The King: Eternal Monarch Full Review
Welcome to The King: Eternal Monarch – Full Review. This drama about a dynamic leader who travels through time and universes. Enjoy the read and feel free to leave a comment. If you haven’t watched this one yet, you might want to check out my unspoiled review with a simple summary and information here.
The King: Eternal Monarch
♥ Aired: April 17- June 12, 2020
♥# of Episodes: 16
♥Where to Watch: Netflix
♥Genre: Fantasy Romance
♥Starring: Lee Min Ho and Kim Go Eun
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The Story
Lee Gon became the King of the Kingdom of Corea when his father was killed in front of him at the age of 8. One night as the ruler is out riding his horse through the woods, he mysteriously crossing into an alternate universe. This universe is our modern day Korea.
After crossing over, King Gon meets a woman detective named Jung Tae Eul, who he has been searching for his whole life. He has kept the ID badge with her picture that he found the night of his father’s death. Now that he has found her, he hopes to put together the full story of what happened that night 25 years ago and how the mysterious alternate universe plays a role. The only problem is that Tae Eul has no idea whaKing t he is talking about. Together they will work to find the whole truth about what happened that night and what it means for the Kingdom of Corea.
The Leads
Lee Min Ho as Lee Gon
Lee Gon has been the king of Corea since he was 8 years old. But despite his unfortunate rise to the crown, he has become a dependable and popular monarch. Credit for this is largely due to the people who have stepped up to support him, particularly his body guard, who is also his childhood friend, and the Head Court Lady who has raised him like a grandmother since the death of his father. But the mysteries that hang over his father’s murder still haunt him. Most especially the stranger who saved him from being killed as well, leaving behind a picture ID badge dated November 11, 2019. This mystery will take him on a journey across universes and time.
While I don’t think this is Lee Min Ho’s best drama, I do think it is his best acting ever. Whether it’s due to his age or his time away from the screen, he has grown into a mature and talented actor. It is so fun to see him taking on a role with more depth and sublety. Lee Min Ho carried out this role perfectly and his natural chemistry with all of his cast mates really shines through
Kim Go Eun as Jeong Tae Eul/Luna
Jeong Tae Eul is an outspoken, tough police investigator. When Jeong Tae Eul first meets Gon, she has no idea who he is, and yet there is a strange feeling of trust and familiararity. Of course it is hard to believe the crazy story that he is telling her; that he is a king from a country he has never heard from in a parallel univers. Who wouldn’t think he was crazy? But when Gon offers to take her there and show her, things start to become very real. Now she will do whatever it takes to find out the truth about his father’s death, who saved Gon’s life and how.
Strangely, while her “alter ego” is a girl with a bad attitude, on the other side of the law, their personalities are not that different. She has been diagnosed with liver disease and only has a few months to live. When she is offered the opportunity to cross over to the other world and assume Tae Eul’s life, she jumps at the chance. She will have to fool all of her friends and family if she is going to stay long enough to get treatment.
After Goblin, Kim Go Eun has plenty of fans, and I enjoy watching her. I wish her 2 characters would have had more distinct personalities, so she could show off her talent more. To her credit, she was very convincing in both roles, as a social rebel who refuses to let anyone tell her what to do.
Secondary Characters
Woo Do Hwan as Jo Young/Jo Eun Sub
Well, where do you even start with Woo Do Hwan? For many fans, he was the reason to wade through the complicated storyline and keep watching. Jo Young first met Gon at his inauguration, when Young was 3 years old. Young is the son of one of the top military advisors in Corea. From that moment the king and Young become brothers and best friends. As his bodyguard, Young never lets Gon out of his sight. The faithful friend is stoic, logical, and on high-alert, despite the king’s efforts to get him to lighten up.
Jo Eun Seop is a sweet guy with lots of dreams. Unfortunately, none of those dreams have come true and are ever changing. He has spent most of his life helping his mother raise twin siblings. Serving his military duty as a civil servant, his current dream is just to be a civilian. Eun Seop has been friends with Tae Eul for years. Once he gets over the shock of a man from another universe who looks exactly like him, he joins in to help reveal the truth and even switches lives with Young for a short time.
Woo Do Hwan brought these two opposite characters to life and made us love them both. Neither character felt forced or unnatural. Really the only question is fringe or forhead. Can you chose? I don’t think I can.
Kim Kyung Nam as Kang Shin Jae
Kang Shin Jae has been pining for Tae Eul since he was a high school student. Together, they have studied judo and joined the police force, but he has never got the courage to tell her his true feelings. Due to his father’s imprisonment and his mother’s gambling addiction, his relationship with his parents is strained. But this all makes more sense when we find out that the real Kang Shin Jae is laying in a coma.
Shin Jae is actually Hyun Min from the Kingdom of Corea. When the real Shin Jae became ill, his parents were approached by Lee Lim with a deal to give them the healthy version of their son in exchange for a medical facility Hyun Min’s father owned.
Lee Jung Jin as Lee Lim/ Lee Seong Jae
Lee Jung Jin plays a flawless villian. Brother to the king, he was the one who organized the coup to kill Gon’s father and take the throne. Everyone assumed that he was dead when he disappeared that night. But he has been in hiding, travelling between the 2 universes of present Korea and the Kingdom of Corea. Of course, like all good villains, he isn’t planning to hide forever. Treason was not the only crime he had planned the night of the King’s death. What he really wanted is a magical flute that will give him eternal life. In the struggle, Gon accidentally broke the flute in half. Lim took one half when he fled. The other half is somewhere within the palace.
Things I Liked
♥ Kang Shin Jae
Shin Jae’s character was unique and interesting. Unlike some one-dimensional second leads, his character did more than just pine after Tae Eul. His story, as someone living someone else’s life without even knowing it, gave great dimension to his story and his character. His journey to forgiveness and healing was a great touch in an already full plot line. I am so glad that Shin Jae was able to explore and grow as a character.
Abundance of Genre
The King: Eternal Monarch may not have gotten it perfect on every level, but the scope of this story is deserving of praise. There is barely a genre left untouched by the ambitious writers. First, parellel universes can be hard enough to portray, but to add time travel to the mix was fresh and unexpected. Second, I also loved how a story that took place in 2020 could feel like a historical drama. And these are just the unusual combinations. There was also murder, intrigue, betrayal, romance, and a bit of comic relief. This drama went above and beyond to give us an epic story that is larger than life.
Boys Over Flowers Reunion
Okay, who doesn’t love Kim Young Ok. As Korea’s grandmother, she is adored by fans. And have I mentioned that I am a huge Lee Min Ho fan, because of a little drama called “Boys Over Flowers”. So, I was thrilled to see these 2 together on screen again. Of course, Young Ok didn’t let me down. Her portrayal as a stand in grandparent to the king was adorable and sweet. A stroke of genius on the casting side, I know I’m not the only fan who loved Young Ok and Min Ho’s endearing interactions.
Things I Didn’t Like
Koo Seo Ryeong as Mini-Villian
Koo Seo Ryeong is a good actress and I don’t have any complaints about her abilitilies, but I just didn’t hate her enough to be a real villian. And if that was the case, I wish they would have let Lee Jung Jin have the full spotlight as the villian. Honestly, she would have been fine as the sophisticated and sometimes irritating Prime Minister, who had hoped to marry the King. Just my opinion here, but I think they tried to do too much with her character, and it fell flat for me.
The Naval Battle
So, I will be the first to admit that my heart swooned to see Min Ho in that stunning white naval uniform. Well played, writers. But, what did the scene do to support the story? Yes, it explained why Gon was temporarily delayed, but it came out of nowhere. It started suddenly and was done just as suddenly. Was it normal for Japan to just spontaneously send war ships? I guess, for me it just felt out of place. Anyone else have that thought or is it just me?
Ad Placement
Since it has been all the talk, it would be remiss of me to not mention the excessive amount of obvious advertisements throughout The King: Eternal Monarch”. Yes, I understand that dramas need sponsors to be able to produce their shows, but did the writers use up all their creative energies with the script and then let the interns throw products into the middle of the scenes? I must admit, I have heard people complain about it before and I didn’t get all the fuss, but this was pretty bad. They seemed to disrupt the scenes rather than blending into them. I know they could have done better.
The Ending
The ending for “The King: Eternal Monarch” is a complicated one for me. They tied up all the loose ends well, and showed what happened to each character. Most of their outcomes were positive; budding romances bloomed, career paths were chosen, and relationships were mended. It’s hard not to love all those happy endings. And, most would say Gon and Tae Eul had a happy ending. They were still together, spending their weekends on romantic trips. But I felt like this ending was kind of a cop out. How sustainable is it for the King to have a love and life completed hidden from everyone? Like Goblin, it was cute in the moment, but it left me with more questions about their future than answers, and that didn’t leave me feeling satisfied.
Should I Watch
There was a lot of hype surrounding” The King: Eternal Monarch”, partly because it was done by the same writers who gave us Descendants of the Sun and Goblin, and partly because it was Lee Min Ho’s first drama in 3 years. Unfortunately, many felt that it didn’t live up to that hype. There were complaints that the shift between universes made the story confusing and hard to follow. Maybe it’s just because I am a diehard Min Ho fan, but I don’t share the hate. I wouldn’t say this is his best drama, but I enjoyed it nonetheless.
If you don’t like sci-fi or find supernatural stories to be hard to follow, “The King: Eternal Monarch is probably not for you. It requires a little more work and attention than your average kdrama. But the combination of fantasy, romance, and intrigue make it worth the effort. If you’re on the fence, you owe it to yourself to at least give it a try. I give The King: Eternal Monarch 9 out of 10 ramen.
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