Toph

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..

Happy for him!

Hmmm... not sure if you skipped scenes..

No leadership -> he literally opposed his court in preparing too much gifts/tributes for the ming envoy. Excessive gifts should remain the treasury. He practically told his court to comply with the mininum requirement. Isn't this a display of leadership?

No interest in self improvement - he learned how to apologize, he empathized with the people around him and thought he shouldnt have proposed the cooking competition. He was willing to cancel the 3rd round of the competition and kneel down to the ming envoy. He learned to reward good deed as he did for the inventor

He remains aloof of the impending coup -> he assigned his body guard to investigate their attackers in the mountain. He knows that someone is plotting treachery. So, is he aloof on this scenario?

He declines his genius war machine inventor -> they have people in the palace who are making weapons as he explained to Cook Yeon when she is explaining about who could make the pressure cooker. The coup is still brewing, so we still have yet to see if the king really doesnt intend to use the genius of the inventor. It's not like he already declined

Explaining things like this makes me think the person watching has skipped a lot due to the bias already formed. Small details are there, friend.

Live up to your name! The joseon man adjusting to the modern world was totally hilarious! 🤣

I agree it's a time loop. Honestly, I was waiting for the crème brûlée 😅 (spelled differently in the Mangunrok). i was rewatching episode 1 while cook Yeon was flipping the pages, I think, the pressure cooker was also there. I just hope they could explain how it became a time loop, or else, it's something that would bother me for a long time. Haha.

💯

Huh? Are we watching the same drama? Haha.

- she was subtly dancing when she was able to see again the king when he skipped so many meals
- the king always compliments her cooking and she felt proud of it (some girls would fall in love when they felt acknowledged for what they do best)
- they discuss about the food, something they are both passionate about, some of which in a private setting where they can also talk about anything
- she was gifted by the king with a greenhouse and gave her bag (she was so happy about it)
- the king fought the bandits to save her and she thought that the king was cool showcasing his swordsmanship
- she bought flowers thinking of the king's well being (not part of her job description as the chief royal cook)

I think she was only in denial. It was actually slow burn romance.

Hmmm... "It's all so silly yet the show desperately wants to be taken seriously." Who says the show "desperately" wants to be taken seriously when it's a rom-com? Romcoms are not really to be taken seriously. ✌️

Yay!

Cook Yeon was given 3 days to investigate and prove her innocence, but it's more like 3 days of "how do we move past flirting?" 😅 they really are multi-tasking. Haha.

Now i miss the chief royal secretary being the wingman. 😆

Flashbacks are used if the character needs to recall something and to convey to the viewers that they are thinking about specific scenarios in their heads.

And, flashbacks are also useful for non-binge watchers to remind what happened.

What if Cook Maeng and Gilgeum are really the end game? 😅

My first time to see a court lady who knows how to fight like that, i was surprised!

Lol! Same here 😁

I'm amazed by Cook Yeon's brain. Aside from cooking, she is well-versed in the history and science behind cooking. She knows when the food came to exist, and how to adapt to Joseon's available resources and current technology at the time. I can't even remember any of my country's history in chronological order. Haha.

After the cooking competition, I guess, the drama now focuses more on the political arena. I'm just sad that it will soon end next week.

I originally rated this as 9/10 back in 2022, but changed it to 9.5/10 in 2025. Binge-watching this again made me realize that the drama has a great deal of depth, even though it tackles the usual power struggles within the royal family/court during the Joseon era. It's a fresh take on focusing on a strong-minded queen without taking lives. She really is born to be a queen. The loyalty between the queen's sons is unusual compared to the portrayal in other sageuk dramas, where full-blood brothers would attempt to kill each other for the throne. It says a lot about how she raised them.

thanks for this!

Yup, glad he didnt betray the royal kitchen squad :) he made a workaround about his situation and i was happy it worked!