Entertaining, but not for people wanting more substance.

The King: Eternal Monarch is difficult to review because, at face value, it is an entertaining drama: interesting premise, excellent cinematography, addictive soundtrack, strong female lead, suspenseful, and romantic. The problem with The King: Eternal Monarch, however, is that it fails to meet expectations, leaving many viewers feeling as though they watched an early, conceptualized version of a drama released as it was being written by an author with a vague concept of where the plot was going and no knowledge of how many episodes were left until the ending. We know what could have been, so our disappointment leads us to be overly critical of what we have been given.

**Story: 7.0**
While the plot devices of interdimensional travel and a modern day Korean monarchy are nothing new, the combination of the two are unique enough to excite any fantasy lover. Throw in a dashing king, a tough female cop, and a villain traveling between dimensions, killing people and replacing them with their doppelgangers, and you have the building blocks for something special.

Sadly, someone somewhere thought more would be better, and all the elements that could have made this drama great were poisoned by the the addition of a time travel plot device, a surplus of ridiculously blatant examples of product placement, a female villain who served no real purpose other than to be an unlikable annoyance when convenient for the plot, a multitude of supporting characters and their doppelgangers who were difficult to keep track of, and a sometimes non-linear story-telling style that made the whereabouts and actions of the villain difficult to follow, with very little mystery or payoff because of it.

The addition of so many minor characters was, perhaps, the biggest downfall to this series because it detracted from the time that could have been better spent developing the main characters, in particular the relationship between the male and female leads. For a show that is built around a love story that spans multiple dimensions, it sure didn’t spend a lot of time developing the romance, and instead it relied heavily on the concepts of fate and destiny to carry the relationship while the leads spent a large amount of time apart in their respective worlds.

The main antagonist and biggest external conflict for the leading couple, villain Lee Rim, also suffered due to shared screen time with his many, many doppelganger minions. His villainy would have been much more impactful if his motivations for world domination had been expanded upon and all the corrupt doppelgangers were introduced as they were exposed, the extent of Lee Rim's reach being unveiled one doppelganger at a time. It was a missed opportunity that would have created suspense and kept viewers guessing as to who was good and bad along with the leading characters.

As the show went into its final four episodes, the plot began to feel rushed, as though the writer anticipated the series being 20 episodes long but was told half-way through production it was only going to be 16 episodes instead. Moments previously depicted in the first episode (Lee Rim being interrogated at the police station) turned out to be insignificant and irrelevant, and the downfall of the villain was less impactful and grandeur because it happened three different times, all rather abruptly and without much fanfare.

I suspect that a lot of fans were satisfied with the “happy” ending, but I found it to be a cop-out. While all our secondary characters found endings in the reset timeline deserving of their good--or bad--deeds in the original timeline, it was clear that the writer didn’t know how to resolve the love story that spanned two worlds and various timelines. While a together-but-separate ending worked in Crash Landing on You, it’s hard to imagine such a situation working out in the long-term for this couple, despite the clear implication that they do somehow manage to grow old together, when one of them is the king of a country that still expects its monarch to produce heirs.

I personally would have liked an ending where everyone, including Jung Tae Eul and Lee Gon, lost their memories of the other world after the reset--which would have been more in line with traditional time travel logic--allowing us to see Jung Tae Eul meet Lee Ji Hun and Luna meet Lee Gon and fall in love in their respective worlds, suggesting that the two souls are destined to be together no matter the universe. Of course, such an ending would have had to exclude the cute moment between Luna and Kang Shin Jae, but it’s a sacrifice I would have made, especially since he seemed to have chemistry with the therapist/doctor, who could have turned to be his love interest in the reset.

**Acting/Cast/Characterization: 7.5**
Woo Do Hwan stole the show with his dual roles as Jo Young and Jo Eun Sub, and I would watch this drama again solely for his performance. While the two characters were foils for each other, there were moments when you could see flashes of Jo Eun Sub’s personality in Jo Young, showing that the four-year-old Jo Young introduced in the first episode could have also grown up boisterous and carefree, had his parents not divorced and he not become the King’s Sword. Woo Do Hwan did an excellent job of portraying them as two sides of the same coin.

Lee MIn Ho fit the role of dashing, attractive king, but much like Prince Charming in Disney’s Cinderella, he had very little personality outside of being perfect. To be honest, I’m not sure if this is a symptom of Lee Min Ho’s acting abilities or a combination of the director and writer pushing for the idea of a fairy tale romance, complete with a royal leading man who excels at literally everything. If that’s what they wanted, then they succeeded. Unfortunately, as a viewer, I found that level of perfection unbelievable, and I feel like opportunities for Lee Min Ho to express deeper, less flattering emotions were skipped over in favor of having him look pretty for the camera. While I don’t mind seeing Lee Min Ho being paraded around in a bunch of dashing uniforms while riding in slow motion on the back of a gallant steed, the reality is that if he’s placed on such a high pedestal, both socioeconomically and personality-wise, it’s hard to imagine a police detective who values comfort over appearances forming a meaningful bond with him, definitely not in the time allotted to them as a couple in this series.

Kim Go Eun’s acting was hit or miss for me. As Jung Tae Eul, she had some real standout moments, such as the last twenty minutes of episode 11, but for the majority of her scenes her facial expressions were kind of flat and wooden. Perhaps that was an intentional choice in order for her to appear more like a tough-as-nails cop despite her petite appearance, but instead it felt like she had no personality outside of being a detective, which further widened the emotional gap between her and Lee Gon. I found her role as Luna much more intriguing and complex, and the blank-faced delivery of her lines felt more befitting of the street hardened thief dying of cancer than of a cop with a lot of friends, a loving father, and a princely suitor.

Most of the supporting cast did well in their roles, including several standouts, but there were a few characters that I wish had been excluded from the drama (Looking at you Prime Minister.) in order to tighten the plot.

**Music/Cinematography: 10**
I was extremely happy with the cinematography and music. With Netflix funding the production, it’s no surprise that the special effects and camera work seemed more on par with a Hollywood production. Every scene in which time stops is gorgeous, especially the moment it paused as Jung Tae Eul was tying her hair and the warm hues of fall dominated the color scheme.

The soundtrack was extremely catchy and was used effectively to compliment the various scenes. I am particularly fond of “Gravity” and “Orbit.”

**Rewatch Value: 9**
Despite all of its flaws with the plot and the disappointing resolution, this drama is immensely entertaining. If you acknowledge it for what it is, a drama that capitalizes on cliches and romance tropes, and that is your bread and butter, then you will be pleased with this drama and want to rewatch it for the vicarious fairy tale thrills. However, a lot of people want more from their dramas than unrealistic entertainment; this drama isn’t for those people.

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One of the best Asian Dramas I've ever watched.

This drama starts out a bit confusing, but in a good way, and by the second or third episode, you figure out what is going on, which sucks you deeper into the drama's plot. Honestly, this drama deserves a 10...right up until the last ten minutes or so of the last episode. Since endings are so integral to the experience of drama watching, I had to deduct a half of a star for two reasons (spoilers ahead):

One: We never get a clear resolution to what happened to the young version of our killer. While Chen Yan Ru lives on, so does our child psychopath serial-killer-in-the-making. Did his family get him the help he needed early on, or did he keep on killing cats until he escalated to murdering humans? While it is clear having his older self possess his big brother's body and teach him how to kill fueled his murderous desires, he was already on that path to begin with, so resetting the past wouldn't clearly put the killer-to-be on a new path to redemption. But if this unresolved plot-line somehow opens the door for a sequel where Xie Zhong Ru still becomes a serial killer in the new timeline and coincidentally sets his eyes Huang Yu Xuan as his next victim, I'm here for it because...

Two: We do not get a nice wrap-up to Huang Yu Xuan and Li Zi Wei's romance. Yes, we're left with enough that we "know" that they will end up together somehow, but I want to know how. Did Li Zi Wei somehow keep in touch with the young Huang Yu Xuan, who fostered a crush on him for years until one day he eventually saw her as a woman and feel kind of skeevy about it because of their age difference, or did he randomly run into her on the street when they were 28 and 38 and mistake her for his childhood friend Chen Yan Ru? I just wish the ending had been: young Huang Yu Xuan and Li Zi Wei on moped, followed by a montage of Huang Yu Xuan and Li Zi Wei meeting and dating in the future, that then transitions into older Yu Xuan and Li Zi Wei riding on the moped.

Overall, though, this is an amazing drama, one of the best I've ever watched. I just wish the ending had been as tight as the rest of the drama's storytelling.

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Loved Everything but the Leading Couple

Since Go Go Squid is one of the highest rated Mainland China shows on Viki, I thought I would check it out, and while I made it to the end, it wasn't because of the leading couple.

Set in the world of competitive pro gaming, this drama has an interesting premise filled with quirky young actors that provide humor to every scene that they are in, and they and are almost enough to compensate for the leading couple's lack of chemistry.

Almost.

Separately, the two leading characters are both intelligent and successful in their chosen career paths even if they are both inexperienced in the romance department, so on the surface they should have a lot in common to make their significant age gap seem trivial. Sadly, whenever they are together, their worst faults are only highlighted, which makes watching them as a couple cringe inducing.

Tong Nian (TN) immediately develops a crush on Han Shang Yin's (HSY), and her inexperience manifests in the form of an adolescent crush, as she fangirls over him and tries to insert herself in his life however possible. HSY's initial disinterest in TN slowly evolves into a mutual interest, but due to his lack of dating experience, his exterior behaviors still project a sense a apathy. Overall, even at the peak of their relationship, it still feels like watching a 13-year-old girl with the hots for teacher, a teacher who is doing his best not to engage for fear of giving her the wrong idea and hurting her feelings. This dynamic is especially disappointing because TN is otherwise such an intelligent woman, and I found myself enjoying her character more when she wasn't with the leading man.

Leading couple aside, I would still call this drama "cute," and if you're in the mood for something light, fluffy, and full of entertaining secondary characters, then you may find this drama worth the watch. However, if you are very particular about you're leading couple and don't want a leading woman who becomes a less interesting version of herself when she's in love, then you may want to avoid this drama.

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Great idea that was poorly executed.

I started watching this drama because I was intrigued by the fantasy element of the Healer, Esper, and Protector and wanted to see how a romance plot would play out with these added devices. Unfortunately, my expectations were too high and I was let down by the execution.

While the Healer and Esper capabilities were fairly well established--but not without their own inconsistencies--there was no point of the Protector whatsoever, and by the ending it was very apparent that the Protector magical class was only created so that the second lead could have a "role" that would make him more special, and therefore, a more viable competitor for the leading lady's affection. Except...the Protector turned out to be useless.

Unlike the other two magical classes, his "power" wasn't tied to him, but to the ring that was in his possession. Additionally, the story initially stated that the ring was used to restore the Healer after she expended her energy healing an Esper, which we saw put into action once, but instead of establishing a system of checks-and-balances between the three classes--like rock, paper, scissors--that would allow the Esper and Healer to use their abilities without anyone dying, the ring's ability was quickly abandoned and forgotten because writers really, really wanted the lead male to have to either lose his sister or his lover for the sake of a melodramatic ending.

Seriously: Why the f*** does the Healer have to die to save an Esper when there is supposed to be a magical ring that will restore the Healer to full health?

The writers didn't even bother trying to come up with explaining why that is not possible. It was like they completely forgot about the ring half-way through the drama.

Then there was the romance plot. It was extremely rushed in the beginning, montage-ing over any interactions that would have explained why they were compatible and loved each other, and just when the audience was starting to believe in their romance, the drama slammed the breaks on it. Despite this, I did like the leading couple and found that they had good chemistry. It's just a pity that this drama was poorly written and directed.

To be honest, the only reason I kept watching this drama was to see if the writers were really so incompetent that they abandoned the Protector/ring plot device in the middle of the drama without offering any explanation. SPOILER: Yup, they suck.

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Simple and Sweet Slice-of-LIfe

For a drama in which very little happens, A Little Thing Called First Love is surprisingly refreshing in its simplicity. While this drama follows the overused story of an awkward girl whose love for the popular boy spans high school and college, it breaks the mold by keeping the plot and conflicts uncomplicated, deviating from the traditional cliches.

Instead of having an overnight transformation that sends the message that confidence is tied to outer appearances, the leading female goes from awkward, fashion-challenged high school junior to confident, attractive fashion student gradually, each step of her transformation having an explanation (e.g. gets braces after being made fun of for her teeth) and resulting in a slight increase in her confidence.

The leading male is stereotypically perfect at everything, but he has not been placed on a pedestal. He still has his many admirers, but gone are the ridiculous slow-motion entrances and swarms of fan girls who squee whenever he enters a room. He's also friendly, engaging, and down-to-earth, so the friendship he forms with the leading female, even in her awkward years, feels natural and believable, unlike the dramas where the leading male is aloof and seemingly out of reach.

Also absent from this drama is the b****y female rival whose sole purpose is to act excessively jealous and cause conflict between the leading couple. While there are a few fangirls who act poorly out of jealousy, their actions are not a major source of conflict, and their roles are so minor in the drama that it is not excessively annoying. Additionally, this drama challenges our expectations by introducing a woman who seems like the perfect rival to the leading female, but rather than scheming and chasing after the leading male, she admits defeat with grace and maintains her friendship with the leading lady.

The friendships in this drama are to be commended, too. The main group of woman are loyal to one another, and even when a boy comes between them, they maturely communicate that they do not place blame on their friends and request for time to themselves to think and process their emotions before returning to the friendship. The relationship among the men is a bit more complicated, but like the women, they remain loyal and supportive to each other, even when they are at odds.

Many are likely to find this drama boring, which is understandable given the lack of drama and conflict, but the absence of those elements also make it the perfect drama for someone looking for a a light and fluffy romance.

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