Woo Do Hwan was the scene stealer of this whole drama. He nailed his dual role - I could legit believe they were two different characters. You never had to wonder if it was Yeong or Eun Seop in the scene. WDH needs his own lead role STAT! Kim Kyung Nam continues to impress me as well. I am always sold on his emotional scenes - I'd really like to see him take a lead role soon also but he seems relegated to supporting actor. I know that this was LMH's comeback drama and he was supposed to be the shining star of the show, but LMH's acting skills just never "wow" me. He seems to have one expression and sometimes a little glisten of an unshed tear when he needs to be emotional, but he does not sell it to me. He's somewhat pretty, but a pretty face isn't all it takes to carry a big budget drama. I think he's relied on that too long and hasn't developed his acting skills. Kim Go Eun did a decent job of her acting, except for the change over to her doppelgänger "Luna". If it hadn't been for the bad wig and the freckles they added, her second character would have been virtually indistinguishable from her main character. And then to add insult to injury, the writer then completely butchered Tae Eul by turning her into a weepy mess instead of the strong bada$$ we had gotten to know once she "fell in love". And speaking of which.....
The insta-love in this drama was so unbelievable. I thought it was going to be a slow build to romance-town for Tae-Eul and Lee Gon, but instead the writers rushed it and had the couple confessing their feelings before they even really got to know each other. That was one of my biggest peeves in the storyline other than Tae Eul's abrupt personality change.
The drama also set up too many things that they just dropped with no explanation. Sometimes a character was left in one spot, doing a thing, and the drama just moved on to the next scenes and never got back to what the side characters were supposed to be doing. They just left them in limbo. And there were a few characters seemed wholly unnecessary, and too much time was spent on them without having a connection to the plot.
I know it seems like I have so many criticisms for this show that I didn't enjoy it at all which isn't completely true. I was entertained to a point, but there were definitely certain aspects of the show that bothered me. Without being super spoiler-y, I don't feel like I can mention many of those here. It's an ok watch, but not the epic masterpiece I was expecting. They dressed the show up real pretty, but it didn't fail to hide the inconsistencies or fill in the holes in the plot. I am neither encouraging, nor discouraging viewers. There are parts you'll really like, and I think parts you'll really hate, but I think it's best to go into it with your expectations firmly in check.
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The story was fine until time travel came into play for our lead, King Lee Gon. When he started to try and change his past, the story went sideways and I was no longer able to suspend disbelief. My loves of fantasy and science can only take so much. Honestly, I don't believe a different writer would have done much better unless they added some episodes. This drama easily needed 2-4 more episodes so that scenes in episodes (I'll say 10-15) don't seem rushed and underdeveloped. Perhaps not having 2 directors would also have been beneficial. Again, this was a great idea just not thought out and presented well.
The cast was solid. I'm still shocked that I can't complain about Lee Min Ho. Do they give acting classes in the Korean military? While the leads were good, they lacked chemistry. I'm going to lay the blame squarely on Kim Go Eun's shoulders. This is my 2nd time seeing her and my 2nd time thinking she had 0 chemistry with her leading man. Conversely, I've seen LMH several times and chemistry is usually all he has. OK and what's up with KGE hand thing. I noticed it early on in EM that she constantly puts her hand in her face when she has emotional scenes. I wonder if she has something rubbed on her hand to make her cry. I've nicknamed her Hand Smeller. I swear in one scene she smells her hand a good 5 times in less than 1 minute. If for some reason I run across her, I'll probably be arrested because I'm gonna grab her hand and smell it. Hopefully, we're not in the ladies'. LOL My curiosity won't be satiated if I don't. Put something aside for my bail. Thanks. The king of the cast was easily Woo Do Hwan that played both Jo Young and Jo Eun Sub impeccably.
The music was alright. The love song was forgettable to me, but I'm not a lover of ballads. The rewatch value is nil. It takes a lot to make me want to rewatch a drama. I can't see that happening with K:EM. Don't get me wrong, I actually liked it well enough. I wouldn't recommend it, but it has some same saving graces, especially the cast which is why I gave it 7 stars (5 for the cast, 1 for costume, and 1 for set design).
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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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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.
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I blinked and they were in love.
I don't even know what to say about this drama other than I have never been so confused in my life. I was lost almost every episode, I thought I was slow but having read many reviews I'm glad I'm not the only one in this train. The writer overcomplicated everything even the simple things. I don't know if I would say the story had potential, but it was definitely a smart idea if only it was executed better. This was my first Woo Do-hwan drama, he really did shine. I laughed and cried all thanks to him and I also found Prime Minister Koo intriguing, I hate what they did to her character at the end.I didn't like the two leads as a couple, I don't know how and why they began liking each other it was just so rushed and they did not go through any development. Im sick of Lee Min-ho playing the same freaking role (wealthy guy), we know he can pull that off well. At this point I'm beginning to doubt his talent. I hated the way each episode began, as well as the drama's ending. The time travel theme was a disaster and didn't help at all; additionally, the product placements in this drama is ridiculously excessive. Finally there's literally not much of a reason for anyone to watch this so I do not recommend.
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Had so much potential but fell flat of expectations
This drama had so much potential. Parallel universes, doppelgangers, and an all-star cast. But it fell so short of expectations.The plot had so many Holes. I feel like the writers tried to make things more complicated then they had to be and in the process, forgot to tie up some loose ends.
(i.e. when past Lee Lim killed the present Lee Lim but somehow got the memories of present Lee Lim)
That being said, it was still quite interesting with the time traveling twist. The story dragged a bit in the middle and some characters were just incredibly irrelevant. (The prime minister seemed like she was gonna play a bigger role but that didn't happen.)
The cast were mostly well renowned actors/Actresses but it didn't really do anything for me. Lee Minho played a typical Lee Minho character. Kim Goeun acted to the best of her ability, I guess. She had so much potential, but in the later episodes she's reduced to a damsel who cries everytime she remembers the male lead.
The real highlight of this drama is Woo Do Hwan's duel characters. You separate them from each other because they seem like two different people entirely. It's the only reason my rating for the cast is that high. It's such a shame that he doesn't have enough screen time and that there are more scenes of KGE crying then there are of WDH.
Speaking of, it's hard to realize at what point did KGE's character fall so in love with LMH that she would cry whenever she thought of him. I just never felt the chemistry between them and the relationship development was skewed if not stilted.
I would recommend you to watch this, but just skip the romance parts that's not worth the time. The action and WDH is worth it though.
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What an episode.. damnScene where tae eul confessed to her father about her having a boyfriend was soo cuteee.. dabek!
And
most of our theories were correct.
•Lady noh is from ROK.
•Shin jae's family in ROK is some how related to Lee lim's counterpart in ROK.
•PM has already killed her conterpart in ROK and she was the one who bumped into tae eul.
• PM's sister is already replaced and she's not killed but just left her in korea to live a miserable life.
•future lee Gon saved his younger self.
And somehow it feels like luna helped future lee gon to save his younger self... as if she already knew about all this.
It is a possibility that luna is actually future tae eul.... as once tae eul said her monther died of cancer. And even luna is suffering from cancer.. idk may be im overthinking and my brain cells are blasting with different theories but it can be a possiblity that luna is some how connected to all this.
And may be this time when lee gon travels back in time to save his younger self, he also travels back to ROK and save his counterpart too.. coz he will definitely try to save both his younger self in both the world's and not just in kingdom.
The best drama 2020 ❤️
Thank you Kim eun-sok nim , all the cast, director and all the stuff.
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Exceptional Swoon Worthy Action Fantasy Romance
It started with my music app suggesting My Love and... by Gae Mi & Park Hwan and wow, best recommendation ever!The music itself conveyed every emotion in one single track, happiness, love, beauty, passion, anguish, despair, sadness, loss and turned out to be the best single score track I've ever heard, and I do love a score.
Curious about the music and the rest of the score, I tuned in Netflix and began episode 1. Straight out of the gate, awesomeness 👌
So the acting, first class! Woo Do-Hwan aka Jo Hyeong/Eun Sup, hats off and acting credit for his ability to portray two vastly different characters. He was goofy and 1000% swoon worthy at the same time.
Lee Min-Ho aka Lee Gon, Kim Go-Eun aka Tae-eul were equally fabulous. His gazes were intense I felt like I lost all sence of time staring back. The chemistry between the two was the best of any show ive ever watched, and watched a few now. You could see the emotions in their faces, looks and voices, absolutely a perfect pairing. Ive never wanted to be a female lead more than i did watching this.
I felt like there were no filler characters, they had a role and purpose and all portrayed their roles superbly. Lee Lim was a fantastic baddie, always eloquently spoken, dressed and soo in control, until he wasn't and then he was the epitome of evil!
The story was well written and normally I wonder about 16 episodes when they are all around 70 minutes however this was perfect. I didn't feel like dead space, pointless scenes or wasted time, the story evolved beautifully. By the time epiosde 14 came round, I was itching to see how it all ended.
As romances go, top marks, I was taken along with them, action was a tick, big style and Jo Hyeong was utterly amazing in those parts and in fairness, couldn't scoff at Lee Gon either. Fantasy, action, romance and friendship all rolled into one beautifully written and acted series.
Whoever casted the series deserves a clap as every actor suited their roles and I'm not sure if it would have had the same impact without the top 4 leads.
Cinematography, visuals, staging, clothing, and FX, all faultless and I cannot not mention, Maximus, stunning beast!
All this was wrapped with an unbelievable score and soundtrack, My Love and... and Gummys, My Love are top of the pile and been on repeat for 2 days now! The music for this really did fit the series and scenes and conveyed the emotions intended and also complimented and enhanced the scenes, as a good soundtrack should.
Couldn't recommend this enough, I will most definitely watch again and swoon just as much during the second viewing. Couldn't give it anything other than 10 accross the board.
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A Fantastic Fantasy Drama
I won't even go into the science and mathematics theories kinda thrown into the story to explain the dimensional travel, but I really, really liked this one. There were a lot of naysayers about this one, and I can understand to some extent as to what issues they have with this, but honestly, don't think about it too much. This isn't Inception or some other incredibly well thought out science fiction, so don't try to analyze it too much.The story and cast made me think about Goblin. At times it felt slow, and the ending felt less than fulfilling and complete, but the overarching narrative was great, the acting was superb, the fight scenes rather lacking because of the slow-motion cinematography, and the emotions were well developed, complex, and endearing.
Taking Goblin and The King: Eternal Monarch into account, I would like to see Kim Go Eun in more fantasy romances. I think she is kinda a staple now. Now that Lee Min Ho is out of the military, I would like to see him in more similar roles. He has gotten a lot more mature of a look now than in previous years, which would make sense, so I want to see more of acting and roles like this.
Re-watch value is quite high, as I expect I will return to this again within a few months.
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Okay, so I am no fan of any actor of this drama except Woo Do Hwan. And I just finished this drama. I am telling this because I want to let you know that my review is not going to be biased because of Love or hate towards a specific cast.
The drama wasn't the best. I admit it. But it wasn't the worst either. It was a pretty good drama with a good cast and definitely a unique story. The story had me so confused throughout the drama. But guess what... It all made sense in the end. Everything was answered. And I think the writer did a wonderful job handling such a difficult story. Also the last episode was one of my most favorite last episode of a Kdrama ever. And even most high rated dramas have disappointed me with their last episodes like World of Married.
Anyways,
The middle part was a bit boring. Other than that drama is definitely worth giving a shot.
The drama is definitely unpredictable and have some really jaw dropping moments. So that's a plus point.
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Very good but...
I watched this drama shortly after it came out, but recently I went back and watched it again because frankly, it can get confusing, and that's it's biggest flaw. With the scenes jumping back and forth between worlds, I really wish the director or whoever would have put something on the screen saying 'Republic of Korea' or 'Kingdom of Corea'. Also, it was hard to discern at times what the chief villain was doing by replacing people in the different worlds and what their purpose was - too many people were being replaced. Even the second time around, I didn't catch all the subtleties. Long story short - it was confusing at times, and I'm glad the King was smart enough to figure it out because I sure couldn't!What I liked: the music was excellent. The romance was lovely, when it was there, and the actors/actresses did an great job with their roles. I think this is my favorite Lee Min-ho drama; I think he looked his best, and as always, he delivered plenty of emotion while still being an 'man of science'. Woo Do-hwan was handsome with those sexy lips and showed versatility with his two personalities.
My favorite scene: when the King is riding to FL's rescue on his white horse with his minions following.
What I didn't like: the inconsistency in FL's character (I'll get to that later) and the ending, which is too open for my liking. The King has asked FL to be his Queen, but she never answered him, and at some point, he just drops the subject altogether, and I guess they just date for the rest of their lives since we're shown old hands but who knows if they ever married. I guess the Kingdom must have become a Republic since the King apparently died without children. Who knows.
My favorite characters in order:
1) Jo Eun-sup - He was so cute with his longer hairstyle and he was really the only character that brought humor and light-heartedness to the drama. I loved him! His little sister was cute too when she made the 'I'm watching you' gesture to Jo Yeong. I honestly don't know how these people could so easily replace their counterparts since your closest friends and family ought to be able to tell a difference as demonstrated with the little sister, Na-ri & the King. They may lookalike, but their personalities and habits were completely different.
2) The King - he was just the kind of ruler you'd want. Smart and benevolent yet capable of strength and decisiveness. He had the Prime Minister's ticket right from the beginning and made sure not to fall into any of her traps. I loved when he said a decisive 'no' when she asked if she could marry him. I also loved his devotion to FL and his patience with her (she was getting on my last nerve in the beginning with her attitude). He was indeed the heroic King one hopes for.
3) Jo Yeong - of course, he has to be 3rd favorite even if he was suspicious and a wet blanket. He was the exact opposite of Eun-sup.
4) Court Lady Noh - how can you not like whatever role this actress plays? She's a staple of Korean drama.
4) FL gets into this category because the King loved her and the actress did a good job with the role. I wasn't crazy about her character though because 1) her initial attitude toward the King (she was snarky and rude); and 2) her inconsistencies. Although she displays strong emotion towards the King whenever he's gone, missing him like crazy, crying, etc., she refuses to leave her world and become his Queen. This is what really bugs me about her. I understand wanting your family and career, but he's the KING! He has to have an heir, especially since he doesn't have a brother or sister or nieces or nephews. I see the King sacrificing for FL and his country over and over again; it would be nice to see FL make a sacrifice for him - especially after he searches endlessly for her, visiting multiple universes. It would go a long way in convincing me that she loves him as much as he loves her. This inconsistency shows itself once again at the end where we don't see them marrying, etc. They just 'vacation' or 'date' in between worlds. It was cute, but are you really satisfied with this kind of life? Isn't the King feeling pressure to marry? None of these questions are answered, and you're left to answer them yourself.
Characters I didn't care about: Sin-Jae, Na-Ri. They were just there as supporting characters.
Characters I hated: The chief villain, of course, Prime Minster Koo (really hated this greedy, ambitious woman) and all the traitor's minions. I also couldn't stand Luna and her dazed look, ugly hair and crappy attitude. Don't know how dad and Na-ri couldn't tell something was up with this girl.
That's my take on this drama. I would have liked to see more closure at the end instead of this 'dating' between worlds nonsense and I would have liked it to be less confusing.
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