Show Window: The Queen's House (2021)

All that glitters is not gold.

"Beautiful and splendid show window... It's open for everyone to see, but once the spotlights go out and the curtains are drawn, no one can ever know what's going on inside." ~ A minor character from the drama said this.

In a world where people care about the vaunting virtue more than one's inner beauty, we have developed ways to showcase what we wish to swank about. But what happens behind the walls, is always more than the alluring self, which most of us don't bother to care about. Show window is one of the most effective way in that regards but little do we know about the camouflaged matters that can either ruin us or shape us for good.

As you already know, this is a makjang, undoubtedly with toxic elements and nerve-racking characters in it. The question should be, "is this worth checking out?" . Well, yes, in my opinion, I would send you a positive nod. It's not something sort of a must watch but if you're fond of the genre, it surely is an enjoyable watch.

I will tell you a simple plotline, differently from the synopsis given everywhere. There is a happy family of four people and one day the husband is caught cheating on the wife. The wife scared of hurting her children by separating from her husband, pushes herself to save the family and simultaneously tries to get rid of the third person. The husband with high ambitions to own his mother-in-law's company doesn't wanna leave his family, nor does he want to abandon his extramarital lover. The story leads towards the unveiling the husband's true self and establish harmony.

This sounds very simple and typical, right? Well because, it is an usual Kdrama makjang storyline with cliché elements but not to spoil the actual plot, the way of occurrence, screenplay and execution are different from what you'll be able to perceive from the above paragraph. And that's why it's a good watch and to mention, it's for those who are into mild makjang stories accompanied by corporate thrillers, i. e. fight for power and hierarchy.

Song Yoon Ah as Han Sun Joo is considered the Queen who has achieved perfection from every aspect and is ideal to many women; born into a wealthy family, she can pull on anything and marries to a capable & devoted man, now having a loving family. Lee Sung Jae as Shin Myung Seop is a highly ambitious man who with his dedication plus wife's support has been able to climb the hierarchial ladder in Lahen group that belongs to his mother in law. Jeon So Min as Yoon Mi Ra is a lady deprived of love and seeks constant attention from the one she loves. She falls for Myung Sup and they immediately get into a mutually reciprocating relationship. Hwang Chan Sung as Han Jung Won is a warm-hearted guy who loves his sister Sun Joo and despite being slow-witted, knows how to deal with situations.

Some other good actors in major roles are: Moon Hee Kyung (Kim Kang Im) as Sun Joo's mother & Lahen's chairperson, Kim Sung Soo (Cha Young Hoon) as Sun Joo's close friend, Kim Byung Ok (Kim Dae Wook) as the Chief Detective. Shin Yi Joon (Shin Tae Hee) and Park Sang Hoon (Shin Tae Yong) play the children of Sun Joo and Myung Sup.

Only the above mentioned 9 characters are of essence while some others in major characters didn't show any sort of notable acting, in fact, many of the characters, to me, felt very unnecessary fillers. They weren't required for the story; especially all of the residents of the town residency complex who were there to just gossip and even so, the amount of gossiping was absolutely useless for a drama.

I have mixed opinions about the plot development of this drama; it is both good and bad, not both at the same, obviously. The first episode, as an introductory wasn't that impressive but as usual, I decided not to judge it that soon. But what I was already loving was the way initial base of the story was being established as the episodes furthered. The screenplay is gripping, intensively appealing and definitely something catchy. But then there's a leap which is not distinctly shown but yeah, things somehow change and there starts another mood of the drama. It becomes even more interesting and makes you expect, which lasts for about next 2 episodes. And that's when the show starts going downhill.

Well, it doesn't really turn bad or suddenly becomes uninteresting but they start attempting to exaggerate the plot to an extent and while doing that, they include some awfully unnecessary elements and morever, they repeat some of them which was clearly visible. What saved it from a probable backlash was the fact that tbe quality starts degrading much later the interval, which in my opinion is a key time period to evaluate a show, hence, I've tried to reflect it through my ratings.

I am very surprised to have come to know that the makers of the drama are both rookies. Not sure if they've worked as assistants before but this definitely seems to be their creation as frontline director and writer and they've undoubtedly done a very commendable job given their experiences. The drama isn't something very wowish but it was surely a decent watch even when you're not into makjangs. The direction was up to par, starting from screenplay management, synchronising various time scales, screen-editing were taken care of very well. The pacing wasn't consistent after 10th episode, still manageable. The cinematography was surely good; the dark yet flashy pallettes with momentary yellow as well as natural delineations were persuading. The writing was lacking, it was a good plot but progression was not well executed. But given that both the director and writer have debuted through this, this is quite well-delivered, no?

OSTs are composed by Kim Jong Chun and I must say all of them are catchy and captivating at the same time. There are total 7 tracks. My most favourite is "Hello' by Hickee which is the main theme song and is very intriguing. It followed by "Heaven Made" by Elsie Bay which was soothing and tragic at the same time, demanding escape towards happiness. The vocals of Ha Domg Qn in "Cry me a river" gave me goosebumps. "Fallin' by HARU, "just myself" by Kim Dong Hee, "Why i cry" Sin Ye Young and "Tears" by Onestar are the other ones which are quite likable and beautifully written as well as composed.

What I liked...

# Despite having a typical story, the screenplay was engaging and entertaining.

# The performance from the main cast was stupendous as they're old and immensely experienced, except Chan Sung and So Min. Well, they weren't that good but did a decent delivery.

# The drama not being a complete makjang. The simultaneous power fight was intriguing tho that plot went downhill and became repetitive in the 2nd half

# The kids not being typical makjang stupidass spoiled brats.

# The portrayal of present scenario in the beginning and ending of each episode and using it to unfold the past through detailed storytelling.

What I didn't like...

# So many unnecessary supporting characters as fillers and their extended scenes just to fill the 16 eps quota.

# The decent plot development that goes downhill starting from 10th episode. The pacing was still okay yet repetitive. They had many instances to finish the drama with a clear-cut ending, but duh!

# Underutilization of Chan Sung and Seung Soo. Their characters didn't have the impressive dynamics that I was expecting. Chang Sung is improving with dramas but Seung Soo is more than just skilled.

# Not to spoil, the thing involving both Jungwon and Mira could have lasted longer with some stirring outcomes but it felt like there was no need if it were gonna be that simple.

# So many kisses, haha. I'm not genophobic or against inclusion of explicit contents but the first half of the show has so many unnecessary making out scenes.

Final remarks.... Show Window 2021-22 isn't really a good show with intriguing plot, star-studded cast and amazing execution but given it's genre, for me, it was an enjoyable and entertaining watch with fabulous performance though the final delivery was average and wasn't pleasing. A fair one time watch.

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Underwhelming

Calling this drama underwhelming is an understatement. I can't express how disappointed I am with this drama..A rich female lead, a money hungry cheating husband, a psychotic mistress, a loyal brother.. Well it definitely had all the right characters and basic plot to make it a perfect drama.. But sadly it lacks a good writer. The plot had so much potential but was executed terribly. It feels like the narrative is being told to maximise tension for the viewer, rather than playing out in a naturalistic way. The more one sees the main characters, the less appealing they become. Female lead is so weak that it will infuriate you. The fact that she is a heiress and can do nothing but watch as her penniless cheating husband keeps a mistress and is trying to take over her company is so crazy. Her husband is gullible and not even that smart (except on few occasions) and this makes the fl's character even more weak. The mistress on the other hand is the most powerful character in the entire drama. She is strong, revengeful and does anything and everything to get what she wants. Now coming to the fl's brother, he is fiercely loyal to his sister but somehow his character is kind of dull and not used to it's full potential. He tries but never truly rises to the occasion. Well atleast his character does better than the fl. Throughout the drama you will keep thinking the revenge and mindgames will start now but nothing really happens which will frustrate you further. By the end of the drama it’s hard to not think that the plot resolution is a bit, well…silly and convenient. The mistress is both the villainess and the heroine towards the end. It's like she is the only one who is taking action throughout. If there are any penthouse fans I suggest you stay away from this drama(esp if you are expecting the wife to rise to the occasion and become smart like shim soo ryun).
Now coming to the acting part, I think all the actors did well which was the main reason I could keep going on. In fact I think this must be Jeon somi's career best performance.. Her acting was brilliant. OST of the drama was good.. Watch this drama limiting your expectations then you might enjoy it.

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