It’s weird how time tempers disappointment. I’ll likely remember The King: Eternal Monarch fondly now that it’s over, the earlier episodes were just so inexplicably terrible and made for drastic expectation rewritting but as the episodes went on I settled into a nice rhythm with it. Each week I hoped it would make better sense and it never did but … Continue reading →
If I were still activity recapping I probably would not have the energy to continue on with The King: Eternal Monarch. Needing to describe every scene with a prelude and my thoughts after would only amplify all the problems and I would be hard pressed to muster the commitment to continue. Being able to watch and casually comment has made … Continue reading →
The good – Lee Min Ho running like the wind on the set of The King: Eternal Monarch. He’s totally alive in a way that his performance is totally not in that drama. I miss this Lee Min Ho, he needs to play a tsundere character again with anger problems, maybe Gu Jun Pyo grown up with amnesia and he … Continue reading →
I do get the fans of The King: Eternal Monarch saying the drama has a lot of interesting elements and mysteries to unpack, that’s not untrue except the delivery is terrible and there hasn’t been any unpacking to properly build upon this grand world building. One mystery I am curious is who Luna is, like her full backstory and what … Continue reading →
This week feels like it will be an inflection point in the airing of SBS Fri-Sat drama The King: Eternal Monarch. It’s ratings are what it is, currently averaging 8.7% AGB nationwide through the first 8 episodes which is undoubtedly not as expected for a drama from hit screenwriter Kim Eun Sook, with a huge 32 billion won budget and … Continue reading →
I came across this week Netflix promotional stills featuring the cast of K-drama The King: Eternal Monarch. The drama is streaming an hour after it airs on SBS every Fri-Sat so that’s fast consumption for online and international viewers. I still think the cast of Lee Min Ho, Kim Go Eun, Woo Do Hwan, Jung Eun Chae, and Kim Kyung … Continue reading →
Even Naver is covering The King: Eternal Monarch which 6-episodes in is mired in The King: Eternal Controversy. The third week’s airing has created the third wave of South Korean viewer gripes about the drama – (1) the Japanese warships depicted in the long naval standoff scene between the Kingdom of Korea and Japan, turns out the Japanese naval ships … Continue reading →
I need a reason to like either lead characters in The King: Eternal Monarch and 4-episodes I can’t find a reason and the story is so convoluted to boot. The new stills for episode 5 still make me annoyed, it’s the same cool, calm, handsome beautific smile from Lee Min Ho and Kim Go Eun alternatively is looking dumbstruck, then … Continue reading →
C-ent was hyping up The King: Eternal Monarch as well as rightfully so. Lee Min Ho dramas always do well in Chinese-speaking regions and same with all prior Kim Eun Sook penned dramas. But 4-episodes in even the notoriously fawning C-media is posting incisive analyses for why The King hasn’t been the hit it was built up to be. On … Continue reading →
I’ve never hidden my affection for Kim Eun Sook‘s highly polarizing attempt at a Boys Before Flowers high school knock off with Heirs. It’s way more re-watchable than BOF even if male lead Lee Min Ho was at his best in his first star making drama. I love more Kim Eun Sook dramas than dislike if I’m keeping track and … Continue reading →
I thought the only visual incongruity in just premiered SBS drama The King: Eternal Monarch was that cool as beans white steed Maximus, who struts like the graceful kingly ride he is, was a dwarf horse when shown in the younger King scenes racing like a stubby cutie around the track. Eagle-eyed K-netizens glommed onto another issue and it’s one … Continue reading →
It’s episode 2 time for SBS Fri-Sat night drama The King: Eternal Monarch, and there are ever only three ways a second episode could go: up, same, or down. I thought The King would increase in ratings but it stayed basically the same with second episode ratings of 8.4% and 11.6% in half episode increments. I found the world building … Continue reading →
This is a solid start for SBS Fri-Sat fantasy romance drama The King: Eternal Monarch starring Lee Min Ho, Kim Go Eun, Woo Do Hwan, Jung Eun Chae, Kim Kyung Nam, and Lee Jung Jin. The first episode took in 10.1% and 11.4% ratings and is clearly primed to go up what with the fresh story and big name cast … Continue reading →
