7 Day Queen

7 Day Queen

9/10

7 Day Queen

Genre:                                Episodes: 20                          Year: 2017

Historical

Romance 

Melodrama

Synopsis:

The story follows the events of King Lee Yeok and his wife, Shin Chae Kyung, from childhood to Chae Kyung’s dethronement after being Queen for just seven days.

Cast:

Park Min Young (Shin Chae Kyung)

Yeon Woo Jin (Lee Yeok)

Lee Dong Gun (Lee Yoong)

Ko Bo Gyeol (Yoon Myung Hye)

Chansung (Seo No)

Jang Hyung Sung (Shin Soo Geun)

Kang Shin Il (Im Sa Hong)

Son Eun Seo (Jang Nok Soo)

Do Ji Won (Queen Jasoon)

Park Shi Eun (Young Shin Chae Kyung)

Baek Seung Hwan (Young Lee Yeok)

Choi Min Young (Young Seo No)

General Thoughts:

Waaahhhh- my heart! My soul! This drama was just so incredibly incredible. It’s exactly how a sageuk should be- dramatic (without being annoying), romantic (without being slow), and pretty historically accurate (as far as my limited knowledge of Korean history can tell).

Dare I say it- the perfect sageuk

This is what I expect most historical K-Dramas to be like, but then they all tend to lose the plot about halfway through (‘Moon That Embraces the Sun’) or fall into irritating angst mode (‘Moonlight Drawn by Clouds’) or both (‘Scarlet Heart’). However ‘7 Day Queen’ manages to avoid being boring or annoying. It’s not that the show isn’t angst-filled, because it totally and completely is, it’s just that the angst is justifiable and there isn’t an easy way out that the characters just ignore.

The ever-present angst

In my mind, this is what every historical K-Drama is trying to be. Plot-wise, there’s really not a lot going on. Similar to most other sageuks I’ve watched, most of the story revolves around political tensions in the royal court. It’s these political goings on that usually bore me to tears, and yet here it’s part of what I found so intriguing about the show. It’s not like ‘7 Day Queen’ did anything drastically different, but the plot was so airtight and the characters so endearing that I cared about how the politics would affect them and how they would overcome the difficulties thrown in their path by all the political shenanigans. The broken bromance was the true tragedy of this story- or at least one of them. Both the King and the Prince had some sort of desire to live with each other and be in peace, but due to the manipulations of those around them (and some jerk words from their father), the two end up constantly doubting each other and ready to strike each other down. And of course we have our poor heroine trapped right in the middle of their fight. It was a good choice to have us open on the scene of Chae Kyung’s dethronement and impending execution, as it let us know exactly what the stakes were.

I'm still kinda surprised that she managed to make it out alive...

Many dramas try and play up the life-and-death stakes without really putting the main characters in any danger, so it really upped the intensity of the show to start out with our heroine about to be hung for treason. It instantly made me want to know how she got there, and more importantly how should could possibly escape the situation. Then we go back 5 years to see where it all started.

Adorably sassy

The childhood section of the story was just delightful. The two young actors had uncanny resemblances to the adult versions of their characters. They acted out the bickering friendship well, and it was a believable turn as they slowly started to become closer. Rather than just smacking them into an engagement, or having them be young lovers, it was far more enjoyable to watch the two develop a close friendship. The immature bickering was cute and fun, but it was seeing them come together as friends that was the most rewarding. It was clear to see why Yeok came to care for Chae Kyung- she cared about the people of Joseon and was willing to intervene in any situation that she believed was unfair, all the while Yeok’s family is telling him to close his eyes and block his ears to anything that could get him in trouble. Yeok clearly always had a desire to help the unfortunate and to right injustice, but it was meeting Chae Kyung that really brought it out of him. It was nice to have young Chae Kyung meet the King as well, as it really set up the dynamics of the adult relationships well, and made it clear why Chae Kyung was able to influence the King so much- because he’d met her and enjoyed spending time with her before he started to go crazy. It was almost like Chae Kyung was his key back into a time when things were so much simpler and before Yeok was a threat.

Wait, is this our villain? Why is he so darn loveable?

Again, I loved that the show started with Chae Kyung and the King as friends first before the King realised his romantic feelings for her. Somehow, it just makes all the relationships feel more genuine when they start out as friendships, as it can come off a bit shallow having a character fall for someone at first sight and be willing to go to the ends of the earth for them without really knowing who they were. In this case, because both of the brothers had been such good friends with Chae Kyung, it totally made sense as to how they fell in love with this girl, who politically wasn’t a great option to fall in love with, and why they would constantly put themselves in danger for her sake.

That moment when you decide to marry the woman you're in love with to your brother and political rival

It was the mutual love between the three characters and how that love became so warped and so damaging that was the real draw to the show. Because we had a general idea of how these characters would end up, it just became endlessly fascinating to watch how these three people were manipulated and used by those around them so that they ended up hurting rather than protecting each other.

The epitome of being caught between a rock and a hard place

Of course for a story of this magnitude to work, you really need a brilliant cast backing it up. Park Min Young is brilliant in whatever she’s in, and she really embodied Chae Kyung. She was the perfect fit for the role, as she’s so beautiful and delicate that she really suits the Joseon era. She always has a sweet yet stubborn disposition that leads to adorably spunky heroines that can remain ladylike while still holding their own. She was able to portray Chae Kyung’s innocence without causing the character to appear daft. Chae Kyung’s willingness to trust Yeok and the King never seemed like a stupid thing to do, as while we as an audience were more clued in to why Yeok and the King might lie to Chae Kyung, she herself really had no reason not to trust them. Park Min Young’s best moment in the series by far is the moment she realises that Yeok has been lying to her all along and is in fact part of a resistance movement against the King. She so clearly shows Chae Kyung’s disappointment and feelings of betrayal, but also that despite those feelings she was still deeply in love with him. Admittedly, at that point in the show I myself was getting a little irritated (in a good, this will lead to character development way) with Yeok for not being more forthcoming with Chae Kyung. In fact, I was pretty disappointed in him when he married her without giving her a heads up about what situation she was getting herself into.

Highly likely to die if you marry her. Highly likely to die if you don't.

Yet, due to Park Min Young’s wonderful display of anger mixed with devotion, I could never bring myself to hate Yeok. I was angry and sad, just like Chae Kyung, but I never hated him. Of course, part of what made that possible was also Yeon Woo Jin’s acting of our hero. Despite not agreeing with all of Yeok’s decisions, it was hard to get too angry at him, as Yeon Woo Jin always made it clear that Yeok was doing what he thought was best for them both.

Talk about a lose-lose situation

He was so good at portraying how his character was really stuck between a rock and a hard place. When he was interacting with his friends he always seemed to be thinking of his wife at home who was sure to be implicated by their actions, and when he was with Chae Kyung there was always a small part of him that was feeling guilty for choosing his happiness over what was better for the country. The chemistry between the two leads was sweet, but most importantly heart-breaking. The two of them were just so good at showing how much they loved each other, but also how deeply hurt and unhappy they were in the situation that had been thrust upon them. While the chemistry between the leads was perfectly enjoyable, I actually really loved the chemistry Park Min Young had with Lee Dong Goon. The two had such a relaxed as easy rapport, even when things started to go horribly wrong. Regardless of their actions, it was always painfully clear just how much they cared for one another, despite constantly being the ones responsible for hurting the other. While all scenes of the two leads together were immensely enjoyable, it was moments between the King and Chae Kyung and how unfortunately twisted their relationship was becoming that was so deeply fascinating.

Back in happier times

In regards to the side characters all the acting was pretty good. Chae Kyung’s parents and nanny were all delightful, especially Jang Hyung Sung as her father, who was in a similar position to Chae Kyung- torn between loyalty to his King (and brother-in-law) or his daughter. Ko Bo Gyeol is a new actress for me (as in I haven’t seen her in anything else), and she did a pretty fair job here.

Not bad, not great

I wouldn’t say I liked her character, because I didn’t (AT ALL), but she did a good job at bringing around her redemption, despite how convincingly b*tchy she’d been previously. The only cast member I found a little lacking was Chansung. It’s not that he was bad, he did an okay job, it’s just that all the other cast members were just so good. Seo No was a pretty important character, and I thought he really should have been acted out by someone who could pack a little more punch. Chansung was good enough for sure, but I couldn’t help but wonder how much more heartbreaking and meaningful the character (and his death) would have been had the role gone to someone who was really good at providing side characters with huge depth. It’s not that anything was taken away from the series, but maybe something could have been added if Seo No had been cast differently. I still felt horrified when he was executed and it made sense as to why Yeok would return to trying to become king after witnessing it. The moment itself was still highly emotional, but this was due to the soundtrack and clever use of flashback rather than the acting. Speaking of the soundtrack, boy was it impressive.

Now imagine the amazing soundtrack

Early on I found myself really drawn to the music in the drama, and it had a wonderful way of tightening the emotions in any scene- particularly scenes of longing and heartache. One of the better aspects of the soundtrack was that the music itself was a sort of foreshadowing. ‘Dreaming’ was such a beautiful song- it had a sadness and a wistfulness about it. Having basic knowledge of how the story was going to end (due to the drama’s opening sequence and also the actual historical events) happy moments, particularly during the childhood scenes, suddenly became laced with sadness just by playing this song.

Cue uncontrollable weeping

I also think the moment I cried hardest in this drama was as the King died- playing only the vocals from ‘Dreaming’ made the scene so much more heart-wrenching, and fit the events perfectly. The directing was brilliant, and each shot was extremely beautiful to watch. The camera angles, costumes and locations were just breathtaking- I wouldn’t change a single thing.  

What Was Great:

Everything Made Sense:

How rarely can you say this about a sageuk? This is an exceptional feat not only because it happens so rarely, but because the audience already has a pretty good idea of what is going to happen.

The beginning of the end

The writers already had some boundaries to work within- they couldn’t very well just blatantly ignore the historical facts, but they made it work for them. Rather than feeling like we know where the story is going, we start to wonder how these three individuals wind up so far away from how they wanted to live, and what sort of situations brought them there. Despite knowing what choices may have been the wrong ones, we still feel an immense amount of sadness and pity for our characters. It’s so clear that they’re doing their best in awful situations, and rather than getting angry with them for doing things that are likely to backfire, we sympathise with how those choices seemed like the best ones at the time. Such as Yeok’s decision to marry Chae Kyung. We all know that it was this desire to marry her that led to so many issues- the king’s jealousy, political complications, and Chae Kyung becoming trapped in the middle of the brothers’ war for the throne, but at the same time you can’t really criticise the man for wanting to marry the woman he loved.

Darling girl, you should have moved back to the country when you had the chance

Similarly, even though I disagreed with Yeok keeping so many secrets from Chae Kyung, it was easy to see how he thought that would be best. He can clearly see that she’s already struggling being stuck between her husband and the King, and by lying to her he prolongs the time before she has to make a decision about which brother to lie to and which brother to protect. I hardly ever enjoy series where the characters are acting like noble idiots and tend to classify any choice to leave to save the other pain as a stupid choice, but in ‘7 Day Queen’ I could fully understand Chae Kyung’s decision to leave Yeok.

Also, he did kinda bring about the downfall of her entire family

Due to her family’s political ties to the previous King, the ministers were never going to accept Chae Kyung as Yeok’s Queen once he claimed the throne. There were always going to be people trying to discredit, ruin, or even murder Chae Kyung, and if Yeok went out of his way to prevent that he would become politically weak. Chae Kyung could then also be used as a pawn to manipulate and threaten Yeok now that he was King, as we saw with Myung Hye’s uncle.

Soooooo many mistakes...

If they stayed together it was highly likely that one of them was going to end up dead- with Chae Kyung being the more likely. As such, her choice to leave wasn’t only to protect Yeok as King, but also to protect her own life which has constantly been in danger since she married Yeok, so you can’t really blame her for that. The ending itself was just so perfect. The brothers’ reconciliation was handled so delicately and came off really well. Once the weight of the throne was taken off the previous King he calmed down a lot and was able to see his own mistakes more clearly- all because his mind was no longer clouded by suspicion as he’d already lost what he’d been trying to protect. When he revealed that he’d trusted Chae Kyung’s father all along and had acted betrayed just to distance Chae Kyung’s father from himself and the palace, my heart just broke. I was relieved that he knew there was at least one person that was truly loyal to him. His reveal that he’d never hated Yeok, but rather that he’d hated his own suspicion of Yeok was just so poignant. The line was delivered so perfectly and was the perfect way to bring the previous King’s story to a close.

Couldn't have been done better

Rather than finding out if Chae Kyung and Yeok were going to be together (because we all really knew that they weren’t going to be), I was much more interested in finding out if the brothers would be able to be honest and resolve their differences, and I’m so glad that they were. The absolute icing on the cake of this ending was having Chae Kyung return to the palace as an old woman as Yeok was dying.

The throne is a lonely place

I usually loathe these kind of endings (as I’m more of a ‘what’s the point if you’re not together’ kind of person), but it was just so picture perfect. Yeok needed to be King to right the wrongs of his brother, and Chae Kyung couldn’t be with him as he did that. Her reasoning behind refusing Yeok’s offers to reinstate her as Queen was also perfect- knowing that any children they had together would be caught up in the same political war that they were a part of (as Yeok already had a son and heir by that point) was perfect reasoning for the two to remain apart. Having Chae Kyung return at the end solidified that no matter what had happened in those years they had been apart, they still loved each other, and had been thinking of each other all along. Going from the older actors to the adult actors to the child actors and then back to the adult actors again was really the best way that the show could have gone out. It solidified that the love between them really was a lifelong love, and now that Yeok had finished his duties as King they could finally be together- even if it wasn’t for very long. It was the most brilliant, bittersweet ending we could have hoped for.

A truly epic saga

Despite how tragic the whole thing really was, what the writers managed to accomplish was expressing that this really was the best scenario for our leads. At first I was quite angry with Yeok for insisting on marrying Chae Kyung as it put her in such an awful, uncompromising position,

They tried every option

and he was essentially forcing her to choose between himself and the King- and the wrong choice would mean her death. But as the story progressed I realised that perhaps marrying Chae Kyung was the best thing Yeok could have done for her. She remained safe(ish) while the King was in power due to the King’s affection for her, and once the King was disposed and Yeok became King she was safe(ish) due to her marriage to Yeok. Had Yeok not married her it was highly likely that she would have died with her parents during the revolution. There was no easy way out for our characters, no sneaky loophole that could have guaranteed everyone’s safety and happiness, no dammit-Rose-there-was-room-for-Jack-on-the-door moment. The plot was completely airtight and made absolute sense, letting us get completely lost in the drama and free to enjoy our tragic love story.

The King:

As excellent as the leads were and as dramatic as their story was, it wouldn’t have been half as interesting if not for the King. He’s just such an excellent character. I always really love characters that aren’t wholly good or evil (such as Park Bo Gum’s character in ‘I Remember You’), and the King fits that description to a tee.

When talking about the King you can't ignore how perfect Lee Dong Gun's acting was

As we’re being introduced to the character in the early stages of the drama we see his love for his brother. The tension is there for certain, but it’s the King’s affection that wins out over his fear. He chooses to ignore those trying to turn him against Yeok, and multiple times we see him choosing to trust his brother and his brother’s intensions. Had the two been left alone perhaps they could have coexisted in harmony.

Before master manipulators got their claws in the brothers

The King is surrounded by people placing doubts in his head about Yeok’s desire to take the throne, and Yeok’s action, innocent and unintentional as they may be, could be pretty damming. It was heartbreaking to see the King’s faith in his brother slowly start to fade and the suspicion really start to take hold as he is manipulated by those around him. Perhaps if his father hadn’t told him he would ruin Joseon he would have been a more confident and less suspicious King. Or perhaps the weight of being king was always going to be too much for him. It was these sorts of interesting facets to his character that made him so fascinating to watch on screen. His descent into madness, and thus tyranny, was just heart-wrenching. This man once loved his brother and this girl so much, yet due to all his fear and suspicion he becomes the one most likely to hurt them. What was truly gutting about the King’s character is that there were always glimmers of goodness underneath that made him so pitiable and so hard to hate. It didn’t excuse him of his actions, but it made him seem more relatable and more understandable than your usual crazy Joseon King.

Doesn't hurt her even as she betrays him...

With just a few kind words from Chae Kyung he started to change his behaviour, and for a while there was even being an okay king to his people. But as soon as Yeok returned and brought back that fear of losing the throne, he returned to his cruel and manic ways. And yet no matter how far down the dark path he went, he never actually hurt (physically at least) Chae Kyung or Yeok. Sure, he was always ranting about how he had been betrayed by them and how he was going to kill them, yet whenever he had the opportunity he never did.

Dammit woman, would it really have been that hard to give him just a little love?

As Yeok often said, the fact that Yeok lived was evidence that the King never intended to kill him. And even in the King’s last moments as king when he realises that Chae Kyung has tricked him and a revolution is under way, no matter how furious he was he never raised a hand to her. It was just so gut-wrenching to have this man so desperate for love that he was willing to ruin his family, is friendships and his kingdom to get it, never fully realising that it was these very actions that were pushing people away. His demise was really his own undoing and there’s just something so achingly sad about watching a man who once had so much love to give just tear himself apart with fear and suspicion. It was fitting that once the throne was no longer his that he no longer had that manic energy about him. Once he’d lost what he’d been so afraid to lose he became more reasonable and relaxed and was able to see where he’d gone so wrong. The show didn’t try to absolve him of all his sins, but nor did it condemn him completely. The love story between the leads may have been the centre of the show, but it was the King’s trajectory and his broken relationship with his brother that I found truly tragic. 

The result of suspicion

Not A Wallflower:

Chae Kyung is one of my favourite heroines in K-Dramaland. When watching a historical drama you’re almost guaranteed to have a heroine that is very pretty and sweet and innocent, but fails to do absolutely anything during the show’s run.

She will literally whoop yo ass

Chae Kyung was not one of those heroines. She often took things into her own hands-standing up for what she believed was right and ready to speak her mind. She wasn’t afraid of telling the King when she thought his methods were wrong, and she certainly wasn’t afraid of getting in a fight to save her man. Chae Kyung always did everything in her power to get herself out of difficult situations without relying on someone else to save her- which only made the moments someone did save her more interesting. I can’t tell you how much I loved that she was willing and able to pick up a sword and fight to save herself and Yeok. She was also a reasonable political player. She could reason with the King (for a time) and was a key player in helping Yeok win the throne. She never let anyone else make her decisions for her, and went out of her way to shape her own future, rather than sitting around waiting for some man to do it for her.

What Wasn’t:

No Consequences for Mum:

There really isn’t much I would change about this drama, but the only thing I was perhaps a little disappointed with was the way that the Queen Mother somehow managed to walk out of the whole situation completely unscathed. All our other ‘villains’ face some sort of retribution, and considering what a large role the Queen Mother played in the whole situation I was a little bummed when she got to have her cake and eat it too.

No, Chae Kyung-ah- don't bow to the likes of her!

The King lost everything he held dear, was dethroned, exiled and died. The King’s main manipulator Secretary Im was murdered by his own man. Myung Hye’s Uncle was humiliated and stripped of all his titles. And yet the Queen got to see her son become King and remain in power. She was one of the biggest causes of tension between the two brothers-

You suck, lady

rather than telling them that as brothers they should love and protect one another, she was sowing seeds of doubt in Yeok’s mind and searching for a secret document that would name Yeok king- and it was these behaviours that really fed the King’s suspicions of Yeok and aided in destroying his trust in his younger brother. Perhaps if the Queen Mother had loved the King as a son rather than trying to replace him with her birth son, things would have turned out differently. She was also one of the biggest political players that was against Chae Kyung being Queen. Despite all that Chae Kyung had done for Yeok, the Queen Mother was ready to throw her under the bus as soon as Yeok was king. I just wished that she’d faced some sort of consequences for her actions- such as Yeok no longer wanting anything to do with her. As it was, I felt like she was one of the biggest manipulators in the show and somehow just managed to get her way with everything. A small dark patch on a cloud that is otherwise pure silver.

Recommend?

This is an amazing drama so of course I would! It really has everything you could possibly want in a sageuk. 

So sad, yet so satisfying