“The King: Eternal Monarch” 3rd episode aired last night and I am here, again, to talk about it.
“The King: Eternal Monarch” has been easily considered one of the most anticipated dramas of 2020 marking Lee Min Ho’s first drama since his military discharge and his second collaboration with Kim Eun Sook.
However, thus far, I’ve seen nothing but fluff in “The King: Eternal Monarch” and I am honestly surprised by the pace.
They say the first episodes of any series are the make-it or break-it episodes, if you fail to capture people’s attention, they’ll leave and it seems to be the case with “The King: Eternal Monarch.”
The 3rd episodes ratings are in the single digit, not the double digit like last week’s episodes which is honestly understandable to me.
“The King: Eternal Monarch” episode 3 was boring, simply put. There is even less action happening than with its second episode and it only picks up at the last 5 minutes, why?
I don’t understand Kim Eun Sook this time. What is she trying to do? Why is the introduction this slow? why is she spending so much time on banter between the king and the detective? how many times are we going to repeat the same scenes over and over again?
Picking up from where episode 2 left, Lee Gon proposes to Tae Eul and it’s the most anticlimactic and absurd thing about this series so far and we’re talking about a fantasy drama.
His explanation is… very weird… I still don’t understand how such a ‘smart’ character makes such a drastic important decision only a couple of days after meeting this person. You literally know nothing about her and want to make her ‘the queen’ of your kingdom… this goes against everything we’ve been told about this character. Aside from a weird infatuation he has with her photo from 20 some years ago, I can’t comprehend this move. This should’ve been an important moment in their relationship and it’s now ruined.
“The King: Eternal Monarch” 3rd episode is even less memorable than its 2nd or 1st.
Tae Eul is oddly interested in him and oddly gets angry at him when she literally doesn’t have to, like why are you angry? I don’t get it!!! You’re asking who you think is a delusional man questions expecting a logical explanation then getting angry when he doesn’t give you the answer you expect.
Lee Gon continues to talk about his world like anyone cares, it’s not even presented well. Either he’s stuck up on what life he had there or he’s smart enough to know its useless to keep chattering about a world no one will believe.
In the 3rd episode we focus more on Kang Shin Jae, thank goodness. Kim Eun Sook is doing well fleshing out his character and honestly, he’s my favorite thus far alongside Eun Sup who I would have loved to see more of in this episode.
We also get more insight into Koo Seo Ryeong and it turns out she’s not entirely as bad as we thought she would turn out. She bosses people here and there and stands her ground. I like her character thus far.
There is also this weird scenario in which our detectives are investigating something and they’re hung up on, the drama does a poor job introducing us to that murder and we’re left wondering how it ties to the overall picture. There are a lot of scenes in which they try to solve the mystery.
I think it’ll be tied to the crazy Lee Lim eventually because the circumstances are odd but the handling of this part is especially bad from a writing perspective.
Through conversations, Lee Gon provides more explanation about his world which helps clear more misunderstanding the viewers had with the premiere.
Some odd things also happen in this episode, Lee Gon experiences pain which is supposedly because he traveled between the two worlds, time also oddly stops. He also suspects his uncle didn’t die. There are few new leads about Lee Lim but they’re far and in between hardly enough to keep the 3rd episode from boring me.
I am very confused by Kim Eun Sook here. There are so many things going around in all directions and I don’t understand why she’s introducing them like that or why she’s including them to begin with. This includes Lee Lim foreseeing the future, time stopping and Lee Gon kinda cringy ‘pain’ caused by what he did.
I really like Kang Shin Jae’s character and he looks so cool. He’s a scene stealer plus, I really like his chemistry with Tae Eul a lot more than I do with Lee Gon.
I still can’t understand why Lee Gon likes Tae Eul and I don’t think I’ll ever will. But simply put, “The King: Eternal Monarch” episode 3 was lacking. It could’ve been so much better.
I don’t know how netizens have reacted to this episode, I haven’t checked Naver yet but I am curious about how the ratings will be for today’s episode.
Thus far, “The King: Eternal Monarch” brings nothing new to the table. I bet it’s a wonderful experience if you’re a Lee Min Ho fan.
So these are my thoughts, what about you guys? let me know how you feel in the comment section below!
The trailers were entrancing and i had high hopes, but i am left feeling wanting even though there is so much that could be happening. I came searching for reviews, wondering if i was the only viewer thus far bored with the whole thing. I think your review hits the nail on the head. I keep waiting for something to happen or make sense but the drama just keeps spinning its wheels. For instance, the king keeps pouting that Tae Eul is not including him but he’s given her no reason to do so with his spoiled behavior. I keep thinking LMH looks bored and that he regrets agreeing to do this drama and is just going through the motions. Tae Eul needs to not be so abrasive – we get you’re a hard-nosed cop but you don’t have to be so standoffish with the King all the time. The world switching is also confusing, sometimes it takes a second to orient oneself to which world an event is happening in which takes away from the story. I’m hoping Episode 4 gets much, much better.
I agreed to everything you mentioned. I’m disappointed but will keep watching. Hopefully they’ll get better…I’m already starting to feel bored.
I love Lee Min Ho. But I agree with your comments. I just watched ep 3 & 4 and it is boring. Not catching any feels at all.
Hey, I agree with the things you’ve said to some extend. First of all, I didn’t have any expectations for the series since I haven’t watched any of the previous work from this writer. I’m not an ardent fan of Korean dramas, well, I used to watch them a lot 6 years ago but now they simply can’t make me feel the way I felt back then, maybe because it was something new for me, I used to like almost everything, maybe if these series were made back then I wouldn’t have any issues. I love Lee Min Ho, again I’m not a hardcore fan but his BOF was my 2nd drama and basically, this was the reason I began to watch Kdramas, so he holds a special place in my heart and I follow all of his stuff. Back to the series….I have so many issues with it. I have very pleasant and unpleasant feelings with it. The first episode was okay, it wasn’t something extraordinary or groundbreaking but I still was interested to know what follows next. But still, I have many issues. The second episode was wtf moment, it was super cringy. Who writes the dialogues, man? Some 5 years old!? They fell so blunt at moments. I can’t comprehend Lee Gon’s reaction while entering the parallel world. He wasn’t surprised at all. As if he didn’t go to a parallel world but to a different neighborhood. On the other hand, the way he explains how he is from a different world also feels flat, the way Jung Tae-ul reacts towards his “bullshit” as if it’s not “bullshit” although she thinks exactly that way. She still follows him, why she just doesn’t say he is lunatic or something and leave him? All their reactions related to this parallel world are so childish. Also the Royal’s Guard other self is so cringy and annoying, why they put such characters, why Lee Gon wants to take him into his world when his real friend is not like him??? Lee Rim if a fortuneteller? I also noticed that the card of Jung Tae-ul that Lee Gon is keeping all these years has a date of issue 11.11.2019, a date which is ahead of the world they are living in. It seems something with time-traveling will play a role later on….but how all these years he didn’t wonder why the date of issue is so ahead of their time? And now the third episode, there some things that keep happening but are not explained. The plot is being stretched for 3 episodes and we don’t really have any clue. The homicide? What it has to do with our main characters, it has something to do, I’m pretty sure. Anyways, it’s still too early but the series has 16 episodes max., I think I will give it a chance and will watch the 4th episode, if anything doesn’t happen by the 5th I think I would just give it up. I would have given it up by the 2nd episode if it wasn’t for Lee Min Ho. It’s so disappointing!
I agree with this article. The love story doesn’t make any sense. How can there be love when they only met a handle of times? That’s why you can’t feel the chemistry between them. The director and writer did a horrible job with this drama. They also need to cast better leads that looks good. The only reason why they cast that female lead is because she was in Goblin but i don’t think she’s a good actress, she’s very awkward and make you wonder why she was famous to begin with.
I agree with your review about the 3rd episode. I was bored watching the first 15 minutes of episodes.
Agreed. had to force myself to watch the show though i have since given up
I’m in love with all the characters of TKEM. I am always waiting for Friday and Saturday to come. Great plot and never boring for me.
A whole new take about the parallel world. All original. The writer must really have a vivid imagination to come up with this refreshing storyline and circumstances. I rate this 5 stars!