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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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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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.
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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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The drama did start out slow and I think a lot of people from then on had their mind set that TKEM was a flop. Then proceeded to watch the rest of the drama basically searching for aspects to criticize. And I think that is one way to approach dramas by analyzing and scrutinizing anything and everything. But personally, I think that with that kind of mindset, you limited yourself to only a couple of shows that you actually like. I am not trying to discredit anyone and how they felt towards the show, however, I think a lot of the discussions centered around how bad the drama, actually deters a lot of people who would actually really enjoy the show.
Story-wise, the parallel world concept was fascinating and refreshing. I found it pretty easy to follow, but with any concept messing with time and space, it's bound to have cracks. There were plot holes(most of which I didn't even know were plot holes until I read discussion posts--so just don't read those and you will probably be better off) and areas where I wish the show would have done more in-depth. I also do think that in some episodes the story was stagnant and it wasn't doing a lot to move the plot forward, a missed opportunity to further develop the world/clarify some side stories. But if you don't focus on those aspects, they aren't bothersome and the main plot is interesting and at least for me, something new/different.
Acting: I liked KGE and LMH together, and I think that they did well with the roles. I'm definitely no expert, but I think I have around the normal person's ability to tell if the acting is stale, so for me, their portrayals were convincing and I really felt for and became invested in their characters. KKN & WDH also really delivered! I mean Jo Eun Seob and Jo Yeong were perfectly portrayed, props to WDH, I can't wait to see him in another drama. Not really a point on acting, but worth mentioning, the main thing that bugged me with the characters (not the actor's portrayal) was Tae Eul sudden switch from showing no interest and annoyance for Lee Gon and then suddenly her tough/snobby demeanor was gone. I think the writer could have made her feelings for Lee Gon melt away a lot more smoothly. Although, I don't agree with the criticism on why Lee Gon was in love with Tae Eul from the get-go. I can picture 8-year-old Lee Gon spending hours and hours holding onto the badge thinking of this mysterious savior, and pretty much becoming infatuated with the mystery girl (also, when do the falling in love process ever really "make sense" in dramas, I just enjoy the love story without questions! >∀ <)
Most of the OST playlist is still stuck in my head and while it's not the iconic Goblin OST, it's still great.
The cinematography and production is probably the least debated area because, well the millions of dollars backing the project went somewhere! Seriously, the scenes were beautiful, especially in the moments of the time stops. If anything, watch it for the visual appeals!
I never write my opinions/reviews on dramas so please forgive me if this is not super helpful/insightful, but I really wanted to do this because I hope someone will read it as realize that go into it without preformulated negativity around it, watch it and enjoy it for what it gives.
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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.
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Woo Do Hwan, surprisingly makes this drama. Okay the most positive thing I can say is that there is some nice eye candy in this drama. However flat, the drama may be. I also like the main plot with the Parallel Universe for the most part. However, the delivery falls short in almost all other aspects.
The acting.
To start the beginning of story actually starts of well and explains a lot. But then it loses everything when the actors open their mouths. The acting is terrible (or should I say over acting). I have never been a fan of Lee Min Oh and I could not really figure out why. I mean he is good looking and everyone loved him in (legend of a deep blue see). Me not so much and it is because he cannot act, at least in my eyes. He never has any expressions on his face as if someone told him he should look subdued and stark or did he get Botox? He does not ever raise his eyebrows while delivering a scene, it is quite annoying to watch. His voice is completely monotone, no up down it makes it hard to believe his character.
So, Kim Go Eun, is not any better. One thing Go Eun is good at is her stares that is the positive. I have to say they put two of my least favorite dramas stars together. They are very handsome people but not much more in this drama. So, Kim Go Eun, overacts in almost every scene. Her expressions and body movements are all wrong. Her lines seem to be way ahead or too late. Probably because she cannot read Min Ho, expressions. The other distracting thing is she is constantly either flipping or tying her hair. Oh, this makes me not like her or her character at all. Doing this while trying to deliver her lines. So, I am not sure is this is the director, writer or actually part of the story or just her vanity. Whatever it is, it makes the drama look really cheap and low budget. Beautiful women don't have to constantly flip their hair. Then her wardrobe, not marketable at all. I never understand why in Chinese dramas the women dress to a "T" (American expression for Great) which I love, but in Korean dramas they tend to look homely with baggie clothes just unkempt not a good selling feature to me.
Woo Do Hwan, surprisingly makes this drama. His character is handsome, light, funny and a joy to watch. I think he would have been a better match for the female lead.
There are some gaps in the story line which may throw you off at times and it is a missed opportunity for the director to make an impact. The romantic moments are awkward and rushed. There is not reason why the should love each other the dots do not connect. The first kiss does not have an impact at all.
I am not a hater I have watched over 300 dramas from all genres and I am a fan. It just makes me mad when directors, writers, producers miss the mark and forget to entertain the fan.
Supporting Cast
So, on the up side of this movie the supporting cast is somewhat entertaining. There are some truly funny and light moments to this dramas. I found myself laughing out loud at times. This part has kept me watching.
Action
There is some action and fight scenes in this drama that are entertaining. There are some climatic moments that make you want to root but they do not quite connect the dots for a awesome moment. It is as if the editing was cut a few minutes too short.
Sound Track-
If there was a sound track or great music it went over my head and I missed it.
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Watch if you just want to see pretty faces.
Keeping it short. It is a mess. Total mess. Over complicated the script so much that it just stopped being entertaining. Around halfway point I was merely watching to finish the series. I wanted to like it especially because I really enjoyed watching lee min ho and kim go eun; and it had a big budget. But just fell short in all aspects when it comes to story and character development. All the jumping around in the story just ended up giving me a headache in the end. I really wanted to like this series, in the first 5 episodes i was still looking forward every week for new episodes, but it flatlined so much and so quickly that i saw myself wanting to watch something else instead as new episodes were released.Esta resenha foi útil para você?
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The nerd in me loves this drama in its entirety. The cast, the directing, the production, the storyline, the screenplay and even the multitude numbers of product placements which at one point simply became amusing...
I guess; it was very expensive to keep up with the Haute Couture fashion for the entire royal crew from the Kingdom of Corea. They needed those product placements.
Although I enjoy watching it to the very end; I feel rather unsatisfied with Lee Gon and Tae Eul‘s ending. Traveling into different parallel universes and time periods are all fun and game; however, I wanted to see a royal wedding, a royal queen coronation and a stable lifestyle... So to speak...
The scientist in me understands that it is against the rules to have both Luna as a detective and Tae Eul as the crowned queen living in the same universe.
Nonetheless, the irrational romantique in me wants Lee Gon and Tae Eul to be the royal couple that rules over the kingdom.
*All in all, both the scientist and the romantique in me adored this drama.
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Did this make no sense or am I just dumb??
I wasn't planning on writing a review for this drama (specially because I've never written a review before) but I just finished watching the whole thing and I'm honestly so upset! I want my 16 hours back!!"The King: Eternal Monarch" presented us the concept of parallel worlds and later time travel. THAT'S PRETTY COOL! except it wasn't because it was very poorly executed. And I'm not talking about the actors (they were all pretty good specially Woo Do Hwan). I'm talking about the writing, which was clearly focused on the romance while the whole ~parallel worlds and treason~ storyline stayed in the background.
I really wanted to like this drama but the numerous plot holes just made it very difficult to accompany and focus. AND DON'T GET ME STARTED ON THE PRODUCT PLACEMENT!! I mean I get it they are being sponsored and supported by these brands but that was absolutely shameless and ruined the immersion.
And now my thoughts on the ending: It made no sense. As simple as that. The King Lee Gon restored everything he wanted and that needed to be restored but that had a price: Jeong Tae-Eul and everyone from the Republic of Korea would forget Lee Gon and his world. And that's what happened... EXCEPT FOR TAE-EUL WHO DIDN'T FORGET ANYTHING!!!! AND WHY? FOR THE SAKE OF ~ROMANCE~ (a romance which, in my opinion, had no chemistry and seemed forced).
That's not how you write a coherent script! A better altrenative would be having Tae-Eul forget Lee Gon and falling in love with him again because she felt in her heart that that was her destiny! But nope! EVERYONE FORGOT COREA EXCEPT THE FEMALE LEAD BECAUSE OF THEIR ROMANCE AND THEY LIVED HAPPILY EVER AFTER TRAVELING ACROSS TIME!! HOORAY!!
Can you tell I'm bitter and upset?? :))))))
To be completely honest the only reason I started watching this drama was because of Woo Do Hwan and (as expected) he delivered!! His character was what kept me going through this absolute mess of a drama. And I applaud him for his performance as Jo Yeong and as Jo Eun-Sop!
So, to summarize: If you're looking for a romance with some ~crazy~ background story, go for it! But if you're looking for a drama with a well developed plot and a romance that isn't completely forced, please run! Run as fast as you can and never look back!
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So first off, this is not a drama for the faint hearted. This is a all in commitment. Initially I was hesitant on the first 3 episodes.. then it started to draw me in and as story unfolded I loved it. It so rare that you get a drama that sucks you in and you are waiting impatiently for the next one finding yourself day dreaming about what’s going to happen next, putting the puzzle pieces together :) it’s an all in fun ride. You really have to pay attention(especially the uncles evil schemes in the beginning) he is ssoooo evil and did it sooo good) and there’s other side stories.. (which do not take away from the main story but add to it.. ) it should have been 17 or 18 episodes but they wrapped it up nicely in 16. Certain people are fundamental to the story and when you get the flow you start to see how deep/good it really is.
I didn’t get the romance at first.. but then I realized; the King saw the FL as his champion at a very vulnerable sad time in his life and as “she” had saved him from death and killed some of the traitors. She was larger than life to him and I’m sure that looking at her picture everyday... after a while he probably felt like he “knew “ her.
So. when he sees her ; It’s like a long lost friend/savior who means so much to him. Also FL is kind of tough. She’s not a damsel in distress (which I love:) , So until she knows him and can trust that he is for real about his story and his feelings toward her. She’s not gonna give him an inch. Obviously she is somewhat interested in him because she spends time with him and listens to his story (at first she thinks he’s nuts and then she starts to research different things that make her question her reality) I loved that she did that and then you see the wheels in her mind turning and things making her REALLY question that lead her to answers .. soon they are thinking out loud together .. so one more thing about this relationship he’s a really smart wise compassionate capable strong good looking man who is not about power..but about justice.. what’s not to love in him:):):D Omo.. also loved loved his horse :) he was beautiful
Let’s face it, there’s a lot to consider and the writers tried to give you an authentic point of view from the characters personalities Sometimes when we watch dramas we take it for granted that everyone accepts the impossible slightly implausible crazy story that two worlds that are similar parallel and exist.
I liked that FL really did her due diligence and she has a smart mind so the gathers her info. When she accepts that he is authentic and honest with her and she realizes that he is what she has been looking for, she commits to the relationship. I liked the romance, it wasn’t a “needy” relationship it was a “i really like you wanna get to know you but I still have a job a family and a life.(aka I’m a King..hehe) .how do we manage that?” Kind of romance.
Then throw in a REALLY evil homicidal uncle who replaces people from each world ( people swapping killer,) close friends/protectors workers/palace people/ and you got a fun ...all out ....what’s gonna happen next story. Also humor was thrown in so it had some really funny moments :)
The FL as a co- and all her people were excellent and the King in his world with all his people were excellent.. to have friends and people like these in your life really made the story about them all:)
Like I said not for the faint of heart. But the story really comes together and you realize the main couple are in love and they’ve never been in love, /so they are finding out not only about each other but they and others are also threatened and have to save/protect/ figure out the next step in the tine line and solve the chaos in the past somehow.
I thought each actor was really good. I love the Main leads and have seen all their dramas. I must say they have matured and I loved them and totally got their relationship, because it’s not easy to date Fall in love, keep in touch and save two worlds. Once she committed she totally committed ..(it was sweet)
The other leads (FL best friend who is in love with her.. Kings right hand man , nice Uncle , Grandmother ) (I totally LOVE the grandmother.she is the icon for all grandmas in k dramas) I thought all were really good.
SPOILER ** The ending was perfect. It showed you how well the leads understood each other/worked well and independently and did what needed to be done ; how things changed and ended up...(a few of them I LOL’d how they changed)
Once the FL got the gist of how things were panning out she was way ahead of the game and started to work out how she needed to proceed (a woman with a tactical mind herself) and the ML respected her ..her job , independence and her intelligence. You just knew they were gonna enjoy life together:)
Soooo.. what I’m saying is the drama is done you can binge watch it and have fun.. if in the first 4-6 episodes you don’t connect... no harm done but I am so happy I watched it and will rewatch some of the episodes again
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We had thousands of misplaced propaganda, hundreds of plot choices that made no sense, cliches and ideas that were randomly placed in the storyline with no justifiable reason, soundtrack was bad, multiple genres not well integrated and I could go on for many lines.
I also struggled with the chemistry between the main couple, well... There was none. And although Lee Min Ho came a long way in his acting skills, to me his best drama acting wise so far, the project was yet too demanding for his capabilities in my opinion. I’m sorry, he’s still handsome though.
I wish I could point out everything wrong plot wise and direction wise in this drama, but I’ll leave it at that as a warning for future viewers. It’s somewhat watchable still if you have the patience to endure and pretend thinks that make no sense can be overlooked.
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