Queen
Is there anyone who doesn’t like Queen In-Hyun’s Man?
So far, this drama had managed to climb over Rooftop Prince and King 2 Hearts in my most wanted list of shows. K-Pop Star the Ultimate Audition and Fashion King didn’t even stand a chance, and while Love Rain is right up there with Queen, it might only be because of the slower addition of subs to the latter. You know what I’m talking about. It’s the drama withdrawal to this show that forces me to watch other dramas, just so it can keep me satisfied until the next subbed episode of Queen comes out. I know, it’s a cruel reality for us parallel to the dramaverse. Tsk tsk.
I really enjoyed this drama right off the first five minutes of the pilot. The camera work is great, and there’s something artsy about the whole way the scenes were filmed that I don’t often find in other shows. The story surprised me as well—it has more meat than I initially thought and the laying out of conflict better than I expected. But most of all, I love, love, LOVE the characters. Even Dong-Min made me root for him a couple of times. Yes, he can be a douche, he’s a big baby and he has an ego the size of China, but oh man it would be impossible not to say he has charisma. Kim Jin-Woo owned that role.
As for Yoo In-Na’s Hee-Jin, I’ve liked her ever since I saw her play the best friend role in Secret Garden, and so far she hasn’t disappointed me. Sure, she acts really cutesy at times, but not too overboard that it would be annoying (unlike some other female lead… *cough*rooftopprince*cough*). Besides, she has a spitfire of a temper, and I really like how she responds realistically to situations. I’m telling you, the moment she flashed that finger at her arrogant ex, I knew this drama was going to be a keeper.
And so we come to Ji Hyun Woo’s Boong-Do. It’s really hard to play that character’s calm, intellectual persona without looking like some catatonic idiot, but somehow Woo makes it work. Thank God someone came to the realization that calm does not equal cold, and that smart does not equal condescending. I’ve seen too much of the cold-on-the-exterior-but-really-warm-on-the-inside cliche, so Boong-Do is like a hallelujah kind of character for me. Here’s a smart, resourceful lead who tells the truth and doesn’t hide behind a facade to act out the tough guy. And did you even see those little half-smiles of his? Come on, now. Those are enough to melt a Hershey bar stuck on the side of your freezer.
I’ve finished watching episode 6 now, and I’m waiting for 7 to be subbed. Ugh. Withdrawal symptoms.
