Today, we’ll be discussing Episode 2 of Mr. Queen, the hit K Drama on Netflix starring Shin Hye-sun as Kim So-yong, Kim Jyung-hun as King  Cheojong, 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 song we feature from the OST, Like a Star is by Hanbyul Jang, an Australian-born singer and songwriter.
• We wonder if modern day Koreans would know about the reign of King Cheoljong, including the Andong Kim and the Pungyang Jo families.
• How nothing happened during the King and Queen’s night; the King even fabricated “the Red” on the bedding with pig’s blood.
• How the King and Jo Hwa-jin appear to be in love, and Queen So-yong finds out, through flashbacks, that she loved the King, but the King did not love her.
• How Jang Bong-hwan is fascinated by the court politics and the history unfolding before her.
• The Queen’s hilarious antics, including how Kim So-yong acts and moves like a man, how he hates the queen’s clothing and headgear, her awkward exit from the palanquin, how he sits with his legs spread while at court, how she flirts with concubine Jo Hwa-jin, and how he hikes up his dress when running around the palace.
• What a gisaeng house is, and how gisaeng are official government entertainers who were trained in fine arts, poetry and prose.
• How King Cheoljong acts the fool in front of the court, and how his facial expressions change depending on who he’s with and the persona he wishes to project.
• The roles of concubine, Grand Dowager Queen, and Grand Royal Dowager Queen.
• The K Drama elements we see in this episode: beautiful actors, beautiful court clothing, food, new triangles forming between the characters, flowers, talking to someone while they’re sleeping, and quirky best friend.
• Our favorite lines from this episode.
• The cliffhanger at the end of the episode. Will the King attack the Queen? What did the Queen overhear and did she understand it all?

References

• List (and titles) of Joseon royal consorts
• Hang Hyan-bul