We posted five ending theories on our YouTube page! They are heavy with potential spoilers so watch at your own spoiler risk! The video is below. Let us know what your theories are, we love to read them and we need to use group think to figure out what is going on to save our sanity until the next episode anyway 😄.
I love all of the theories. And I think the evil eunuch finding them at the forest theory is very possible. I would love it if YP and HJ can get married, YP needs happiness as does HJ. It gave me such a thrill when HJ took SY’s hand in the palace to show her gratitude at the news that the king was still alive. I mean that truly shows that she’s let go of her ill-feelings for SY. She’s definitely ready for a new beginning. I also hope Byong In joins the rebellion and doesn’t die in the process. I want him to have a happy ending too. Character-wise I think he is a good man even from his youth, always being the protective brother to So Yong. The only reason he took power was because he felt it was the only way he could protect her too. There’s a naivety in that as well. Do share more theories if you find more. I love them all. Oh and the Dam-Hyang’s dad hashtag…that’s so funny. Maybe the agency didn’t know his part will be one that’s supposed to be hush hush. hehehehe. Oh I also want a good ending for SY’s dad. I mean he has really changed as a father. I love how he realises that he needs to be there for her. Thanks V and team.
I’d love to see/hear your take on why Cheoljong loves our Mr. Queen – including when you think he began to fall for her. I think it was early on as his reaction to her attempt at returning to the present was very emotional. Plus, his tone of his voice calling her “My Queen” was fairly excitable when he sought her out at the pavillion the same day. Also, there seemed to be a tinge of jealousy there as well with BI. Could just be projecting though, so other people’s thoughts on it are welcome.
oh I agree. yes it’ll be good to know the reasonings for the change of heart in CheolJong. I read somewhere maybe in the comments or maybe I heard it in one of the videos that CJ and SY might have met each other outside the palace without knowing who each other was. There was possibility attraction there. Or maybe SY knew it was CJ only he didn’t knew who she was until she went to the palace. And when he found that she was actually a Kim, that just turned him off. Possibility who knew.
Afterwards though, as Bong Hwan went about with his antiques in SY’s body, of course we could see CJ was at first highly sceptical but he probably felt that he want her to be on his team as he sees her just like him…having to fend off expectations, not being free to be who they really are, tied up by the very real possibility of being deposed or killed without able to do anything meaningful with their lives. I mean CJ even forgo his slow-witted acting because of SY, he started to become his real self, he showed his true self whereas he could’ve continued his acting. But he probably felt inspired by her, and instead of slowly waiting for things to happen, he forced them to.
I think CJ obviously is suffering from PTSD, but SY as he said, is his comfort. Her support for him in her own savage ways gave him confidence and in turn he appreciates her for it which leads him to love her. At least, that’s how I see it.
I think you’re right about them meeting outside the palace which I think the “feelings” dialogue during episode 2? When Soyong/Sobong stumbles in to their meeting at the gisaeng house and he goes to kill her.
From what people are saying about the prequel episode airing this week is that they met each other during the queen selection process, CJ falls for her and gets jealous and during the selection process. At the end of the process he finds out she’s part of the Kim clan and probably thought it was all an act and she was doing it to become queen/further her family’s agenda.
I also think it’s guilt after the confrontation about why she tried to kill herself the first time around, because he realised his assumptions about her (along with everything and everyone else) lead her to being suicidal. Couple with that with Soyong and Bongwhan sharing a body and him thinking she woke up genuinely bizarre and that piqued his curiosity and the time when they fell unconscious and I think those are all the reasons as to why he held residual feelings for them/her in the first place and sought to understand them after the “personality change”.
Oh, that is interesting news. I knew the Bamboo Forest was going to show their meeting but thought the jealousy part was happening in the present day (hopefully BI will permanently join the good guys side since he’s in a pile up with the rest of the gang in his military uniform). I always attributed the feelings Prince YP warned about in episode 2 to be because he was, in essence, going to try and kill an unarmed woman. Never thought it might be linked to the prior meeting between the two of them.
Odd, but a part of me thinks badly of him if he did fall for SY during the selection process. Because, at the time, he was in love with Hwa Jin, and his feelings for her were genuine. What’s this man doing hound dogging pretty girls like this? LOL Mr. Queen being the exception because she grew on him even as he fought against it.
I don’t think he was as in love with Hwa Jin as he thought because even when Mr. Queen urged him to go to Hwa Jin, he never did but went & did other things. Hwa Jin had to basically blackmail him with the letter to appeal the Queen’s dethronement to get him to agree to sleep with her & when he was getting dressed to go to her he didn’t seem that enthused. And after that he started calling Hwa Jin by her title and not her name as previously.
I agree with you on the guilt part! As I think the guilt that he had of realising he indirectly led her to suicide and her chilvarous act of saving her nemesis the concubine, was what first prompted him to open himself more to the queen and change the bad impression that he had of her.
And yes, had the same thoughts as you about how he probably led don his guard even more when he found her so different from the rest of the girls in the palace and how she seemed to be botheredless about winning his favour when the rest of the people were trying to.
=)
I just saw on TVING’s insta that they posted what I believe are the titles to the mini episodes along with a picture for each one. Is anyone able to translate the titles?
Now they’re saying that Bamboo Forest will be a VOD option. I don’t mind paying for it, but I worry it won’t come with subs or even be available on a site for me to purchase. Ugh! Whhhhyyyyy????
Any plans to do a preview on Mr. Queen: the Bamboo Forest before it airs? Will you be providing a recap for the episodes as well?
This is so fun. Will there ever be another drama like this one that leaves us so in doubt of our final destination and yet we are all still so excited to get on board anyway? I’ve had a few days to distill some thoughts and read around in other commentary, also discussed with family and am so far resolved about a few things. Disclaimer: this might be part intuition – part wishful thinking.
*When Hong failed to locate our little heroine’s slave father in the mountains, I predicted he would be a player before the end, otherwise why mention him? It’s definitely him in both photos. That he saved the King is just poetry. I love how they did that. Would they have the King saved here just to murder him in the next episode? I don’t think so. That misunderstanding will work its way out, and it will be the king who meets BI and the Queen as they flee from the traitorous red guard. He won’t like that hand holding.
*Ah but what about Hong, Hwan, and YP, you ask – (as for the scarred eunuch and Jwa Geum… they’re busy). Let’s handle the first group, Yeon was running away as a decoy to draw away some of the evil troops, and she’ll run smack into Hong and Hwan. Lover’s triangle – let’s resolve it. Hwan will see Yeon’s feelings in truth belonged to another man. They will save her from her pursuer(s) and then run off to save the Queen, who will be embroiled in a war between BI, the King, the red guards, and the DSG leader (and possibly others).
*Meanwhile chef Manbok is in the palace with some of the maids and eunuchs that the Queen was ‘recruiting’ before leaving the palace – to cause calamity during and/or prior to the coronation. Will Manbok return Jwa Geum’s favor from the banquet and sicken the palace party? As the chef he certainly should know that turnabout is fair play. And what will be the rumor – and there will be one spread by Hwa Jin (was this her assignment from the Queen – “It’s only the beginning”)?
*What other counterattack is afoot? YP will go to Hwa Jin (srsly can’t see him trying to save the Q) and recruit reinforcements to take the palace or at the least to fight to return the King to the palace. They will fight side by side and realize their love is mutual. I predict that she’ll save him with her archery.
*Byoung In. Sigh. I see absolutely no way out for him therefore I think he will die. If he was allied with the King and this was one big plot – he wouldn’t have done some of the things he did (handing over the incriminating evidence of treason to the QGM/Jwa Geum is a huge tell). We were given his thoughts – not just his words – and he wanted rid of that pesky obstacle to his love more than anything. He will never abandon his obsession and will never find happiness as Hwa Jin did. The difference is that Hwa Jin usurped So Young’s place with her lies about the well. The King was not her fate, and deep down all of her insecurities were built on those lies. She got in So Young’s way, but could not withstand the King’s real fate with So Young.
Fate is always a main character in Korean Drama.
Byoung In believes it IS his fate to be with So Young. And that mistake will end his miserable life because he cannot realize it. But I believe he will use his death to redeem himself. He will tell the Queen about that contract/confession signed by all of the leaders in the possession of the QGM, because it will protect her.
*Jwa Geum is somehow going to mix up his real sword with the one the Queen gave him. Has to happen. He’s going to reach for it when he is in peril and pull out that nub. If that doesn’t happen I’m going to pretend it did anyway.
I will miss this drama next week. This one was a rare and beautiful treat. Thank you so much Dramamilk for the discussion and guidance!
(I’m not going to predict too far into Bong Hwan’s outcome – but I wager that our ‘Friend’ of BI’s is a Han, and the real ancestor of the modern day thug harassing our chef. Too bad Lt. Han dies on that mountain before he can reproduce…)
I’m loving all of your ideas except the Byong In because I simply adore him. Nooooooo!!! Don’t kill him off please. He’s still young with so much potential ahead of him. Let him fall into the lake and be transported into a woman’s body in the future. YASS!!!
Love your comment on Jwa-Geun, that would be so funny. Although the King is charming, there’s something about ByeongIn that makes him so hard to hate even if he does all these atrocious things. I find his character fascinating because he didn’t get any financial gain from it. He did it all because of his love for SoYong. I hope the writers will give him a happy ending.
Your theories do seem rooted to the show’s context and happenings and plausible!! I think they are logical enough .=) I can especially see Hong yeon’s rescue happening!
ugggghhhhhhh!!!!!! I cant wait for the episodes!!!!!!!!
I’m trying to save myself from spoilers just for the finale!!! but I keep returning to this page !!!!!!!!!!!!
THIS SHOW HAS ME HOOKED REAL GOOD!
Saturday can’t get here fast enough!!!
I feel you fr
Byong in love is no longer love it is obessession.
There is a possible theory that Byong-In(BI) and the king(CJ) agreed to work together to end the bad ministers and create a better Joseon. It was discussed on the night BI went to CJ about saving the queen by ending the rebels. BI and CJ’s fight was just for a show. Remember when the king told BI that he was late and that they need to finish it already? Then BI worked on getting the signatures of all bad ministers including his to appear authenticity of his part on the rebellion against the king. It’s just a theory…
That fight scene has me all discombobulated. On the one hand, it seems so real. BI’s face as he looked with glee at killing the king and his internal monologue stating that he needs to get rid of CJ. However, during the fight scene itself, there are several moments where he seems to be gesturing to his left with his head and eyes as if indicating to CJ to go (or perhaps indicating where he is planning on wounding CJ – which aligns with the direction he is looking at, namely CJ’s right arm). However, I don’t know if that’s intentional or if I’m reading too much into it.
I don’t think BI is working with the king because of his action.
Soul theory:
I came across interesting soul theory
After regaining memory from vegitative state, SY inner voice changes to female voice(her voice) and started to fall for king.. it means the owner soul has return to its own body.
That means it’s NOT SY body + CHEF soul , it is SY body +SY Soul( which believes it was Chef Soul). Chef soul already return to his own body in modern time, now in hosen it was SY own soul which believes it was Chef and continue to do his work..
I found this theory was interesting , so like to share, . It was more satisfying theory in means of soul.. if it was true means then every thing will be put back to normal between our king and queen without any problem..
Am hoping for the best for all the characters in this play.. everyone deserves happy in this darma..
Let’s see
I thought about this too
SY might just think she’s the chef because she still has his memories and personality
I was just thinking about this today. Even Googled “reincarnation” to see what the overall theory was. LOL Makes you wonder what makes a person a person. Is it the would or the memories? Kept thinking about an older anime called “Inuyasha” in which two characters existed: one the former reincarnation (memories transplanted into another body) and the current incarnation. In one scene the the former reincarnation is told to go back into the present version and she equates it to dying as she can no longer be herself.
If SY and BH are the same soul, then they could theoretically both exist in one body as she has both sets of memories. Besides, I’m not a fan of the idea of BH completely exiting the queen. If he was “summoned” because SY couldn’t handle her life (while simultaneously he wanted desperately to live…a common theme in time travel, at least in the romance novels I’ve read LOL) then the idea of her hibernating while he handles all the rough and tough stuff and just having SY wake up to a fixed and happy ending seems rather unfair. Plus, So Bong loves CJ and their child. To leave them both would be heartbreaking.
I wonder if CJ will abolish polygamy in his new kingdom. In the Chinese version of the film and novel, there’s a subplot where the Queen tries to get the king to sleep with his concubines (mostly to get out of it herself but also in the hopes that they get pregnant to take the pressure off of her…and a little bit because she/he knows that women have needs to and feels kinda bad for them). Instead, the king pretty much goes to their chambers and keeps them up all night but without any sex, basically making them dread his presence.
He could ban it and also any archaic laws concerning former concubines, freeing HWJ to be with Prince PY. Also, it’d be funny seeing the queen’s reaction. Perhaps a tearful farewell to her little entourage as they leave with impressive dowries from the royal coffers and a pout-fest from the queen once she realizes that she’s going to bear sole responsibility to having the large family the king will possibly want. In the novel they have like 11 kids, if I remember correctly. I swear I need to just write some fan fiction and get this all out of my system. LOL
2 more days. Whoohoo!!! Don’t let me down tvn/writers!
ITS FINALLY THE 13TH!!!!!!! IT WILL BE AIRUNG IN A FEW MINUTES!!!! SO EXCITED!!!!
WILL BE WAITING FOR THE LIVE RECAPS!!!!! SINCERELY APPREICIATE THE WORK YOU GUYS DO HERE!!!!!
FIGHTING!!!