I’m of mixed mind on this and of course what I think doesn’t matter as the end result will speak for itself. In a wild attempt to address one of the three pillars of K-media and viewer criticism of big budget fantasy romance drama The King: Eternal Monarch (script, acting/chemistry, and directing), the production has added a new PD to the already two PD team of PD Baek (Moonlight Drawn by Clouds, Descendants of the Sun) and PD Jung (second string PD in Mr. Sunshine, Search WWW). The new director joining is PD Yoo Je Won who directed Oh My Ghost, Tomorrow With You, A Million Stars Falling From the Sky, Abyss, and most recently Hi Bye, Mama! PD Baek will handle editing and post-production while PD Yoo joins PD Jung in splitting up the primary filming which is still going on. The drama is a 16-episode drama (unlike Mr. Sunshine which was 20-episodes) so it’s midway through airing already but the drama is so expensive I can see this as a Hail Mary to try and salvage the second half.
Goblin had 16 episodes only not 20 . Otherwise I couldn’t have survived another 4 episodes and surely would have ended up dropping it. The start was great but in the middle it started faltering.Especially when Kim Shin came back alive ,I was like WTF??.what is the point of this story with the sword if he was going to come back anyway that too for his mortal love..??lost my interest but the second couple got me going and I could finally finish it. I felt the main leads had no solid storyline unlike the second couple and the age gap made it more awkward for me to watch.. Anyways maybe I was too much swept by the hype, hence disappointed.
However I kind of like KGE’S performance in TKEM as opposed to that of Goblin. I may not be able to feel the leads’ chemistry yet but they act decently in individual scenes. Only the director and writer sometimes make me so annoyed with slow paced, disjointed scenes and lazy recycled writing.
I am currently hooked on the king eternal Monarch. It has its flaws as every other drama but it’s addictive and dose things right in ways you can’t imagine. To put it short you just end up wanting more somehow. I loved the interaction of the lead. I was going ohhh how cute or sweet and something along these lines.
I reckon it’s not a romance but a sci-fi/fantasy-romance there is alot of action and other mysterious elements which is interesting
I agree it has been an awesome watch so far. It’s just not the main lead who give this drama life but the premise also. You can sort of give credit to both of them being the reasons but not just one of them. I have watched it since the 1st epi. I was hoping they just dropped 16 episodes at once becasue the suspense is killing me
I normally don’t enjoy KES dramas but this one has been an exception due to the parallel worlds and time-travel aspect. I have been all in since the beginning and It has been great so far. The actors are doing great job making this come to alive. LMH x KGE is a fancy pairing I was down with it as soon as I saw it
The Scfi-fantasy is good and gives the story extra layer something to keep the viewer in which is good but I love the main lead above everything else
@AlCois
My exact sentiment I didn’t watch 4 dramas since a gentlemen’s dignity. But I am loving this drama most of her work the premise is great for a good show and thats exactly what is unfolding before my eyes
I have been theorizing this drama with my nurse collegue who is also currently watching this. We both love it. But What I can’t bear is if one of the main leads die or if we get a bad ending. I am adoring it so far but KES should be careful not upsetting me with a bad ending
Lol the problem is who’s still watching this?
yes millions around the world and even in korea numbers is in millions? so ur point?
There are many watching this drama and loving it.
haters cant understand that
Lol
WhTs ur point here. If someone cant tolerate the writting and directing of this drama doesnt mean they are specificly haters!
Speak logic pls
Lol
Whats ur point here? If someone cant tolerate the writting and directing of this drama doesnt mean they are specificly haters!
Speak logic
I dont need to specify to logic to haters like u
I dropped it. I felt it is sick …why wiuld a King fall in love with an ID card his saviors dropped by accident. And then finding the gal just to endure insults , rudeness, aggression, which apparently, turned him on even more….total fetishism and sado-mazo…or stupid. I managed through the first 4 episodes only due to LMH, but even his charm could not compensate for the flaws in the script. They should have reworked the script, not the direction. And the ending is totally predictable. The uncle will kill the girl, and the grown up king will revenge by going after him into the past and save his “under-aged” self while dropping the ID of the girl next to him (the plot we saw on the 1st episode will come to life again) So obvious…but then 3-5 years later the girl will revive…this series are packed with all the clichés …rich boy wants her, she turns him down etc. Anyway, my biggest disappointment in drama world.
Article no. hundred million at this point we shall name Koalasplayground – The King eternal monarch
Hahaha. I agree it’s unprecedented. Just hoping that she gave time to write about other things instead of focus on TKEM to this extend. We have dozens of articles flowing around and they are coming in fast. I need a break
she gets most buzz on king’s articles with antis coming . Funny they wil still watch it lol
Another day another TKEM article oh wait. It’s actully the 3rd article for today about TKEM and the 1000s about it for the last month
she gets her food from such articles
she is despo for hits. she did the same back with heirs even going as low as mocking lmh’s looks and made transphobic comments!
Is she a sociopath or something? Dosen’t she know that the said people she is personally targetting can read her articles and may even be reading her articles for a long time. It’s lack of human awareness that makes one sociopath thinking other people are only fiction and not real people hence some people take some public figures as non-human entity which is severe sign of sociopath tendencies. It’s also obsessive and childish behaviour taking a random celeb you don’t know to serious. It’s a non-matter made into a matter
i wont call her that lol. I think she is harsh and sometimes biased. Frankly i also comment on celebs look all the time but not on gender thing unless someone is bashing my fave. She made some bad comments during heirs day but i hope she doesnt think same way now. there is one suzy fan who also make transphobic comment on lmh all d time here
Probably an Ex-shipper lmh-suzy these are the worst kind ex-fans. I am not surprised the least. So the question is was Koala also an Ex-shipper of LMH with someone else perhaps Faith Kim hee sun? This is my suspicious she seems to have liked that drama and have jumped on the anti-bandwagon since probably because of Lmh-psh shipper who I admit were annoying
Yup that person looks like ovsessed shipper.
You might be right. Thats why before pre aiting i never bought hee fake sugar coating anout lmh considering how she bashed him with bad comments during heirs days
@ady
Unbelievable that you hate koala so much, or her opinion on Kong, yet here you are, ever present, helping her blog hit high posts.
If you dont like her opinion, you dont have to read it. But you gotta absolutely understand- you cannot impose to everyone here to like the drama like you do. You have zero right to do that. So back to you, your own medicine. Haters gonna hate. But so what? It is still her blog, not yours. And the drama is absolutely horrible.
@mindy if someone makes comments on someones looks om public forum she will be called out. I ised to lile koalas until i read those post
And i will read her posts to see how low she could go every time. So stop ur lecture
There is nothing that can be done to save this drama… Issa flop
thats true . its like bringing all doctors available to treat/ revive a vip patient even though known poor prognosis so that they dont have to handle the blame for poor script or nil chemistry between main leads which was the only adrenaline rush needed. i wish they chose park shin hye as many were waiting for them to return
Psh needs to stop putting their agenda. Today kim ho eun played 2 different characters effortlessly
Noone is interested in psh
hahhaha. Nice commment. the drama is in the ICU now and needs reviving. lmao. what a waste of resources. It is realy hard to direct someone who cant act.
The drama is suffering from more criticisms by netizens, leading it to another poor rating, which is less than 10 again.
no matter how many great PDs they take, if the story is not good then its worthless effort.
That’s what happens when the story is trash- make it as pretty as possible with popular actors to distract from the nonsensical story. Let’s be 100% honest here- this show is just NOT good except for Do Hwan, he’s pretty much amazing in everything he does… expect for the dumpster fire which was The Great Seducer but I digress. People out here really talking about the amazing chemistry with the leads- WHAT CHEMISTRY?! I can’t be the only one who witnessed that train-wreck of a kiss right? Plus the dialogue these characters have makes me wonder if I’m having a stroke; it makes no sense. The folks praising this hot mess of a drama- yea I don’t trust their judgement cause these are more than likely the same people who think Goblin was a masterpiece- NEWFLASH: IT WASN’T!
newsflash. stop passing down ur opinion as superior and as a fact
Let it be, it’s their opinion and not yours. Why would you get triggered by the statement? Everybody who read this will know that it’s an opinion and not fact.Jeez, just calm down. Please get yourself into comprehension class before commenting.
Furthermore, the thing about liking the drama or not depends on one’s personal preference. You can’t just shove whatever you think is good to others. Just accept that whatever good for you might not work for others. Let everyone choose what they want to watch or support because at the end of the day, it’s their life anyway & they have the ability to choose whatever they think suit themselves the best.
@may read that comment and it is clear u need the class. Ther person is trying to pass down it as fact and looking down on people who like it? So get ur eyes checked
Nope no one is shoving but dont mock people who like it or else expect replies. And yes everyone can. why r they keep forcing themselv every week if it so bad ? lmao. the intentions are quite clear . Comment on public forum and be ready to handle disagreements
@ady I think you tagged a different person.She is may_jane.
Lpl sorry may. So many may i thought its u??
How is the story nonsensical though? And I disagree, I hated The Great Seducer, but Woo Dohwan was great there. In fact, the toxic trio of friends carried that drama lol.
Regarding your last statement, I’m one of the rare viewers who love this drama, and I like it more than Goblin (I don’t think that one was a masterpiece). Goblin has better comedy and more emotional resonance, but I like this one better because of its concept and unpredictability. It also doesn’t feel overly long like the typical KES drama; that was my biggest problem with Goblin. Just my two cents anyway.
they should cut down the episodes fr 16 eps to 12 and let the succeding drama air earlier than june 12. the sucverding drama looks fun than this cinderella drama. Not to mention the leads really look good unlike the leads in this cinderella drama
I am freaking enjoying this tv-show. It’s everything I needed to cope with the lockdown and self-distancing stay at home life style. This show is a life saver. I love the chemistry of the lead they are cute and beautiful together.
But what I most love is the storyline and the premise. It has a fascinating intrigue. It’s just one of these tv-shows where you get stock on it from beginning to end. I love everyone involved specifically the lead actors they are very good together
I began watching it a week ago. I catched up late on the party. The things I noticed the visuals is breathaking. The main lead is handsome As for the chemistry I love them together. I love the mystery surrounding the drama. the time travel I wanna see how they will excute that. So far so good. waiting for next episode
I love this drama and the main lead. I paid subscription to netflix just to catch it. In the beginning I didn’t know what to expect but it was pleasant. I love it
I had 1 year subscription pre-paid plan that was running out had to re-new for 1 more month for TKEM. I was anticipating it before it aired. I got hooked immediately. Not a shipper myself but I like the plotline and the concept
I watch it on other platforms the quality may not be as good as watching it there but it’s good enough
I already had subscription but I am there solely for The King Eternal Monarch every single weekend
same here sis!
PD Yoo Je Won will not able to save the drama. It all depends on the acting and chemistry. If there is no chemistry, even great writing, directing, big budget production & awesome cinematography will not save it. I notice PD Yoo’s successful dramas were those by Jo Jung Suk and Seo In Guk who had great chemistry with their leading ladies (Park Bo Young and Jung So Min). Abyss flopped even with Park Bo Young and social media hype precisely because the chemistry with Ahn Heo Seop didn’t work. The first few episodes storylines were a mess. First impression counts. The The biggest clue will be next Baeksang Awards 2021 to see how many nominations TKEM can score. That will be the ultimate test in the Best Actor, Supporting Actor, Best Actress, Supporting Actress, Best Drama and Best Director categories. Camelia Blooms and CLOY got many nominations this year due to strong acting and chemistry along with good writing and directing, editing, supporting cast.
Rating episode 7- May 8, 2020
The king Eternal Monarch
First Part – 7.0% (lowest)???
Second Part- 8.1 %
Do people really care about rating so much? If we enjoy the drama, then the rating doesn’t matter anymore. I watch kdrama to release my stress not to add more stress for thinking about its rating.
Ratings matter a lot. The writer has said before that she cares a lot and has lost sleep over them. No matter where you are, ratings are important in the entertainment world. Nowadays, ratings AND internet buzz are very important.
That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t enjoy a drama. I’ve enjoyed plenty of dramas that had low ratings. If ratings stress you out, ignore them and enjoy the show.
Yes, i remember some actors asked fans to watch their show LIVE. Why? Rating is important. For the actors’ and the crew. Do you think any producer will work with a flop team???? No. Who’s gonna bet their money on a flop team with low rating portfolio??? No one.
So rating is important for those crews.
For viewer, not important, as long as, you like it.
I still remember people mocking at Vagabond ratings .
I can’t help but go back and check VB ratings.
So for epi 7 VB ratings: 7.5,9.5,11.4.
I think The King can be added to the list of VB and Arthdal both in terms of expectations and reception. Plus all three had huge budgets and were highly anticipated. I enjoyed both VB and AC maybe cause i didn’t watch the reviews/comments while they were airing. Thus my views were not polarised and enjoyed what was offered to me.Once they finished airing I surely found out by reading reviews that people were not happy and there were indeed some problems . However the King is yet to impress me unlike the other two .
PS: I don’t remember VB(minus Suzy) or AC getting flakes for chemistry or acting issues.
If hype is a parameter then we can count Melting Me as well. The original idea was so good and it was JCW comeback but it was hell of a Trainwreck with its ratings decimated. The King is much better than Melty though and hope it stays in line with VB , AC and give out some modest ratings.I just hope it doesn’t go down Melty way after seeing the downwards trend in ratings. I m yet to see the new episode but I think the series is improving.
@May i think we can conclude that big production is not guaranteed good rating. I feel relieved when ksh choose small production with unknown writer and director. So the actors itself don’t feel too much burden if the drama rating is not as expected. But i think ardhal got quite a good number of rating since it aired in cable drama.
@malaysian..yup AC ratings are still better than VB or King. It was aired in cable TV so by just doubling its ratings we can compare it with the other two.However the premise was unique which was never tried in korea and they had many A listers,so it was expected for the ratings to hit much higher for AC.Plus HDL surprise hit added salt to its wounds. Also the AC writer also had lots of previous hits in her kitty leading to so much hype.
I never understood why AC faced so much hate. I just loved it and as we are getting a season 2 I hope all the questions get answered.I have never witnessed a kdrama like AC with so much complexity and violence.
Regarding KSH , I liked him more in Producers than any other drama.I think he won a KBS Daesang for it as well.It will be good if he tries different characters , challenges himself and sticks to good scripts.He is already a star so no need for a star writer to propel him further.
I dont really care about rating as long as it intertain me. I just hope the staff being pay well considering it big buget drama.
KSH drama are not small budget. His cost alone is big
@Cumi, you should care about ratings, because without good ratings, the network will not get good return on investment, which could lead to less production down the road. Low ratings will also effect the actors’ popularity and commercial value, so less opportunities for them in the future. Yeah, there’s not much foreign viewers can do about ratings, but ratings are very important to all the people involved in the drama. They need ratings to give investors/advertisers confidence to fund future projects. Without this, there would be no dramas for you to enjoy.
Yep they do, its one thing if its a massive critical acclaim then you could perhaps overlook it…but huge star cast, huge budget, previous record of stellar performance and then you get a single digit show that most people are not liking…its not gonna be feather in anybody’s cap.
Still under 10 again, otherwise why does it needs a lifeline. Korean viewers are not certainly digging it.
@Spark i did not even watch this drama and i only looking forward to kimsoohyun drama only this year. The thing concern me is the amount of articles for tkem rating keep coming. It looks like people are more interested with the rating than the drama story itself.
Never thought I’ll see a KES drama flop tbh.
Me too. She should work with Reply series, Hospital playlist PD and casting director. Look at those dramas, even hyeri COULD act in R88, lol.
Yes, I agree, casting the right actor and actress is very important. For LMH and KGE combo, it just misfires big time. The Reply 97 PD scored big with Jung Eun Ji who had zero acting experience and Seo In Guk who only had a small role in hot mess drama Love Rain with zero acting training. PD gambled with the leads but he also researched their background as both come from same region so they could realistically speak the satoori Busan dialect. I just pray to God that whichever PD can coax some excellent acting from both leads separately. No point forcing the romance. It;s better to salvage the story and plot now.
Yikes, I would have never thought writer KES would see such numbers.
It’s a shame :/ people will be losing money.
—will throwing more money in this show (hiring new directors and editors) salvage it? Maybe it’s time to write-off the loss and invest more time/money in upcoming dramas to avoid similar debacles in the future.
They are hiring because they still have enough budget to cover it. Who knows … it may look bad in rating but their finance team is good at raising/managing funds or sponsor just blindly look only for stars power.
@joame worry about kjy. Her record is 1% ???
@may i see u r vb fan. So u got chance lol. Good for u??atleast king made profit whereas vb was mega disaster with sequel cancelled. No profit
Cable doubling doesnt work anymore. Twom cloy r already jational dramas. U cajt double them. Same for ac. In the end ac king r nearly same. Ac was a loss venture. King made profir pre airing
@ady you are contradicting your self.. I saw one comment where you said cable ratings should be doubled and compared. I just went through Vagabond’s articles to see the hate spewed out there. VB is not my fav and it has many flaws but I just wanted to compare.Thats all. So in one of the articles someone said Mr. Sunshine premier rating was even slightly higher than VB despite being a cable drama which means Mr. Sunshine got double than what VB got. One person corrected it saying doubling cable ratings is an old formula discarded in 2015. Then you replied that you read recently that it still holds and one can double it and compare with public t.v. I think it was said just a few months ago which means it is not an old piece of information which you read.
The reasons why Koala keeps writing about TKEM are 1) it’s her blog and she is free to do what she wants and 2) lots of hits (as a blog owner, why would she stop writing about something that gets people coming back?). As THE MOST anticipated drama of the year, the attention the show has been getting is not surprising at all.
Everyone is free to have their own opinions and to continue to watch shows they don’t completely enjoy. It is totally okay for people to have negative opinions about shows, to rant, and to share them. Feel free to argue against others’ opinions, but without attacking them and calling them names. If negative comments bother you so much/stress you out, just ignore and move on.
What is NEVER okay is attacking others for having opinions and trying to police what can or cannot be said.
I agree, we should respect other opinions and if we refute opposing views, do it with calmness and respect and kindness
I agree, it fine to have different opinion. But it make me uncomfortable when one of them start to call other b*tch or something like that ?
Yes, it is never good to police people on their opinions and views. Please tell @ockoala that too.
Please provide proof because I have not seen her do this. Stating her opinions in her posts is NOT policing by the way.
If someone says stuff out of line like attack other people, then she has every right to remove/block people as this is her blog. I’m sure she wants to keep it a place where people feel safe to share their opinions/views, without being called names/attacked.
Maybe Koala can do a post army evaluation (base on their 1st comeback drama) of the 1987 batch – lsg, lmh, sig, jcw, jiw …how successful is their comeback drama, if their acting skill has improved after two years of absence, etc. This will be an interesting topic. Maybe just wait for jw drama to be out. I am interested to find out her opinion on them.
Although SIG didn’t complete his military training, only served 4 days as a result of his foot condition, he seemed to score big with Hundred Million Stars Falling From The Sky or The Smile Has Left The Eyes. A lot of international fans seem enamoured by his acting range, saying goodbye to his school boy image forever.
Yea, that will be interesting to read. Plus big chance to see entertaining fan wars haha
Yesss agreed, but better wait for KSH drama first
Special guest …he is 1988 but agree is good to include him
Great suggestion. It sounds like a lot of research would go into it, but also could be fun. I think the comment section will get very messy based on what I’ve seen these days.
Seungi did decently, ji chang wook…..less and less said the better, SIG did really well in terms of convincing people that he means business where it requires acting, LMH…I am not impressed with whatever he is doing which is nothing new nor groundbreaking in terms of character or acting, I find him bland and lacking screen presence….Jung Il Woo did well and has a cute little show planned….so it would be Seungi then SIG and JIL tied followed by LMH and then JCW.
I love this drama purely for its entertainment factor besides I’m sure they made so much money showing it through Netflix and other platforms. I don’t know why there is so much hate. I signed up for Netflix because of this and although it may not be the best drama I am enjoying it. I think KGE is a good actress and acted better here than in Goblin. I think people cannot accept a pairing if they have someone they want for that actor/actress. But just watch it without calculating the writer and cast and you’ll enjoy it rather than waste time finding faults. If you don’t like it just don’t. I’ve stopped watching dramas that I didn’t like before even if I liked the cast. But in tkem I am watching it till the end. I think the plot thickens when Luna character and the prime minister also get introduced in the drama.
Add another PD wont change anything, they need to change the actors. Actors who can give a soul to their characters and have chemistry with each other. It will work better in rating, I’m sure.
This is the only drama (for the May 2020 period) that needs to include new PD. Poor thing, the new PD can only do so much with poor acting, poor chemistry and poor script.