Alright, it's time to give the men in sageuk land a break and go back to female protagonists. To be perfectly honest, a lot of the historical dramas I've watched have focused on male characters, and I suppose that makes sense because in that time period, men were the be all and end all, weren't they? So now, joining the ranks of Dong Yi and Dae Jang Geum, we have Queen Seon Deok.
Unlike the previously reviewed historical dramas, which focused on female leads, Queen Seon Deok, does not take place in the Joseon era. For her tale, we go centuries further back to the time to when Korea was still divided into three major empires: Gorgurgeo (the empire established by Jumong), Baekjae (the empire established by one of Jumong and So Suh-No's son's) and Shilla (the empire that ruled the south). These three regions are in the midst of war to gain absolute power over the land. They all seem to have the same aim of making the nation one, but the problem is who will be the ruler of that one nation. Basically, the typical political power battles.
There are really two elements that make Queen Seon Deok stand out in my mind, the primary villain of the tale, Lady Mishil (Go Hyung Jung) and the conflicted and tortured character Bidam (Kim Nam Gil). Both actors won awards for their performances and I think they were well deserved. Of course, the tale of Deokman (Seon Deok's name per-acension to the throne) herself is intense and moving, but I honestly feel that if neither of the aforementioned characters existed, this drama wouldn't have been as impactful as it was. This the drama, where I fell in love with Kim Nam Gil as an actor, and I will always admire his acting because of it.
Alright, settle in folks, this review is going to be a long one. I think the details of the opening sequence are crucial to this drama's development, so I am going to delve right it and spend some time on them. As usual when I give details like this, I'm giving the mandatory warning:
BEWARE OF SPOILERS. IF YOU DON'T WANT TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENS IN THE DRAMA, WALK AWAY NOW!!!!!
Ok, let's get on with it.
We begin our journey several decades before the birth of Deokman. Mishil serves the ruling King Jin Heung (Lee Soon Jae) and is a powerful warrior for the elite Hwarang, who protect the king. She is loyal and serves him diligently, or so it seems. There is a definite political struggle going on, and now that King Jin Heung is ill, he fears for the future of his kingdom. He chooses to appoint his grandson, Prince Jin Pyeong (Kang San) as his successor, even though he is still merely a child, since his son Prince Jinji (Im Ho) is too incompetent. (It is important to note that Jinji is not Jin Pyeong's father, but his uncle).
He gives these orders to Mishil, including one which directs upon his death to leave the political life of the palace and dedicate herself to a monastery. (Yeah, I wouldn't want to do that either). However, there is a reason King Jin Heung gives such an order. With him out of the picture, he knows that no one will be able to control her and she too will want to exert her power on the palace. Knowing that Mishil probably won't follow his order, King Jin Heung issues an additional secret order to another one of his trusted Hwarang's Seol Won (Jun Noh Min). Seol Won's orders are to kill Mishil should she not fulfill her own set of orders.
Alas, as dramaland goes, Kingy is a step too late, and he puts his faith in the wrong people, as Seol Won is Mishil's lover and loyal to her not the king. We see that there are a number of Mishil loyalist in the palace, and Mishil decides the time has come to kill the king. Interestingly, the king dies of natural causes before she can do this. So Mishil hides his original order, seduces Prince Jinji, and places him on the throne in hopes of becoming queen, ignoring the official orders from King Jin Heung to put his grandson Prince Jin Pyeong on the throne.
More years pass, and now king, Jinji still has not fulfilled his promise to make Mishil queen. Mishil has given birth to his son, thinking that she has secured her position, but King Jinji refuses. He doesn't know that he has messed with the wrong person. Mishil abandons her child, as he is of no more use to her, (this woman is as cold as ice and I love it) and sets out to remove Jinji from his position as king. She reveals the original orders from dead king Jin Heung that Prince Jin Pyeong should be crowned king.
Now a young man, Jin Pyeong (Baek Jong Min) is of marrying age, so Mishil sees no problem in making herself his queen since she already controls practically everyone in the palace, that is all except one. Hwarang Munno (Jung Ho Bin). He is loyal to the true king, but has been biding his time, as it was not the appropriate moment to fight. Another obstacle in Mishil's path is Prince Jin Pyeong's wife, the pregnant Lady Maya (Park Soo Jin). Mishil orders her death and both she and Munno fall to their "death" into the sea. Of course, as dramaland goes, any fall into a massive expanse of water is not a true death unless bodies are found. Suffice it to say, Maya lives, and comes to reclaim her title, thwarting Mishil's plans.
We then, find ourselves at a royal birthing and a beautiful princess is born, alas, this king and queen have no luck since moments after the first child is a born, a second begins to appear. Two daughters are born to the horror of the king since a prophecy exists that upon the birth of twins, the male royal blood line will end. Of course, in this time period, kings can only be male, so it is horrific news that the royal lineage will die. Well, darn it, as if life wasn't hard enough for the young king and queen.
Luckily, the second birth occurred when no one besides the king, queen and the king's nursemaid were present, so the king makes the spilt second decision to hide the birth of the twins. Mishil, who of course, has spies outside of the birthing chamber learns of the birth and sets the wheels in motion to claim her power. (And how much do I LOVE that Mishil creates her own theme music for whenever she is plotting her maniacal deeds) Thanks to smooth maneuverings by Munno and the nursemaid So Hwa (Seo Young Hee), the younger twin is successfully sent from the palace, however, she is being chased by another one of Mishil's faithful hunters, Hwarang Chisuk (Ahn Kil Kang).
Both So Hwa and the baby escape though and our jumps ahead a further fifteen years where we meet young Deokman (Nam Ji Hyun) in the desert of Manchuria. She is growing up without any knowledge of who she is. She is a happy child, curious, and knowledgeable. As she lives in a trading post, she interacts with travellerss from different parts of the world, ranging from Rome to the Middle East. She not only learns about languages and cultures, but science and medicine. It is ironically an education befitting a future ruler of a nation. A series of events occur, where Deokman looses her mother So Hwa and begins her journey back to the land of the three Kingdoms in search of Munno, whom she believes to be her father.
Meanwhile, young sister Princess Chun Myung (Shin Se Kyung) is growing up in the tumultuous environment of the palace, where Mishil threatens at every corner. She looses her husband and is forced to leave the palace to protect her unborn child. After giving birth, she too sets off to find Munno as he hasn't been seen in Shilla since the night of her birth. She knows him to be loyal to her father, and he is the only person who can possibly help in fighting Mishil.
Of course, the two sisters cross paths, but Deokman who is disguised as a man for safety reasons is unknown to her sister. The two go through a series of trials which ends with Deokman working in the palace as a Hwarang under the tutilage of young Kim Yushin (Lee Hyun Woo).
Another few years pass, and we finally find ourselves with the adult cast. We follow Deokman (Lee Yo Won) through her journey as a Hwarang. She even finds herself on the battlefield in the middle of a war, and helps to not only save her fellow warriors, but her commanding officiers Kim Yushin (Uhm Tae Woong) and Alcheon (Lee Seung Hyo). She is getting the best training possible to be a leader, and just as was the case with Jumong, she seems fated to achieve things that others can't. Her hardships in the desert have given her a fighting spirit and since she didn't grow up in the palace she is not intimidated by Mishil or her schemes. Therefore, we notice that just as Mishil gained people by fighting wars with them as a Hwarang and proving herself, Deokman is doing the same.
Her world, of course, is turned upside down upon the discovery that she is a Princess. As it goes with dramaland timing, everyone discovers who she is at the same time, and everyone wants her dead, or to use in the game of political power. Her sister (Park Ye Jin) attempts to save her and sends Deokman off with Yushin in order to secure her safety. On their journey they meet Bidam, and our future love triangle is complete.
The political strategics, plotting, wars, fight sequences and growth from a no one to a Queen are what make Queen Seon Deok a fantastic journey. There are sooo many twists and turns, plotting and manipulation that sometimes you don't know up from down, or left from right. The good guys win ocassionally, but so do the bad guys.
I love that Mishil IS an evil genius and that she is surrounded by evil geniuses herself. What is even more interesting and intriguing is the parallelism between the way Mishil's mind works and how Bidam's mind works. He too is very manipulative and cunning, in fact one could argue that he too is an evil genius. It is a great plot development that Bidam turns out to be the son that Mishil as he served no purpose in her quest for power. The fact that Bidam doesn't know this initially and the two spar mentally with each other is a fascinating to watch. Even better, is the fact that the son Mishil threw away plays a key role in her downfall and I love the drama for taking the story there.
Queen Seon Deok, is a complex tale, with fantasy, mythology and supersition. There is the idea of fate running consistently throughout this drama from beginning to end, and no matter how the characters try to escape it, they cannot. It is amazing how every little detail seems to be interconnected culminating in a tale wrapped up nicely and neatly.
That does not mean that Queen Seon Deok is perfect. In my opinion, there is one major flaw in this drama, however, I have to admit that might just have to do with my like of the Bidam character. I understand that historically Bidam was a villain and they had to find a way to make him a villain in the drama to give some semblance of accuracy. After all, even though it is a fictional interpretation, you can't make a bad guy a good guy without a good reason.
Throughout the drama, Bidam was a conflicted character and one was never sure, which side of the fence he was on. He basically was out for what was best for him, and then what was best for Deokman because he loved her. So to me, it seems illogical for his attachment to Mishil, THE MOTHER WHO ABANDONED HIM AND CONTINUED TO DISREGARD HIM, to be the reason for him choosing the path of evil. It just made no sense. His desire to take everything from Deokman to have her was a weak story thread from the writers and could have been done much better.
Furthermore, I found that after Mishil's demise in episode 51, the drama slowly started to loose much of its appeal. Of course, it picked back up again, by episodes 60 and carried on until the end, but it really didn't go well with me, how they dealt with Bidam's transition from "good" to evil. I do like that the writers continued to the very end to keep Bidam's love for Deokman unchanging and it made him a tragic romantic, which I have to admit is something that I always like to see.
Regardless of how powerful the Bidam character's "evilness" was handled, Queen Seon Deok was a pleasure to watch. I enjoyed how the drama unfolded and following the characters on their journeys to greatness. It was a beautifully shot, as is usually the case with MBC sageuks, and the costumes and stage sets were magnificent as well. The outdoor scenic shots were breathtaking and awe inspiring too. Queen Seon Deok, therefore gets four stars on the Bel Scale.
According to Bel: It's a journey worth taking.
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