TLDR: Eternal Monarch is about a King = Lee Gon (Lee Min Ho) who survives an attack from his evil uncle at a young age. Then discovers he has a key to a parallel universe where he finds Jeong Tae Eul (Kim Go Eun). It has some suspense, action, and a bit of light hearted comedy.
I watched the entire series every weekend with my husband who has a man-crush on Lee Min Ho and his spectacular outfits in Eternal Monarch. I couldn’t take this drama seriously because every moment that was not action-filled was a spot to run a CF for their next product placement. My husband is still convinced the Iron Man type face mask has special powers. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a boba drink advertised more than I’ve seen ‘The Alley’ boba drink. I am so “convinced” that ‘The Alley’ is the best boba drink in the world… I’m unsure if this was the only way to get funding/sponsorship for filming this series, but it happened A LOT. Lee Min Ho’s acting is pretty meh despite how handsome he is on screen. My favorite character is Jo Young, his body guard who has a very stoic personality but acts a-fool in the other world as Jo Eun Seob. He is a delight to watch in both worlds.
Redeeming points for this drama: A Happy Ending (I’m a sucker for these but this one wasn’t super satisfying), Superb OST playlist (Orbit by Hwasa was one of the first songs I added to my yoga playlist), and Kim Go Eun (she’s such a natural actress)
It was an alright drama but not something that I would ever rewatch. I do wish I had some diamonds on my coat that I could sell off for money though.
