The Great Queen Seondeok

A lot of the things that I didn't like about the "Drama" is typical to Korean Dramas. The camera zoom in to face of Lady Mi Shil and the Princess was done too many times. Along with the camera zoom in to the faces the audio track was annoying at times. The characters were likable for the most part. Deokman's adventures prior to taking the Throne were fun. The series slowed down a bit My only knock on the show was Bidam. Didn't enjoy his character and was disappointed about him being such a big part of the storyline. Overall I found this Drama entertaining.

Mi Shil's brother with the annoying laugh was my favorite character,lol.

it's really good really really good for the writers actually took the time to think about every action and every and consequence so it's really really good this show take you on an emotional rollercoaster the tears and laughter just every single emotion it's a really good show makes me want to be a part of it so I love everything good actors good scenes good lines good fights good special effects good choreograph really good music just excellent all around

In general, I found the Queen Seondeok series very addicting. There were a lot of exciting parts that kept me hooked, despite some flaws and parts to the storyline I really did not like. I'm not Korean, but am still Asian (actually Asian-American), so there are enough similarities to my asian culture that I was able to understand and relate to this movie as a whole.

Things I LIKED - I think I am the only one who's favorite character is Deokman/The Queen. I especially liked her during the period of being princess and showing her cunning and wit to outsmart and outmaneuver Mishil. Mishil was a great villain imo. I wanted Deokman to triumph over Mishil, but I still sympathized with Mishil at times.

Things I DIDN'T like - I am probably the only person who hated Bidam. I found his character irritating. And he's a terrible person. Bidam is selfish, ruthless, untrustworthy, and untrusting. Plus, he's incredibly unbalanced. Some people may like the 'flawed' aspect of his character, but I hated him. I found him completely unsuited with Queen Seondeok. I felt like her great love is the Yusin warrior character, and Bidam was a second choice, because she was lonely, tired, and was dying. I actually felt that the "love story" with Bidam weakened her otherwise strong character. All Bidam did for her, besides loving her, was use that love as an excuse to cause chaos and anguish for her and the kingdom. And, I believe he did all this because he is ultimately selfish and wanted to take the thrown from her, despite all the hard work SHE put into getting it. His love is a destructive one, and frankly, I could've done with the Queen just seeing him as a friend she loved, nothing more. He facilitated the deaths of his teacher, and made the Queen's last days more tiresome before her death. Bidam bothered me so much, I had to fast-forward through him, despite the actor's good job at acting.

Summary: I liked the movie in general, because it was very exciting, with good writing, good war scenes, and several very good characters.

Recommendation: I think Dong Yi is better. Dong Yi is still the best historical drama I've ever scene. Dong Yi has great writing, direction, acting, characters, and love story. I loved how the character of Dong Yi was always strong in face of adversity, her love with the king was pure and whole, and how she loved her people, especially the poor.

i have watched historical period films that are chinese, thai, and japanese, but never korean. i never wanted to give the korean ones a try for some reason. i only gave this show a try after seeing Il Ji Mae, and i have to say, The Great Queen Seondeok works on its own, even if the show stumble here and there. i know nothing of korean's historical times. is queen seondeok a real person? i would sure like to know.

the show originally had 50 episodes, but because of high ratings on tv, they expanded to 62 episodes, and i'm fine with that because theres way too many characters. if they shorten bidam's storyline, we probably only see the queen rule silla the last few episodes. in extending, its not only important but appropriate to see how deokman run things her way as queen.

what does the show suffer from? there is some chinese characters in the show, but they are played by koreans, and it doesn't take a idiot to know that they are pretending to be chinese and they're trying to speak mandarin etc. one guy trying cantonese and it ain't all that good either. with the latin, i'm not even sure. i like how the maid speaks mandarin though, she actually made it sound very good, that i found it sexy lol.

some of the turning points that deokman did, came off as very dumb, but we see the way she grew up, so we know she ain't the smartest lady. other problems are scenery, direction, execution, and even in the acting department. one scene where bidam pulls out his sword, you can clearly see both sides of it, and there is no sharp end, no edge. he's busy looking good for the camera, but the sword is a fake. you can either pretend its a real sword, or look at it as a joke, poor props. with everything shown, i say, kids can watch it, even though they show blood.

i hate to say this but some of the bad acting came not only from minor characters but from the leads as well. any of you notice some of them have the tendency to keep looking at the camera? when the queen went unconscious or dead at the end, if you look closely, her eyelids were moving. talk about poor acting. to actually enjoy the show, you have to ignore the flaws. think of it as a theater play for children or something.

the good, fantastic exciting epic music. fights aren't wuxia. they don't fly around like crouching tiger hidden dragon and use wire work like most chinese period films do. there is a scene where bidam use a rope for his advantage to attack his enemies, and he runs up a wall holding the rope to do a fancy kick. when i saw that, i was wondering if they did it, kinda to insult chinese wuxia films lol.

the pacing of the show, i think, is some what ok. with their story telling, they didn't really over do anything. maybe a few scenes you might come across from time to time, you wish they get to the point.

they have such a huge cast, and those of you who are Il Ji Mae fans, will notice that Ahn Kil Kang and Lee Mun Shik are in this. something else i wanna mention quick is that, Uhm Tae Woong who plays Kim Yu Sin looks like Vincent Zhao, and Kim Nam Gil as Bidam looks like Donnie Yen.

overall, with a mix of good and bad, i still found the show fun to watch. if you really can't ignore the bad, hopefully bidam's end fight scene can make up for it. he really delivers. the performance is oscar worthy you can say. martial art movie fanatics will enjoy it.

I would like to say a few things to some of the reviewers who thought this drama doesn't fit to the traditional korean historical dramas.

Yes, it shouldn't fit to the traditional ones. times were more libral and more expressive in their emotions and free of customs, social conformaties.

FYI: I haven't watched this show yet. so disregard the ratings

Please know that before Chosun dynasty was much more flexible in everything in their society. for example, expression of love was much more realistic and libral unlike Chosun Dynasty.

Only in Chosun Dynasty, things were very strictly controlled as in religion, social standing and relationship among people rigidly...

I must say, if any writer or director creates a drama for time period of prior to Chosun Dynasty should not make a mistake of making it a most common historical piece. That would be a huge mistake and mis-informing to people today.