’ve watched a drama that was equally good in all areas.

We’re so pleased that this drama found itself a fan base and so many people loved it as much as we did, it would be a shame it if remained hidden under the guise of being labelled just another time travel drama.

One of our favourite things about this drama will always be the OTP.

Like we always say, a good OTP can keep us hooked on even the worst of dramas. Before the infamous public declaration of love came about, we remember sitting there week after week wondering whether they were a real couple. Their chemistry was just electric; it felt so natural and made the romantics in us giddy with excitement. When we think back to the drama, their interactions were quite mundane. They would hang out at the library, ride bikes and meet in the park. Sure, there was the public declaration of love on an airborne flight and oh yes, him turning up with multiple arrows in his body but still… we think we would have been content watching them do pretty much nothing for 16 episodes. They had us hooked on a basic level, where it was all about their eye contact and accidental touches.

Once you strip away the time travel, the famous actress meets historical scholar, all we’re left with is a guy and a girl who fall in love. We adored the fact that this couple just fell in love. Aside from time being an obvious obstacle, everything else was lovely viewing. There were just so many really sweet OTP moments that it’s hard to pick just one.

Okay, if we were going to have to narrow it down…we guess the scene where she spots him at the award ceremony was pretty awesome. We swooned like the worst type of fangirls imaginable. It was just such a great scene. Their eyes met and there were just a million emotions reflected on Hee Jin’s face. Even though the scene consisted of the OTP just looking at each other we loved how emotionally charged the moment was with the prospect of hope and disbelief all marred together.

Then there are other scenes like the hot library kiss in the lift and the scene where he brought her a car… okay the list could definitely go on but you get the picture!

Aside from loving the OTP, we loved the themes explored in the drama. As terrible romantics, we adored the idea of fate and mystical elements bringing the OTP together. We love how they were intrinsically linked and that Hee Jin was the person there to take care of him every time he escaped death. We liked how the drama explored the idea of risking everything for the ones you love and of course the idea that love conquers all- even time.

Loving the themes explored and the OTP would mean nothing if it wasn’t for the fact that we adored Boong Do and Hee Jin as individuals. If we didn’t like them as individuals, a great script, hot chemistry and lovely romance would mean nothing.

Hooray for an evolved male in a kdrama! We’re so pleased that Boong Do wasn’t an idiot leading man who was a complete bastard, emotionally stunted or just plain dumb.

Considerate, sweet and smart, what more can a girl ask for? We adored him from start to finish. His character could easily have been boring, if it wasn’t for the fact that he steamed up the screen with his OTP or the fact that we had the pleasure of watching his conflicting feelings play out on-screen effortlessly every week.

The scene where he’s writing his final letter to Hee Jin broke our hearts. It was just such a sad, emotional scene where we thought things couldn’t get worse for him and then they did. As he was such an honourable, likable character we felt for him so much when he lost everything, even his identity through the course of the drama. So even though the ending was very convenient and felt slightly disjointed we couldn’t have been happier for him when he got his HEA because he owned our hearts completely. Plus, if there was ever a guy that deserved a HEA it was him. Boy, did he suffer.

He is most definitely our favourite male character of 2012 by a long way.

Hee Jin was a treat to watch on-screen as well. She wasn’t your standard hard-working good girl or that angry damaged girl. Instead she was cheerful, thoughtful and very likable. We could so see ourselves being friends with her in real life. Plus, the girl had a cheeky, girly quality that we couldn’t help but relate to.

Who doesn’t like a girl that makes up elaborate, silly lies to get a kiss out of her OTP? Plus, we love the fact that she let her heart guide her through the course of the drama. Rationality, denial and hesitance wasn’t even an option in this drama, as soon as she met her OTP, she dived right in and fell in love. It was a refreshing and welcomed change in a drama climate where dramas love to drag out their OTP’s feelings until you reach the point where you have pulled all your hair out in frustration.

If this drama taught us anything, it was the idea that we can still find new gems that make us giddy and more importantly they can be excellent in quality. This drama has definitely set the bar for 2012 and sadly for us, possibly spoiled us a little in our expectations for any drama that follows.

Damn you drama for being so awesome!

How much we liked it: 9.5/ 10

How good we thought it was: 9.5/10

Yep, it was just that good.

Day 25: Dramas that made you change your mind

We confess we can be fickle at times, we get swept up in the moment and find ourselves passionately loving or hating dramas/ characters ect and then we do a complete U-turn and wonder what the hell were we thinking.

In honour of falling in love with our lastest drama obsession – Queen In Hyun’s Man and giving Yoo In Na a shot despite our aversion to plastic faces, here is our random rundown of drama related U-turns from over the years:

An Actor we once hated: Hyun Bin

Boy, did we hate him so much after watching him in My name is Kim Sam Soon. The ego, the weasel like face, the frustratingly infuriating way he treated Sam Soon, just everything about him made us mad. He left a really bad taste in our mouth and we avoided his dramas like the plague. Then one day, we stumbled across a trailer for Secret Garden…

We went from scowling at a face we deemed weasel like to looking at him and suddenly realising what all the fuss was about. He was hot. He had unbelievably good chemistry with his leading lady, he cried beautiful man tears and he could sing. Also there is the fact that he sacrificed his life so she could live…

All it took was one over the top, shiny tracksuit and all was forgiven.

An Actor we once loved:

Kim Soo Hyun

This will upset a lot of people and even as we write this we’re preparing to hide for cover but it’s just how we feel.

We adored him in Will it snow at Christmas? His portrayal of the young Kang Jin was amazing. He was broken, intense but still so vulnerable. We confess he stole our hearts in that drama and apparently many others as well. There is no denying he is a great actor but as soon as something becomes overexposed or loved too much, it’s game over for us. A switch is turned off in our heads and suddenly, everything about them and their dramas are completely lost on us.

The nail in the coffin was his role as Sam Dong in Dream High – sure he’s cute but when people start claiming that he could be idol star with those dance moves, you know he must be overexposed.

We love this scene in Dream High, it’s so sweet.

A drama that we once loved and now wonder wtf were we thinking:

Baker King– we actually wrote a retraction post about this matter.

We remember being choked up at points, marathoning the drama because we just couldn’t get enough of it and gushing endlessly to anyone that would listen. Then we re-watched it and realised that we must have been insane because it was just ridiculous.

Damn those tears, we just can’t resist good man pain!

Even with the incentive of pretty man tears, this drama turned out to be long winded, repetitive and plain stupid at times. Hello, pretending to be in a coma to lure your enemies out is silly!

An Actor we want to change our minds about but never do:

Blue Lan

Why did it take our beloved Roy Qiu so long to become a leading man when Blue Lan clearly isn’t in the same league of awesome???

Strangely enough we’ve seen lots of Blue Lan dramas. At one point it felt like he was the only leading man available for a Tdrama. Sadly for us, every time we finished one of his dramas, we would say never again but like fools we return only to regret it later. It’s a vicious cycle and one day we’ll learn… hopefully.

The thing about Blue is that he’s not a bad actor, he can generate a decent amount of chemistry with his leading ladies and he’s not bad to look at either, (even the moustache was kind of working for us). It’s just that he plays annoying, frustrating characters that we want to punch in the face and he finds himself acting opposite love rivals that are just too perfect not to love.

We think that if he can get himself a decent role, he may turn it around and that is why we return in hope and anticipation that he won’t disappoint us again.

We guess, if it doesn’t work out, we can return to bitching about him and his fugly clothes and problem hair, we never get bored of that. Muhahah Seriously, what the hell was going on in P.S MAN?

Queen In Hyun’s Man – episode 3-5

Thank you to the kind souls that have taken pity on us and have subbed this drama- we love you!

It’s been a long time since we thoroughly adored a OTP wholeheartedly but lucky for us, the wait is over.

We demand more buzz for this gem of a drama because it’s just so wonderful and we spend the majority of the time with big, goofy smiles plastered on our faces.

Who else loves this OTP?  We adore how they are linked and that fate brings them together when the leading man needs someone most. We can’t help but think that it’s so romantic that Hee Jin is the person that is there to project Boong Do when he’s most in danger. We could sit there watching their interactions all day long. They have this easy, natural chemistry that makes us giddy in the best way possible. We love the fact that they barely know each other and they are both in this unbelievable situation but still they can’t get enough of each other. Generally we’re not fans of the leading lady falling for the guy first but in this case, can we blame her really?

Seriously, we knew we would love him but Gim Boong Do is killing it as this awesome leading man. We can’t think of a leading man that is similar or as likable from the get go as this one. He’s not only smart and good with a sword but also he’s got this warmth about him that is infectious – we dare you not to like him. It’s impossible! We love the refreshing twist with the duck out of water storyline. The guy is 300 years out of his comfort zone but there he is, not only adapting to life in 2012 like a pro but also he’s freaking well comforting the leading lady!

We like how his intelligence shines through in all of his actions but you can also see other sides to his personality, like his subtle but cheeky sense of humour. The kiss as a greeting scene was so sweet but funny.  Also, the guy is just so cool, he has taken everything so well but at the same time, you can see things impact him in small doses as he comes to grips with his new reality. We can’t wait to see more sides to his personality and hopefully see that loveable cool exterior crack a little more as the drama continues.  We would love some angst but not too much, we love this OTP too much for them to really suffer.

Hee Jin is still a pleasant surprise for us. We really like how she’s adapted to the situation and how she’s forthright and not afraid to take chances. He could easily be a crazy stalker but she’s following her gut and taking a chance with him. For us, it’s an absolute pleasure to watch this whirlwind, irrational romance blossom between these two characters. They couldn’t be more different from each other but when they are together, it feels so authentic and fresh. Okay, the scenario is insane but we could totally believe that she would be upset when he told her he was leaving and yes, we can also believe that she would want to kiss him.  The speed of which their relationship is progressing may be fast but it doesn’t feel rushed or unbelievable and well frankly, we can’t wait for more!

We confess that the phone scene at the end of episode 5 made us grin like idiots.

Other thoughts:

We really like Yoon Wol as a love rival. Despite her situation and the knowledge that she’ll never be with Boong Do, she’s willing to risk her life for him out of loyalty and love.  She’s this tragic but strong character that you can’t help but like. We really, really hope that she doesn’t die. There is a reason why we avoid historical dramas, the writers are never afraid to kill off likable characters.

Who else thought the scene where Dong Min trapped Boong Do in the shower was so funny? It was just so randomly comedic to see a grown man in full traditional attire locked in a shower. The scene was even funnier because Boong Do was as cool as a cucumber throughout the whole scene.  

Han Dong Min’s personality has quite a lot of qualities of leading men of past dramas. He’s arrogant, cheeky and infuriates the leading lady.  As much as he makes us laugh, it’s great to see him as the love rival that loses the girl to the smart, thoughtful guy for once. Yay.

Queen In Hyun’s Man – episodes 1-2

We must be gluttons for punishment because we have started watching two dramas that NO ONE appears to be subbing. Why do we do this to ourselves?!

Please, please someone take pity on us and sub The Marriage Plot and Queen In Hyun’s Man!  

Yep, this was nowhere near our radar but it sucked us in good and now we’re hooked and desperately want to watch more! There should be more buzz around this drama, we loved it. If the first couple episodes were anything to go by we think this one may be a keeper (fingers crossed).

Prior to tuning in, we wrote it off as just another time travelling drama. Also, we confess we really don’t rate Yoo In Na as a leading lady. There is someone about her plastic face that puts us off (okay that was mean) but true. Muhaha.

Putting her face aside, the fact that she had the misfortune to play a Hong sister’s love rival did her no favours in our opinion. Playing a Hong sister’s love rival has one perk – you get plenty of exposure. The downside is everything else. You are playing the most annoying, frustrating, 2D character ever and will leave a bad taste in viewers’ mouths for a very long time. We have only just forgiven UEE after her performance in You’re Beautiful (shudder*).

However, despite our aversion to plastic faces, we tuned in and found that we liked her a lot and can’t wait for her to bag herself a smart, kick arse scholar from the past. HEEE

Two things that made us change our minds:

 1. We love a leading lady that isn’t afraid to speak her mind and give an arsehole ex boyfriend the finger when he deserves it. She is feisty, independent and has integrity – we approve.

2. The scene where she was on her knees having a phone conversation through a drain pipe pretty much sealed the deal for us. Nothing else mattered in that moment except for that phone call and it’s hard not to root for a lead that wants something so badly. It was just a lovely, happy, over the top scene that made us think that maybe it will be easy to fall for her as a character.

Don’t even get us started on the leading man.

All we have to say is: WE LOVE HIM.

We haven’t seen a leading man like him in awhile and it’s a complete pleasure. He is intelligent, thoughtful and can really kick the baddies butts when it’s called for. We loved his fights scenes in episode 1. Not only is he a geeky girl’s dream, he’s all damaged and tortured from his past. Swoon*

We’ve only seen brief scenes between the leads but we can’t wait for more. Watching their two worlds collide and seeing them fall for each other despite everything in the way is so exciting. Hello, 300 years is what you call a long distance romance!

We’re not really fans of historical dramas but this one isn’t heavy on the politics and stays focused on the people and surprisingly enough we’re really enjoying it. We love how it seamlessly moves between the times. We’re completely in love with how the drama is directed on the whole. It’s so damn pretty to look at. Also, the action sequences, the way the camera is used and okay pretty much everything about it appeals to us. Gushing aborted. Hehehe.

If you haven’t guessed already, we’re loving this drama a lot and really, really hope that we get to watch more. Also more importantly, we hope it stays as awesome as it has so far.