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5.16 - Review of Episode 16 of Mr. Queen

Today, we’ll be discussing Episode 16 of Mr. Queen, the hit K Drama on Netflix starring Shin Hye-sun as Kim So-yong, Kim Jyung-hun as King Cheoljong, Seol In-ah as Jo Hwa-jin, Na In-woo as Kim Byeong-in, and Choi Jin-hyuk as Jang Bong-hwan. We also talk about the Donghak Rebels. We discuss:

  • The songs we feature in this episode: Palace by Howl and Bong Hwan-a by Norajo.

  • Why we think the queen hasn’t admitted to the king that she is the girl who saved him from the well eight years ago.

  • How the queen has decided to go “all in” with the king, even though Jang Bong-hwan knows the course of history and he knows that King Cheoljong was a terrible king, who died without an heir and without a legacy.

  • How the queen has allied herself with the king in a big way: she is teaching him about the future and she teaches him about military tactics from the future.

  • How Jo Hwa-jin’s confession was pivotal to this episode: she admits to the king that the children’s workbook belongs to Kim So-yong, and she found the ledger and gave it to the Dowager Queen.

  • Jo Hwa-jin’s confession means a permanent rupture with the king and a closer relationship between the king and the queen.

  • More information about the book The Mourning Bride by William Congreve.

  • How maybe Prince Yeongpyeong has also betrayed the king by not telling him about the ledger and Jo Hwa-jin.

  • The queen is back in the kitchen, thank goodness. She learns how to make Yihwaju wine.

  • How Kim Byeong-in hasn’t given up on the queen, even though she tells him he’s just not the one.

  • The K Drama elements in this episode, including Kim Byeong-in’s drinking, the queen and her ramen, the butterfly on the sliding doors at the end, and Jo Hwa-jin’s confession.

  • How the queen is taking a chance when she says she’s “all in” with the king.

  • How Jang Bong-hwan finds himself in an impossible situation when it’s announced that the queen is pregnant.

  • A little information about the Donghak rebels

References


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K Drama Chat is a weekly podcast where we take one Korean (K) Drama each season and and recap and analyze each episode. K Drama Chat is available on Apple PodcastsGoogle PodcastsSpotify and Stitcher.

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