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Queen of Ambition made me feel so many feelings... mostly frustration and anger... and I loved every minute of it!
First off, I love villains! I find them fascinating, which makes this the perfect drama for me. I'm also a sucker for a good revenge story. Based on the title alone, I had a feeling about what I should expect, and I still was not at all prepared for all the twists and turns! The lead character goes waaaay beyond normal ambition, and the situations in this drama caused me to yell and curse at the screen so many times. This is a MAKJANG in all caps, and a super addictive one. It caught my interest from the very beginning, and as the story progressed it just kept topping itself. It's part love story, part revenge thriller, and part one woman "House of Cards"! Of course reality police could pick apart every unrealistic moment, but when it comes to melodrama, it doesn't matter if it's unrealistic, it only matters that it works, and everything in this drama works! A large part of the credit for making it all work so well should go to the cast.
I will start with Kwon Sang Woo, who won me over with his lisp, and his admirable back muscles, but most of all made me fall in complete love with Ha Ryu. His heartbreaking character goes through so much during the course of the show, and I believed every moment of it. He did initially seem too old to be college aged in the beginning, but he was such a good actor that I didn't care. He handled romance, tears, action, sweetness, comedy, and tragedy effortlessly. I definitely will check out more of his dramas in the future. I also thought he was a good match for Soo Ae, and it's hard to have a convincing love story with someone so unlikeable.
Now, Just to be clear, this drama's main character is a sociopath. I am not saying that as a spoiler, but as a warning for viewers who may not realize what they are getting into. Soo Ae plays the notorious Joo Da Hae, a name I won't be able to forget for a long time. I can almost guarantee that you will not like her, and I have to give Soo Ae credit for making her so good at being bad. I do have some problems with her performance. I can barely recognize her as the girl from "9 End 2 Outs", which I loved, but that could be because it was a different genre. Her character is closer to her role in "Mask" (same genre) in which she mostly looks zoned out and depressed. I think the depressed stare works for this character too, I mean she is a sociopath, but she would also do this wide eyed deer-caught-in-headlights look constantly throughout the show that would literally drive me insane. I know that part of this type of drama is a small element of over acting, but the rest of the cast managed to be pretty realistic. The entire supporting cast was awesome (including super cute Go Joon Hee, and super hot Lee Jae Yoon), so her bad acting moments stuck out. I also think she missed a lot of opportunities to make her character sympathetic due to her acting, because the writers definitely tried on their part.
The story definitely gets a 10. It starts with a suspenseful moment, and for 23 unpredictable episodes tells you the backstory that lead to that moment, without any real plot holes, and without boring me even a little bit. It's also not all anger and tears, there are funny and touching moments as well, for much needed balance. Then the final episode packs in a lot, without feeling rushed, and without leaving me feeling cheated. The ending also made me ugly cry. I can see how some people may have been disappointed, but I thought it ended things beautifully.
Would I rewatch this? Without the suspense element, the show would lose some of it's appeal, but watching each unbelievable moment again would be entertaining enough.
I would recommend this drama highly, especially to revenge thriller fans, but with a disclaimer. This drama is the complete opposite of happy escapism. This is the kind of love story that will make you want to avoid love like the plague. This is the drama equivalent of driving slowly past an tragic accident, when you know what your are seeing is horribly tragic, but still you can't look away. A good alternative title might be "Oh No She Didn't", or "WTF". If you're ok with this, and can kinda appreciate it when bad guys win, put this drama on the top of your "to watch" queue. The score on MDL definitely doesn't do it justice. Seriously, the 24 episodes will fly by! It's probably best to watch it with someone else, so you can curse at the screen together!
I will definitely have to watch something happier next. The good thing is, most dramas will be much happier in comparison. I was looking for a drama to scratch my melodrama itch, and this definitely did, and more! It will be a nice dark addition to my favorites list.
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