Queen Seondeok drama review
I originally posted this review on crunchyroll. I'm deleting my account on there so I thought I'd post here.
This drama was a pure hot mess. The atmosphere was so uneven that at times I didn’t know what kind of drama I was watching. Is this is suppose to be a funny fusion or a serious sageuk? I blame the writer and the director equally for making me confused on that. The director more so, because despite having a decent cast, I found the acting ridiculously over the top. If Queen Seondeok was a modern drama or a fusion, OTT acting and that type of silliness wouldn’t bother me. But this is supposed to be a poised sageuk. I’ve heard that it is one of the toughest types of dramas to tackle because you have to rely heavily on controlled acting and using proper speech. Subtlety is the key ingredient in sageuks. Here, there were far too many unintentional funny moments for me to take it seriously in that genre.
And the director isn't solely to blame, the writer didn't really help with that script. I’m not sure what has happened with the writer since she wrote Dae Jang Geum in 2003, but her quality of writing has sure gone down. Deokman’s rise to the throne was driven by plot points and emotional manipulation. In comparison to the writer’s other heroine, Jang Geum, Deokman’s rise in power is nothing to write home about. Although becoming the first female to ascend the throne is pretty amazing accomplishment in itself, I fail to see what she truly accomplished in her era. What life lessons were learned? How did Deokman evolve as a person? From hwarang- to princess- to the nation’s Queen…what change were we suppose to see besides the most obvious one? Could she have done it without Yushin or Bidam?
Overall, this drama did not deliver for me. The character development wasn’t solid enough and neither was anything else. I wouldn’t recommend this drama for people that are just starting on sageuks. Queen Seondeok isn't the...best drama in its genre. To say the least.
I’d only recommend people to watch Queen Seondeok if you are tuning in to see Kim Nam Gil as Bidam. He did a brilliantly job here and you’ll see why this roll marked his rise to stardom.
This drama was a pure hot mess. The atmosphere was so uneven that at times I didn’t know what kind of drama I was watching. Is this is suppose to be a funny fusion or a serious sageuk? I blame the writer and the director equally for making me confused on that. The director more so, because despite having a decent cast, I found the acting ridiculously over the top. If Queen Seondeok was a modern drama or a fusion, OTT acting and that type of silliness wouldn’t bother me. But this is supposed to be a poised sageuk. I’ve heard that it is one of the toughest types of dramas to tackle because you have to rely heavily on controlled acting and using proper speech. Subtlety is the key ingredient in sageuks. Here, there were far too many unintentional funny moments for me to take it seriously in that genre.
And the director isn't solely to blame, the writer didn't really help with that script. I’m not sure what has happened with the writer since she wrote Dae Jang Geum in 2003, but her quality of writing has sure gone down. Deokman’s rise to the throne was driven by plot points and emotional manipulation. In comparison to the writer’s other heroine, Jang Geum, Deokman’s rise in power is nothing to write home about. Although becoming the first female to ascend the throne is pretty amazing accomplishment in itself, I fail to see what she truly accomplished in her era. What life lessons were learned? How did Deokman evolve as a person? From hwarang- to princess- to the nation’s Queen…what change were we suppose to see besides the most obvious one? Could she have done it without Yushin or Bidam?
Overall, this drama did not deliver for me. The character development wasn’t solid enough and neither was anything else. I wouldn’t recommend this drama for people that are just starting on sageuks. Queen Seondeok isn't the...best drama in its genre. To say the least.
I’d only recommend people to watch Queen Seondeok if you are tuning in to see Kim Nam Gil as Bidam. He did a brilliantly job here and you’ll see why this roll marked his rise to stardom.