The King : Eternal Monarch (2020)

A wise person once said, "Understand the plot then skip to Woo Dohwan's scenes."

That person was me.

Anyway, I'll be speaking about 4 main points.

1. The Pacing
2. The Villain
3. The Romance
4. The Plot Convenience

There are minor spoilers in here. If you watched 2 episodes then you are spoiler free from this review.

[ The Pacing ]

You can't feel emotionally attached to any of the characters. The author had created TOO MANY plotlines to focus on. The parallel universe, the romance, the investigation, the doppelganger, the villain, the side characters, the side character's side story, add all that and you get a messy execution. The pacing is all over the place.

Since this whole drama is written to center around romance, they could have simplified it by giving us less characters and unnecessary scenes. Characters like the Prime Minister (second female lead) held no importance to the plot. She is neither a good enemy nor a good ally by the end which makes her pointless. All that screentime, for what exactly? I love women in power but she didn't impact the story in any shape or form. She doesn't change anything. I don't understand why I had to watch all that set up just to come up with NOTHING!

This happened again (but much BETTER) with the second male lead. He had a good build up but he ended up being flat too. They should have connected his storytelling without the long gaps (to keep it heartwrenching) and gave him a more satisfying ending. He is one of the characters that you expect something from but it never gets delivered. The author just wasted all his potential by playing the self pity card.

Which brings me to another point. The investigation scenes are meaningless too. It was like running in circles. This author have learned the "show not tell" technique wrong. The male lead finds out all what the detectives found beforehand which makes me wonder why am I even watching them solve this case? Nobody cares about the flip phones, okay?

Anyway, I just wanna add this personal opinion but it would have been nice if the two worlds were more different.

[ The villain ]

Probably the most frustrating character in the whole drama because he's NOT supposed to be like this. He is evil for the sake of being evil. One of the worst villains we have seen in dramaland. He is an ABSOLUTE IDIOT! How did he succeed in creating a coup and gain followers is beyond me. His wickness is almost cartoonish. It's like I'm watching PowerPuff Girls. The amount of dumb decisions he made caused me to facepalm. The author didn't even try with him. He is smart when convenient and an idiot when convenient. His character exist to create tension and make our hero seem heroic. His plans were pretty smart and if he played his cards right, he would actually been a great threat but the author wanted a justifiable reason for the romance to happen. If the antagonist (involved in politics) have an IQ less than your average viewer then don't write him.

[ The Romance ]

The romance failed before it even started. IF it had a good setup, a lot of people wouldn't have called it forced. The problems started when our king here got the good ol' "saver complex" symptoms. Someone saved you? Instantly in love with them! I gave up on the romance from that moment. Everything about her is destiny or fate... he said "Be my Queen" in the 2nd EPISODE! MY GUY, YOU JUST MET HER IN THAT VERY EPISODE, DAFUQ YOU TALKING ABOUT? QUEEN MY ASS!

Where is the development? Moments that brings spark? Funny bickering of them trying to work side by side? Moments where they realized their feelings? Learning to understand each other? Make us wish they are together because they are cute to watch? We skipped all that. We got a girl who's uninterested, a one side bickering that isn't amusing because she is annoyed and a man, who apparently isn't interested in romance, suddenly in love with a girl over a badge photo. The chemistry doesn't build itself. It needs presentation.

[ The Plot Convenience ]

I wrote it in the comment of this review AND in the general comment section because it contains HEAVY spoilers. It hard to talk about plot convenience (and plot holes) without pointing out WHICH one were they. If you didn't watch this drama, I wouldn't recommend reading it. It won't make sense, trust me.

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I recently finished Minho's new drama.
First of all, the story : since the first episode that was released, I was fascinated by the amazing sci-fi story. It was a complex story, but not that complicated for my way of thinking. For this new, unique kind of story, I gave the show 10/10.
Then, the actors : since the first meeting of the main characters, I could really feel the great chemistry between the characters. Everyone did a great job while filming the drama. For everyone's acting, I decided to give the show a 10/10.
The whole series had an impressive sound track. The best one, in my opinion, was Hwasa' "Orbit", a song which matched with the story. For music I gave another 10/10.Hand down to everyone who composed and sang the ost.
I consider that this show is the best one I've seen in 2020, and that's why I gave 10/10 for everything including the staff, crew, script, actors, composers, singers.
I'm really glad that Minho had such a good drama after coming from the military enlistment. I also became a fan of Kim Go Eun, because she's really good at acting.

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I love this drama

I love this drama, I don’t know why I see lot of google news about this drama saying it not good but I love it I think that’s the best 2k20 drama I have watch so far, I highly recommend this drama. It’s different from Most Kdrama because most kdrama are about triangle love, CEO and famous stars I think Kdrama fans need to open up about those kind of story and appropriate them more because it rarely to see drama like this. I personally think most Kdrama have the same storyline but this drama help me to see new side of kdrama and fans need to support the Actors because they choose to act in a drama for a reasons and We also need to support the writers because they also working hard to satisfy the viewers and come up with new storyline. Don’t always expect love story between rich CEO and poor female lead. The king eternal monarch is a great drama, I started to watch it because of my Favorite actor Lee Min oh but I feel in love with it the drama , the acting, chemistry, storyline and everything. Again I highly recommend for someone who have not yet watch The king eternal monarch .

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[[[[[[[[[[[warning] Spoilers at the very end, but the review has none. ]]]]]]]]]]

THE WRITER:

I have watched two of Kim Eun Sook's dramas; Goblin and Mr. Sunshine, and I went into this drama with high expectations. As I was watching the first episode, I definitely got the feel of both of those dramas...however, the overall brilliance was not there.

THE SOUNDTRACK:

I have every song on this soundtrack on repeat. I listen to Hwasa, Yongzoo and Paul Kim almost five times a day. I know every word and its translation. I cannot find fault with this soundtrack.

THE ACTING:

They played the characters to the best of their abilities and I applaud them for their hard work. That being said...

A coin toss for Kim Go Eun, Lee Jung Jin and Lee Min Ho; I either loved them or found them awkward to watch. Never in-between. Especially their scenes with each other. They were not able to deliver the emotions they were supposed to when the moment came. However, KGE and LMH had one scene that spoke to me and gave me chills*.

70/100 for Kim Kyung Nam; I would give him 100 but he did not have enough screen time or a well-rounded character. He was incomplete. KKN's character in Come and Hug Me had me in tears. I cried when he cried and I felt every emotion he felt as he portrayed them on-screen. Whenever KKN would widen his eyes (in CaHM), I could not help but get sucked in. In KEM, I felt that his character was missing a lot....

100/100 for Jung Eun Chae and Woo Do Hwan; they brought the sourness and spice and the sweetness and laughter whenever they were onscreen, respectively. JEC was a fashion icon who, had she set her sights on another poor soul, would have been my favourite female character. WDH was a scene stealer and a joy to watch. Their characters were more whole than KKN, but I wish WDH would have gotten a bit more screen time as well.

THE STORY:

Goblin - 16 episodes, 1 hour 30 minutes
Mr. Sunshine - 20 episodes, 1 hour 20 minutes
The King: The Eternal Monarch - 16 episodes, 1 hour 10 minutes

Had all of these dramas been 1 hour long each; Goblin would have had 8 hours/episodes of extra content, Mr. Sunshine would have had 6.6 hours/episodes of extra content and KEM would have only had 2.6 hours/episodes of extra content. I am not say the lack of runtime in the drama is the sole reason I did not enjoy it as much as I did the other dramas.... however, I am saying that, had they lengthened the drama, it may have been better.

This is the first time I wanted any drama to be longer. It felt too short. I felt empty after having finished this drama. Even after watching the 30 second HEA in Eternal Love I had felt more whole and happy than I do now. KEM does not feel complete. There are so many unexplored elements in this drama that a longer runtime could have made better.

OVERALL:

I have seen Goblin twice and am currently rewatching it for the third time. I am about to restart Mr. Sunshine and spend another 20+ hours of my life, happily, being mesmerized by Lee Byung Hyun's acting.
I cannot say the same for KEM. I got through it once. I believe once is enough.
I did enjoy this drama, but it is not one of the best that I have seen.

















THE SPOILERS:

I need to talk about this scene:

One of the best scenes in kdrama history (in my opinion).

*When Tae Eul was in the middle of the road, holding a gun with only two bullets, facing the on-coming cavalry (not knowing if she was going to live or die).*
I have never cried as much as I did. My tears came from deep within and I had to pause to calm down and catch my breath.
*Then Lee Gon comes racing in on Max screaming, "Protect Your Queen!"*
I. Broken. Down.
I will never forget this scene.

That is all.

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Untapped KGenre

This show certainly had my curiosity from the day of its infancy. Mainly because I was excited about the power duo Kim Eun-sook and Kim Go Eun (Goblin) possibly repeating history with their charm. It wasnt a let down. MinHo did a fair job for what the role demanded im sure but it wasnt the first time him being a rich guy so that felt a tiny bit flat. Kim Go Eun was the saving grace for me in the show. I loved the concept, new and refreshing if I must say. I was getting bored of rich poor CEOs and damsel in distress scenarios that KDrama has way too often.
What I failed to understand is how was this show not a great success in Korea when they claim to love Inception movie and all science fiction action genre but this, this was hard to fathom?

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Personagens Maravilhosos O Rei Eterno

Elenco
Principal
-Lee Min-ho como o Rei Lee Gon do Reino da Coreia. Lee Gon é um rei bondoso, inteligente e dedicado ao seu povo. Ele atravessa um portal mágico seguindo o rastro do coelho branco ( Alice no País das Maravilhas) e acaba em um universo paralelo, onde encontra a Tenente Jung Tae-eul, por quem se apaixona.
-Jeong Hyun-jun como jovem Lee Gon (Reino da Coreia) e jovem Lee Ji-hun (República da Coreia)
Kim Go-eun como a Tenente Jung Tae-eul. Jung Tae-eul é tenente na República da Coreia. Extremamente marrenta e casca grossa. No começo não acredita que Lee Gon é um rei de um universo paralelo, mas quando isso se prova verdade, Tae-eul e -Lee Gon lutam com todas as forças pelo seu amor. / Luna é uma ladra no Reino da Coreia e sósia de Jung Tae-eul. Ela é ambiciosa e vingativa.
-Kim Si-woo como jovem Jung Tae-eul
-Woo Do-hwan como Jo Eun-seop / Jo Yeong. Jo Eun-seop é um amigo de Jung Tae-eul na República da Coreia. Brincalhão, abobalhado e medroso, mas faz de tudo para proteger sua família e eventualmente, o Rei Lee Gon. É também apaixonado por Myeong Na-ri. Diferente do seu sósia, Jo Yeong é o capitão da Guarda Real do Reino da Coreia e melhor amigo do Rei Lee Gon desde criança. Ele é inteligente, centrado e extremamente protetor do Rei. Ele também é apaixonado pela sósia de Myeong Na-ri do seu mundo, Myeong Seung-a, mas não admite.
-Jung Si-yul como jovem Jo-yeong
-Kim Kyung-nam como Kang Shin-jae. Ele é Tenente no Reino da Coreia e apaixonado por Jung Tae-eul, o que faz ele não confiar e detestar Lee Gon.
-Moon Woo-jin como jovem Kang Shin-jae / jovem Kang Hyeon-min
-Jung Eun-chae como a Primeira-ministra do Reino da Coreia Koo Seo-ryung / Koo Eun-a. No Reino da Coreia, Seo-ryung é Primeira ministra. Extremamente gananciosa e manipuladora, ela deseja se casar com o Rei Lee Gon, mesmo não o amando, mas seus planos são frustrados quando o Rei encontra Tae-eul. Na República da Coreia, sua sósia é Koo Eun-a, uma simples estudante.
-Lee Jung-jin como Lee Lim. Tio do Rei Lee Gon, ele não tem direito ao trono por ser filho de uma concubina. Desejando mais do que ser rei, ele realiza um golpe onde assassina o irmão, e rouba a flauta mágica Manpasikjeonk, mas seu plano falha quando Lee Gon, ainda criança, corta a flauta ao meio com a espada dos Quatro Tigres e pega uma metade para si. Assim os dois tendo acesso ao portal que conecta os mundos.
De apoio
-Kim Young-ok como Noh Ok-nam, Dama da Corte. Ela é um senhora gentil mas rigorosa, que com a ajuda do Príncipe Bu-yeong, criou o rei. Ela ama muito o rei, tendo o criado como seu próprio filho e tem uma forte amizade com o príncipe Bu-yeong.
Jeon Bae-soo como Jung Do-in, pai de Jung Tae-eul.
Seo Jeong-yeon como Song Jung-hye, mãe de Lee Ji-hun, sósia de Lee Gon.
Ko Eun-min como a jovem Song Jung-hye
Park Won-sang as Park Moon-sik, chief detective of Violent Crimes Squad Three
Kim Yong-ji como Myeong Na-ri, melhor amiga de Jung Tae-eul na República da Coreia / Myeong Seung-ah, nova contratada para o Gabinete Real de Relações Públicas no Reino da Coreia.
Kang Hong-seok as Jang Michael (Jangmi), new recruit of the Violent Crimes Squad Three/ Jang Mi-reuk, trainee at the royal guard
Jeon Moo-song como Lee Jong-in / Prince Buyeong, second-in-line to the throne after Lee Gon
Lee Hae-young as Yoo Kyung-moo
Hwang Young-hee como Min Hwa-yeon, Kang Shin-jae's mother / Park Sook-jin, worker at the palace
Park Ji-yeon como Park Ji-young, Koo Seo-ryeong's friend
Kim Jung-Young como mãe da Primeira Ministra Koo Seo-ryung
National Police Agency, Republic of Korea
Heo Dong-won as Detective Shim, detective of Violent Crimes Squad Three
Ahn Si-ha as Kim Hee-joo
Song Sang-eun as Kyung Ran
Imperial Household, Kingdom of Corea
Baek Hyun-joo as Secretary Mo
Lee Hong-nae as Seok Ho-pil, a royal guard
Outros
Park So-jin as Jo Hae-in, Kang Shin-jae's therapist
Choi Woo-sung as Kim Ki-won
Kim Hyung-woo as Yoon heon-soo
Lee Ho-cheol as Dalgoo, gang member
Tae In-ho as Choe Min-hwan, Chairman of KU Group and Koo Seo-ryeong's ex-husband
Participações especiais
Jeon No-min como Capitão Choe Gi-tae
Lee Kyung-young
Kwon Yul como Lee Ho, pai de Lee Gon
Park Hoon como o pai de Jo Yeong
Jo Jae-yoon como um trabalhador de arcade encarregado do jogo de tiro #wikipédia

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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 !

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The story about the other dimension

Alurnya memang berbeda dengan film pada umumnya. Jadi menontonnya harus dengan suasana yang santai. Menontonnya tanpa di skip2 karena film nya harus berpikir keras......................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

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MIND-BOGGLING AND HEART-WRENCHING

I was indeed looking forward to this drama this year and I can say that it never failed me. It got me hooked from the get-go not because there was this back-and-forth thing that was happening but because of how it captured my interest and how the plot was intriguing. The story had to build-up overtime for our characters but one thing that needs to be pointed out is the fast-pace of the love story. LG's character has given away already that his love for KGE is there, ever since he held that ID of hers. So there was no need to build up his character. JTE, though it took her a long while, wasn't that dumb to let it linger for so long. So she reciprocated in a way that was only JTE style. I was satisfied with the ending as again, the writer's style is to have always the audience given that "open to interpretation" choice.

The story will bring you to a roller-coaster of emotions - all highs and lows. It will have your brains working on those formulas, time freeze, and time loops. But one thing it will surely make you believe is that no matter the time and distance, true love prevails and will always come back to you. 

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