A Test of Patience with Classic Tropes
Hotel King proved to be quite the challenge to get through, with its extensive 32-episode run, each lasting an hour. The length of the episodes felt particularly taxing, making the viewing experience more of a commitment than a leisurely pastime. The drama itself leans heavily on old-school storytelling techniques and narratives, embodying many of the traditional themes and plotlines that have been seen time and again in the genre.This adherence to classic drama tropes could have been a comforting throwback for some, but it ended up feeling rather repetitive and predictable, lacking the innovation or fresh takes that modern audiences might look for in a new series. While there's a certain charm to traditional stories, it struggled to infuse new life into its prolonged episodes, making it a difficult watch for those hoping for something more contemporary or briskly paced. Overall, it's a drama that may appeal to die-hard fans of classic K-dramas, but others might find it a test of patience.
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A definite recommendation from me, although it does trail off towards the end.
I'd recommend Hotel King to anyone looking for an interesting hotel drama to sink their teeth into, and enjoyed its unique, fairly dark story line as well as the "whodunit" mystery we get to uncover as the episodes progress.I will stress that the story really does get quite dark at times, including murder, medical distress and violence towards children, so if you are affected by any of these things I would advise caution when watching. Most of these scenes are quite short so you should be able to skip them without missing much, but I wouldn't recommend skipping any of the opening sequence as it establishes the main character's back story.
Where this series really shone for me was in the relationships between the hotel employees as a whole, which felt completely authentic. I particularly loved all the stories that came from the cleaning and reception staff, as they were hilarious and kept me moving through the drama even when the main couple's story seemed to stall. It truly felt as though I was privy to the inner workings and gossip of a real hotel and its staff, which is where I tend to get my enjoyment from dramas like these.
I also think the two older actors in this drama, Lee Deok Hwa and Kim Hae Sook, did a phenomenal job with their roles and stole every scene they were in. It's impossible for me to elaborate on this without spoiling anything, but just know that you will come to love them both - however begrudgingly - and their stunning performances are worth the price of admission alone.
Like many of the reviewers before me, I agree that the series starts strong but trails off towards the end. I imagine shortening the series to 24 episodes would have nicely contained all the main plot points without the unnecessary fluff and same-episode flashbacks, which start to happen with a vengeance towards the end. However, please don't let that put you off; if you enjoy hotel/work-based dramas and are intrigued by the idea of a dark story line, you will definitely get a lot of enjoyment from this series regardless.
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Cult series for the couple Lee Dong Wook / Lee Da Hae, but which has aged badly!!
PLOT: Upon the death of her father, the heiress of a large hotel returns to Korea and takes over the reins of the hotel, with the help of the General Manager, the ML. This one is operated by the Vice-Pdt, the Great Villain, who took him in as a child and "trained him". His goal is to recover the hotel. The ML will be caught between the orders of the Great Villain and his love for the FL.PROS:
+ A great casting, not only the couple Lee Dong Wook / Lee Da Hae, but a lot of emerging actors who will become known.
FLAWS:
### A story that is too melodramatic, full of flaws:
How in our time can we take someone's word for it when we talk about filiation or lineage? A DNA test done again and everything is clear щ(ಠ益ಠщ). At this level, the storyline is not credible! =>misunderstanding until the end of episode 10. The ML's hesitations between his love and his "benefactor" last too long.
### an old-fashioned production (and yet the series is only 10 years old): long slow-motion shots on the faces/looks, twists brought in with too much emphasis, melodramatic tone, "old" OST, etc.
=> Excellent actors, but a story that has aged poorly.
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Série culte pour le couple Lee Dong Wook / Lee Da Hae, mais qui a mal vieilli !!
PLOT: Au décès de son père, l'héritière d'1 gd hôtel, revient en Corée et reprend les rênes de l'hôtel, avec l'aide du Manager general, le ML. Celui-ci est manœuvré par le Vice-Pdt, le Great Villain, qui l'a recueilli enfant, et "dressé". Son objectif est de récupérer l'hôtel. Le ML va être pris en tenaille entre les ordres du Great Villain et son amour pour la FL.
PROS:
+ Un great casting, non seulement le couple Lee Dong Wook / Lee Da Hae, mais bcp d'acteurs émergents qui vont devenir connus.
FLAWS:
### Une story trop mélodramatique, plein de défauts :
Comment à notre époque, peut-on croire quelqu'un sur parole quand on parle de filiation ou de lignage ? Un test ADN fait à nouveau et tout est clair щ(ಠ益ಠщ). A ce niveau, la storyline n'est pas crédible ! => jusqu'à fin épisode 10. Les hésitations du ML entre son amour et son "bienfaiteur" durent trop longtemps.
### une réalisation vieillotte (et pourtant la série n'a que 10 ans) : longs ralentis sur les visages / regards, twists amenés avec trop d'emphase, trop de mélo, OST vintage, etc.
=> D'excellents acteurs, mais une story qui a mal vieilli.
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I tried to drag the show on but i irrevocably dropped it after 15th episode.
The lead characters just did not know how to act. Lee Dong Wook may be a celebrated actor, but all he is good at is standing still and staring with cold expressions. Jive him one hint of true emotion and he screws up. And he really cant cry on screen. Every time he teared up, it looked fake and forced. As long as he was acting like a col blooded murderer, he was fine. The moment he starts softening up, his character lost all charms.
Lee Da Hae has gone through so many surgeries that she is just incapable of producing emotions from her face. All she did in the show was whine and annoy TF out of me. Even though her character was immature, it shows that her personality lacks charm and that is why it was difficult to even connect to her character. Other actresses have a certain flair of their personality in their characters that make us like them. But Lee Da Hae was just trying too hard to be cute, which was disastrous. There was not a single moment in all the episodes that I watched, that I wanted to empathize with her. Even when she was doing good in the story, I was annoyed by her.
This was a wastage of time for me and I am glad I dropped it.
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The characters were written to take the most idiotic actions that could possibly be taken. The story makes no sense and only works because of plot armor.
The acting is just terrible. Characters either acted over the top and unnatural, or like they didn't even want to be there.
The music was pretty annoying. Whoever made the score didn't deserve to be paid for that.
Wouldn't watch again.
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Lee Da Hae still looks pretty (I'm not into her dyed hair and makeup but whatever), still looks considerably young, only perhaps her breasts are way lower (they shouldn't have her wear evening robes showing it), her character is intense in her quest for her dead father's justice, which is good, still I did not care for her so much.
As for Lee Dong Wook, the physical change that happened with him is way more than Lee Da Hae's breast & dyed hair. He looks like a different guy. I no longer like him, nevertheless I think those who did not like him BEFORE might like him now. To be perfectly honest, I did not enjoy watching his character here. Whether he looked like his vein was going to burst, or he was making his "poker face", I found him more annoying than intriguing. Because I definitely was not THAT invested in his character's drama, or in the whole story of 'Hotel King' (it's NOT the name of the hotel, btw.) and rather thought the 32 episodes instead of the usual 16 unnecessary.
I considered dropping this drama after 4 episodes...
I took a pause before watching episode 5. I tried again with fresh eye. It definitely looks Lee Dong Wook's acting got WORSE, not better. There is so much of orchestra and string music. It all has such a heavy, tiring atmosphere... It's 5th episode out of 32, too early to be storming the viewers with all this BEFORE making them care, first. I still don't know what the main guy's deal is. I only know that he looks ridiculous making his 33-year old face all super strained about it.
I'm afraid I really don't have this much patience. Had this been 12-episode series, perhaps. Alas, no. And I don't need to know the big secret... So, if I'll miss seeing Lee Da & Lee Dong, I'll better watch 'My Girl' for 100th time.
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