This is my favorite Korean Drama Ever.
STORY: I have such great respect for the writers. Kim Young Hyun original wrote Jewel in the Palace/Dae Jang Geum before this and Park Sang Yeon was the original author of the novel that inspired the film Joint Security Area. After this drama, they also made Tree with Deep Roots and Arthdal Chronicles, other great dramas for me as well. Six Flying Dragons is also a drama by them, though I haven’t seen it but I heard its good too.
Queen Seon Deok is fantastic because it was able to show us motivations of many of the main characters and why they acted the way they did. They also showed that the good characters didn’t have to be perfect and that characters on the opposite side have some good in them and have their characters’ backgrounds explained clearly in a way so we can understand their actions .As a female, I also applaud that the drama has strong female characters (on opposite sides) who are both strong and smart, and stand firm on what they believed in. Except for sageuks, this was rare in Kdramas in 2009 when it was aired because the popular dramas then were simplistic love stories about rich guys and weak girls, so I really applaud them for this drama’s storytelling.
ACTING CAST: All actors deserve respect for signing up in a lengthy drama with the most difficult genre (sageuk). I dont think actors today would ever sign up for a 50 something episode show, never mind a serious sageuk of this length.
The best actors for me are, Go Hyun Jung as Mishil, Kim Nam Gil as Bidam, Nam Ji Hyun and Lee Yo Won as Deokman, Seo Young Hee as Sohwa, Jeon No Min as Seolwon, and Jung Ho Bin as Munno. I have no words for Go Hyun Jung’s performance for Mishil. She was beautiful and menacing at the same time. The aura she showed can either make viewers love or hate her character. Oh Bidam! Bidam is the reason why Kim Nam Gil became a lead actor in dramas. He had such a charisma in this show, that even the writers found it difficult on how to continue the story because of his great acting and charisma on the character he portrayed. Nam Ji Hyun was excellent in portraying desert girl Deokman. I know some didnt like Lee Yo Won’s acting, but I believe she did well in carrying the character and the show, even with Go Hyun Jung’s popularity. Seo Young Hee as Sohwa, she was simple fantastic in bringing out a character who had to go through a lot of changes, from a silly young maid to everything in the story that happened to her character. Jeon No Min as Seolwon, it was a supporting character but I never fail to notice his character and his acting. Jung Ho Bin, from Jumong to here he was always excellent in playing warriors and swordsmen.
Other actors that I also think did really well are Lee Seung Hyo as Alcheon, Park Ye Jin as Cheonmyeong, Yoo Seung Ho as Chunchu and Park Eun Bin as Boryang, Shin Se Kyung as young Cheonmyeong, Ahn Kil Kang as Chilsuk, Kim Jung Hyun as Hajong and Jung Woong In as Misaeng. Great cameo by Kim Yoo Jung too in one of the first few episodes as little Cheonmyeong.
One actor I didnt particularly enjoy was Uhm Tae Woong as Yushin. I find his portrayal mostly bland. However, I felt his characters love for Deokman in a scene when he was looking at her eyes and like I said, I respect him for taking up this drama (I heard he was great in other dramas, so I don’t think my opinion of him here should be any indication of how he is as an actor in general).
MUSIC: The music is the best on this show. Almost 10 years since I watched it and Crystal Glasses Instrumental is still among my most favorite instrumentals. I love how the instruments is used to portray Mishil’s character while she is doing what she is doing in the story (in the first scene it was played, she was literally playing on glasses. Balbambalbam was such a beautiful sad love song, perfect for this drama. I also really love Mishil’s theme, too bad the version I like best (with the violin sound, I think) is never on youtube. I also love the other instrumentals, especially the ones that were the themes for Deokman’s female relationships like Sohwa and Cheonmyeong. Thumbs Up!
COSTUMES/PRODUCTION DESIGN: How I wish this is also a category on mydramalist since the costumes and production design are fantastic. Despite being an older drama, I like the costumes better here than the other Silla drama Hwarang as the characters are more realistic and you can really imagine 600-700 a.d. Silla with those costumes. At the time of watching this drama, I thought the costumes and the hairstyles won by Cheonmyeong, Mishil, and even Deokman, were the most beautiful costumes worn by women from the historical Asian period, apart from Hwang Jin Yi's costumes. Even today, their clothes can still live up as good costumes in comparison to newer historical dramas with higher budgets. I also love the color coding on Hwarang and Nangdo clothes, it was easy to identify which Nangdos are under which Hwarang. I also love the realism of this dramas’ production design. Can you imagine a shower in 600-700 a.d. in Silla? Unlike the drama Hwarang, this one doesn’t have that prop (which is too modern for this period) and thus more pluses for this show.
REWATCH VALUE: really takes a lot of time to rewatch a long drama but I am giving a good score on this drama for this category because I was continuously rewatching many of my favorite scenes when I decided to check even just one episode in youtube years after I watched this.
OVERALL: With the elements I mentioned above making this drama great, the combination of them makes a gripping story of how a woman overcomes all to fulfill her dream of greatness for her kingdom. The way the story shows on how she overcomes her trials makes great storytelling.