King is Not Easy Ep 15 Drama3s
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The King's Affection: Episodes 17-18 Open Thread
by missvictrix
We're in our penultimate week, and things sure are escalating. Our couple goes from blissfully in love to facing one of their biggest blows yet. And as if that wasn't enough, our king's closely-held secret is rapidly starting to unravel. It's about to get real, people!
EPISODES 17-18 WEECAP
The King's Affection has been a really solid story of loyalty (in addition to its other elements), and from loyal servants to loyal love, it's been one of the most enjoyable parts of the show for me. But loyalty can be shaken, as we begin to see with Inspector Jung. Loyalty can also become a weakness, and we soon see how that plays out for not only our king and his scribe, but those around them.
Inspector Jung's character has taken quite a nuanced turn. I wasn't expecting the death of the much-beloved (by me) Commander Yoon to cause a ripple effect, but I'm liking it. In the awesome end of last week's episodes, Inspector Jung swoops in to save his son and the king from the surprise attack, and while it's a satisfying moment, it also feeds into the looming questions that are lurking around our king and his companion.
I knew we got rid of the awful Prince Changwoon too easily. He's back and creating chaos, and so is Hyun's hyung, Prince Wonsan. There is so much political interplay between these characters and Evil Grandpa — who is playing who, who believes who, and who really knows the truth about the king? Most importantly, we learn first that Inspector Jung knows (*gasp*!). And while he's both protecting the secret, he's also using it against Ji-woon. In order to keep the king safe, Ji-woon forlornly agrees to do his father's bidding: go along with an arranged marriage to So-eun.
Inspector Jung is accomplishing a lot with this marriage — he's not only keeping his son in check, but he's also squashing the rumors that are flying around the palace like mad: that the king likes men, and one rather tall royal scribe in particular.
So much for our happy lovebirds of last week. They had their sunny happy kisses, and poor Dam-yi was sure that she would take the consequences of her love for Ji-woon — but I don't think either of them expected the situation to get so dire quite so fast. Or for the king's very life to be at stake.
Ji-woon's marriage to So-eun will kill the rumours about the king, but really only solve half of the problem. The other half is that the king is only pretending to spend the night with the queen. She tries to hide this fact, but is unable to do so for long. While on one hand I feel for her as she ardently begs the "king" to let her fulfill her sole duty as queen (produce an heir), on the other hand: zero sympathy. The queen is such a child bride, with her emotions on her sleeve, that I honestly lose patience for her. And I'm sick of these barriers; on with the OTP!
But the story has other plans. Both Dam-yi and Ji-woon are utterly heartbroken as he distances himself from the king and prepares for his marriage. Dam-yi gets out her emotions by practicing her swordsmanship; Ji-woon continues his side mission of trying to locate the deadly herb that killed the king, and thus prove the connection to Evil Grandpa.
Speaking of Evil Grandpa, this is where things reallllly get crazy. Inspector Jung might quickly wipe Prince Changwoon and his rumor-spreading off the face of Joseon, but the damage is already done. Rumors of all kinds are flying and eventually reach Lord Sangheon.
He and the king have an utterly terrifying encounter — super well-acted and arguably one of the best scenes in the drama. Lord Sangheon makes a midnight entrance at the king's quarters and the two have a conversation full of hidden threats and subtext. Dam-yi's grandpa tells the story of the twins' birth, how he ordered the girl's death, and how the rumor is going around that the king is that girl. Then he sends out this creepy laugh, and you can't tell what he's really thinking, getting at, or even after. Unless it's just to terrify us all, because that's working.
Dam-yi is amazing as she keeps her composure and holds her ground; when Lord Sangheon leaves, it's Eunuch Hong and Court Lady Kim that are about to faint from panic and terror. But there's something dire in Dam-yi's eyes: she knows that her beloved servants are in danger and has Hyun sneak them out of the palace. Rightly, she knows they are her weakness and will be used against her. And so, she removes her support system and her weakness at the same time. She intends to prove her grandfather's guilt, abdicate, and have her half-brother Prince Jehyeon take the throne. (I'm all for this plan, just saying.)
The stakes just got super duper high, because Dam-yi feels stripped of all her protections, with her secret crumbling like a house of cards. It's exciting, though, and also satisfying to see how she's finally come to this point.
It's already as tense as it's ever been, but there's one final element to really put the icing on the cake, and that's Court Lady Kim going to find Ji-woon before they go into hiding. She tells him the long-kept secret: that the king is in fact Dam-yi, the young maid that he loved as a boy.
This drama hasn't gotten me very emotional up until this point, but man, seeing Ji-woon literally running to the palace, overcome with emotion, was soooooo good. It's a gorgeous moment of the drama, and the plot — the fate between these two is finally in the open, and I don't think anything will keep them apart now. Also, just as Dam-yi becomes more vulnerable as she heads into her final battle, how amazing that that's just when Ji-woon is running to her. With everything stacked up and ready to go, it's going to be one heck of a final week.
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Tags: Bae Soo-bin, Baek Hyun-joo, Jung Chae-yeon, Kim Ro-woon, Lee Pil-mo, Nam Yoon-soo, Park Eun-bin, The King's Affection
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Source: https://www.dramabeans.com/2021/12/the-kings-affection-episodes-17-18-open-thread/
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