House of Kards

I had this planned on my watchlist since the beginning of my journey into k-drama, mostly because of Shin Min-Ah (she's fabulous, beautiful and talented and I want to be just like her when I grow up…) but also because I really dig the political subgenre (my second most favorite after historical dramas, and immediately followed by sci-fi. Turns out romantic dramas are really my least favorite)

My overall judgement is positive, but I really wouldn't recommend this to any k-drama neophyte. I found it difficult to watch because I was often bored. It took me almost 3 weeks to finish all the 20 episodes (1st and 2nd season) and I had to mix it with something else (Divorce Attorney Shin was the perfect buffer). Ultimately, I am glad to have persevered to the last episode because it was satisfying enough to deem the whole experience as positive.

Basically, the main theme hinges on an ethical conundrum of Machiavellian inspiration:
how evil can good guys go when fighting evil in order to still be considered good guys? Do you need to fight dirty to prevail in a corrupted and unfair fight?

The answer to this question is universally controversial and I liked the one in the drama well enough, however the execution was rather poor.
Writers (Lee Dae-il, who also adapted the original comic for Bring it on, Ghost!) could have delved deeper and dared more since they had a great cast that could definitely sustain a heavier load.
Politics is complex and if one decides to explore the shades of grey behind it, they cannot resolve the issue by reducing it to black and white.
During the watch I was reminded of two personal favorites in the genre, House of Cards and the West Wing. Yet the similarity goes only as far as the setting since Chief of Staff lacks the depth, the intricacy and the absolute commitment to the story, characters and political commentary that those two masterpieces have.

Here the story is oversimplified and, in my totally unessential opinion, that is in detriment to the overall vibe.
I like when writers trust their audience with the complexity of fiction that mimics the truth of life.
That is one reason why I really appreciated Stranger, for example.

I love Lee Jung-jae and I find his voice beautiful, still the first person narration sounded awkward to me most of the time.

I really liked when they talked about abortion though.
Also, I liked the glimpse of fanservice amidst the seriousness ( Do-Kyeong's great abs were good for the morale).

Therefore my score is earned in full by the actors' performance, the bits of political commentary and the happy ending.


FES(5/5) Shin Min-Ah in power suits is indeed powerful!

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This must have cost a fortune in fake blood!

The main characters were sliced and diced a dozen times each but survived and recovered every seemingly mortal wound until they were finally able to kill them in the last episode (spoiler).

One can easily understand, since the very beginning, that this historical drama (set during the years of transition between the Goryeo and Joseon dynasty) is founded on fighting scenes. In fact, they had some legitimately cool shots of angry, pirouetting men with big swords and fancy headbands. Also, there is a strong undercurrent of honorable machismo throughout.
Fighting scenes enthusiasts will surely like this drama.

The first and the second strife of princes are true historical events here narrated with liberties and a very soft political commentary on absolute monarchy and power established on the bloody sacrifice of common people.
All of it is topped with a sprinkle of bromance here and there, a spray of father-son relationship (either problematic or prematurely truncated) and the required damsel in distress (available in a triad of queen, sister and kisaeng madame who once cross-dressed while rebelling against the king).

I hardly cared for any of the characters, so I can say the writing was not my cup of tea, although I greatly appreciated the fanservice in the first episode with the two hunks smiling and bathing together.
I also loved that my boo, Woo Do-hwan (We met for The king: eternal monarch and he really became my sole reason to keep watching that) smiled a lot and had beautiful, shiny, very manly long hair.

The last, but definitely not the least, honorable mention goes to Jang Hyuk who always slays. I love him!
His last scene is the coolest.


Female Empowerment Score 1/5

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Ode to Shin Hye-sun

Mr. Queen is a historical, gender-bender comedy that is extremely fun and definitely binge-watchable.
I don't know the original works inspiring this one (both the webtoon and Chinese web series are known as "Go princess go") but I can tell that it functions well both as a parody (especially in the first episodes) and as a proper Korean historical drama.

The plot has the right amount of palace intrigue and power plays all experienced throughout the eyes of a 21st century man that effectively becomes the audience avatar.
His internal commentary is our commentary and, most of the time, it is hilarious.

Queen So-yong is the absolute protagonist of this drama and Shin Hye-sun rises to the challenge gloriously.
I've met her in Stranger and loved her character back then too.
She is versatile and talented with both perfect comedic timing and dramatic skills. I feel like there is so much untapped potential in her that she is gonna slay if only given more chances to act as a main.
The romantic chemistry with Kim Jung-hyun (funny and sexy man whom I've absolutely loved in Eulachacha Waikiki and Crash Landing on You) is through the roof and they have steamy scenes that are going to make you laugh and blush at the same time. The supporting cast is solid (shoutout for Cha Chung-hwa and Jeon Bae-soo) although their characters are mostly just cartoonish comic relief.

The pacing is well sustained and it makes you forget eventual plot holes, however the gender-swap theme is the true weakness of this drama (and the main reason why my rating was lowered one full point).
Clearly Korean television deems the exploration of unconventional romance (namely a possibly gay relationship) as too controversial. Jang Bong-hwan's return to his reality was rushed, perhaps to avoid any consideration on said romance. Pity, because I was very curious to see how his emotional growth, resulting from experiencing the world in a woman's shoes, translated to a male, modern environment.

Female Empowerment Score 2/5: the only kickass girl in the series is possessed by a man. The evil queens are either petty or blinded by the fear of aging. The king's first love is an insecure liar who at least is able to redeem herself towards the end (and secure the second point on this score).

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