I'm fairly new to K-dramas. I started this series not knowing anything about it but that it's a love story. I mainly started it because I watched Goblin and was so disappointed at what they did to Lee Dong Wooks character there (the Grim Reaper) and couldn't get over all his suffering. So I wanted to watch another drama with Lee Dong Wook where he gets a happy ending. Well, Hotel King was not a good choice for that. This series is dark and heartbreaking. It is just as much about love as it is about revenge, murder, corruption, secrets, family, manipulation and most of all - trauma and abuse. In fact I would go so far as to say that this show is about an outstanding man trying desperately to get away from his abuser. And I really didn't expect that when I started watching the show. There is a lot of suspense, mystery, tons of secrets, character development, heartbreak but also happiness in this series. Literally no one is who you think they are, not even the side characters, and nothing is as it seems initially. There is a huge amount of plot twists, none of which I saw coming, and almost every episode kept me thrilled and wanting for more. I don't know what I would have done if there was not an equal amount of love, reconciliation and happiness in this drama to balance all the horrible stuff that's happening.
I was very touched especially by Lee Dong Wooks acting here. He did so well portraying this terribly tormented character who is trying to keep it together with a huge amount of self discipline and control over his emotions. Then slowly we get to see the other, real side of this character and a glimpse of who he could have become had he not been so traumatized as well as hope for who he could become if some healing took place. I think I have hardly ever seen a performance that touched me this much. Lee Dong Wook really is an excellent actor, as he is good at portraying very complex emotions without even speaking much. Sometimes, it was as if you could almost hear the character screaming his thoughts that he doesn't dare to speak in his head by just looking at his facial expression. I must say, at times it was almost too intense for me, and the amount of suffering that Lee Dong Wooks character is going through here by far surpasses that of his character in the Goblin. It took me a long time to overcome this drama really and I think I will take a break from K-dramas for a while now.
I would still whole-heartedly recommend this drama. It is absolutely thrilling, exciting, different, a perfect mix of mystery, thriller, romance, revenge and action. It never gets boring and has lots of very touching moments. Also, the lead couple has crazy chemistry and are just so handsome and beautiful. It's a pleasure just to look at them.
The reason I only gave 9 instead of 10 stars is that I didn't like the soundtrack. I felt like often it didn't fit the scenes and was overly dramatic and fast. I felt like the soundtrack often disturbed the emotional scenes rather than support them. Also, I was not a big fan of the last few episodes, but that's just me, after more than 28 episodes I just could no longer take all the suffering and angst and was too desperate for a happy ending. Which I got in the end so it was good.
