The King: Eternal Monarch (2020)

Underwhelming relative to all the hype

7.5/10 is my rating. This is a 2020 fantasy romance drama with 16, 70 minute episodes.

Lee Gon/Lee Ji-hun (Lee min-ho) is the King in a country called Corea that exists in a universe. parallel to the Republic of Korea. As an eight year old he witnessed the assassination of his father by his half uncle who also intended to kill Lee Gon. Jeong Tae-eul / Luna (Kim Go-eun) or her parallel counterpart saved Lee Gon from death and then disappeared. Since that time Emperror Lee Gon has been looking for his mysterious savior with the help of his friend and Captain of the Royal guard, Jo Yeong / Jo Eun-sup (Woo Do-hwa). Lee Gon’s uncle, Lee Lim / Lee Seong-jae (Lee Jung-Jin) killed the former king to obtain a flute that has magical powers including the ability to render the person who possesses it eternal. In fighting his Uncle, young Lee-Gon broke the flute in half with a sword and now has the other copy. Lee Lim opened the portal between the two universes and is reeking havoc along the way. Emperor Lee-Gon plans to put an end to his Uncle’s evil and close the portal between the two universes.

Spoiler***There was so much hype around this one in drama circles that I expected this to be one of the great ones. And, reading reviews, a lot of people really liked this but this is not my favorite role for Lee Min-Ho. I also did not see much chemistry between the two leads - they seemed more like two people that would be great friends. It was hard to see the transition from her more or less being annoyed with him to liking him then loving him. It may have been easier to see that transition if there was chemistry there but with the friend like aura I just wasn't getting it. Netflix also puts a particular spin on dramas that I am not as much a fan of - they Americanize things a bit and I actually started watching Asian dramas because I did not like a lot of what was going on in American dramas. What I mean by Americanize is there is this theme of over the top "strong, independent woman" who is just fine alone. I get that, I do, but I also think many people are overall happier when they are together with the right person.
Most single people I know and have observed are lonely on some level. I also could not get why he seemed so taken with her so quickly I know he thought she had some role in saving him when he was young but that wasn't enough to understand why he would be romantically interested in her. She was not very nice to him in the beginning so for someone with all the options he had to fall for her in particular, it was a hard leap to make. This was a parallel universe/time travel drama and I rarely find that premise compelling so it could be that I am a bit biased and have high expectations. I was often unsure which character from which parallel universe was speaking. That may have been partially my fault as I watched it very slowly as I was having a hard time staying interested. It moved back and forth and between a lot and was confusing at times. The ending where they travel every weekend together to different places and times and that is how they were together has to be one of my least favorite endings but is not uncommon with time travel. Not necessarily traveling together but it is common that they meet infrequently. I think, if anything, traveling every weekend to see the person you love would become tiresome. And you wonder about simple things like - what would they do if they had children. Would they become part of the every weekend travel?
There wasn't much to the plot either just his Uncle was a traitor who wanted to take over the throne and gain control of the magical flute for immortality. I would not re-watch this readily and would only recommend it to someone who is serious fans of either lead or who particularly like the time travel and/or parallel universe them.

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Tried to be the next Goblin, but didn’t quite get there

I didn’t love this drama, but I didn’t hate it either. It’s 💯 worth the watch for LHM and KEG alone. Their chemistry was absolutely something special. LMH was charming as usual, and KEG is such a breath of fresh air. The characters were fresh and simple, which I enjoyed, especially a female lead that is fierce and can rescue herself (honestly the rescue scene stopped my heart). The music was beautiful (but too much like the Goblin OST to really be unique imo) but Gravity really did stick out. The Cinematography is gorgeous, and the costumes are really something Spectacular too, especially his. But the wonders really stop there. The plot line is kind of all over the place, which is mostly due to the parallel universe aspect of the show. Lots of storylines don’t really go anywhere, or feature useless characters that you end up forgetting. There is a large cast, but that’s mostly due to the fact that everyone is playing a dual role because of the parallel universe aspect. It gets confusing and that you sometimes don’t remember which universe or world they are supposed to be in right now, especially when it comes to switching around the worlds. The show tried a little too hard to be ingenious, and relied a little too much on the fantasy aspect, meanwhile all I wanted them to do was go back to the main love story. Which getting onto that was kind of rushed, on the female side anyway, but I mean it’s LMH so I get it. Lastly the product placement in this drama took me out of it a lot. I definitely felt at times but the actors were going to turn and wink to the camera they were selling some thing so hard.

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not sure why the rating is so high...

the drama is not all bad, it has good comedy scenes (especially with woo dohwan)
captivating story and beautiful set design & CG
you can tell they had a big budget
there is great chemistry between leads in the beginning, but it seemed ambiguous on taeuls side (not sure if her feelings), and romance seemed a little sudden
also it was annoying how taeul spent most of the show just crying

i also found certain things confusing such as the laws and family structure of the prince - it was hard to understand why lee gon reacted the way he did

joyeong and myeong nari were the best imo wish we more scenes of them

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I should have been more wary of this, considering that the screenwriter is Kim Eun Sook. She has done other projects such as Goblin, Mr. Sunshine, Descendants of the Sun, The Heirs and Secret Garden. I actively dislike three of those, haven't finished Mr. Sunshine but have no real opinion on it, and enjoy the ridiculousness of Descendents of the Sun, even if I think it's objectively bad. The link between them all is that there is a dramatic and intense central love story that usually has significance to the wider world and is somehow cosmically important. The scope is usually very grandiose. The actual characters are usually not very good, the plot is jumbled and inefficient, and the romance often feels contrived. I know it's not something that is determined by a screenwriter necessarily, but I rarely find the chemistry between the leads compelling. Some of that is the characterization.

The biggest issue for me is Lee Min Ho. I am not a big fan of his, I find his acting to be wooden, dull, and lacking in chemistry with his co-stars across the board. In fact, I don't know a single one of his projects that I enjoy. His comedy never works for me and when he is being an imperious king he is just so unlikeable. Not to mention that he doesn't pair well with Kim Go Eun, who (although not consistent) is a good actress. Him being the male lead and also the King, having him be unlikeable just sank the whole thing for me.

I don't remember a great deal about the plot, which I think is telling of the weakness of the whole thing. I know there's some crossing of worlds, and backstabbing plotting, and doppelgängers, but the whole thing just didn't really stick. I often feel this way with these dramas (Goblin was terrible for this) -- there is no good antagonist. Everything is BIG and WORLD-ENDING but the stakes just aren't there.

And god, how did this drama make swords not cool? All of his kingly stuff just pissed me off. The horse was completely ridiculous and the fact that they were actually fighting with swords was so stupid looking. I don't understand why they went with that western style of sword either, instead of just a modernization of a traditional Korean style? I may be way off in that criticism but I just thought it was weird. In gangster movies where the yakuza fights with swords it looks so cool, and here it really reminded me of those hallmark Christmas prince movies. Sad.

My two pieces of praise are for Kim Go Eun, who had some truly excellent scenes. She is one of the great Korean drama criers. Absolutely fantastic performance when she finally sees Lee Min Ho after being on the run, and she's covered in blood and hysterical. I love to see her full breakdown performances. She was also good in other aspects, overall I think she did her best with what she was given. Woo Do Hwan was also excellent. Great in the serious and comedic roles, and very hot. He should have been King.

Overall? A mess. But everyone will watch the next one like it that comes out, because we all keep hoping they'll live up to their promise.

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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.

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Keep you at the edge of your seat until the very end !!

When I am saying this will keep you at the edge of your seat till the very end, I literally mean it.

This show is a complete package show.
From Acting,
Cinematography,
Casting,
Storytelling,
Story writing,
OSTs,
Direction everything is in sync and perfect.

Storyline :- Talking about the storyline it is very unique and extra ordinary. This drama is very convincing in a way that you may imagine that a parallel universe can actually exist.

One thing I like about this show is this one maintains balance between romance, mystery and suspense unlike other shows which mainly focuses on only romance.

Its a MUST WATCH show. Hands down.

PS :- If you are a fan of time travel you must not miss this masterpiece.

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Checked for the hype but did not reach my expectations

I was quite enthusiastic about this drama. I love the main cast specially the 2nd male lead. However I didn't like the main story. I didnt get hooked by it.

The idea of 2 dimension with 2 Korea is actually a very nice aspect ! I really love that part. I didn't like the rest. I think I am getting tired or unrealistic love story or cheesy love story.
I don't recommend it but I always think people should see by themselves!
I think people see big name and just get bias...
There were at the beginning very nice and mysterious part such as the ID card in the 2nd dimension ! But you kind of get bored of the whole thing.

But I love the 2nd male lead playing two character ! I watched a bit more thank to the 2nd male lead

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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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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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El final me mató, soy super feliz

Comenzare por explica esta relación amor odio que he tenido con la serie.
Generalmente solo veo series que ya se completó la temporada, pero una amiga me insistió que la viera sin saber que todavía no había terminado. La comencé a ver al principio sin tomarle mucha atención, y poco a poco quede pegada.

Actuación
Yo no conocía a Lee Min Ho antes de ver esta serie, entonces, comience a buscar información y veo que es super famoso y muy querido. Ahí comenzaron mis mil dudas, como puede ser tan famoso si no es tan buen actor? Decidí ver todas las series que ha hecho, mientras esperaba mas capítulos de esta. Fue frustrante dame cuenta que todos los papeles que he visto son los mismo, chico con plata que se enamora de una chica de otra clase o inalcanzable. Reconozco que ha mejorado con el tiempo, aunque no mucho. Hice toda mi resistencia para no seguirlo, igual caí rendida ante su encanto. Así que ahora asumo que tiene su encanto, y una razón por la cual crean estos roles para él. Este rey le queda perfecto.
Así como la actuación de MinHo decayó ante mi mirada, la de Woo Do Hyan, fue subiendo y emocionándome cada vez más. Me dí cuenta que este chico es un camaleón, al enterarme que es el protagonista de The Country. Fan total de este chico, destaca totalmente.
El otro actor que le comencé a creer todo sus sufrimiento es Kim Kyung Nam, me parece un chico muy tierno a pesar de su papel tan duro.
Kim Go Eun, No la conocía. De verdad le creo su papel, entiendo perfectamente alguien que puede ser muy dura y que después que asume sus sentimientos, puede ser super emocional e intensa en lo que siente, me sentí muy identificada, sufrí con ella.
Hay muchos personajes geniales, hay varios que me encantaron, otros que me confundieron, igual, los disfruto todos.

Historia
Reconozco que me encanta la historia, soy super fan, soñaba con ver el final, y no me decepcionó, sigo soñando con un príncipe como él que quiera pasar el resto de la vida de aventura en aventura.
Que importante para mí es que el final me guste, me deja buen sabor de boca. Es como comer rico y no te guste el postre, hecha a perder toda la comida. Ya me ha pasado esto con otras series. Así que aqui estoy feliz de haber visto esta serie, y haciendo un total caso omiso a todos los que no les gusto. Criticando este cuento de hadas para adulto que me mantuvo feliz y emocionada mientras lo ví. Claro que tiene errores, pero son mínimos para mi, comparados con la historia total. La actitud con la cual uno ve las cosas, hace que uno lo disfrute o no. Demasiados dramas en la vida, para no disfrutar una serie, por detalles, jajaja.

La producción:
Es espectacular, la disfrute mucho, incluida la música.

Conclusión:
Si sabes disfrutar una historia de fantasía, con principe, princesa, villano y viajes en el tiempo, les aseguro que podrán disfrutar esta historia, Sobre todo porque cuando una historia termina de este modo, me siento feliz y emocionada, y con unas ganas de soñar, volar, viajar, y cuando eso pasa, me hace tener ánimos y muchas ganas de cumplir mis sueños. Por eso la recomiendo, en especial en estos tiempos.

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The King : éternel sur mon cœur

J'avais plusieurs fois remis à plus tard le visionnage de The King: Eternal Monarch à cause de plusieurs critiques que j'avais lues et qui le dépeignaient comme un drama passable voire très mauvais et puis, je me suis dit "allez, on essaie, autant se faire son propre avis" et la chose que je déplore le plus c'est... d'avoir écouté ces critiques!

Je ne dis pas que c'est le meilleur drama de tous les temps mais il m'a paru vraiment bon avec l'expérience que j'ai acquise dans ce domaine, donc j'ai décidé de vous faire par de mon propre ressenti.

L'histoire :

Le drama nous emmène à la découverte d'une Corée différente de celle que nous connaissons, un monde parallèle, qui va, par l'intermédiaire des personnages, rencontrer la Corée du Sud de notre monde.
L'histoire va donc sans cesse passer d'un monde à l'autre et j'avoue que, parfois, ce fut un peu déstabilisant. Il ne faut pas regarder les épisodes quand on a du sommeil en retard ou quand on a décidé de faire sa compta à coté sinon on ne comprend plus rien très rapidement et c'est pourquoi je ne conseillerai pas ce drama a des personnes qui ne sont pas déjà familiarisées avec l'univers des K-Dramas, car ici on n'a pas le temps de parler des différences de cultures, d'habitudes, ou de tradition, les différences sont posées et il faut rapidement le comprendre pour avancer dans l'histoire et l'action.

Les personnages :

Je connais maintenant très bien l'acteur Lee Min Ho (Lee Gon) et il ne se départ pas de sa façon habituelle de jouer, surtout concernant la partie romantique de l'histoire ce dont je le remercie. Il plante un personnage de roi charismatique et fonceur mais il sait aussi montrer un côté vulnérable et drôle également.

J'avais déjà rencontré Kim Go Eun (Jeong Tae Eul) dans le drama Guardian: The Lonely and Great God (Goblin pour les intimes) et elle ne m'a pas déçu non plus, elle nous montre un personnage féminin fort et assuré qui affronte les épreuves qui se présentent à lui, elle ne succombe pas au désespoir et cherche plutôt les solutions existantes.

Je donne ici une mention spéciale pour l'acteur Woo Do Hwan (Jo Yeong / Jo Eun Seob que j'avais déjà rencontré dans le drama Tempted que je n'avais pas particulièrement apprécié et c'est donc une bonne surprise de le voir ici avec non pas un, mais deux rôles qu'il joue à la perfection. Mes plus grosses barres de rire, je les ai eues avec lui et il développe, encore une fois, non pas une, mais deux bromance que j'ai adoré. Du coup ça m'a donné envie de voir plus de productions avec lui, affaire à suivre donc...

La réalisation :

Je l'ai déjà dit, les passages entre les deux mondes et raccorder chaque scènes ensemble peut être parfois déstabilisant et j'ai dû donc quelque fois m'accrocher mais le drama fait souvent reculer l'action en début d'épisode pour nous montrer comment on en est arrivé à la scène finale du précédent et j'avoue que c'est quelque chose qui m'a beaucoup aidé et ce à plusieurs reprises, d'autant que j'avais souvent l'impression de regarder comme des "secrets de tournage" de l'action en elle-même.

Les décors sont juste magnifiques et le monde de "l'entre deux" est oufissime, au niveau des effets spéciaux, on arrive a un très bon rendu, ni trop, ni trop peu mais je sais que ce sont des techniques qui demandent beaucoup de travail et d'investissement financier donc bravo la prod!

les scènes d'action et de combat sont très bien jouées, voire même orchestrées car on a souvent l'impression d'assister à une danse (sauf qu'ici il y a des morts).

La romance est belle et bien assumée des deux côtés, on marche souvent sur le fil du rasoir entre bonheur qui explose et désespoir de l'attente mais fort heureusement, les deux leads sont des personnages qui ne se laissent pas faire et qui feront tout pour être heureux ensemble, je vous laisse regarder pour voir s'ils y arriveront.

J'ai beaucoup entendu parler des placements de produits de façon négative mais je répondrais que quelque soit le drama, d'où que vienne même la série ou le film, les placements de produits sont partout, tout le temps, si on s'arrête à cela, alors il faut arrêter de regarder des films ou séries actuels et ne voir que des œuvres historiques.

Le "Deus Ex Machina" m'a un peu déconcertée par contre, je pense qu'il n'est pas assez explicité, je ne veux pas dire qu'il faut tout expliquer en long en large et en travers mais là ça m'a paru un peu trop flou.

Enfin, le final m'a bien plu malgré le fait qu'il reste des questions importantes en suspens et, attention spoiler!

ATTENTION SPOIL
Comment va faire le roi concernant la succession, voire même avant son mariage? Peut-il passer tout son règne sans se marier?
FIN DU SPOIL

et à nouveau mention spéciale pour la même personne pour qui je suis triste avec cette fin proposée.

ATTENTION SPOIL
Jo Yeong et Jo Eun Seob tous deux joué par Woo Do Hwan ne se reverront jamais après leur séparation déchirante, ça m'a fait un coup au coeur!
FIN DU SPOIL

Finalement, comme je l'ai dit plus haut, je ne pense pas que The King: Eternal Monarch soit un drama pour débutant mais c'est une œuvre dont je me rappellerais longtemps avec émotion et nostalgie. On se sent bien dans ce ou ces mondes et on aimerait y rester aussi. J'y penserais parfois avec un petit sourire en coin.

Maintenant, à vous de vous faire votre avis.

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