Euphoric is an understatement following the aftermath of watching The King: Eternal Monarch!
It is a sweet love tale that turns sweeter at every scene. At the same time, its riveting storytelling induced its following to yes-more-please yearnings each week.
Admittedly, the spiraling cliff-hangers down the stretch made me pledge my allegiance to send off Lee Gon, Jung Tae Eul and the rest of The King: Eternal Monarch characters to the remarkable roles they played in the series in an utterly thankful note. The whole nine yards of this drama are marked with genuine effort from its cast and production team to bestow an iconic story that will not lose magic in future years.
I also have to confess how scared I was if the remaining questions on the plot technicalities will be answered in the last chapter. Thankfully, it even gave a cheeky bonus of neatly closing the story with adorable fan service frames.
Commencing to an engrossing story about an emperor who stumbles on a new world connected but not similar to his, the series commanded attention right away and reigns supreme through its ingenious story.
Marking my first K-Drama review on my new nest, I am elated to look back on all the moments worth remembering and applauding in the series. Consider you’re forewarned because this review will be quite lengthy.
- Main Cast: Lee Min Ho | Kim Go Eun | Woo Do Hwan | Kim Kyung Nam | Lee Jung Jin | Jung Eun Chae
- Network & Episode Count: SBS | 16 Episodes
- Official Website: The King: Eternal Monarch SBS
abbyinhallyuland watched The King: Eternal Monarch on Netflix
QUICK REVIEW
- Plot Trajectory: Consistently engrossing all throughout
- Plot Pace: Slow but knows when to speed up
- Character Portrayal: Great main leads and supporting cast
- Writing: Full Marks on balanced execution of themes
- Watch on a binge or intervals?: Binge
- Crowning Moments: Imaginative Narrative | Scintillating Plot Development | Lingering and Impressive Character Portrayals | A Treasure Trove of Romantic Lines | Neat and Solid Series Finale
- Romance & Addictive Meter:
- Overall Rating:
- Rewatch Value:
- K-Dramas of Similar Vibe: Faith | Queen and I |
Quick Plot Summary
Stumbling on a new world different from the Kingdom he rules on, the life of Lee Gon (Lee Min Ho) changes as he meets Lieutenant Jung Tae Eul (Kim Go Eun), the person he has been looking for years. In the new world he learnt to be called Republic of Korea, everything is the same as Kingdom of Corea, except the lives of the people living in it. The parallel world has also unearthed the painful truth that his uncle Lee Lim (Lee Jung Jin) has been living well in the Republic after killing his father and faking his death.
While romance blooms between Lee Gon and Jung Tae Eul (Kim Go Eun), the latter also aids in solving the cryptic evil plans of Lee Lim who is determined to obtain the half of the magical flute which gives infinite power to its owner. It also functions as the key to open the portal to the separated parallel worlds.
Racing to outwit one another, Lee Gon and Lee Lim engage to a riveting end game with different goals motivating them to succeed.
Peak Points
Neatly Tying Up the Loose Ends
Expertly constructed, The King: Eternal Monarch blends multiple moods and twist in an engaging symphony. Stacking the plot details to a fluid manner helped the viewers to subconsciously get adapted to the switching worlds where the series is set. Featuring paradigm-shifting elements, its labyrinthine course would make people who likes imaginative stories happy.
The penultimate and last episodes presented puzzling questions related to the rules on crossing parallel worlds. Like why Lee Lim survived or why Tae Eul retained her memories? It all boils down to the night of the coup. Lee Gon’s end game obliterated the connection of the Republic and Kingdom by slaying Lee Lim. It inhibited the traitor into crossing the Republic, thereby stopping the imbalance that was supposed to happen because of his meddling.
Lucky for Tae Eul, while Lee Gon and Lee Rim confront each other in 1994, in the present timeline, she is with Lee Lim in a limbo which explained why she retained the very memories, she wanted to keep. It can also be traced to Lee Gon’s possession of the magical flute, which grants the possessor ultimate power across time and space as the series implied. And as we all know, Lee Gon has only wanted moments with Jung Tae Eul in his life.
One of the best finales I’ve ever seen, I am so happy for how The King: Eternal Monarch stayed true on its fantasy-romance core. Aside from giving a happy ending, it did not force either Lee Gon and Jung Tae Eul to make a sacrifice leaving their respective worlds. Instead, it make use of the power endowed for their “resilient true love” leading them to find ways on how their love can thrive by using Lee Gon’s magical power blessed by the magic flute.
Superb Supporting Cast
K-Dramas with romance plot have tendencies to saturate the story progress through its firm agreement to focus on the love pairing. Remarkably, The King: Eternal Monarch ensured that the shining moments are well-balanced to its equally skillful cast.
Jo Yeong and his selfless love and loyalty to Lee Gon encapsulates the meaning of true friendship. Withstanding the test of time, a special bond between them was forged by sharing happy and death-defying memories.
Reminding us that counting dreams motivates a goal-driven life, Jo Eun Sup pushed us to reflect that creating small and big dreams make our lives worthwhile.
Teaching the message of forgiveness Kang Sin Jae presents a brave picture of understanding there is always a work-around on misfortunes, especially for those that came without our permission.
Both Lee Lim and Jung Eun Chae provide a definitive lesson that over indulgence for power and ambition does not ultimately yield a happy ending.
A Trove of Romantic Moments
Establishing the romantic route of the series left its viewers in a binding promise. It has the kind of love story evoking a thrilling after glow owing to the “fated love concept”. All those “reunion embraces” escalated to levels of emotional investment which can push any fan to pray for Lee Gon and Tae Eul to achieve their ever-after.
Fueled by inventive twist and blessed with stellar portrayal, the clever delving of reality versus perception appears to be one of the drama’s dominant qualities. Something that strongly manifested in its final episode. Patiently waiting for Lee Gon, we would have chided on Tae Eul if she threw tantrums for her lover’s belated appearance.
Lee Gon literally explored the universe and its myriad of parallel worlds just to find her. If that ain’t sweet, what else can be? Additionally, we got a plausible response to that “how would their relationship work if they live in different worlds” question.
Literally wielding power, Lee Gon and his lady love go on weekend travels – mind-blowing if I may say. Since they go time-travel or cross other parallel worlds at their whim, while holding hands and exchanging loving gazes with each other.
While Lee Gon’s love taught us to love tirelessly, Tae Eul focused on how setting up love rules affirm our commitment to be with the one we love.
Well-written, Well-acted, Well-executed
From whirlwind of thrills and the saccharine moments that left us all blushing and dazed, The King: Eternal Monarch fulfilled its initial promise. It affirms the great news that fantasy romance can keep up with different genres, even those with sci-fi spirit. Writer Kim Eun Sook utilized her signature notes of incorporating bromance, worth-the-hate villain as well as smart love pairing on equal footing.
Lee Min Ho and Kim Go Eun fueled a stunning love story where they were given a task to make their characters work together in the conflicts hindering them. Before bargaining the “power of love” chip, they made sure that the foundation for them to deserve one another is loud and clear through the hardships and bright memories they shared.
Contributing to the charm of the series is the featured bromance side stories among Lee Min Ho, Woo Do Hwan and Kim Kyung Nam. In particular, Woo Do Hwan as Jo Yeong and Jo Eun Sup produced a second lead syndrome that does not take the main male lead’s glory – and it does not involve the female lead as well. That for me is something new, and something noteworthy.
Delineating the vilest nature of her drama villains seems to be also writer Kim’s strength as reflected on her most recent one – Lee Lim. Together with her supporting female villain Goo Seu Ryeong, they yield ample troubles impelling the enthralling battle with the protagonists.
Regardless of the small, supporting or main roles acted by the cast members, The King: Eternal Monarch paraded impressive portrayals. Notably, Kim Go Eun’s prowess in rendering Jung Tae Eul’s harrowing moments is as peerless as how Lee Min Ho shed heartfelt tears amidst the scary and risky setbacks hounding him.
Series Afterthoughts
I am shamelessly plugging this drama for numerous reasons that both my fan girl and critic selves agree to. While regular K-Drama patrons will not struggle following its maze-like plot trajectory, new converts might find it daunting. To be honest, watching it on a binge would be helpful so as not to disrupt the absorption of the details and major arcs in the series.
The King: Eternal Monarch deserved the hype it received. Such ambitious story demanded steady and sensible storytelling and it patiently displayed a cohering arrangement of plot movements. Like a chef preparing a sumptuous meal, the series was packaged in a slow burning chronicle while explaining the connections of the characters and the two parallel worlds inked as apparent settings.
Halfway through the series, the problems become more prominent up to the excellent rendition of penultimate episodes where the conflicts and resolutions go full circle. Finally, it reached a gratifying ending that not only made fans like me happy, but the characters in the story as well. That for me, is the modern definition of a satisfying K-Drama romance tale.
Photos Credit To: Netflix
Videos from S+ONE Music Entertainment
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