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Rock Solid, Entertaining Show...Until the Very End
Eun-Sook Kim hasn't failed me yet. She is a master storyteller, focusing on deep, rich characters and plots. "Mr. Sunshine" is still her masterpiece with "Descendants of the Sun" just a hair behind it. "The King: The Eternal Monarch" is another great series, even if it doesn't quite hold up against the other two. I still enjoyed it.
I give props to any writer who attempts to tackle "time travel" as a major plot device. It's not easy, and there is so much to keep track of. The best ones tend to provide the best and most feasible explanations. The worst ones tend to make the viewer believe that the writer had no clue how to write using time travel. In my opinion, "Star Trek" and "Star Trek: The Next Generation" always did the best job when it came to stories regarding parallel universes.
The story centers around Lee Gon, King of the Kingdom of Corea, which we quickly find out, is a parallel world to the world that we know. His half-uncle (Lee Lim) seems to be plotting the overthrow of the current king--Lee Gon's father--but we find out that his true aim is to possess a flute that gives the wielder the ability to crossover into those parallel worlds. The coup attempt leaves Lee Gon's father dead, Lee Gon half alive as a young boy, and Lee Lim escaping. However, both are in possession of half of the flute (as it was cut in half), giving Lee Gon and his uncle the ability to crossover.
We find that Lee Gon grows up to be a genious in Quantum Physics, giving him the ability to use mathematical equations to access parallel worlds at various points in time as well as calculate the pitfalls of he and his uncle only having half the flute. Somehow, Lee Lim--not being a Quantum Physics genius--is able to remain a step ahead of his half-nephew.
Lt. Jeong Tae Eul is a young detective in the violent crimes unit as a black belt in Taekwondo. She is the first to come across Lee Gon when he crosses over into the Republic of Korea. Of course, she was immensely skeptical of him when he tells her who he is and where he is from.
Once again, we are provided with rich characters and fantastic actors to play them. Min-Ho Lee (Lee Gon) and Go-Eun Kim are the leads, and it's clear that their chemistry is what helps to drive the story. All of the supporting characters are great as well. The fact that nearly every actor has to play their main role plus their counterparts, was done seemlessly!
It can be a bit challenging keeping track of all the characters and their counterparts, as each character also has a different name in the parallel world. I also wasn't satisfied with the ending. It was as if Eun-Sook Kim tried to find a middle ground for the ending. Would Lt. Jeong Tae Eul become Lee Gon's queen and go to live in his world? Would Lee Gon give up his kingdom and go to live in Tae Eul's world? Both aren't likely, despite the deep love that they have. I know people tend to love "happy endings" so instead, we have both characters spending weekends traversing the multiverse and visitng various parallel worlds. Funny how Tae Eul always has weekends off, despite being a detective, and Lee Gon can simply leave his kingdom whenever he chooses. Nice ending? Sure. Realistic one? No. This wasn't like "Crash Landing On You" in which the two are separated by a wall and have no choice but to make the best of it. This is finding a "happy solution" rather than the "right solution."
Still, I wouldn't let the end prevent you from watching this series. Korean Dramas are fantastic at giving us good characters and good plots that keep us invested and longing to watch the next episode. You won't be disappointed by this series at all.
I give props to any writer who attempts to tackle "time travel" as a major plot device. It's not easy, and there is so much to keep track of. The best ones tend to provide the best and most feasible explanations. The worst ones tend to make the viewer believe that the writer had no clue how to write using time travel. In my opinion, "Star Trek" and "Star Trek: The Next Generation" always did the best job when it came to stories regarding parallel universes.
The story centers around Lee Gon, King of the Kingdom of Corea, which we quickly find out, is a parallel world to the world that we know. His half-uncle (Lee Lim) seems to be plotting the overthrow of the current king--Lee Gon's father--but we find out that his true aim is to possess a flute that gives the wielder the ability to crossover into those parallel worlds. The coup attempt leaves Lee Gon's father dead, Lee Gon half alive as a young boy, and Lee Lim escaping. However, both are in possession of half of the flute (as it was cut in half), giving Lee Gon and his uncle the ability to crossover.
We find that Lee Gon grows up to be a genious in Quantum Physics, giving him the ability to use mathematical equations to access parallel worlds at various points in time as well as calculate the pitfalls of he and his uncle only having half the flute. Somehow, Lee Lim--not being a Quantum Physics genius--is able to remain a step ahead of his half-nephew.
Lt. Jeong Tae Eul is a young detective in the violent crimes unit as a black belt in Taekwondo. She is the first to come across Lee Gon when he crosses over into the Republic of Korea. Of course, she was immensely skeptical of him when he tells her who he is and where he is from.
Once again, we are provided with rich characters and fantastic actors to play them. Min-Ho Lee (Lee Gon) and Go-Eun Kim are the leads, and it's clear that their chemistry is what helps to drive the story. All of the supporting characters are great as well. The fact that nearly every actor has to play their main role plus their counterparts, was done seemlessly!
It can be a bit challenging keeping track of all the characters and their counterparts, as each character also has a different name in the parallel world. I also wasn't satisfied with the ending. It was as if Eun-Sook Kim tried to find a middle ground for the ending. Would Lt. Jeong Tae Eul become Lee Gon's queen and go to live in his world? Would Lee Gon give up his kingdom and go to live in Tae Eul's world? Both aren't likely, despite the deep love that they have. I know people tend to love "happy endings" so instead, we have both characters spending weekends traversing the multiverse and visitng various parallel worlds. Funny how Tae Eul always has weekends off, despite being a detective, and Lee Gon can simply leave his kingdom whenever he chooses. Nice ending? Sure. Realistic one? No. This wasn't like "Crash Landing On You" in which the two are separated by a wall and have no choice but to make the best of it. This is finding a "happy solution" rather than the "right solution."
Still, I wouldn't let the end prevent you from watching this series. Korean Dramas are fantastic at giving us good characters and good plots that keep us invested and longing to watch the next episode. You won't be disappointed by this series at all.
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