The King: Eternal Monarch Episode 3

The First Proposal

You might be taken aback by how this episode starts. YES, it started with the proposal of the ever dashing ( but now broke ---he used up all his diamonds for clothes and stuff) king Lee Gon to Tae Eul to be his queen and that she just became the reason why he should stay in the Republic of Korea! Lee Gon being the mathematician that he is explained in detail through the use of zeroes, square root and equations. How crazy is that! Tae Eul, getting frustrated ridiculed Lee Gon to lead the way to this parallel universe he is raving about. Scene at the bamboo forest: Finally, a decent conversation where they both learn about each other's desires and slight history why they are what they are now. Tae Eul slowly saw something in Lee Gon and his sincerity in all that he speaks of. First time time stops for Lee Gon: He doesn't understand why this is happening but he considered it a blessing. As he was able to appreciate Tae Eul's beauty while time freezes. Kudos to the production team for showing us something cinematic at this point. Another side of Lee Gon: While Lee Gon was able to witness Tae Eul at the bravest circumstance, he didn't fall short of his skills and the fact that he wants to show off his other skills is one of the highlights of this episode. He also felt jealousy for the first time as he felt that he was being the third wheel betwen Kang Sin Jae and Tae Eul.One has to pay attention to every tiny detail given to us by the screenwriter. Every scene has its purpose and weight as each background of our characters in this story unfolds.

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Sigh…after episode three, I concede I’m…

Sigh…after episode three, I concede I’m not loving it. I think the cinematography is beautiful and the narrative is interesting, but the casting and writing are destroying it for me.

For me, the biggest problem is Kim Goeun and her character. I love her off-screen and in other projects, but this seems like a miscasting. She’s overplaying being tough instead of conveying being tough. Furthermore, I’ve watched other dramas where actresses convey being spiky and sarcastic without being hateable (Lee Dahui in Search: WWW, Jeon Yeobin in Melo is My Nature, and Kim Dami in Itaewon Class). So far, Kim Goeun’s character isn’t likable in the least and I don’t want her anywhere near Lee Gon. I cannot help but imagine this role in a different actress’s hands. For example Jeon Yeobin, Lee Dahui, Kim Dami, Lee Seol, Ryu Hyeyeong, or Lee Som. Ultimately, I don’t like or believe Kim Goeun as this character.

Although her performance is an issue, how her character is written is a larger problem. I cannot understand why Jung Taeeul is written as such a violent and hostile character. I recognize Lee Gon is an inconvenience for her, but her venom is directed toward everyone and the constant threats are tedious and don’t endear her character to the audience. She just seems unreasonable and unlikeable. Also, it makes the “romance” between the leads unlikely in the extreme. Why would he jump through worlds to be near someone so odious?

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