Mystery Queen 2

Mystery Queen 2

7/10

Mystery Queen 2

Genre:                                                   Episodes: 16                                    Year: 2018

Comedy

Mystery

Synopsis:

After getting a divorce from her husband, Yoo Seol Ok is focused on passing the police exam so she can officially become an officer and work on solving crimes. However, she keeps getting distracted by Detective Ha Wan Seung as he asks for her help finding culprits behind various violent crimes.

Cast:

Choi Kang Hee (Yoo Seol Ok)

Kwon Sang Woo (Ha Wan Seung)

Lee Da Hee (Jung Hee Yeon)

Park Byung Eun (Woo Sung Ha)

Kim Hyun Sook (Kim Kyung Mi)

Kim Won Hae (Jo In Ho)

Oh Min Seok (Gye Sung Woo)

Min Ah (Shin Na Ra)

Kim Min Sang (Hwang Jae Min)

Min Sung Wook (Gong Han Min)

General Thoughts:

The second instalment of ‘Mystery Queen’ has me feeling a bit conflicted. On the one hand, it’s a thoroughly enjoyable series that continues the same unique brand of quirkiness from Season 1 (seriously, you won’t find another K-Drama like it), but on the other hand the actual main story line that we waited all through the first season and all through this one for still wasn’t resolved.

I feel like I don't have much more to say after my Season 1 review...

I’m not sure if it was a weakness of the writer and there just isn’t a satisfactory conclusion to that particular mystery at all, or if they are seriously angling for a third season. But to start, let’s focus on what the show did well. The three actors that have carried across to Season 2 all did brilliant jobs at reprising their previous roles.

I wish Dong Ha had stuck around to fill the puppy-shaped hole in my heart

It was familiar and comfortable and made the audience more accepting of other changes that had occurred between seasons (though I’m still a bit salty about the loss of our puppy policeman). I also thought the new additions did an excellent job at fitting into a story that was so successful last season. The new characters themselves were pretty fun and quirky, and were noticeably different from the characters we’d had last season, which made it feel less like they were trying to fill the void left by the actors that didn’t sign up for Season 2. One thing I did notice in this second instalment is that the PD had changed. It’s not something I usually notice, but about a third of the way through I had a sneaky suspicion that the PD wasn’t the same- and I was right. It wasn’t a big deal, and for the most part the PD was able to create the same vibe as the first, but I did notice that they relied heavily on music. And I mean heavily. While the first season used the soundtrack as a way to compliment scenes, I found that this time around the soundtrack was used to create mood. Which isn’t a bad thing- but it does make you feel like the drama is trying to manipulate your emotions a bit when it’s done so obviously.

Cue the dark, creepy music

Scenes that would otherwise not be mysterious or creepy (such as Hee Yeon icing a cake) were made to feel suspenseful due to the go-to mysterious music. Occasionally I did find that the visuals and the music were kinda at odds, and it made a few scenes feel a tad disjointed. It also makes it less surprising that Hee Yeon wasn’t who she said she was when literally every scene of her alone was accompanied by classically villainous music.

Guess who's the first to go

Like, she’s not an innocent baker? Gasp, shock, horror, not. In regards to the plot, I think most of it moved along pretty nicely, with each new crime being different and interesting in its own way. Again, the show did a brilliant job at introducing aspects of future cases so they felt more natural rather than forced in order to create plot. I was impressed that they were able to come up with new cases that felt different from the first instalment, which kept the show from feeling like a copy-paste of last season. Admittedly, I thought killing off Mi Joo felt a wee bit similar to killing off the panty-girl last season (sweet, innocent girl that the detectives know gets murdered). While I appreciated how it rolled into the set-up that was the same as Seol Ok’s parents’ murder, at some point you just get a bit tired of young girls always getting killed off. Maybe if her big, beefy boyfriend had been murdered first it would have been a bit more interesting. Yeah, I know realistically girls get murdered more often than guys (we’re just smaller and easier to hide, I guess), but it’s been on TV so much that at this point it’s pretty standard murder material.

My care-levels for this case were pretty low

I also think this season’s crimes were waaaaaay easier to figure out. While most of the enjoyment comes from watching our two detectives piece together the clues and find the criminal their own way,

He's just weird-weird not fun-weird

I remember being much more curious about the truth behind the cases last season. For example in the poisoning case, it just took absurdly long for anyone to figure out that it was in fact poison. Which I called from the minute the first guy died. Dead guy around, no witnesses, no weapon, apparently no culprit at all? Yes, it must be a stealthy ninja murderer. Or a ghost! No you noodles, it’s poison. On a side note, as random as it felt in the beginning, I did enjoy that Kyung Mi was brought in as a forensic officer. I enjoyed her character’s humour and sass and was glad it was incorporated into this season as well. Though I personally found her weirdo boss a little overdone. I loved the various characters that populated each case, with Dong Ha being a particular stand out. That boy’s just so good at everything, and even as a petty criminal he was just delightful. I did feel like there were a few inconsistencies from last season though (since when has Wan Seung had a brother?).

I mean, why bother introducing him as a character if he's not gonna do anything?

I thought his whole thing last season was that he was the heir to Ha and Jung Law, but the drama played these changes with such confidence that it was pretty easy to just accept and roll with it. 

What Was Great:

Detective Duo is Back:

The main draw of this drama is of course the returning leads. We fell in love with them and their bickering chemistry last season, and I honestly couldn’t wait to see more of them.

I'm impressed with how well they un-ajummafied Seol Ok

The romantic tension was just delicious, and I adored how everyone (and I mean everyone) knew they were basically dating- the two just hadn’t made anything official. Seol Ok and Wan Seung felt much more like a team this season, with their bickering relating mostly to personal matters, leaving them free to cooperate and support each other during their detective work. I particularly loved Wan Seung’s disapproval at Sung Woo calling Seol Ok ‘ajumma’, and how he completely supported her coming into the station and helping out with cases. The ring mystery (even though it was pretty obvious) was cute and funny, and was a clever way to keep the leads from getting together too early. Though I will say that I’m a tad disappointed that I’ve watched two seasons now and my Sherlock and Watson still didn’t start dating. 

What Wasn’t:

Still No Movement:

This is the huge downside to the drama. While the side cases were all interesting in their own right (mostly), we’re all here to see the main mystery that is Hyun Soo’s disappearance and the murder of Seol Ok’s parents.

An accurate depiction of my emotions when I realised all the main plot would once again be crammed into two hours

Once again the drama waited until it was in its very final stages before it began addressing the main plot-line at all. By the end of the show I was still completely and utterly confused as to why people tried to murder Hyun Soo

Seriously man- what the chizz are you even doing?

and why she had to live her life in hiding afterwards. And who was the dead girl at the end of last season then? How was she wearing the couple ring that Wan Seung gave Hyun Soo? And while it was fairly obvious that Hee Yeon was Wan Seung’s Hyun Soo, I still didn’t quite understand how she went from scared teenager to shadowy manipulator who buys people off with money-cakes. We discover who Secretary Kim is (was he even in last season? I don’t remember…), but he gets away at the end, after killing Hee Yeon I might add, and I’m none the wiser as to what his deal even is. I mean really, why were all these powerful adults so interested in killing some random girl? While I completely and utterly enjoyed the show, I was a tad annoyed to come out the other side with hardly any more information on the actual ‘main’ story. The only progress we made from Season 1 is a confirmation that yes, Hyun Soo was still alive (well…not now), and putting a face to Secretary Kim. That’s all. 

Recommend?

Only if you’ve seen and liked Season 1.

If there's a Season 3 you better finish telling your d*mn story