Mr. Queen | Review

A man wakes up in a Queen's body and tries to flee from her suddenly intrigued husband.

Notable Actors/Actresses

Shin Hye-Sun: Kim So Yong / Jang Bong Hwan

Kim Jung-Hyun: Cheol Jong

Director:

Yun Seong-Sik

Screenwriters:

Park Kye-Ok

Choi A-Il

Hangul Title
에이틴 어게인

Genres: Palace, Fantasy, Period Romcom

Network: tvN

Year: 2020
Episodes: 20

Reviewer: FanFanX

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(Recommendation: Sort comments to “Oldest” if you’re not up to date with the newest episode)

Cast

Shin Hye Sun: Kim So Yong / Jang Bong Hwan

Kim Jung Hyun: Cheol Jong

Seol In-A: Jo Hwa Jin

Na In Woo: Kim Byeong In

Bae Jong Ok: Grand Queen Dowager Sunwon

Kim Tae Woo: Kim Jwa Geun

Cha Chung Hwa as Court Lady Choi

Romcom/Romance Checklist

How much of the plot is angst/romance?

0 / 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5

The ML: 

Cold–Lukewarm–Warm / Timid / Falls in Love First / Noble Idiot / CEO / General / 

The FL: 

Bold / Cute / Cool & Independent / Falls in Love First / Better Than ML / Noble Idiot / 

Describe the Relationship (the tropes):

Bickering Start / Childhood Connection / Cohabitation / Contract Marriage or Fake Couple /  Enemies to Lovers / Hidden Identity / School to Adulthood / Love Triangle / Married Couple (Real) / Secretly in Love (F/ML) / Star-Crossed Lovers / 

Relationship Progress (officially together; first (official) kiss; breakup*):

Ep 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7 / 8 / 9 / 10  / 11  / 12  / 13 / 14 / 15 / 16  / 17  / 18  / 19  / 20  

# of CPs (including main CP):
0 / 1 / 2 / 3

Ending:

Happy / Sad / Open Happy / Open Sad / Bad

Other Remarks

[First Impression (Ep1-)] No idea what I was getting into. The title didn't really interest me before. But I started it and the story isn't exactly what I thought it'd be either. I actually love the food tie-in with the story. Even though I craved ramyeon every day and night during this viewing. xD 

[Actors/Actresses] Never watched Kim Jung Hyun before - and I am in love with his acting and all the microexpressions! He conveys so much with his eyes alone. Shin Hye Sun is the perfect comedic partner to his fussiness. 

Seol In Ah is absolutely stunning to look at in this. I love her so much in A Business Proposal, so it was a treat to see her in this. 

Cha Chung Hwa as Court Lady Choi just cracks me up and she's always a delight in anything I've watched her in.

[Behind the Scenes] Besides the cat-and-mouse game between our leads, I also found Kim Jung Hyun to be so fun. So many ad-libs! 

[OST] This sageuk is infused with so much modern flair and the OST is no exception to that rule. Fun!

00:00​ Bong Hwan A | Norazo 

02:39​ Like A Star | Jang Han Byul

06:47​ Here I Am | Jo Hyun Ah (Urban Zakapa) - My favorite! (Even with the English lyrics. lol)

10:45​ Puzzle | SOYOU, Park Woo Jin (AB6IX) 

13:45​ Keep Going | Din Din

17:40​ The Great Recipe | sEODO

21:31​ To My One and Only You | Xiumin

26:02​ Like A Star | Onestar

30:28​ Venus ft. VIINI | Moon Jong Up

[Ending] Happy Queen with an even happier King.

[Review & Rating]

This series was fun over the course of four days. The love story is kind of sweet and quite funny for a sageuk - with plenty of modern elements (including the music). In terms of politicking, Bloody Heart has it beat. However, even as I say this, I definitely like the couple here more than in the other series, as they’re more of a real team in taking down the dastardly queens and officials. I also really enjoyed the actors here. 

Main Leads: The leads are new to me as I haven’t watched anything with either before. Shin Hye Sun as Kim So Yong rides this line of being pretty and feminine yet foul-mouthed and too bold for comfort. This was the perfect representation of a man (morally grey Jang Bong Hwan) being suddenly stuck in a woman’s body. Now, let’s talk about my favorite actor in this, Kim Jung Hyun as Cheol Jong – it’s all in his eyes and the microexpressions from the tiniest quirk of an eyebrow to the tremble of his lips. Kim Jung Hyun isn’t my usual cup of tea but his acting really made that a moot point – as I was on his team from the get-go. I was rooting so hard for the two of them. 

Supporting Actors: I like Na In Woo but seriously, how many times did I really need to see his tear-filled eyes? (Less than three is the right answer.) I wish they would stop creating and dragging out this pitiful lovelorn secondary love interest character. Seol In Ah is absolutely gorgeous in this, and I appreciated seeing her range in this – sweet to conniving with a redemption arc. Bae Jong Ok was lovely and hilarious as the scheming Grand Queen Dowager Sun Won. I honestly didn't recognize Kim Tae Woo at first as Kim Jwa Geun, her brother, who is manipulating everything to keep her in power. Cha Chung Hwa as Court Lady Choi is such a memorable character. She’s saying/doing things that one would only dream of - like going into the bamboo forest to yell insults about the Queen. (Treasonous!)

Romance ✔️

Hilarious & Independent FL✔️

Hilarious ML due to FL ✔️

Lovelorn 2ML/2FL✔️

Palace politics  ➖

Outlandish sidekicks  ➖

Annoying family ➖

I wanted to rate this one higher but it is hampered by palace politics, plus the angsty 2ML/2FL. And our leads’ romance is a bit jarring - as Cheol Jong seems to fall for her overnight and is relentless in his pursuit. Kim So Young’s initial resistance (as she’s actually a man in a woman’s body) is fun to watch. With that being said, I’d still rewatch this one for the main leads’ interactions for a pick-me-upper. No touch!  

Random Recommendation: 

Rating: 3/5