If you are looking for a simple love story or a plain science fiction, this one is not for you. This is like a brain game. Every single detail shouldn't be missed, well, of course, there are some scenes and dialogues that are so cheezy and quite long, but that's the downside of the story.
The writer was not able to justify bringing the two lovers in one world, but that's the exact reality of what might happen if there is really a parallel world. I love the story.
Was this review helpful to you?
Masterpiece
This drama is definitely a masterpiece..( I don't understand the excessive negativity surrounding this drama) . The story was amazing. It kept me on the edge throughout . The drama had a lot of suspense elements and heartwarming moments which the writer has portrayed beautifully.. The production and direction of this drama was perfect. The actors did such an amazing job. The duality of certain characters were beautifully portrayed by the actors.. You couldn't have asked for a better cast.. The effortless passionate chemistry between them was unbelievable.. Lee minho as the king was so on point. The poise and the grace with which he carried the role was such a treat to watch. Kim go eun was so natural .. She blended into her character so well (no wonder she is one of the best actresses)Woo Do hwan is such an underrated actor. His acting range never ceases to surprise me. Kim Kyung-nam is another such gem. His expressive eyes alone spoke volumes.. Jung Eun-chae and Lee Jung-jin were also great. Their mere presence in a scene itself would change the atmosphere. They definitely had the right vibe for this drama. Together the entire cast created a beautiful synergy.
The ost were so beautiful and emotive(Hwasa's voice was so powerful and perfect for this drama)
Was this review helpful to you?
Exceptionally good
This drama is extremely good, the storyline itself is truly intriguing, the acting was really good, the ost,visual fx-a job well done, need I say more. I am currently re-watching the drama. You won't get disappointed, give it a try. I mean I have seen worse and I am wondering why other people gave a low rating. I almost didn't watch it because of all the negative reviews and commentsActing:
From the main actors to the smallest roles everyone did a good job. The main actors had good chemistry.
Storyline:
I am not sure why people are getting confused. It's not science rocket, the narrative is that there is a parallel world and has similarities but slightly different that's it, very simple to understand.
All in all what i am trying to say is that the drama is really good.
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
What you need to know
This has a very good storyline, but a lot of people can’t get past the fact that it also was sponsoring products. They incorporated it in a fun way that not only helped progress the drama but to sponsor the products used to help fund the drama. If you don’t pay attention during the show, you will get lost and not understand what they mean so make sure that you do pay attention the entire time. There were a lot of comedic lines and the drama that made my stomach hurt from laughing so hard especially when the bodyguard and the counterpart from the other world met that scene, made me cry laughing. If you understand the story plot you will love this drama very much and want to watch it over again I know I did.Was this review helpful to you?
The drama starts with bits and pieces of the two worlds, with an overwhelming number of characters (and their dopplegangers, which you may or may not recognize--). There's a lot of foreshadowing going on, as well as important details that will come in handy later on. Hence I suggest that while you're watching, you may want to subscribe to an analysis/explanation YouTuber or something (I had the benefit of being able to understand the Taiwanese YouTubers who did episode-by-episode analyses afterward. It helped me tremendously after ep 7 or 8).
Midway through the drama, things really start coming together and then the originally-slow storyline starts picking up. I think it took me til ep 9 or 10 to really appreciate the complexity and the plot development of this drama -- we follow Lee Gon on an unpredictable puzzle-solving journey to piece together how this world works and how he can save the world from being ruined by Lee Rim.
After finishing the last episode, I began my rewatch journey and suddenly *everything I saw in the first few episodes made sense.* After learning who's who, it's a lot easier to see the significance of every detail presented at the beginning and how everything fell into place at the end. Hence this isn't a one-watch drama -- it's something where after you go through it once to get the gist of it, you will want to go through again to pick up clues to the puzzle and interesting little details that didn't make sense without context.
The main love line didn't make sense to me (since I'm not a huge "destiny/fate" person and the character development wasn't that convincing). However, you will want to keep watching the show just to see how the other characters' relationships develop, and how Lee Gon strives to defeat the evil. There's so much going on with all the characters that having a faulty main lead romance won't kill the drama. Until the drama picked up, I totally watched it for Jo Yeong x Eun Seop. Favorite bromance. Amidst all the killing/deaths, the scriptwriter also did not forget to put appropriate comedic relief, so I found myself laughing a lot during the show.
Gotta commend the acting -- Woo Do hwan and Kim Go-eun especially, who had multiple characters to play. I really hope they win acting awards (and that Tae-ra is just a foreshadow of what will happen in real life next year ;)
The OST was also great. Not as great as Goblin, but I would put this on repeat.
Was this review helpful to you?
Was this review helpful to you?
A masterpiece lost because of the haters
I don't know where to start lolFor me, it was a very wonderful drama, I enjoyed every moment while I watched it .. It was really a luxurious drama ..
I don't understand the reason for all the fuss about this drama as it was badly criticized! And the biggest reason for criticism was the large number of ads! Is this really a convincing reason! Is the story really badly complicated! For me, it is a distinct drama in that the story is written with a plot, and this is what distinguishes the writer, and also you must follow the episodes at every moment in order not to miss a new secret .. Really amazed me by the beauty of the story so that it was not just a fairy tale about love and revenge, but rather a well-written story ..
As for the ads, that did not bother me at all, because because of the large budget of the series, they had to compensate for that through advertisements, but the director tried to place ads in several ways, but they were very visible, but that's okay. This is not a convincing reason to hate the series ..
As for acting, the whole crew has excelled in acting. I really lived in the series hahaha
If you like special, luxurious and extraordinary series, follow this series. I promise you will not regret and Do not take the words of the critics into account .. Really, this series has been wronged by some of the haters ..
I fell in love with the series and the entire cast. It's a show for high-end minds only, not for the trivial ^^
Was this review helpful to you?
Her character as Luna was also impressive as the character as Luna was completely different from that of the character as Jeong Tae-ul. the formal being a pick pocket thief with a vast criminal record and the latter being an honest, strong and diligent police officer Wo Doh Hwan also did an excellent job at potraying 2 different characters who were poles apart in personality. One being a stiff and upright bodyguard cum soldier and the other being cheerful and chilled out person. All other actors too did a very good job as most of them played in double roles from the 2 parallel worlds. The screenplay and direction too was applause worthy.
Kim Go-eun, God, I am falling in love with her acting skills. Just saw her Goblin TV series and she was amazing. She didn't disappoint me. Her strong-willed and sarcasm character made me love her even more. The Superb supporting cast Woo Do-Hwan and the enigmatic Villain Lee Jung-jin shines here. You will fall in Love with their characters. Highly recommended must watch!
Was this review helpful to you?
Low expectations lead to thorough enjoyment
I think this show is the perfect example of how hype and anticipation ruined the experience.I've been holding out watching this drama because of all the negative reviews but decided to give it a shot, and I can honestly say I was HOOKED. I'm so glad I watched it because I actually really enjoyed how complicated the story was because it left me wanting more. I found myself trying to connect the dots between the little details sprinkled into each episode to figure out what would happen next, and that's usually what makes me stick with a drama till the end. I feel like there were a lot of twists added to the stories that I just did not expect at all, and though some of the twists revealed sort of fell flat, I still found it exciting enough to keep going. To me, it was really the overall story driving the show rather than the characters (if that makes sense at all).
The acting was okay, I expected more from Lee Min Ho as I knew how much everyone loved him and this is the first drama I've watched with him in it! I thought that Woo Do Hwan's acting was absolutely breathtaking in this drama. He did such a good job that I was genuinely convinced Yeong and Eun Sap were different people. I expected a bit more chemistry between the main couple but I just loved the story so much that I overlooked this part.
I can understand the criticisms for this drama as there is definitely a lot left unsaid, but it's just one of those dramas that I expected so little from but ended up absolutely loving it. I would recommend everyone give it a chance despite the reviews! It may not be everyone's cup of tea but it quickly became one of my favorites by far.
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
HI! This is my first time writing review, I normally don't like to write a review, I prefer to read other reviews that leave mine, but on this one, I really had to. I saw all the comments and reviews about this drama, about the lack of many things, but in my case I really Loved it! I really love Romance dramas, it just my cup of tea.I read some reviews about the lack of chemistry or why the ML & FL love each other so much in so little time, I normally see those comments on the modern dramas, but on Costume/History/Period dramas they are just like that , they fall in love at first sight and they barely touch each other hands and they give each other lives like there is no tomorrow and they still get good reviews.
Going to the point, I really liked this drama, the story line, the actors where amazing, they had great chemistry, the OST just beautiful, for the ML & FL I understood their love for each other, I was happy with them and I was sad as well, I could feel how much he loved her, despite how little time they had since they met, every time they see each other again, they hug so tidily that made cry, I will feel the same way if my beloved one is been missing for days with out not knowing what happen to them, for me every time they were together it felt real( I just missed probably few more kisses in the forehead or cheeks every time they meet).
How can someone be so young in his actions and at some point and them so little change to be this strong king like that , but I see why, He loved her, and will fight the world and time for her love. FL has strong character and she is a girl in love as well, she can't act like nothing has happen, when she hasn't see him in some time, knowing that something might happen to him, she escaped from danger and din't back down that easily, and still fight for her love as well, knowing that might not be tomorrow.
The supporter characters where amazing, just on the down side for me, they where a lot of them, sometimes it was hard for me to follow some of their stories, but it wasn't anything major problem for me, the main support characters I liked their stories, and help the story line as well. They only one that I find that has to much screen time was the Prime minister and she didn't help to much in the story, if she would be the main villain that would it be understandable.
The story line about time and parallel universe, I really liked and liked the ending, because I understood why is that ending ( Not a sad ending at all), but I understand, I can see the point of view of the writer. The ML/FL put the well been of everyone, not just their own lives and still manage to be happy.
The OST! I loved it so so much! The song My Love by Gummy, I felt in love with that song and Maze too, they are so beautiful.
Rewatch value, Yes! I probably rewatch it in few days, just in case I missed something the first time and will rewatch all my favorite parts of the drama again, I felt like if there were questions they answered it. If I don't understand a part of the drama, I go back and rewatch again, so I can understand, why not? That is why I like to watch the dramas once they're finish, so I can replay the parts that I might not understand.
I really recommend it, if you really like romance that goes beyond time and space, I wish that they had more beautiful scenes together. they were beautiful on each of them. I really enjoyed this drama!
Thank you!
Was this review helpful to you?
BEST DRAMA EVER!
I have watched a lot of dramas but The King: Eternal Monarch has by far been the best.I loved the acting.
Lee Min Ho's acting was spot on. The way he portrayed his character was so life-like. The emotions he displayed were so on point that I often found myself tearing up in the sad moments and laughing in the playful ones.
Woo Do Hwan's acting was absolutely perfect. His acting was superb. His acting as Jo Yeong and Jo Eun Sub was so great, that I actually had to research to see if Woo Do Hwan had a twin brother. He portrayed both characters expertly. He gave each character their own personality and behavior. I could just make out who was who.
Kim Go Eun's acting was done amazingly. I don't think anyone could have done a better job. She captured the emotions just right and I felt as if I was really there watching them instead of sitting on my couch.
The OST was epic. I really have no words to express how perfect it was. The OSTs set the mood. If it was romantic scenes, heartbreaking scenes, happy scenes, or action scenes, the OSTs captured it perfectly. It was so great that I downloaded all the OSTs
This drama I can positively say was a work of art. Everything, to the acting, OSTs, the professionalism of the different sets made the drama more realistic and enjoyable.
I would definitely recommend this drama to anyone and everyone. It will make you want a season 2!
Was this review helpful to you?
The drama did start out slow and I think a lot of people from then on had their mind set that TKEM was a flop. Then proceeded to watch the rest of the drama basically searching for aspects to criticize. And I think that is one way to approach dramas by analyzing and scrutinizing anything and everything. But personally, I think that with that kind of mindset, you limited yourself to only a couple of shows that you actually like. I am not trying to discredit anyone and how they felt towards the show, however, I think a lot of the discussions centered around how bad the drama, actually deters a lot of people who would actually really enjoy the show.
Story-wise, the parallel world concept was fascinating and refreshing. I found it pretty easy to follow, but with any concept messing with time and space, it's bound to have cracks. There were plot holes(most of which I didn't even know were plot holes until I read discussion posts--so just don't read those and you will probably be better off) and areas where I wish the show would have done more in-depth. I also do think that in some episodes the story was stagnant and it wasn't doing a lot to move the plot forward, a missed opportunity to further develop the world/clarify some side stories. But if you don't focus on those aspects, they aren't bothersome and the main plot is interesting and at least for me, something new/different.
Acting: I liked KGE and LMH together, and I think that they did well with the roles. I'm definitely no expert, but I think I have around the normal person's ability to tell if the acting is stale, so for me, their portrayals were convincing and I really felt for and became invested in their characters. KKN & WDH also really delivered! I mean Jo Eun Seob and Jo Yeong were perfectly portrayed, props to WDH, I can't wait to see him in another drama. Not really a point on acting, but worth mentioning, the main thing that bugged me with the characters (not the actor's portrayal) was Tae Eul sudden switch from showing no interest and annoyance for Lee Gon and then suddenly her tough/snobby demeanor was gone. I think the writer could have made her feelings for Lee Gon melt away a lot more smoothly. Although, I don't agree with the criticism on why Lee Gon was in love with Tae Eul from the get-go. I can picture 8-year-old Lee Gon spending hours and hours holding onto the badge thinking of this mysterious savior, and pretty much becoming infatuated with the mystery girl (also, when do the falling in love process ever really "make sense" in dramas, I just enjoy the love story without questions! >∀ <)
Most of the OST playlist is still stuck in my head and while it's not the iconic Goblin OST, it's still great.
The cinematography and production is probably the least debated area because, well the millions of dollars backing the project went somewhere! Seriously, the scenes were beautiful, especially in the moments of the time stops. If anything, watch it for the visual appeals!
I never write my opinions/reviews on dramas so please forgive me if this is not super helpful/insightful, but I really wanted to do this because I hope someone will read it as realize that go into it without preformulated negativity around it, watch it and enjoy it for what it gives.
Was this review helpful to you?
