The King : Eternal Monarch (2020)

all the right elements but no execution

my first review! here goes...

I went into this drama wanting to watch cheesy plot, tbh. so I wasn't super dissappointed by the weird moving romance that actually didn't make much sense considering it went from nothing to "I'll die without you" so fast. even web dramas have more slow-burn than the main couple.

what upsets me about this show is the best and most interesting part about it. the whole time travelling between dimensions thing is absolutely fascinating I was so ready for the actual government conspiracy plot to start moving along and then IT CRASHED AND BURNED AND LEFT ME FOR DEAD.

I cannot even begin to write the essay that is my dissapointment in the ending developments. like oh they go back in time to save themselves? and alter the timeline that was already predetermined? okay, that's cool, I get that, kinda dig it, but that made all of the character development that was there almost for nothing. like the prime minister.

and the absolute tragedy that is the use of complex doppelganger relationships I was so ready for and in the end it failed me too.

I've learned my lesson, you can't expect a complex plot in a cheesy romance. and this kinda was the cheesiest of romances I've seen. its worth a watch if you like that kind of thing, just don't set high expectations.

Lire davantage

I loved it. The cast and writers did a awesome job It was a little confusing at first and you really needed to pay attention to what happens in both world of 2019/2020 and it all came together.
It start 1994 with li gon watching his father being murdered by his brother/uncle yi rim/Lee seong jae and then he try to kill his nephew, but is interrupted by someone helping him. It turns out the uncle wanted magic flute that could open up to paraell worlds. Li rim escapes with only half the flute and while running in the bamboo tree he open a door to a paraell country call the republic of Korea. Then 25yrs goes bye a blimk

Lire davantage

Very good show (But! last 2 episodes were rushed)

If you want to enjoy this show, you cannot be a perfectionist, and you will have to keep some logic aside. If you do so, you will be guaranteed to like TKEM.

Character Development:
All characters directly jumped from one feeling to another without any explanation. Basically no character development.
They had too many elements to explain. They put their feet in all directions like profound timeless romance, evil villain, mixed-up timelines, past characters, the logic behind how the magic works but none of these were completely justified because those last 2 episodes were rushed and they could not explain everything and close it with a cute ribbon. Because the show was good for 14 episodes, my rating for the show won't be dominated by those last 2 episodes.

Chemistry:
Also, there was no chemistry between the lead couple throughout. This was because there was no scene that showed any initial spark between them.
People out there are saying that Kim Go Eun should not have been cast with Lee Min Ho. You can even say the other way around that Lee Min Ho should not have been cast with Kim Go Eun (#psuedo-feminism). Kim Go Eun is really pretty and I definitely felt she looked so much better with Kim Kyung Nam.
There was also some good amount of bromance. But even that was one-sided!

Lire davantage

Beauty with not a lot of substance

This drama has all the star powers: screenwriter of Goblin, Lee Min Ho, Kim Go Eun, Woo Do Hwan, and most likely a huge budget. I won’t go into the the details of the plot, but there’s a lot going on: treason, parallel universe, time travel, royal intrigues, fate, crimes spanning two worlds, friendship, romance. I admit there are funny scenes (see Woo Do Hwan and his other parallel person) and truly heart fluttering romantic moments between the King and Tae Eul (neck kiss for one). The first few episodes captured my attention and I find them interesting, wanting to know more about Lee Lim’s treachery and how Lee Gon’s and Tae Eul’s relationship will progress. I think starting episode 10, I became less enthused about the drama, not bored exactly, but the episodes became too predictable. I am also having a hard time connecting emotionally with most of the characters. Even the romance between Lee Gon and Tae Eul became kind of stale (maybe the love confessions came too early). It’s hard for me to write it, but sometimes I ship the bromance between Lee Gon and Jo Yeong (royal guard) better thank Lee Gon and Tae Eul.

After finishing the drama, I still have questions: why was Lee Gon able to time travel but not Lee Lim; who is the kid/young man with the yo-yo and are there more like him; where did the flute come from; why didn’t Jo Yeong’s memory get erased like the others; why was Prime Minister Koo’s parallel person killed; how did the young Sin Jae become comatose.

This is just me, as a fan of romantic happy ending, I would have liked for Tae Eul to be his queen and maybe for viewers like me to see a baby. The first few episodes were all about him needing to get married and having successors/heirs. One of the most romantic moments is when he declared Tae Eul to be his future queen ("Save her at all cost; she is your future queen."). That statement sets an expectation for me as a viewer that I am going to see Tae Eul the Queen of Kingdon of Corea. This living in the moment, going to and from different worlds and times, is to me, like eating whip cream or cotton candy: all sweet, but no substance.

I wish the whole time travel thing wasn’t thrown into the mix; just stick with the parallel universe—my average human brain can’t take two space-time continuum theories simultaneously. Also, the product placements in this drama is just too much! They become laughable because they’re so obvious.

Lire davantage

It's not all that bad

Sometimes the reviews on here will have you believe that if you start watching a drama, hands will come out of the screen to choke you or something.

After reading the numerous negative reviews of this drama, I just had to see what this train wreck was all about and...it wasn't that much a disaster that I thought it will be.

I admit...it felt that between episode 10 and 11 there should have been another episode in between explaining what the HECK was going on, which threw the entire show...but I guess I've watch enough dramas to fill in the blanks not to be bothered by it much.

Also admitting, some OST's are so outstanding that they just stick out against non-emotional scenes. I found myself smirking numerous of times while beautiful music played against a scene that did not match the mood of the song.

Someone on here complained about the kiss scenes, and although I never really talk about these in my review, the complaint stood out so much it was hard not to notice the kisses between the main leads while watching this show. They were not all that bad...I've seen a million times worse...okay since you are curious on a scale of 1-10 I give the kisses a solid 6.

Now my major complaints
... from having a powerless villain...He was evil, but was really stupid in the long run...and to be honest, the actor was so good at playing such an evil character, I felt bad for him in this role.
...to having "so what" characters, like the prime minister, that really had no real role and took up too much screen time. And the little boy and his yo-yo, who should had more of a background to his story instead of a 5 second montage of nothing.

...I always give time travel and multiple universes a pass when story-telling because although it could be confusing and accepting things without question can be hard for some people...it all boils down to imagination.

So overall: I give this drama a solid 7, if you like your story tied up in a nice bow at the end...this may not be for you...you may be left scratching your head at the end, wondering...but, what about this??? What happened to this character???

Until my next review... I'll be watching another drama.

I'm out.

Lire davantage

Este dorama fue muy criticado, ya que lo compararon con Goblin por la actriz principal, pero este no se parece en nada, sus papeles en estos son diferentes y me atrevo a decir que su papel en The King fue mejor ya que representa a una mujer fuerte y eso lo ame. Este es mas maduro en términos de actuación sin duda un gran elenco. Ademas que la actriz principal

Debo decir que tiene bastantes clichés durante toda la trama pero se lo perdono ya que en si es buena la historia. A mi parecer no deja nada abierto en términos de las historias de los personajes.

La historia en algunos puntos llega a ser confusa y creo que estaba destinado ha hacer un poco mas largo o quizás lo que creo es que algunas partes son innecesarias y otras debieron ser mas largas para dar un mejor equilibrio esto lo sentí desde el cap 10 ó 11 aproximadamente.

La fotografía mayoritariamente durante el dorama fue espectacular y eso hay que resaltarlo.

Lire davantage

One of my most favourite dramas that I can watch again and again

First of all I dont really write reviews but since there are a lot of negative comments I decided to share my opinion. I absolutely love the story. Its not a drama that you can relax while watching. Its exiting and there are not any plotlines left opened. It kept me hooked from the start to finish. I cant really understand why anyone would hate this drama but perhaps it was not easy to understand the plot bc it was very complicated. You can get better understanding of it if you know at least a little bit about the butterfly effect or have an opinion on time travel. Perhaps marvel fans will understand :) It is science fiction after all.

Lire davantage

The perfect example for the super-hyped drama turned meh

I don't even know if I liked this drama or not. Because if something has potential but it isn't good, the dissapointment is greater. It had potential but for a number of reasons it wasn't so good.

Actually, the story was really interesting. Different dimensions with a whole system and how they suppose to work, modern royalty (though I would prefer not to be so westernized), the mystery and crime part. But at the same time it was too complicated with no reason at all. But the script and the direction used all these for just a complicated background for the romance which, let's be honest, didn't even made sense. Too forced, without proper character development and completely no chemistry between Lee Min Ho and Kim Go Eun (and I mean at all, I saw an interview and even their real-life interactions look awkward).

Generally, I don't like Lee Min Ho, I haven't found some role he was ok. But he truly doesn't fit Yi Gon. It is a mix of a bad written character (too perfect, no character development, the same from start to end) and an actor I don't think is something more than a pretty face (questionable). Everyone also was decent in their roles (and most of them had 2 roles with completely different characters).

Besides all these, I actually enjoyed the drama. The villain was ok and with a super detailed plan (I believed they would never find him and hoped it). And, of course, one more drama to prove that Woo Do Hwan can be anyone and do anything (one of the very few people I enjoyed to watch). I think he is amazing in everything he does and this drama is no exception. He portrays two COMPLETELY different characters with great tallent. Also, I loved Head Court Lady Noh (Kim Young Ok). She was the only logical person there.

Lire davantage

Fantasy Romantic Story

As an avid viewer, I was thoroughly engrossed in the story. The on-screen chemistry between Lee Gon and Tae Eul was nothing short of beautiful, and I found myself completely invested in their journey. The storyline was captivating, with an impressive blend of fantasy, romance, comedy, action, and adventure. However, as the story drew to a close, my enthusiasm dwindled. While the ending appeared to be happy, it left me feeling disappointed and unfulfilled. Despite this, I must say that it was a good story with a lot of potential, and I would recommend it to others - although with a caveat about the ending.

Lire davantage

A great drama

I don't understand the hate in the comments about this drama ! I really enjoyed it till the end. It's true that the story is very complex but I think this was on purpose. The combat, the plot twist, the travel time thing was really great, you can't be bored at all.
I enjoyed every episode and I think the chemistry between Kim Go Eun and Lee Min Ho was incredible ! I loved the way that she is a badass who can only be fragile with the man she loves.
The acting of Lee Min Ho was perfect, he was perfect for the role , really charismatic, strong , a real king !!
Can we talk about Woo Do-hwan ? He was stunning ! I loved the opposite personnalities of his doppleganger , for me the cast is a 10/10.
But I am not sure that I really understood everything at the end, that's why I can't give more than 8.5 stars.
Also I think that the vilain's story was not developped at all, like why does he want to kill his brother in reality ?? It will have been interesting to know his past too.
I think that's it ! It's a great show, give it a try !

Lire davantage

Confusion between "complexity" and "lazy writing"

I have seen other works of writer-nim, which i did enjoy, hence i had to use the term "lazy". I was watching a lots of negetive comments stating that it was "Complex" but from my POV, i found it quite easy to understand once i got the rythm. Don't get me wrong, me finding it easy added nothing to my viewing experience, it just made me wait longer for something to happen that i would find appealing.

I have a very emotional bond with Lee min ho coz the first kdrama ever watched was City hunter and he was my first oppa, but Second lead stole all the thunder. His character was the Only interesting thing in the whole series and i found myself waiting for his screentime.

I am not a bitch.. i will acknowledge the effort to make a vivid time travel sci-fi story and it would have succeeded if the makers attempted to tie up million loose ends and made the characters true to their original traits( even though there is no character development). I personally didn't like the FL even tho kim Go Eun tried her best.

So only watch if u have time to kill. You won't miss much by skipping.

Lire davantage