Captivating The King 2024 K Drama Episode 12

Feb 18, 2024

In Episode 12 of Captivating the King, the peach tree that his brother, King Lee Sun had planted for him catches fire and Lee In thinks it is a sign – that he should not have taken the throne. He also wonders if Lady Dong knows who poisoned his brother. She nervously recalls Lee Sun assaulting her.

To secure their line to the throne, Queen Dowager and Park decide to get Lee In a new queen and Grand Prince Munseong a wife which will be an excuse to get him out of court. The Mins are excited as they believe the new queen will be selected from their family.

At court, Je-nam says the tree is a sign to right the wrongs of the land aka root out the corruption in their palace. Park pretends to congratulate him but Je-nam refuses to meet him.

Munseong tells Mong-woo that he worries for the King. When she asks if he is afraid of him, the Prince says no as Lee In would never hurt him. However, Myung-ha believes that Munseong will see the King’s evilness once he grows up.

As for Queen Oh, she is on her deathbed and as her last wish, convinces her father to support Munseong as the Crown Prince. Minister Oh is in a daze when he notices Hyun-bo bringing expensive gifts for Queen Dowager and realises that his nieces will be pushed for the new queen’s selection.

Queen Dowager actually isn’t happy but Park has a plan – he doesn’t want to share power with the Mins anymore while Hyun-bo is easier to control. Instead, Park offers Min Ji-hwan’s daughter as the bride to Grand Prince Munseong. Mong-woo and Myung-ha take advantage and meet with a furious Ji-hwan. He cannot refuse the offer but he can support Munseong as the heir so his daughter becomes wife of the future king. Next, he is bombarded by Minister Oh who asks him to support Munseong as well as they cannot let Hyun-bo and Park win. Convinced, Ji-hwan accepts the offer.

When Mong-woo meets the King, he decides to plant a new tree in place of the peach tree. She thinks he means that he will make Munseong his heir.

Meanwhile, Park tells Hyun-bo to petition for Munseong’s marriage and departure from the palace.

However, at court, before Hyun-bo can speak, Minister Oh petitions to have Munseong become the heir as per the Queen’s wish to which Je-nam agrees. Park is shocked since this would make Lee In a usurper as Munseong is the son of the previous King. Of course, Ji-hwan has a solution, for Lee In to adopt Munseong.

The King confronts both Queen Oh and Mong-woo but that is only because he is worried about Munseong being targeted. Queen Dowager is against it too but he finally adopts Munseong as his son and heir.

At Yeonchwijeong, a happy Mong-woo waits for the King but hides when Park suddenly shows up with Lee In. He keeps lecturing his nephew about Munseong but Lee In reveals that it is all a ploy to put the court and nation at ease. If needed, he wil later exile and kill Munseong. Mong-woo is horrified while Park smiles as they are on the same side once again.

Queen Oh dies peacefully once Munseong formally becomes her son. Mong-woo meets Dal-ha who insists that Munseong will always be at risk as long as the King is alive and she hesitantly agrees.

The next day, the King is flirty and doesn’t see anything amiss as she asks to meet him at night. Dal-ha plans to have Mong-woo play the ignorant card while he is a nameless assassin who kills the King.

At the end of Captivating the King Episode 12, Mong-woo and Lee In meet outside Yeonchwijeong. She stops him from entering and he teases her. On seeing tears on her face, he asks if there is an assassin.

The Episode Review

Okay, we called it, we absolutely called it with Dal-ha messing it up for Mong-woo and Lee In, didn’t we? Okay, it is not his fault that he told Mong-woo his plan right when she was down and doubting Lee In in Captivating the King Episode 12.

And oh no, oh no, why did she have to eavesdrop right when Lee In was scamming Park? This is the worst type of misunderstanding ever. Like literally everyone can see that he is manipulating his uncle. After everything she knows about him, how can she believe that he would be ruthless enough to kill Munseong?

Well, it was about time we got that one annoying, hair-pulling, frustrating plot twist in the second half of a K-drama… We do hope Lee In gets a chance to explain himself before Mong-woo jumps to any more conclusions.