O Rei: Monarca Eterno (2020)

The King: Eternal Monarch is a drama made to binge-watch. Trust me when I say this, taking this drama slowly would only do more harm than good. Watching this in a span of 9 weeks kept me in the dark most of the time; not knowing what's happening and how they're happening. Naturally, like other dramas, there are things you wouldn't understand at the start but would eventually understand as episodes pass by, but in this case, a lot of things didn't make sense and the drama would just keep on going as if the viewers understood everything.

This drama deals with parallel universes and anything related to it. Whatever knowledge you have regarding this, forget it; it's much better keeping your mind open on the rules of parallel universes because the whole drama has rules of its own. It would be easier to understand everything if you don't try to overanalyze how things happen.

Now let's talk about why The King: Eternal Monarch was a decent drama despite all the shortcomings:
-The cast is nothing short of amazing. On the surface, just the thought of Lee Min Ho and Kim Go Eun is amazing in itself; they are definitely stars, albeit Woo Do Hwan was personally my favorite in this drama.
-Woo Do Hwan: He deserves all the love in the world. His acting versatility was somewhat showed through this drama and his role itself was just the best.
-The visuals of this drama are amazing! This is to be expected from a high production cost drama.
-There were a lot of nice scenes in this drama and I loved all of them, but the underlying problem comes from the overall combination of all these scenes and how they mesh.

If you were expecting some kind of bubbly, full of heart-fluttering moments kind of drama, this isn't it. The romance was fairly nice, despite the speed of it all, but it isn't the main interest point of this drama. What makes this drama special is its complicated structure, which is parallel universes. It's very interesting but confusing at the same time; a double-edge sword. I rated the rewatch value 10/10 because this is the type of drama where you'd want to watch everything again to catch all the details. As I said, this drama could've been a lot better; if only they managed to write a more cohesive plot. Overall, this drama is interesting, and something new; certainly not the best but would still recommend.

Leia Mais

I must say that I liked the storyline and felt that the characters had the appropriate progression in their storylines. I actually looked forward to each episode and some of the episodes were very good, tense and exciting.

The female actresses acted the male actors off the screen. I especially liked the female prime minister and her ending seemed to be fitting. I am not sure what happened with the male characters as they seemed to do very little and had so little emotional depth. I did not really end up caring what happened to them. It really is a flaw when half the characters are just not interesting.

The villain was bland and yawn inducing considering how little we say him, which was often just in the same flashback, and his ending just did not make sense. There was very little backstory to the villain to explain what made him do what he did so it was very difficult to find him interesting.

However, what really disappointed me was what I consider to be a very sad ending for the king and detective. I have already thought of at least half a dozen endings for them that would have been better and I find it hard to believe this was the best ending the writers could think of. Just to make it clear, the ending for most of the characters was suitable, appropriate and/or happy but the ending for the two leads sucked. I am sure others will disagree and say it was a happy ending. I do not think so.

There are better Korean dramas out there where the ending does not make you feel that you just wasted 16+ hours of your life.

Leia Mais

A Mind bender but Complicated to Watch Drama

"The devil is in the details " because this was one hellish movie to completely enjoy. Week after week after week the viewer is challenged to remember intricate details of the lives of multiple characters in two dimensions and in two kingdoms. After 13 episodes the drama seemed too complex and convoluted and the temptation to drop or give it a low rating was in my heart. However, I realized that the questions I kept asking were "Who is this character?" " What Dimension or Kingdom? " and "What Time frame Is This ?" This is the quandary I was in and it needed to be asked constantly. and while watching it was often unanswered. The writer had brilliant ideas but the execution of them were lost -- first in translation (simple translation notes or aides would have helped the viewer understand what as going on each week. Helpful also would have been a refresher summary since the drama was so convoluted. Having criticized the production and visions of the director I must now explain why in the end I found enjoyment in the drama.

The Acting - A+ The expressions and chemistry were extremely good for the leads and supporting actors did an excellent job. Many had to play dual roles in two worlds and had to exhibit different character traits to carry out the distinctions of the two worlds. Kudos for their efforts.

The Story -- B- Unable to follow consistently. I had to binge watch (rewatch) after 7 weeks. I also needed to use other websites to find reviews and recaps to try to follow each episode during the rewatch. I also needed to read several comments to try to find hidden meanings and clues to the stories progress throughout the drama. Basically could not watch without a CHEAT SHEET

Once I had my Cheat Sheets and Techniques -- well the drama felt like I was watching Inception. Time twisting, parallel universe, mathematical principles and theories all were worth researching in an attempt to understand this jewel in the rough. The only question as a future viewer (if you haven't seen this drama) is - are you willing to research and study recaps to get a full understanding because the editing the story just makes you frustrated. Living on the rewind button during the rewatch to understand was no fun.

For the Future Viewer -- Watch - it is a beautiful drama and a good romantic drama. The ending was satisfying.

Leia Mais

My journey with TKEM is a bit complicated as its been with most viewers of this drama. I was extremely excited about this show when I found the news of it releasing. I had hopes like everyone else on what the show was and was thinking a sort of Fantasy/thriller romance. However when the premiere dropped like everyone I was underwhelmed. It was confusing and frustrating yet not in a good way. Yet I continued watching it as many dramas don't have great premiers but after finishing the first half I got slightly busy ( and bored ) so I decided to drop it and come back when it finishes.

Starting the review on a sour note may not be the best of ideas however this will give you a better understanding of why I rated the drama so high (at least for the review). So going back to the review, when I rewatched it, (I wasn't looking forward to watching it) but when I did something just clicked. The show that was so hard and complicated to watch while it was airing finally made sense. It was just an enjoyable and fun show.

The show has several plot inconsistencies and many plot holes if you paid attention. Yet it's enjoyable and fun which is the main criteria for rating dramas. However, there are so many better directions this show could've gone and the duo roles were complicated and hard to know. While some were obvious solutions others weren't. I think the greatest flaw of this drama is the Parallel Worlds story itself.

The story is often too complicated and fails to capture audiences eyes until the second half. It's quite confusing and often irritating to watch. The science in the show is quite basic and didn't give a very complicated air to it. The writer bit off more than it could chew with the story. Thus causing certain parts of the story to look laughable. The story's main fault was definitely that it lacks focus and adds too many characters.

The acting wasn't flawless but rather satisfactory. LMH at first is unconvincing as a king yet in the latter episodes when they have to show a more ruthless side shows a charismatic performance. Do I think he was perfect in the role? No. However was he bad? Not really. He displayed his acting well and with this role showed some great performances. Yet like both the leads, he lacked in carrying this show as Lead.

KGE is also pretty good in this role. She delivers her performance well and even though this wasn't her best role it is still a good one. WDH is also good though lacks screentime however when he is there he captures the screen fully and to best of his abilities. He was also the only character who played a double role throughout and does it well. KKN is equally good though he gets even less screentime as we've seen KKN is a great actor and is wonderful in whatever he does.

LJJ is wonderful as a villain yet as many of these characters he also doesn't have enough screentime though he's the main villain. His story is interesting and can be expanded yet isn't like many of the characters. I firmly believe that the writing was more at fault than any other aspect of the show. As the messiness of the writing caused the drama to underperform (at least to what it was expected to get).

Now here's the main reason why this show is worth watching. It's fun. It's a very fun show to watch. I've been having a certain Kdrama drought but this show is really fun to watch. The story as stupid as it gets at points is enjoyable. The show overall is so fun when you binge it because it's more interesting to watch and its easier to put things together. Especially the second half pulls you in and I think if they utilised the action sequences and made the characters greyer the whole show would've done better.

These small solutions like reducing the main(ish) characters and making an overall more tight story the show could've easily been one of the best shows. I think the ending is really what made me happy. Especially how nicely tied everything is for how messy the story was. I think for me the ending was what made the story worthwhile the most yet there were other things.

In a short review of the story, it would go like:

TKEM is an enjoyable show with numerous plot inconsistencies yet is fun and worth watching. If you watch it while it airs the show is disappointing but if you're watching it casually the show is fun and engaging. Overall, I would recommend you to watch the show if you're looking for something enjoyable.

Leia Mais

Gros potentiel mais ...

Nous avons pour ce drama un excellent casting et un gros budget mais cela n'a pas été suffisant! En effet nous avons Lee Min-Ho qui interprète le rôle du roi mais je n'ai ressenti aucun attachement pour ce personnage qui me semble trop parfait physiquement (toujours bien coiffé, bien habillé et beaucoup de plans qui le met en valeur) mais aussi moralement, je trouve vraiment dommage que son personnage ne soit pas approfondi. Quand à Woo Do Hwan il joue le rôle du bras droit du roi mais malheureusement j'aurais aimé ressentir l'amitié qui lie ces personnages, puisque l'on a plus l'impression qu'il est son "esclave" (il n'a pas d'émotions) que son ami, mais j'ai beaucoup aimé l'autre personnage qu'il a incarné puisqu'on le voit prendre conscience de ce qu'il est et il évolue tout le long, c'est un personnage très humain et attachant. Kim Go Eun incarne une policière qui est présentée au début comme une femme forte qui sait se battre mais je trouve qu'elle perd tout son charme par la suite car je ne ressent plus la femme charismatique qu'elle était, je trouve que le couple qu'elle forme avec le roi manque d'alchimie, je ne ressent pas assez leur complicité, il aurait peut être fallut plus développer les sentiments de chacun. Le "méchant" est aussi un peu décontracté, il est trop sûre de lui j'aurais aimé ici aussi que ses motivations et ses sentiments soit bien plus approfondis pour pouvoir ressentir une forme de haine pour lui.
Passons à l'histoire, le concept un peu fantastique avec deux univers parallèles, avait l'air vraiment sympa mais ici aussi je suis encore déçue, le début est bien mais par la suite il faut bien suivre pour ne pas se perdre, elle manque beaucoup de fluidité nous avons des scènes à rallonge ou inutile, mais paradoxalement nous manquons beaucoup d'approfondissement comme sur l'origine des deux mondes, les règles qui s'y appliquent... A vrai dire je me suis ennuyé à cause du manque de fluidité mais j'ai tout de même apprécié le début ainsi que le dénouement.
Ce gros budget a été acquis notamment grâce aux placements de produits qui sont beaucoup, même trop présent ils ne sont pas assez discrets et peuvent déranger à la longue. Je trouves aussi que l'on a trop voulu nous montrer les richesses du palais (qui s'inspire plutôt du Japon que de la Corée) sans nous montrer la richesse du pays et de ses habitants nous restons toujours dans le même cadre ce qui est dommage... (Je tiens à souligner que les effets spéciaux comme le lissage de peau ou même le ciel violet entre les deux mondes sont vraiment de mauvais goûts.)

Je pense que cette série a été beaucoup trop mise en valeur avant sa sortie et que l'ont s'attendaient tous au drama du siècle mais il n'est pas pour autant un mauvais drama, il faut simplement savoir l'apprécier à sa juste valeur et surtout rester concentré pendant tous les épisodes pour ne pas perdre le fil de l'histoire !

Leia Mais

The ending was unexpected, but it fit well with the story line.

This drama has been promoted so much that I always expect more when it's finally released. This drama had so much potential, but there was just too much information for 16 episode drama.

Lee Gon (Lee Min How and Jung Tael Eul (Kim Go Eun) had no chemistry filming. One episode they were in disagreement the next they were in love. It didn't make sense. There was no relationship development. True the main points of the dram was related to the flut, but for any good relationship the audience needs to be able to see the evolution of the characters feelings for each other.

Those who had to play two roles showed a lot of acting potential. They were able to stay in character as the universe changed. The one actor that was extremely convincing was Woo Do Hwan who played Jo Young and Eun Sub. His characters were the polar opposite of each other.

The relationship between Lee Gon and Jo Young was the best. King and bodyguard, brothers and best friends. They are perfect for having each others backs.

One main Con side of this drama was that there were TOO much product placement. Where there was one there was always another nearby. It was almost as if they had to be put in last minutes that made them stand out so much. as the products were being promoted it didn't help that the actors had to say some cheesy lines that work better in ads then in a drama.

The one actor that I had no love for was Kin Go Eun. I did not believe that she was the perfect fit for her characters.

The story line is one of the most confusing ones I have ever seen. You really have to think and find all the hidden clues that connect everything together. Each episode gives us a little bit of information. Any story line that has any relation to time travel and alternate universes has the right to be a little confusing.

This drama was worth it because of Woo Do Hwan. I think he was the main attraction and may have stolen the action light from his fellow actors.

Leia Mais

What was that? So dissapointing.

The advertising on netflix was good, it was kinda anticipated and i was looking forward to it.
When the story begin, i was like okay what is wrong with the bad acting, and no chemistry with movie production this level, and the famous duo ml and fl.....maybe it will build up by time. But the story itself was confusing. Maybe because it was just started....
Then the more i watch episodes the more i dread it.
It became more and more confusing, even the main leads seemed to be disconnected.
I don't want want to pick here there, but it was really waste of time, even just 10 episodes i forced myself to watch. I don't think my intelligence is to blame when i saw the very low rating it has...
Well, surely won't watch it again. But i think on another screenwriting and maybe different pairing, the main leads could do much better job.

Leia Mais

Is not a Romance, is Sci-Fi. Can't be watched while looking at your phone.

TL:DR
If sci fi, parallel universes, time traveling shenanigans, a touch of magic, a nerd mathematician/prince hero with a white horse and a hot bodyguard/BFF are your jam, dive in.

Frankly I didn't understand the criticism this drama got, then it clicked: people have wrong assumption about it,thinking is a fantasy romance, while is pure Science Fiction with a romantic storyline.

It starts slowly because it needs to build two separate worlds, introducing all the characters, etc. Must be said i found the Kingdom of Corea (KoC) scenes, characters and plotlines better executed, the Republic of Korea (RoK) parts in the first 3/4 episodes are boring.

There are obvious editing mistakes in the first half, that contribute to the initial confusion. The crime investigation seem pointless, because the show didn't made immediately clear the connection between the first dead body in RoK and the doppelganger in KoC. Same must be said about the crime unit characters, with Kang Shin Jae being a complete waste of screentime, especially all his solo scenes, disconnected from the main plot.

It was also very hard for me to like Jung Tae Eul character, not Kim Go Eun fault, who did well in the dual role. Is just I hate when "strong female character" means acting like a man. She was excessively rude, a borderline jerk. That's not being strong, that's being an a**hole, is hard to empathize with her.

I liked Lee Gon a lot more. A well adjusted orphan. A just, loved ruler. A dork, a genius mathematician. A earnest man. Even when he said cheesy things like "this face is my present for you". I wasn't his fan before, so Lee Min Ho surprised me. One example: the king pain over the uncle death and the consequent rage scenes were amazing, he did an outstanding and intense performance there.

Kudos to Woo Do Hawn, he was a real scene stealer throughout all the 16 episodes. It was a bit underused in the middle, but got his shiny moment in the finale., I'm also his fan now.

Episodes 11-12 are still my favorite. The 2 hours worked almost like a solo movie.
The rescue scene with the cavalry charge and the king slaying his enemies? Perfect. From the way it was shot, edited, the score, all so well done, I didn't expected such quality in KDrama.

Cinematography, scene composition and framing: top notch. 18 hours visual fest. Sadly the editing from episode 1 to 10 is not on the same level. So many missed opportunity to leave visual clues to the audience. There is an obvious shift in quality in the second half.

The songs are great. The score is so good, I'm going to listen the various themes on repeat. Gravity, the King and The War is Over are my favorite.

All in all, recommended with a caveat: I don't agree to those who say you need to be extra intelligent to understand this drama, but you do need to pay attention to details all the time.

Leia Mais

I find the drama good. It just takes alot of patience to understand the plot. The acting of the cast were amazing! they acted their 2 roles well especially Woo Do Hwan. The drama doesnt follow the overused romance trope. It was made for people who were willing to think and came up with theories. This drama may not be everyone's cup of tea but for me i really loved it. They'd probably like it if the drama just kept giving info to make it easier to understand but it isn't like that that's why they don't like it... But seriously this is a really great drama 9/10 recommend watching it

Leia Mais

Needs brain cells

If you wish to give your brain a rest when watching dramas, this is definitely NOT for you. You'll just find yourself obsessing over product placements.

If you do wish to keep your brain cells active even in front of a TV, if you relish unraveling challenging plot-lines, you're in for a magical, wonderful experience.

This is the best kdrama I've ever watched. Romance, fantasy and an awesome soundtrack have been blended together in a beautifully crafted unique story of a king and a detective from parallel worlds who meet, bicker, fall in love and risk their lives to save their worlds from impending doom.

Leia Mais

ONE OF A KIND! ♡

This is definitely a Masterpiece!
There are a lot of reasons why this is undeniably One of the Best kdrama in history.
The Duality of the roles portrayed by the character leads alone showed how amazing the story is. It takes a lot of talent and acting skills for one to be able to fit and perfectly portray dual roles. I can proudly say that all of the casts did an incredible job. Only those who feel how hard it is to transition from one emotion to another can appreciate those part of the story.

This is just one of so0 many reasons why The King Eternal Monarch is One of a Kind. ♡

Leia Mais