5.9 - Review of Episode 9 of Mr. Queen

Today, we’ll be discussing Episode 9 of Mr. Queen, the hit K Drama on Netflix starring Shin Hye-sun as Kim So-yong, Kim Jyung-hun as King  Cheoljong, Seol In-ah as Jo Hwa-jin, Na In-woo as Kim Byeong-in, and Choi Jin-hyuk as Jang Bong-hwan. 

We discuss:

• The songs we featured during the recap: Onestar by Im Han-byul and The Secret of the Well by Howl

• How the king is looking at the queen differently because the queen defended the king when they were eating at the restaurant outside the palace, and because the queen has not reported the incident when the king tried to kill the queen.

• How the queen is looking at the king with pity because his family was brutally murdered, and because the king is such a badass when he goes up against the thugs in the alley.

• How Kim So-yong and Jang Bong-hwan are at war in the queen’s body. We think Kim So-yong was more dominant when the king was kissing her and the queen kissed him back. But later, Jang Bong-hwan realizes what happened and he’s trying to bash Kim So-yong out of the queen’s body.

• The important flashback of the king, queen and Jo Hwa-jim when they were children. Now we know why the young Cheoljong I(his name as a child was Won-beom) was at the bottom of the well, how Kim So-yong climbed into the well to die and be with her mom again, how Kim So-yong saved Won-beom, and how Won-beom mistakes Jo Hwa-ji for Kim So-yong because it’s Jo Hwa-ji at the mouth of the well when he climbed out.

• How the song Here I Am applies to so many characters in the show. There are many characters yearning to be recognized, to be understood, to be loved.

• Now we understand the significance of the children’s book that Kim  So-yong was holding when she went down into the well.

• The ongoing intrigue in the palace, including the Dowager Queen plotting to take down the queen, and the double agent court lady digging up Oh-wol’s norigae or hanbok ornament.

• The K Drama elements in this episode, including clothing, food, alcohol, triangles, some connection from the past, quirky best friend, and protecting someone you love at expense to yourself.

• Why we think this episode is called Light and Darkness.

• Some background on Korean rap, which originated in the late 80s and early 90s.

References

• Topic by Bill Stax

• I Want You by Drunken Tiger

• Topline by Stray Kids, feature Tiger JK

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K Drama Chat is a weekly podcast where we take one Korean (K) Drama each season and and recap and analyze each episode. K Drama Chat is available on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify and Stitcher.