'The King: Eternal Monarch' Finale: Lee Gon and Tae-eul have fans guessing, here are 5 impressive theories
The finale of 'The King: Eternal Monarch' is only a day away and excitement among fans has been high. The many questions that viewers have about King Lee Gon (Lee Min-ho), Tae-eul (Kim Go-eun), Jo Yeong (Woo Do-hwan), Shin-jae, Luna (Kim Go-eun), Lee Lim and Koo Seo-ryeong's lives will be answered in this episode. The promo of the episode hints at Lee Gon and Jo Yeong traveling back in time together, however, there isn't much to see in terms of other characters. So here are the top 5 fan theories that we think might end up coming true in the final episode of the SBS drama.
1. Both Tae-eul and Shin-jae will accompany Lee Lim to the past
Many fans on Reddit believe that not only Tae-eul, but Shin-jae will also accompany Lee Lim into the Nomansland. In the previous episode, Tae-eul had begged Shin-jae to give him the piece of Manpasikjeok so that she can accompany Lee Gon and ensure that he is not left alone in the process of dealing with Lee Lim of the past or present. However, Shin-jae tries to stop her by confessing his feelings for her. It doesn't look likely that he will let Tae-eul take a huge step like traveling back in time alone. Also, the two usually partner up as detectives and this time too could be the same. Yes, we saw only Tae-eul in the car when she drove away from her home, however, just as Jo Yeong surprised Lee Gon by arriving at the bamboo forest, Shin-jae could too.
2. Either Shin-jae or Tae-eul will save young Lee Gon
With Tae-eul and possibly Shin-jae too arriving in the past, fans have guessed that the Republic of Korea officers would be the ones to save young Lee Gon while the older Lee Gon and Jo Yeong concentrate on capturing Lee Lim and extracting Manpasikjeok when it was whole. Considering Lee Gon plans on going back in time not to save himself but kill Lee Lim, he will have the opportunity to save the young prince like he did in the past. Lee Gon has known that this would be the outcome of his fight and that young Lee Gon might get killed by his uncle erasing his future with Tae-eul and the memories that they have made together. However, with Tae-eul added in the mix, it isn't possible that she would stand by as she watched young Lee Gon get attacked by Lee Lim. So the four of them could definitely divide forces.
3. Possibility of Shin-jae dying because of Nari's prediction
Many fans are worried that the finale might sacrifice Shin-jae because of a prediction that Nari made when she had gone out for a meal with Shin-jae, Tae-eul, Eun-seop and Tae-eul's father. In fact, this was also the time when Lee Gon was skipping from the past through to the present. He had entered Korea, made a call to Shin-jae from opposite the restaurant, and had asked for Tae-eul to be put on the phone. Lee Gon was attempting to ensure that Tae-eul did not forget him and that she waited for him in the future as he attempted to travel through time. Right before Shin-jae took Lee Gon's call, Nari predicted that whoever answered the call would be badly hurt/die. Initially, it was considered a joke, however, we also saw how accurately Nari read Lee Lim's palm to tell him that he committed treason and would be beheaded.
4. Jo Yeong is holding the whole flute, all bloodied
This theory is something that fans picked up from the teaser shared by SBS on Instagram. In the teaser, we can see that Jo Yeong is gravely injured, but is holding onto the Manpasikjeok even as he struggles to breathe. Not just the broken piece from Lee Lim or Lee Gon, but the Manpasikjeok is whole. This would indicate that Lee Lim did not get a chance to get his hands on Manpasikjeok like in the previous time loop and would now be unable to cross over to the parallel world as he did previously. It was because he had a half of Manpasikjeok the night he killed the king that the obelisk allowed him to travel through time and the world appeared. Now, Jo Yeong might have just stopped Lee Lim from escaping after he killed the king.
5. Tae-eul meeting Lee Ji-hun reminiscent of Lee Gon's time hopping
This is also a theory arising from the teaser in which a glimpse of Lee Min-ho in official blues is seen. The name tag on his uniform reads Lee Ji-hun, which means that Lee Gon's alter-ego is still alive in the current time loop created after Lee Gon and others changed events in the past. This also confirms the previous theory that Lee Lim did not make it past to Korea after the night he committed treason. The only question we have is, if Lee Ji-hun is alive, did Lee Gon make it? One of the things that worries fans most is that the show might end up having a sad ending like 'Goblin'.
