Today, we’ll be discussing Episode 14 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 discuss:

• The songs we feature during the recap: To My One and Only You by Xiumin and Lost Memory by Howl.
• How the queen is so confused about her feelings toward the king and the night they spent together.
• How the king is confused because the queen saved the banquet and then said she would betray the king.
• The king and queen realized their notes were a result of a misdelivery. The king confesses to the queen that he likes her, but she says she can’t forgive him, and the old Kim So-yong is dead.
• How the Grand Dowager Queen and Kim Jwa-geun decide to kill the queen through arsenic frozen into ice cubes and served during a brunch with the Grand Dowager Queen.
• How the young court lady saves the queen by throwing a rock at her drink, but in the process, gets herself imprisoned.
• How Kim Jwa-geun tells the other Kim family ministers that he has the ledger, or proof of their family’s corruption; as long as he is safe, he will keep the other ministers safe.
• The most important K Drama element in this episode is the king talking to the queen while she’s sleeping. She wakes, confesses to the king (mistakenly) and that’s what leads to their night together.
• How the young court lady is sentenced to death by drinking poison. The queen is furious with the king, until she realizes that the king has crossed fingers behind his back, a sign that what he is saying is a lie.
• Why the title of the episode is “The woman who must die in order to live.”
• A little background about the Joseon Dynasty, which was the period of continuous rule by a line of kings of the Yi family, that started in 1392 and ended in 1910, when Emperor Gojong, whom we met in Mr Sunshine, was forced to abdicate with the Japanese occupation.

References

• Joseon Dynasty Wikipedia page
• Cheoljong of Joseon Wikipedia page