Toph

Same here! Then, all of my boiling blood became normal blood pressure after he delivered the "note". 😅

Yep.. but we can also see his reaction as someone who can now finally find rest from all the revenge he was plotting - mental rest from being someone with hidden agenda, physical rest from fighting, rest from always being on guard of his actions. more like, "it's finally over" 😊

I replayed this drama many times over while waiting for the release of the new episodes, so it kinda stuck with me. Haha. Somehow, i get a new and deeper understanding of some scenes

She was blamed? It was Grand Queen Dowager who somehow connected the dots from the peppers to Jin Myeong's meds, she could have warned the king

When an episode was freshly released, only English (without CC) is available. After a few days or so, thats when English CC is available.

English is the best translation from the korean language based on context. English CC contains word for word of english dubbing, including sounds, music, name of who is currently talking when there are two or more speakers talking simultaneously - in parenthesis. This is to cater to those who could only read subtitles and not hear audio. If your default is English CC, i think it follows that once available.

Ji Yeong heard the name Jesan when the royal kitchen eunuch brought fresh meat as the king and Jesan will dine together after health check, then Cook Eom explained that Jesan is his majesty's uncle. Ji Yeong stopped to think if it's Jin Myeong or Jesan who became the king after the coup.

Yes, she didnt know him from any of the history that she remembers, only when she was in the royal kitchen.

There are conflicted characters doing bad things with redeeming arc in other shows, and this is used in this drama. In this case, due to his hatred, he did horrible things just for revenge. All his life, he lived for one purpose - to avenge his mom. But along the way, words of cook Yeon always get through to him right from when he met her.

Examples: the king should establish his lineage by having heirs from different 'favored' women. Cook Yeon said that this was only an excuse to womanize. After that, he released all the prisoners of chaehong, but retained Cook Yeong and Gil-Geum since he has plans to make her a royal cook.

He was always hot-tempered. but because Cook Yeon reminds him to calm himself or else, things would go down spiral, it was her who said that he should still restrain himself and he did.

He also realized that he intimidates his younger half brother, prince Jinmyeong so he initiated and ensured that the young prince should be comfortable with him. He didn't want the prince to die.

His character development was displayed all throughout. He learned to apologize to the people who cared for him during the cooking competition, learned to reward good works instead of threatening, he learned to let go of his revenge, learned to forgive his paternal grandmother and planned to reconcile with her (though didn't push through due to unfortunate events). He also admitted his past mistakes and took responsibility of the first purge by accepting his dethronement, and, he protected the start of the reign of newly enthroned king by eradicating Jesan's people regardless of his dethronement.

In the end, due to his love for Cook Yeon, he became selfless and was ready to meet his end just to save her. Just like what happened in The Beauty and the Beast.

So like, I wrote a summary of what happened from Ep 1 to 12. Haha.

You're right. He WAS horrible until he met cook yeon. This was mentioned several times in the drama.

Because of his hatred towards who did injustice to his mom, he did horrible things under the guise of chaehong. He targeted the daughters of the nobles who were involved in persecuting his mom so they could feel helpless - there's nothing they could do to save their loved ones. To hide this intent, he did the chaehong to whoever. He admitted this on Episode 1.

His drastic change because of Cook Yeon was also mentioned by Gong-gil, Grand Queen Dowager (his grandma), the Queen Dowager (his step mom), etc. It's a story of redemption, and unfortunately, he was still framed. This is fiction that took inspiration from the real king. No rape in this drama, purely revenge. This is not 100%similar to what really happened based on the Annals.

Either they became slaves or tribute women to Ming

I would definitely like that!!!

I loved this drama. I really do. But they didnt let my ship sail for GilGeum and Cook Maeng! 😭😜😅

They also didnt explain about the time loop. Anyway, I would just take it as it is - a fantasy where everything is possible. Hehe.

I just wish they could have an additional episode where they could show how his majesty came to find her, how he adapts to the life in 2025, and how he learned how to dress like a hotshot CEO/model! 😍

When Gil Geum broke a plate and everyone's saying it's bad luck and she's clumsy, it was Cook Maeng who said "did you hurt yourself?"

Aawww... he gets worried for Gilgeum. I'm happy to ship them. 😊

Concubines said that the the queen was very jealous of other concubines, even left scratches on the king's face because of her jealousy. This was a ground for saying that the queen is not virtuous (perceived to be violent or crazy) and not fit to rule as a queen.

Yes, the real reason was not mentioned. But based on the events shown in the drama, from what I understand, Han family (the grand dowager's family) is a powerful family. Grand queen dowager's Aunt is also a consort of the Ming's emperor - this shows that they really are powerful. It was said in the draft, "despite of the opposition of MANY SUBJECTS, the court officials including Han Min-Seong agreed to have her deposed" it meant that the queen was a popular queen who is loved by the people. Politics may be at play here. Deposing a queen may mean that her family will lose power, less rival for the Han clan.

This is just my take on the matter. ☺️

Thanks! ☺️

Deposed queen poisoned - accdg to other concubines, she was very jealous and even left scratches on the late king's face (which is perceived to be violent or crazy). Grand queen dowager ordered the exile because of this, but i think, letting her drink poison is to protect the Han clan and the royal family's dignity

Uncle killing everyone - since our dear king put down his sword and didnt burst into madness (which was their goal to justify the revolt), uncle dressed up like the king and killed people to let others think that the king still went crazy so they could go on with their plan to depose him due to his madness (which we know is not true)

Yeah. He's a natural. I guess, their director is also good and helped the actors bring out their best.

Yeah.. today's episode is difficult for me to take. I miss laughing.

I agree! Just wow! 😍

I'm not good with riddles. Has anyone gotten the meaning of Tai Bailong's message to the king? Can someone explain? So the sharp edges that are hard to see - is this the coup? How about securing the latch while being asleep? Does this mean he shouldnt go out of the palace? I'm the kind who take things literally. 😅

I'm reading the comments section to get some spoilers, read theories and fun comments, and how others feel the torture of waiting (at least I'm not alone, 😆). It's my favorite thing to do when theres an ongoing drama.

There would be some people who write about their frustration. I get that. We all have different perspective.

HOWEVER, there would be people who write negative comments about things that were already shown/displayed/mentioned in the drama claiming that they were not shown - these are the type of watchers who obviously skipped a lot of scenes. It's okay to miss a thing or two and ask for clarification so others could explain well. But to write these negative comments as a shortcoming of the drama? If only you haven't skipped parts or episodes, then you wouldnt have written those. Ugh..