Back in 1994, Lee Lim tried to ascend the throne by killing the King (his half-brother) and his 8 years old son. Thanks to a mysterious figure, the Crown Prince was saved but Lee Lim managed to flee the Palace.
25 years later, (now) King Lee Gon is a beloved ruler; charismatic and intelligent, he's Prime Minister Koo's love interest, but his heart already belongs to another girl.
Late 2019, Republic of Korea.
Lieutenant Jeong Tae-Eul is a detective at the Violent Crime division in Seoul and she's so good at her job: she works with her childhood friend Kang Shin-Jae and their team to takedown gambling houses.
One day, while stuck in traffic on her way home, she sees a man riding a white horse in the middle of Seoul and, finding it a bit weird, she stops him and asks for his ID card.
The man doesn't have any but acts as if he knows her very well: Lee Gon managed to travel in-between the two worlds and now is in the Republic!
Initially diffident and skeptical, eventually Tae-Eul will believe the 'parallel world' story and the fact that traitor Lee Lim is alive and conspiring with some followers to take over the throne...
My Opinion👍👎
This drama had the best chances of becoming a hit even before the air of episode 1 with
● an outstanding cast with Korea's favorite Lee Min Ho appearing in his first project following his discharge from mandatory military service, Kim Go-Eun at her first drama since Goblin as leads. The rest of the cast is also memorable and extremely skilled.
● bullet-proof author Kim Eun-Sook: she's responsible for dramas like Mr.Sunshine, Goblin, The Heir, Descendant of the Sun to name the newest...
● an endearing aesthetic, with all those teasers photos going viral as soon as they were uploaded on social media and fan account popping out from all over the world. Technically speaking, from direction to script and scenography, this drama is perfect!
K-drama fans were looking forward to "The King: Eternal Monarch" and I read tons of comments about despair and sadness for its end weeks before it ended.
The product placement in this drama is borderline aggressive, I suspect some scenes were written with the sole purpose of showing off the sponsors' products, and the close-ups to restaurants and bars fronts leave no doubt what the purpose was...It's not distracting but if you're a k-drama aficionado you'll surely notice it.
Final Thoughts: For the entire airing period of the drama I read comments online and, despite the drop in view ratings after the first episodes, fans seemed enthusiast and had only positive comments.
"The King: Eternal Monarch" also faced a couple of controversies due to the recent tension between South Korea and Japan, but were handled with sense and an apology statement from the producers.
As for me, I liked the plot's complexity and development. It probably won't be my favorite drama of 2020, but I can't deny the excitement I felt every time I started a new episode, so for me is thumbs up kind of drama!
Last, a big shout out for Head Court Lady Noh Ok-Nam (actress Kim Young-Ok) and her loyalty to the King and determination in finding him a wife! She's the best character in the Kingdom's world.
● an outstanding cast with Korea's favorite Lee Min Ho appearing in his first project following his discharge from mandatory military service, Kim Go-Eun at her first drama since Goblin as leads. The rest of the cast is also memorable and extremely skilled.
● bullet-proof author Kim Eun-Sook: she's responsible for dramas like Mr.Sunshine, Goblin, The Heir, Descendant of the Sun to name the newest...
● an endearing aesthetic, with all those teasers photos going viral as soon as they were uploaded on social media and fan account popping out from all over the world. Technically speaking, from direction to script and scenography, this drama is perfect!
K-drama fans were looking forward to "The King: Eternal Monarch" and I read tons of comments about despair and sadness for its end weeks before it ended.
FUN SIDE
King Lee Gon keeps on threatening everyone to be beheaded (Queen of Hearts would be proud) and, since is a mathematician, on episode 3 he practically gives a lesson on why 0 is his go-to number and even makes it sound romantic!
Woo Do-Hwan and Kang Hong-Suk's characters in the Republic of Korea are the funniest caricatures ever, they lighten the mood and I dare you not to smile whenever they're in a scene.
ph credit: K-drama queen
SERIOUS SIDE
Can't stress this enough, the cast is A-W-E-S-O-M-E but Kim Go-Eun and Woo Do-Hwan are truly remarkable since their characters in the two worlds have different personalities and background, so basically they had to put twice the effort while filming.
Especially Go-Eun is superb, channeling all the emotions needed and releasing them at the right time, always! BRAVA!
From episode 10 the plot opts for a much darker path and sometimes becomes really frightening, with tons of backstabbing and horrid revelations about Lee Lim's schemes over the years.
Personally, I found episode 1 puzzling: the story kept going back and forth from the two worlds and it was difficult to keep up; plus, in the first 2 or 3 episode all characters are mentioned and they're an awful lot, keeping track of who's who and their whereabouts has been tricky (and here I thought I had a grasp on Korean names!)
Needless to say, the last episodes put the viewers at peace, explaining and clarifying every situation and event, thank goodness!
Especially Go-Eun is superb, channeling all the emotions needed and releasing them at the right time, always! BRAVA!
From episode 10 the plot opts for a much darker path and sometimes becomes really frightening, with tons of backstabbing and horrid revelations about Lee Lim's schemes over the years.
Personally, I found episode 1 puzzling: the story kept going back and forth from the two worlds and it was difficult to keep up; plus, in the first 2 or 3 episode all characters are mentioned and they're an awful lot, keeping track of who's who and their whereabouts has been tricky (and here I thought I had a grasp on Korean names!)
Needless to say, the last episodes put the viewers at peace, explaining and clarifying every situation and event, thank goodness!
The product placement in this drama is borderline aggressive, I suspect some scenes were written with the sole purpose of showing off the sponsors' products, and the close-ups to restaurants and bars fronts leave no doubt what the purpose was...It's not distracting but if you're a k-drama aficionado you'll surely notice it.
Final Thoughts: For the entire airing period of the drama I read comments online and, despite the drop in view ratings after the first episodes, fans seemed enthusiast and had only positive comments.
"The King: Eternal Monarch" also faced a couple of controversies due to the recent tension between South Korea and Japan, but were handled with sense and an apology statement from the producers.
As for me, I liked the plot's complexity and development. It probably won't be my favorite drama of 2020, but I can't deny the excitement I felt every time I started a new episode, so for me is thumbs up kind of drama!
Ph credits HERE
Rating: 5/5
Ph: mydramalist.com
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