I…..am at loss for words. Like, how is it possible that The King: Eternal Monarch is written by Kim Eun Sook. I have watched EVERY SINGLE drama she has written and I’m not even talking about her recent year trendy hits like Goblin, Descendants of the Sun, Heirs and Secret Garden. She wrote my all time favorite K-drama City Hall, and I loved loved loved On Air (sniffles Park Yong Ha!). On Air is one of her most underrated K-dramas and probably her most personal, Song Yoon Ah played basically Kim Eun Sook as a fictional drama screenwriter and now I’m wondering if the real Kim Eun Sook has that many young screenwriters doing her heavy lifting that once they left she’s churning out superficial, disjointed, and emotionally devoid drama like The King which remains totally flat in delivery in episode 5.
Episode 5 could and should change the course of the drama, it brought female lead Jung Tae Eul to the Kingdom of Korea and removed all reasons for her blustery disbelief. And yet we spend an entire episode of her still insisting none of what she is experiencing is true in the most annoying ways (aiming a gun at the King, wandering around Seoul asking cops if they remember her, and calling to ask stupid questions), I have never wanted to bitch slap a female lead this much, and also double up with the same slap to the one-dimensional second female lead. Sure Kim Go Eun is acting like she’s never ever acted before (she sucks here) but her character is fundamentally the bigger problem. Lee Min Ho is fine, he’s just a beautiful King and that’s all he is and that should be enough normally other than there is nothing else or no one else to like in this drama so if all we have is a blank sheet then it’s even glaring that there is nothing here. It’s like the Emperor has no Clothes and the ratings drop to 7.6% and 8.6% on SBS reflect what the South Korean viewers think as well.
The laziness in the writing of this drama coupled with the heavy-handed directing continues to be a one-two punch of fail. The ending of episode 4 showed the two leads riding pell mell through the bamboo forest and then jumping through the portal and instantaneously landing on the other world. That was hammered home by the female lead closing her eyes and opening it in the other side. Then in episode 5 we see they actually meandered through a rainbow hued walkway that connects the two worlds so why bother with the dramatic feint earlier.
The same goes with most of the interactions in this drama, it doesn’t need to be there to move the story forward. Kim Gon has a country to rule and a throne to protect, and hopefully find a woman he loves to marry and make babies. His antagonist uncle is a threat to all three. That’s a conflict. Jung Tae Eul and her persistent refusal to entertain that Gon is a King from a parallel world is fine until she willingly went with him to his world and then got more than enough proof within the first 5 minutes that he was telling the truth and there were things she cannot explain but also cannot deny. That we spent an entire episode with her trying to disprove him STILL is beyond frustrating, and if we cut out every scene of her trying to do so the drama would still move forward and make sense, hence bad writing.
Let’s not forget there was a kiss in episode 5 that probably deserves a place in the pantheon of Dead Fish kisses in K-dramas. Kim Go Eun looks like she’s screaming “I forgot the take the laundry down and it’s raining outside oh no!” or “When is this going to end, I want to start the next episode of Tiger King” or “I’m firing my agent when I finish filming because this is not what I signed up for when my film career took off!” or “PD-nim, is this the expression I’m supposed to be making, I’m doing what you told me to but it make no sense because this dude even if he’s crazy is super hot so I should at least be okay with with a surprise peck”.
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Someone who appreciates On Air! It’s indeed an underrated drama. I love it! And Park Yong Ha....that was a sad day. May he rest in peace.
On air so underrated . I highly recommand 'a man's story" for the younger ones who don't know who Park Yong Ha is . Cith Hall is a very good drama and the chemistry between the leads was incredible.
For me, KES has lost her touch since The Heirs .
I don’t watch her dramas past On Air
Everybody feels like,we can rewrite this drama.I feel to bad for KGE and LMH,the storyline,everything else could be better.They do not show exactly what they should be.How can you hug someone already knowing you dont know anything about her but only her face.Tvn could have done better.Goblin is one of my favorites and KGE knew her character and all the characters did well.Already watched ep 6 but still feel really bad and disappointing.Still goint to watch though because they are great actors.Still believing,they could do better.
I agree strongly with the comment, that actress has either a bad role for her or she needs to take some acting classes
She's a good actress. She did well in her past dramas Cheese in a Trap and the very popular Goblin. She even has a movie called My Muse where she did great. I really think it's the King's bad writing and directing. Her talent was put to waste :(
I dont think she got bad acting or need any lesson. I've admired her acting skills on every drama she is in.
agree
On Air is my all time fav kdrama. Very underrated but it did have a cult following on Soompi forum....I miss those days. I haven't liked a drama that much ....I am still looking for a drama to make me feel like that.. So much nostalgia....after all these years PYH's suicide still hurts ...I know time never healed it....I just got used to the pain.
This is a good drama but had a bad press. All the actors are good in may opinion its just many are having si muvh higher expectations. Just wait
As with any drama I let my imagination take full command. I follow lee min ho and he definitely embodies the character of the King. I look forward to the release of each episode as well as hos next gig
Oh relax you guys! The picture is nice, music too. And how can you tell which emotion should a character show if as it is also in the reality... It is up to the person... Much better to have a frustrating look when being kissed than the fake "oh my God!" as in all the other Dramas. I enjoy watching it... And you can too... If stop comparing it to some cheesy Dramas.
Go Netflix & chill and don't waist too much time on expressing your negativity. ?
Couldn't have said it any better. This drama is kind of slow but I continue to watch because I truly like and admire KGE's acting. She has tremendously evolved in every project she has undertaken if you've followed her career. She is a very good actress but more so a beautiful soul when not in front of the camera.
I'm reading the review, yes.. I'm not eager to continue watching since I'm annoyed with the acting of the lead female actress. Mismatch for Lee Min Ho.
I agree with everything about the bad writing but I don't agree with how people Bush the actors, they are doing the best they can with what they have been given. I like the show because is a fantasy and I am so tired of the latest dramas, they have so much violence in them that is crazy. So for me an easy drama is welcome. Definitely they should improve their chemistry, and improve the kissing.
I haven’t watched this drama nor do I plan to but I just wanted to say that City Hall is my all time favorite drama of KES and in the top 5 favorites of all Kdrama. City Hall is super good.
I love city hall with every fiber of my body.
I love how she fought corruption and won the hearts of so many. She is korean Wonder Woman ?
I think we're watching a show produced in a parallel universe. It is written, produced, acted by the same name people but they're not. Hahah! That's how this show has become, so unbelievably stupid it takes your breath away - in a really bad way. Each time the female lead shows up, I wanna physically remove her from the screen. Hahah! So very, very frustrating.
Goblin’s success is Gong Yoo and Lee Dong Wok! I agree with the comments- the girl needs to improve her acting skill. She looks blank (just like her acting in Goblin) or maybe the role is not fit for her. I can’t feel the chemistry between her and LMH. I only watch it bec of LMN.
I agree that the actress acting is flat, idk why "some korean drama" in kissing scene they put it that way. ? she should alteast show emotion its wheather shock, surprise, or she can close her eyes after a second or two their lips met. I know shes popular actress but id rather watch sandara park in her *missing korea *we broke up *dr.ian and *break up playlist many times than her dramas, im just watching king etenal monarch because of lee min ho... He's one of my biases to get parnert with sandara in dramas or movies. ?? hoping the soonest it will happen.
They have good story line about two different world and the uncle want to take the throne but the script are really flat and the female lead trying so hard to fit the image of a police officer, totally lost interest in this drama after the 4th episode
All that LMH has done in 5 episodes is walk around with his hands behind his back making observations and speaking in math. Not that KGS is any better. Both characters just wander around doing things that make no sense. All of this is made worse by the lack of background music. Does the director hate music?
I agree I'm so dissappinment the roles are not demonstrating the best acting of Lee Min Ho and the lead Actress . Bad writing and directing
omg i cannot agree more with u. i keep thinking okay there is going to be a moment where this drama is going to really take off and bring us somewhere blissful. but no no no it remains so undesirably flat and unbelievably monotonous i gave up aft ep 3. or was it 4? omg it's such a disappointment...such a waste. i had high hopes for KGE
Agreed on every point Except it’s classic KES but just sooo watered down. Mostly she writes cheesy dialogue and irrational scenes but usually the directing is on point so you are blown away or the leads are so on fire, you are blown away. All these are missing here sadly.
The directing is very bad. It’s not stylish and lazy.
The 2 worlds are badly badly defined.
There’s so many way to showcase the worlds and they chose the laziest and most boring way.
Secondly; LMH is doing ok I agree - I kinda like him more in ep5 but this is so far away from what one expect from him. Sorry fans but I conclude sadly he lost some spark which is understandable if you have gone away for 2 years. he’s fortunately warming up but it’s ep5 already! My take is this is a wrong comeback role and he is just not as sharp as he was. It’s time his team realise he must have more than handsomeness (or do they even believe that he has more than that?) because I sure did like him not just for his looks, he was someone who rocked gu Jun pyo crazy hairstyle and added soul to a crazy role.
That is already kind because I have harsher words for the female lead/ omg KGE is just so one dimensional i don’t understand. Her chAracter annoys me and that’s classic KES, she writes terrible female leads for some reason. They always do irrational things or do not behave logically. Why would she kiss LMH , oh just because she’s blown away now that he’s king. That’s so superficial I just can’t. Why does she not respond to the kiss well then. I mean if she’s nuts just go ahead with it and at least make it funny or sensual or whatever. Because there was nothing about the kiss other than being random or completely unromantic.
Which brings me to the most important point about why the drama is failing for me: where’s the humour?
KES drama may have the most mediocre directing or the most psychopathic male lead on paper - Think Secret garden Hyun bin. But because you laugh so much right from ep1, you know it’s bad but you can’t help to watch. Comedy is always the way to bring characters to life and make them relatable to the audience. Yes there some skill needed from the actor but you need the scenes the dialogues. There’s just so many ways to charm and make us laugh in this Premise of 2 worlds where each world is just too much to believe for either leads. We didn’t get any comedy from fish out of water King is modern Seoul, which is just terrible because we missed our comedic timing that could bond the leads but that’s ok if we have to go with the view that he’s ultra smart and straight stiff. But what about the female lead in monarchy Korea??? That’s unforgivable - that won’t be how I behave if I went to a parallel world. That’s just so so much comedy to milk but we got very little. It’s just sooo lazy and sad because there is just so much potential. I just don’t get it, if you go for dramatics this drama doesn’t have the style for it, if it’s comedy it’s completely absent - so what is it? How can a KES drama be so devoid of style!
You need to choose a vibe for a drama - it’s ep5. It’s unbelievable that they couldn’t elevate this drama by now. SMH.
That is true add a little humor in it that will make the audience tickle and more romantic .In Crash Landing all the episode of Hyun Bin and Son Ye Jin got higher ratings because of the chemistry and humor between them.I think that's what it need.....
I am still waiting. Hopefully this is the calm before the stormy, involved, passionate drama I have been waiting for. Yes this does seem over directed. Metaphically speaking I am underwhelmed at this point but I have glimmer of hope.they could have left the balloon out and it would have been ok with me. .
I've lowered my expectations and just decided to enjoy this drama. LOL
Same! Came with zero expectation because I haven't really enjoyed any of the writer's recent works. I've decided that I wouldn't bother with the clanky world building and just enjoy the show. The real world is bat shit crazy right now and I honestly don't want to overthink anything.
So yeah, I acknowledge that the show is really bad, and the actors too (all of them!). But I'm still gonna watch cause I'm still having fun. Heh!
Me too
Me three! I've already lowered my expectations, but it's still painfully boring. I sit watching and anticipating something happening or hoping it would, but it's a long hour of absolutely nothing happens.
I am just getting frustrated watching, fast 4ward button is good. Its like a skein if will thats knotted and frustrating to untangle. The main actor is great, and the series has potential but its not really there yet. Which is a shame, to many characters
Lol this. I still like it regardless of it's downfalls.
I was reading the last article and someone said that the drama should drop the flat earth theory, hahaha
I'm cringing so much seeing the dead fish kiss...I thought Park Shin Hye in The Heirs was the worse lol.
The writing and directing is mess... I thought cinematography is the only saving grace of this drama BUT seeing the rainbow pathway made me sigh with poor CGI effect.
I thought Park Shin Hye's kiss in Heartstrings was the worst. Lol. But ya Heirs is bad too.
I agree I new this drama was doomed I just do not enjoy dramas written by this person. Her writing is confusing and her Actors lack chemistry during her scripts. I feel bad that LMH come back was written by her ??
I totally agree. This kdrama is so frustrating.
OMG! Thank you for saying this. I am so tired of seeing these dead fish kisses, ugh!
I am oki with their acting but KES's The King does not hook me anymore. I do not get why the King fell in love with him when in fact he was so young. I may understand that he may be so grateful that he would showered him with gratitude to the point that they fall in love.... Hahah... I am going to rewrite the drama...lol... I just got annoyed with the plot of their love story... Hope they will just track down their enemies...lol and less romance...
Perhaps rewrite with "I Can Hear Your Voice" for inspiration, since it did better with making sense out of a boy's infatuation with a heroic stranger turning into romance. In that drama, a child ML had an idealized image of the older FL who saved him and he barely knew her but promised to protect her. Despite his disappointment with her when they met again, he stood by her while readjusting his imagined image of her to her real self. Falling in love in the longer process.
Something similar (although not exactly) would've worked better for this drama.
Exactly ..even I was also comparing it with "I can Hear Your Voice". In it we can clearly see how the young lad was preparing himself to protect the girl throughout his years and searching for her. He had a memory that she was pretty but it wasn't love at first site. Infact he was quite shocked by seeing her personality when he found her.
There is zilch chemistry between these two in ‘The King’ it's very disappointing !Also why does LMH suddenly look like a 16 year old after the charismatic man he was in BOF ? The role of Gu Jun Pyo made him but perhaps now it is time for him to cut ties with these juvenile soaps and branch into some things he’s truly worthy of.
Exactly! Zero chemistry. LMH's acting is flat and monotonous. He's just regurgitating lines with no real emotion. I'm only watching for KGE.
I am not sure why others didn't like it. I am actually interested to know how these 2 worlds would end up. I love how the story is unfolding. I also don't think the female lead in the drama is a damsel in distress, I think she can handle herself just fine. I love it. I can't wait for the next episodes!!!
Can someone explain to me the significance of the red balloon? ?I don’t understand why he released it in the pathway between two worlds?
Koala is really spot on with more reasons why I don’t like Tae Eul. I can’t be friends with her in real life, she will always try to prove that she’s right about everything even if it’s a scientific fact embraced by 99.9 percent of the world (earth is round). If I tell her we need oxygen to breathe, she will probably hold her breath until she enters a coma. If I tell her she has two eyes, she’ll carve a path between her two eye sockets to prove that they intersect as one. I can’t with this girl. Does Lee Gon really want to be with a girl who never accepts her faults? Good luck bro LOL
speechless.