Queen Woo (2024)

Good Enough

Korean Drama '' Queen Woo '' is a historical drama with a focus on the political scene of the time.

The drama has a strong female lead whom we see bloom into a leader despite her gender and those against her. Her fight to establish herself was interesting to follow, as she is canning and understands how to masterfully manipulate the palace politics. The more tender storyline with her and her husband gave her another dimension to her character.

However, the ending was anticlimactic, with the upcoming final battle never coming and the season-ending kind of open, with an unluckily second season on the horizon.

Still, the performances were great and the cinematography was impressive.

So, overall, seven out of ten.

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Gave me the same disappointment as HOTD. This series is oozing with extreme feminist plot - where the girls are nothing but victims of their time. So they had to fight these men for their place.

My problem here lies with how they portrayed the female lead - the same way they portrayed Rhaenyra from HOTD. They are just victims. Flawless. Good women who can do no wrong, they are not bad except because their circumstances forced them to.
When in fact the real women they are based on to were strong women - who also had their own ambition, who can be selfish and will do everything to get what they want.

I think it would be better if they stayed true to the real Queen Woo's character. Woo is powerful because of her family and because she herself can be ruthless for her own desires.
She was basically a Villainess in other POV but hey, she won and kept her power until the end.

I think it would've been much interesting to see that kind of female lead instead of this one.

Casting is good but I do not think the female lead did as good as the rest of the cast? This actress has the same face in all of her dramas regardless of the personality of the character she is playing. She just has a blank expression.
It's a good thing she she is pretty and has a very pretty sharp eyes. But when you see her for long time, you'll realize the lacking in her expression.

I have seen many Korean Historical movies - even the old ones and most of them has sx scenes that felt unnecessary and awkward so I wasn't as shocked to explicit scenes in this drama.

It's not that bad but the plot isn't that interesting. The storytelling is also a bit trying hard and can be boring at times. I blame this to bad writing because the actors did well.

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Another lofty queen

The drama has a positive and negative side:
The positive side is that if you watch it, you will enjoy its crazy events, political conspiracies, power struggles, the strength of the acting of the heroes and secondary characters, and the high-quality directing and cinematography. The work resembles a full drama consisting of 20 episodes, although it consists of only 8 episodes, thanks to the fast pace of the story.. But The work is full of disgusting nudity and sex scenes in all episodes, so the drama is rated +21
I saw mixed reactions to the nudity and sex scenes, and in fact this is normal in many extreme historical shows, especially since the work is broadcast on a digital platform and not a TV channel to be censored on certain scenes, in addition to the fact that they put a 21 rating as a warning. The drama is a dark, violent and bloody Saijok type drama, and this is not suitable for those who watch cute or comedic dramas. Unfortunately, expect this type of scene in any drama shown on networks such as NETFLIX, DISNEY+, Coupang Play and TVING..

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A Woman against Patriarchy

Honestly i was super suprised at how people reacted to the nudity in the show. i do think there can be shows where the nudity just seems obscene and unnecessary but i didn’t rlly felt this when watching the drama. they’re also some scenes where nudity isn’t connected to anything sexual and “just because”.
i think if you watched this show you are probably at least over 16 and to think nudity ruins a show is honestly crazy thinking to me.
The story is so much more but people only ever talk about omg boob here breast there like wow… are y’all really so immature?!
i can understand that they’re some people that don’t like these kind of shows, but it does seem worrying when people think nudity in a drama ruins the “korean” aspect of it and its westernization of a drama (which is a crazy thing to say about a historical drama btw).

like yeah western shows in comparison show more explicit scenes than kdramas but that doesn’t make them bad? i feel like in the recent years kdramas have been way more open about explicit scenes or even just hinting about more than just kissing and to me it seems like a good direction.

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A Queen's Struggle for Survival in a Male Dominated Society

A woman can win the world once she sets her mind to it!

The drama exclusively focuses on the candor of a queen from a foregone era; in times when women were merely considered as pawns in power play. Starring Jeon Jong Seo in the titular role, “Queen Woo” charts her journey from childhood to her later years when she rises to power as the Queen of the nation. She holds the tower while her husband King Gogukcheon/ Go Nam Mu (Ji Chang Wook) is on the battlefield conquering their lost territories. Jeon Jong Soo and Ji Chang Wook have an amicable chemistry, that’s the first thing you notice about this pairing. King Go Nam Mu adored his wife, and she was the only love of his life (we are talking about an era where Kings didn’t take concubines). Despite being the Queen, Jeon Jong Soo is inevitably caught in the power struggles in the royal court. Her life is turned upside down when Go Nam Du is poisoned; left with no choice, she has to marry one of the King’s brothers to protect herself and the dynasty. The show has explicit depictions of sex, violence and gore; obviously not for the fainthearted.

Read the complete article here-

https://kcdramamusings.wordpress.com/2024/09/18/queen-woo-series-review/#more-1181

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Here for Ji Chang Wook

My first time watching historical K-Drama, before I've watched Alchemy of Souls, but it was a different genre. Watching it only for Ji Chang Wook, even after knowing that he is a guest star here. Lee Soo Hyuk's acting was on point alas he doesn't have screen time. Only if they used his character well enough I might have enjoyed the series. I liked the story but something about it didn't keep me hooked. I was skipping a lot of screens. I didn't like the screen of the White Tigers chasing after the Queen. Hated Woo Sun. In every C-Drama & K-Drama there will be a character like her. I'm confused about the relationship between the Yeon Bi/Jolbon clan & the Go Family. What is the North Queen Family?? Are they the four prince's wife family that's why they're called North Queen Family or their Ancestor were Queens.

I don't know why, but I wasn't excited while watching it. Rather, I wanted to end it as soon as possible. Although Politics & Historical series are my type of genre. Anyway, the story isn't finished yet. They're more to it. I think there will be a 2nd season. Whether I will watch it or not is debatable.

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Money wasted

Bad lighting
Not a good plot
To fast / only action / no chemistry
Lead actresses was not good / same facial expressions/ men in kdrama took her spot light.
Horrible ending- don’t need season 2
Only good - the sex scenes were good lol. This is my opinion and I know everyone will not agree. I did not rate it low because of the sex scenes. I honestly feel like the sex scenes is the only good entertainment of wow factor. But yeah , I want make it to season 2. I think this show is not for everyone maybe like 40% of kdrama lovers will like this show. That’s all.

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SJJ killed this series for me single-handedly!

I feel like I would have loved this series more if SJJ wasn’t the female lead. Gosh, I think I’ll be a proud anti-fan of hers for life. Honestly, she has zero range. She tried the romance genre and failed spectacularly because she can emote, what, 2-3 expressions max if she tries really hard? Both on and off camera. Her eyes are dead—like, actually devoid of life. If she ever got botox (heaven forbid), what little movement we see around her eyes when she "smiles" would disappear completely, and we’d be left guessing if she’s happy or channeling her inner psychopath.

Look, I know plenty of people (myself included) who have RBF, but I have never seen an actor whose entire character repertoire is just RBF. Except now, thanks to SJJ. Google her images. Go ahead! I pulled up the first 10 photos, fed them to ChatGPT and even ChatGPT could only detect three expressions. **Three!** Even Han So Hee, who’s been called stiff, manages more variety in her expressions.

Honestly, Hiroshi Ishiguro’s bionic robots emote more than she does. Just get Ishiguro to build a SJJ robot, throw in some AI for voice, and we’re all set—no need for her to even show up. I actually ran another experiment and added her name with various expressions in Google images. Same photos popped up for almost all emotions. I was dying laughing. Did the same with Han So Hee, Son Na Eun, Cha Eun Woo, who are all accused of stiff acting, and guess what? Different images for them for different emotions with maybe a little overlap! Shocking, right?

Honestly, I think a block of wood could do a better job. I have zero respect for her as an artist because she’s utterly lacking in talent. She is just riding on the coattails of her boyfriend. She’s getting more chances because of him, who, let’s be real, got her foot in the door to begin with in the industry.

And let’s not pretend she didn’t have chances to show emotional depth in this series because the character is "supposed" to be strong and confident. She’s being *chased* at the end for God's sake for her life—there should be a mix of desperation, strength, conviction, fear, etc. Instead? Nothing. Even dictators like Stalin and Hitler showed more emotional complexity towards the end of their reigns. Meanwhile, here’s Queen Woo, a woman at a greater disadvantage than any man in her position in history, displaying zero emotional range. Being strong doesn’t mean you’re never afraid or vulnerable. Fear is a survival tool; without it, you’re just overconfident and dead. And that’s why I’ll die on this hill: she has zero talent. She thinks she understands the characters she plays, but really, she’s just on autopilot, which is why all the characters she plays look the SAME.

Also, her so-called "strong presence" that she is being lauded for? Yeah, it looks more like condescension in disguise. Acting is >50% facial expression and the rest is body language and dialogue delivery. If you’re missing >50%, congrats, you’re a below-average actor. Simple as that. And let's not forget, she looks and sounds like a baby wearing a costume in this drama.

Man, JCW and the rest of the team carried the one star I gave this drama! You could tell everyone else tried their best, but the writers and SJJ sucked on it big time!

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Lacking in both story and characters

This was more like a parody of a historical drama Queen Woo than the actual drama. Putting this much money in the hands of virtual amateurs was a very bad decision. And giving them the best kdrama actors, to only appear in short and random moments. Queen Woo is the ultimate failure in storytelling. All you get is violence, shock effects and 2 minute characters. A drama that is unique in a very bad way. Queen Woo lacks a fully developed storyline. We don't get to know the characters, which is highly unusual for a k-drama. We don't even get to SEE the characters actually, because it's all in the dark.

We hear that writer rewrote this 90 times. I'm tempted to say that obviously the rewriting involved removing all the dialogues. Because the characters mainly do not speak. If they do, it's max 2 sentences per each character. Except for the soldier arguing about pay - he's not exactly a comedic sidekick but close to one. And the only character getting something of a distinct character,

This content and situation would easily have made a good 20-40 episode sageuk. We would have learned all about why the clans fight with each other, what is at stake. We would know how the situations and strifes evolved, from the very start. We would have started from the childhood of the main characters. We would get to know all the characters, including supporting ones, through and through. We would have deeply cared about happens to them. We would have understood every party's motives and goals, and had the chance to reflect ourselves on where people make mistakes. We would have been shown how the new king or prime minister is just as ruthless as the previous one after all this fighting (as in Empress Ki).

Many who say this is "one of the best historical dramas" or "refreshingly different historical drama" have not actually watched the classic sageuks at all. With classic sageuks I mean (of course) Six Flying Dragons, Tree With Deep Roots, Scarlet Heart Ryeo....I don't think I can ever forget the personalities of the main characters in these dramas. Now we get 2 minute characters. And a lot of meaningless killing and violence which we're supposed to enjoy? (with the 2 minute characters).

There was no build up to the important moments, like putting the swords on the table. Who were the 2 older guys with the swords? Nobody knows, nobody cares. The queen's explanation of why she chose to go into war came like an afterthought, in the last episode. One minute given to that. Which actually needed an extended buildup. And her addressing the army should have been a long speech, with an extended buildup (again). I doubt the armies would have followed a woman if they were just addressed at the door for one minute when the enemy was already there.

Eun Pa Sol was given the most screentime as the key person trying to solve the kings's murder. Plot twist: no, actually a weird traitor who kept his grandpa's skeleton in his closet. So why did he end up supporting the queen? Nobody knows, nobody cares. What was the point of introducing the cult? Just to shoot an impressive scene of some crazies wallowing in the pool. And then a fight afterwards, none of it visible bc the screen was all dark. We got more of the gritty sex scenes which from a mind so dirty no amount of soap will help to clean it. The sex scenes were like a nail which busted the balloon, bc of their out of context and degrading nature.

JWC proved his virtuoso acting and I hope all the k-drama veterans at least had fun sitting together and drinking after each days shooting. JJS as FL: I don't know how people don't see or hear how she is just not good enough in this role. The mistakes and awkward moments (scenes and lines that needed to be reshot) are in plain sight in Queen Woo, imo Just like in Wedding Impossible she's just saying the lines in a completely flat tone, there's no sparkle in her. I guess people just buy the idea of what she's supposed to be and don't see the failure in delivering it.

Although this drama isn't actually boring and the fools will lap it up like dogs on a hot day, I assure you it's not good for your immortal soul. Congrats to those who can edit it their minds to make a fully fleshed out story and characters. That's a talent I don't have, all I saw was a sketch of a drama instead of the actual drama.

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A very personal point of view, so don't take it to heart

Story: 7
Not because it isn't good enough, but because it just isn't my cup of tea.
Acting: 10
And there's nothing more to add. Bravo!
Music: 7
And I'm being generous here. I suppose it was a good match, and it served its purpose, but to me, it was too loud. Extremely loud, and felt obnoxious.
Rewatch value: 1
Because I need to give a score, otherwise I would give 0. There is no need to rewatch.

I very much enjoyed the acting, the fast pace and the fact that not too much amount of time was wasted on presenting the conspiracies. For the first time, my intelligence wasn't insulted with all those unneeded details they usually give, as if people are unable of connecting the dots, or making logical deductions. (Yes, I know that many actually aren't able, but then there are us, those who are. :-D Forgive my "modesty".)
The cruelty of some scenes was too much for me to endure, but this is a personal sensitivity of mine. Also, I assume this risk whenever I decide to watch a historical drama. But still, I had to mention it. The sex scenes were also filled with a feeling of cruelty (some of them with more than just the feeling), which makes them hard to stomach. So I guess this is the reason why so many are complaining about them. Yes, they were rough and cruel, but the characters were too, and so was the general atmosphere of the film. I think everything was actually very well-matched.
Everything is more complex than I have stated here, but I'm a little bit of a slack, so I'll just stop.

Then again, the acting was top-notch.

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"Queen's Battle: Defying a Male-Dominated World"

I know you’re not a fan of the nudity or certain plot points, but keep in mind that the entire story unfolds in just one day. While there are some noticeable shortcomings, it’s clear that everyone involved has put in a lot of hard work to bring this production to life.

Queen Woo captivates audiences with its dazzling visuals, remarkable performances, and immersive narrative. From the outset, it delivers an enthralling experience that combines both historical depth and artistic flair, solidifying its place as one of the most impressive historical dramas in recent memory.

Highlights:
Breathtaking Visuals: The series stands out for its incredible production quality. Every detail, from the intricately designed costumes to the grand set pieces, transports viewers to the world of Goguryeo. The visual direction is consistently stunning, with scenes that are beautifully framed, reflecting both the splendor and the turmoil of the royal court. The use of color, lighting, and cinematography not only enhances the drama but adds layers of symbolism, making each moment feel thoughtfully curated.

Dynamic Performances: The performances are nothing short of extraordinary. Jeon Jong Seo is magnetic as Queen Woo, bringing both strength and vulnerability to her role. She effortlessly commands the screen, portraying a queen whose intellect and courage shine through in every scene. Her portrayal of a leader determined to navigate the treacherous waters of power and politics is inspiring. Supporting actors like Ji Chang Wook and Kim Mu Yeol bring their characters to life with depth and intensity, creating a multi-dimensional narrative filled with compelling character arcs.

Engaging Storyline: What makes Queen Woo so captivating is its ability to weave a fast-paced, thrilling story while still maintaining emotional depth. The series balances action with strategic court intrigue, creating a drama that keeps viewers on the edge of their seats. The narrative is filled with unexpected twists, tension-filled moments, and powerful emotional beats that resonate deeply. It showcases the complexities of leadership, loyalty, and the struggles faced by those in power.

Historical Richness with Creative Flair: While grounded in history, the show injects enough creativity to make it feel fresh and exciting. The portrayal of the royal court is gripping, offering insight into both the grandeur and the peril that comes with ruling. The historical elements are well-researched, but the show also takes artistic liberties in a way that enhances rather than detracts from the overall experience. The use of shamanism, for example, adds an intriguing mystical layer that enriches the story without overshadowing the historical core.

Well-Crafted Action Sequences: For fans of action, Queen Woo does not disappoint. The battle scenes are meticulously choreographed, delivering high-energy sequences that are as exhilarating as they are visually impressive. The intensity of the combat mirrors the tension within the palace, creating a seamless blend of physical and emotional conflict.

Final Thoughts:
Queen Woo is a well-crafted drama with strong performances, a solid historical backdrop, and visually appealing scenes. While it may not break new ground in every aspect, it remains an engaging watch for fans of the genre. With its intriguing plot and capable direction, it sets a promising foundation, and if a second season follows, it has the potential to build on its strengths.

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