The King : Eternal Monarch (2020)

dont believe the reviews this drama is really good and very much worth watching

The negative comments made me want to put off watching this drama but i decided to take a bold step and wowwwwwwww!!!!!! did we all watch the same drama! this drama is great (not perfect of course). it has a different refreshing story and i was glued to the screen especially from somewhere in the middle. the cinematography is great and everything is just so beautiful. ps don't come looking for a full blown romance i guess thats why people might be disappointed because the romance feels disconnected sometimes. The mystery about the time travel, doppelganger, the suspense, crime, the plot twists..... are the main selling points of this drama for me. sometimes i was confused like what is going on lol but in the end it all makes sense. so bottom line.... try it out for yourself, dont have your expectations too high, hang in through the confusion from the beginning till about episode 7 and episode 14 lol and you will really enjoy this.
my questions though
1) was i the only one curious about na ri like how was she rich with all those cool cars lol?
2) they really should have helped us understand how the kings great grandfather did his travel movement in order to get the head court grandma to corea?
3) did they conclude that the yoyo boy was a god or was he just stuck in the time lines?
4)what was the whole situation with the prime minister koo... her arc was weird and useless to be honest. when her momma couldnt remember what she ate what happened to her next?
5)they really should have scrapped some romance scenes and given the time travel arc more screen tie
6)eun sop and na ri deserved better in terms of their romance development

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Amidst COVID19, what happend to this drama?

I would like to point out that before you judge/criticize or comment about the series. Watch it first without skipping any episode. Yes, at first, you may wanna bear with a lot of product placements, you will be confused of the narration, and you would definitely be expecting a lot from the leads.

If you are just trying to read reviews first and decide if it's worth watching, then you will be defeated by your own unconscious biases. Reviews are meant for brainstorming. Have some guts to watch the full story first before agreeing to any Positive or Negative review. ?

Okay.!

Product Placements.
I saw a lot in every episode. Came a point I was literally waiting for a product to be introduced. Haha. But hey. Why are you so mad over it? Personally I enjoyed it. I even wanted to order The Alley MilkTea so much! People don't be so shallow, there's a business side in every show. If they choose to advertise then it's their gamble. A lot of Kdrama also include some (energy drink, tea, etc) and Im not convinced. Only TKEM convinced me! Hahaha.
Indeed those things were a bit obvious and they actually endorsed it well. Absolutely not your typical Drama/Commercial.

STORYLINE.
Yes People if you can't follow then the problem is with you. Haha. If its that simple and you get it, then good job! Now can you tell me why LeeLim continues to live after being killed by his past? Why Lee Lim doesn't age? How did Lee Gon,Yeong and TE remembered everything? If you can't answer these questions then I bet you didn't fully understand.

TKEM's first episode showed the reunion of the King's present and past self. Think of Avengers ENDGAME, it was when Nebula met her past self. See?

TKEM started in the past timeline where the time travel occured already not showing us the present until Episode15. While ENDGAME is always at its present until the Time heist/time travel occured. That made the latter easier to follow.

For me, the writer being creative who played mind game by complicating the storyline is the Drama's strongest point.

Indeed confusing, distinctions between two worlds were just emphasized on Logo's and character's wigs. Side stories of the person's switched by antagonist are maybe out of placed. And the fast transition of the female lead from being tough and boyish to a longing girlfriend, are some of the scenarios that were maybe pointed out as the downsides. But they were actually how the story goes. People will always compare it to other dramas, but I enjoyed it as it was different at every angle.

CINEMATOGRAPHY.
Cinematography at it's finest! Superb! I feel like watching a movie, seriously. Remember Tae Eul in her taekwondo clothes sitting by the window? Beautifully captured scene! How about Lee gon saving his future Queen? Everything in that scene was perfect! To those who are saying that it lacked on fighting scenes, Guys..... its a monarchy in 2020 meaning it's a modern version. It's just right to limit fighting scenes to put some realistic tone. An example of which was the "Japan vs KOC almost a battle" scene. Who would want a war nowadays?


ACTORS.

Actors. I CAN'T IMAGINE someone else playing the roles of Lee gon and Tae eul. Even in their interviews or Instagram posts, I see Lee Gon and Tae Eul. BTW, a commendation for Kim Go Eun, for being versatile! Not to mention Shin-jae's (dont know his real name ?) acting skills that turned me full hundred degrees from hating him to crying for him until the last episode. Yeong and Eun sup on the other hand, Wdohan did well in differentiating the two characters. It's hard to act seriously then on the next scene you'll be funny. ? CASTING, a two thumbs up!! ??

A wig to differentiate the 2 character's? Why not? The female lead, set for example, who is portraying 2 characters. She is a fierce police woman in Korea and a strong-spirited
villain in Corea. The villain needed a wig for her to disguise from her enemies. They have same strong personalities and they can't be easily distinguished. Kim Go eun played it well, I sometimes have to guess if she is Tae Eul or Luna. But, she totally nailed it when she talks, her eyes are also different. If you're going to watch closely you'll see in her eyes if she's TE or Luna. This is what Lee gon noticed, he was even deceived by Luna's appearance at first.
Compared to Wdohan's characters. He really needs to emphasize the differences. Yeong is strong and serious while Eun sop is funny and smart. Comparing KGE and Wdohan, they both did great! You who thought KGE failed to differentiate the two characters didn't understand it at all.

OST.
Who will not love the OSTs of this drama? ORBIT for me has the same vibe of Goblin's and I like them both. However MAZE is on a different level, it is the saddest song I ever heard and indeed a plus factor that it was sung in English. Should I say, a job well done for the music team who perfectly puts the music in the appropriate scenes. I admit crying on some scenes not just because of the great acting but because of the background song. In addition to it, previews are more exciting while ORBIT is being played, should I say it's more thrilling. BTW, I have to DL the songs now!?

If you are still reading, Thank you. ?

Here in the Philippines I admit TKEM didn't gain a lot of popularity like those of Goblin and WOTM. But im happy that there are still a lot of us that saw the beauty of TKEM. TKEM helped us went through the Lockdown days, it gave us opportunities to study science and theories, it represents family as everyone's core, warns us that being greedy wont do anything good and MOST ESPECIALLY it teaches us that God is always just and fair. God moves in mysterious ways, he is in anyform, he may be a flute, a sword, a yoyo kid or a grown up man but definitely God is in control. Fate is still in God's hands and Love really conquers all.???

For me, TKEM deserves an appreciation. Im not sure if the original script includes overseas location and it didn't happen due to the current pandemic. Amidst COVID19 they completed the series, how come others can even forget that? I have a lot to say, but I want this post to be as positive as it can be. So let the hate eat up it's own mess.If you love TKEM, LMH and KGE let them know by spreading good vibes in every platforms. Comment and keep the good reviews coming. Overthrow the negative reviews and that will definitely help encourage others to watch it. ???

The reality of our society is harsh already. We see them everyday in the news and watched it in other dramas, TKEM is definitely a breather!


Im still hoping there's a season 2.
???

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I really wanted to continue watching this, for real. I mean, there is Goeun, Dohwan, Lee Minho and everyone. But the story is so complicated that my hair would fall-out trying to understand what's happening . I was so bored watching an episode that I would subconciously end it after watching a 5 min part and find another drama to finish in one seating (Skate into Love and My Love, Enlighten Me)

About the main couple's romance, it would have been better if they showed how they built their feelings for each other. I was so surprised that Tae-eul suddenly liked Lee Gon the next episode (maybe that's the reason I can't find their chemistry).

I was so excited about the drama tbh. The production was great, plot was great but very very slow paced (except Tae-eul's feelings). I think I will continue to watch this only when I can't think of any drama to watch.

5 star rating for music cause of Wendy my loveeeee
3.5 star for acting because of leads chemistry. Could have been higher because of Do-hwan and star studded casts.

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I'm a big fan of Kim Go-eun and this is my first time watching Lee Min-Ho's work of any kind. I really thought, the plot of the series would be more interesting and captivating, we would see demons and gods disguised as humans or whatever but it's one of those typical cliche drama plot in which an evil family member betrays the main characters and escapes to another dimension/parallel world.. Watching episodes 2 to 4 felt so slow to me. Instead of dragging the problem of him convincing her that he came from a parallel word of her world for 3 episodes, the writers could've resolved this in only just one episode. This problem slowed down the storyline and put the main storyline in a limbo kind of stage. Furthermore, I feel as if there are a few inconsistent storylines that aren't just flowing together, for instance the murder case Kim's character is trying to solve, time pausing and slowing down, etc. The natural chemistry between characters isn't there at all sometimes, I feel like they're just talking each to other but not expressing their emotions. The bromance between yeong and Lee gon is flat out dead, yeong is this stern serious bodyguard but yet younger self is very cheerful, bubbly and kind and I wanna see that side of more. As of right now, I hope the storyline progress more. The promotional poster is what really captivated me and of course, Kim Go-eun and cinematography and visuals of this series is top notch.

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Updating on every eps!! Must Watch FR!!

Now there's 6 episodes of this drama that had being aired and we have to wait for another 10 episodes to actually understand the whole story. As that being stated, this is my review for these 6 episodes so far.

**The storyline**

I just want to say, the storyline so far is SUPERB yet is still complicated! Viewers had to develop a lot of braincells to understand the story so far but i'll just say, the storyline is amazing eventhough they're trying to put a lot of stories all together. As episode 6 have been aired, we can clearly see that this story is PROGRESSING REAL QUICK!!! Ep 6 is literally an episode that is showing us the ship of our main leads is sailing beautifully!!! Also this episode shows how great is King Lee Gon as the way he managed to take care of Corea from a war with Japan. Also this story tells about time travel as being showed at 1994, Lee Gon being saved by a mystery person and the person left Tae-ul's police ID that was issued in the year of 2019. the person's figure somehow seems like a guy so it can't be Tae-ul who's time travelled.
Other plots leave it to you guys to figure it out.
Also, as of right now, they're showing that each character has their own important storyline and somehow it'll be connected to both worlds (Tae-ul's guy friend seems to be connected to Corea)
And the same person in both world will also have some kind of connection i guess (?) Just like the scenes where Eun-seop touching the iced drink, he feels hot (because Captain Jo touched a hot coffee)

**Cinematography**

The cinematography is SPECTACULAR!!!!! I mean, everything is beautiful. In episode one, you'll be shocked just by watching the scenaries, bamboo forest, building etc.
And if you ever imagined how South Korea would be if they're under monarchy, this is the drama. The modern monarchy in Kingdom of Corea seems so real and amazing!!!
There may be some criticism towards the structure of Corea's palace as they said it resembles Japanese buildings. Also the editing of the "time zone between 0 and 1, the place between the 2 universe".... seems lack of editing but it looks just fine.

**Cast/Acting**

Let me tell you this; judging from the list of actors, their acting will sure amazed us. The fact that they accept the offers by playing two characters already shown how confident they are in this drama. Also, the main lead, Lee Min Ho.. the king of kdramas alongside with Kim Go-eun, praised for her incredible acting!
Not to forget, Woo Do Hwan... we're looking forward to see more of his charms through this drama and of course the bromance between him and our Minho. In republic of Korea, he seems to use that specific dialect, maybe Busan Satoori i don't know but I LOVE THE DIALECT!! As for now, the duality of his characters is FABULOUS!

**OST**

So far, the OSTs are Awesome!!! Right now there's Zion.T and Hwasa, their voices is sooo beautiful. Also Kim Jong Wan and Yongzoo, both have beautiful voices!!!!..
Later on we'll have Davichi and Ha Sungwon for OSTs,, i cant waitttttt....
For the OSTs too, i'm very looking forward to hear more and it would be fantastic if Punch or Yoon Mirae also can sing for this drama...

**Rewatch Value**

I didn't think about this yet. I'll wait until the the last episode to finally give an answer.

Okay, thats all my review for this drama!! I'm sorry if you find this review is not helping at all T.T
If you haven't watch it yet, watch it NOW!!!!

Lire davantage

Actually, I have been waiting for Lee Min Ho comeback as I have never waited for any drama STAR before because he's my first favourite drama star since I was in high school. So I watched The King: Eternal Monarch just because of him then I really started to fall deeply in love with the drama, I was amazed by the story and the concepts used especially Science and mathematics. I am always waiting for the next episode like a baby <3 I believe it's one of the best drama I have ever watched. Also, I should mention out the acting skills of Lee Min Ho and his effects on me as always, he always catches me up with his facial expressions and his laugh to be accurate, so sexy and adorable at the same time.

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TLDR ~ THIS SHOW IS REALLY GOOD!

The cinematography in this drama - AHFIAHUGF its sooo good. The scenes are very well artistically shot and the aesthetics and the composition in each scene is very interesting.

I really enjoyed the pace of the first episode - it was fast, kept me on the edge of my seat and left me wanting more. I like that they slowed down the pace for the second episode and spent more time in exposition and fleshing out characters. They're giving friendships, relationships and romance some time to grow - something that I think is important to fantasy thrillers because so much focus is put on the fantasy exposition or the thrilling chase that the romance feels almost forced. So I am glad that they are taking the time to show the little things that matter -like the lingering gaze between the leads which make it more convincing that KGE's character, who normally is too sassy to care about him, has the build up to turn and help LMH.

Speaking of, I love the characters a lot. Kim Go Run does spunky chic so well - that is my #goalz. Lee Min Ho is the king of classic regal romance so I couldn't have thought of better actors for the characters. And thank god Kim Go Eun is not a 19yo (sorry Goblin that was truly one of my biggest qualms)

KES has always shined with her bromances and the start of this drama has me convinced that this one won't be any less. The supporting characters have some traits of their own which in my opinion is important to showing the difference between the two worlds so I love that they have been thought about lol. I do like the prime minister a lot (as of now at least please dont be heartless woman please please). But stay tuned to find out if I feel the same later.

THE OST IS MAGICAL. HWA SA's ORBIT HAS BEEN A CONSTANT ON MY PLAYLIST EVERY DAY. And the song choices are phenomenal.

I do however have 2 things I wish they did differently. In the first episode it was hard to keep track of the jumps from one world to another. While this was bound to happen, I think Signal did it a lot better imo. Once they picked a time they stayed there for a couple of scenes. In The King, I was getting whiplash from skipping from one world to another every scene. That might not be a problem anymore (the second episode was better) so maybe I won't have that problem lol. Also Signal had the older timeline is sepia and newer in white light setting which made it easy to tell which time we were in. If The King did something like that it might help? Unclear. The second thing I wished was if they made the first episode slower paced - did the exposition there and then hit us with fast paced suspense filled episode that leaves me wanting more for the following week.

Lire davantage

SIGH....This is laughable

This drama started out so strong to me. I'm like: Geez, how is the villain so savage? Then enters the main leads and everything started to go downhill.

I've read a bunch of reviews and I agree with most of them. I absolutely love rom-coms and I love them, even more, when there is a fantasy element. But how can you NOT nail any of these? I've watched a bunch of time-travel romances before and none of them has been this bad? Do they even have any chemistry?

Why don't they give us proper timelines? Sigh...I also don't think that would've helped to show how these two fell in love. Sigh...where is it? It's going to take me so long to finish cause I press the pause button as soon as the 'love' starts. Why is the FL crying so much? I'm so lost!!!!!! I don't get it!!! Can someone help me?

Maybe I'm just salty..but the story is just bad. The acting is too much from the leads. The music is good though!

EDIT
Okay, so I dropped the drama for a while and just started it again because I need to finish it no matter how bad it is. Man this is still a struggle for me to finish. What a huge ad campaign! Advertising really starting to grate on me now.

Lire davantage

I just finished episode 4 and I’m so excited. Gahhh I can’t wait for next Friday. I don’t understand why people are complaining and comparing it to CLOY and goblin. I found both shows slow in a lot of places but you don’t see me comparing them. I love the build up on this show and I understand that the writers had to make this as believable as possible for a show about parallel universes. I also find Jung Ta-eul’s reaction very good for someone who doesn’t believe in science and has a man claiming to be king is an imaginary country. I would definitely not expect her to go jumping into his arms. I love LMH’s majesty. He is very believable as a king. So regal. I am very intrigued by all the politics and diabolical plots going on on the side. I really can’t wait to see how it all unfolds. All in all everything about this show intrigued me.

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