The King : Eternal Monarch (2020)

This drama was... not really what I was hoping it would be. And I think a lot of people agree. With the cast and Netflix production budget, it had great potential, but.....

Overall, I actually did think that the premise was interesting. But the editing of the time jumps and the overlap in plots between episodes made the story unnecessarily confusing. The drama is beautifully shot and the CGI is well done. I'm not the biggest fan of Kim Eun Sook's writing, because I feel like she re-uses a lot of tropes, which makes dramas a bit lackluster in my opinion. The only reason I really committed to watching this drama all the way through was because of Lee Min Ho, which is an accomplishment for me because I couldn't finish Goblin (also written by Kim Eun Sook) for the same reasons.

In regards to acting/casting, Lee Min Ho is fantastic as usual. He really excels at portraying the aristocratic wealthy prince type. I just wish that the story was more comedic overall, but especially in regards to his character, because we all know he can pull it off based on his past roles. I also really felt that there was no chemistry between the main leads. I've never been the biggest fan of Kim Go Eun, because it always seems like she doesn't truly vibe/connect with the male leads in her dramas which make her characters seem a bit dull in my opinion. I felt the same way about her roles in Goblin and Cheese in the Trap, because I know that the male leads in all of these dramas have pulled off outstanding performances with other female leads. Overall, Woo Do Hwan pulled off my favorite performance of the season with his outstanding portrayals of two very different characters. I want to see him as a ML in the future FOR SURE.

Otherwise, OSTs were nothing particularly noticeable. I also will not be rewatching because I don't think it's really worth it. If you really enjoy these actors, maybe check out some of their other works first and save this for later.

TLDR; It didn't blow me out of the water like it should have, give Woo Do Hwan a main role!

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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.

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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.

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The math isn't mathing... except for Woo Do Hwan that man's math mathes everyday

So I'm not going to lie, I really enjoyed the setup and even the middle of this show. It's entertaining, fast paced and has just the sort of tropes I like. The issue I have with it it's the story's resolution and most of the characters.

While there are no hateable characters. I found most of them to be pretty average. ML is okay I guess. He's a little bit flat in his delivery, but I think that's because he's this royal person who has to be stoic... but still, because he had some childish behaviors at times I didn't think he was completely stoic so it was odd. I found it hard to connect with him most of the time because of his lack of expression.

FL started out great, but ends up becoming a bit too dramatic. She honestly just cries for no reason at times, every time ML showed up she cried. Girl, this man hasn't been hurt once and ALWAYS came back for you, what made you think he was going to stay away? This dynamic just became tiring. If they had given us reason to worry about ML I would have bought FL's worry, but hoenstly? He's never in any sort of real danger. We know it, they know it... so the crying FL became unnecessary and just annoying because it kept happening after a certain point in the drama and it took a lot of screentime.

On top of that, the love story went from zero to a hundred. Maybe I'm more used to slow burn, but in one episode FL is annoyed at ML or at least she acts rudely towards him. (Understandable btw- the guy seemed crazy) And the next one she's confesing her LOVE? I understand if after proving he's not lying she decides to give him a chance but instead she confesed love? That escalated quickly.

However the love story is not awful, they do have chemistry on screen and the characters are okayish most of the time. All in all the love story has its cute moments at times, but it was more draggy than lovable. The leads are not entirely unlikeable , in fact I think I like them more when they are separated. They are much more interesting characters apart than together.

I really liked ML when he had to deal with the treason part of the plot and the FL when she had to do cop stuff - also the cop team is nice. I think my favourite was the "ganster" cop who was actually so soft and liked macaroons. What a jem.

The rest of the characters are okay. But there's a shit ton of them and I gotta be honest I lost track of whose mother suffering for her son I was watching at some points. Just how many crying moms are there in this drama? There was also a pregnant lady who got replaced by her counterpart in one world and that plot line went nowhere. There's just so many side plot things that go nowhere. Everything gets fixed somehow in the end by pure magic.

Honestly the saving grace this drama has and the reason for this rating to be above 6 is Woo Do Hwan. This man can act and he carried every scene he was in. He is a joy to watch on screen as both his roles and his characters are the most fun. I wish Jo Youngand Jo Eun-Sup were the protagonists instead... I flipping love these boys a lot. Their stories seemed to have the most heart in my opinion, and the most personal stakes. Young's undying loyalty and also respect for his friend the king and his duty as a personal guard... or Eun-Sup's love for his family and his relationship with his little siblings and Na-ri. Give me this drama instead. I loved how by the end Young became a bit more open towards people while Eun-Sup became a bit more professional. These two actually learnt from each other and became friends... and then--- those memories got erased. Lmao.

Ok here's where it gets tricky.

The writer tried to make this really convoluted plot involving one of the trickiest tools to pull off because it can create a lot of plot holes --- time travel. Now I'm all in when it comes to time travel, when it's handled well it creates majestic, adrenaline inducing stories that just leave you in awe and feeling extremely satisfied. When it is not well handled however, it creates time paradoxes and obvious plot holes.... this one, I am afraid, falls in the second category.

You had me until ML went back to fullfill his destiny and save himself as that was the start of the show. Brilliant. Saw it coming yes, but loved that things came full circle. THEN you lost me when he did it AGAIN to kill antagonist before he run off to the other world. Sir, are you aware that creates a huge paradox that means ML wouldn't have gone back in time in the first place to safe himself if he never had gotten the half flute thing? Are we just going to ignore that? Ok sure. Oh what is that? We're also conveniently have the two leads remember everything despite the huge sacrifice this impossible deed just did? Of course, no consequences. And also lets make most of these characters we care about forget about everything we just watched.

Heavy long sigh.

Look I'm all in for happily every afters, but they need to feel earned. This one just felt like plot armor for the sake of the love story. Simply put, the writer wrote herself into a corner and used time travel magic to fix everything, deliberately erasing everything from the reality we just watched but from ML's and FL's memories... also Young's at least he gets to keep his memories.

Towards the end things got unnecessarily complicated. The drama is not terrible, but it's very infuriating. There is some brilliant acting from Woo Do Hwan and some really good moments, but nothing that can make me rate this one higher than a 7.

TLDR; Watch it with low expectations and suspend your disbelief. Throw logic out the window and you'll get a tropy enjoyable time.

Lire davantage

Jo Young and Jo Eun Sup saved the show

I only watched and finished the series because of Jo Young and Jo Eun Sup because I liked them and wanted to know, if things will end up well for them. The romance of the main couple came out of nowhere - no depth and no chemistry. He was the exaggerated filthy rich prince charming on a white horse and she a wanna be tough girl. Why did she point Jo Youngs gun against Lee Gon and asking over again if it is real? Girl! Why do you have to see the gun and then point it towards a human without being threatened? There is absolutely no reason for that. Besides you are working for the police! You should know better how to handle firearms! Absolutely nonsense and stupid! And this minister was such a status hunter. After all there were too many points that upset me. Without Jo Young and Jo Eun Sup I would have droped the series quickly. I can not recommend it after all.

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complicated plot

Complicated to bad plot with a happy ending!!
Let's start with the fact that I have seen dozens of fantasy dramas, most of them had both logic and some kind of message. I don't understand how the drama's ratings are so high when the reviews and plot are so bad.
The plot has every possible flaw, and only the casting of the main leads is what kept me going until the end of the episodes.
I started watching the drama several times and couldn't get past the first episode, in the end I decided to try again because of the ratings and the casting. ..what a disappointment, what a complicated and confusing plot (even for fantasy), so many characters, so many names (at a certain point you no longer remember who belongs to whom and in which universe).
I just want to say that even in fantasy dramas there is a certain logic, and in this drama I found nothing, so disappointing..
The music is okay to average.
It probably looks like a sophisticated drama, but - it really isn't
Plus, it's hard to ignore the amount of commercials in this drama.
Recommended viewing only for those who are really bored and still want to see favorite actors.

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Deabak Lee oppa & Kim Go Eun Unni

It's an amazing drama. There acting is so realistic. After watching Goblin I'm fan of Kim Go Eun. Her acting is very skillful. & her talking style,every expression is very realistic. LEE MIN HO is always deabak.There's nothing to say about him. He is always Skilled in his every works. Here he presents himself once again with his skillful acting. "THE KING:THE ETERNAL MONARCH" here Lee MinHo plays role as Yi Gon & he is the third Korean emperor of his generation. When he was 8 years old, his father was murdered before his eyes.Once he escapes, he sees himself propelled into a parallel world where he meets Jung Tae Eul (Kim Go Eun plays role as Jung Tae Eul). Overall it's very interesting story. I'm very excited. Almost I'm drowning in excitement.

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It's still good for me...

It's not the best one. Either it's not too good. That doesn't mean it's bad. It's still good. I don't like the story that much. But although the story is not good, the whole drama is beautiful. Songs, casts, effects..... all are beautiful.
b b b b. Bb b. B. B. B. B. B b.

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Tentei ao máximo não deixar resenhas afetar minha vontade de assistir esse

li algumas resenhas antes de assistir, e tentei ao máximo não deixar o que eu tinha lido afetar meu julgamento e minha vontade de assistir, claro que concordo com alguns pontos que poderia sim ter sido melhores mas foi gostoso de assistir. Lee Minho carregou o drama em vários momentos e fez jus ao príncipe encantado no cavalo branco pronto pra resgatar sua donzela mesmo que ela possa se proteger, teve equilibro. Portanto, isso foi uma experiência pra me lembrar de não deixar resenhas me afetarem tanto na hora de escolhas um drama para assistir, eles são bons pra gente ter um parâmetro mas não devem afetar meu julgamento.

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I enjoyed the unique storyline.

I’m usually not a huge fan of fictional things or like time traveling because those things are impossible and unrealistic.

But this one was was crafted in a very odd but genius way that it kind of caught me off guard.

If any fictional script out there can be crafted in such a creative + genius way, you might have my attention here.

I honestly was watching it with very low expectations but it kinda actually blew me away.

I noticed the low ratings and that it wasn’t really a featured drama on Netflix but my lover wanted to see it and we both ended up enjoying it.

Originally not a fan of Lee Min Ho but he was definitely charming. I am not a fan at all on this lead actress, but she was pretty manageable in this drama.

I’m really selfish with my time, so I wouldn’t allow myself to rewatch the many dramas I come across in this lifetime unless it is too good…

Anyway, I’d recommend this to people who enjoy mysteries, time traveling and theories.

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This drama needs to be rewritten again
Ep 01,13,14,15 were real mess

The events were disarranged
I got confused many times
Lots and lots of names in side stories
Which made me forgot who is who
The director didn't give the watcher any hints when he jumps from universe to another and from time to time which exhausted me a lot
And that shouldn't happen in a drama I should enjoy

Time traveling was a chaos
Many flaws and illogical events
And the last episode they focused more on the main leads traveling across the parallel universes forgetting all the side stories
They didn't give the side stories a proper space in the last episode


Although both main leads were brilliant in their acting but I didn't feel chemistry at all between them
They just didn't fit together
Although the plot was ok and the story was solid away from time traveling mess and the romance was good but I didn't feel it at all

Something was missing which avoids me enjoying this drama
But I really enjoyed the ost and the background music so much
Which is rare when I feel the music fits the drama well

I laughed a lot when shin jae told Tae eul
That every time gangsters thought hang Michael one of them and when they try to escape they took him with them LOOOOOOL

The only character I disliked a lot was the prime minister

In my opinion
I really enjoyed romance and friendships in this drama
But at the same time didn't recommend it

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Worth a Try!

I was initially scared to try this drama. I remember when it came out and everyone complained about it being terrible, so I just decided to ignore it and check out different shows instead. That was until I decided to give it a shot, and I was pleasantly surprised!
One of the biggest complaints that I saw for this drama was that it's confusing. To be honest, it can be a bit convoluted at times because of the parallel universes and eventual time travel. As long as you follow the plot in the first episode and try to remember all the characters, the plot really comes together and makes complete sense.
Something to be wary of when starting this drama is the amount of product placement shown every single episode. Usually with dramas, the product placement is evident, but it's not something that you get hung up on. This show however felt like 50% plot 50% ads. It was almost laughable that the directors didn't even try to sneak in the product placement. Some of the ads were entirely unrelated to what was happening in the show and I couldn't help but laugh at the amount of times any of the actors would gush about a random product in the middle of a dramatic scene. Once you get used to this, the rest of the show becomes a lot more enjoyable.
A slightly controversial opinion, but Lee Min Ho is one of my least favorite actors. Despite being somewhat biased against him, I still thought the drama was adorable, and his chemistry with Kim Go Eun seemed really genuine. The rest of the cast definitely shined in this show as well, and made the series much more enjoyable. Still not the best cast I've ever seen in a drama, but having Woo Do Hwan play a main character honestly made the show 10 times better.
Overall, it wasn't one of the best shows I've ever seen, but I was still hooked from beginning to end. Without spoiling, some of the scenes were absolutely stunning and will remain with me for years to come. Definitely not a show for everyone, but I feel like those who watch a lot of kdramas would appreciate this series.

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