Terrific couple, fun yet intricate story of romance that crosses time...
Queen In-hyun's Man is one of the best kdramas I've seen. This 2012 16 episode Korean drama had it all - a winning couple, a writer that wove the story throughout the entire series, a time-travel element with rules that made sense, a multi-genre spectra of fantasy-romance-action-historical, and a production that was photographed well, directed with purpose, and edited to be crisp.The story was straight forward - love and those willing to fight for love can overcome any obstacle and navigate even time itself.
Our leading man, Boong-do, time-travels 300 years into the future and meets our leading lady, Hee-jin, who helps him navigate the present while he works to return to the past and make things right. Hee-jin plays Queen In-hyun in a present day historical drama. Boong-do happens to be Queen In-hyun's Man from the past. What ensues is well written, acted and produced, a truly standout drama.
What I loved about Queen In-hyun's Man:
1. A couple you root for through and the ups and downs. Boong-do was handsome, smart, humorous with a dry wit and believed he could navigate the time-travel maze to fix the past and be with Hee-jin in the future. Hee-jin was pretty, not book smart but had excellent instincts and willing to follow her heart. He was like the typical second lead (nice, smart, kind) in the first lead role. She thought of herself as dumb but learned otherwise when she had to rely on her instincts and smarts to guide him in the modern world. A lovely romance develops, both of them contribute with kindness, humor, caring, and commitment. This couple had chemistry, cuteness, and were compelling.
2. The writing delivered a story with surprises and tie backs to past episodes throughout the series. The writing avoided typical clichés. There was deft balance between modern and Joseon times. You learned something each episode, the writer slowly laid down the cards and only in the final episode do you know everything. Unlike some dramas, the final episode is not a drawn out victory lap with little meaning. The final episode time jump made sense to me. Cause: his willingness to give everything up. Effect: her understanding and reaching out to him with the mechanism she provided him. Result: Time jump that can never be undone because it was rooted in their shared memories and love not a talisman.
3. Most of the supporting cast were engaging and top notch. The Joseon era historical cast were excellent from the king, to the queen, to Boong-do's supporters. The present cast were excellent, especially Dong- min, Hee-jin's ex-boyfriend.
4. The original soundtrack has a couple of beautiful songs "Same Sky, Different Time" and "I'm Going to Meet You".
What I didn't like:
1. I wasn't wild with how the actress choose to portray Soo-kyung, Hee- jin's friend and manager. She seemed to overact her part a bit, but she was consistent in her portrayal and this a minor quibble.
score 10/10
fprefect-685-281084 9 March 2014
Reprint: https://www.imdb.com/review/rw2976780/14318
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