Legend of the Blue Sea Concludes Like a Fairy Tale and Notches 17.9% Ratings for Final Episode 20

It’s time to bid farewell to the other high profile winter K-drama, following the conclusion of Goblin over the weekend is today’s final episode 20 for Legend of the Blue Sea. The final episode clocked in at 17.9% ratings, in line what it was averaging during the majority of its run, but a drop from last episode’s series high of 21%. With that said, Legend maintained it’s ratings lead throughout the entire airing and got enough buzz to warrant being called a hit. It’s not a huge hit, and for me was a hit in a negative way on the screenwriting skills of Park Ji Eun. I found her You From Another Star flawed but refreshing and Producers was a step above in characterization improvement, but Legend felt like she was plagiarizing herself in the most awkward and hamfisted ways. I’m glad leads Lee Min Ho and Jeon Ji Hyun acquitted themselves admirably without much to work with, now it’s off to bigger fish to fry.

Missing 9 settled into the second week with drop to 4.7% ratings while Chief Kim premiered to 7.8%. SBS is not going to let an odd day mess with its drama schedule as it premieres the Lee Young Ae comeback drama Saimdang: Light’s Diary tomorrow on Thursday. I don’t have much to say about the conclusion of Legend, in the end the drama barely touched me emotionally and the bits that worked were so sporadic it failed to creative any cohesive connection with the story. I did like the happy ending for the OTP, this story was so anemic might as well give them a fairy tale ending whether it makes sense or not. Let them have human-mer babies and live happily free of anymore reincarnation chains.


Comments

Legend of the Blue Sea Concludes Like a Fairy Tale and Notches 17.9% Ratings for Final Episode 20 — 29 Comments

  1. “Plagiarizing herself in the most awkward and hamfisted way”

    I don’t usually agree with you on anything but this is spot on. I’ve love everything Park Ji Eun has written from Queen of Reversals (when Park Shi Hoo was still someone I loved – ew) to You who rolled Unexpectedly. Then she wrote YFAS which I found flawless in the crack factor. She took a step back to do Producers which was so different and so well written IMO that it really brought out the best in the actors (KSH is always great but he was one step above in Producers; in contrast, IU is usually terrible but she really did well in that drama).

    This drama though- it went no where. I couldnt see it for what it is. It was always some weird Alternate Universe of YFAS or something. It might be JJH factor too, but it never managed to differentiate itself. She doesn’t need to write another YFAS for it to be as big as that drama. She just needs to write an amazing one and it’ll be fine. Producers despite being in such a weird time slot/day, competing with Na PD and having such a different concept eventually ended up with 17.5% or something in the end. So really, she has it in her. I hope her next drama isn’t a copy of her previous because she’s still amongst my fav despite dropping legend a few weeks ago.

  2. when I watched the final last which bored me, I predicted the rating would be lower than 20% and I was right. I hope JJH choose her drama wisely next time or maybe this probably her last drama lol. She better suits with movies.

  3. I have to agree with koala this drama never went to a place that was super, amazing that make you feel all emotions except most the time dissapointed. As i watched the finally with sub, I keep telling to my self that our OTP had no sizzling hot chemistry, their time together felt bland like 2 friends meeting in a long time not lovers separated for 3 yrs. I think that is why i was not in loved with this drama beside it felt like a copycat of YFAS most of the time. The ending was okay because after having a so-so drama the at least the writer can do is give viewers a happy ending to the OTP. Hope writer takes a break and for her next script to write it before sell it to a broadcast station this way she can build the story without pressure as the power of be will give pressure for the story go a certain way but if the story is completed ahead she will have more fighting ground to fight for her story.

  4. Thank you God… that someone telling the truth in a polite manner about this most “high” buzzed drama.
    & thank you miss….

    • Actually, there was not much buzz. Normally, buzzed dramas’ Soompi threads would move at exponential speed but LotBS did not and Soompi is the international pulse of how a drams creates buzz.

      • This is surprisingly true… only 479 pages on the LOTBS soompi forum thread, meanwhile Goblin has over double that and so did dramas like Moonlight and Moon Lovers (about 1500-2000 pages by the time they aired final episodes).

  5. The ratings isint anything to sniff about but somehow we all feel let down. We do know sometimes even ther dramas we enjoy n deem gooddont even get near 10%. I kp thkin if it wasnt the big names of Jun Ji Hyun and Lee Min Ho, the ratings would have tank if solely hinging on its plot and story.
    I actually feel more emotionally involved with Disney’s Little Mermaid. In LOBS it never tug on my heartstrings. The supposingly tragic love story reincarnated and gone to modern world should have been amazing and engaging but it wasnt. I found the writing lazy. There were episodes where the leads just stand around dont do much. Sometimes a plot can take time to stew, sometimes it lingers with poetic license but it isnt the case here.
    I kept wishing for something but it never delivered. im not even sure if the story doesnt have that much to tell why make 20ep? Could have been more snappy n progressive with a standard 16 ep?

    • Agree with you about the love story not tugging at the heartstrings. I thought it was only me but it seems to be a general comment.

    • Agree with @sharreb about the love story not tugging at the heartstrings. I thought it was only me but it seems to be a general comment.

  6. WhTever!I love lmh n jjh in this drama..mybe the writing is the problem..but the I love all the funny scenes in this drama..heo jon jae is one of the best character for lmh.

  7. I find it fascinating that Goblin which aired in cable managed to get 20% in rating for its final while Legend aired on public channel only got 17% rating. This by no means a comparison but I just thought the combined star power of LMH and JJH is more than the rest of Goblin cast combined. So, I honestly thought it can at least raise the rating. Guess I was wrong then.

    I respect Park Ji Eun before because she at least tried to do something new with YFAS & Producer but Legend feels like lazy writing. Personally, I feel like she’s so desperate to write another hit that she’d rather plagiarising herself and a 30 y.o movie thinking no one would notice instead of taking a risk.

    It’s a pity because she’s a quite well-known script writer, not KES level, but she still got the buzz whenever she wrote something new so I thought she wouldn’t face any trouble pitching any stories to broadcasters.

    Before, KES is someone I can never take seriously due to how cringey her stories can be. But Goblin totally changed my perspective & I find myself looking forward for her next project. I still can’t believe she wrote that!

  8. LOTBS is forgetable. It does not do anything for me in term of my emotional attachment. LOTBS does not even have a plot to begin with. It was just full of fillers. I don’t have lasting impression on Goblin either but at least it has plot but 16 episodes was also kind of a stretch. The drama banged it in the first 4, filled with fillers with pivotal plot only for the last 10 minutes of each episode somewhere in the middle of its run and only picked up the pace after episode 10. Both dramas are overhyped and a let down.

      • Agrew with you on this. Lol didn’t even finish watching both as I was just sooo bored my eyes hurt from all the eyerolling. Oh well. Glad for the actors and crew. With the high ratings, their efforts were rewarded but these are certainly writers I’d be more cautious of next time. My excitement was for naught.

  9. Both Goblin and LOTBS were flawed in terms of writing but I think Goblin fared better because for one, KES still managed to invoke some sense of magic in the fantasy drama. LOTBS didn’t wowed at all in this aspect.

    There was no chemistry between the OTPS in either drama. At least in Goblin, we had Kim Shin and the Reaper. I was far more captivated by the awesome chemistry between leads in underrated dramas like 1% of Anything and Weightlifting Fairy.

    Gong Yoo was to me and probably to many who watched Goblin, a key factor to the success of the show. You don’t have to be a fan to want to watch him.

    • If gong yo was the key factor, BIG wouldn’t be such a loser lol. I’m a gy fan but I loathed the drama so much. The key to the success will always be the story 1st. KES dramas has always been a success,regardless of who the actor was and she got track record to prove it. She how to write engaging drama. Unfortunately some people tend to forget and don’t give enough credit to her.

      • Preach!
        She isn’t my favorite writer but it’s funny when people are giving credit for their star when all her projects are hits. It can’t be coincidence when she hasn’t failed while their stars had a few flops

  10. Not a huge hit. Goblin took it away hehe

    Cant wait of lee young ae’s new drama… Wonder if it would be a hit or not with people still with goblin fever.

    Fighting new dramas!!!

    • For some reasons, usually the trend on the ratings for Wednesdays are lower than Thurs. Of course, i wouldn’t say its a definite. Another thing i believe is because for this show, the main climax of the show where the bad people get what they deserves have been resolved before the last episode. I guess Korean audiences prefer thrilling and angst to the drama more than a simple contented happily ever after.. (: And the ratings are not that low to be honest. The ratings for this drama averaged around this number as well.

  11. Well, I enjoyed LOTBS alot. Even though it was a tad predictable and boring to some people, it was the story I was looking for. I enjoyed myself tremendously watching through the drama and I enjoyed the chemistry between JJH and LMH. It may not have been a hot sizzling chemistry, but it was there, sweet and heart warming most of the time, and hot at the last part, as part of the plot requirement.

    Goblin on the other hand, didn’t captivate me for some reason. I was rooting more for the story line between the grim reaper and the store lady boss plus the bromance between goblin and grim reaper. Hahas.

    But I respect that everyone has our own views and opinions and I’m glad that we all enjoyed ourselves through the shows that were shown. Producing and filming a drama is really not easy so kudos to all the team for their hard work. (:

    • I totally agree with you. I have watched the first few episodes of the goblin and i just don’t understand the hype that it is getting. It did not mesmerize me. Honestly, I just watched coincidentally the 1st episode of LOBTS but i got overwhelmingly hooked and just can’t stop watching it to the finale. I love how it ends, a happy ever after.

  12. There are no chemistry between the two main character plus most of the scenes were predictable , I think this drama could ended in arp 10 to make it more attractive to audience, but ended up like a torture. Sorry to tell the truth, hope JJH can be more careful in choosing the next drama

  13. For a very highly anticipated ,very hyped up drama ,2 hallyu stars and well known writer,overseas filming, attention by SBS, besides the 2 stars first drama project exactly 3 years after their epic popularity,etc….. was expecting over 20 ratings at least at the end of the run. What happened? Guess, there is no exact science in making a hit show anymore. DOTs got lucky as it had the same ingredients as this show.

  14. Seriously, after watching both kdramas, i don’t get why people so negative about LOBS. I love the story so much and the characters. It was well written. I have laughed more, twas totally hilarious, compared to MLFS. Sure, there’s more drama, pulled heartstrings in MLFS due to the storyline and the impossibility of how both lead characters can live life together. But both are just great and really enjoyed watching them!

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