K-Drama Reaction: The King Loves

“Love is not always easy to portray. Love that runs deep can seem like hatred, and then some get lost. One must take pity on that, not be furious or upset.”

GRUMPY ALLEY

To be honest, I was a bit conflicted with how this drama is going to end. I know I always take the drama on face value, without analyzing the deeper way of its storytelling. So please allow me to give my two cents in terms of the technicalities now that we are done with the penultimate episode.

THE RECONCILIATION

So… yes, Rin (Hong Jong-hyun) is alive. Although I am happy for my bias to still breath Goryeo air, I was a bit disappointed with the lack of depth in the way the best friends reconciled. The King Loves had this problem of facing issues head-on and instead, they always deal with every plot point through flashbacks. I don’t want to sound negative because there are cases that it worked and it made me feel some sort of emotions, but this time it’s not just working. Rin’s supposed farewell letter for Won (Siwan) wherein he revealed his most important secret was a bit lousy in execution. Just like that, they are back as friends again, ready to save Eun San (Yoona) from danger.

SONG-IN’S INSANITY

Remember when Song-in (Oh Min-suk) talked about the pleasure of toying with other people? Again, I am a little confused with how Song-in is currently portrayed as this crazy villain who is grieving the lost of his loved one. From a scheming political figure, he just turned into this madman overnight. His grand plan was to urge either Dan (Park Hwan-hee) or San to drink the poisonous tea to take revenge against Won. Wow.

Also, Bi-yeon (Park Ji-hyun) is the most disappointing character of them all! How can you be easily swayed into Song-in’s crap??? I get it. She had fallen head over heels because of snake tattoo oppa Moo-suk (Park Young-woon). But where on earth was her common sense when she was told to lie about San’s fake pregnancy? She wanted to save San, but because of her stupidity, now San may die.

THE NEVER-ENDING CONFUSION

This is one of the most stressful Korean dramas that I have watched, no doubt. So, who does the heroine love? Is it the mighty Crown Prince, or the noble friend? She cares for both of them. She likes both of them, although not clear who’s who. And she continuously agonizes about the possibility of hurting them.