This year hasn't been very kind to the Total Variety Network (tvN) as the majority of their shows aren't able to attain the viewership it needs in South Korea or the appeal it needs internationally. With the exception of "Goblin," all of their series airing this month have yet to break double-digit viewership or earn the praise and recognition of K-dramas they aired last year.

For the latter half of the year, it looked as if tvN was on its way back to prominence. One of their last K-dramas "Forest of Secrets" definitely showed an upturn as it concluded on a very high note albeit not earning double-digits in South Korea.

With the aforementioned in mind, the sudden upturn was a sign in which tvN hoped their latest K-drama at the time, "Bride of the Water God" would lead them back to prominence. Initially, it was a hit. Now it is just one episode away in concluding with the lowest viewership and international appeal it has ever earned.

The ratings and international viewership don't lie!

For K-drama fans following "Bride of the Water God," many of them have claimed the series has suddenly become somewhat boring after the tenth episode. This is easily seen as ratings and international viewership make a downturn after it. Its penultimate episode has recorded the lowest Korean viewership ratings for the series so far.

AGB Nielsen Korea records a 2.211 percent viewership rating for the nation and a 2.446 percent viewership rating for the Seoul National Capital Area. As for TNmS Media Korea, they record a 2.3 percent viewership rating for the nation.

As for international streaming sites that air "Bride of the Water God," apparently it is not the most watched K-drama in general.

If by chance it is, the margin between it and runner-up is quite small. In fact, this season has seen many K-drama fans re-watch older K-dramas over watching those currently airing.

What happened to the fantasy romance K-drama to "fall so fast?"

Probably the biggest reason why "Bride of the Water God" suddenly "fell so fast" is how convoluted it became after the tenth episode.

Before, the premise of the K-drama was Habaek (Nam Joo Hyuk) becoming the next King of the God Realm with the help of his servant and love, Yoon So Ah (Shin Se Kyung). In some aspect, it was a simple just like "Goblin" in which tvN probably hoped the same genres would show some cross-popularity.

Somewhere along the line, they made the story way more complex with the inclusion of stones, a possible half-god antagonist, and situations dealing with other gods besides Habaek specifically Moora (Krystal) and Biryum (Gong Myung).

Another reason for "Bride of the Water God" falling so fast is the lack of chemistry both Nam Joo Hyuk and Shin Se Kyung have. They are not believable as potential lovers thus K-drama fans are not so sure to back their romance compared to others.

As a matter of fact, more are backing Moora and Biryum over the main leads. It also doesn't help that Se Kyung continues to "stone face" her expressions, a vice many often bring up whenever she acts.

Ultimately, we will just have to watch and see if "Bride of the Water God" does well in its finale or actually ends with even worse results than its penultimate episode. It will air on Tuesday, August 22, 2017 on tvN at 10:55 p.m. KST. For those who don't have access to Korean networks, it is airing in the U.S. exclusively on DramaFever.
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