[Queenmaker Review Netflix] A revenge-themed series through political storylines.
Queenmaker
Summary
The series is in the revenge genre, following the traditional formula that is popular in Korean dramas. However, it is still a favorite approach for viewers, and the plot is enjoyable according to Korean drama standards. The storyline is intense, and viewers are captivated by the political battles that are fought through TV and social media. However, the downside is that the plot revolves entirely around these events, without the use of any other political tactics. This makes the series seem to play politics in a very simplistic way, The villains in every character are extremely evil without much complexity in their personalities. The ending is also simple without much impact.
Overall
7/10User Review
( votes)Pros
- A revenge-themed series through political storylines.
- The story emphasizes on many plot twists.
Cons
- It takes 4 episodes to get to the point of the election.
- It doesn’t delve deep into the topic of political tactics.
- The villain character is poorly written.
Queenmaker This is a Korean Original Netflix series with 11 episodes. It’s about a strong-willed woman who leads a strategy team tasked with protecting the reputation of a large conglomerate from damaging news. However, after a tragedy befalls her team, she confronts a harsh reality beyond what she can handle and leaves the company to seek revenge and justice. She teams up with a fierce female lawyer to run for the next Seoul mayor and fight for the citizens’ rights against the conglomerate’s power. They compete against the son of the conglomerate’s CEO, who seeks to take control of the city.
Queenmaker Review
The Korean revenge drama series, a direct production of Netflix, follows the success of the series “Glory.” The series stars Kim Hee Ae as a strategist for a political campaign and Moon So-ri as a tough lawyer who transforms herself to run for the position of mayor in Seoul, South Korea. This theme is not new to Korean dramas, as many have featured characters who use strategy and tactics to correct false accusations for the wealthy who commit wrongdoing in order to cover up scandals or compete for various positions.
However, in the memories of the characters and the plot of the recipe’s success, it still doesn’t make this series boring, because the storyline of the rich oppressing the poor and the poor rising up to fight and overthrow the power of the rich is always a favorite of viewers. However, this story is not an underdog story where the protagonist is so down and out that they have no chance of winning. It’s about the cooperation of the poor, who are full of determination, and the rich, who have previously embraced and supported the rich. They come together to fight, which makes the story present characters with very extreme personalities. However, they must learn to adjust and learn from each other, encountering both advantages and disadvantages until they eventually become friends. This successful recipe for Korean drama still works, and this story is still fun to watch according to Korean drama standards. Through heart-wrenching events, the characters are squeezed and pushed to dream together, with the importance of both characters being equal. Although the protagonist, a strategist, may be the driving force behind the twists and turns of the story, there are often times when the plan doesn’t work and becomes the unique ability of the female lawyer to turn the tide of the situation on her own, making the story have unexpected twists and turns throughout.
One thing that makes this story intense is that there are many villains involved. Starting from the company president who condones immoral behavior, to the misbehaving son who hides his wrongdoing, to the mentally unstable daughter of the company president who cannot control herself, and to the head of the strategy team who plans to destroy their competitors using any means possible. All the villains are portrayed as extremely wicked with no trace of morality. Although there are some moments that show their good sides, it is only temporary before they revert back to their ultimate evilness (similar to the drama series “Glory” before). The viewers of Korean dramas usually like this kind of villain because it goes all the way to the extreme without any complexity.
The downside of the series is that the events portrayed are not very realistic, unlike real elections. The plot is written in a sensational way, with a focus on digging up and attacking negative histories, as well as creating fake news to attack opponents. This causes the events in the series to flip-flop in a short period of time, with the scores changing constantly and easily, making the voters appear foolish, only following the damaging news of the candidates. The series lacks the presentation of political tactics from both sides. It is a series that plays politics in a very simplistic.
Another thing is that the story takes a long time, more than 4 episodes, to get to the election campaign. The story takes a long time to develop the characters, and the plot progresses slowly, not as tightly packed as other Netflix shows with 11 episodes. In reality, the story could have been told more concisely and still have ended in 8 episodes.
The series ended with a clear conclusion to the entire story, but it was a somewhat easy wrap-up and didn’t have much impact. It also left room for a possible second season, which feels like a setup for a new story.