Recap Korean Drama "The King’s Affection" Episode 20 (Final Episode)

The King’s Affection episode 20 starts with Yi-hwi and her team losing their minds over Ki-jae not being found. Jaeun rushes to find her and gives her Wonsan’s poem letting her know that the palace might just be attacked soon. She, thus, must get troops ready and push back the coronation.

Rushing, she tells Jehyeon to flee with Jaeun without wasting any time and promises to explain everything later. Yi-hwi asks Ga-on to find Jehyeon and keep him safe and she and Ji-un stand against Ki-jae. As a fight breaks out, it’s a thrilling few minutes as all factions of the royal family face off against each other. Wonsan attacks Jaeun and Jehyeon and gravely injures the latter. As he is about to kill Jaeun, Ga-on severely injures him. On the other hand, Yi-hwi is cornered by Ki-jae’s army.

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  Still From The King’s Affection episode 20

Just when things seem to have gone down the drain, Seok-jo comes back with another load of troops to face off against Ki-jae in The King’s Affection finale. He asks Yi-hwi to return to a safe place and she asks Seok-jo to stay alive to face punishment since she hasn’t forgiven him yet. Ji-un, too, rushes to aid his father and just then Ga-on rushes to fetch her. They go off to find Jehyeon who has succumbed to his injuries. Yi-hwi is heartbroken and cries over his body.

 

Meanwhile, Seok-jo is trying his level best to fend off Ki-jae’s army but is unable to stop them when Ki-jae stabs him. Ji-un finds him gravely injured and in a very emotional moment, the two express their love for each other. It’s a heartbreaking moment for everyone as Seok-jo dies, telling his son not to forgive him.

 

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  Still From The King’s Affection episode 20

The two fonts take account of their wounded, with Wonsan’s wound being too deep to keep him alive and Yi-hwi unsafe in the palace. Yi-hwi tells her team that she will tell Ki-jae to let Wonsan take over the throne so that the rest of them survive. She can’t let everyone else die because of her. Taking to Ji-un alone in The King’s Affection episode 20, she asks him to give her a hairpin, something that he had promised her years ago.

 

In front of Ki-jae, Yi-hwi tells him that she will hand the throne over to him. They talk privately where they discuss their relationship and the two have tea together, with her tonic being delivered – a last act of kindness, according to Ki-jae. Well, Yi-hwi has the last laugh here as well – she poisoned the tea that they both had. As they both start to feel the effects of the poison, Ji-un rushes in and embraces her.

In the next scene, a what-if scene if Yi-hwi, or Yeon-seon, was accepted as Yi-hwi’s twin. We see her on her wedding day, getting ready to marry Ji-un. Everyone looks really happy in The King’s Affection finale but, this is only a dream. As everyone vanishes, Yi-hwi is left to cry alone.

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  Still From The King’s Affection episode 20

Back in reality, Yi-hwi wakes up surrounded by her loved ones. She asks Ji-un what happened to Ki-jae and Lady Kim tells her that he has passed away. Ji-un assures her, in The King’s Affection finale, that everything will be fine and that she is safe. They embrace each other and cry, probably breathing a sigh of relief.

 

Queen Dowager asks Yi-hwi to leave the palace and that she will lie to everyone saying that she never woke up. However, Yi-hwi says that secrets will come out sooner or later and thus she won’t live like that anymore, lest it results in another bloodbath. Jaeun has ascended the throne and Yi-hwi is about to be punished. However, Yeong-su stands up in favour of Yi-hwi and is followed by everyone in court – they all want to be punished as well if Yi-hwi is punished.

In a flashback we see Ji-un asking Yi-hwi to be sentenced to paenghyeong to restore her former identity and live a normal life. Jaeun does just that and the next scene is of Yi-hwi (or… Dam-i?) walking out a free woman and meeting Ji-un.

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  Still From The King’s Affection episode 20

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  Still From The King’s Affection episode 20

We then see what everyone else is doing, now that things are more stable – Jaeun is king now, of course, and seems to be happy (although desperately in love), Ga-on, Lady Kim and Bok-dong are now with the king. Ha-gyeong’s identity as a Queen is erased and she only has good memories of Yi-hwi. And, Dam-i (or Yeon-seon?) and Ji-un are living together like a normal couple, just like they always wanted to.

In The King’s Affection finale’s last scene, Jaeun, Bok-dong, Lady Kim and Ga-on visit Ji-un and Yeon-seon at their ocean-side home.

 

Final Thoughts: The King’s Affection episode 20

Still From The King’s Affection episode 20

Man, I bawled in this episode. So bittersweet! I love a happy ending and The King’s Affection gave the perfect happy ending that all of us could’ve hoped for. The episode was full of thrill and action in the first half, extremely emotional in some places and a surge of happiness and rainbows in the last half. I loved it, it’s the perfect end to this 20-episode drama. Honestly, a TV show that started off that bad became one of my favourites of this year. Totally worth sitting through the first few episodes. The characters are absolutely wonderful and feel so warm and lovely that it’s worth everything.