The King: Eternal Monarch (2020)

Refreshing!

Before this series even aired it had received lot of criticism plus the bad reviews kind of steered me away From this drama but I was just curious! This drama is not everyone cup of tea It was slow paced at first but I found it picked up after a few episodes I quite enjoyed it cause it made me think of all the possible theories! It was refreshing to see a mature straightforward relationship between the two leads people are complaining that their love story moved to fast but It will all make sense later in the drama I found it beautiful! There was a lot of PPL in this drama but it didn’t really bother me I thought some were funny! LMH is just mediocre his acting I think has improved a little it’s more of a matured role for him compared to heirs which I couldn’t finish. KGE has always impressed me she so expressive in her eyes! I think WDH outshined the ML in my opinion! cinematography was beautiful and ost was so good!! I’m glad I didn’t skipped this one!

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This really had so much potential. Needed better and tighter writing. Second half is better and more fast paced but even the ending became disappointing too.

I like the female lead in this one (compared to get in goblin).

Lee min ho was very model like and majestic and ok.

His royal guard and Eun Seop was the shining beacon in all of this. He played his doppleganger and guard self so well.

The relationship between the two leads was far too quick. Suddenly in love and their ending was mildly boring mehhhh

Sorry I wish u could rate higher but it didn't hit the highs I needed it too

Also warnings for all the blatant product placement and they all work really well to get you looking hahahaha

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I don't believe half of these ratings!

I loved it that I watched it twice. The cast did great. How can you not rate this drama high? There were playing two different personalities in two different worlds. Do you know how hard that is? Lee Min Ho was awesome in his acting. Everyone did their part. The costumes were beautiful in Corea World. Just imagine if that was possible. If I can go to another world where there is COVID-19 and Trump was not the President, I'd be very happy. My Woo Do Hwan OMG you are a fine young man, cute too. Again, I was born in the wrong era and country. Those eyes are piercing! I didn't know you can be a little comedic. Kim Go Eun, I love her tomboyish acting in this drama. I loved the storyline. If you rated it low I advise you need to go back and rewatch it.

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This review will be a little long, but it is necessary. Please read carefully and calmly.

To give my opinion on this drama, I must put it in its great and fair perspective: WE ARE ADULTS AND THIS IS A FAIRY TALE FOR ADULTS. We all have an inner child, who from time to time, for our mental hygiene, manifests itself.
THE FAIRY TALE DEFINITION IS AS FOLLOWS:
In children's literature the genre of the story is especially valued. There are children's stories of all kinds: classic and traditional, fables, legends and mythical stories adapted or fairy tales.
KEY FEATURES:
The stories that are told are fantastic and appear imaginary beings who share adventures with human characters.
The natural and supernatural dimension intermingled. In this sense, there are characters who change their appearance, others who live eternally, natural elements with feelings and endless magical aspects.
In the tales there is a permanent tension between the forces of good and evil, but eventually the stories end with a happy ending.

IN UNIVERSAL CULTURE:
These tales are part of humanity's cultural heritage. With them the little ones feed their fantasy world, since in children magical thinking plays a relevant role. However, beyond children's stories, in fairy tales we find other elements that also interest adults: the craving for freedom, the pursuit of happiness and the need to daydream.

In every fairy tale there is a handsome prince, who rides in a white steed, in search of his princess. There is a villain, eviler than anyone, there is a fool and a bad witch.

The Prince: King Lee Gon
The White Steed: Maximus
The Prince's Squire: Jo Young
The Princess: Jung Tae Eul
The Villain: Lee Lim
The Witch: Koo Seu Ryung
The Fool: Kang Shin Jae
The Fairy: The Yoyo Kid
The Fairy's Magic Wand: The Flute and the Yo-Yo

And to really enjoy this dorama, we must let our inner child breathe, and manifest himself, and let us not drown him with our meanness and worries. This is a necessary exercise for our good mental hygiene. We must be excited in life.
Fairy tales do not seek to teach on a specific topic, nor are they literature to contribute to our intellect and spirit, because they only serve to ENTERTAIN. They only present the struggle between good and evil, and how good overcomes evil. And present the struggle for ideals. THIS IS A MODERN ADULT FAIRY TALE. THAT’S IT.
Fairy tales are often taken on the license to take some elements outside of culture, and that are not necessarily entirely historical.
If we take this into account, we cannot get so angry with the scriptwriter, because she just wanted to blow our imaginations, in a world as complicated as the one we are living in right now (Coronavirus, global tensions, problems of global economy, etc.)
What if the Netizens criticized whether to analyze or give the screenwriter the opportunity, which allowed the King to dress him in a royal hanbok of the Joseon Dynasty and wear on his head a crown of the Silla Kingdom (THING THAT HAS A REAL MEANING, WHICH LATER WE WILL SEE, STILL A HISTORICAL ERROR).
And what that if the Netizens returned to criticize that the seat of the Kingdom was in Busan and that Seoul is the political capital, and especially the tantrum that these same Netizens formed by the Japanese pagodas of the "opening", and also the tantrum that they formed because, if the Kingdom is united and the Republic separated from the North, (THINGS THAT MAKE SENSE, WHEN THEY ARE ANALYZED, EVEN THOUGH THEY ARE HISTORICAL ERRORS.) We must be like children and be more condescending with this drama, if we take "The King: Eternal Monarch "like an adult fairy tale that only served to make our imaginations run wild. Of course, I think that all Korean physicists and mathematicians who are serious professionals, should be RAGING seeing how most of how THEY DESTROYED SO SERIOUS THEORIES, FOR THE PURPOSE OF A HISTORY, WHICH NOT EVEN THE SAME LEE MIN HO DID NOT UNDERSTAND, BUT Despite all this, these are elements and licenses that a good writer needs to take to make a good fairy tale.
And as for the end, one incredibly happy, because as in every fairy tale, the prince stays with the princess and they are happy to stay. (OF COURSE; WITH A MODERN TWIST. THEY DID NOT MARRY AND WERE SNEAKING TO LOOK LIKE LOVERS ON WEEKENDS.)

GOOD THINGS:


BUDGET:
The cost of production: $25 MILLION DOLLARS. The special effects were excellent, the Korean tourist sites were exposed to attract tourism.

COSTUME:
The costume may have been more exuberant, according to that production budget. But nevertheless, they all dressed elegantly.

PERFORMANCE:
Excellent! A dream cast, who worked as pieces engaged with each other. Lee Min Ho as the King (the fairy tale prince of the story) fully completed his work. Handsome, tall, sportsman, excellent action actor (Remember his performance in City Hunter), the inexhaustible Lady Noh, the villain Lee Rim, the one we all hate, the beloved Jo Young, the Unbreakable Sword, the conflicted and suffered Shin Jae, the hateful Prime Minister Koo Seu Ryung. Jung Tae Eul, the princess of the story, a tough girl with a tender heart, I have nothing negative to say of them. I did not like that the President of the Republic of Korea never appeared, and that it should have been Lee Gon’s double.

THE OST
The soundtrack of this drama is superb.

THE FLUTE, REAL, HISTORICAL AND MYSTERIOUS
The Manpasikjeok,a legendary flute believed to calm the seas and drive away any concerns. The bamboo flute was called" Manpasikjeok”, which means a flute that calms ten thousand waves and became a national treasure. Apparently, ten thousand waves here refer to all kinds of hardships or storms of life. Some say this legend reflects the Silla dynasty's desire to bring people displaced from two other kingdoms that it had unified and establish peace and stability in the United Kingdom of Silla. And we see here how the screenwriter, like a good Korean, wants the unification of the peninsula, a national desire.

WHY THE CROWN OF THE KINGDOM OF SILLA?

The Netizens were superficial because they did not relate this crown to the Manpasikjeok flute, both of which come from the same historical place. We must think twice about things before saying them, you should not be superficial, everything in the dramas has a meaning, we must be critical in our way of thinking. It is an advice I give to the Netizens.

WHY BUSAN?
Because Busan is nestled in the former capital of Silla. (at the south of Korean Peninsula.)

WHY IS LEE GON THE THIRD KING OF THE KINGDOM OF KOREA?

Because this kingdom was established in the drama after Korean independence from Japan. That's how it should have been naturally if the nation had not been divided later as a result of the Korean War in 1950.

IDEALS PRESENTED THE DRAMA:
The author presents in a veiled way Judeo-Christian element (The tree of life in paradise, Adam and Eve, the Devil, the concept of limbo, the seeds that are born in a New Land.) But these same elements could also represent a Unified Korea, North And South Korea and the limbo could be the DMZ (Demilitarized Zone), the Japanese invasion, subliminally seen in the much criticized "opening" of the pagodas. Because this drama, like a good fairy tale, makes our imaginations fly.

THE YOYO BOY
The yo-yo's boy is the spirit of the flute, and according to everyone they had a double in the other world, twice as much of the flute was the yo-yo.
Yoyo's boy is really a girl!!

NOT SO GOOD THINGS AND MISTAKES

THIS PRODUCTION WAS UNTIMELY PRESENTED.

This production aired on the wrong time, because he had the bad luck to compete with the drama "The World of the Married".

SOUTH KOREA AND JAPAN WERE AT A LOW POINT IN THEIR DIPLOMATIC RELATIONS.

Remember that the invasion of Japan in 1910 is still very present in the collective psyche of Korea. And at the time of the dorama premiere, they were going through a diplomatic problem, so the naval battle of Korea and Japan in the dorama fell so badly, and the famous "opening" pagodas (even if they make sense).

THE RUN-OUT END

This drama must have been 20 to 24 episodes for everything to be resolved in a calm and coherent manner. I think that Goblin's open ending, which left a bad taste in many viewers, along with the bad reputation of the writer, for writing these controversial endings, was still present in the collective mind of all viewers. The ending was too muffled and forced, even though hardcore fans of Lee Min Ho found it perfect. But I am more objective. I look at everything objectively.

COSTUME AND HAIRSTYLE

As for the wardrobe, despite being a worthy and elegant one, it did not have the majesty that a king deserves, no matter how modern the time. The female lead could have been better dressed and her hairstyles could have been more feminine at times

LEE MIN HO'S MISGUIDED COMMENTS, SAYING HE DIDN'T UNDERSTAND THIS DRAMA.

These misguided comments from Lee Min Ho were only fuel for the Netizens, who always gave the impression of having a hate agenda against him and against the writer. Based on Lee Min Ho's misguided comments, then the drama should have been offered to an actor who mastered the themes of quantum physics and abstract mathematics, such as Kim Jeong Hoon, Prince Yul of The Princess Hours. He is also a handsome actor, extremely attractive and exceptionally good in the action genre. And based on this, he would have done a better job, of course, Lee Min Ho's work was very good, but it would have been much better if this actor had played him, because he would have endorsed the character, much more than Lee Min Ho.

LACK OF TRUE INFORMATION
But they failed to search for consistent information for scenes such as the sea battle (where they used Korean navy ships, and not the Japanese navy), and mistakes made with Maximus' saddle, which was an English saddle, and was too simple, unworthy of a king.

These are my final thoughts of the drama. If you want to see a modern fairy tale, I recommend the drama, just for fun, without paying much attention to the mistakes. And personally, I would slap the producers for destroying a drama that could have been the drama of the year, because a budget of 25 million dollars is no small matter. And I ask the screenwriter to stop giving us hasty endings.

You do not have to totally agree with me.

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This drama had a lot of potential. Star studded cast, excellent writer, great lineup of osts. However proper execution and planning led this drama downhill. Firstly the romance felt so rushed, they didn't give viewers time to relate and didn't really give the depth and realism that a viewer like me would have liked. In simple terms there was no chemistry between the leads as they didn't not have enough build up for that to happen. Secondly the villain barely had a presence, showed in the first part of the story only to return in the last quarter. We should have more of a background of the villain and seen more of them. The romance overshowed the entire plot and to be put it nicely it was a waste of such talented actors. I wish the writer would have focused more on the link between the two worlds rather than the romance. The romance should have been more slow burn and passionate.

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The ending was unexpected, but it fit well with the story line.

This drama has been promoted so much that I always expect more when it's finally released. This drama had so much potential, but there was just too much information for 16 episode drama.

Lee Gon (Lee Min How and Jung Tael Eul (Kim Go Eun) had no chemistry filming. One episode they were in disagreement the next they were in love. It didn't make sense. There was no relationship development. True the main points of the dram was related to the flut, but for any good relationship the audience needs to be able to see the evolution of the characters feelings for each other.

Those who had to play two roles showed a lot of acting potential. They were able to stay in character as the universe changed. The one actor that was extremely convincing was Woo Do Hwan who played Jo Young and Eun Sub. His characters were the polar opposite of each other.

The relationship between Lee Gon and Jo Young was the best. King and bodyguard, brothers and best friends. They are perfect for having each others backs.

One main Con side of this drama was that there were TOO much product placement. Where there was one there was always another nearby. It was almost as if they had to be put in last minutes that made them stand out so much. as the products were being promoted it didn't help that the actors had to say some cheesy lines that work better in ads then in a drama.

The one actor that I had no love for was Kin Go Eun. I did not believe that she was the perfect fit for her characters.

The story line is one of the most confusing ones I have ever seen. You really have to think and find all the hidden clues that connect everything together. Each episode gives us a little bit of information. Any story line that has any relation to time travel and alternate universes has the right to be a little confusing.

This drama was worth it because of Woo Do Hwan. I think he was the main attraction and may have stolen the action light from his fellow actors.

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Not worth it

The most confusing part of this drama is the high quality production and great acting that’s paired with a terrible script.

I thought the premise of the drama was very unique, and I was super excited after seeing what a bada** the female lead is. However, the sequence of events doesn’t make a ton of sense. The ending is very lazy and rushed which just doesn’t cut it for what this drama was trying to pull off. The acting and production quality though was so good which made the terrible writing all the more confusing and disappointing because after finishing the drama, I keep on pining for what it could have been.

With the romance, I thought the dynamic at the beginning where she thought Gon was crazy made sense. There was lots to fun banter. But then they all of a sudden fall completely head over heels for each other with basically no reason. I couldn’t get over that the whole show. The neck kiss made no sense to me given the conversation they were having which killed any chemistry I might have detected between them. The lack of chemistry also made it lackluster when Gon saves our main female, telling the guards that she’s the future queen.

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Surely the legendary cast and creators should tell you to give this kdrama a watch? My first impression was definitely Goblin vibes, which is to be expected. I personally found some parts of the story really confusing and I really had to think or go online to get some clarification. However, that being said, I loved the cast. The leads have beautiful chemistry, even though I thought their loveline was a little rushed. My favourite characters are definitely Jo Young/Jo Eun Sub played by Woo Do Hwan. His duality in playing two completely different characters is amazing! He is such a talented actor and I can not wait to see him be a lead again for a kdrama. The ending was beautiful, I was tearful, as some relationships which were formed are now forgotten, which was to be expected with the storyline. The OST is so good, especially Hwasa’s and Kim Jong Wan’s tracks. Overall, the ending was satisfactory and had a fairytale aspect, good beats evil :’)

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The King: Eternal Monarch is the most complicated drama I've ever witnessed and even after reading bunch of threads and explanations about the episodes and parallel universes, I still can't wrap my head around this story. You have to be really observant, pay attention to every little detailed and even take notes just to grasp the direction of the plot. The different universes are the main pain in this drama. Especially at the end, it became really confusing and annoying, I've never known in which universe we are now, and the attempts to understand the plot, when it's pace was so fast, took away all the joy I had.
And to be honest, the beginning was really boring, the side plot about japanese threat unnecessary (probably they put it just to maintain the typical 16 ep duration), the whiplash of Tae eul emotions gave me headaches. In first eps she is so against Lee Gon - and as she should, she didn't know him then - she's really wary of him BUT by ep 3-4 they already kiss kiss, and then bum, the love confession from TE (which was the most unemotional and driest confession I've ever watched) and whooop! after 10-11 ep we have crying and love-confessing Tae Eul almost in every ep - it's just not really believable! (I think it's because soemone noted the lack of emotions from TE side and decided to change that... but in my opinion the change was too drastic at this point of drama).
And of course, the most annoying thing this drama had - THE FREAKING PRODUCT PLACEMENT. The could tattooed all the promoted logos on the Lee Minho forehead and it would be less irritating then puting products in almost every freaking scene (WE GET IT, YOUR BBQ CHICKEN IS GOOD, STOP MAKING LEE GON EATING ONLY CHICKEN, THE POOR BOY MUST BE REALLY HATE IT AT THIS POINT).
Of course, there were some ray of sunshine - for example the scene when Lee Gon comes Tae Eul to the rescue (CHEF KISS! ICONIC!) and... basically all the scenes with Jo Eun Sub (Woo Do Hwan was the best part of this all drama, his acting was superb, and at one point, I just watched it only for his charakters).

All in all, this drama wasn't the best Kim Eun Sook work, I would much rather put it at the The Heirs level than Goblin or Descendants (it's not even clode to this two drama jewels). In short: this drama is really complicated, but not really satisfying.

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