The Great Queen SeonDeok Review

NOTE:Please be kind, this is my first full length review. If you see anything that I could improve on or any opinions about the show, don't be scared to share:)

The very first episode had me hooked. Since this was my very first Korean Historical drama, I was so excited to be trying something new that I would have been all in, no matter what. Now, since this was my first historical drama, I have nothing to really base my opinons on. I don’t know what is usual or special in this genre in Korea. Even most of the actors were new to me. With the exception of Kim Nam Gil, Go Hyun Jung and Park Ye Jin that I saw in ‘Bad Guy’, ‘What’s Up Fox’ and 'My Princess respectively, I had never watched a drama with any of the other main actors. All that being said, I’ll write a review anyway, teehee ^.^

Full Title: The Great Queen Seondeok/ 선덕여왕

Year: 2009

Studio: MBC

Number of Episodes:62

Episode Length: 1 Hour

Director: Park Hong Kyun (The Greatest Love) and Kim Keun Hong (Yi San)

Screenwriter: Kim Young Hyun (Jewel in the Palace) and Park Sang Yeon (H.I.T.)

Starring: Lee Yoo Won, Go Hyun Jung, and Uhm Tae Woong 
My Rating: 9 Hearts
Where To Watch: Viki, Hulu, DramaFever



Show Premise: Mishil a royal concubine has her eyes on the throne and will do anything she can to get there. Through her schemes and pressure, King Jinpyeon has his maid sneak one of his newly born twins out of the palace. The Maid is chased by Mishil’s warriors as she tries to get away with the tiny Princess, but with luck, and help from a fierce warrior, they manage to escape.

Deokman (Lee Yo Won) grew up in the deserts of China with her mother Seo Hwa ( Seo Young Hee), they didn’t live an easy life, but they loved each other very much and survived with determination in their harsh surroundings. One day, a lost traveler is helped by Deokman, and is the very warrior that chased her and her mother all those years ago. When the warrior Chil Sook ( Ahn Gil Kang) finally puts the pieces together, he begins to hunt the pair again.

With amazing amount of luck Deokman escapes with her life, but the seemingly insane series of events, cause her to question who she really is. Soon she sets out to find out.

The rest is the journey that she must take in order to become the first Great Queen in the history of Silla (now known as Korea).

Why I Chose This Show: As I said before, I’ve never watched a historical drama (sageuk) from Korea before. I wanted to broaden my perspective, I had read some really great things about this show and figured it was a good place to start. Another reason was that, of all the other dramas I looked up, this was the only one with TWO female leads, gotta love girl-power!

Characters and Actors: 

Deokman/ Queen Seondeok – Lee Yo Won As a young woman Deokman showed a great deal of bravery, cleverness and at times a foolish disregard for her own safety. She was able to maintain her sense of integrity far longer than I think I would have been able to, in the same situation. With all the crazy machinations carried out by Mishil, I probably would have been running around the palace screaming crying and trying to lop off her head with my super sharp sword.

I was surprised at how well Lee Yo Won was able to portray this character. Her expressions were so clear, I could tell when Deokman had reached a conclusion, when her failing courage was bolstered by something she was seeing or hearing. As the episodes flowed along I could feel myself falling deeper into Deokman as she morphed from warrior to princess and finally to queen.

Mishil- Ko Hyun Jung Began as a warrior but because of her beauty and skill she soon became the mistress of the King Jin Heung (Deokman’s Grandfather), but that wasn’t enough for her. She wanted to be Queen and as she lost out on the opportunity time and time again, her schemes got more and more desperate. 

I watched ‘What’s Up Fox (WUF) before I began this series so I’ve seen Ko Hyun Jung before, but her skills in WUF were nothing in comparison to the job she did in this drama. Was it experience that made her better? WUF was filmed three years before GQS. I don’t follow her so, I really can’t tell the reason for the improvement, but let me say that it was nothing short of amazing. She played the controlling, power-hungry Mishil perfectly. She was as beautiful as she was terrifying in her quest to sit on the throne. Most times the ‘bad guy’ of the drama is detestable, and most of the time Mishil was as well, but in the end you could understand her.

Yushin-Uhm Tae Woong The captain of the weakest division of warriors in the Shilla kingdom, was all talk and no strength in the beginning. His ideals were so pure and singular that it was annoying. Fortunately he became the greatest and most loyal supporter to Deokman. Without his strength and guidance she wouldn’t have been able to become Queen.

Uhm Tae Woong is another new face for me. He played the upright Yushin very well. Always steady and honest. That was the energy that he brought to this role. I was like with all the chaos, he was the one constant, the pillar for not only Deokman but for us viewers as well.

Bidam- Kim Nam Gil  A mysterious fighter that meets Deokman on the road one day and becomes embroiled in her plan to take the throne. A great fighter who takes on fights over dropped chicken, and promises help on nothing more than a whim. I couldn’t tell what he was up to. Was he really helping Deokman or did he have his own secret plans? Deadly, kooky and needy all rolled into one package.

I watched ‘Bad Guy’ before this series. I was waiting for Kim Nam Gil to appear from the opening credits but I had to wait about 25 episodes for it to happen. But boy-o-boy when you came, he came with the thunder. Just as I was getting a little bored, Bidam came into the picture adding a whole new dynamic to the show. I wanted to see more of him after ‘Bad Guy’, and I was not disappointed by his performance here. There were plenty of scenes to fulfill my Nam Gil craving.

Cheon Myeong- Park Ye Jin As the twin that stayed in the palace, she grew up rich and pampered but terrorized by Mishil. From childhood, she feared Mishil and made efforts to stay out of her way but when her husband is killed due to Mishil’s latest plot, she finds the courage and resolve to try and fight back. 

In ‘My Princess’ Park Ye Jin played the mean woman standing in the way of the princess and it’s funny that in the role previous to that one, just happened to be this series where SHE is the princess being harassed. I think her skills were on better display here than in MP, because MP was pretty light-hearted and simple. GQS is anything but simple, and because of that, I think she was able to really show what she can do in this role. The fear of Mishil was so old and ingrained and Park Ye Jin did a really great job showing that sort of discomfort.

Prince Chun Chu- Yoo Seung Ho Born after the death of his father to the widowed Princess Cheon Myeon, he was raised at a monastery outside of the country. When he returns after the death of his mother, he plays a dangerous game trying to pit Mishil and Deokman against each other. He hates everyone in the palace and holds them responsible for the death of his mother.

I have heard a lot about Yoo Seung Ho because of his role in 'God of Study', but the premise of that show doesn't really interest me and so, I haven't tried watching it yet. He has a cute innocent look, that in this role, was completely misleading about the personality and mind of this character. I can't say for sure if it's his looks or his talent in acting, but Yoo Seung Ho gives me the feeling that he's so nice

Honorable Mentions: (The following actors were a part of the supporting cast, but their performances were so good that I thought that they should be acknowledged for making this a really great show.

Lee Seung Hyo as Alcheon  Another really great warrior. Never seen this actor before but I really liked what I saw. I hope to see him again in something else.

 Seo Young Hee as Seo Hwa Deokman's mother. She was supposed to be a simple maid but ended up being so much more. This actress knocked my socks off. Really believably simple-minded and weak with out appearing stupid. Hard line to walk.

Ahn Gil Kang as Chil Sook Mishil's most trusted warrior. This is the same goofy gangster from Dream High. At first I wasn't sure this was the same actor because of the difference, but he really turned it up in this one too.

 Lee Moon Sik as Jook Bang A conman that can't seem to stay out of trouble. This is the dog feeding Ajusshi from 'Rooftop Prince' and even though he didn't provide much comedy in RP, he was my source of fun during GQS.

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Setting/Wardrobe/ Directing: There were a lot of open fields and mountains in this show. Plenty of shots showing just how big the country side is over there, but not much truly breath-taking. What was done well in my opinion, was the attention to detail in the enclosed sets. The palace rooms and corridors were beautifully furnished, with little knick-knacks to make it believable that these characters lived in the spaces.

Since this was my first sageuk, I didn’t know how BIG the hair was back then. My goodness, the actress’ probably had head and neck-aches after filming all day with those crazy big wigs on! It just makes the acting all that much more powerful when you think of the physical discomfort they had to endure while still maintaining the mood of the scenes. The costumes seemed official to me..hehe.. but again this is my first so don't take my opinion too seriously on that.
The directors kept the cinematography pretty straight-forward. No real tricks in lighting or special angles. I really appreciated that. It reminds me of movies from the past when they used to let the actors make the create the atmosphere in a scene. That is something that I think is missing in a lot of shows and movies these days.  

Boring/ Fast Forward Parts: Honestly, the last couple of episodes were anti-climactic for me. After watching 50 episodes feeling frustration and anger towards Mishil, I was at a loss once she was defeated. My first thought was ‘Wait, there’s more?’ I had assumed that the end would be the point where Deokman managed to win over her. I was wrong. The rest of the 10 or so episodes were about how she consolidated her power to become Queen.

These episodes weren’t boring, but this was the part of the series that if I ever decide to re-watch it, I would probably skip.

Who I Would Recommend This To:  I think that anyone looking for a really great show, would enjoy this. If you are looking for something with substance that will make you cry bitter tears of disappointment, shake you fists at evil people, and feel the steady beat of love, I don’t really think you can go wrong here.

Re-Watchablity: Since this series is so long, I’m not sure I’ll ever re-watch the whole thing. I may go back and watch some of my favorite scenes again, but this one is waaay too long to revisit right now.

Final Thoughts: I really really REALLY liked this show. The acting was great, the story (and from what I read seems to follow history pretty well) was filled with many twists, ups and downs. I think that this is a perfect drama to watch on the weekends. Don’t be like me and try to watch during the week, or like me, you’ll be upset when the alarm rings only two hours after you were able to go to sleep. The cliff-hangers on the episodes will keep you up all night.