u/Dredit_85

I remember when The King: Eternal Monarch first aired in 2020, Lee Min-ho received a lot of criticism for an “emotionless” portrayal of Lee Gon. This was very surprising, because, how could audiences expect a child who witnessed his father’s assassination, lost his mother at a young age, and was thrust into the role of king far too early to not grow into guarded, emotionally restrained man? I see the same criticism for Byeon Woo Seok’s portrayal of Lee Wan who is not very different from Lee Gon - an emotionally abusive father, loss of parents and brother in quick successions.

Characters shaped by such trauma do not move through life with warmth and vulnerability. Both Lee Gon and Lee Wan were written as men shaped by loss, palace politics, and responsibilities that forced them to suppress emotion long before adulthood.

There is little doubt about either actor’s capabilities. What viewers must remain mindful of is the nature of the characters being portrayed and the reasons behind their restraint before dismissing such performances as “emotionless.”

Perhaps this also says something about us as an audience. Are we only reacting to what we immediately see on screen, or are we truly trying to understand the character being portrayed? Instead of asking, “Why is he acting so emotionless?”, maybe the better question is, “Why has the character become this way?” and “Why would the director intentionally choose to portray him like this?”

Acting is not separate from writing and direction. If a performance feels cold or emotionally distant, it is because the character himself is meant to be carrying emotional scars that cannot be openly expressed. Not every wounded character will cry loudly or wear their pain visibly, some are written to internalise it so deeply that silence itself becomes part of the performance.

As viewers, perhaps we should look beyond surface-level expressions and pay closer attention to the emotional history the story is trying to communicate.