At first I was kind of confused with all the hate this drama is getting including the superficial romance between the leads who are from parallel universes.
Kim Go Eun has always been an amazing actress especially her character in Goblin where she really shined. I didn't have any problem on how she would carry Jeong Tae Eul as a character. That is how I trust her acting abilities. She played the bad-ass female lead so well that it convinced me that this show could survive with only her and her adventures. I was confused though at first at how moody her character was when she is in the presence of the male lead. I mean, come on girl! You can hold your own, you don't need no man. Her doppelganger Luna is a contrast of Tae Eul and this reminded me how versatile of an actor KGE is. She depicted the abandoned, hurt, and desperate for survival character so well it was too different from her main character.
Ah, yes. Lee Min Ho. I have a love-hate relationship with this actor. He portrayed the aura of a king well with his aura but I had problems with the way he acts most of the time. He played the dashing male lead so well it sometimes overshadows the emotions he should've been putting into the character. Did he make your heart flutter with his scenes? Yes. Did you think that he had the depth of the character on point? Sometimes. I don't know.
The bromance was there, not gonna lie. The story had a bit of a development but not the type where I would curse it for eternity. The chemistry between the leads was surprisingly there. What saved the drama for me is the OST. Despite the drama having plot holes, the OST saved me.
Will I recommend this drama? Maybe. Give it a try and be the one to judge.
Esta resenha foi útil para você?
Good Acting with Sci Fi and Supernatural Elements. Storytelling could have been better.
Lee Min ho has done a brilliant job. He was acting with his eyes. I believed that there was another world and he was the real king! Omo! The female lead's acting was also very good. In fact everyone acted very well! And o-m-g the supporting actor and actresses' storyline were also very interesting. Normally I don't enjoy that much the supporting stories because they would be not much detailed and so on. But this one was really good.But personally I think the chemistry lacked a little bit. Nevertheless, the romance and chemistry was not that important for me in this show. I watched it for other scenes.
The story was good. Of course there were some plotholes in the supernatural side. (But it is the same in all supernatural, science fiction dramas.) Generally the story telling was really good. There were some episodes, which felt like , they were written a little bit sloppy. Normally I guess how the things are going to end up, but there were lots of elements, that surprised me. Also I dont recognize seeing a more fullfilling and satisfying end and last episode for a long time!
So if you like sci-fi and supernatural stuff with good acting and good scenes, give it a go.
special note: The villains were very really good. LEE LIM was fantastic! I wanted more of his scenes :)
Esta resenha foi útil para você?
Esta resenha pode conter spoilers
The writing sucks!!!!!!!!!
I really loved this kdrama and it that held so much potential with its strong cast of experienced actors, captivating plotline, well-produced OSTs, impressive visual effects, and a generous budget. However, despite its many strengths, the drama ultimately falls short due to its disappointing writing.One of the most significant issues with the show lies in its confusing and convoluted narrative structure. Constantly switching between different timelines, parallel worlds, and flashbacks without providing clear indicators to the audience left me just feeling disoriented and I was just struggling to keep up with the plot. It would have been better if the writer offered more context and hints to help us viewers understand which world or period they are currently witnessing.
Another major disappointment was the dialogues in this kdrama whcih unfortunately suffer from being cringeworthy at times. While this may not be a major deal-breaker, it certainly detracts from the overall viewing experience. More polished and well-crafted dialogues could have definitely enhanced the emotional impact of the story.
Another major letdown in the series is the treatment of the character Lee Lim. The drama built him up to be an almost invincible force, only to have him captured and killed rather abruptly. Literally, he was built as if he was the next Thanos but he lost with just one bullet.
I also hated the inconsistency in the rules of the world established by the writer. They just made many rules and then broke many of them without any proper explanation, for example, they said only living things could move in the rift between worlds but somehow FL's bullet worked. The show would have greatly benefited if they maintained a coherent set of rules throughout the narrative.
Then there was the portrayal of the female lead, played by Kim Geo Eun, which is another point of concern. While she starts off as a strong and independent character as always, her development takes a frustrating turn, and she becomes a damsel in distress, relying on the male lead for support. Seriously she barely cried in the first 3-4 episodes but near the end every scene showed her she was crying, like wtf.
But even with all these flaws there were still some good things such as Woo Do-hwan's acting and the plot. but yeah for me this would have been an easy 10 if they just changed the writer and dialogue writer. And lastly I would say the rewatch value on this is pretty high for me because this just feels like a story that you have to rewatch to completely understand it
Esta resenha foi útil para você?
And I'll admit that a lot of the things I liked about this show were circumstantial stuff... What do I mean by that?
The past few shows I've watched were very "light" ones that I could easily predict, so I was in such a mood for something heavier and more thought-provoking. This show brought that to me along with a bunch of other... things -_-
Let me just get straight to the point...
Story 〆(・∀・＠): I was so excited about this show before I watched it. It had a bunch of actors I was familiar with, the premise of parallel worlds was hella interesting, and just the whole aesthetic was beautiful. I waited till after it finished airing, so I didn't have to wait for a new episode each week, but that left me time to hear other people's reviews on it.
And that's when a big red flag was raised on how this show might now be what I expected. I ignored it and went on with it regardless, but after wrapping it up, I could see what everyone means.
The beginning, to me, was not that bad. I really loved the world-building and all the characters that were introduced. Sure the story's main conflict wasn't revealed until much later, but for some reason, I didn't mind watching this beautiful world come together. I mean seriously!! I would love to watch a show all about the Kingdom of Corea and the world it resides in. Sure there were some questionable character choices but nothing too out of the ordinary.
The problem with this show comes in the second half... more specifically, episode 13 and beyond.
The show could be a little confusing since the setting was continually changing from one world to the next without any clear way of knowing which is which. Unless it's explicitly stated or some prominent symbol is shown, you can get confused about exactly where the character is. So you always have to pay attention and use your head—something I wanted in a show at that specific time. But even with all the other not so clear choices and events that happened, the show didn't become difficult for me to comprehend until they brought in time travel.
THAT is when things went wrong for me.
The writers just kept adding new things into the already full supernatural mix. You already had parallel universes, but now there is time travel, alternate timelines (I think), and moments that I still can't understand even after doing so much research!!! Like... why writers!?
The characters started becoming unpredictable (not in a good way), and so many things were added just for a dramatic flair without consideration of what was already standing.
* sigh * It was like having to solve some complex math equation.
But then again, I always found a way to explain things to myself and even went out of my way to look up other people's theories and explanations. I think just doing that was somehow really enjoyable for me.
(I sound messed up... right) XD
I'd also like to mention how the scene order for this show makes NO SENSE!!! What I mean is that an episode will end on a cliffhanger, and then the next one will begin god knows where. They try and build things up while leaving other stuff a mystery. An example is how they'll show a scene, you watch it through and think it's done, but then two episodes later they'll cut back to it with whole new dialog that the writers wanted to be left a surprise...
like... NO... that's not how scenes work!!
Putting together everything I just said: the beginning was enjoyable since I personally enjoy fantasy world-building, but other stuff got incredibly confusing towards the end. After research and just talking to myself, I can put together 98% of the scattered pieces, but I know most people won't go out of their way to do that. So instead, this show is going to seem like an incredible unplanned out mess.
Acting ｡゜(｀Д')゜｡: As I mentioned earlier, most of my problems are in the writing and filming itself. I personally enjoyed the actors a lot. I didn't always like the characters, but that's because of the writing rather than the actors. I've seen these people in other works and know that most of them are incredibly talented. And when having to show it, they can.
For example, Woo Do-hwan had to be two different people with two different personalities. He pulled it off really well, and everything from posture to just tone of voice was carefully portrayed.
So I know that the flatness and unpredictability of a character comes from the writing instead of the actors.
Of course, some people may know more than me since I'm not an expert on acting, but using what I saw from the past, I know that these people have talent and don't want to say they don't because of this show's poor writing.
They tried hard in my eyes.
The relationship chemistry was... okay, I guess.
The romance kind of just popped up out of nowhere and shocked me a bit, but it was cute to watch nevertheless.
I liked the bromance and trust between some characters much more than the couple stuff.
Too bad the show was too focused on it, which ended up sacrificing a lot of what I loved...
Music ヾ(⌐■_■)ノ♪: I really did like the music. I think the music and all the scenery fit well together.
There were those happy songs that played at happy moments and sad ones during sad moments.
What made me raise the score a bit was the songs that played during the opening and ending portions of the show.
I could honestly re-watch the opening over and over again! The music and the whole abstract editing bit looked so flipping cool.
I know that doesn't connect much to music, but It was just soooo cool!
Overall, music was more enjoyable than those from other shows I've watched, but nothing revolutionary.
Other (ง°ل͜°)ง: Oooooof
Where do I begin with this mess?
I'm just going to repeat that I didn't mind having to solve a lot of the loopholes. For some reason, I found it fun and brain-racking, which was something I wanted in a show at that specific moment.
I was still irritated since it definitely was much messier than I would've liked, but not so much to where I wanted to drop the show.
The parallel universes bit wasn't the part that was hard to grasp... it was everything else. What the legendary flute could do, the boy who likes yoyo's, memories from alternate times, just the whole shebang was so disorganized.
From that disorganization comes so many unanswered questions and plot lines that just don't make one ounce of sense.
I will not say which ones, but just be warned that past episode thirteen, your brain will want to explode.
Although I've listed so many problems (that were major ones), I still couldn't give the show that low of a score.
I did like a lot of it and would watch it again one day. Maybe if I watch it again, then things will finally make more sense XD
I'm a huge fan of world-building, and TKEM brought me something so interesting that I just wanted to know more about the kingdom and its monarchy.
I don't think I'd recommend it since the main things I loved about this show are more focused on my interests rather than what I'd think most people would like. In fact, I wouldn't recommend it to any curious person.
This show had so much potential and was beautiful in all things except the writing and editing.
If you're ready to use all your brain power, then go for it. But otherwise... run
Happy Watching <3
Esta resenha foi útil para você?
Esta resenha pode conter spoilers
Few episodes were good
Starting few episodes were good then story was getting bored as it was too much stretched and uselessly creates the scenes to entangled the audience , I didn't understand that it was about two world or about living once again in the past to correct the error.Last episodes confused me a lot that gate was separate two worlds but at the end when they crossed the gate they all the time reached in some years where same person but in different character and their professional was different .I think it would be better if they get engaged at the end and she became the queen of his world and they manage to leave in both the world.
Esta resenha foi útil para você?
THE WRITER:
I have watched two of Kim Eun Sook's dramas; Goblin and Mr. Sunshine, and I went into this drama with high expectations. As I was watching the first episode, I definitely got the feel of both of those dramas...however, the overall brilliance was not there.
THE SOUNDTRACK:
I have every song on this soundtrack on repeat. I listen to Hwasa, Yongzoo and Paul Kim almost five times a day. I know every word and its translation. I cannot find fault with this soundtrack.
THE ACTING:
They played the characters to the best of their abilities and I applaud them for their hard work. That being said...
A coin toss for Kim Go Eun, Lee Jung Jin and Lee Min Ho; I either loved them or found them awkward to watch. Never in-between. Especially their scenes with each other. They were not able to deliver the emotions they were supposed to when the moment came. However, KGE and LMH had one scene that spoke to me and gave me chills*.
70/100 for Kim Kyung Nam; I would give him 100 but he did not have enough screen time or a well-rounded character. He was incomplete. KKN's character in Come and Hug Me had me in tears. I cried when he cried and I felt every emotion he felt as he portrayed them on-screen. Whenever KKN would widen his eyes (in CaHM), I could not help but get sucked in. In KEM, I felt that his character was missing a lot....
100/100 for Jung Eun Chae and Woo Do Hwan; they brought the sourness and spice and the sweetness and laughter whenever they were onscreen, respectively. JEC was a fashion icon who, had she set her sights on another poor soul, would have been my favourite female character. WDH was a scene stealer and a joy to watch. Their characters were more whole than KKN, but I wish WDH would have gotten a bit more screen time as well.
THE STORY:
Goblin - 16 episodes, 1 hour 30 minutes
Mr. Sunshine - 20 episodes, 1 hour 20 minutes
The King: The Eternal Monarch - 16 episodes, 1 hour 10 minutes
Had all of these dramas been 1 hour long each; Goblin would have had 8 hours/episodes of extra content, Mr. Sunshine would have had 6.6 hours/episodes of extra content and KEM would have only had 2.6 hours/episodes of extra content. I am not say the lack of runtime in the drama is the sole reason I did not enjoy it as much as I did the other dramas.... however, I am saying that, had they lengthened the drama, it may have been better.
This is the first time I wanted any drama to be longer. It felt too short. I felt empty after having finished this drama. Even after watching the 30 second HEA in Eternal Love I had felt more whole and happy than I do now. KEM does not feel complete. There are so many unexplored elements in this drama that a longer runtime could have made better.
OVERALL:
I have seen Goblin twice and am currently rewatching it for the third time. I am about to restart Mr. Sunshine and spend another 20+ hours of my life, happily, being mesmerized by Lee Byung Hyun's acting.
I cannot say the same for KEM. I got through it once. I believe once is enough.
I did enjoy this drama, but it is not one of the best that I have seen.
THE SPOILERS:
I need to talk about this scene:
One of the best scenes in kdrama history (in my opinion).
*When Tae Eul was in the middle of the road, holding a gun with only two bullets, facing the on-coming cavalry (not knowing if she was going to live or die).*
I have never cried as much as I did. My tears came from deep within and I had to pause to calm down and catch my breath.
*Then Lee Gon comes racing in on Max screaming, "Protect Your Queen!"*
I. Broken. Down.
I will never forget this scene.
That is all.
Esta resenha foi útil para você?
Lee Min Ho is backkkk
From my understanding, this show was written by the same person who wrote DOTS & Goblin, and both of those dramas are my all-time favorites, so I went in having high expectations. Boy, should I have gone in with blank slate! If you want to watch this drama you need a pen and paper in order to take notes on what is going on. If you miss one thing, it seems you can get lost very quickly. Just know that this is about a parallel universe and the characters overlap, you can seriously get confused if you do not pay attention.Lee Min Ho as always was a vision of beauty, his acting skills has not diminished at all. I also love me some Woo Do Hwan, such a refreshing role for him - I love it when he plays the badboy. The interaction between the cast and chemistry as a whole was pretty good. There is a lot of character confusion - they just randomly spill out their feelings and there's not really a build-up to the reveal like a usual drama.
The ending truly saved this drama. My only reason for not dropping this video was because I loved the cast members from other dramas so I had faith it would get better. Also, I was too invested in trying to understand the ending, and the frustration of being confused made me question my intellect. So all in all, if you are into a drama that is confusing at first, has cute love scenes, a strong female lead, eye candy, and an ending that made everything close full circle then by all means.
Esta resenha foi útil para você?
Esta resenha foi útil para você?
Esta resenha pode conter spoilers
A voir même si un peu décevant
L'histoire et l'intrigue m'ont beaucoup plu dès la lecture du résumé. En plus, joli casting, j'étais aux anges.Mais force est de constater que j'ai été un peu déçue…
Dans l'ensemble, ce drama se regarde, et j'ai passé un joli moment.
Mais…
* Histoire complexe, à laquelle il manque pas mal de réponses par rapport à ces deux mondes parallèles.
* Relation entre le King et son bras droit, qui aurait mérité plus de développement.
* Personnages bien portés mais superficiels.
Par contre :
* Le parallèle entre les deux mondes, et le fait de retrouver les personnages mais qui vivent complètement différemment est intéressant.
* L'idée du scénario est sympa.
En bref, un bon moment, mais il ne faut pas en attendre plus.
Esta resenha foi útil para você?
Esta resenha pode conter spoilers
Great cast, loved the acting but shitty writing though. Huge fan of Kim Go Eun but damn girl talk about overacting or could be the poor script writing. Not a big fan of Lee min Ho but i warmed up to him in this one. He seemed more mature and the hairstyle was better.
The plot was just too confused. I mean why were they riding horses when they had cars? !Who brings a sword to a sword fight when guns exist?! What exactly was the villains motive? Eternal life or multiverse domination? Eitherway his motives were unclear.
Too many plot holes and too much advertising.
Esta resenha foi útil para você?
- the love story "the main theme of the drama"
- the time slip cuts
- parallel dimensions should have to be mentioned a lot before "not just in the last 3 eps" it simply confused viewers
- it does had to have at least 20 eps to finish it without any hole to fill
- really rushed
To be honest I lost my interest in ep 8 but I kept watching it only for Lee Min Ho he was such pleasure for eyes so I thought to finish it just to see him and it was a great decisione. Well I can't say I hated the drama, it was passeble but they could do a better job
Esta resenha foi útil para você?
First, the source material parallel worlds is a fascinating topic, but needs good execution to make it not confusing. The production group should have made the differentiation of the two worlds more obvious.
Second, casting is definitely crucial in all projects, that's why stars are getting paid big bucks to bring the audience in. Sadly, Lee Min Ho looks more suited to action genres like City Hunter, which I enjoyed him in, than as the King, he has the regal presence but failed to bring more oomph to the role.
He's better on the 2nd half of the show, but he doesn't have romantic chemistry with Kim Go Eun at all, and kfans can be very forgiving for plot holes as long as the OTP is sizzling on screen.
Woo Do Hwan & Lee Min Ho pairing has potential, but there was a lack of back story for Yeong aside from being the Unbreakable Sword. But omg Woo Do Hwan. I stan! I probably need to watch all his dramas now. Him playing dual roles, Eun Sup trying to be stoic like Yeong and Yeong trying to be fun Eun Sup is comedy GOLD. He is wasted on all these serious roles. Can someone cast him in a romcom soon, with Kim Yong Ji pretty pls. Why isn't she in more projects?
The support cast is strong from Lee Lim to the Prime Minister, Kim Kyung Nam, esp. is a pleasant discovery from this show. Why did we get so little screen time with Lee Min Ho, Woo Do Hwan, and Kim Kyung Nam on screen, oh the lost potential.
Still, live watching and analyzing Kim Eun Sook dramas are always worldwide kfan events, I enjoyed the parallel worlds, and the concept of having a 'clone' in another world, and figuring the heck out who is who. Hopefully not being a breakout success won't affect the big budget investment on these types of fantasy genre dramas, as they always push the boundaries of what kdramas can be.
Esta resenha foi útil para você?
