Kathryn_51

Great questions - some answers are implied (such as the chauffeur) but not shown. I started to give up on the drama once certain events (past and present) seemed to be forgotten (such as the Se-gye recovering from the perfume brand scandal - all we saw was him passing out gift bags at Seo-ri's party). The Chekhov Gun principle: If a gun appears in Act 1, it better be used later on before the end of the play. A drama with Swiss chess plot holes is NOT a masterpiece. MY Opinion, lol.

If you have this drama on your Watchlist, you will see that it is no longer airing. MDL always removes the "currently airing" tag sometime on the day of the final broadcast. I don't understand it, but it's not unusual.

Spoiler tag please. 😊

This show "jumped the shark" today. Too many brand new pieces of "data" (facts? visions? traitor/not traitor? evil/good?) which means no matter how writer-nim tries to explain in Ep. 14, it will be unsatisfactory for many viewers.

Compare/contrast Joseon/Modern Era timelines. I don't know if any of this is relevant, but I kept notes and decided to put it together. I've already noticed some slight inconsistencies, so hopefully the Grand Prince's diary will make the final call.

Joseon FL (Kang Dan-sim))
12 years old: family attempted to sell her into slavery but she ran away and threw herself into river. Somehow ended up as an apprentice court lady. During so-called hazing incident, rescued by the Grand Prince.
15-18 (?): junior court lady following her “coming of age ceremony”. Soon thereafter, she is forced to betray the Grand Prince
21/22: she is high ranking concubine [clothes/hairstyle in Ep. ?] when she learned of the death of the Grand Prince in exile].
21/22 years old [Year 6 of King Anjong’s reign] – when a red comet appeared, she was elevated to the position of Royal Consort Kang Huibin but it coincided with a drought and people blamed her and the “Star of the Temptress”. King orders her execution.

Modern Era FL (Sin Seo-ri
October 5, 1996 - Seo-ri's birthdate [Note: Se-gye's birthdate is six months earlier on April 13, 1996]
~12 years old (2008): a famous child actress who shined in front of the camera. After a “bad accident” where she almost died, she took 6 months off but her acting skills allegedly disappeared. [But, was that true? or something her agent made up because she was covering up the suicide?].
2009-2025: The Great Unknown
29 years old (2026): during filming, she collapses on the set due to illness/high fever (?) and wakes up with Joseon FL (“Dan-sim”) memories.

Additions/corrections welcome.

I drafted up something about the ages of Joseon and Modern FL but never got around to posting it. Guess I'll do it now before the last episodes. Joseon FL was 20/21 when she was executed - that's why she was upset at how old her face looked when she "woke up" or whatever.

I hope she never finds out the truth. The drama is hilarious (and serious) as it is, so don't need that sort of "ick" (as in, OMG, did I actually start to have a crush on dear old dad) factor.

I still think (well, hope??) the souls will swap again around Ep. 9/10 and then are crazy as young soccer player and old chairman try to manage the chaos unfolding. I'll be disappointed if the final swap doesn't occur until the last 15 minutes.

Thanks for sharing. Had to use my VPN - but worth the trouble. Kim Jong Tae is a favorite.

Think "Bolivia Adjacent" - south American country with extensive mineral mines.

Excellent summary. I hate option 2 and will down-rate the drama if that's the outcome, because it relies on too much cosmic mumbo-jumbo. But. . . . .both girls apparently came close to dying in water. Seo-ri in the car; Dan-sim when she ran away from slavery.

And, to me, it's a cheat if, after the switch, there are no scenes of either child trying to adjust or questioning where they are. Should have been some hints - whether in Seo-ri's adult diary or even child Dan-sim wondering how she ever ended up in the palace.

I'm holding onto the apparent manipulation of Seo-ri and Ji-hyo's manager after the parents committed suicide and she (possibly) covered it up by telling people that Seo-ri lost her talent after "the accident."

I finally finished this last night, but compared to other kdramas of the same era (What's Wrong with Secretary Kim or Private Lives) which were also 16 episodes, this was truly meh. The other dramas used filler to make it to 16 episodes (the dreaded "childhood" connection for one) but there was a beginning, middle w/lots of tension plus fun and an end.

Plus, as I was nearing the end, I finally looked up the actress and discovered - I've hated her in two other dramas! Did not recognize her.

Anyway, thanks for info on the webtoon. Cha Eun Woo's character was so one-dimensional - it wasn't his acting, the wooden/non-smiling was clearly in the script/direction and from what you said, that's how he was portrayed in the webtoon, so. . . won't ever be on my rewatch list, lol.

You are correct, although my [CC] sub said Kang Clan, Dam-sin. I've noticed the [CC] subtitles are subtlety different.

Also, in the Joseon scenes, when subtitling someone's thoughts, they also use "Seo-ri", not Dan-sim. But then again, the modern era, they frequently note that it is "Dan-sim" thinking out loud. Not clear if it's intentional or sloppy.

So, I read up on reincarnation and the general "tradition/belief" states that the "old soul's" memories are buried deep in the new body's subconscious. That's the apparent case with Se-gye who has glimpses of Joseon Grand Prince life in his dreams.

My thought is that when Seo-ri collapsed at the filming site (very ill/high fever), Dan-sim's memories flooded to her consciousness and Seo-ri's memories were suppressed. In that event, I think "return/go back" could mean that Dan-sim must submerge once more so that Seo-ri conscious/complete memories become dominant. Seo-ri made it clear - she wants her body back, as in "control" of her body, her decisions. Once that happens, will she remember everything in Dan-sim's past life?

I guess the real question is: are we dealing with a battle (for control) between conscious and sub-conscious? Or, between two separate souls. I vote for the 1st option because it makes the most sense - ------to me, lol.

She has to "return/go back" so that Seo-ri's full memories can emerge. Grandmama wants/needs Seo-ri, not "Dan-sim". But, you see, I think this is straight reincarnation (one soul - just like Grand Prince/Se-gye) and not soul swapping/time travel.

I know most folks think it's all about soul swapping (but I don't understand where the 2nd soul is while the 1st is going back and forth in time) OR soul possession (Dan-sim taking possession in Seo-ri from time to time.)

Actually, none of it those scenarios are romantic to me. But we'll see how they wrap it all up.

I've re-watched a few scenes and have the following questions.

I believe that in at least 2 of Se-gye's dreams, he (as the Grand Prince) asked "Dan-sim" what her name was and just as she was about to tell him, something interrupted. Did he ever hear her name in his dreams?

In fact, did the viewer ever say her complete name (Kang Dan-sim)?? In the handful of Joseon scenes I watched, no one calls her Kang Dan-sim. SHE calls herself that, but everyone else calls her Court Lady, Huibin Kang or the "Kang wretch". Only the script/subs and the FL herself identifies her as "Dan-sim".

I'm asking because I don't understand the very last scene with Modern Era Shaman who had another vision of a woman named Kang Dan-sim.

Thankfully, I never panic about other people's speculation. 😊Previews are mis-leading, but at this junction, everything is pointing to Grandmama's bad health and slipping memory.

But regardless, it will be a happy ending.

The "white truck of doom" usually means that someone dies. So, although it made its appearance, no one died; it was really a wink to tradition. Modern day "court intrigue" is simply chaebol/corporate/family intrigue. There's no doubt about the happy ending.

But yes, reincarnation/soul possession/time travel maybe? - it's the foundation of the drama and if you don't like those types of stories, then. . . this one isn't for you.

The news was that five items from the Joseon period were being returned and ONE of them was the diary of of. . .[checks notes] "the ill-fated Grand Prince Cheongheong. . . .The diary contains a drawing that looks very similar. . . .[muffled words] . . . is also the work of Grand Prince Cheongheong."

Se-gye's memories are firmly lock into his sub-conscious. But the diary will hopefully explain to the viewer what happened back then and confirm what Seo-ri said about their past lives.

Two of my favorite dramas are based on hate/love romances with no actual triangles, no break-ups and very happy endings:

Crazy Love
Sh**ting Stars (bonus: TWO 2nd couples)

". . .the main plot is how ML and FL, despite people and circumstances pulling them apart find a way back to each other."

THIS!!!😂😊❤️😊

The only thing I would add is that they needed some cosmic justice (the red star, the sun-shower, etc) to bring them back together in the first place.

I always wonder at the folks who think they could write a better 12- 14 episode drama with an interesting plot, unique characters and tie it all up at the end (which I'm fairly certain will happen)