Queenmaker opens with strands of familiar narrative melody: terrible people get away with terrible things. Featuring entertaining spirits of the times like HBO Continuity, watching people scrape the bottom of the morality keg and stay empty has never been more heated water cooler talk. Queenmaker it initially appears to be made of the same fabric: Hwang Do Hee (played by industry legend Kim Hee Ae) works as a PR man for the Eunseong Group, a corporate conglomerate controlled by a very wealthy family who aspire to even greater wealth. It does Queenmaker the introduction goes down easily; such an acquaintance is deceptively relaxing. Then the ending of the first episode literally hits as a body falls from above, crashing into Do Hee’s car, and the series reveals its ruthless true hand. Queenmaker it’s a tale of revenge and a hopeful fantasy in one, no hiding.
What is the Korean drama “The Queen Maker” about?
Queenmaker offers a different perspective on the now commonplace cliché. When the show starts leading lady Do Hee is as cold-blooded and calculating as they are. Her designer Jimmy Choo heels click the floor in warning, though these shoes symbolize the daily pain she endures silently. Her job of cleaning up the mess and sweeping scandalous behavior under the rug goes back to the good old days of Olivia Pope and Scandal, except that this fixer works for the Roys equivalent. Coming straight out of a billionaire’s textbook, Do Hee makes a potential PR nightmare disappear by dressing Managing Director Eunseong (Kim Sae Byuk) in chic clothes. Who cares how cruel the boss hurt her employees when her wallet is beautiful?
Do Hee hides his morality as deeply as he hides the dirty laundry of a corporation. Eunseong certainly doesn’t deserve such generous devotion, but Chairman Song Yong Sim (Seo Yi Suk) pulled Do Hee out of obscurity and mentored her for over ten years. And the reward for Do Hee’s loyalty to this disgusting family, a loyalty that came at the cost of her own close relationships? Her employers still refer to her as a “mongrel”. The hidden message is clear: if you are born for money and not one of us, you are worth nothing. Do Hee will never be good enough, no matter how much metaphorical and literal blood she spills. If Continuity, Breaking Bad, And Soprano popularized antiheroes, then Queenmaker about those who contribute to the success of anti-heroes.
All the delightfully duplicitous power plays and shocking twists of the political revenge thriller come into play as soon as Baek Jae MinRyu Soo Young), son-in-law of Chairman Song and candidate for mayor of Seoul, commits a horrific crime that Do Hee refuses to ignore. She leaves Eunseong in the mud and vows to destroy them in a brutal bloodthirsty vendetta that doubles as Do Hee’s quest for redemption.
Admittedly, Do Hee’s moral twist seems too convenient - after at least a decade of destroying the lives of innocent people, why is this incident the straw that breaks the injured employee’s back? Still, it’s undeniably rewarding to watch a fiercely competent middle-aged woman seek justice for Han Yi Seul.Han Chae Kyung), a young woman who was abused, raped, and sent to her death by a powerful man. Baek’s victim cannot be resurrected, but Do Hee will do everything in her power to ensure that justice is done. She will scheming, manipulating, biting, scratching and screaming to protect other women. Suddenly, Queenmaker becomes a tale of redemption and a political fantasy where pure good triumphs over evil.
A hopeful revenge thriller? Yes, It Exists!
Many traditional Korean revenge stories are rooted in systemic oppression and inherent flaws in certain socioeconomic structures. Gloryfor example, a recent Netflix powerhouse has protagonist Moon Dong-eun (Song Hye Kyo) turns to brutal revenge after law enforcement and the education system fail to protect her from abuse. Where Glory more granular, Queenmaker takes a broader view and deals with the many ways in which capitalism fails the working class. Workers are taken advantage of, low-income mothers make desperate choices to provide for their children, and tyrannical men gobble up victims without hesitation (even women who think they are playing the political game on an egalitarian basis).
Queenmaker shows no trace of subtlety when it comes to good and bad. The villains are repulsive, and the heroes are incorruptible. This means Queenmaker not as crude or morally complex as Glory, but he enjoys classic melodrama. Secrets are learned, dirt is unearthed, people have heated strategy sessions and behind-the-scenes moves. In this respect, the vicissitudes never stop. One can laugh at how easily opposition political parties influence public opinion before recalling the existence of social networks.
Part of feeling good comes into play with Moon So-ri Oh Kyung Sook, co-leader of Do Hee and human rights lawyer who is colloquially referred to as the “rhinoceros of justice”. As her nickname suggests, Kyung-sook is quite rude. She was not raised to wield a camera as a weapon. She doesn’t have the sleek, sophisticated look expected of ambitious politicians. Kyung Sook’s goal is to make the world a better place by protecting the most vulnerable, and she burns sincerely enough to start a wildfire. She is the politician of dreams precisely because she is not a politician: that impossible figure who succeeds by violating the rules of a rigged game. “We women protect each other like sisters and make the world a better place,” So-ri vows to her friends, campaign team, and pink-clad women’s alliance groups. In a less idealistic drama, So-ri would be one of them. about exceptional so-called “feminists” who break glass ceilings just to increase their power. Instead, So-ri is an impending queen, and every woman protecting her is a queen maker.
“Queenmaker” is a model of ruthless optimism
Most of this would be like idle talk without Queenmaker grounding performances. At 56 years old, Kim Hee Ae already had a slew of awards and massive hits under her belt before she became the co-host of a Korean drama produced by Netflix. Moon Seri, 48, boasts a huge list of awards. Their powerful performance, especially Kim, shakes the earth. They carry Queenmaker on their backs, proving that the world desperately needs more stories told by women over 50. Hell, even the main villain is a matriarch with two daughters fighting for the company’s inheritance rights.
Queenmaker quickly proves it’s not as morally dubious as its first appearance suggests. Its mission is different from Glory: This series wants hope to prevail. Some days it’s hard not to cringe at such brazenly pure optimism; other days it is a kind of narrative fuel that keeps our spirits on alert. A brash, overtly emotional, stubborn woman winning an election is a fantasy disguised as a narrative veneer of something honest. Thus, Queenmaker ruthless and condescending at the same time - and there is a place for such stories. Imagine how different our world could be if empathetic people made decisions. The paradox is to know how unlikely such a future is, and at the same time to fight for its existence. Queenmaker resting. Maybe this messy, tangled knot is the show’s most profound realism.
Source: Collider
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