K-Drama Review

Review – Queen Seon Duk

/ Lady Divine / 5 Comments

Review – Queen Seon Duk

THE GREAT QUEEN SEON DUK

If this show wasn’t so long, it might be the greatest thing to ever come out of South Korea.  Of course, if it wasn’t so long it might not be so darned epic and unforgettable.  Curse you, conundrums!  This show can be effectively divided into two sections:  Pre-Queen and Post-Queen.  Half of the show depicts the young life of Deokman and her struggle to raise herself to royal status.  The second half is what happens when she gets it.

In my opinion, everyone should watch this show.  Wait til you have the flu and a few days off work, if you must.  But watch it.  The “Mishil” music is still played in current dramas as a gag reference all the time.  It’s a staple of K-World.

Overall Rating:  10/10 – near perfection period-piece epic with romance, action, betrayal, friendship, rivalry, political intrigue, and unforgettable characters – it’s a massive commitment of time that will ultimately leave you deeply satisfied and possibly traumatized for life.

Now come cozy up beside me and let’s talk about why this show completely rocks my socks, shall we?

———————— MASSIVE SPOILERS & RATINGS FOLLOW ————————–

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Review – Protect the Boss

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Review – Protect the Boss

Protect the boss is about a young woman who’s struggling to enter the business world even though her resume is as spotty as her past.  A teenage thug, a protestor in college and the daughter of a martial arts teacher – she’s a big ball of raw girl power but hardly the type most big businesses are looking to hire.  By a humorous turn of events, she gets hired as a secretary for a goofy, floundering young CEO.  Romantic shenanigans ensue.

MINOR IMPRESSIONISTIC SPOILERS & RATINGS FOLLOW

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Review – Nine Times Travel

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Review – Nine Times Travel

Nine Times Travel.  Proving you don’t need incredible special effects or overly elaborate scientific explanations to master the art of time travel and exquisite television.  Keep it simple and it will grow exponentially on its own.  For what started as a rather simple drama with a “day time” television feeling, I was pleasantly surprised how quickly this show leveled up.  I had a full blown emotional heart attack during episode nine and was revived only to die of shock again a few episodes later.  The crash cart was brought out and “Clear!”  By the end of the show, I felt like I’d been dragged across twenty years and half the world.  And I wanted to do it again.  And possibly again… in twenty years.  Or an alternate time line.  Or, ya know, some conundrum worm-hole double-layered mess that gets Hawking hard and gives me headaches.

Overall Rating 9.5/10

SPOILERS and CONTINUED REVIEW

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Review – Monstar

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Review – Monstar

Monstar is a musical delight.  The cast was plucky and varied, the plot was just enough to keep you interested for 12 hours, and the music was by far the best of the “teen musical” k-drama choices out there.  There were moments that I didn’t care for and characters I didn’t have much interest in, but overall I enjoyed this show tremendously.  It doesn’t really warrant a long review, in my opinion.  It’s just pop-tastic fun in high school with rival bands, a slew of instruments and a broad range of musical styles.  These are talented kids.  It didn’t have the same emotional punch as Shut Up Let’s Go but it wasn’t as cheesy as Heartstrings.  If you want a feel-good musical show, this is a safe bet.  Snaps to the director – far more convincing lip syncing in this drama than most, and most of the musical numbers were played in full.  Too bad the soundtrack doesn’t cover the 30 plus exceptional musical moments in this show.  Thankfully, there’s some great playlists on youtube that have just about everything.

Overall Rating:  8/10.  Plot Rating:  6/10.  Romance Rating:  7/10.  Cuteness Rating:  9/10.  Music Rating:  10/10.

Review – Master’s Sun

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Review – Master’s Sun

An overall enjoyable series starring Gong Hyo Jin as Tae Gong Shil, a young woman who is tormented by her ability to see ghosts and So Ji Sub as Joo Joong Won, your typical CEO who is impervious to human relationships after a tragic event in his past.  Commence romance and supernatural shenanigans.  The episodes are fast-paced, varied and largely compelling.  Lots of side-stories involving ghosts to keep up the speed when the main plot lags.  I believe everyone can find something to like about this show and highly recommend it for online streaming or download.

————- MASSIVE SPOILERS & RATINGS FOLLOW ————-

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Review – Lie To Me

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Review – Lie to Me

Lie to Me is one of those dramas that once you accept the plot has about as much weight and logic as a toddler, you can just sit back and enjoy it scuffling around the carpet with wad of crayons in its hands.  There’s a lot to enjoy, too.  This drama offers us a glimpse at the rare bird of open-mouthed kissing.  As if aware of how spectacularly alien its presence is, it makes sure to show off all its feathers and give us some of the most memorable kissing scenes in drama-town.  The Karaoke Kiss.  The Cola Kiss.  If you’ve seen it, you know exactly what I’m talking about.  The fighting-then fake marriage-then real romance of the main couple is the main dish of the drama.  This dish may appear more appetizing than it is due to the above mentioned (and more) kissing scenes.

Everything else in the show is just colorful side-dishes.

MAY I TAKE YOUR ORDER PLEASE?  READ MORE….

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Review – Last Scandal of My Life

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Review – Last Scandal of My Life

I started this drama based solely on the romantic cover picture and the suggestive title.  Little did I know this would not be a suave romantic drama but instead end up a delightful romantic comedy.  Turns out it was exactly what I needed – a short, playful series about adults finding love (again) later in their lives.  It’s not the best rom-com I’ve seen, but it was certainly charming and had a lot of the elements I cherish in k-dramas.

Overall Rating:  8/10

Let’s hold hands and skip while we examine this feel-good drama…

SPOILERS FOLLOW

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Review – God’s Gift: 14 Days

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Review – God’s Gift: 14 Days

I don’t write lengthy reviews on mysteries… unless they suck and I feel like ruining it for everyone.  This mystery did not suck.  Au contraire!  It was very good indeed, so I shall keep this post short and sweet.  The plot of this series is as follows:  A serial killer kidnaps the daughter of a highly influential married couple.  They discover the child’s dead body shortly after.  Devastated by this loss, the mother proceeds to kill herself… only to find she has gone back in time two weeks and given a second chance to save her daughter.  She has not come back in time alone, however.  A two-bit gangster has also crossed time.  As the mother and gangster unite to solve the crime before it happens – they discover their own lives are interconnected through dark events of the past.  Murders, madhouses, pill popping pop icons, conspiracies, police corruption, adultery and more surface as the fate of the young daughter hangs in the balance.

This drama started out with a BANG and kept going strong for about 12 episodes before it started to taper off a bit, though not enough to warrant complaint.  The complicated web of deceit was nicely drawn out and slowly revealed, with the answer to one mystery posing a question for a new one.  There were some stellar performances from the large ensemble cast, with a special ticker-tape parade to Cho Seung Woo (who played the x-cop turned gangster) and Baro (who played the mentally handicapped adopted nephew of the gangster).  This drama was a tense and suspenseful thrill ride with excellent production value.  Most highly recommended thriller.  The only reason I do not give it a higher rating is that I don’t believe this drama has a high re-watch factor, which I believe is essential.

Overall Rating:  8/10

Review – Dr. Kkang (also known as Dr. Gang & Doctor Gangster)

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Review – Dr. Kkang (also known as Dr. Gang & Doctor Gangster)

If Coffee Prince and Padam Padam got married… they’d produce Dr. Kkang.  Coffee Prince had more attention to detail in set design and better costuming. Padam Padam had superior cinematography and a phenomenal musical score.  But if you combine the charm and playful romance of Coffee Prince with the rough-around-the-edges-but-ultimately-lovable male lead of Padam Padam – you might create this remarkably enduring show.  What an unlikely surprise to come across a 10/10 show on a whim via dramafever.

If you like romance (epic), comedy (side splitting hysterical without reducing its characters to gimmicky comedy stereotypes) and a solid gangster-action gritty substructure (yikes) – you will like this show.  Actually, if you like quality Korean drama – you will love this show.  You’re not human if this one doesn’t chisel a crude drawing of a heart on your heart.

SPOILERS FOLLOW….

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