This is part 2 of our recap for Mr. Queen!
ON THE WAY TO 10K!!!
The KThree hosts the fantastic Kdrama Clubhouse every Sunday (TODAY) at 11am PST where Kdrama lovers gush or groan about all the Kdramas they watched for the week! Their 2021 goal is to reach 10,000 subscribers by the end of the year. Let’s help them get there! Subscribe!
Caution: Be wary of typos
How to Watch: Viki
How we do this: This live recap will be in two parts and we segment each post around every 10 minutes. Sometimes sooner, sometimes later depending on the scene. There will be typos which we have fantasies of fixing once the episode finishes airing. Also, if there is a preview then we will try and translate it. Look for that at the bottom or on a separate post!
KOREAN DRAMA RECAP
MR. QUEEN EP 18 KDRAMA – PART 1
——-dramamilk.com——-
#4
QUEEN GRANDMOTHER
The Queen Grandmother is on the throne and is dictating her announcement to a calligrapher. She says that she has placed a prince as the new King and gives no mercy to the coup people.
The towns people read this announcement. One commoner thinks that the East Study religion made all this trouble. A man reads it who looks like he is part of the East Study group. He quietly walks off.
PALACE
Hwan goes to Byong In in the palace and asks why he arrested Hong and Yang Pyung? Byong In says power shifts depending on who is on the throne. Hwan thinks you should not arrest innocent people. Byong In asks if they are innocent? They aren’t innocent because being on the weak side is a sin.
Hwan asks how bad he is going to become? Byong Ins ays he will become big enough to protect the things he wants to protect.
QUEEN
Meanwhile, the Queen puts sick cosmetics on her face. Yeon applies it. She tells Hong Yeon to make her lips look worse. Yeon thinks he looks bad enough. the Queen says she wants to look like a dead-dead person.
Yeon asks if she really has to do this? The Queen grabs the chalk and starts to rub it on her lips. She says she is going to be on the Kings side and even so, they can’t put a sick pregnant woman in jail. How do I look? Yeon tells her she looks like a dead body.
They all go pray at the Kings room. Then the Queen grandmother and Daebi come in to pray. Daebi is dramatic as usual. The Queen thinks they are acting. It is the acting job of their life, but I am the one winning the acting award today.
She bursts in front of them and starts to super cry and wail about the King not leaving without her. WHAT ABOUT MY BAAAAAABYYYYY, WHAT ABOUT MEEEEEE, MY KIIIIINNNNNNG.
Choi tells everyone to call the doctor! The Queen has to be pulled out. The Queen thinks in her head, if I am here one second more they will yell at me.
QB and Daebi both look amazed and shocked.
The Queen pretends to be crying all the way back to her room where Hwa Jin is waiting. She had called her to the palace.
HJ – What happened to the King? How could this happen?
Q – I thought you would be worried. The King is alive. I called you to tell you this. Don’t worry.
Hwa Jin thanks her and crumbles to the ground. The Queen tells her that it will start from now.
POLITICIANS
At a gisaeng house, the politicians toast each other to their fortune and says that they can take care of the King and the commoners in one go. They chuckle.
Byong in is with them and says that he has a little worry before that happens, which is why I called you together. The Kim and Cho family are enemies all the time. We are together because of the King. The King is gone now so I worry about us damaging each other and competing. So I prepared something to have a good alliance for both of our families.
he hands a note to the Choi politician. The note is to place a new King. The men wonder if that is a coup? The King is already dead, why do we have to do this?
Byong In tells him this is for us to have common responsibility. I want to make sure and have evidence that one side will not betray the other. if you agree then I guarantee that both families will exist in harmony.
Choi says Byong In wants to hold all their lifeline. We cannot agree with this! They stand up to leave. But men with swords stop them outside the door. They ask if he is using soldiers against them!
Byong in calmly tells them that they should agree. You can leave the room after you agree. Then he adds his name to the document first.
#5
PALACE
The Queen hides all her jewels and expensive things in one bag. Choi comes in and asks if they found out anything. Choi says, as the Queen thought, they closed all doors around Han Yang and the palace.
The Queen asks about the soldiers. Choi says there are people where soldiers are searching. Especially the cliff area.
The Queen thinks in her head that she found Chol Jong, she is going to get him. She fakes that she is sleepy and rests in bed. Her maids pleasantly tell her goodnight and head out.
But, before they leave, the Queen tells them to be healthy. They ask, huh? She tells them that they should not let their guard down about their health.
They leave and the Queen changes into commoners clothing. She also has the bow and arrow with her.
BYONG IN
Byong in asks his friend how the Queen is. The friend says she passed out due to the shock but woke up now.
he goes to find the Queen and finds her sneaking out. he asks where she is going?
BI – Are you thinking about the thing I think you are thinking about?
Q – Don’t worry about me
BI – After you leave the palace, you will be in danger.
Q – i know that. I know everything. You tried to kill the King using me as bait and you also tried to kill the King yourself. I know everything.
BI – For your safety, I will be hated. So just blame me and give up. The King is dead.
Q – No he is not dead. You know the King will not die this easily. That is why you blocked the doors and are trying hard to get the new King in a hurry.
BI – Your highness, please, you should throw away the King and then you will live.
Q – Why King? I will tell you the reason. Someone has to be King, then I think the King is the best because he deserves to be the King more than anyone else. So don’t block my way to use my one vote. if you keep blocking me *arms her arrow* then I cannot help this
BI – How can you point your arrow at me? You know how I think.
Q – if you like me this much then you know the changes I have had. Look at me. Am I the same woman? Inside is totally different but you do not recognize it. What you liked is the flesh. The So Yong you liked is gone.
BI – What are you talking about?
Q – *shoots arrow*
Q – If I am the real So Yong, she would not be able to fire an arrow at you because she likes you at least like a brother. But I am different. I can shoot you.
She shoots him in the thigh when he tries to come to her.
Q – Ah, I did not know I would actually shoot you. it was supposed to be a warning shot.
She runs away. Byong In can’t follow because he has an arrow right in his thigh.
The Queen jumps over the wall and lands like a superhero. Her maids clap for her. they are all in commoner clothing as well. Yeon says that she was so obvious so they thought she wanted them to come with her. Choi says she just wanted to save her own life. if you are gone in front of me then I will kill myself with nervousness.
The Queen says, okay, lets go. But they won’t let her go. Yeon says she has to step on her to leave. So the Queen steps on her little foot and walks past her.
Choi tells her there is only 4 days left. The coronation is in 4 days but you are going to search the entire mountain and find the King? The Queen asks if they are laughing at her. Choi says yes. Yeon tells her there are so many wild animals in the mountain, you will not be able to survive one day. You will be eaten by something or found frozen to death.
The Queen says she will not get scared and keeps walking off. Choi tells Yeon, the Queen does not want it so much so lets go back and drink poison since we couldn’t stop her from leaving. *whines*
This makes the Queen turn around and say they can come with her.
They walk with the maids holding the Queens arms. they ask her how she was going to pass the gate. She says she was going to climb the wall with her skills. They chuckle and tell her that they prepared everything, don’t worry.
GATE
They get to the gate wearing the Queens clothing and maids clothing, so they are let out right away and very easily.
#6
BYONG IN AND FRIEND
The friend thought that they were drinking for a winning party but he says it feels like drinks for the losing party. he says is wound will not heal like this Where did you get hurt.
He tries to take his cup. Byong In tells him that if he takes his cup one more time, I will cut off your hand. Then he thinks about the Queen and the difference between her and the So Yong he knew. it is a big difference.
In the morning, Byong In goes home to his fathers house. His father tells him to go to his room. It will be warm since he kept the fire going. Byong In asks why he isn’t asking him anything? Jwa Gun says fathers are like that.
JWA GUN AND GRANDMOTHER QUEEN
The Queen asks Jwa Gun what Byong In made? Jwa Gun says he made a list of signatures for a coup. She is shocked, he did this without telling me?
JG – When we have the list so it is our weapon. Don’t worry, I will bring it to you.
GQ – As soon as the King died, you came back and were involved in a coup. It makes the picture cloudy/weird.
JG – I do not need a position. I will be happy to search you from behind the scenes. By the way, I heard that the Queen left the palace.
GQ – The Queen? The mother of the country left overnight. I am keeping it quiet because it taints our family name. You already knew?
JG – Based on how she has acted, this is not just simple running away.
GQ – Which means?
JG – She wants to bring the King back and put everything how it was before. The Queen believes that the King is alive.
GQ – She has definite evidence that the King is alive?
JG – She took off her Queen clothing and went out, so she is just a woman.
GQ – I know that is obviously a lie but Byong In really wanted it so I accepted it. The King and Queen really loved each other like that so I have to make sure they are buried together. Will you do that brother?
Jwa Gun smiles.
Cut to the red soldiers torturing some men in the palace. Jwa Gun tells the friend that he is back in his position to help the Grandmother Queen in the palace. he asks who these men are? Did they kill the King?
One of the men says he is just a medicine collector, he does not even know the Kings face.
JG – So you guys that are lower than bugs killed a dragon in the sky without even noticing?
He burns the man with a hot iron.
THE KING
The King wakes up in a shack. He hears a chopping noise and hops up.
Man – You wake up like that so you must be okay.
King – Who are you?
Man – Of course I am a herb gatherer. Otherwise, why am I in the mountain.
King – You saved me?
Man – it is not that I saved you. I picked you up. You have wealthy clothing so I thought you would give me some money. There is nothing free in the world. Your clothes look expensive but they are all shredded so I cannot even sell it. I burned it.
King – Burned?
Man – I saw soldiers walking around the mountain. Did I pick up a trouble maker? If you run away without paying for the treatment, then I will cut off your head like this.
He makes a motion to cut his head then goes outside to great a person. The person he greats has a letter that is exchanged for money. The King sees this.
QUEEN AND MAIDS
While walking in the mountains, Choi asks the Queen what happened. The Queen says they had a funeral with a fake body. Yeon asks how she knew? The Queen says bad guys are all the same. Choi curses the bad guys in the palace.
PALACE
Byong In goes to the Queen’s bedroom and hen goes to meet with his father.
JG – This is a confession by the East Study Cult. I also have a witness. Announce it after the funeral at the appropriate time.
BI – Can I ask you to take over the security of the palace for awhile?
JG – Why?
BI – I will bring the King and Queen’s head by myself
3 DAYS BEFORE THE CORONATION
Byong In heads out with his friend. Hwan asks if he is heading out to find the Queen. Byong In tells him that the Queen is not the sister he knows anymore. He hops on his horse and heads out with his friend.
JAIL
Hong messes with the lock a bit and breaks it open. he is pretty surprised that it was so easy. Yang Pyung is also surprised that he did that.
Hwan comes up so they have to put the lock back in. He asks if Hong is okay? Your sins are that you are the Kings best friend and the Kings brother. Don’t worry, I will get you out.
Hong tells him he is a person that never changes despite the situation. Hwan says, of course. You did not keep me close because I am in the Kim family. I didn’t become friend with you because you are the Kings best friend.
Hong looks a bit guilty.
Hwan continues and says that palace is all upside down. They tried to kill all the east cult people so I am worried that innocent people will get hurt and the Queen disappeared overnight.
They ask what he is talking about?
Hwan says she took her court lady and servant and disappeared without anyone seeing her. Byong in Hyung-nim left the palace to find her, but it looks a bit serious. Maybe I shouldn’t think this way, but I feel like it looks like he will harm the Queen.
MOUNTAIN
The three women keep walking up the mountain. They stop to rest and eat a picnic as well. Choi packed it all with help from the chef possibly. Then they keep walking. then they sleep. It is really just showing their travels through the mountains.
Hong Yeon asks how the Queen can sleep outside like this The Queen says she used to do it a lot. Choi says she never did it before. The Queen talks about walking many miles (200 miles?) with a full backpack. they don’t believe her and starts to chuckle.
The Queen says she walked that many and even melted snow and drank it when she was thirsty. They both chuckle. Yeon thinks they can’t even make a fire. I am worried about this cold night. Sorry Queen.
The Queen says it is not even cold. This is nothing compared to winter training. Choi and Yeon give her a thumbs up and laugh. They fall asleep with her CJ scarf around them all.
KING
The King wakes up and starts to look around the house he is in. He finds the note which is written in passcode format.
The man comes up from behind him and screams, YAAAA. The King turns around in shock, the man is holding a blunt tool.
MOUNTAIN
Byong In gets to the mountain and tells his red people to find them.
Meanwhile, the Queen is walking up a path with her maids. They think the weather and view are nice so they take a moment to enjoy it. Then they keep walking. they walk and walk and are almost there but are super tired. Yeon looks fresh though. So they take a rest on a rock.
Choi thinks everything outside the palace looks good. The Queen jokes that she used to hate outide the palace. The Queen asks Yeon if she likes inside or outside more. Yeon says she likes wherever the Queen is.
But then the red soldiers show up and run to get them. Choi stops the friend but the friend slices Choi. The Queen tries to shoot them, but it doesn’t work. Yeon pulls the Queen away. Choi is still alive and tries to hold the friends leg but he kicks her off and chases the Queen.
They hide. yeon runs to make the other chase her. But Byong In finds the Queen. So the Queen runs off all the way to the cliff.
Byong In holds the Queen by the neck over the cliff. She tries to break free, but his grip is too strong.
BI – Who are you? What did you do to So Yong!
Fade Out
COMMENTS
Okay, what happened to the writing in this episode? Did an assistant write it because it feels so different from all the other episodes. It wasn’t smart and well put together, it felt like it relied on coincidence and unplanned events? Am I the only one that thinks this way?
Actually, the last three episodes lacked the cohesiveness of the first 14 so I wonder if they are just out of energy to finish smoothly? Or perhaps these are the episodes that they just need to get through to get to their well thought out ending? (Please let the ending be well thought out).
Though, I am a bit worried about the ending now because it seems like they might not have given it a lot of thought? Or perhaps they just didn’t give the last couple episodes a ton of thought to lead into something grand?
Hopefully this episode is just a fluke and the next two pull us to a grand ending which wrapped up everything nicely and also in a clever way. Here’s hoping!
Be sure to check out The Kdrama Clubhouse today to find out what everyone else thinks of today’s episode! Is everyone as confused/disappointed in it as me? TELL ME, I MUST KNOW! 😁
I think/am hoping the reason we have no answers yet is because they need to set it up for a grand finale. We all know that the King is very clever – so we’ve all been thinking this death is planned by the King and BI working together to save the Queen and country. I am hoping the writers are making us think that BI has truly gone crazy to make us/the palace/Kim Clan think that the King was tricked?
BI’s character is the only one who’s still in the middle in terms of whether he’s good or bad, but the preview suggests he might save the Queen.
Basically I’m hoping that this is all BI’s Oscar winning performance into tricking the Palace Clans and GQD, his father – and he’s actually helping the King somehow.
Manifesting that into truth.
But the girls leaving the palace was a bad idea imo. The Queen’s has put a lot of stress on the baby!
I’m hoping so too. Prolly, BI asked those Politicians to write their signatures so King has prove of them trying to do treason. Right now, King really dont hv any evidence for him to sweep all Joseon’s desease like his dreaming of. And noted that was so easy for Director Hong to broke the Jail lock. I mean, this is what i’m hoping for.
I really can’t see how would they solved all the problems, it’s so chaotic now beyond words. King looks so powerless, not even an army shown on his side. I dont know how he would supress those bad guys in the palace without BI’s help atm.
Ahhh…so glad to see that I’m not the only one who has been dissatisfied with the writing as of late. It DOES seem as if they either rushed, got some lower tier writers to do the bulk of the work, or are running out of steam. There’s still some good parts, but it lacks the wit and sharpness of the early episodes.
Glad BI finally woke up to the fact that SY is not his SY. Am I weird to think that he looked super hot when he was chasing her down? It’s not just a bad-boy syndrome either…his friend has turned from a happy-go-lucky guy into an evil one, and I think he’s a little weasel. Btw, anyone else curious as to why they have yet to reveal his name? There’s just something good and tragic about BI’s character. The preview for the next episode shows him saving her, so there’s that.
One more week. Wow! What a rollercoaster ride this has been.
I think they will start the planning once they meet the king. They will plan to bring the Kim and Jo clans down. The people who believe the king will surely help. BI will be a king’s ally. Hwa Jin’s clan well help as well. I hope the baby, Hong Yeon and Lady Choi won’t die. And the souls will switch back to their real bodies. Thank you V and the rest of your team. Time to sleep.
I think the king is gonna run into Lady Choi and Yeon and help them.
I have no more theories as of now. Because I think they all went to the drain. Yes, I also thought this episode wasn’t as good as the previous ones… But just couldn’t have the exact word to express it. I hope hope they don’t make the ending lazily and save the story from going downhill, to be one of the dramas we hate for the ending. :/
Another cliff hanger episode and 1 more week of waiting 😩
I am really confused here, next weeks episode should be clearer than this. thanks for the recap, V
Million thanks
Though I agree with you that this episode doesn’t measure up to the last episodes ( her leaving the palace to find the King, the Kings team [Hong and YP] staying behind was kinda not well written and dint make sense, but there’s no drama that is perfect.
I kinda think there’s a bigger picture, and we will find out eventually (I hope).
I kinda expected these episodes to be this way because the writers had to write their politics into a comedy drama and that itself is a challenge.
Unlike Most Kdramas where towards the end it starts to drag, Mr Queen in my opinion did a pretty good job keeping my interest.
Both of them are trying to save the queen with the King making it seem like the Queen is involved in donghak and Byeong-in from the attacks of Kim clan. Both were in an urgent to try to save the Queen because the problem came in just one night with the Queen Mother spreading the rumor about the adultery.
As for the Queen, the Queen ran away from the palace because she’s trying to catch up before they find a new king since she knows the future. The next king would be Gojong and he took the throne when he was only like eight I believe? He was too young back then. And another thing is that since the Queen knows he’s still alive, there’s a big chance that she believes someone will kill him and prevent him thus, closing the Hanyang and looking for his body.
It might seem like they are rushing the episodes and the characters seem like they are not being smart because the characters are actually chasing time here. When Byeongin told the King about the rumor, he tells him that he must act fast/decide before the morning comes, relying on the fact that Byeongin has not said anything about the book and that he sees Byeongin having more interest in the Queen unlike of that normal cousin relationship. When the Queen Grandmother was telling Byeongin that she will have someone kill the Queen instead, he’s making Byeongin to think quickly and do what she wants as soon as possible, using the rumor to threaten him, relying on the fact that the Queen Dowager sees the Queen as a tool but not as a family and she could kill her anytime she wants.
Thank you for the recap – painful though it was – bravely done. This week will be the most difficult wait after weeks of difficult waiting. I recommend watching our hero in his “Waikiki” drama (where he is adorable and funny) and our queen in “30 but 17” where she again flexes her performance skills to portray a teenage mind in a woman’s body. Somehow seeing them in different roles assuages the Mr. Queen pain – which we all knew was coming. There is comedy gold in Waikiki (like a Korean “Friends”).
I still have faith in the vision of the writers. I wasn’t surprised at YP – figured they wouldn’t write him that far out of frame. If BI has one defining factor – his love for the queen, YP is the flip of that – he has always hated the Queen. They stayed true to their characters. Even if I hate the characters, I hate it even more when writers pull a cheap trick and warp them to suit the plot.
All is going according to a plan. Sure hope we like the final outcome. Painful history is a human condition, and we comfort ourselves by saying: that was then, but this is now. I expect this drama to follow that formula.
Fighting!
Well, I’m hoping that ByeongIn and the King made this plan together, with ByeongIn’s friend on with the secret because the prison lock was easy to pick and he mentioned it to Hong and Prince YP that they will not stay inside for long. I also remembered ByeongIn telling his friend a few episodes back to join him in the Palace and to also see for himself that he is not like his Father. I’m holding on to these thoughts to get me through the rest of the week. Maybe ByeongIn finally realised that the King truly cared for the Queen when the King deposed Consort Eui. Im also happy that the Queen informed Consort Eui that the King is alive and not to worry. I just hope the baby is safe with all the running and drama. If it doesn’t have a happy ending, I would be seriously pissed. Comedies need to have happy endings, right?
I just learnt about “Mr. Queen: The Bamboo Forest (2021)” (2 special epilogue episodes)!!! I’m so glad!!! the trailer looked very promising!! hopefully they will be able to end the story properly and satisfactorily! CAN’T WAIT!!!!
First of all, thank you very much for your work !!!! But I am the only one who wonders what will happen to the chef who remains in 2020? How is that part going to end? I do not see what is happening ….. unless the queen falls into the water and again they do an exchange of bodies between the real queen and the chef ….. that part I do not understand how they are going to finish …… can someone add something?
100% in agreement – the writing and pace are way off this week. Even the cinematography is ‘off’. Up to EP 15 the writing, directing and acting was on its way to legendary KDrama status.
So what happened?
My thinking is that they changed the ending. If you follow KJH’s video posts during production it appears that the cast was called back last month (after wrapping the drama in Dec) to shoot the ‘fill in the back story’ special episode. Is it possible they used it as a hoax to re-shoot the ending? Did the political/history blow-back get to them or were the sexual orientation questions not resolved accordingly or did the popularity of the show lead them to want to more fully satisfy the fans’ response to the drama?
What bothered me the most this week was the natural lighting (colour change & sun at a completely different angle) and the newly present ‘freezing’ breath in the outdoor scenes. Sounds weird I know, but go back 4 or 5 episodes and see if you notice it too?
What I found the most disappointing is the drop in the writing level. It takes a good amount of time and rewrites to get such a tight script. As far as I am concerned it was near dramedy perfection. Dang.
I agree with the drop in quality (but tbh… this is like, every k drama) and it honestly seems like they’ve been trying to fill in the gaps to get to the ending. They’ve been following the Chinese novel’s plot points consistently up until this point so idk whether they’ve changed the ending from the novel and web drama endings (but honestly I can see them doing that).
In terms of the freezing breath and stuff if they wrapped in December they were probably filming then and it gets COLD in Korea around then, and it was snowing throughout that month too. It takes like 3-4 months to shoot a drama all the way through and if they started in September and finished in December the way the outdoor scenes are with the freezing breath and sunlight makes sense because Korea can go from pretty balmy and warm in September to below freezing by December.
Hi V! Thanks for the recaps and reviews! As for this episode, I think you have to go back to each of the characters who I believe all stayed true to form. From YP, BI and even HJ. They love the their King and Queen and they are behaving as you would expect them to be, reacting to the drama as it unfolds in the palace. YP never believed in the queen. ( He and King even had a shadow fight because of HJ, and he blames everything on the queen.) BI is all about saving the queen; that is his mission in life. HJ, who still loves the king, and helped the queen by giving her own set of arrows. Even the queen, who finally realizes that her pregnancy is for nothing is CJ is not there. That she/he misses her/his king more than she/he would care to admit. That he/she literally did a “come hell or high water” to bring back her man— in this case, a high wall where he/she landed flawlessly!
I think the writer is setting up for the finale—this episode is the climax where everything is chaotic and I am glad the writer placed it here than on the finale so we have time( I hope) to accept the solutions the writer has for us.
As for the king, did CJ stay true to form as well? Did he create this chaos to save his queen with the help of BI? Why were Hong and YP so complacent in jail? Is it because they know the plot too? Was trying to “kill” the queen part of it too? Will Bong Hwan go back to the present? And lastly, the most important one for me—-did So Yong learn enough lessons from Bong Hwan to have the courage to fight back not only for the King but also for herself?
So many questions to answer on the finale and it’s going to be a LONG week! I seriously wish the writer would give us an epilogue though. I need to see an AFTER happily-ever-after!
I do know that one of the actors got COVID & they had to shut down production (I think while around filming Ep. 16 maybe), so when they restarted they probably had to rush the last part of filming to get done in time because the airtime had been set.
First of all I want to say, I love the supporting characters so much. I love Hong Yeon, my doe-eyed sweetie pie, my lovely Choi Sanggung who I hope wasn’t hurt because she probably hid her picture thingie on her body. You know that thing she looks at with hot pics of buff men. hehehe. I love how supportive and selfless they are for So Yong. They were so proud at her stylish landing and didn’t give a second thought at letting her go by her self. I love Kim Hwan too. Even though, he’s a Kim and probably haven’t done anything exceptionally good for anyone, he hasn’t been hurting people either. I’m sure he helped Hong and Prince get away from the jail. I think the cook went off to find Choi as well. So she’ll probably be saved.
Byong In, I really feel for him. I hated that he choked So Yong but I get that he was confused at who this person was. To only suddenly realise that this person is not the same one he knows probably made him feel foolish and afraid too. He probably thought a different entity got hold of her body or a person of similar look took over So Yong’s place. Like a doppleganger. It is interesting that they showed him helping So Yong get away after that though. They didn’t want him to be the bad guy for too long. The fact that he was willing to give anything and do anything to keep her safe, showed how he lived for her, almost. But I hope he realises too that when you love someone, you have to let them go. You cannot possess them, ByongIn-ah.
Then there’s Prince YP. His presence never really stood out for me before. He was like a shadow, we know of course that he has feelings for Hwa Jin and he worries about so many things. I wondered earlier too why he didn’t become the King since he’s the elder brother. But I get that the QGD probably chose the younger one who she thought was naive and a bit slow. Not knowing that CheolJong was the strategist and actor. Prince YP probably couldn’t have acted as CheolJong did, he showed his emotions pretty plainly and he seems very straightforward. I mean this dude hurts a lot too but he was willing to support his brother for the greater good. I respect that about him.
I know that the writing seems less tight but I agree with the other comments that it might be due to the pandemic, or reshoots or the historical inaccuracies controversies, but I still feel that the fast-paced happenings are reasonable and necessary. The things that are going on are affecting the viewers such as myself, I’m feeling stressed at how things will work out, I’m overthinking too somewhat. I even thought why not CheolJong and So Yong go off to live in a village somewhere as a happy family and after a while, whilst at the river or something of the sort, So Yong fell into the river for some reason, lose consciousness, and Bong Hwan returns back to his own body. I mean why not. hehehehe.
I’ll stop here for now. So many possibilities and I am excited for everything. I look forward to next week and yes the special episode. I love the picture of the chaos.
Actually I think they pulled back to the actual quality in the 18 th episode. Episode 16 and 17 were having somewat loose script and I felt it was intentiinally done to give some good moments for king and queen and enough political buildup for the final lap. The development of political angle was slow throughout the drama but romance angle got a consistent development.So I think they rushed the politucal plot during 16 and 17.The second female lead character was concluded really beautifully.
Enjoyed really good moments from episode 18 and that mourning scene was so funny.
Author
I liked how they wrapped up Hwa Jin’s story as well. The fun moments in this drama are always so fun! But yes, the political moments got a bit of a quick touch to them in the last couple episodes. Not enough to ruin the drama, just enough to notice considering the quality of this drama is so high!
Oh the politics is quite interesting. I think even the politicians had to come up with different unexpected plans because the king and queen have been doing unexpected things. They were successful before this just by poisoning, or rumor-mongering, stirring up scandal and what-not to suddenly come up against these forward-thinking young people. It interests me how calm Jwa Geum is, only to realise that as Byong In colluded with the officials, they actually inform Jwa Geum everything that he does. Everyone is a walking cctv for real. Just look at how everyone knows that ByongIn loves So Yong but just pretended they didn’t. And they are also aware that they could take him down just as easily as they let him rise in the ranks. Those old guys are old-devils, old hands at bad things. There’s a clear distinction too of how the young act compared to the elders but the elders have been in-charge for so long that they’re willing to push harder.
Jwa Geum acting like a concerned father I feel is a ruse. He’s acting like he’s limping but he’s confident in his loyalist and true power. He holds a lot of secrets for sure and I worry when he’ll use his final ace hidden card, I’m sure he has one, and I think it might be something that would break Byong In. Uuu I don’t know. Maybe a spin-off on “It’s a Byong In Life: Nursing a lonely heart” would help answer Byong In’s life story. I’m a big ByongIn anti-fan for sure
This is a really great comment and encapsulates what I think as well.
As for Yeongpyeong- in history he was Cheoljong’s older brother but his mother was a concubine, Cheoljong’s mother was their father’s wife. Unlike in Goryeo and the kingdoms before that in Joseon sons of concubines can’t take the throne (which explains why how badly Queen Dowager Jo wanted to get rid of Sobong so much to place Hwajin on there, because then if Hwajin was king and she had a son the Jo’s would have all the power).
Oh thanks for the info on YP’s mother. That knowledge does add on to why he’s worried about Hwa Jin too. Seeing as how his own mother was a concubine, and his loved one is one, he probably feels that he wants to protect her more as her status is very much like his mother.
Why everybody is thinking that queen leaving the palace is a senseless thing. She was thinking either the king will be hurt or tied. So she just staying in the palace counting the days for enthronement will be the most foolish thing to do. Its a time where her actiin is essential and everyone is against her at the palace. If the king doesn’t comes back to the palace, it is game over for her
In my opinion, this was the best episode with no lag from the political angle.
Hi v thanks for the excellent recap as always! Your comment just verbalize the gut feel i have watching the recent episodes. I might be socked for saying this but the romance between the king and the queen after they have made up seemed to pale in comparison to when they were enemies. But perhaps the later episodes were affected more by the covid precaution so they have to maintain some distance in intimate scenes but then again they are so close anyway it doesn’t really matter so i really don’t know what happened there. Like when they were putting up the tango show – they could have just made out there instead. It seems like our royal couple just become super awkward after their feelings become real and they can only get it on with some alcohol or misunderstanding or under some ruse and they’re always expressing their feelings only when the other person is not there. That said, i’m still holding out for the final episode and hope that it wouldn’t disappoint. Also i find it a bit unrealistic that the king can gloss over the fact that sobong has repeatedly asserted that she’s a guy since he’s supposed to be perceptive, intuitive and intelligent. For exanple he didn’t even bat an eyelid when his wife wrote love letters to his concubines. Doubt that he would be that progressive even at that point in time since sobong hasn’t cue him on the future yet. Or that he only bedded the queen and not the concubines though i’ll have to confess that i’ll be pretty grossed out if the king gets intimate with any other person other than the queen since i do ship them. And the concubines are actually cool with that? Only hwajin acted a bit closer to reality but she just suddenly turn into this magnanimous lady and left the palace inconsequentially. I also can’t decide if this is ultimately a rom com or historical drama because maybe it’s trying to do everything. If it is the former, i feel that the focus of the drama seemed to be tipped a little more to the political intrigue side of things while if it’s the latter then the way the drama is depicted is a far cry from reality. But i guess the good thing is that this drama did attract fanbase of sorts and in turn sort of bring people together to talk about the drama. To be honest i’m more of a rom com junkie as well as attracted by a more basal appeal of its appearance. So it feels a little awkward but nice to see perspective of more hard core historical or political fan. And perhaps this is what we need during these divisive times we live in. To be honest i have given up on a body swap resolution that will does justice to both bonghwan and soyong but of course i am not the creative team. But I’m still holding out for byeongin’s redemption for holding the key to secure king x queen happy ending. As much as he’s hated and for good reason and as much as i feel his unrequited love may be a little too out of the world, within creative realm, i consider his love would approach agape putting her safety and happiness as his sole life mission at all cost. I still don’t see him trying to possess her. In the beginning he let her go when he thought that becoming queen was what soyong wanted but he was also the first one to see the double sided nature of the king who also tried to kill her which led him to think the king is bad news for her. But at the end his overprotectiveness just backfire. I am crossing my fingers that he will realize by episode 19 that the only way for him to secure the queen’s happiness and safety is by siding with the king. If that happens it will be truly cathartic.
Yes to ByongIn’s redemption. I’m all for it too.
Can’t wait for next week