Queen For Seven Days captures an arresting tale of love and sacrifice that will burrow deep in your heart.
Once in a while, you witness a beautiful love story that you want to tell everyone about it because you want to share that stunning experience with them. That’s the exact feeling I had when I watched Queen For Seven Days. It brings the viewers to the sweetest highs and despondent lows as the story lures into a web of doubts, betrayals, and love.
Main Cast: Park Min Young | Yeon Woo Jin | Lee Dong Gun |
K-Dramas of Similar Vibe: Jang Ok Jung | The Princess’ Man | Grand Prince |
Queen For Seven Days pushed me to the limit of my tears. I usually avert melodramas, but KBS' historical offering has this interesting visage that draws you in as a viewer at the moment you meet the lead characters. Staged in the traditional background, it narrates a breathtaking chronicle of a woman, who relies on love but falters on trusting that love which eventually leads to her misfortunes.
Park Min Young delivers another classic performance in her newest historical melodrama, with equally outstanding support from her male leads Yeon Woo Jin and Lee Dong Gun. Queen For Seven Days will challenge your emotional strength in a way when ice cream and chocolates won’t help.
Queen For Seven Days Peak Points
Stunning Character Depictions
Layered by the exhausting political power struggles, the war between two brothers wanting to keep the throne to protect and keep the woman they cherish in their hearts is full of poignant moments, where viewers would sympathize with the pain and sacrifices of the main characters. They have to go through endless discernment to achieve vindication of the right and wrong options which they picked in trying to shield the people they love.
Park Min Young as Shin Chae Gyung
I don’t know how many buckets of tears Park Min Young cried in this drama as the woman torn between two brothers who want to keep her by their side. She is truly in love with the Prince, but then she is also a pillar of strength for the King. As always, Park Min Young can grasp her character well in a way that idol actresses can never understand. If you count the variations of the crying faces she made, you can’t help but wonder if she is drinking some bottled emotions to nail the heavy scenes with conviction.
Her position in the story requires her to be brave, even with a hefty amount of fictional adversaries thrown at her. She can’t be too happy because the junctions of the series have a special mishap compass that knows only her direction. I think she is the most bullied character this year. When I marry someday, my love promise will be “I Will Love You Like Shin Chae Gyung”. *grin
Yeon Woo Jin as Prince Jin Seong
Yeon Woo Jin is a chameleon actor. He likes playing different personas that will make you admire the kind of actor he is heading to be. His portrayal as the death-defying Prince in Queen For Seven Days will now be my favorite. I love how he knows how to switch faces as the lead man in the strong heartrending scenes to a puppy-faced prince, who can’t live with his lady love in the cotton candy light frames.
Lee Dong Gun as King Yeongsan
Wow is an understatement how Lee Dong Gun added colors to his temperamental character as King Yeongsan. His conflicted image of an evil King is completely sketched that viewers can sympathize with his insecurities and irrational behavior due to the agonizing life he had from the trauma he suffered because of his parents. His swerving to a villain role showed a facet of his acting arsenal that we thought he is not capable of. I enjoyed immensely his rendition of a vile and misunderstanding King that I want him not to take easy projects in the future.
Justified Conflict and Cohering Story
Queen For Seven Days tells the story of two brothers in contention of the King's position. Supporting them are opposing court ministers and members of the royal family vying to claim the seat of power. The political factions are clearly delineated, and it helped that the story limited the count of antagonists to be proportional to the problems tackled in the story.
Trust me when I say that grandpa villains in sageuk are ruthless and knows no bound when it comes to exercising their greed. They come in numbers too, that they tend to overpower the heroes of the story. That did not happen in Queen For Seven Days because the concentration of wickedness was neutralized – but also because the disheartening love problem outshines the political discord of the story.
The integral conflict suffocating the two brothers is worsened as they become victims of the greedy ministers standing on their sides. On the King’s side, his already dysfunctional thinking is amplified by his loyal retainer’s advice to strain his relationship more with his family, who can’t fully accept him owing to his tyrant acts affecting the country.
On the other hand, the Prince, who is guided by his wife’s warmth and wisdom, gains power through the support of his followers. But that same power is unable to protect the woman he loves when his followers demand him to pay them back for helping him get the throne.
Queen For Seven Days efficiently maximizes the staple government intrigues and character motivations to balance the frustrating love line. That is one of the reasons why even with its weep fest premise, you end up forgetting the tears and being consumed on finding the best way possible to make the people of that eccentric love triangle be happy.
Breathtakingly Bittersweet Love Tale
I smiled, melted, wailed, begged, and a lot more on my drama journey in Queen For Seven Days. When you think of those tragic love stories, you will remember them only as a sad tale. But not in this drama.
While you grieve with the love pairing who are forced to love each other from afar, you will accept that true love is kept in the heart with the best memories you have with someone, even if you cannot have future moments together. This drama, though not achieving a happy ending fully, is still a satisfying romantic tale, which will appeal to people that know love waits, love goes on, and love endures.
Queen For Seven Days Series Musings
If you are the type who hates melodramas, then of course this is not for you. But I dare you to watch it and see for yourself why all the tears you will spend watching it are worth it. I binge on it. Hence my tear ducts were exhausted, but I think if you savor it slowly, you would enjoy the intricate writing.
Although underrated, Queen For Seven Days is one of the best dramas released in 2017. Superbly written, directed, and acted, I never had a point where I had to question the plot because the characters are drawn so well that you will understand the choices they had to make.
Queen For Seven Days leaves a lingering message on how an enduring love may not picture an ever after at the moment, yet it does not mean that it won’t be fulfilled in the future. Chae Gyung and Prince Jin Seong’s love story is a reminder that such sacrifices are inevitable when you are truly in love.
Oh My Ladylord grows in your heart without you realizing it!
Past the middle point of the series, Nana, Lee Min Ki, and Kang Min Hyuk have all my attention to their happy love triangle. The soothing mood and inserts of quirky moments made me a loyal follower of this series, albeit the typical rom-com trajectory it is heading to.
Knowing about Biso”s mom’s sickness, Joo-in is all set to be a support system to him. But when she learns about his awareness of his mother’s dying condition, Joo-in perceives how hard it would be for him. Nicking a radio hosting stint, she invites Bi-soo as a guest, and he also took advantage of scoring points in front of his love rival Yu-jin.
To gift his mom with a beautiful memory, Bi-soo also asked the network president if his drama can be moved up. Diligently working to make his mom’s last days happy, his unresolved grudge with his father escalates when he hints a secret about Bi-soo that he knows about.
Joo-in’s Cutely Conflicted Heart
Choosing to implement diplomatic talk in the love triangle she has with her house tenant-writer and longtime friend, Joo-in, Joo-in confessed liking both of them. She also asks them to be patient as she ponders on who she wants to share her future together.
To settle her confusion she weighs who her heart beats for since she equally likes Bi-soo and Yu-jin. The result is a friendly date contest where Joo-in got the best of her suitors’ romantic worlds.
Oh My Ladylord Mid-Series Musings
I, myself, am surprised as to why my week is not complete without a dose of Oh My Ladylord. There’s nothing grand, nothing new, but I’ve grown to be fond of the characters in the story. In terms of uniqueness, the love triangle in this series is probably the friendliest among those we watched previously.
We can happily send Joo-in to either Bi-soo or Yu-jin, and we will provide the united group hug to the one not chosen. Basking on their parade of ideas to win Joo-in’s heart always amuses. *chuckles
At some point, we know that Bi-soo’s daddy issue will be discussed. The same way that his cryptic vision will be explained. So, moving forward to the second half of the series, those are bound to be presented. While we bask in the adorable moments, the second part is inevitably going in an emotional direction because of the piling woes of the male lead. How the romance will prosper might be influenced by Bi-soo’s situation.
The shift of focal character evidently leans to Bi-soo moving to the culminating period. Nonetheless, it does not overwhelm the balance of the narrative. Oh My Ladylord has this serene mood despite running on an upbeat tone. That’s probably why it hooks subconsciously.
Who will win Joo-in’s heart? Will Bi-soo get through his long-running angst towards his father? Find out the answers to these questions in the last eight episodes of Oh My Ladylord.
Catch up on the latest episodes of Oh My Ladylord on iQIYI!
His cameo appearance in the 9th episode of the series will give life to the role of star ballerino, Hwang-hee.
Befitting of his character’s title, the actor exudes an elegant demeanor. In particular, Deokchul (played by Park In-hwan) is known to have expressed a shy fan spirit as soon as he sees Hwanghee, raising expectations in their meeting.
In the photo unveiled, Hwang-hee engages in a subtle nerve war with Chae Rok (Song Kang). It further amplifies curiosity about what happened between the two.
While Seo In Guk predicts a strong impact through a special appearance in Navillera, expectations are high for the picture of the two talented actors working together in the scenes.
The production crew revealed the surprise quick appearance came from Seo In Guk’s relationship with director Han Dong-hwa. They worked together in the drama Squad 38.
tvN’s Monday-Tuesday drama Navillera is a heartening friendship story that bloomed between a 70-year old postman and a 23-year old young man who both love ballet.
Episode 9 of Navilera will be broadcast at 9 PM on April 19 on tvN. Global fans can watch it on Netflix.
K-Dramas of Similar Vibe: I Need Romance | Reply 1997 | She Was Pretty
Featuring the story of a webtoon writer Seo Ji-won who reunites with her first love Lee Seung-yoo, their picture-perfect romantic story failed to continue. While their mutual romance is true, the start of their relationship was built in a lie.
How To Be Thirty Peak Points
Realistic Romance Stories
Incorporating genuine career, love and life stories of the featured characters in the story, How To Be Thirty is a quick drama anthem that single people can relate to. More than that, its focus on bringing the idea of love perspectives growth based on experiences.
Seo Ji Won, as the focal character, presents a picture of a woman of fortitude. She is a reminder that no matter how guarded we can be after failed past relationships, it does not make us immune to going through the same ordeal.
Her relationship with Lee Seung-yoo traced her developed mindset in qualifying the love she needs versus the love she deserves. Displaying the change of how she handled the love heartbreaks in her 20’s and 30’s is a ruminative takeaway in the series. The smart picture of letting her meet a love rival who resembled her all-out loving 20’s self was a fresh and reality-biting scene.
Ran-ju’s love tale equalizes the disappointing main romance story with how it gifted an unassuming-let’s-love-because-we-feel-it story. Likewise, Ah-young’s tenacity to move past through the knots of her failed romance inspires women of how love can be taken in many forms even without a man involved.
Friendship Stories
How To Be Thirty relays the importance of having lifetime friends. Even a small number suffices what matters is they’re a functioning support system. Just like how Ji-won, Ran-ju and Ah-young are to each other.
At the same time, meeting unexpected new connections might come just when we need it. Like how Ji-won finds a comforting friendship with Do-hoon. Someone she never thought would click well with her as a friend.
How To Be Thirty Series Musings *Spoiler Alert
Honestly, the last two kakao TV dramas I saw did not make me happy. Thus, the reviews are not in yet. *chuckles Thankfully, How To Be Thirty did not bring me down despite not achieving a happy-ever-after between the main love pairing.
Its message that beautiful romance built in half-hearted intention makes you ponder on the kind of romantic relationship you need as you age along. Albeit Seung-yoo’s explanation of his viewpoint, the whirlwind romance he felt even if 100% true does not justify that he did not end the relationship first before embarking on a new one.
But that does not make his mercurial young girlfriend’s actions valid. Her stubbornness to hold on to a relationship that she’s only left in love with might ring a bell to anyone who experienced the same love loop when they were young.
Easy to watch but with make-sense love arguments, the series also featured stunning lines. In particular, I like the line Do-hoon said about the difference between the ’20s and ’30s when it comes to love. That ’30s can still work after a breakup. Somehow, it sums up the message of the series which tackling career or love problems for single people in their ’30s.
If you like quick romance stories that won’t take much of your time, How To Be Thirty is a perfect fit. Global fans can watch it on iQIYI.
No comments:
Post a Comment