‘Legend Of The Blue Sea’ Finale Failed To Beat ‘Goblin’s’ 20.5 Percent Rating

The SBS drama Legend of the Blue Sea aired the last episode on Wednesday, Jan. 25. As predicted, the Heo Joon Jae and Shim Cheong ended up together. The characters in the mermaid tale were not the only ones who had a happy ending as the showrunners were also glad that the finale which recorded impressive ratings.

Commercial Success

Legend of the Blue Sea Episode 20 ratings soared to 17.9 percent, a good number given how cliché the plotline is. The story which is based on a Joseon legend about a town head who rescued a mermaid and returned her at sea. Eventually, the man and the mermaid fell in love.

The SBS series met one controversy after another as Park Ji Eun has been under fire for plagiarizing content from other shows. Despite these shortcomings, the series continued to have good ratings thanks to the combined star power of Lee Min Ho and Jun Ji Hyun.

While Legend of the Blue Sea ranked No. 1 for its time slot, the numbers are significantly lower than the ratings for tVn’s Goblin. The series finale ratings for Goblin went as high as 20.5 percent. Considering that Goblin airs on cable TV and Legend of the Blue Sea airs on a network open to public access, the numbers are highly in favor with tVn’s fantasy melodrama.

Special Message To Fans

Rating issues aside, Lee Min Ho who plays the role of the chaebol heir turned con artist expressed his gratitude to the fans who continues supporting him. Through his label, the actor imparted how thankful he is for the fans who are always looking out for him. He expressed his happiness over the five months that he spent portraying his role as Heo Joon Jae in Legend of the Blue Sea.

He added that he would never forget their warm hearts and the support that they lent him which allowed him to become a better person. To thank all his fans personally, Lee Min Ho scheduled a fan meeting on Feb. 18 to 19 in Seoul.

Jun Ji Hyun who plays the mermaid Shim Cheong in Legend of the Blue Sea also shared some thoughts now that the series is finally finished. She was worried about playing the role of a mermaid but later on, she enjoyed filming the series thanks to the support and the encouragement of the people around her. She also expressed her gratitude to everyone who loved the series.

She added that despite the challenges she faced while filming, the production is memorable for her. She also thanked the staff for their hard work as this allowed the cast to film for six months without meeting any accident on set.

Lee Min Ho and Jun Ji Hyun are not the only wants to express how thankful they are for the overwhelming support, Lee Ji Hon who played the role of a villain were also thankful for all the love his character received. Ji Hon was Joon Jae’s stepbrother Heo Chi Hyun in Legend of the Blue Sea. As the son of a scheming woman who wanted to make it to the top, his sole focus was to protect his mother. However, his hate for Lee Min Ho’s character blinded him and he started to side with his mother. In Legend of the Blue Sea Episode 18, he even attempted to kill his stepbrother after his mother was arrested.

Although Ji Hon’s character committed suicide in Episode 19, Chi Hyun added an intriguing layer to the plot. Through his agency, the actor expressed his gratitude to everyone who supported him in this role. He also shared that he learned a lot of new things while filming Legend of the Blue Sea. He has high hopes that his fans will see him on another project soon.

[Featured Image by Seoul Broadcasting System]