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.
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
This drama is the result of what happens when you try to include too many elements into one to try and make some extravagent but in reality it turns out to be a big disappointment. Despite the first few episodes being starting of being a ball of confusion, it had a promising start as everyone had the expection of those questions being answered in the later episodes. But the later episodes only brought more confusion. Especially when the element of time travel was introduced, it became a complete mess and I lost all hope for getting any answers to any of my questions. I felt that without the element of time travel, this drama could've had a much better delivery and be easier to understand and answer so many questions. For example, someone else could've saved Lee Gon in the beginning and Lee Gon could've just defeated Lee Lim in the present time rather than having to travel back multiple times and over complicating the plot. In my opinion, the biggest weakness of this drama the romance between the main leads which was given so much airtime through out the entirety of the drama when there was still so many things they needed to be explainted answered. Along with the lack of chemistry between the leads, the romantic scenes also felt like a filler but when there are so many elements that need explanation, it just doesnt make sense to put romantic filler scenes in the middle.
Lee Minho and his acting is just another weakness this drama has. I'm not saying he's a bad actor but he's definitely not great. He has charm and that's about it. In my opinion, he doesn't have the charisma and power in his voice that Lee Gon's character needed. By the end of the drama I wasn't even sure if it was just bad acting or bad script writing of Lee Gon's character or maybe a combination of both, but I really wanted to jump through the TV screen and slap Lee Gon. It became that frustrating.
I absolutely loved Kim Go Eun's acting in the beginning drama, she does an great job playing both roles but the writer makes stupidly makes the female lead's character go from being an strong tough character in the beginning to becoming a weak damsel in destress once her romance with the male lead starts. The writer also fails to differentiate both characters and makes their personilities so similar that it gets so confusing to know which world they are in.
Lee Lim's character was also a bit of a mess too. We never found out what he was trying to achieve by bringing people from the parallel world and what is his grand plan was. By the end of it, it seemed he just wanted to live for eternity by getting both pieces of the Manpasikjeok but what does that have to do with bringing people from the parallel world and making them kill their counterpart when they have nothing to do with him aquiring the other half of the Manpasikjeok. They wasted so much screen time on bringing in so many characters that were so irrelevant to the plot and it just makes me angry. And the fact that he is the main villian of this drama but in ep 15 he literally lets Lee Gon reach into his pocket and take his half of the Manpasikjeok and puts up zero fight.
I've never asked for a drama to be perfect but just please make it make sense! But this was just an tragically failed attempt and over complicating the plot that it ends up not making sense that has left me wanting to rip my hair out at how stupid some of the script writing is. Overall it's not horrible but I wouldn't recommend it to anyone. One of my favourite aspect of this drama was Woo Do Hwan's portrayal of Eun Seop and Jo Yeong. He does an incredible job playing both character that it sometimes makes me forget that both characters are played by the same actor.
Was this review helpful to you?
The characters at the beginning shown they have potential character development to them, but as show went on, each character became dull , the main hero and heroine are only cliche romantics, while the other characters are just minions to promote their love story.
The main story and plot of the drama just became something to promote love story only.
Worst product placements, feels like whole drama is one big advertisement.
And Lee Min ho acting I personally felt poor, his ultra handsome face is the only saviour.
Woo do hwan is good with his acting, but his role became pointless. His screentime doesn't even last decent 5 minutes in an entire episode, even the other side characters have more individual screen time than him though he is one of the main characters. His character became like a background cameo. Woo do hwan has chosen a bad role this time.
You watch it if you are a lee min ho fan, and like him a lot or if you are kim go eun fan, but if you want to watch a good drama with good story, good character development, good acting, than this isn't for you.
Was this review helpful to you?
To be honest, there was potential at first ...... and then nothing happened.
To sum up my opinion in a few points:
- Flat characters
- Relationships happening out of nowhere, because why should we spend time on building real links between characters?
- No real suspense, as viewers we often understand things way before the characters do, and really, that takes them an awful lot of time.
I love most of these actors but unfortunatly their characters are so bland that they can't do any magic here.
As for the aesthetic, it is really enjoyable and pleasing to the eyes... but that's all this drama is about: nice visuals.
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
This drama has received a lot of criticism, some rightfully so, but others not so much. Let's start with the most obvious one, the ad placements; ridiculously placed (how on earth can packaged kimchi taste as good as homemade prepared kimchi, especially recipes made for royalty??) That's one of the worst ad placements I've seen on a show. It definitely did take away from the show and dialogue, but not too much if you understand that many big production shows need sponsors in order to fund the show. The terrible ad placement is one of the reason I knocked off a whole entire star from my overall rating. Another reason why I knocked off another star is the time travel theme they had. Any time a script involves time travel, you know there's going to be a lot of plot holes. The plot armor in this drama is quite thick. Especially in the last episode where it was completely unexplained as to why the physics within the realm was changed. There were a few characters that seem to have an impact (whether major or minor) become completely irrelevant to the climax in the finale.
The last 3 episodes could've been better. Lee Lim could've definitely have been better written. Why did he come to obsess over the artifact? Why did he want immortality? Why did he think it was a good idea to expose the existence of the two different universes? If his backstory could've been explained for even 10 minutes, I think it would've completely rounded out his character. The Prime Minister, Koo Seo Ryeong, why did she ultimately desire the artifact as well? Did she really think she can easily come out to Lee Lim and expect him to go "yes, you may get the other half"? Being as clever as they writers intended her to be, they could've at least kept that trait. I was expecting a multi struggle at the end as everybody wants the artifact for their own reasons. The last episode introduced too many details that should've been better explained. How did Lee Gon manage to navigate the realm that connected to different universes? How did Yeong manage to retain his memories of the other world?
But then, why did I decide that the show was worth enough for me to give it 8/10? The chemistry between Kim Go Eun and Lee Minho. Truth be told, I wasn't really a fan of Lee Minho starting out the show. His previous dramas that received a lot of praise, I didn't really like them, partly because of the character and the plot didn't really interest me. But I did feel that he was able to portray a wider range of emotions in this drama, compared to the previous ones. I didn't think about starting the drama when I watched the trailer. But, I was sold seeing how comfortable the cast was with each other during their interviews. And mostly, I liked Kim Go Eun as an actress a lot. There are little intricacies between the different characters of Luna and Jung Tae Eul, such as Luna gives off a more solemn aura due to her upbringing in comparison to Jung Tae Eul. Do Hwan's portrayal of the characters Yeong and Eun-Sop was spectacular. However, I don't think it's fair to claim that only he carried the show, whereas the other actors didn't. The characters that Do Hwan had to portray were starkly different and "simpler", whereas the other characters were a lot more complex to portray.
Overall, the drama was beautiful and the chemistry exists between the actors. However, like with many time travel themed shows these days, there are too many plot holes in the script, which is where a lot of the criticism stems from. Many audience just end up feeling like they got duped of the flow of the plot, including me. But ultimately, in the end, you have to watch the drama for yourself in order to judge whether you like it or not. As I have found myself in many situations disliking a drama that many people loved, and vice versa.
Was this review helpful to you?
A failed masterpiece
TKEM was supposed to have the best of everything: the most successful screenwriter and director, extremely popular actors in an ensemble cast and a lot of money being into production. We were hyped for months. All of it unfortunately could not save this mess of a show that it became.Pros:
1. AMAZING CINEMATOGRAPHY: Everything is beautiful.
2. Lee Min Ho in all his glory.
3. Woo Do Whan in his double role is extremely convincing and is the best part of the show.
4. Most of the actors in this large cast have done a really good job.
5. Interesting concept of parallel worlds and time travel.
Cons:
1. Very annoying FL. I do not like her. I'm disappointed with Kim Go Eun's portrayal of Tae-Eul. The character herself isn't very likable either. The way they styled her is also drab and disappointing considering the contrast with the King who is always looking regal.
2. No chemistry between the leads. I tried to convince myself that they look good together for a very long time but I'm finally giving up. Their romance is really boring, no fun moments.
3. The plot is a mess. There are too many characters and none of them is able to make a meaningful impact because its not coherently put together.
4. Kang Shin Jae is given a lot of importance in the plot, but the actor doesn't have equivalent screen presence to pull it off.
5. SO MUCH PPL, the characters not only use the products but also TALK ABOUT THEM. I never complain about PPL but honestly in this drama its very distracting and really pulls you out of the story.
6. The world building is off, Kingdom of Corea looks almost like and Republic of Korea and its hard to tell the difference unless its the palace setting.
7. The suspense is not built up properly cause often the audience already knows what's going on while detectives on the show try to catch up.
Overally the show is a mess. You might want to invest your time into watching the beautiful cinematography, Lee Min Ho and Woo Do Whan.
Was this review helpful to you?
The plot is frustrating, the pacing is all over the place, the hate for powerful women is strong, the chemistry between the leads is about as fire as a wet fish (despite being super cute off-screen???), god this drama is bad. It also has one of my personal most hated tropes of introducing a supposedly badass female lead only for her to descend into crying damsel by like... episode 2. I KNEW it would happen but damn was I unhappy to be right.
There might be a few reasons to watch this drama. Woo Do Hwan having crazy chemistry with himself is no.1, Jung Eun Chae being beautiful is no.2. But other threads like Kim Kyung Nam’s storyline which has the potential to be good or Luna or even our main villain - are all so sidelined in favour of the boring romance & making Lee Minho look cool that I was just frustrated waiting for the interesting parts instead of looking forward to them.
Also if you watch on mute you can be dazzled by the gorgeous cinematography & production value. Plus, the OST is amazing as I find the OSTs of trash dramas tend to be. (Why is this such a common kdrama trend?)
Anyway, I’ll be waiting for wdh x jec to receive justice by starring together as lovers in something else bc they have chemistry just by glancing at each other & meanwhile enjoy myself via the rants of people hate-watching a dragging every other second a ppl appears to the dirt.
Ps. Writing this review was extremely cathartic, thankyou @myself for the rant I needed it.
Was this review helpful to you?
The Greatest Science Fiction Romance in the last 40 years
"더 킹: 영원의 군주" or "The King: Eternal Monarch" (2020) was the best science fiction and romance of the 2010 decade. I would say that this show has gained the number one (#1) spot in my list of "Top 10 Overall Best Sci-fi TV Show" pushing down "Fringe" (2008) which held that rank for 12 years.I. Story
The writer, Kim Eun Sook of the "Lovers in Paris" (2004); "Descendants of the Sun" (2016); "Goblin" (2016); and "Mr. Sunshine" (2018) fame, once again showed us her amazing talent in creating stories that truly captures the imagination and heart of the audience.
In "The King: Eternal Monarch" (2020), Kim Eun Sook has woven beautifully the "parallel world" trope into her memorable romance plots. She did not leave it simply as a literary device then forgotten, she placed it in the center of the series, and the drama and romance unfolded through it.
Each episode was more or less one hour and ten minutes, and no episode was boring, no episode was dragging, no episode was a repeat of previous ones. In every episode there is a fresh plot, a new story to tell which added to the development of the characters, the relationships between them, and the tension and clashes when worlds and ambitions collide.
II. Acting/Cast
What an amazing cast--Lee Min Ho, Kim Go Eun, Woo Do Hwan, Kim Kyung Nam, Jung Eun CHae, Lee Jung Jin, Kim Yong Ji, Kang Hong Suk--they picked the right people for the roles. Their unique acting styles made their characters fully alive and their interaction with each other natural.
The show was not only about "Yi Gon" (Lee Min Ho) and "Jeong Tae Eul" (Kim Go Eun), everyone were key persons in creating the world of the "Kingdom of Corea". They all brought their best and created a masterpiece.
III. Production
While there were a few noticeable errors, the editing and sequence of the scenes covered it all. I especially like how they did not present the stories, in each episode, in a linear fashion; instead they kept scenes for the next episodes and did flashbacks at the right time.
The mixing of historical with the modern in the fictional "Kingdom of Corea" were seamless. There were no out-of-place moments. Where there are modern things, the room was designed to fit these modern gadgets. Where there should be a historical look and feel, the room either did not have any modern materials or the few blended with the environment. Not an easy task to achieve.
It was not only the interior designers but it was also the directors and cameramen who did great shots in creating a seamless mix of historical and the modern environments.
IV. Conclusion
I highly recommend "더 킹: 영원의 군주" or "The King: Eternal Monarch" (2020) especially if one is a fan of "parallel world" type of science fiction. Think of this show as "Fringe" (2008) but with touchy romance and intense family rivalry.
Overall score of 9.5 out of 10 stars.
Was this review helpful to you?
The concept and storytelling was good, the acting was great, and the OST is memorable. Hwa Sa's Orbit will be on repeat for a while to come. I wouldn't say the drama was exceptionally brilliant by any means, which is what I think everyone wanted it to be, but it is NOT bad. Lee Min Ho was dreamy as the king hopelessly in love with the woman of his dreams. In addition Kim Go Eun, Woo Do Hwan, and Kim Kyung Nam especially did a great job in this drama.
The only thing about this drama that somewhat disappointed me was the ending. Endings are hard to get right, especially in dramas containing time travel, so I am not surprised that the finale was full of plot holes. However, despite my personal dissatisfaction with certain writing choices for the ending, it was alright. For new viewers who are just discovering this drama, I would simply suggest that they skip reading the comments and spoiler-y reviews, and simply watch it without bias and do not expect it to be another Goblin.
Was this review helpful to you?
After you watch all 16 episodes, you come to terms with why the actors were the way they were in the earlier episodes. This drama does not follow the typical K drama arc. You have to watch it from the beginning and finish it before you fully witness the character development of each character - esp Lee Gon and Jeong Tae-eul.
From episode 1-13 your mind goes into unlimited theories which may make it appear confusing to most people but after watching episode 14-16, you see how beautiful everything comes together.
So if you made a review without completing the 16 episodes, I think the review isn't valid, because we should take something and evaluate after watching the whole thing to be able to get the writer's vision of the story.
This drama has the best HUGS or EMBRACE in all Kdramas I have watched and I already have been a witness to KGE's acting which improved even better after Goblin but the jump in acting skills is higher for LMH - gone are his boyish ways, this drama was a perfect showcase of his "majesty". I think they both were the perfect cast for this drama. Apart from them, the characters of Jo Yeong, Jo Eun-sop, and Kang Sin-jae were also VERY IMPRESSIVE.
Was this review helpful to you?
A Tale of Lost Potential
One of the most anticipated dramas of the year, The King: Eternal Monarch promised a stellar cast and an intriguing, action-filled plot. Unfortunately, it fell short (way short).The idea of parallel universes had so much wasted potential. Not much happened in the first few episodes, which would have been fine, except that the writer chose to explain the two different worlds (and how traveling between them worked) through monologues from the main character, Yi Gon. It was all telling, and no showing. As the drama progressed, it also became clear that there were glaring plot holes and cliches. There were a lot of elements that were introduced to the story, including math formulas, time travel, and doppelgangers, but none of it was explained properly and much of it was forgotten later on.
The style in which the drama was produced/directed made the story even more confusing. In each episode, there were too much going on - the story would jump back and forth between characters, flashbacks, and side plots. Then, it would end on a cliff-hanger, which wouldn't be addressed until nearly halfway through the next episode; not only was this confusing, but this anticlimactic progression of the story made the plot twists less effective, less impactful, and all the more disappointing. And don't even get me started on the Product Placement! So many filler scenes (and lines!) were included just for the sake of promoting a variety of products - if anything, it made me NOT want to buy those products. The special effects, especially those related to the portals, were underwhelming and the OST was not memorable at all.
I also found that few of the character were developed or given proper backstories. The female lead, Jung Tae Eul, had an almost 180-degree change in character - she went from being very confident, strong, and independent to clingy and emotional just a few episodes later. As for the 'villain', his motivation was never clearly explained, and he actually got very little screentime compared to the other characters. The romance was also poorly developed and a lot of the romantic scenes/moments with the main couple reuniting seemed out of place or over the top.
There are some good elements about the drama. I think some of the supporting characters had more interesting and well-developed stories (including Jo Young /Jo Eun Sub, Kang Shin Jae, Goo Seo Ryung, etc). This is the first drama I've seen with Woo Do Hwan, and his acting in a double role was quite commendable. The cinematography, of course, was lovely.
Overall, TKEM had potential to be great, but poorly-developed characters, an abundance of plot holes, and an overemphasis on PPL turned this drama into a complete mess.
Was this review helpful to you?
It was obvious from the start that the creators of this drama had high hopes for it. A stellar cast with some strong names of the Korean industry taking key roles, an ambitious story and some impressive cinematography were factors for success. Maybe that is why they had so many product placement offers, which, unfortunately, all took, and, as a result, we had so many unnecessary and quite frankly, unrelated scenes of the characters using them (that episode of Welcome to Waikiki 2 comes in mind). But that wasn't the only problem this drama had.
First of all, the romance was off from the start. There was no chemistry between the main characters, even from the start, and, worse, it never got better. Not that their dynamics, when they were fighting in the first episodes, weren't entertaining. But, as soon as the romance part was involved, things went downhill. But, that should have been expected, as the drama's first love confession came in the first episodes, when we didn't even know the characters (and, to be fair, neither did they). So, the romance was out of the blue and unconvincing.
Despite the weak love story, and even though the drama needed a strong one to keep it entertaining and intense, the momentum of the mystery with the evil uncle faded out too quickly too. His story with his grand plan of manipulating people and events in order to get what he wanted, was not only complicated but got tiring soon after the first episodes. Also, the whole thing was just confusing, and, in retrospect, it didn't have to be. So, investing in figuring out what the whole thing is about isn't really worth it.
On the bright side, there were some side characters that really offered this drama some entertainment value. From the depth of their characters, to their performances, the second leads did an amazing job. Too bad that the drama just kept adding people and leaving their stories half baked.
So, overall, three and a half out of ten.
Was this review helpful to you?
