'The Snow Queen' can be defined as a romantic tragedy and slightly equivalent to 'A Walk to Remember'. I recently finished watching this drama. I picked it up because its story interested me. I expected it to be an intensely sad story and sure enough it was sad but contrary to what I expected, I didn't cry buckets. I remember shedding tears in the first two episodes. In the episodes that followed, I felt pain but not to the extent that I would literally start crying. So I started wondering- Were my expectations too high? Or am I now strong hearted enough to control my emotions? Surely, the latter one doesn't stand a chance. I am a person whose tear glands are in action once I see anything depressing on the screen. But for some reason it was different while watching 'The Snow Queen' and that's what surprised me. Then again I thought that maybe because I have read and seen somewhat similar stuffs before- a love story in which the female lead suffers from a disease- I became used to it. The drama is such that halfway through you would pretty much have an idea as to how it would end and some of you might as well guess it in the beginning as it happened in my case.
Nonetheless, this is a very good drama. And while according to me it could have been shortened from 16 episodes to 10-11 episodes, it is fine as I got to see the main leads and the supporting characters' hidden personalities. I liked it how the female lead- Kim Bo Ra, initially arrogant and cold hearted, slowly begins to transform into a better person and understands the true meaning of love and friendship. Sung Yu Ri plays her role as Kim Bo Ra really well. Not to forget, I liked her closet. Her hairstyle and dresses suited her character.
Hyun Bin has done justice to his role as the male lead- Han Tae Woong/ Han Deuk Gu who has gone through a lot and has been suffering from guilt. I liked his shabby, ruffled hair! And every time tears rolled down his eyes, I sympathized him and asked myself, "Why him? Why does he have to suffer so much?" Yeah, this is a drama in which the male lead sheds more tears than any other character. On a side note, I'd say that the concept of mathematics is well used here. For the first time in my life I felt like 'Yeah, maths can be interesting at times' but at the same time I felt like I am dumb because of all the complicated stuffs the male lead spoke and wrote. The drama portrays the love story of the two leads beautifully and in a very realistic manner though I have to admit that it does have a few clichés but that's alright because nothing is completely 'original'. There are some cliff hanging moments which makes it interesting to watch.
The OST is pretty good. I love the instrumentals more than the vocals; especially the main theme. It is simply beautiful and gives a 'fairy tale' touch to the drama.
To sum everything up, I would say that overall it is a beautiful Korean drama and if you love dramas with a mixture of 'rom-trag' (romantic tragedy), you should watch it. The story has potential and a good cast that won't disappoint you.