The King: Eternal Monarch (2020)

I had high hopes for The King: Eternal Monarch that were let down due to such a convoluted plot. I found the plot to be particularly confusing, even through the last episode. It wasn't the overall plot that was confusing (Lee Lim, the uncle to the MMC in the alternate reality, wants the throne for himself so he's doing whatever he can to achieve this goal), it was the smaller details and transitions between scenes, episodes, and dimensions of reality that were super confusing and unclear. And this is really unfortunate because the idea behind the plot is so unique and original.

The other thing that really ruined this drama for me was the insta-love. Bleh. This drama is definitely insta-love, to my dismay. There's no build up in emotions, interactions, or getting-to-know-you experiences that would have realistically led up to the extreme "love" the 2 MMCs feel for each other. It was very off putting. I'm still kind of scratching my head as to why they love each other. I, as the viewer, get it since I know them from watching their independent interactions, but in the short time THEY interacted with each other, I don't get why *they* developed such strong feelings for each other. This was probably the weakest point in the drama for me because their love story was supposed to transcend all the universes. Their romance wasn't even a convincing or well-written insta-love...I've truly seen better insta-love plots. *sigh*

What made this drama worth watching though was the performance of Woo Do Hwan, which is not surprising AT ALL. :D He was as wonderful as I thought he would be - he convincingly played 2 different roles where there was no doubt in my mind *who* he was when his face appears on scene. He was so convincing in both roles and he constantly had me cracking up for either character he played. I hope that TK:EM will be his big break so he can finally get more main roles!
Kim Kyung Nam was a huge surprise! He did a wonderful job portraying such a torn character - he was mysterious and moody (just how I like em ;P), and when he finally started crying near the end when his mother embraced him, his distress was palpable. I look forward to his future dramas - hopefully a lead role! :D

Unfortunately, I cannot say that all the other actors did as a wonderful job as WDH or even KKN. Lee Min Ho was okay - he's always been "just okay" to me. He's handsome and can easily make people swoon, and he has the right face for a king, and he strutted the *king* feel very well, but what I didn't buy was his romance/chemistry with Kim Go Eun. I've never been a huge fan of KGE either...she's not bad, but by the end of the drama she replaced good acting with tears. NON STOP tears. 0.0 By the end of TK:EM, I was soooo over her crying literally every scene. So, suffice to say, I'm still not a KGE fan. Bleh.

The OST was also really good, which I'm pleased to report! Good tones, great artists - their voices complimented the emotion of the scenes very well! The swell and timing in the instrumentals were also very well placed and selected!

Overall, I'm very disappointed in TK:EM. My high hopes for this intended epic drama are rather devastated. If I hadn't been watching it as it aired, I likely would have dropped it rather than try to get through all 16 episodes back to back. I hate to be this person, but the only reason why I would bring up this drama in conversation would be to gush about Woo Do Hwan. If you are a WDH fan, you definitely do NOT want to miss out on his spectacular performance here. Aside from WDH, I think this TK:EM would be okay to skip. *shrugs* It had it's exciting moments and interesting plot, but overall, it was evident that the writers did not handle nor execute such a complicated plot.

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Woo Do Hwan loving & caring about Woo Do Hwan is #Life!

I struggled with the thought of 7.5 or 8.0, and stuck with 7.5 because 2 out of 16 episodes boring me doesn't deserve higher, if I'm honest. But the acting in this drama is really good. I loved the entire cast, good and bad. The story was somewhat problematic at times, but still a well-written script with understandable concepts. However, the choice of how to play out the concepts to the end was *somewhat* dissatisfying, but not completely.

Pros:

1) It’s extremely disappointing to me that NetFlix & SBS don’t provide the cinematographer’s name from the production studios. I love everything about the costume styling, design crafting, the set coloring, and the feel of the location shots. It brings back the vibes I got watching Mr. Sunshine. Plus, I think these kinds of productions just suit Lee Min Ho’s acting style.

2) I actually get the whole Alice in Wonderland concept and am pleasantly pleased by it to describe the whole parallel universe.

3) Kim Go Eun, Woo Do Hwan, Lee Jung Jin & Kim Kyung Nam acted their f'ing asses off in this drama. Well done guys! Lee Min Ho was, well, Lee Min Ho. His character was like so many roles you've seen him play...but that isn't necessarily a *bad* thing because, frankly, he does these roles superb and fits the bill nicely. So he surely doesn't have to work too hard acting his part like the others did...and that's why I praise them more.

4) Woo Do Hwan & Kim Kyung Nam together in a scene is a total #Vibe. Lee Min Ho and Woo Do Hwan together in a scene is a total #Bromance. Lee Min Ho & Kim Kyung Nam together in a scene is a #Mood. Stick them all together and sprinkle Go Eun on top in a scene and it's a total #SliceOfHeaven. LOL! I want to see these guys together again.

5) Woo Do Hwan loving and caring about Woo Do Hwan is #Life! Heck, if I was Woo Do Hwan, I'd love myself too!!! =)

6) The romance wasn't 100% overpowering the story, and Go Eun & Min Ho had outstanding chemistry. They actually looked extremely comfortable with each other, and this is the most mature and likable OTP ML Min Ho's played, that I often thought, 'dang, he looks really cool'. hahahaha.

{{I'm going to be one of these people that argues against some of the complaints about "superficial" or "forced" romance with no proper progression.

**spoilerish**
Please, people, bear in mind, this is a child that believes this person has something to do with helping him out and through the most TRAUMATIC experience of his life and who he has been OBSESSING about into his early 30s, with no significant other.
She gets her world rocked by him in an amazing way.
The times between meetings are extended periods, not days or even weeks. He pulls her into his life over this timeframe, and has her where all she has are memories until he shows up, making her think about him OBSESSIVELY, and WORRY that each time will be the LAST time...

Wasn't that clear??? It was conveyed easily enough that way to me....No, sorry to say, you're sadly mistaken about the TIME SPAN of the drama if you think she was hot for him and kissing him only a COUPLE WEEKS after they met. Not true at all. Pay closer attention next time. LOL. }}

Cons:

1) Too many supporting characters moving around with moving parts, gets a bit tedious to watch. Wished the concepts were portrayed a bit more succinctly as it went on.

2) This cast is so good and strong they're meant to be *together*. Wasting screen time with 1 or 2 at a time for long periods does such a disservice to how I'm vibing this drama. I get into the dynamics of their relationships, only for it to be cut and other stuff dragged out that wasn't as entertaining, imo.

3) I felt like Kim Kyung Nam was a bit type-casted with his character. Reminded me of what made me love him in Come and Hug Me, but I was sad a bit, because I want to seem him in more versatile roles. That being said, he still knocked acting his character out of the park, so it's only a slight compliant. =)

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This review wont be as detailed as a normal review would be, I just want to get some words off my chest about The King: Eternal Monarch. I came into this drama with very high expectations in which was my mistake because when you have high expectations, you are setting yourself to be dissapointed.

I did enjoy the drama to an extent but I may of been too exited to watch this. I first found this drama on Netflix when it was coming out and found out that Kim Go Eun is the main FL so I was intrigued. I really loved her role in Goblin so I was exited to see on the screen again.

The saving grace of this show in my opinion was the acting of some of the characters and the OST which is too stacked in terms of great singers to be on a drama like this.

I want to talk about the characters first. Kim Go Eun played the role of Tae Eul and Luna very well and she did not dissapoint. The main ML also did very well seen as it was my first time seeign Lee Min Ho. The actor for Eun Sub/Jeong was amazing and I loved how he played the two roles perfectly and was the only character in the show to make me laugh. I actually quite like the antagonist in this show in which was Lee Rim.

I first had my doubts about this show in episode 5 where Lee Gon kissed Tae Eul and i thought that their romance was way too rushed and it went from A-Z skipping every other letter but Tae Eul does say lets skip every other part so I that could be an excuse lol.

The whole parrallel universe troupe is a hard thing to pull off since the romance was between two people from different worlds and to have a good ending with that they'd have to do something stupid and thats what they did. They basically had Tae Eul remember everything that happened and it allowed them to stay in contact by meeting every weeking going to different eras to meet eachother.

One thing that I noticed is that they had the whole Lee Gon away from Tae Eul and come back with them running to eachother saying they missed each other in which literally happened ither 5 times and got reppetative.

Overall i would not reccomend this drama to someone who is wanting a well paced romance and something that makes sense. However if you can look past that which I did, then you can enjoy that acting by Go Eun and Min Ho, and also enjoy the OST by people like; Zion.T, Hwasa, Wendy, Zico, Gummy and more.

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BEST KDRAMA OF 2020, ITS NO WONDER ITS TOP 10 WORLDWIDE

i have watched quite a handful of Korean dramas and only few seem to have my attention like this and The king is definitely one of them . The story is totally unpredictable,very different from Goblin and it has the right amount of comedy, the king actually flirts in science which is totally new and cool to me because it tells me he is going to use his brain as a mathematical and science genius to solve the problem in the kingdom . i also love the way the leads acts with their eyes, that where the chemistry between started becoming visible to me and i can see its building up although the king seems to have fallen harder. UPDATE- the chemistry is currently on fire as at episode 12, they almost burnt my screen, thankfully its SBS and not TVN because its definitely rated 16/18.

Th evil uncle is also working behind the scenes like he is building an evil army and i really cant wait to see where that leads, how will they eventually close the door of the parallel world, can they survive in each other's world and eventually be able to stay together while solving the problems created by evil uncle Lee rim.

its been a while that i watched an asian drama that challenged my brain like this and gotten me all excited. the dramas these days have predictable plot with the usual cliche scenes which is okay but shouldn't be grossly overused to avoid cringiness or the dramas has so much toxicity that drains me even as a viewer.

But this drama 'The King Eternal Monarch' just gives me hope and refreshing feeling and i hope it lives up to my expectation.
Episode 1-15- i am short of words, the story is amazing, the chemistry is ridiculously NATURAL,almost too real to be acting, this drama is a must watch, its just too explosive to explain, but not without its faults which i will definitely overlook because this story entertains me.

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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.

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I'm not a fan of cheesy romances so I didn't really care much for the relationship between Lee Gon and Tae Eul. In fact, I wanted to fast forward their romance scenes because I found them too dragging. That said, if you're into that kind of thing, you might consider watching for that reason. I have friends who did enjoy the drama for this purpose.

Despite my disinterest in the main couple, I try not to give up on dramas right away. I found the side characters to be my redeeming factor. Many people have probably mentioned Woo Do Hwan's impressive acting as both Eun Sup and Yeong. But I also enjoyed the Sin Jae, JangMi and Nari's appearances in the story. In fact, Sin Jae's story was one of the reasons I kept with the show when they started dropping hints about it.

The main plot of the story was my main disappointment. As the story progressed, they kept dropping all these hints that felt like they would be important. But then they didn't quite connect and didn't actually lead to any grand conclusion. I guess it helped when Lee Gon explained the math behind some of the events but I felt most of these were not relevant in the end. The whole time traveling concept also left a lot of unanswered questions.

It didn't help that the last episode seemed rushed just so we could see more scenes of the happy couple in the end. I wasn't very satisfied with the ending for the other characters either.

All in all, if you're a fan of Lee Min Ho (which I'm not) or Kim Go Eun (she's okay) and cheesy romances, but don't mind sci-fi mumbo jumbo, you can give this show a try. Otherwise, I suggest you skip this show.

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WDH's Appealing Facial Expressions

No Spoilers

Inside this parallel universe screenwriter, Kim Eun Sook penned a hidden gem that I cannot find my way back. It had an excellent premise that fell into limbo. At times, I felt like I was viewing an AD commercial in some scenes, and other times it was deft scriptwriting and acting buried underneath all the mess.

The writer's incoherent complexity strained the audience's patience. It exploits the same paradox elements in Nine: Nine Times Times Travel (2013). Maybe if you turn your brain off and try not to think everything will make sense to you. The Director who brought us Secret (2013) and Descendants of the Sun (2016) I was expecting a tightly knit plot, but instead got stunning visuals; nothing else.


Woo Do Hwan was the beaming light of TKEM. His dual role as Jo Young and Jo Eun Sub was visually sublime. Woo Do Hwan's perspicuous rapport with Kim Yong Ji, had me on the edge of my seat, hinting at the fervidness. I got to shout out to the roles of the Jo Eun Sub's twins siblings, for they were a time-out in so much occurring.

Kim Go Eun is an amazing actress except for her character in TKEM was dull and one dimensional. You may have a different opinion that would not be so cryptic to me. One Korean actor that is loved and hated Lee Min Ho. His potential appears to have a set limit because the characters he portrays in dramas fall short on many fronts; It is my opinion.

I am not going to explain it in detail. Yi Gon is an engaging character that suited Lee Min Ho, but the inconsistencies in the plot threw the chemistry of the leads off for me. The intenseness of the romance scenes between the LMH and KGE was muddy from the staggering plotholes.


The supposed villain of this drama wasted potential. The character development was weak on all fronts, causing me problems. It is a simple story dragged out a few episodes too long. The music was not bad, helping me through this show even though it was not original.


Watch this if you have nothing else to watch, and you might like it or might hate it. Even though I was not too fond of it, it does not mean you might not like it. If you have the willpower to propel through sixteen plus hours, You have the final say. Will the King solve his Mathematical problem/equation?


Final Rating: 5.28/10
Story: 5.26/10
Acting: 5.69/10

Rewatch Value: I would rewatch it, but a long way down the road when I have nothing to view, maybe on a rainy day or snowy day. Perhaps an episode here or there I would see, WDH scenes.

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The good parts about this was when it felt like I was watching Inuyasha or some other early 00's anime like that. At other times it felt confused, contrived, and also extremely focused on product merchandising and on Lee Min Ho's face.

I mean - there was this single episode even my parents couldn't stop counting how many product placements happened. I think it was around episode 10/11. Almost every scene featured the king drinking some royal coffee or eating some royal instant kimchi. This suits my taste!

Oh God.

PS: Giving the acting a high grade for Kim Go Eun and Jung Eun Chae, they didn't deserve this mess

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Well laid out intriguing story line, pay attention From episode 1

Started this drama without much expectation of it being better than Goblin and i wasn't disappointed at all, its actally totally different and better, The story wasn't told the typical kdrama way, so a lot of patience is needed for unveiling its sci/fi plot plot hence its not predictive , also the romance in this drama isn't your regular girl runs foolishly after a boy for 75% of its episodes, no its pretty straight forward and matured and certainly realistic in line with the characterization of the leads, above all you will experience the most amazing chemistry ever seen in kdrama land with pure sincere romance , the story progressed with a chemistry jackpot as i have never ever seen two kdrama characters so comfortable with each other as the leads of this drama by episodes 15 .

Please do not drop this drama because of some silly unsubstantiated reviews from people who had already decided to review this drama negatively because their favorite actress wasn't paired with Lee Min ho and the fact that Lee min ho was going to become more popular than their favorite internationally , their backlash and anger started upon the news of the pairing and worsened when they were shocked at how well the two leads synced with each other as the episodes progressed, these outrageous people complained about everything plus typical product placements like the drama is supposed to fund itself and they are sorely dissapointed that despite their back lash the drama retained its spot and yet they didnt drop it,that tells you how amazing and addictive this drama is and of course it has retained number 1 position in so many countries on netflix and its been number 1 on wavee a streaming platform which like Netflix in south korea, people actually prefer to watch on this platforms than via the national tv called SBS so as to rewatch it again. This drama is the only drama that is now on number 6 most watched shows on netflix in the world, and its a drama in korean language, that speaks for itself.

Re watch value is 10/10 if you loved it once you will always go back to find more clues of what you may have missed.

The story is centered around a protagonist Lee min Ho a king in the Kingdom of Corea, who is trying to restore balance that his antagonist uncle disrupted by committing treason to steal a wooden flute that has mysterious powers, he was almost murdered on the night of the treason and he was saved by someone who left an ID card of a Lieutenant played by Kim Go eun , he held on to this ID for 25 years waiting to meet his savior only to find himself mysteriously led by the flute through a maze to Republic of Korea where he meets the woman who is supposed to be his savior and falls instantly for her and she thought he was nuts because he was rambling on about how he was a king.

The story progressed deeper as we understand in a time loop by episode 15 why the king had Tae eul ID card all his life and why she fell so fast for him and how their long distance relationship across parallel universe became a sad love story for them so they always have to live in the moment when they get to see each other, and Gosh their chemistry together is sizzling as their hugs and stares alone burns the screen not to talk of the beheading kiss, this is one drama that delivers real romance progression, from being shy and awkward and blushing to plenty of clingy skinship and you will certainly think you are watching real life romance oncsreen, there stares, tears an longing gazes will tug at your heart.

Waiting for the final episode this Friday and i sincerely hope everyone gets their happy ending because the millions of this fans of this drama are clearly going to revolt as i have never seen a drama where people are so heavily invested in as The King Eternal Monarch

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Me watching this series in one line: Go girl, give us nothing!

I had such high expectations of this series, as I'm a big fan of the time traveling genre, but everything went downhill from the very beginning. I did my best to like this, but unfortunately nothing in this drama was able to make me feel anything, at all

The only things I liked about this series is every interaction between the two Do Hwans, the confrontations involving Lee Rim and what he did to alter people's fates by interchanging their lives in Korea and Corea. I also liked Luna, and it's unfortunate they didn't let her play a more complex role in the story. Another key player who could've been more powerful in the story is the Prime Minister. She was supposed to be an empowering character, but KES didn't make her character grow at all, but instead made her boiled down to just a jealous woman. The story was also very fast-paced, with characters making unreasonable decisions all the time. The product placement was absolutely ridiculous as well.

All in all, I'd describe this drama similar to the way I found licorice: it looked sweet but it's actually pretty bland.

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One of the most anticipated kdramas of 2020, that ended up being the biggest disappointment ...

Listennnnn, I’m not gonna sugar-coat anything in this review, and I am going to give my honest to god opinion from someone who’s finished this kdrama completely, from someone who’s watched 100+ kdramas, AND from someone who is a huge Lee Min Ho fan, this was by far the most hyped drama of 2020, but it ended up being the worst I‘ve seen in the three years I’ve started watching kdramas:

Here’s why.

- Product placements: every five seconds there’s a promotion, not for the show, but for literal brands characters will use, and trust me, it got old real quick, I’ve seen this in every review so far for this show and it’s no joke. It happens a lot already in kdramas, but this one takes the cake for having the most brand promotions which had no purpose in the story or the characters.

- Messy plot: I’ve said it in the comments feed, but I’ll say it again, “if you have to go to discussion feeds to figure out wtf is happening in a drama because the 20 episodes you watched didn’t give it to you, the writers didn’t do their job properly” I’m seeing a lot of people try and justify this, it’s plain and simple, if you don’t understand what’s going on with the dialogue and the plot you’ve been given, there’s something wrong. This isn’t a kpop mv where you can search up theories because the mv was 4-5 min’s, of course that wouldn’t be enough time for you to figure everything out, but in 1hr to 1hr and 30 min episodes OF A SHOW??? Where you’ve been given characters, names of those characters, occupations of those characters, a villain, a time travel plot, a magical flute (that had no purpose in the end)???
Not to mention all the questions left unanswered?
Who had the flute first? What was the origin story?
Why did the villain hate his brother so much? For fun? For power? What did he do to him that was so terrible, we never did find out?
If an alternate version of you dies, do you feel it? Even though it’s an alternate version of you, can you feel it in your soul?
What was the purpose of Luna if she was going to die like that?
There are so many questions I’ve asked in this show, and I never got answers to them,
I have spoken ...

- Filler episodes: nothing .. and I mean NOTHING, pissses me tf off more, than watching a show where each episode had more than enough time to give you depth in characters, plot, and dialogue, and instead we get 3-5 episodes where characters literally just sit and talk ... It’s so frustrating. You have 20 episodes to tell you viewers wth is going on in your drama, and your viewers may I add are already confused ... but instead you waste it on scenes with nice faces and filter, with no action toward the plot or getting the villain smh.

- Pacing: this might be the screenwriter within me but this is important when I’m watching a show, off-cuts or unnecessary zooms are not a favorite of mine, and in all honesty, if a show has a cut every few seconds, that can ruin the experience for some viewers, because you’re not expanding your plot or characters by unnecessary cutting, your halting the progression of them, and that’s a hugeeee issue.

- Lack of chemistry: glad I’m not the only one who thought this, oof, the chemistry was not there for me, as a matter of fact it was more awkward than anything, it didn’t feel natural, it felt more Iike a marketing ploy for people to watch the drama because two big name stars were in it, that’s never a good thing. I kid you not, watched this show from beginning to end and even at the end, I never felt anything between Lee Min Ho and Kim Go Eun, I actually started with thinking if there was another actress instead who could’ve done this role, would the chemistry have been better? Same vice versa. NO hate towards Kim Go Eun either, I’m not denying her talent, I think what many agreed in the end was this pair, just wasn’t it, as in they didn’t fit well together, off-screen they had some good moments though :’).

- Lack of character depth: you’ll find most of the lead characters will be exactly the same as they were at the beginning of the show, when you reach the end, and that’s absolutely terrible lol. Where’s the change? Where’s the growth? Where’s the DEVELOPMENT? Kdramas do an amazing job of not giving a crap about character progression, this much I know, and this drama was no different.

- Writing / Dialogue ^: This could go with character depth, but holy cow ... Why was Yi Gon exactly the same guy after witnessing his girlfriend almost die and everyone around him dropping like flies? Even after witnessing time travel for the first time and being calm? Who tf is calm after witnessing time travel? Why did Tae Eul become a crying mess when she was being assaulted by a bunch of guys? WHAT HAPPENED TO THE MARTIAL ARTIST WE SAW IN EP. 1-2? LIKE EXCUSE ME? All of this can go with plot progression and well, but with writing and dialogue, the writer had more than enough chances to give these things a change, but she didn’t ... And it was honestly a low blow. Especially since we got a villain who had potential, but in the end was just another shadow in the crowd.

Sadly the only good things in this drama for me were the OST, beautiful cinematography, and Woo Do Hwan’s duel performance, you can take this review with a grain of salt, but hey, I’m sure a few others will tell you the same thing. If you wish to watch the show, watch it till the end (if you don’t get irritated by stupid plot choices or characters), then make your judgment, that’s all I got *peace sign*

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