The King: Eternal Monarch
The King: Eternal Monarch (Available on Netflix)
Content Warning: Violence (blood spurting, torture, battle sequences, death), Language
Rating: A-
Character Glossary:
Lee Gon: King of Corea
Jeong Tae Eul: (And Luna) Police Officer in the Violent Crimes Division in Republic of Korea (Luna is a criminal in Corea)
Jo Yeong: (And Jo Eun Seob) King's bodyguard/ best friend (Eun Seob is Tae Eul's friend and a police officer)
Kang Sin Jae: In Violent Crimes Division and Tae Eul's best friend
Goo Seo Ryung: Prime Minister in Corea
Lee Rim: Uncle to King and a traitor
The King: Eternal Monarch is about a king and a police detective from parallel worlds.
Oh my gosh. I did not expect this show to be as amazing as it was since it had a such a rocky start for me. (I was originally only going to give it a "C" rating but the second half of the show raised the rating A TON.) I liked the worldbuilding from the start especially in regards to the Kingdom of Corea. It is legit a place I wish existed so I could go visit--it was stunning. The plot was incredibly interesting as well and the villain was one of the best ones I have seen in a drama yet. The romance was my favorite part though because the couple actually faced the problems together instead of, essentially, running away from them. I highly recommend you start this show as soon as possible or at least add it to your to watch list. It is absolutely worth the watch!
Note: I read a lot of things from people before I watched this show where they compared this show to Goblin. The actress is the same and the show has the same vibe I guess as Goblin. But my advice is don't compare the two shows because they are really different and it is not fair to this show not to give it a chance or to compare it to Goblin. If you do you will be disappointed because they are just not the same kind of show.
SPOILERS AHEAD READ AT YOUR OWN RISK
OVERALL STORY: Like I mentioned briefly above the worldbuilding for this show was stunning. I loved the modern yet historical aspect of Corea. I loved that they still rode horses and used swords. I just loved everything about it. I also loved how the parallel worlds played out--it actually made sense and every action had a reaction. And when time traveling came into play it ACTUALLY AFFECTED THE FREAKING TIMELINE. As someone who has probably watched way too many time based shows I am picky about how time traveled is portrayed. But I felt like this drama did it really well because any action he did in the past altered the future which is how it supposed to work. Those details aside I liked the plot pacing for the most part although the first half of the show was sluggish and hard to get through. It was interesting enough that I had to finish but I wasn't really committed to the show. Until the second half of the show came along and things really started happening. I loved the battle sequences--those were the highlight of the show and my favorite part other than the romance. Overall this show did really well in making a incredibly interesting plot and world. Each of their characters had a purpose in the overall plot. I will go into more details below but this show could get incredibly insane at times. One example was when the people from Corea would come kill their counterparts in Korea and take their lives. This did also happen with people from Korea killing the their counterparts in Corea. It was seriously sketchy and showed just how far some people will go....
MAIN ROMANCE: Yes! Finally a romance where the characters have realistic reactions! There was no "I need to stay away from my one true love because otherwise the villain will target them." or "The world will split us apart and I don't want to get hurt or you to get hurt so I am pushing you away." Legit these two were the ultimate power couple they faced their problems together and trusted each other. They were also very open with their feelings which was super refreshing because they actually acted like adults. There was none of the "does he/she like me?" crap because they easily admitted that they liked each other. There was also no pointless breakups (or any breakups at all) or fights that made you want to pull all your hair out. They had the cutest scenes and relationship ever and were my favorite part of the show. They never gave up on each other although it would have been easy to do so. They worked with each other to be happy and were willing to work with each other so that they could be together. Definitely a romance worth watching. I only wish that they would have answered the question on what would happen when Lee Gon (as the king of Corea) would need to get married. Would she move over to his world? Would they break up? We know they stay together for a long time but I really want to know what they would decide to do.
LEE GON: I wasn't quite sure what to think of him at first since he came off a little weird. But like most things with this show around the second half I came to absolutely adore him as a character. He is seriously the cutest and the most kickbutt guy ever. I loved watching him grow into a great king and a less....tortured person. Throughout the story he finally let himself find happiness and fought for it. He stood for what he believed in and fought for his people. I was a little hesistant because the actor who plays him (who is wildly popular by the way) is not one of my all time favorites. I liked him in Legend of the Blue Sea but I was a little eh about him in Heirs (Which I will finish eventually I promise). But he really blew me away in this show. His acting was fantastic and it makes me want to watch more with him in it.
JEONG TAE EUL: (AND LUNA) I loved her character because of literally how she would not take crap from anyone. And all of her scenes where she would just take down criminals were literally my favorite. Tae Eul seemed a little rough around the edges at first and I wasn't sure if I could really like her that much as a character. But as I got to know her and as she grew as a character I came to support her. She is definitely one of my favorite female drama leads ever. She goes after what she wants and will fight to the end for those she loves. Luna (her Corea counterpart) is the complete opposite. She is an opportunist and, frankly, not that great of a person. I didn't hate her but there were times where I really wished she didn't exist. But I liked how things turned out for her in the end and I was grateful for her character especially in the last couple episodes.
JO YEONG: (AND JO EUN SEOB) These two were the best. Especially their friendship which was totally key. I legit cried at their farewell scene--why did they have to cry??? These two were literally polar opposites with Yeong being serious and focused and Eun Seob being light hearted and living life crazily. What I liked about them is the fact that they learned from each other. Yeong learned to relax a little and Eun Seob learned to be more responsible. They each played their part in this show and I loved them both.
KANG SIN JAE: I wouldn't go so far as to say I like him but I appreciated his character by the end. For the most part though I did not understand the point of his character. He seemed to only be able to be pointlessly rude to people and jealous that Tae Eul liked someone else. Everytime he showed up on screen I wanted to throttle him. Towards the end he backed off and we actually learned about his purpose in this show and where he came from. (Spoiler: He came to Korea from Corea) All the pieces came together and I was like "Oh so this is the point of your character." Again I don't like him but I appreciate what his character was.
GOO SEO RYUNG: Legit I hated her equal to how much I hated the villain---maybe even more so. She was a power hungry brat who thought that it was okay to manipulate others and mock their pain. She really didn't care for many others besides herself and it wasn't shocking when she allied herself with Lee Rim towards the end. The reason why I hated her so much was at the funeral of Prince Buyeong (Lee Gon's Uncle) she laughed at seeing Lee Gon cry and was pleased to see him in pain. I have never felt such a deep hatred in my life. She was legit an awful person and I was pretty happy with how her life turned out. The only thing I liked about her is how she stood up to the sexism she faced at the beginning of the show. I can admit I totally supported her for that. But that does not diminish the deep hatred I feel for her.
LEE RIM: He was such an amazing and violent villain. Like legit this guy killed himself. And I don't mean in a suicide way like he went back in time to tell his past self to do certain things to make sure he won and his past self legit killed him. Obviously his story didn't end there but it was at that point where I was like, "This guy is totally unhinged." He preyed on other people's problems and insecurities and he was insanely good at it which made him such a good villain. The actor did fantastic and I have no complaints or criticisms about his portrayal. It was done amazingly well and I was impressed with how it all turned out.
QUOTE:
"No matter what kind of door openes before us in life...and even if the moments we share make us sad at times, I wish to be able to love tirelessly. Just like that, we decided to love the fate that chose us. Just for today and only today...and forever."
SHIP VIDEO: (MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS)
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