TvN’s fantasy rom-com ‘The Heavenly Idol’ wraps up with slightly low rate of 1.5%

▲ These photos, provided by tvN, show scenes from the final episode of 'The Heavenly Idol.' (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

SEOUL, Mar. 24 (Yonhap) -- South Korean local cable channel tvN’s television series “The Heavenly Idol” has wrapped up with a relatively low average national rating in the range of 1 percent with a rather distracting and sloppy plotline.

The fantasy rom-com series aired its finale yesterday at 10:30 p.m., which scored a viewership rate of 1.5 percent. The series wrapped up by depicting Pontifex Lembrary going after and defeating the Redlin (Cha Joo-young) and the Devil (Lee Jang-woo).

Instead of going back to the world he originally came from, Lembrary decides to stay in this world in the body of Woo Hyun-woo, a member of the boy band Wild Animal, and continue his career as a singer. The series concluded with a warm happy ending for the lead couple Lembrary and Kim Dal (Go Bo-gyeol), who was a longtime fan of Woo Hyun-woo.

Based on the popular web novel of the same name, “The Heavenly Idol” kicked off with an average national rating of 3.1 percent, which is average in terms of television series aired on cable channels. The series did gather some viewers with its authentic material; however, the rating soon fell to the range of 1 percent only in four episodes as the plot unraveled in a rather disappointing way.

In the end, the series received some negative remarks for having too much going on in the background, including Lembrary adapting to the entertainment industry and confronting the Devil, as well as developing a romantic relationship with Kim Dal.

The series also was criticized for adding spontaneous CGI and sound effects in the middle of heavy scenes, which disrupted viewers’ immersion.

Nevertheless, the eye-catching acting skills of the main lead Kim Min-kyu, who played double roles, as well as the playful acting of Lee Jang-woo, Tak Jae-hoon, and Ye Ji-won, who played supporting roles, were able to hold at least some viewers on the edge of their seats.

(This article is translated from Korean to English by Ha eun Lee)

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