So, after awhile distracted by contemplating the hair in the photo below,
I’ve got some asks for you, and for anyone else who would like to take them on.
- LMH has taken a lot of online heat for his acting (in this project and others), what are your top three acting moments from him as Lee Gon in TKEM?
- What do you think Lee Lim intended to do with the power he was seeking via the flute? Do you think he had any intent on conquering other worlds, or only the Kingdom’s?
- Do you read the final scene between Kang Hyeon-Min (our Sin-Jae) and Luna in the repaired timeline as romantic?
- Do you excuse Jo Yeong from preventing Tae-Eul from seeing Lee Gon following the poisoning?
- What are some moments you feel undeniable chemistry on-screen between Tae-Eul and Lee Gon?
- Name your favorite third-tier character and explain why they are so.
Thanks! Here’s a tip for your trouble.
Yay, questions! OK, here goes:
LMH has taken a lot of online heat for his acting (in this project and others), what are your top three acting moments from him as Lee Gon in TKEM?
I’d only seen parts of one series of Lee Min Ho before “The King Eternal Monarch” so I wasn’t quite sure what to expect, TBH. But he turned out to be an engaging actor who can handle comedy, action and drama with aplomb. I love his subtle work and there were quite a few of those moments in TKEM. But here are my top three:
In Episode 6, Jeong Tae Eul asks Lee Gon if he wasn’t going to show her her ID card and reminds him she needs to leave soon. You can see this great sadness just come over Lee Gon at the idea of her leaving. He tries to joke about it, telling her he won’t let her go, that she has to live there with him. In that last line, where Gon says “I can keep your here … with just one command,” Lee Min Ho does this pause in the middle of the line and his voice and demeanor very slightly changes – from a teasing “order” to an almost anguished plea. But it is all done so subtly.
Still in Episode 6, Gon teases Tae Eul that the steak and rice in a hot pot is his signature dish and that everyone falls for it. He wants her to ask who he’d made it for in the past, to show some jealousy. But she just says whoever that person was, she can’t beat them because they’d be from his world, unlike her. I remember tearing up watching this scene, watching Gon’s face fall at Tae Eul’s words. Again, Lee Min Ho does a heartfelt job conveying Lee Gon’s loneliness, his attachment to Tae Eul, the history of the ID card and its link to his tragic past.
In Episode 12, when Lee Gon and Jeong Tae Eul reunite at the intersection after the street battle. There’s a reason this scene ranks at the top or near the top of most fans’ list of iconic moments. Emotions are high and Lee Min Ho fully captures Lee Gon’s fear, desperation, worry and relief.
What do you think Lee Lim intended to do with the power he was seeking via the flute? Do you think he had any intent on conquering other worlds, or only the Kingdom’s?
A person like Lee Lim wouldn’t be content with just a kingdom, so I believe stealing the throne of Corea would have only been the beginning. After all, this is the person who told his brother right before he killed him that he planned on becoming “the very being who gives punishment from the skies.” Treasonous brother doesn’t just want to be king, he wants to be a god.
Do you read the final scene between Kang Hyeon-Min (our Sin-Jae) and Luna in the repaired timeline as romantic?
Not quite, but I could definitely see it develop into one. For one, Kang Hyeon Min is not making the same mistake twice. When Koo Seo Gyeong (Luna’s name in the fixed timeline) greets him as “hyung-nim,” much like Jeong Tae Eul in the previous timeline, he immediately tells her not to call him that. Dude no longer wants to be brother-zoned, LOL! Plus Seo Gyeong got adorably pleased when he told her he was buying her a birthday gift (Also, major kudos to Kim Go Eun here for making Seo Gyeong distinct from Luna AND Jeong Tae Eul, as she did with her other versions).
Do you excuse Jo Yeong from preventing Tae-Eul from seeing Lee Gon following the poisoning?
I’d recently posted on Twitter about Jo Yeong and this specific incident saying I was so mad at the captain of the royal guards. I get that everybody with Jeong Tae Eul’s face was suspicious after Gon’s poisoning by Luna, but COME ON! Even Prime Minister Koo Seo Ryeong figured out an easy way to determine if her mother was replaced with a simple question and answer. But the palace’s head of security couldn’t come up with something like that? Yeong could have asked Tae Eul anything that only she would have known, such as what their first conversation was about, what the king was wearing when he brought her food. Now, I get that the writer wanted Gon and Tae Eul separated for maximum angst, but unfortunately the way it was written turned Yeong into an incompetent and unfeeling idiot.
What are some moments you feel undeniable chemistry on-screen between Tae-Eul and Lee Gon?
Based on reactions I see on social media, my definition of chemistry slightly differs from a lot of people. I judge actors’ chemistry based on how well they play off against each other, how well they do with the back and forth (and I’ve been watching film and TV long enough to recognize lack of chemistry and even anti-chemistry, yes, that exists so I roll my eyes at those claiming LMH and KGE have no chemistry). So the first time I was really sold on the chemistry between Tae Eul and Lee Gon (or more accurately, Lee Min Ho and Kim Go Eun) was during the precinct scenes in episode 2. It was so much fun watching the way Tae Eul needled Gon and how he couldn’t help himself from rising to the bait and the actors handled the bickering/bantering with ease (I’d love to see these two in a straight-up romcom). Basically any scene they share – their chicken date at the waterfront, their nighttime bamboo forest walk, when they were gossiping over Eun Sup and Na Ri’s mutual crushes at The Alley, when he took care of her at the hospital, etc.
But if we’re gonna equate on-screen chemistry with swooning, almost passing out because I forgot to breathe, then here are a couple of my picks:
The first time Lee Gon takes Tae Eul to Corea and tells her his name, in episodes 4/5: They’d just come out of the obelisks on Maximus and the Royal Guards show up. Gon asks them to take 10 steps back as Tae Eul was still in shock. Gon then whispers close to her ear, “See? I was right, wasn’t I?” Tae Eul turns her head, their faces mere inches apart. Gon says, “I’m the king of the kingdom of Corea, and my name, which you cannot say, is Lee Gon.” I swoooooned.
And in episode 12, the whole sequence that includes the “beheading” kiss: From the moment Tae Eul sneaks a look at Gon while the young doc tattles on her about asking for alcohol to the gradual pullback of the camera as we see Gon sink into the bed with Tae Eul. BUT ESPECIALLY the beheading kiss, which starts off with bickering and then turns electric with that neck smooch (that was loud enough to hear!). And all those deep, soulful gazes before the actual kissing. That was delicious to watch!
Name your favorite third-tier character and explain why they are so.
OK, by third tier it’s anybody not in the poster and the news conference, right? It’ll have to be Head Court Lady Noh and Chief Park of the Violent Crimes Squad Three.
I love Lady Noh’s character and backstory, the wonderful job she’s done raising Lee Gon, her intellect and understanding of politics and social media, her relationships with Gon and Jeong and even the palace staff and royal guards.
And I also love Chief Park, with his little “solitude” sidestory. And how he pays attention even when he doesn’t seem like he does (like when he provided Kang Shin Jae the plate number of the car tailing him). How he actually listens to his detectives, even when he complains (giving Tae Eul more time to investigate Lee Sang Do).
Fandom: The King: Eternal Monarch Characters: Lee Gon, Jeong Tae-eul Rating: E (Everyone)
Summary: Tae-eul brings home a surprise that brings chaos to the palace, and Lee Gon finds he has met his match in the very adorable yet problematic new member of the royal family. One shot.
Excerpt below! Please check out the fic on AO3!
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Gon’s eyes narrow as she scratches the cat between the ears. “What made you want a cat anyway? You never mentioned it before. I could have gotten you one.”
“I never wanted one before. But Bun is special.” Tae-eul rolls her eyes. “And I wouldn’t want you to get me one anyway.”
She starts to walk through the study and head towards their private rooms, Gon following on her heels. “Why can’t I buy you a cat?”
“Because…” She gives a shrug as they enter their bedroom suite. “I don’t have many things that are just mine. But Bun is mine.” Tae-eul turns and gives him a smirk. “Plus, you get to have a pet. Why can’t I?”
“I don’t have a pet,” Gon scoffs.
“What about Maximus?”
His eyes go wide. “How can you call her a pet? She is a well-bred horse and a perfect specimen—”
“She’s an animal you own. Just like Bun. Plus, Bun actually likes me.”
“Maximus likes you,” he argues.
“Ha!” she exclaims. “Maximus barely tolerates me and only for your sake.”
“So the cat will only tolerate me?” Gon asks jokingly.
Tae-eul gives him a grin as she places the cat on the bed, and he regards it suspiciously as it starts to nose around. “It’s not sleeping with us, is it?”
“Where else would a cat sleep?”
“I can buy it ten beds.”
She simply laughs and moves towards him, reaching up to kiss the corner of his mouth. “Try to get along with him, hm?” Gon would normally appreciate the sentiment, but he narrows his eyes as he watches the cat hop off the bed and move towards his closet to explore.
