The King: Eternal Monarch: Episode 1

by quirkycase

It’s here, people. The King: Eternal Monarch is the highly anticipated post-army comeback for Lee Min-ho and expectations are high as this is also the latest from writer Kim Eun-sook. The premiere episode sets up the pieces in our dramatic tale, introducing us to our parallel worlds and the key players. So let’s dive right in, shall we?

 
EPISODE 1

In an interrogation room, LEE RIM (Lee Jung-jin) relates an ancient tale from “Memorabilia of the Three Kingdoms.” In the year 682, during the Silla period, the Dragon King of the East gifted King Sinmun a mystical bamboo flute. When played, it could repel enemies, cure diseases, bring rain…you get the idea. King Sinmun named this magical flute “Manpashikjeok” and declared it a national treasure.

Rim sits, eerily calm and streaked with blood. Despite appearing to be in his forties, he confirms that he was actually born in 1951. According to his file, he died in 1993. He explains to officers JUNG TAE-EUL (Kim Go-eun) and KANG SHIN-JAE (Kim Kyung-nam) that he hasn’t aged normally since 1994.

And why is he aging so slowly? The magic flute, of course. He smugly informs them he took it from his brother who was a nonbeliever. He rambles about how it only appears once every 20 years to bring peace to the world and freely admits he murdered his brother to obtain it.

Anger slips through the cracks as he spits that his half-brother, who became king because he happened to be the legitimate heir, didn’t even realize that “the Manpasikjeok in his hands would bring the world to him. To be exact, two different worlds.”

He never expected that his nephew, like him, would face the legend. Cut to LEE GON (Lee Min-ho) looking royal and determined astride his steed in a thunderstorm. Before him are two massive stone slabs facing one another.

It’s the winter of 1994 in the Kingdom of Corea. Rim (a.k.a. Imperial Prince Geum) takes the Four Tiger Sword from its glass case. Engraved on the blade are the words: “The sky and the ground help the earth balance. Defeat the evil and enact justice.”

Sword at his side, Rim leads his men into the palace, slaughtering the guards to get to KING LEE HO (Kwon Yul). The king pleads with his brother to stop. Does he not fear retribution from the heavens? Rim sneers that he intends to be the one doling out any retribution. “Deities didn’t create humans. Weak humans created deities.”

He runs his brother through with the sword. Unlocking the glass case behind the king’s body, he retrieves the flute and holds it reverently. Young Gon wanders in and runs over to his father’s body. He sobs and presses his little hands over the wound. His uncle cheerfully notes, “You’re an orphan now, Your Highness.” Geez.

Gon laboriously wields the sword that’s much too large for him. Rim taunts him. Does he think he can hurt him? The kid swings. His uncle throws his hands up defensively, and the blade slices the flute clean in two.

Gon declares his uncle’s actions treason and orders his arrest, stripping him of his royal status. He sentences him to the maximum penalty under law. But the men are all his uncle’s, and their guns turn on Gon instead.

A shadowy figure takes a gun off one of the dead guards in the hall as Rim declares he’ll kill his nephew himself. How dare Gon mess up the moment Rim spent his life planning? Rim pushes the broken flute against Gon’s throat, it’s jagged edge drawing blood, until he loses consciousness. A gunshot rings out, and the stained glass ceiling shatters. A masked someone in all black enters and expertly takes out the guards.

Amidst the chaos, Gon manages to grab one half of the flute. With an alarm sounding and royal guards on their way, Rim has no choice but to leave with his remaining men. The black-clad fighter checks Gon’s pulse. As the fighter stands, Gon reaches out and accidentally pulls a Seoul Metropolitan Police ID out of their pocket.

Rim is now a wanted criminal and publicly stripped of his title. Lee Gon is officially declared as the inheritor to the throne. Second is line is PRINCE BU-YEONG ( Jeon Mu-song). Upon his arrival, NOH OK-NAM (Kim Young-ok) – head court lady – informs him the royal guards and local police are cooperating to locate Rim.

Prince Bu-yung doesn’t have confidence they’ll find him. His preparedness suggests Rim must’ve had an escape plan. We see a bloodied Rim stumbling through a bamboo forest, gripping one half of his precious flute. He hears flute notes followed by a crack of thunder and streaks of lightening. The two stone slabs appear, and between them, light shines through fissures like cracks in glass.

Rim is transported the Republic of Korea. He walks through Seoul, taking in the strangeness of his surroundings. A newspaper headline about the president of Korea catches his eye, and he knocks a man down in his haste. The man is looking for a fight and turns Rim to face him. It’s the former king, very much alive but looking rough.

Lee Ho is shocked to see his half-brother and asks how he can be walking around like this. Rim roughly pushes his brother off him and pulls out his broken flute. He revels in the knowledge that he was right about its power.

He goes to see his alternate self, who is in a wheelchair and unable to speak. Rim bad-guy-monologues at his alternate about their difference in status, his being noble while his alternate’s is lowly. Then, he snaps his neck. Well, then.

Since little Gon apparently can’t escape being traumatized by his uncle, he walks in to see Rim standing in front of his alternate’s body. Mirroring what happened in the other world, Gon brandishes…is that a fire poker? His uncle notes his nephew’s chronic unfortunate timing. He advances on Gon.

Back in the kingdom, they hold Gon’s coronation ceremony as the third king of Korea. His first duty as king is to mourn the passing of the previous king for 26 days. In mourning garb, the child prostrates himself in the courtyard per tradition.

Meanwhile, in the republic, Lee Ho’s wife is called to identify his body. She’s informed that he was the victim of a hit-and-run. Her face bruised, she’s remarkably calm and detached as she identifies him. Before leaving, she enquires about having the government cremate him.

At home, she calmly does housework and unexpectedly begins laughing. There must be a god since her prayers for her husband’s death have been answered. She assumed she’d be the victim or perpetrator and laughs joyously that someone did it for her. Whoa.

In the room behind her, Rim rises from the wheelchair. She turns and falls to the ground in shock as he stalks toward her.

In the Kingdom, a little boy approaches Gon – calling him hyung – while he’s mourning and offers him a snack. Gon refuses. The little boy approaches him again, later, when Gon is studying. Gon orders him to leave, but the boy won’t. He’s apparently the son of the late king’s friend.

Gon watches that night as they ceremoniously burn his father’s robes and mark the end of the mourning period. Ok-nam tells Gon he did well. He sinks to the ground, sobbing. “I miss Father.” Ok-nam comforts the grieving child.

The little boy from earlier comes upon the scene and cries to see Gon crying. Gon gets up and hands the little boy a toy sword, telling him to stop crying. He proclaims the boy to be the “Unbreakable Sword” from now on. Gon asks for his name; it’s Jo Yeong. When Gon introduces himself as the king, Yeong adorably responds, “Okay. Got it.” He thanks Gon for the sword, and they smile.

A man walks along the water and discovers Rim’s body, which has washed up on the shore. Wait, what? Prince Bu-yeong performs the autopsy. Although it’s deemed a suicide, to quell chaos in the court, he confides to Ok-nam he’ll falsify the records to say Rim was shot by royal guards.

Rim’s head guard reads a headline that declares Rim dead. He hides out and, after more than a decade has passed, Rim comes back for him. He offers to show him another world.

It’s now 2019 in the kingdom. The chic Prime Minister GU SEO-RYUNG (Jung Eun-chae) arrives at the main palace in Busan. A grown Gon, still sporting the scar on his neck, dresses for the day and terrifies a new attendant who tries to help him button his shirt. Gon’s bodyguard JO YEONG (Woo Do-hwan) grabs the attendant’s arm and informs him the king doesn’t like being touched.

Before heading out to ride his horse, Gon decides to stop by his room. Unbeknownst to him, Ok-nam is busy sneaking talismans (for finding love) around his room. She’s startled to see Gon sitting there when she turns around.

He jokes that maybe the talismans are drawing in the prime minister and she’ll be queen. Ok-nam is quick to shoot that down but argues finding a wife could help with the instability of the court. Besides, it’s his duty to produce an heir. Gon couldn’t care less, and she laments this apathy. He observes she’s the only woman to behave so rudely to him.

He makes her trash the talismans and deadpans she’ll be beheaded for her rudeness. Gon leaves with a smile. The second he’s gone, Ok-nam retrieves the talismans and instructs her subordinate to put them clockwise this time.

Gon goes for some scenic horseback riding, after which he chides Yeong for letting Ok-nam get carried away with her talismans. Seo-ryung walks over, early for their meeting. Their relationship seems strained as they fake smile for cameras and trade veiled barbs.

Seo-ryung suddenly leans in intimately – the cameras click ferociously – to say that the country is peaceful and the people happy. This photo will make them even happier, she presumes with a smile. Responding in kind, Gon leans in and says it’s all thanks to her.

She casually remarks she’s considering taking up horseback riding. Does he think she’d do well? Gon replies that the first thing you learn is that you must be honest to gain your horse’s trust. “Prime Minister, are you honest?” Gon politely suggests ending their meeting; he received her report and posed for enough pictures.

Later, Gon gets out of the shower and almost has a heart attack when he sees Yeong standing statue-like behind him in the mirror. He reminds Gon of the time, saying he’ll be late. Gon asks how long he’s been standing there. “Do you really want to know?” Gon mumbles to himself Yeong is definitely getting beheaded.

Yeong tells him this is what he gets for always trying to bolt. Yeong ignores Gon’s reprimand for disrespecting the king and reports that the term “single-parent family” as well as the banners have been removed. Gon is not easily dissuaded and reiterates how powerful he is. Expressionless, Yeong bows his head and walks out. Gon trails after him, “Unbreakable Sword, you aren’t going to respond?”

Gon reads his favorite book “Alice in Wonderland” to a group of children at an event. But the kids aren’t fans and whine in unison that it’s boring. Gon notes that’s the most honest anyone’s been to him as king.

A little girl throws up her hand and asks if he has a girlfriend. He marvels that even this child is worried about court affairs as he stares accusingly at Ok-nam who avoids his gaze. Ha. When he responds he doesn’t, the kids giggle. The little girl encourages him to “follow the White Rabbit” himself. In that case, he supposes he should keep reading. The children protest, and he laughs.

During a rowing competition Gon is participating in, a woman runs through the crowd, pursued by a group of men. In the stands, MYUNG SEUNG-AH (Kim Yong-ji) photographs Yeong as he works, clearly enjoying the view. We see Yeong smile for the first time as he watches Gon and the team celebrate their victory.

Still pursuing the woman, one of the men shoots into the air to disperse the crowd. The gunshot leads to panic as Yeong protects Gon and dozens of guards surround the men at gunpoint. Gon sees the woman, wearing a rabbit hoodie, and chases after her barefoot when Yeong has his back turned.

Gon loses her and stands wearing an odd expression. When Yeong catches up to him, Gon claims he saw the “White Rabbit with the clock.” Yeong is naturally confused, and Gon chides him for not listening when he was reading to the kids. Yeong fires back he was busy.

At the palace, Yeong presents Gon with a bulletproof vest, but Gon responds with playful disregard. He thinks Yeong’s protection is enough. Yeong informs Gon they caught the troublemakers at the event and are still looking for the person in the bunny hoodie. Then he’ll confirm whether it’s a rabbit or clock.

Gon clearly enjoys ruffling his feathers and leans in super close to concede, “You caught me.” Yeong chastises him for personally trying to catch the culprit. Gon denies it, claiming he’ll leave that to Yeong as captain of the royal guards.

Serious for once, Gon clarifies that he’s just trying to find “the face that only I can recognize.” He thinks back to his black-clad savior that night. With a far-off look, he shares that these incidents make him feel like that person is there. Yeong gently reminds him his savior must’ve aged since it’s been 25 years.

Gon admits he might not be able to recognize that person now. “But why hasn’t that person come to see me once?” he asks vulnerably. Yeong thinks it’s because he grew up well and can handle himself. Gon smiles softly and remarks Yeong’s anger has subsided.

Alone, Gon opens his copy of “Alice in Wonderland” to reveal Jung Tae-eul’s police badge. He notes that he’s the oppa now. On the back of the badge is her birthdate: May 27, 1990. Wait…that would’ve made her four at the time. Are we dealing with time travel too?

Meanwhile, at an apartment complex in the republic, Tae-eul gets in her car and rams into another car. What the heck? The owner of the car stares in shock from his apartment window as she does it twice more before driving off. It turns out to be a plan by the cops to draw the car’s owner out, and it works.

Shin-jae radios Tae-eul from the roof and ribs her about her outfit which she dubs “urban chic.” Tae-eul thinks of the odd scent at the scene and abruptly slams on the brakes. She gravely tells Shin-jae to come down and speeds back to the scene. Tae-eul knocks aside the criminal to reveal a dead body in the trunk of his car. The illegal gambling case just became a murder investigation.

The man insists he has no idea what’s going on and tries to run, but Tae-eul swiftly takes him down and cuffs him. The other cops take care of capturing the two accomplices who bolted. The team complains about working overtime and pesters team leader PARK MOON-SHIK (Park Won-sang) for a new team member. They squabble like a family.

In the kingdom, Gon sees (or thinks he sees) Rabbit Girl while he’s by the stables. He hops on his horse Maximus and takes off after her. Meanwhile, Rim stands at a cauldron wearing an apron and looking like he’s brewing some toil and trouble.

We cut back and forth between the Republic of Korea and the Kingdom of Corea as Tae-eul investigates the murder case and Gon chases down rabbit girl. And poor Yeong rushes after the missing king who finds himself in a bamboo forest. Maximus stops, and Gon hears a flute playing.

He rides slowly through the trees and hears sounds of a storm. Suddenly, he reaches the two stone slabs and is transfixed. He urges Maximus forward through the portal. In the middle of dying fabrics, Rim witnesses a brief pause in time.

Tae-eul is stuck in traffic and gets a fright when she sees a reflection in her rearview mirror of a different her in the backseat. But when she turns, no one is there. Beside her car, Gon rides Maximus through the traffic as everyone stares.

Tae-eul uses her radio to command the man on the horse to pull over. He completely ignores her, fixated on the world around him. She turns on her siren and pursues him. Once he’s stopped, Tae-eul manages to get his attention. Gon turns toward her and is stunned when he recognizes her.

She assumes his intense stare as she lists his infractions is due to him not realizing she’s a cop, so she puts on her badge. Tae-eul orders him off the horse and asks for his ID. He dismounts and marches up to her. Tae-eul grits her teeth and asks what he thinks he’s doing when he grabs her badge. “I’ve finally met you, Lieutenant Jung Tae-eul,” Gon says softly. To her shock, he grabs her in a tight hug.

 
COMMENTS

So we got a lot of background information and set-up in this premiere. The overarching plot isn’t clear yet, so I’ll wait to comment on that until we know more. Now that Gon has discovered the parallel world and met Tae-eul, it looks like we’re moving into our main story, so hopefully we’ll get into the plot more in the next episode. We were introduced to a lot of characters this episode and only got glimpse of who they are. One of the main draws of this drama, for me, was the cast, so I hope we get some good characters that make use of their skills.

Of the leads, Gon was the main focus, but I don’t have a great read on him yet. He seems to only let down his guard with Yeong and Ok-nam, both of whom he clearly regards as family. Yeong is so strait-laced and stoic, but he was a spirited kid, which suggests there’s more beneath the surface. I hope that means he doesn’t remain the stereotypical expressionless but loyal guard and Woo Do-hwan gets more to do than look serious all the time. All we saw of Tae-eul was her in tough cop/fighter mode, so I’m anxious to learn more about her. Evidence points to Tae-eul being Gon’s savior, but how is that possible? So far, the portal has only taken people to the other world without messing with timelines. Even if it was a different officer who happened to have Tae-eul’s badge on them, that still indicates they came from the future in the other world. And then we have the weird moment where Tae-eul saw that reflection of a different version of her in the car. What’s her link to all this?

It’s looking like Rim is our ultimate baddie here. So far, he comes across as your typical, narcissistic I-will-rule-the-world type. I’m assuming he’s biding his time to steal the other half of the flute from Gon. I guess, since he faked his own death – that’s supposing the body that washed up belongs to the alternate he killed – he can’t exactly waltz in and take the flute from Gon. Or maybe all he wanted was to have access to the alternate world? Nah, he probably wants all the power.

The only other character that strikes me as potentially antagonistic is Seo-ryung. She’s smart and hides behind affability, but I get the idea she’s the type to play the role that will give her the upper hand. Gon obviously doesn’t find her trustworthy, but it’s hard to tell if she’s just ambitious or actually dangerous. I’m intrigued and want to know what her deal is. And how she got to be so fashionable.

Kim Eun-sook is good at creating dramas with a strong atmosphere and sweeping stories, and this is no exception. She certainly enjoys the dramatic, as you can tell just by the stylistic choices: the intense soundtrack, the occasional odd shot (like the image flipped sideways during the king’s death scene), the life and death stakes. While I don’t necessarily have a problem with some dramatic flair, I do worry that it takes itself a smiiidge too seriously, which is something I often feel about Kim Eun-sook dramas. When you’ve got a premise that includes parallel worlds, murderous uncles and magic flutes, just embrace the fun. Trying to be all serious about it can make it come off as pretentious, which is less fun.

I’m drawn to unique premises and high concepts that have a 50/50 chance of going awry, so I’m already interested in learning about the parallel worlds that are so similar but different in key ways. Most of the same people exist in a world that isn’t immediately distinguishable from its alternate version, but their lives are vastly different, as we saw with Gon’s family. Speaking of distinguishing, I do wish it’d be clearer when they pivot back and forth between worlds. Without the chyron telling us when and where we were, it was sometimes hard to tell. I’d be nice to have more visual cues like different color palettes or something to help distinguish between the two places.

And then we’ve got our magic flute which seems to be the catalyst. Both Rim and Gon – who each have a piece of it – were led to the portal after hearing notes from a flute. Rim mentioned the flute facilitates peace, but I don’t know how the portal fits into that. Did the flute create the portal or is it just connected to it somehow? And why is the flute magic? Curiouser and curiouser.

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