Saving Prince Jehyeon
Lord Sangheon is freed from prison and Hyun rushes into the room to find him. He is shocked to see that Lord Sangheon has changed, and that he now uses the word “moonlight” instead of the code word for treason. This suggests that Lord Sangheon has betrayed his king and country.
Jehyeon is coronated immediately, with Hwi making sure the Prince is escorted to safety by Hyun. Hwi promises that nothing will happen to him and encourages the boy to leave.
Fighting for the crown
Meanwhile, in the palace, Lord Sangheon is walking purposefully through the midst of all this fighting. His secret army is facing off against Hwi’s loyal guard. Both groups are square off, with Hwi standing toe to toe with all these men and fighting her own battles. It’s ironic because Ki-Jae watches.
The soldiers target Hwi predominantly, but Ji-Un comes to her rescue before she’s bested. With everything looking bleak, a whole horde of soldiers come rushing in to help. And the man leading them? Jung Seok-Jo, Ji-Un’s father. If you’ll remember, he was sent out to supervise these soldiers last episode, but he returns at the right time to prove his worth. ..
Does Ji-Un’s father survive the battle?
He tells her to stay someplace safe and decides to take this fight on himself. “Stay alive. You’re not forgiven yet,” She says before taking off with Court Lady Kim, Eunuch Hong and Ji-Un. The latter though, stays behind to fight alongside his father.
Ki-Jae makes his move and stabs Seok-Jo in the gut. It’s a callous and cowardly move, but as this proud soldier bleeds out on the floor, Ji-Un drops and stays by his father’s side.
As Seok-Jo’s son looks down at his father’s body, he knows that he cannot forgive him. The man was on the wrong side of this conflict for a long stretch of the season, and his death is a noble one.
What happens to Prince Jehyeon?
Hyun has a battle to attest to. He’s blindsided by his brother and outnumbered on the way out of the palace with the Prince. Just before Jehyeon meets a bloody demise, the Queen Dowager shows with a bow and arrow. Wonsan is too smart though and soon thwarts her threat, instead having the Queen Dowager taken inside. And just like that, Hyun turns and slashes Prince Jehyeon across the chest. Good grief! Hyun promises never to forgive his brother for this act.
With the lifeless body of the Prince brought into the palace, Hwi sees the young boy dead and is heartbroken. After all, she promised him that everything would be okay. She’s reeling, and even more so when Ji-Un appears, distraught and covered in blood.
Hwi’s Big Decision
After much deliberation, Hwi decides to concede the throne to Wonsan in order to prevent any more bloodshed. She believes this could save lives and asks Ji-Un for a hairpin before departing. She promises to stay alive long enough for him to give it to her. ..
Prince Wonsan and Ki-Jae meet outside the courtyard where Hwi begs him not to sacrifice anyone else. Prince Wonsan agrees not to and they continue their discussion.
Ki-Jae & Hwi’s Confrontation
As they sit together, Hwi is brought a broth from the physician. She knows exactly what this means and before she dies, decides to drink a cup of tea with Ki-Jae. Her smirk though tells a very different story. Now, it turns out Court Lady Kim actually spiked the tea with her grandfather’s poison. Holding the woman’s hands, she told Kim kindly that she considers her to be like a mother and implores her to do this, knowing she could well die as a result. Hwi essentially sacrifices herself to save the kingdom.
Ki-Jae and Hwi start coughing up blood after drinking their cups. Ki-Jae eventually collapses and doubles over. Just before Ji-Un succumbs to the poison, he comes rushing in and holds his lover. ..
As she fades out of consciousness, her beautiful dream soon turns into a nightmare, left alone outside in the gardens.
How does Hwi survive the poisoning?
After Hwi’s poisoning, her grandfather dies. It is not initially clear how she survived, so naturally this reviewer rewatched the scene several times to be sure!
The tea is almost at the top of the cup for Hwi’s grandfather, but for her there’s a delay while tipping the cup into her mouth before she slurps. ..
Based on this, it seems likely that she did drink the tea, but perhaps with just a splash of it at the bottom, allowing her to fight off a smaller dose of poison. ..
The Queen was able to receive help from the physicians at the palace in order to slow down the poison’s spread. ..
What punishment does Hwi receive?
With the conflict over, Ji-Un and Hwi embrace and allow themselves to feel the weight of the world ease slightly. Ki-Jae is not to be buried and he’s given a dishonorable death, taken outside the palace gates and presumably left to the crows.
If Hwi declares herself to be alive, there will be big punishments for impersonating the King. ..
The Queen Dowager decides to do a kindness by Hwi. She agrees to keep her identity a secret in exchange for Hwi living a quiet life. Now, the court maid has never been one to shy away from her responsibilities. She’s done pretending to be someone she’s not. Too many people have died and this could be used against her. ..
Hwi is going to face the music and atone for her actions.
The ministers at the meeting agree that Hwi deserves some leniency, despite her gender. Despite her actions, she has always been loyal to the nation and done what’s right.
Eventually this leads to the other officials dropping to their knees and pleading with the new King to have mercy. Well, the King decides to give her old life back, erasing the records of what happened in the court and allowing her to be free.
How does The King’s Affection end?
Yeon-Seon and Ji-Un are out hunting together, and they’re living the simple life just like they always wanted.
As they head down to the shore, Ji-Un and her partner embrace and kiss under the falling sun. The sun sparkles like diamonds off the water as Ji-Un promises to be by her side. ..
The cast of characters walking up the shore includes Court Lady Kim, Eunuch Hong, and Ga-On. Hyun joins them as they greet our main characters once more. ..
The Episode Review
The King’s Affection ended its season with a strong finale that wrapped up all of our major plot points. This entire segment was brimming with tension, making it one of the most exciting and action-packed episodes of the season.
Jehyeon and Ji-Un’s father were both killed, which was pretty shocking. However, the latter may have been foreshadowed given what happened before. In fact, I’d say his death is quite reminiscent of Boromir from Lord of the Rings, sacrificing himself and redeeming his character at the end. It’s a great send-off to a man that’s largely stuck to his principles - even if they’re mired in shades of grey.
The ending with Hwi and Ji-Un is suitably predictable but also a little contrived with the poison. I genuinely thought they were going to go the route of killing Hwi to show how futile gender is in the grand scheme of things. However, keeping her alive does make sense, even if her surviving the poisoning isn’t completely explained. ..
King’s Affection is one of the most eagerly anticipated dramas of the year. The romance has been well-developed and there is great character development across the chapters. ..
The final episode of “K-Drama Historical” was satisfying, rounding out the story without dragging on unnecessarily. ..
