I give an A- for script. Hey, I survived the stupid tornado CGI and the stilted conversation during the first week of “Crash Landing on You,” didn’t I?
1. “Through the Looking Glass”
I know that the book “Alice in Wonderland” was given a lot of importance here in this episode because of the White Rabbit and the Clock. But for me, the sequel of the children’s book, “Through the Looking-Glass,” made more sense.
Visually, that title would explain the shattering of the glass ceiling,
the Dark Rescuer crashing through glass,
Lee Gon staring at the reflection of himself here at the glass facade,
and the rider and horse going through a glass-like portal.
Thematically, the book fits, too, with the kdrama. You see, in “Through the Looking Glass,” Alice wonders about living on the other side of a looking glass. When she suddenly finds in herself in the opposite side of the glass, she realizes that everything is a mirror-image of her reality.
Likewise, in this drama, when Lee Gon crosses through the glass-like portal into the parallel world, he discovers that everything in alternate world is the reverse of what he left back home.
The poster of course was a hint, right? The city scene is reflected on the puddle, only in reverse.
For instance, in the Kingdom of Corea (KOC), Lee Gon is a king whose name is known far and wide. In the Republic of Korea (ROK), he’s a nameless Joe because a) he doesn’t want to give his name, and b) the state has no records of him. Thus, he’s given the name of Kim Gaeddong.
Aside from being nameless, he’s only penniless, too in ROK. Having spent all his diamond buttons on frivolous things, he doesn’t even have money for a cup of coffee.
In KOC, the death of Lee Gon’s father was mourned by the whole nation. The funeral service was a state affair. His father seemed to be well-liked by his people, although he was a bit too gullible with his older brother.
In ROK, his counterpart is a drunkard and a wife-beater, judging from the bruises on the wife. He died in an “accidental” traffic accident (I’ll wage a penny that the Uncle pushed him in the path of the truck, lol). But his wife wanted him cremated by the state because she had no money for burial.
Same thing with Lt. Jung Tae-Eul.
She’s fiery police officer in ROK but back in KOC, she’s street urchin and petty thief named Luna. In ROK, she chases bad guys and locks them up. She can stand up against Lee Gon and order him around. In KOC, bad guys chase her and she keeps running away from Lee Gon.
She thinks her blue blouse, yellow pants and brown coat are the epitome of city chic, while her counterpart Luna in KOC is dressed in all black as a WHITE Rabbit. I guess something never changes even in alternate worlds: they both have bad dress sense.
As for this uncle of Lee Gon?
I think he’s the body found in the trunk of the car.
2. The Uncle
I believe the Uncle has been reinventing himself in ROK for 25 years.
In 1994, when he first appeared in ROK after fleeing Corea, he discovered that his parallel self was a decrepit old man on a wheelchair. He quickly killed him off. Then he brought the body back through the portal so it would wash up on the shoreline. The Uncle wanted the police to think that he committed suicide.
After 25 years in “exile” in ROK, the Uncle has now become a painter of the exterior of historic buildings. I find this ironic that he RESTORES traditional designs on historic structures given that he almost destroyed the Royal House of Corea with his coup.
Monk: I’m sure you have a good car, a secretary, and other better things to do. Why are you doing tough work like this?
Uncle: This dancheong has 300 years of history. Painting over it like this is as if I’m covering it with another history. A history of my own.
Monk: I see. That’s why your color seems to have depth.
He’s metaphorically whitewashing his past. He’s recreating his past so his present-day image will appear benevolent.
That’s the reason he offered to solve this mother’s problem. He was pretending to empathize with the mom’s anger.
Uncle: What did you pray for?
Mom: I wish…I wish my son could walk.
Uncle: That will not happen. Your son will never get to walk. However, you can make those children limp. Would you like to change the prayer?
Later, it was reported that the three elementary students who bullied her son were seriously injured by a truck while jaywalking. The students wouldn’t make a full recovery.
Hmmm…Doesn’t this remind you of adage, “An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind”?
Following this scene, the wife of parallel King was seen buying flowers for her dead son’s columbarium. I suspect that she still didn’t know that the Uncle killed both her husband and son. As far as she knew, her son’s death was her fault because the Uncle told her, “How pathetic you are! You’ve sinned by laughing once, and now you can never laugh again.”
Hmmm…And you know what this reminds me off? Bad karma.
I think the Uncle has been feeding off on the negative energy. He thrives on people’s resentment and grudges.
For instance, the abused wife didn’t wish for her husband’s death. But it was understandable that she felt happy about his death. She was released from misery and could start a new life with her son. But the Uncle had killed both and he blamed the death on her son as *cosmic retribution* for her glee at her husband’s death.
The mom of the bullied child originally didn’t intend to harm her son’s bullies. All she prayed for was that her child would walk again. But the Uncle put the thought in her head that wishing *cosmic retribution* on the bullies was a better option. He enticed her with, “Would you like to change the prayer?”
I find it intriguing that so far, all his victims have been male. But although he didn’t kill these women, he certainly caused them emotional and spiritual ruin. The abused mom, for instance, was a walking dead.
We’ll soon find out his reason for sparing these women death.
3. The ID
The reason the Old Woman hide the broken flute and the ID was because she knew something magical was going on.
Old Woman: I’ve been keeping it secret. And I brought it to give it back to you despite my fear. What an odd thing it is. Something that is silent yet makes a sound. And something that cannot be identified yet exists. Which is why I wish you’d forgotten everything.
LG: Is this a secret between us?
Old Woman: Yes, Your Majesty.
LG: Do you think it’s here? The secret why I survived that day.
Just by looking at the ID, Lee Gon would have known that his rescuer was a time-traveller. You see, the ID that he snatched from neck of his rescuer didn’t make sense.
The picture on it showed of an adult female. But the information on the ID said that adult female, named (Lieutenant) Jeong Tae-Eul, was born in May 27, 1990.
Remember the coup happened in 1994. The ID should have shown a picture of a preschooler. lol.
The other important feature on the ID was the date November 11, 2019. He couldn’t go back to 1990, but Lee Gon could wait until 11/11/19 to see what was going to happen. That’s why he’d been studying Quantum Mechanics and the parallel universe theory.
He looked at the clock on his desk and saw that he had two months to find her. His current time was September 10, 2019,
4. Who rescued young Lee Gon?
Well, the shooter had to be tall. See these?
He used one of the guards as his shield. And his head almost reached the top of the glass case.
Tae-Eul is short. lol.
And look at those long limbs.
Plus the eyes were too big to be Tae-Eul’s.
Didn’t LG say that he was born with deep-set eyes?
I’m sure many of us here already guess that it was the adult Lee Gon (and not TaeEul) went back in time to rescue the young Lee Gon, and left TaeEul’s ID.
But for me, his identity is NOT the big issue here.
For me, what’s more bothersome about this plot is the endless loop. How many times has Lee Gon gone back in time to rescue himself?
Think about this. In the beginning of Episode 1, we saw that the 2019 adult LG went back in time to rescue the 1994 young LG. Then, the young LG grew up, wondered why his savior didn’t contact him,
then reached the year 2019, discovered about the portal, and found TaeEul, the girl on the ID.
Now what if this grownup LG decides to go back in time again in order to change history or to rescue himself again? He’ll have to travel back to 1994 again, encounter the young child and accidentally leave the ID. He’ll unwittingly repeat the cycle.
Now, this new 1994 prince will grow up, look for his rescuer in 2019, go back in time, leave ID and…
Over and over again.
Do you see what I mean?
In my opinion, Lee Gon is called the “Eternal King” not because immortal or divine. He’s human. We saw that him almost murdered when he was a child.
He’s eternal because he’s non-stop repeating his history.
That’s probably why he saw himself in the mirror reflected many times.
Same with this sidekick, Captain Jo.
Also, this would explain why the young Lee Gon knew exactly how to stop the Jo from crying. He offered him a toy, and gave him a name, right away. He probably did this a few times already so it was deja vu for him.
That’s my guess: the two of them are caught in this time loop. Same with the Uncle.
5. The Interrogation Room
This kdrama began with the Uncle, in bloodstained clothes, being interrogated by TaeEul and her colleague. The year is 2020. He committed regicide in 1994.
Police: Name: Lee Lim. Born in February 1951. Currently aged 70 in the year 2020. Explain this. For me, this is harder to believe.
Uncle: I really am 70 this year. I’ve hardly aged since the winter of 1994. Since then, my time passed by slowly unlike you guys.
Police: Why did it pass by slowly? You’re just a guy born in 1951.
Uncle: Because I finally got my hands on the Manpasikjeok. I took it from my brother who had it, but did not believe in it.
If time passed slowly for the Uncle and he didn’t age because he had half of the flute, shouldn’t it be the same for Lee Gon who had the other half the flute? Shouldn’t he have stopped aging at 8 years old, too?
My theory here is time doesn’t slow down in the parallel world ROK so much as it can move backwards. In the trailers, we see the second hand move counter-clockwise.
You see, in the book “Through the Looking Glass,” the time inside the mirrored/parallel world moves backwards.
For instance, Alice meets the White Queen who first puts on plaster on her finger, then screams in pain, and finally pricks her finger on a brooch. When she does prick her finger, she doesn’t scream. So Alice asks her, “Why don’t you scream NOW?” And the White Queen answers, “Why, I’ve don’t all the screaming already. What would be the good of having it all over again?”
lol.
So, what’s that got to do with this kdrama?
Wellllll… as the White Queen was fussing about her finger, she was also gossiping about the King’s messenger who’s in jail for a crime he hasn’t committed yet. “There’s the King’s Messenger. He’s in prison now, being punished: and the trial doesn’t even begin till next Wednesday: and of course the crime comes last of all.’
I wouldn’t be surprised if the uncle went back in time and tried to kill his nephew again so he could have the flute intact. To me, Lee Gon’s Uncle must be stopped before he committed the crime.
But in the interrogation room, he was bloodied again….
6. “Off with your head!”
That’s a reference to the Red Queen’s favorite command in “Alice in Wonderland.” Lee Gun is channeling the Queen.
7. The engraving on the Four Tiger Sword
“The sky and the ground help the earth balance
defeat the bad and make things just.”
Sky is represented by Luna
Or Tae-Eul. It is whoever stays alive in the end. We know from the write-ups
that Luna is diagnosed with cancer and has three months to live. But it seems like Tae-Eul has a heart condition (just kidding).
Ground is Lee Gon/Kim Poop or Kim Gaeddong. You see poop on the ground. lol.
The young Lee Gon’s version in ROK didn’t survive the Uncle’s attack. The police found his body in the reservoir.
To me, the inscription on the sword means that both of them are needed to restore peace, defeat evil and seek justice.
BTW, when Lee Gon crossed the portal (or when both halves of the flute were in the same dimension), time paused for the Uncle. His bowl of red paint suspended in air.
As for Tae-Eul, her Corean version Luna appeared in the mirror.
8. Last, the King’s dream
I’ll have to finish this another time because I’m sleepy. Sorry. 🙂
So for the first two episodes, I find the script of this kdrama to be heckuva lot more interesting than “Crash Landing on You.” CLoY was two-dimensional. I knew I was a getting a romance with peripheral politics on North Korea; that’s it. This one, however, is just warming up.
Lee MinHo’s lines are cheesy but hey, I don’t care if his lips are moving. I’m fine just looking at his nose. That’s quite a regal-looking nose he got there.
Oh I bow down! 🙇🏻♀️ Thanks! ☺️
Oh yeah, the uncle goes back and forth and tries to kill LG because he still wants the other half of the flute and Captain Jo saw him on the pictures from the girl who has a crush on him. But he doesn’t recognise uncle obviously.
I thought that mirror reflecting LG multiple times meant something and same for Yeong too.
It was interesting that LG said that he’d heard the flute playing on the night of his Father’s murder so definitely something about him and the flute.
I agree about his nose. I did look at it on that last scene and was like dang, such a great looking nose. 😂
Man Se. Man Se. Man Man Se. Queen Packmule the Third reigns. I will recall Mo TaeGoo and tell him to ignore the kill order. I will give this another week (Ep4) before I decide whether or not to bail. But I am having great fun on Cynical Island so I will stay for company 🥂🍹
Wow! Thanks @packmule3☺️ This seems interesting now. All hope is not lost yet 💪💪 Will check it out next weekend.
Since it’s quarantine and I have literally nothing else to do, I’ll keep on watching this drama but from Cynical Island (I’m too young to be called a ahjumma anyway) and I like the company here.
So I’ll be staying till everyone decides to bail 😂 Hopefully it gets better from here with less filler scenes.
It sounds like Lee Gon, his uncle and their henchmen will travel back again and again a bit like ‘Ground Hog Day’ until one of them succeeds. Hmmm.
Why do you think LG’s uncle Prince Buyeong (or his parallel counterpart?) is the body in the car? He arrived by jet in time for the latter part of the funeral. He would be next in line for the throne, judging by the increased security every time the king runs off. He says he was amused by LG’s escapes. Is he another time/dimension traveler and if so, is he good or bad?
Luna is Tae-Eul’s counterpart or is she Tae-Eul stuck in KoC? Similar to LG in RoK, she has no identity and Luna seems a made-up name.
I’m putting my money on LG.KOC’s tall dark savior being Prince Sohyeon.
After his library research in ROK, LG tells TE, “The history of this country separated since Prince Sohyeon. In your world, he passed away early, while in my world, he remained in history as King Yeongjong. He stopped the Qing invasion. The history of the two worlds started to go separate ways since and ended up here now.”
In the world of our Korea, suspicion is that Sohyeon was murdered, possibly by his own father, the reigning king. Some believed his cause of death was a blow to the head, others thought he was poisoned. His burial was rushed and he wasn’t given the standard funeral ceremonies befitting a crown prince. Perhaps rumors varied so widely and the burial was rushed because there wasn’t a corpse. What if someone from the future came and rescued Prince Sohyeon before his death? And maybe his time-transcendant rescue is what caused one world to split into two parallel worlds. I would contend that he, whose Corea parallel is King Yeongjong, is the Eternal Monarch.
To return the favor, because it is 2020 Lee Gon who saves Prince Sohyeon, Sohyeon then goes to rescue 1994 LG.KOC. How does Sohyeon get his excellent firearm and fighting skills? Maybe his travel through time lands him where he can do some training, like at a taekwondo school, or on a police force… like TE’s friend and fellow officer Kang Shin Jae.
That’s my theory.
I also wondered about the i.d. from the murder scene. It’s not around the savior’s neck, it’s in a side pocket. That’s why the boy can reach it easily, maybe intentionally. (photo above) If the savior is LG rather than Tae-Eul, why does he have her i.d., and then why is adult LG so set on finding her if she’s not the savior? Or does he have to re-learn everything each time he grows up? No, not everything, certainly. Was Tae-Eul involved in something else in KoC? Was she the savior the first time but not after that?
Thank you @packmule 23 for your explanation above.
😀 I thought Prince Buyeong’s counterpart is the body in the trunk because:
a. The dead person is a Lee, also.
b. All the Lee’s must be killed off. Prince Buyeong is next. LG has to be isolated.
c. In the end, the last two men standing should be the Uncle and Lee Gon. There’s going to be a great battle between good and evil. And the hero must be made to think that it’s just his ragtag team vs a great powerful Uncle.
I think the writer is the type to deal with absolutes. 😂
d. Prince Buyeong arrived by jet and welcomed by palace. In contrast, his counterpart should be dead-on-arrival, stowed in the trunk of the car, identity unknown. 😂
TaeEul has to go to KoC. According to the write-ups, the female Prime Minister gets jealous of LG’s love, so I assumed that TaeEul showed up over there.
Luna is real. 🙂 I considered the possibility that she was only a hallucination but she bumped the water vendor.
But I don’t get why she reappears and disappears like that. Is she a plant by the Uncle? 🐰 We’ll find out soon, won’t we?
But I don’t get why she reappears and disappears like that. Is she a plant by the Uncle? 🐰 We’ll find out soon, won’t we?
Yeah that’s possible and can be connected to that picture of the uncle and when we first saw Luna running at the rowing competition which was scene by Captain Jo.
Who was the Court Lady speaking to? That’s not Prince Yeong right? He’s an older rank security palace guard.
It seems LG likes to hide somewhere every now and then.
Will answer you on blog. 🙂
Yes, No Ok-Nam (NON, Old Woman) seems to know what is going around in the background.
[The scene where the child Jo Young offers the grieving LG a cookie snack in Ep1.]
JY Father: He’s not moving an inch.
NON: Right.
JY Father: He shouldn’t talk to the King like that.
NON: It’s all part of a plan … Just wait and see.
Afterwards, it shows the encounter b/n the both of them in LG’s study. I definitely think there is more to that.
[Talisman scene in LG bedroom w/ NON]
LG: I guess they have the power to pull people toward you … PM Koo must be coming early every time because of these … She might actually become the Queen.
NON: Oh, that bitch … I mean … My Goodness … She cannot become the Queen.
What does NON know? Why can’t PM Koo become the Queen … other b/c she’s a bitch?
After LG leaves, she decides to put the talisman back, but this time clockwise instead. Seems like there is a lot of mention of “clock” in the episodes so far–clockwise, counterclockwise, rabbit w/ a clock.
Exactly, John!!
That whole conversation with the Old Woman and the dad of JY told me that I was on the right track about the time-loop.
and the reason she disapproves of the Prime Minister is because she knows more than she’s letting on. She knows who the Queen should be.
ANDD that’s the reason she withheld the talismans until it was the right time….
Sigh…but you preempted me. I guess I don’t have to explain about the “King’s Dream” then.
(evil laughter here)
So yah! Were you one of those dissing this writer? I told people to wait. Wait for her to develop her story.
@packmule3 – No, I absolutely was not dissing the writer. Granted that I am still a knewbie, but I was surprised people were writing off the series after the 1st episode. Let the meat marinate for awhile; not throw it on the grill after 1 minute. Some of ya’ll are savages.
I binge-watched the first two episodes last night. Uncle as a villain was very interesting.
Of course he is grandiose in the execution of his plans and has a delusion of greatness. But he is kind of nuanced in his delivery.
His evilness comes out as poetic and sarcastic. He used a sword with an inscription about finding balance to destroy the balance of the kingdom. He knew what was written in the blade and did read it (just as we wiewers did). It would be interesting to learn what kind of balance he believes into (since he is purposeful… no, he has a calling).
He gave something to his ROK sister in law (killed her husband) but took something away (her son). Then he admonished her for laughing at her husband’s disgrace and told her that her punishment was never to be able to laugh again. He destroyed her utterly. To let her alive is part of his punisment.
Same with the limp boy’s mom. He can’t give him back his legs but he can retaliate by destroying those boys for her. It is interesting that these boys were cruel with an intend way beyond their ages.
He believes in Power and its symbols, that is why he wants to restore old Joseon monuments in ROK. He probably just believes that power should be given to people with more imagination (as awareness of the latent possibilities) and strength than his dumb brother.
And yes, he basically only seems to kill off his kin, but that doesn’t exclude poetic justice.
So far, Uncle is kind of compelling and nuanced.
I thought I also saw LG’s clock going backwards when it was shown in the police station.
Your theory fits (and now I think I need to read Through The Looking Glass) that the evil uncle is not aging in the republic universe because his time is running backwards there.
It will probably also work the same for TaeEul if she went to Corea. But if Luna was not a parallel version of her but actually her who came to the past to rescue kid LG, it would only explain her being the same age in 2019 in Corea as an urchin but not her dying of cancer. Cancer shouldn’t probably evolve if your time runs backwards.
Anyway, it felt like LG came to the past to save himself to me as well. These kind of loops always appear in time travel movies. Can that cycle, after completed, be ever broken?
*watch not clock :))
But, argh, I was wrong, I looked for the scene again, it’s around min 13 in Episode 2. His watch seems to run normally. Funny, I was sure when I saw it the first time that there’s something wrong with it. I guess that was just me expecting that to happen
I was hoping that LMH will play two different versions of himself, one for each universe. My hopes were shattered in Episode 2 when it was revealed that LG conterpart in ROK drowned. (But we never saw a body!) On the other hand, if time travel is involved, we still get 2 versions of The King (may his name endure forever!)
At least we have 2 versions of WDH. As far as I am concerned, he can just smile and read a microwave manual and I still will be a happy shallow ahjumma…
The parallel universe thing reminds me of Fringe, an interesting and rather underrated show.
Love your theories! I hope Kim eun Sok is as smart as you (I really hope)
I don’t have much to say about Lee min Ho except he’s still on his quest to wear the ugliest winter sweaters cardigans in the history of kdrama leads. He already won with heirs and I think he’s just not willing to give up the throne being the eternal monarch (snort heh)
The pink one at the hotel lobby is terrible!!!’ *face palm*
I think Luna is able to skip into the other universe with ease. Either she can create a portal by carrying a part of the flute or she has innate abilities allowing her to create portals or use existing portals. She disappeared into thin air when LMH chased her (portal). (At the point where the buildings glass reflects many images – your looking-glass).
Great points @packmule. I wish I could rouse my interest to care more. I think the director is using to many “points of view” (or none) so the viewer isn’t engaging with any particular character. Whose story is this? It was the Prime Ministers point of view, then the court lady’s, then the bad guys etc etc. First rule of writing – pick a point of view. It feels like a show about strangers – v hard to engage, or to care. I’ll watch the next few episodes due to lockdown boredom …. Your analysis is really good to read btw.
lol. So you know about the LMH lame sweaters, too?
But I give him a break because that’s how I torment my brothers. I give them the tackiest Christmas sweaters for our family reunions. My pinnacle of gaudiness was this cat sweater with flashing light bulbs. Not even Lee MinHo can glamorize that sweater.
@Snow Flower
“ The parallel universe thing reminds me of Fringe, an interesting and rather underrated show.”
I LOVED Fringe. But it lost me after S4? I can’t remember. But Anna Torv and Josh Jackson were just beautiful together. Sigh…good times.
Hmm…controversies already? I didn’t think much about it but I guess Koreans are sensitive about Japan…
https://www.soompi.com/article/1395596wpp/the-king-eternal-monarch-producers-apologize-after-controversy-over-building-designs-resembling-japanese-architecture
Current state of our island nation (one nation 2 islands) – I hope I covered everyone.
Shallow island – population 1
– Oli (technically on the Bridge but ducks over whenever swoonworthy WDH appears on screen)
Bridge
– Queen Packmule the Third
– sayaris
– Table122000
– Smarie – walked onto Cynical Island after Ep2
– Snow Flower – eyeing shirtless bay from her vantage point.
– John – o”K” so far.
Cynical Island
At Bitter Regrets Bar
– Azlina lamenting how it was so draggy
– nrllee trying desperately to keep Mo TaeGoo appeased after blood lust trigger
– Cloud couldn’t get a hold of WDH’a gun so MTG happily offered his. She practised taking pot shots at fashion terrorists on Shallow Island.
– Fern and Phoenix discuss Hyun Bin and his dimples and how his muscles flexed as he canoed away from our island nation
– agdr03, Yoda and S.moureen discuss Bloody Mary-s and how you can potentially stop accidental spillage if you use the Force or jump through a portal at just the right time.
At equestrian center
– welmaris and Maximus who proves to be a great listener to her dissertation on all things historical
At Snarky Lake
– miracle23 watching DongMae swim (although he did duck away for a bit to a sword battle with purple assassin – Snow flower’s date)
On Rant road
– Anti-hug protestors Arihsi and Stardust
@nrllee: This is priceless🤣🤩 Bravo!!! May your wit endure forever 👏👏🙇♀️🙇♀️🙇♀️
I’m still drowning my sorrow (at Hyun Bin’s departure) in a glass of Naked Margarita together with Fern 🍸🍸 I may have tried to check earlier if HB’s scar (from CLoY) is real, and I may or may not gave had ulterior motives for doing that😜
I met the impossibly white Maximus earlier trying to dislodge his elaborate bridle🙄 He wasn’t particularly amenable to my attempts to get on his back (maybe I should borrow Yoda from agdr03 again to try horse-whispering to him🤔🤔) Wonder what tricks Welmaris used to make him such a good listener🤨
I don’t care which island I’m on as long as the company is so interesting as all everyone posting here🤩🤩
Am I one of them? 🤷🏻♀️ Busted! 😂
Please, pretty please enlighten me on the King’s dream. I want to know. That conversation between Jo’s Dad and Court Lady did caught my attention when she said “it’s all part of the plan”.
Thanks!
@Phoenix, you are a fine drinking mate. What was HB’s reaction to you trying to check his scars? Curious minds wish to know. Please tell me you didn’t scare him off.
Maximus is rather spoilt by Lee Gon and was sulking most likely. I think that if he thinks there’s a chance of his owner coming by, he won’t tolerate anyone else, if that’s a consolation.
@Smarie, good point about Luna’s ability to disappear. Thank you to everyone for their well-researched theories. It is getting more interesting for me. @packmule, may I second @agdr03’s request for more thoughts on the King’s dream?
@Fern I don’t think I came on too strong, though coy smiles like the ones Yoon Se-ri gives are beyond me (I think I have too big teeth to pull it off😛). I did try to keep Hyun Bin distracted with talk of his past dramas, while I “accidentally” dropped a whole glass of Naked Margarita on him (for obvious reasons, see the play on words😜). And while he was forced to take off his shirt to dry it, I took a sneak peek at his biceps and scar. One of his side-cheek dimples did make an appearance then I think but he was too polite to call me out on it😜
You are right about Maximus, I think. He prefers Tall, Dark and Handsome riders only, and I fall into none of those categories..alas!😞
Met Yoda strolling along Baybof Disdain and he told me to convey to all of my friends here who watched the drama:
“So certain were you. Go back and closer you look.”😇😇
Credit to the owner.
Even Maximus loves LMH. 🤪
https://www.instagram.com/p/B_PabC8p12p/?igshid=9icsacxz7t82
@agdr03 Lol..looks to me like Maximus likes LMH’s shampoo more😜😜😜 He took exception to the Pantene one I use, I think..🤔🤔🤔
Haha. @agdr03, horses are very curious. Facing away from them and ignoring them is a great way to get them to approach. Pretty adorable, isn’t it?
Maybe LMH’s wearing fruit scented shampoo, @Phoenix. Curious again; did HB have to swim afterwards, and more crucially, did you run off with his shirt?
Insightful explanation, pkm3, the Ultimate Show Whisperer! Thank you. Glad I finally know why the ceiling fell.
But would we need an oracle, if these episodes didn’t have flaws? A show referencing Alice-ah Through the Looking Glass shouldn’t be talking onscreen about Alice in Wonderland. That creates purposeless confusion. In an Ep 1, not knowing who the characters are is an expected obstacle. But when such confusion continues through Ep 2, either the script is structurally weak, and/or the director hasn’t created enough visual clues. (Ep 1 of this writer’s Mr. Sunshine had the same weakness. But she mastered her material by Ep 3, and I loved the show from there on.)
So I say, with so many of us drinking on Cynical Island, let’s make the iffy TK:EM into a drinking game!
That SASSY way she ties up her hair! Cheers! Netflix appearing on WDH’s TV! Geonbai!
Finding out why burning-through-the-screen Capt. Jo is famous-—oh yeah!
Wellmaris’ theory of Prince Sohyeon–yes! (I was a history major.)
Math! Math? An “inverse” means flipped inside-out or upside-down. Also, it’s a math term that I bet will be important to King math-whiz and his special watch. (“Reverse” is going backward.)
Watching their time reverse while mine stays still. Maybe.
LMH. Maybe.
Parallel worlds becoming as unintelligible as the game in MoAlhambra—no, no, no! I’m not turning into a Mad Hatter by going down a rabbit hole like THAT again! Unless I’m drunk enough to imagine HB!
I’ll answer you on the blog. 🙂
@Fern No HB’s shirt got dry but he lost it when a wind blew it off in Shirtless Bay, which was totally appropriate, as per me 🤣
Just ask @Snow Flower, who was looking towards the bay with binoculars and must have spotted a shirtless HB on Shirtless Bay.
HB took off on the canoe from the bay itself (still rowing shirtless)😜😜
“lol. So you know about the LMH lame sweaters, too?
But I give him a break because that’s how I torment my brothers. I give them the tackiest Christmas sweaters for our family reunions. My pinnacle of gaudiness was this cat sweater with flashing light bulbs. Not even Lee MinHo can glamorize that sweater.”
Dear @packmule3, so you know about psychological torture XD . You should also try the “I would like to see you wearing that sweater I gave you since I had such a delightful time selecting it for you”.
In other order of ideas for some reason this two parallel universes influencing one another remembered me of the mathematical operation of CONVOLUTION. Using Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Convolution
It states that the Convolution process is both the operator and the result of the operation in which two function (one right as it is and the other one INVERTED AND SHIFTED) are multiplied and integrated in order to see how one operates on the other. In other words, how this image of ROK (KOK is in this scenario the original function since our protagonist is the observer *cough* narrator *cough*) is transformed (operated) by ROK and it is interesting to see both places shifted in time and in both economic systems and values.
So as far as I see it (I haven’t read Lewis Carrol’s Alice in Wonderland nor Through the Mirror) while Mr. Carrol’s magnum operas deal with the world of imagination and a mathematical mirror of our reality, it is for King Lee to find what this interaction among universes will give as a result.
Please remember that while ROK is an industrial juggernaut with democracy and free speech (even if they are one of the most corrupt societies in the G20) while KOK seems less developed (trolley cars are charming as hell but also outdated) and if we take the “cut their heads” menace at face value then KOK seems more like a totalitarian monarchy with a Prime Minister and finger appointed representatives. It will be interesting to see the King improving his country.
Hope to read you all soon!!! =D
The ninja savior is seen walking into the treasure room. The camera focuses on the canvas lace-up sneakers with a star on the side; the style could be unisex, but several times later we see Tae Eul wearing that style shoe in different colors. Ninja savior kneels down (I note long legs) and takes a gun from a dead person’s hand. Evil Prince says his Ima-gonna-killya explanation speech. Just as child Lee Gon falls unconscious from strangulation, there’s the sound of a gunshot immediately followed by the sound of falling glass. Evil Prince lets go of child LG, who falls to the ground. As pieces of the shattered glass dome fall, Evil Prince raises raises an arm to protect himself from falling glass. Then we see the silhouette of ninja savior, gun in hand, walking from the hazy hallway into the inner chamber of the treasure room. I believe the savior used the first shot to distract the opposition, knowing they’d look up at the ceiling as the dome disintegrated. @S.moureen, nobody leaped through the glass ceiling, but it was a glass-shattering entrance all the same.
My opinion is that it doesn’t matter that ‘Alice in Wonderland’ is referenced in the drama but inspiration is drawn from ‘Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There’. The books created one universe, just as the series of Harry Potter books, the Star Wars movies, Marvel Comics, etc. have created universes that are recognizable no matter where in the body of work a reference comes from.
@Fern, I did spot shirtless HB around Shirtless Bay. He looked rather distraught because he was without his shirt and without his date. I directed him towards Bitter Regrets Bar where Master Yoda offered some words of comfort and reminded him that the bar also sells commemorative T-shirts with a cool island(s) map design.
@Snow Flower, I hope that @Phoenix has copyrighted the design. She’ll earn a packet by the end of the series and have the memory of HB wearing her design. Bonus.
Thank you for taking care of HB. Gosh, Master Yoda has been busy!
“I believe the savior used the first shot to distract the opposition, knowing they’d look up at the ceiling as the dome disintegrated.”
Maybe TE shattering the proverbial glass ceiling? So many of us here doubt her ninja powers? Don’t know. Like many I thought the figure was more like a man (LMH) than a woman (KGE).
@FGB4877. I need to read up about convolution. Maths was never my strong point. I may or may not emerge the wiser. 😂
Master Yoda offered some words of comfort and reminded him that the bar also sells commemorative T-shirts with a cool island(s) map design.
Oh I want my own t-shirt too! 😂
It’s copyrighted already @Fern. We can’t have @Phoenix’s design be seen/printed everywhere without her permission. 😄
@agdr03 Yes, as a co-host, you know that the map desigb is copyrighted already🙌 @packmule3 had advised me to get it copyrighted right away.
@Fern @Snow Flower, If you haven’t already, checknout the other Eternal Monarch assorted memorabilia available for sale at Bitter Regrets bar like mugs, coasters, caps, pouches, all with our map design. Some of the islanders’ dates have already purchased these 😎
@packmule3, @agdr03 and I have agreed that we will donate the sale proceeds to the Association of Morose Second Leads to cheer them up😇
@agdr03 I’ve already kept aside a set T-shirts and other memorabilia for you and @packmule3, which are not for sale. There are also some special ones with coo Master Yoda sayings printed on them so that you can be zen all the time😇😇
*cool Master Yoda sayings
I’m sure you will love them, @agdr03🤩
Awww you just made my day @Phoenix! Thank you girlfriend! 😘😍
Yes, a saying by Master Yoda will keep me zen and I need it too. 🤩
Thank yoooouuuu!
Aigoo, I just realized that the only drinking establishment on the island is The Bitter Regrets Bar on Cynical Island. It is not fair for Shallow Island not to have its own bar (Bare Chest Bar maybe?). And since many residents are currently hanging out on the bridge, it is fitting to open a drinking establishment there too, even if it is just a tent. It goes without saying that various memorabilia would be available for sale at these locations too, now that the demand is so high.
The Association of Morose Second Leads sounds like a worthy organization.
@Welmaris: Yes, all 3 of us Island hosts thought so, especially as we sympathize with the plight of those like Yoo Yeon-seok who are forever stuck playing second leads. They do need cheering up! I’m so happy that you think it’s a worthy cause too. Feel free to buy the memorabilia from the bar☺️
@Snow Flower: In view of the ongoing demand and to lure a few guests from the overpopulated Cynical Island over to Shallow Island, we’ve opened a small poolside bar beside ‘Liquid Lust Lake’. It’s a brilliant idea to call it ‘Bare Chests Bar’ as the guests can lounge around with drinks gazing at their bare-chested dates (except Yoda) taking showers under the ‘Waterfall of Shallowness’. Since my date (stolen from Fern) has escaped, I mean, had to leave, I’m currently meditating on ‘Manly Peaks’ in search of inner peace, and telling myself: “Covet not your guest’s date. In hospitality we trust”😇😇🙏🙏
Not sure if we should have a bar on ‘Eternal Monarch’ bridge as it’s way too windy and we don’t want any inebriated guests toppling into the sea accidentally. Worry not, you can always carry your drinks from the two bars on either side of the bridge while you walk on the bridge and ponder which island to move to next😊😊
“we’ve opened a small poolside bar beside ‘Liquid Lust Lake’. It’s a brilliant idea to call it ‘Bare Chests Bar’ as the guests can lounge around with drinks gazing at their bare-chested dates (except Yoda) taking showers under the ‘Waterfall of Shallowness’.”
Yes to the poolside bar @Phoenix. 😂🍹. May need to check it out (in the cover of darkness). Will need to wait till one of the leads shows some skin. The little bit of chest His Highness showed us doesn’t count. Although he did have a bunch of fan girls wishing they were his bathrobe (true story. Someone mentioned this in the other forum).
“The little bit of chest His Highness showed us doesn’t count. Although he did have a bunch of fan girls wishing they were his bathrobe (true story. Someone mentioned this in the other forum).”
Rookie baying frenzy; have learned nothing.
I will gladly buy a bunch of T-shirts for YYS’s sake…
“I will gladly buy a bunch of T-shirts for YYS’s sake…”
🤣🤣🤣
For him we will ~~~ 🤭🤭🤭
I will too! 🙌🏻🤣
Yaaayyy! You all are awesome!!!🤩🤩
You can buy from the bars on both our islands!😇 It’s for a good cause🙏
There are good reasons to think that Prince Buyeong is the body in the trunk; however, wouldn’t the two have the same age and likeness?
The hardware store man is 45 and his picture doesn’t match the Prince.
I really would wear one of Phoenix’s T-shirts. Really. For the design as well as the donation. It’s so grating when the 2nd lead is so much more attractive/acceptable/interesting/3 dimensional/brave/talented/whatever than the 1st.
@scout, good point. I wonder. It would be hard for the set design to make that mistake. Even harder than trying to pass a pony or miniature horse off as the foal of a horse like M.
I saw this just now, ref horse:
https://www.allkpop.com/article/2020/04/lee-min-ho-talks-about-his-chemistry-with-maximus-the-horse-in-the-king-eternal-monarch
Lol..Fern, it’s that fruit flavored shampoo, not khemistry 🤣🤣
@Phoenix, yes. Back during my time in the U.S., I had a boyfriend who loved really inexpensive (like $1/bottle) apple scented shampoo. I think VO5. Big spender, eh? I’ll bet a horse would go for that.
I was thinking that it must be the lemon candy LMH says he feeds the horse. In this country, people like to give Polo mints to horses. They are very strong and shaped like lifesavers. Horses love them. I think all of the above could be referred to as khemistry to a horse.
Polo mints for horses..so cute😍😍 I think I can a crush on Maximus! His white mane is so fluffy😘😘 Wondering if the lurking fangirls will want to kill me if I say Maximus is as handsome as LMH, or maybe the other way round!🤔🤔🤔
*have a crush🤣🤣
Even LMH said Maximus is cute so for me they’re the same. They go together as handsome as they can be.
Don’t worry about the fangirls, we have our protective barrier. 😉 Thanks to @pm3.
Yes,@agdr03, I’m so glad at least no lurker will suddenly appear out of the blue sea to post here that she wants to be LMH’s bathrobe 🤣🤣🤣🤣
Thank you for making our islands a safe zone, Queen @Packmule the Third🙏🙏🙏
Yes,@agdr03, I’m so glad at least no lurker will suddenly appear out of the blue sea to post here that she wants to be LMH’s bathrobe 🤣
Omo! Even with all our shallowness we can’t go down to that level. Oh wait, did we say something like that to our Yang Yang. 😂 Maybe? 😂
But who wore it better? The bathrobe I mean? And whilst we’re at it, the hair flick? 😂 Compare the pair.
https://www.instagram.com/p/B_SH4B_pJHc/?igshid=1pp88sml5e0vw
Sorry @nrllee, I still like Maximus’ mane flick better😜😜😜 No comments on bathrobes 🤐
So glad that we are donating all this money to AMSL..YYS can buy more shampoo serums now🤣🤣🤣🤣
Ladies, ladies. 🤣 YYS may have to refund the donations if he gets partnered in Playlist.
Speaking of style, why did LG rip his button off in a non-symmetrical way? That didn’t seem his style. It bugged me. I’m still confused as to why LG felt that he could spend all of his buttons on fashion and fancy hotels and still spend 3 days in the library? He blew all the proceeds in so few days, like he was on a long weekend in Dubai.
I have a soft spot for YYS since Warm and Cozy but the winner is Lee Gon on the bathrobe, not even the hair flick can change it. 🤣
@agdr03, bathrobes are a clever, manipulative tool on the part of directors. I’m not complaining, mind. 🤣
Right @Fern! We won’t ever complain. 😆
On LG’s finances though, I am wondering what will happen to him since he couldn’t even afford to buy coffee. Will TE take him in?
@agdr03, she’s his wife now, innit? Lol. And she would take control of the finances, same as Se-ri put spend controls on her home computer.
I laughed when he crumpled the paper cone (free water from the coffee bar?) and put it into his pocket before Shin Jae could see it.
she’s his wife now, innit? Lol.
😄 Got to give it to him, he’s got guts in putting that out to her, I thought it was smart too. You want to know me? Then I choose you to be my Queen! 🤩😂
Yes. A bold move, indeed! 😎
Give me the same scene in reality and I’ll say yes, sure! 🤪😂
And you a married lady. Tsk. 🤣
Bad woman! 🤦🏻♀️🤣
Perhaps not bad, agdr03. More likely you have a fine and precise imagination. 😉😂
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Thanks, @flyhoneystars.
May I repost some of your pictures on my blog and refer my 10 followers (lol) to your site?
You did a superb job of researching all the places. Thank you.
@packmule3
Hey sure, go ahead and re-post with the linkback. I’m really looking forward to more of your analysis! In fact, I spent a couple of hours reading your analysis for Memories of the Alahambra, cause I was really upset with the ending but your analysis made sense.
Thanks for writing and share 😀
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