What have I been doing this week? I’m glad you asked! Here’s what’s been on my watchlist this week:

*Note: My reviews usually contain spoilers. You have been warned. Proceed at your own risk.*

TV

Shopping King Louis (2016)

My Precious!

Seo In-guk is so disarmingly charming as the eponymous Louis, that you can’t help but love him. While the character could have easily become annoying, what with being a rich entitled spoiled chaebol with a shopping addiction, Seo bring an ineffable charm to Louis, adding nuances to the wonderfully written character.

Nam Ji-hyun is similarly engaging, Bok-sil’s go-getter attitude and bright outlook being her biggest strengths. Even when forced into moving to a new city, searching for her lost brother and helping an amnesiac Louis against her will (side note: why does Nam Ji-hyun have a knack for getting shackled to amnesiac rich men?), she still manages to remain positive about her situation and eventually accomplish her goals. 

The cast is rounded out by a strong ensemble in both the home and office settings. While they did have extraneous storylines at times, they were usually quite delightful, quirks and all. From harmoni’s (Kim Young-ok) “My precious” to Joong-won’s (Yoon Sang-hyun) aggressive throat clearing, the show was packed with laughs.

In the end though, it’s the writing on the show that really appealed to me. They took the clichés and made them fresh, providing a new outlook on life and love and family. It’s the writing I wish I’d gotten to see from Oh Ji-young on Do Do Sol Sol La La Sol.

Overall, the show spreads a message of positivity and perseverance in the face of difficultly. Each character had their own journey to complete and they all came out the other end the better for it. Ultimately, Shopping King Louis leaves you with a warm fuzzy feeling inside.

Mr. Queen (2020) – Ep 9-16

This show gets whackier the more I see of it. The humour and heart that comes from Shin Hye-sun is still ever-present and the King (Kim Jung-hyun) continues to be both exhilarated and exasperated by So-yong/Bong-hwan. While I do enjoy seeing the King and Queen’s interactions, I’m not sure why the show is pushing forward with the love-lines. I hope they address Bong-hwan’s internal dilemmas in a thoughtful manner, especially now that they appear to have dropped the baby bomb on us.

The politics continue to be interesting, although we seem to have learned that Cheoljong is not below playing dirty tricks in order to get rid of members of the Kim and Jo families. He has so far blown himself up in an effort to frame them, and pretended to poison a child for the sake of appeasing the court. I am concerned for how far he might be willing to go for his cause, as it might end up doing more damage than good in the long run.

As far as the Kims and Jos are concerned, they continue to be as rotten as expected, resorting to murder, blackmail and all sort of other other nefarious things, All that remains is some good moustache twirling and evil laughs. But somehow, I don’t find it nearly as annoying on the show, since the universe has been established to be filled with such extremes. I mean if the show is willing to do an entire banquet around some product placement (Mac-Du-Nal-Du, ha!), I’m willing to accept that these people would behave this way. 

What I’m hoping for as the show comes to a close is for a clean conclusion to the political plot lines, Bong-hwan returning to a modern Korea, and Cheoljeong ruling with a steady and righteous hand – hopefully after implementing some of the things from the ‘stories’ he’s been told by Bong-hwan. I’m not sure where this will leave So-yong, but I fear that her soul has long since departed this world. While it will undoubtedly be heartbreaking for Cheoljeong, who has come to truly care for ‘his Queen’, hopefully it will fuel him to build a better future for his nation knowing that Bong-hwan will eventually live in it.