O Rei: Monarca Eterno (2020)

A Potentially Interesting Concept but Poorly Executed

Id like to believe that this drama and its concept/storyline had the potential to be a really interesting and fun one ifff done right...but unfortunately this just didnt hit the mark for me....there was no cohesive flow to the overall storyline. It felt very choppy to me especially with the transitions between the parallel worlds/dimensions. It kept going back and forth where sometimes i could literally spend about 10-15 seconds figuring out which world they are actually in because they are just jumping from one scene to another....The mains chemistry just seemed off to me...wasnt convinced especially since there was no real development between the two where we could see how and why they fell in love (espeically Tae Eul) she wanted nothing to do with him in the beginning...and now that hes gone for a little while she suddenly has feelings for him??? The romance scenes were honestly my least favorite part in this series although it was the main focus in this drama. It was very boring to me. And I dont know if my ability to focus longterm deteriorating or if the pacing was just reallyyyyyy slow.....I felt likeee i was watching these episodes for forever...with little movement...One of the few saving graces for me to continue on with this show was Captian Jo/ Eun Seob, Shin Jae, and the grandma (she was adorbs!!)

Overall...not a terrible drama, but not that good either. I felt like there was a lot of things thrown at us with very little explanations...I mean I dont mind a little guessing game and trying to figure out and piece together but here I felt like Im just guessing orr inferring on things most of the time without knowing if Im truly understanding whats happening or not...But maybe thats just a me problem *shrugs* But at least the ending was nice & satisfying so I didnt feel like I completely wasted 16+ hours....but Im still not fully convinced that the director and screenwriter knew exactly what they were trying to convey. Seemed like they had an idea but didnt know how to present it well enough in a cohesive and concise manner where it leads me to wonder if they even had a solid understanding of what they were trying to present to its audience to begin with....or if they were just banking on the popularity of the leads along with reputation of the screenwriters previous work to help make this drama a hit...

Leia Mais

Pretty drama

Obviously there are good and bad things to say about this drama as with many others.

One of the good things was the production. It looks well made. The scenes are beautiful. The sets are beautiful. It's a very pretty looking drama.

Another good thing was the cast. With the exception of Lee Min Ho, I think everyone did an amazing job.

The thing that attracted me was of course the premise. I think that was very interesting.

The bad thing is it's very inconsistent and doesn't seem to follow its own logic. The drama is very slow for the first 11 episodes. Things finally start to pick up and get interesting in episode 12, but then starting from episode 14 plot holes start to pile up. Many seem to feel that the plot is complicated, but it's not. It's just full of plot holes, that's all. It's fairly easy to follow, but if you want to enjoy it, I'd advise not to think too much or you'll just get mad at plot holes that could have easily been taken care of. I think most dramas that involve parallel universes or time travel ultimately encounter this problem where they start creating plot holes, because the drama doesn't follow its own rules.

Another bad thing, and that's just my opinion was the casting of Lee Min Ho. He can't carry this type of drama. He looks the part, but misses the charisma to pull off this role. His acting is very boring too. Again, this is a personal opinion, I'm sure there will be people who enjoyed his performance.

Another thing that bothered me were the obvious product placements. I would be fine if they just showed the products in the background or something, but they just went too far in this drama by pretty much shooting commercials for multiple products. It looked embarrassing and uncomfortable for the actors and totally took me out of the story.

All in all, I enjoyed it. I would have liked it to be a bit more fast paced, but it's definitely worth a watch, albeit only once.

Leia Mais

Visually pleasing but messy in the second half

Likes:
1. Lee Min Ho looks so good in every single scene that he kept me watching even though this drama was boring half of the time.
2. The very interesting idea of parallel universe where there are two kinds of korea. I had to keep pausing the drama so that i could think of what happened. And after the show i still kept thinking and guessing what would happen next.
3. Thoroughly enjoyed Woo Do Hwan as Eunseop and Jo Yeong (but i like Eunseop more!)
4. The stunning visuals and ost
5. At first the blatant display of the PPL was laughable but it also made me look for them on the internet

Dislikes:
1. During the first half i was confused if we were in kingdom or in the republic. There were too many characters to track and questions kept piling up without answers until ep 11. and the biggest plothole just felt lazy like they didnt have time to explain because we're on the final episode.
2. Super boring like nothing really happens until the last 10 mins and then it makes me anticipate the next episode. The next episode will answer a little bit of the previous ep by first 15 mins then it becomes boring again until the end. I was honestly watching this because of Lee Minho. Good thing the second half saved this show.
3. This happens in every time travel drama that as we get deeper into the story, the less the time travel logic makes sense. Until we end up just following the story without thinking of the logic anymore.
4. The romance build up was rushed that i didnt feel invested in them. I was just forced to believe they are in love and they need to be together in the end..because they are our leads. .

Overall, you dont need to be an intellectual to watch and enjoy the show, but you need to remember that this is a fantasy kdrama, not scifi. You need to suspend an appropriate level of disbelief while watching the show. Dont overthink the plot and concentrate (on their lines and the small details) so you can follow the story.

Rating: 8.5/10

Leia Mais

perfect ending

This the first time I am writing a review . To be honest in the starting of this drama I was a bit confused and felt a bit wired that someone who have just met you for 1 episode and thinks of you as his queen. But as the story progressed it felt a lottt meaningful and complete .Loved the new concept that the writers were trying to show . The story was very sensible as both the leads were smart and understood each other . I saw a lot of comments saying that the ending should have been different, but I felt that it was the most logical end. I mean of course she wont be able to leave everything in her world and be the queen or it wasn't possible for the male lead to leave being a king and stay with her , so without leaving anything they were still together and happy what else do you want? So to conclude I would say that it was really a good series

Leia Mais

all the right elements but no execution

my first review! here goes...

I went into this drama wanting to watch cheesy plot, tbh. so I wasn't super dissappointed by the weird moving romance that actually didn't make much sense considering it went from nothing to "I'll die without you" so fast. even web dramas have more slow-burn than the main couple.

what upsets me about this show is the best and most interesting part about it. the whole time travelling between dimensions thing is absolutely fascinating I was so ready for the actual government conspiracy plot to start moving along and then IT CRASHED AND BURNED AND LEFT ME FOR DEAD.

I cannot even begin to write the essay that is my dissapointment in the ending developments. like oh they go back in time to save themselves? and alter the timeline that was already predetermined? okay, that's cool, I get that, kinda dig it, but that made all of the character development that was there almost for nothing. like the prime minister.

and the absolute tragedy that is the use of complex doppelganger relationships I was so ready for and in the end it failed me too.

I've learned my lesson, you can't expect a complex plot in a cheesy romance. and this kinda was the cheesiest of romances I've seen. its worth a watch if you like that kind of thing, just don't set high expectations.

Leia Mais

I loved it. The cast and writers did a awesome job It was a little confusing at first and you really needed to pay attention to what happens in both world of 2019/2020 and it all came together.
It start 1994 with li gon watching his father being murdered by his brother/uncle yi rim/Lee seong jae and then he try to kill his nephew, but is interrupted by someone helping him. It turns out the uncle wanted magic flute that could open up to paraell worlds. Li rim escapes with only half the flute and while running in the bamboo tree he open a door to a paraell country call the republic of Korea. Then 25yrs goes bye a blimk

Leia Mais

Very good show (But! last 2 episodes were rushed)

If you want to enjoy this show, you cannot be a perfectionist, and you will have to keep some logic aside. If you do so, you will be guaranteed to like TKEM.

Character Development:
All characters directly jumped from one feeling to another without any explanation. Basically no character development.
They had too many elements to explain. They put their feet in all directions like profound timeless romance, evil villain, mixed-up timelines, past characters, the logic behind how the magic works but none of these were completely justified because those last 2 episodes were rushed and they could not explain everything and close it with a cute ribbon. Because the show was good for 14 episodes, my rating for the show won't be dominated by those last 2 episodes.

Chemistry:
Also, there was no chemistry between the lead couple throughout. This was because there was no scene that showed any initial spark between them.
People out there are saying that Kim Go Eun should not have been cast with Lee Min Ho. You can even say the other way around that Lee Min Ho should not have been cast with Kim Go Eun (#psuedo-feminism). Kim Go Eun is really pretty and I definitely felt she looked so much better with Kim Kyung Nam.
There was also some good amount of bromance. But even that was one-sided!

Leia Mais

Beauty with not a lot of substance

This drama has all the star powers: screenwriter of Goblin, Lee Min Ho, Kim Go Eun, Woo Do Hwan, and most likely a huge budget. I won’t go into the the details of the plot, but there’s a lot going on: treason, parallel universe, time travel, royal intrigues, fate, crimes spanning two worlds, friendship, romance. I admit there are funny scenes (see Woo Do Hwan and his other parallel person) and truly heart fluttering romantic moments between the King and Tae Eul (neck kiss for one). The first few episodes captured my attention and I find them interesting, wanting to know more about Lee Lim’s treachery and how Lee Gon’s and Tae Eul’s relationship will progress. I think starting episode 10, I became less enthused about the drama, not bored exactly, but the episodes became too predictable. I am also having a hard time connecting emotionally with most of the characters. Even the romance between Lee Gon and Tae Eul became kind of stale (maybe the love confessions came too early). It’s hard for me to write it, but sometimes I ship the bromance between Lee Gon and Jo Yeong (royal guard) better thank Lee Gon and Tae Eul.

After finishing the drama, I still have questions: why was Lee Gon able to time travel but not Lee Lim; who is the kid/young man with the yo-yo and are there more like him; where did the flute come from; why didn’t Jo Yeong’s memory get erased like the others; why was Prime Minister Koo’s parallel person killed; how did the young Sin Jae become comatose.

This is just me, as a fan of romantic happy ending, I would have liked for Tae Eul to be his queen and maybe for viewers like me to see a baby. The first few episodes were all about him needing to get married and having successors/heirs. One of the most romantic moments is when he declared Tae Eul to be his future queen ("Save her at all cost; she is your future queen."). That statement sets an expectation for me as a viewer that I am going to see Tae Eul the Queen of Kingdon of Corea. This living in the moment, going to and from different worlds and times, is to me, like eating whip cream or cotton candy: all sweet, but no substance.

I wish the whole time travel thing wasn’t thrown into the mix; just stick with the parallel universe—my average human brain can’t take two space-time continuum theories simultaneously. Also, the product placements in this drama is just too much! They become laughable because they’re so obvious.

Leia Mais

It's not all that bad

Sometimes the reviews on here will have you believe that if you start watching a drama, hands will come out of the screen to choke you or something.

After reading the numerous negative reviews of this drama, I just had to see what this train wreck was all about and...it wasn't that much a disaster that I thought it will be.

I admit...it felt that between episode 10 and 11 there should have been another episode in between explaining what the HECK was going on, which threw the entire show...but I guess I've watch enough dramas to fill in the blanks not to be bothered by it much.

Also admitting, some OST's are so outstanding that they just stick out against non-emotional scenes. I found myself smirking numerous of times while beautiful music played against a scene that did not match the mood of the song.

Someone on here complained about the kiss scenes, and although I never really talk about these in my review, the complaint stood out so much it was hard not to notice the kisses between the main leads while watching this show. They were not all that bad...I've seen a million times worse...okay since you are curious on a scale of 1-10 I give the kisses a solid 6.

Now my major complaints
... from having a powerless villain...He was evil, but was really stupid in the long run...and to be honest, the actor was so good at playing such an evil character, I felt bad for him in this role.
...to having "so what" characters, like the prime minister, that really had no real role and took up too much screen time. And the little boy and his yo-yo, who should had more of a background to his story instead of a 5 second montage of nothing.

...I always give time travel and multiple universes a pass when story-telling because although it could be confusing and accepting things without question can be hard for some people...it all boils down to imagination.

So overall: I give this drama a solid 7, if you like your story tied up in a nice bow at the end...this may not be for you...you may be left scratching your head at the end, wondering...but, what about this??? What happened to this character???

Until my next review... I'll be watching another drama.

I'm out.

Leia Mais

Este dorama fue muy criticado, ya que lo compararon con Goblin por la actriz principal, pero este no se parece en nada, sus papeles en estos son diferentes y me atrevo a decir que su papel en The King fue mejor ya que representa a una mujer fuerte y eso lo ame. Este es mas maduro en términos de actuación sin duda un gran elenco. Ademas que la actriz principal

Debo decir que tiene bastantes clichés durante toda la trama pero se lo perdono ya que en si es buena la historia. A mi parecer no deja nada abierto en términos de las historias de los personajes.

La historia en algunos puntos llega a ser confusa y creo que estaba destinado ha hacer un poco mas largo o quizás lo que creo es que algunas partes son innecesarias y otras debieron ser mas largas para dar un mejor equilibrio esto lo sentí desde el cap 10 ó 11 aproximadamente.

La fotografía mayoritariamente durante el dorama fue espectacular y eso hay que resaltarlo.

Leia Mais

One of my most favourite dramas that I can watch again and again

First of all I dont really write reviews but since there are a lot of negative comments I decided to share my opinion. I absolutely love the story. Its not a drama that you can relax while watching. Its exiting and there are not any plotlines left opened. It kept me hooked from the start to finish. I cant really understand why anyone would hate this drama but perhaps it was not easy to understand the plot bc it was very complicated. You can get better understanding of it if you know at least a little bit about the butterfly effect or have an opinion on time travel. Perhaps marvel fans will understand :) It is science fiction after all.

Leia Mais