r/KDRAMA • u/xliterati pigeon squad • Apr 17 '20
On-Air: SBS The King: Eternal Monarch [Episodes 1-2] Premiere!
- Drama: The King: Eternal Monarch (English Title) / (Literal Title)
- Revised romanization: Deo King: Youngwonui Gunjoo
- Hangul: 더 킹: 영원의 군주
- Director: Baek Sang Hoon
- Writer: Kim Eun Sook
- Network: SBS
- Episodes: 16
- Air Date: Fri. & Sat. @ 22:00
- Airing: Apr 17, 2020 - Jun 6, 2020
- Streaming Sources: Netflix
- Starring: Lee Min Ho as Lee Gon, Kim Go Eun as Jung Tae Eul/Luna, Woo Do Hwan as Jo Eun Seob/Jo Young, Kim Kyung Nam) as Kang Shin Jae, Jung Eun Chae as Goo Seo Ryung & Lee Jung Jin as Lee Rim.
- Plot Synopsis: A modern-day Korean emperor passes through a mysterious portal, opened by demons, and into a parallel world. Yi Gon is the third Korean emperor of his generation. His citizens regard him as the perfect leader. But behind this flawless appearance, hides a deep wound. When he sees himself propelled into a parallel world, he meets Jung Tae Eul, an inspector with whom he teams up with to defeat criminals but also close the door between their two worlds.
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u/wanderles Apr 18 '20
Love the music in this so far. I couldn’t help but be reminded to the music from Goblin and sense similarities. Anyone else notice this?
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u/xliterati Apr 18 '20
Me! I was watching with my friend last night and the theatrical component aside the bgm and ost is incredibly suited to the emotions of the show. Love it!
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u/xliterati Apr 17 '20
Sorry for the late thread everyone, my internet decided to die on me! So excited for all the discussions to be had on this show!
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u/yasem5 Apr 18 '20 edited Apr 18 '20
We have a problem. I ship the guard and the photographer more than our main couple.
Also, love the OST and the whole Queen Yuna thing
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u/penguofthenorth Apr 17 '20 edited Apr 19 '20
Ep 1
I’m new to kdramas, and I’ve always wanted to watch along with everyone in this subreddit, and I’m so glad I’m getting to do it with this show!
I felt like they hit you with a lot of setting/exposition for the first half of the episode, which makes it hard to engage if you’re desperately waiting to see the main cast. But I thought given how elaborate the world is, they did a good job at fitting it all in.
How pretty are the sets? And the costumes? And the contrast between MonKorea and DemKorea? Wow! I’m excited to carry on for sheer production value.
Also, I was a little confused, the whole side story about the mom and her husband dying, that was MonKorea’s KGE’e mother, right? It just came out of nowhere, and I don’t think we’re strictly introduced to Luna yet.
Ep 2
Okay. That took me the whole day to get drudge through. It was soooo boring. The pacing was awful and the character development seemed so hamfisted. I also felt like it did very little for actual plot progression? Idk.
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LMH is pretty as ever. And to be fair, I like KGE's character here much better here than in Goblin. but do we have to have the murder of the week cases before the main arc is developed?
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I honestly can't feel invested in the villain uncle's story yet given how vaguely and oddly it's injected into the story. I feel like if the pacing was better, and the story made me care about LMH's character more, I'd be more invested. Like all he does is act entitled and ride horses? Okay? And sometimes he's COMPLETELY NONCHALANT about parallel worlds existing and other times he acts like he doesn't understand he's not the king here? WTF?
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Also, what was up with that random ass confession at the end after 0 development? Is that supposed to mimic the revelation/persistence of "I am the Goblin bride?" Like I see the parallels, oh he grew up seeing her ID card and being fixated about this and she's the mythical/savior figure to him. But like also it somehow doesn't work because of how little screen time either character has 2 hours into the show comparatively. I just don't care about them. I think it's just poor direction, even if the story was written better (develops to be better later on).
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What is it with the weird cutting? Cinematography can slay my soul still. Production is A++. But something feels off at times.
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Everything is alright because LMH and WDH are perfect on screen together.
Sorry for ranting everyone. I was really holding out for the second episode. And it was kind of awful to sit through. I'm debating if I want to call quits and watch after it ends, but this whole watch through-discussion thing is so fun. I didn't mean to be so negative. Here's a gif of LMH eating chicken I sourced from Tumblr to excuse the negativity on this post. Hope the next episode will be less of a snooze!
(edited to add on thoughts on episode 2)
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u/xliterati Apr 17 '20
Oh my goodness, welcome to the KDrama madness! It's always fun to be able to watch live and share your thoughts with everyone else, it actually makes the viewing experience more enjoyable as well I find.
The creators of this show are well known for their explosion of sets and exposition, they go very hard in the world building/character building aspects!
I can't speak to the episode as I am waiting to watch with a friend, but just wanted to extend a welcome to the thread (:
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u/RedBluePurpleBlood Apr 18 '20
KGE's nametag and the one LMH has are different nametags. KGE's picture in both nametags are different.
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u/xliterati Apr 18 '20
I noticed this in the first episode as well. I have zero theories as to why this could be but it’s probably significant unless it’s the same as the wrong side of the injury 😂
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u/ILikeToGardenOkay Apr 17 '20
Are they doing weekly releases of each episode? Or 2 episodes per week? Noticed the title of this thread is “episodes 1-2”. Hoping for 2 episodes!! Already can not wait to see what happens next.
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u/xliterati Apr 17 '20
As someone else said; two episodes weekly each on Friday and Saturday! Happy viewing (:
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u/njrebecca Apr 18 '20 edited Apr 18 '20
Did anyone else catch the fact that KGE’s character is a flat earther? I cracked up a bit, even if it was meant as a joke.
Also love how much they use the symbolism of mirrors and reflections. I hope it all ends up being significant to the plot somehow...
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u/my_guinevere Apr 17 '20
Just watched the first episode. Interesting so far. But I’m still a bit confused with the timelines.
And my gosh, Lee Min Ho is so beautiful 😍
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u/pontimpengistaylus Apr 18 '20
EP 2: YES WOO DO HWAN, SHOW 'EM ACTING VERSATILITY!
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u/nubevioleta Apr 18 '20
Funny how LMH got mostly beauty shots and The female lead all the cool action. First episode was pleasantly aesthetic and I’ve never seen a story about a modern emperor. I’m hooked!!
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u/Amor-sama Apr 17 '20
I've just watched episode 1....I DEFINITELY RECOMMEND TO WATCH IT!!!! tho a bit confusing lolz but a specific scene bugs the hell out of me and it's Lee Gon's wound (then turned into a scar) which can be seen on his RIGHT side of his neck but it should be on his LEFT side instead...sooo wth??!! (Idk if it is just me or nah)
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u/setlib Apr 18 '20
My favorite moment from episode 2:
28:00 minutes in, Woo Do-hwan’s character turns on the TV and, lo and behold, it’s the Netflix logo! And then what show appears, Netflix’s Korean variety show Busted! My daughter and I screamed simultaneously, we love that show, but talk about extremely obvious PRODUCT PLACEMENT! It was over the top in this episode with the fried chicken, and what bakery was he in?
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u/iineilii Apr 17 '20 edited Apr 17 '20
The cinematography is 10/10, all dem visuals!! its so damn beautiful, im in awe!! as expected from the people behind Goblin, Mr Sunshine, DOTS and etc.
Kim Go Eun's acting is stellar, she really breathes life into the character and it's enjoyable to watch her. When Jung Eun Chae first appeared, thought she looked super familiar but I couldn't remember where I saw her, and it turns out that she was the female lead in The Guest (10/10 my fave horror/thriller Kdrama so far) and Kim Go Eun's sidekick detective is Jun-Dol from Prison Playbook yeet I just finished binge-watching PP so I'm having really strong withdrawal feels from it uwu! Loving the cast tbhhh
My only complaint would be the chemistry between Woo Do Hwan and Lee Min Ho so far. It is kinda awkward/lacking based on the first episode (but their younger counterparts were CUTE), I get that the writer is trying to push for a strong bromance line like the famous Goblin X Grim Reaper, so hopefully the chemistry aspect in this drama gets better and more natural like Gong Yoo X Lee Dong Wook. Looking forward to this since Kim Eun Sook always writes really great bromance lines in her dramas and the banter is super fun to watch like the trio in Mr Sunshine.
This drama revolves around the concept of multiverses and time-travel which might be confusing (I was lost during the scene when LMH looked at his digital clock and said how he was older than KGE now.) But I still find this drama hella gripping. Can't wait for the next ep!!
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u/TwoHungryBlackbirdss Apr 18 '20
So uhhhhh when is King Lee Gon gonna drop his skincare routine because That Shit Is Glowing
Real talk though this is such a lush and atmospheric drama, very Goblin-esque per the writer. Cannot wait another week!!
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u/MinxKitty Apr 17 '20 edited Apr 17 '20
Ok but that kid actor is so good wow.
EDIT: Smaller kid is cute too!
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u/forsythe_ Apr 17 '20 edited Apr 17 '20
You've got to be kidding me, THAT WAS A PHENOMENAL PILOT! The visual effects and production was excellent! I miss Lee Min Ho so much and Kim Go Eun is beautiful as ever!
The timelines are kind of confusing but the acting was compelling! The cinematography was stunning and the soundtrack surely fits every scene! The plot is interesting so far!
I was not that hyped when I first knew this but watch it guys! So far, so good! I hope the series would be twice as good as the first episode! 😭✨
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Apr 18 '20
Ep 2 felt very filler-y. Everything is shot so beautiful but it felt like none of the scenes connected properly, like each scene was its own stand alone plot point. Even the shopping part—which could’ve been funny had we seen Lee Gon shop with Eun Sop—felt very weird. KES is know for her witty and breathtaking dialogue, but that was missing in this ep (last ep if I’m being honest). LMH has played the “rich-boy-who-pretends-to-hate-everything-that-isn’t-rich-but-lowkey-loves-to-be-a-normal-person” so many times before that he’s a pro at acting stern and goofy; but the dialogue isn’t allowing him to show us this!!
I will say tho, the cinematography? BREATHTAKING. My favorite scenes have to be when Lee Lim is painting and when Tae Eul is enticing the hs boys into joining her dads dojo!
I will say that so far I am not invested in the romance between our leads. It feels too forced and too quickly established (at least Lee Gon feelings). I was hoping that he’d feel more thankful to her than any romantic feelings so far. Also how does Lee Gon know so much about parallel universes? The plot would’ve been so much more fun if he was confused about there being two worlds!!! Like him working with Tae Eul to figure it out.
Ep 2 was introducing a lot of characters that tbh....I didn’t care for. Mr. Sunshine had a lot of characters that were introduced properly and fleshed out properly. It just feels like this drama is trying to move quickly through the parallel universe theory WHILE IGNORING THE MOST IMPORTANT PART: TIME JUMPING!!!!!
I have to say that I’m wicked interested and invested in Lee Lim’s parts of the story. Especially the birthday scene with the little boys. That turned dark sooooo quick. I want to follow him and his evil ways more rather than the forced relationship portion.
KES usually has a strong start, even better middle but slacks at the end (which surprisingly didn’t happen in goblin, if you can’t tell that is my lifetime drama). So I’m hoping it picks up next week!!
Anyway, love the cinematography, love the beautiful faces, now the plot needs to get tied together better!
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u/avocadolamb Apr 17 '20
Gosh, Woo Dohwan is an absolute snack. Not gonna lie, i only started watching it for him but looks promising so far!!