Mr. Queen used to be my to-go show before bedtime (good vibes for sleep), but I am laughing way too much now. Aside from Bong Hwan's/So Young's antics ofc, the royal chef and court lady choi meeting at the bamboo groves to scream out their frustrations is wayy tooo funny. And the kaleidoscope joke never gets tired! Haha! The Joseon version of adult 'zines? LOL.

I'm enjoying watching the king fall for the queen and So Young's affection for him. Bong Hwan's mortification! His enthusiasm for the choosing of the royal concubine! And finding a bunch of papers instead of the ladies! Hahaha! Lady Choi's face is just...

The Grand Queen Dowager having a piece of rice at the corner of her mouth! The equivalent of a face mask (beauty cover?)!

I continue to snooze at palace shenanigans and Hwa Jin and the creepy cousin tho.

Go Princess Go belonged to Crystal Zhang and was purely about body swap hijinks and romance. When they decided to adapt it, they had to upgrade the Prince in the oringinal and give our puppet king Cheongi Cheongi Choljeongi something to flesh him out. There's very little to draw from original source material and you can tell it by the execution of overall palace politics plot point. The production team actually gambled and landed with two incredibly talented actors who are 🔥🔥🔥 when together hence you can mostly ignore everything else and have fun. I for one am loving tgis show. Yes, 9-10 didn't feel like transition point but they don't exactly need it. The strength is tgeir leads, just let them grace the screen 80% of time and it all will be well.

Thanks for a great weecap @missvictrix! I very much agree with your point about pacing - yes, we're getting moments of real drama and fun, but a lot of sag in the middle. I'm becoming aware that my attention is wandering at points in the episodes and that's a shame.

I also agree that we could do with a lot more on the central Bong-hwan/So-yong dilemma - what's going on here? On the most basic level, what's BH's strategy now to try and return to his body? After several episodes of placing all his hopes in the lake, and that plan falling flat, he seems to have resigned himself to plodding along with the circumstances as they are. No other ideas *at all*, BH, to try and return? Really? Also, if SY's memories are coming back, where's *her* soul? Why isn't she rebelling against the situation? This, for me, is one of the most interesting ideas in the drama and it feels disappointing not to have it addressed much.

Still loving the hi-jinks between the king and queen (although I have no idea where we're going with it all): the moment when SY was about the touch the king's nose and then rolled across the floor when he woke up - hahahahahahahahahah! Loved it!

I honestly went back to not knowing what they are gonna do and where they are takinh this story to. If I were confident the last time, maybe not so much now....

What I have always feared is that the main focus will get less intetesting once we get over the body swap hijinks and proceed to the political front which is sort of the taste we get this episode.... I still have faith in the drama creator but I also think we can name several dramas which 2nd half is confused, draggy, boring and uninteresting in contrast to its first half. But fingers-crossed 🤞

Maybe.... I love this one so much that I unconsciously keep getting my expectation up... But the whole behind story (that we know of, as of now) between Soyong x Hwajin is not exactly as juicy as I thought it would be... It doesn't feel like something that would make Soyong decided to drown herself instead of come clean to Cheoljong.

In one hand, I do want to see Soyong, so much, because she seems... So interesting...but on the other, getting back Soyong means having to focus on the political mess which is not exactly what I enjoy from this one...
I just really hope the 2nd half is at least half as good as the first one. Because honestly, I tend to undermine a drama just because how dissapointing the ending was (It's okay not to be okay....? Lol)

Also... WHY can't I see Byung-In as swoony? It's like whatever he does, it feels like he just wanted to show that he deserves Soyong and he has more power to Cheoljong, instead of you know, just do what the queen wants and protect her quietly?

The little girl that made the promise to save young CJ IS the little girl who saved with the help of the handsome cousin to boot.
Hwajin just took credit by standing there at the opportune time.

The kiss was hot and swoony but CJ is still using SY. No matter how swoonily he smiles at her or writes the Queen dictionary, I couldn’t get away from the fact that he kissed her to use her (which if it was the real SY would have been playing with her emotions) and assaulted her so he further his motives. Honestly, the court intrigues are boring with all the players taking themselves too seriously.

BH/SY’s attitude is awesome. He is kind to most of the folks he meets. He’s quick to pick up on things. It was interesting how his attitude towards SY’s father changed after SY’s memories came back.

At this point I will just watch BH/SY scheme his way to everyone’s heart with his k-food and k-beauty!

this loud make out session also seems like it was cover to get everyone far away from the house, and to get So-yong down for the count, so he can continue his search for the mysterious ledger.

Nice catch! I didn't think of that. Now that makes Cheoljong to be such a schemer. It must be really draining living 24/7 like that.

Among other things that I love in this drama, I love how Bong Hwan has no qualms about running off to save his own skin while leaving Cheoljong to deal with the robbers on his own. That action is so true to Bong Hwan's character so far

Hum... the politics are taken a bigger place in the story, So-Young is influencing Bong-Hwan's actions.

It's kinda weird to watch the "romantics" scenes between the King and the Queen. So-Young is too nice with the King when he's still using her. Fortunately, Bong-Hwan is here to force the King to be more honest.

I think the King, the Queen and the cousin could make a good team together if they talk to each other and not hide things from each other.

I wonder how the writer could write 2 dramas in the same time : Joseon Exorcist and this one.

I enjoy every moment the bickering royal couple are in the scene. I agree that they are the show. As long as they stay on the scene most of the time bickering and at odds with each other I will be watching them. 😊
I think I practically screenshot every scene they were in. Not sure which was my fave. But I think I am partial to the little smiles CJ gives whenever he thinks of his Queen.

I agree with the duality of each major character. Thats what makes it interesting. Plus makes one wonder how this show will resolve the body swap/time travel hijinks. BH may go back in the present briefly or permanently to resolve his story. But with the mixing of souls/personalities of BH and SY, does it mean that BH is SY's reincarnation? Will we get a female CJ at modern times?

I love how BH is enslaving the Dowager Queen's heart through kbeauty and comfort food. BH/SY maybe able to use that relationship for CJ's advantage.

Have to admit I repeated the first 10 mins of ep 9 a few times before going on with the rest of the show, omo! So swoony, especially when they wound down when the spectators left and Cheoljong looked like he was asking, should I continue, and she complied and they start again *fans self*. And then the switch from hot to funny, with all the sound effect and self-slap and Cheoljong's face, gah, totally dying every time I remember those. And the giggles, wow, show is pretty much trolling Byung-in big time...

Can't believe that Cheoljong was unaffected enough to end the sexy time with that neck chop. Maybe because he thought it's alcohol-fueled. They are really amping up the romance for this week but I guess it will still take some time, although Bong-hwan's persistence in occupying himself with the concubines seems a tad like denial..?

So basically So-yong is the one who endanger yet also saved Cheoljong (with Byung-in's help..?), they were pretty much children put in a bad situation out of their control. Guess Hwa-jin lied to him that she was the girl in the well as well as her saviour and made things worse for herself. Have had enough with scheming and whispering behind, couldn't wait to see everybody come head to head next week.

Wondering whether Bong-hwan's introducing modern cooking method will change the culinary history ><

Heol, ep 10 of Mr. Queen and I still don't know how to feel, what to think. It is such a funny show, but I just feel sad for our main lead.

BH is losing himself in SH's body, and I'm feeling pretty much the same. I mean, I still don't know if I should expect a nice BL kind of ending (I'm reading way too many webtoons I guess) or if I should wait for the princess return.

Bong Hwan-ah is getting that girl's life together, but what about his? Is he going to go back (to a world where the police is waiting for him) after all the feelings that are growing between him, the servants, the King? After fixing her life?

At least she should be doing the same helping him with the cops or something, in the modern world.
But all I see is a nice guy that just lost his body, feelings, internal monologue (voice)... well, he lost all his life. For what? Just to be in the middle of a weird love square and the tipical thrown-power-saguk war or wtv.

What I'm asking is, what's there for Bong Hwan-ah? I just don't want him to fix this "Joseon mess" so the princess comes back to her body and live a happy life that's based in BH's effort.

im so surprised at how i hate Hwajin in episode 9-10. she isnt nice, she just pretending to be nice in front of the king. She knows if King realized its Soyoung who rescued him, she wont be a concubine rn. her victim mentality tho she really think everything is Queen's fault when it not? their relationship based on lie, of course its going to be broken sooner or later.
the best thing about this drama is how Bonghwan is so so fast picking up information and situation around her/him. im still not into the political thing and i still find Byeongin is annoying, so i watch this drama only for Bonghwan/Soyong and The King relationship.

I burst out laughing when So Bong aka bong hwan/ So Yong slapped herself to reality, the comedic moments are so wack and least expected which is the charm of this drama.

This week or more so ep 10 missed a lot of the comedy that I enjoy but as we reach the halfway point I understand other plot lines need to take priority. Nevertheless I expect next week to crank up the romance and comedy because it’s the highlight of my week.

On a side note as a hardcore Kim Jung hyun *anti-fan* Hee Hee I was beyond elated to finally see an actual kiss between his co-star 😝 here’s to more smooches in the future!!

Shin Hye-Sun keeps being absolutely amazing, week after week, nothing new to add there!! <3

It's funny to me that the reason I got interested in the show initially was because I kept seeing promo stuff of it right after finishing my rewatch of FoS 1, and I was upset about poor Young Eun-soo; I just wanted to see a happier ending for SHS! xD
I never expected I'd end up loving the drama and all the cast so much, in the end!! ^^

This part:

So, beyond the layer of genuine attraction that’s there (I think?), both parties also have ulterior and/or complicated motives,

and that makes this scene part ruse, part fan service, and part confusion. Honestly, I still have no idea exactly what Mr. Queen is trying to

do, or trying to say.

Totally agree!!! I loved the scene, both very funny and hot, but I don't understand how to take it?? CJ now seems to genuinely care about SY, more than he ever did before maybe, but how much is it about her well-being, and how much about needing her for his ulterior motives? He even said it to HJ, that he should not love the Queen. (He did not seem convinced at all there ahah)

Though he is definitely falling for her and her bizarre behavior, at least enough that writing that Queen's dictionary was his way to calm down after another one of his nightmares (adorable ><) ..but no matter how much he likes her now, it's still not enough for that make-out session to be more than a stunt to further his agenda, and get his hands on that ledger.
Sometimes I find it hard to grasp when CJ is acting and when he is sincere, when it comes to his interactions with with SY; like, he's neither his dumb/puppet King self, neither his "real" self, but somewhere in between!? It drives me crazy! xD
Props to Kim Jong-hyun (loving him a lot here)!! ahaha!

Shin Hye Sun and Kim Jung Hyun have great chemistry, that was a long make-up session😏😘. I am in agreement though, I hope we find out the why of the body swap and why we don't hear the So Yong's voice like we heard Bong Hwan.

Thank you missvictrix for the recap. I also had an issue with the backstory of the body swap. did they just abandon every thing. also all the innovation So Yong is bringing, hope it won't affect the timeline.

I love the explanation for the meaning of anti fan, the way the king took it to mean 'a spirit guide is so funny' . also how can So Yong be more excited about having a concubine than the king. so funny. I laughed at that scene.

Though I love this week's episode, it was fun to watch and all. still have an issue with the cousin. he is so bluntly rude, like dude that is the King. calm down!

OMG what a show 😍
I’m having SHS ( shin hye sun) syndrome not SLS 😝 bcoz of this drama
I have started (re)watching every show of hers starting with forest of secret 1, angels mission last love , 17 but 30 etc
First time falling hard for girl crush
She deserves 🥰 ✊ Fighting

Okay, I always start with the same saying.. I love this Drama.. seriously, its so much fun and I cant even imagine a painful ending for our couple because it would hurt too much. That being said lets deep dive into my takeaways from these episodes and some of the comments I have been reading.

First, I read that Cheoljong is stupid for not recognizing So Young or seeing Hwa Jin for what she is:
Umm no, CJ is most certainly not stupid, I have been seen that comment alot and its totally unfair to our male lead. First, he was a kid and second it was like pitch black out when So Young saved him. he was in a freaking well, so I am sure he couldn't see her face clearly and her and Hwa Jin looked alike and it was commented that Hwa Jin even dressed like So Young. Hwa Jin wears a mask, the fake So Young mask and she wears it so very well. This girl has been fooling people since she was a child but she has a deep resentment and even obsession with So Young that is borderline unnatural. Being So Youngs shadow is her deepest fear. I mean she basically encouraged So Young to commit suicide when they were CHILDREN. That is total psychopath tendencies, all while pretending to be So Youngs friend.. smh... I honestly don't think she loves the King , I think she loves the IDEA of having him and she desperately wants to take something from So Young.
As for So Young/Bongwhan, they are so blended I cant tell up from down or which pronouns to use at this point which is exactly what the writer is going for I think. They are most definitely playing with gender in this drama and its hard for me to see So Young as anything other than a woman despite Bongwhan soul being inside her ( which I think is exactly the point the director was trying to make). I dont even think our Mr. Queen knows which feelings are hers and which are his at this point, which is why he is so desperately trying to flirt with females and get concubines, to almost assure himself of his masculinity.
Next, I am hoping that our Mr. Queen finally gets to show off their cooking skills to the rest of the court. This drama continues to be funny, from the King Fan club, to anti fan, to the self slap, to rolling out bed like that and saying Good Morning.. ROFL I love love love this drama and its touching moments. I am rooting for our main couple and will post my theories in the next comment

I forgot to mention in my last comment.. Whew that Kiss.. geesh.. that had to go up there to the top 10 K drama kisses of all time.. it was so hot I had to fan myself.. haha.. now lets get to my fun theories..

Theory 1 - Sad Theory
CJ and So Young will fall in love but will be killed by the Kim Clan or one of them will die. Either CJ or So Young ( sacrificing themselves for the other). I think So Young will abandon the Kim Clan except for a few members ( Byeong In and Kim Hwan). I dont like this theory.. so lets scratch that one.. it sucks

Theory 2
CJ and So Young work together to bring down the Kim Clan and restore order in the Kingdom but the Jo's will demand that So Young be deposed or the King finds out the truth about Bongwan and he goes back and the real Queen ( who I am guessing is dying or dead) passes away. I dont like that theory too much either.. its sad and it sucks..

Theory 3.. Okay get your popcorn.. Mr. Queen accepts his fate as being a vegetable in the future and decides to stay living as So Young. Mr. Queen abandons the Kim clan and helps CJ and they fall in love. Mr. Queen tells CJ the truth about being from the future and who he is and CJ after some struggle accepts this and So Young and Mr. Queen coexist as Queen Cheorin with that being said. Mr Queen retains all his memories of the future and not only help CJ become a strong King but he warns CJ about all the future events that will happen ( Japan invasion, wars, etc) and because they are forewarned they will be able to change history! Korea remains a intact monarchy thanks to our Mr. Queen. CJ and So Young go on to be parents and grandparents and ONE DAY ...ahaha this is the funny part the have a great grandson who is King of Korea and his name is Lee Gon and he can travel through time ( ref. KETM) ... and BAM BAM BAM that is how its done..😁😁😁😁😁😁😂😂😂😂🤣..... Obviously my favorite theory

BI's acts don't come from a selfish place, I like him. He thinks that SY slept with CJ for her family and it pushed him to snitch on the king. I do think he has a plan and is smart enough to play his cards well. I understand why he doesn't respect CJ. He is not a typical King, BI fully knows he is a puppet who can't even protect his woman. He stood down but when he saw how CJ treats SY, his protective side kicked in. I am expecting him to end up helping CJ for SY by the end of this drama. I think his love is the opposite of HJ's.

I re-watched that kissing scene like 20 times.

I love that BH side eyed SY's dad for being a shitty person and I love that moment by the lake when CJ wanted his Queen to stay herself.

So who do we ship? Because I don't know if BH truly loves CJ or it is SY. In actuality probably both? I am totally on that BH/CJ ship because CJ fell in love with BH's personality but then it would be unfait towards BH to push someone's feelings on him.

I read somewhere else that Bong Hwan is experiencing something like “cell memory”. You know, a “heart transplant” trope where the recipient suddenly gain feelings, skills, and memories of the donor. The body remembers even though the original soul is gone.

I don’t know why we haven’t seen real So Yong at all except for flashbacks but for now it really looks like her soul is gone. Why didn’t she appear in her own body when Bong Hwan went briefly into his body when he was in a hospital?

Also if So Bong manages to take revenge on Mr Han’s ancestors (so he won’t be born), doesn’t it mean in the future Jang Bong Hwan will never fall into a pool and thus never slipping into So Yong’s body?

Congratulations Bong-whan-ah~~🎉🎉...on your first Period! 🤣🤣
I just wish we had more scenes of his experience!!😁

Well that make out scene was great!Just give me this two together and won't get bored at all..Gotta love Cheoljong making that Queen's Dictionary and even more when so naive using her strange words...Also Bong-hwan sure has a way of explaining what stuff means making him fail to understand,so funny...This week cemented that The Grand Queen is just a tamed puppet in the hands of the true mastermind Kim Jwa-Geun even more ironically when she mentiones this in her relation with So-Yong.It's also intresting how displeased he is when he hears Queen Sunwon wanting to see Byeong-In more and give him tasks.Quite curious if Queen Sunwon will side with the King and Queen when she finally finds out the real face of her younger brother and what he did all this time.Bong-Hwan relation with the Royal Chef Man-Bok is so heartwarming as well as Lady Choi & Hong Yeon.Also loving those bamboo forest epic moments and the parodies,curious if u guys know from what drama did Man Bok took the monologue,gave like Goblin or so vibes(aside from the lyrics of Some )...

Most romantic line: "I am also your anti-fan".
Most romantic scene: Cheol-jung finding peace while writing down all the slang in the Queen's Dictionary.

This drama really knows how to bring on the LOL with the unexpected scenes and situations. I did not expect Bong-hwan to slap himself/So-yong after that kiss or robbing the unconscious thief (and then returning 1 coin) or getting a period or that Joseon SKINFOOD CF or Cheol-jung appearing in that concubine fantasy.

Grossed out by So-yong's dad. He tried to kill the king as a kid. Then marries his daughter off to him and is enjoying the status of royal in-law. Glad the ledger went missing.

I feel like all the young people just need to work together and shut down those old fogeys and their intrigue. I even feel a bit bad for the sour Hwa-jin. She really cared for her maid. And you've got that Dowager Queen lady manipulating her.

I like how Bong-hwan is inadvertently getting Court Lady Choi to care about Head Chef. I sort of want Bong-hwan to return to the present and mentor a Head Chef descendant.

I feel sad thinking that So-yong really did die like that without having resolved anything, so I really hope she can come back and see her beloved being safe when all this is over.

Does anyone know what it is that Royal Chef gave to Court Lady Choi? It seemed precious to him but of course considered as trash by the lady. Being a chef I was assuming it was a rare ingredient or something.

Few bits on top of what is peppered elsewhere...

This may seem random, but I’m kind of sad they replaced the original opening “snippet” of the show with the King & Queen just coming out of the pond. I miss the old snippet with the little squeak when Bong-Hwan looks down the Queen's shirt. That squeak is adorable because he looks genuinely surprised by the sound just after making it. (SHS nailed that acting wise!)

When Byeong-In remains the closest guard during the noisy bedroom time, I really want to believe he forces himself to stay close not just to be ready should she call out for help (which is probably what he told himself), but maybe…just maybe…he’s doing it to start accepting the possible reality of her choice?

I loved the diplomatic way of describing “anti-fan” that then confuses the King further.

Yay! The moment when the Head Inspector eunuch kicked the Royal Chef off his stool! Royal Chef may be nice at the oddest times, but he totally had that coming.

Forgot one thing...was I the only one when the Consort was shown the body was internally screaming "CHECK THE KNEES YOU IDIOT!"

I mean, the fact that her maid is likely dead due to the stabbing scene aside...it just irritated me to no end that the Consort so readily assumed this face she can't recognize was that of her former maid.

In that scene when So-bong goes to defend the king at the soup place, just while standing Choi Jin-hyuk's voice is heard one last time, hes sayimg Aish! I went back and listened again, Bong-hwan got back control for that second. I could be wrong.