Listen, I know life is rough as a princess in a K-drama. You’re just trying to dodge all the palace intrigue. Sometimes, you end up on the wrong end of the stick and are forced to leave. But Jungmyung (Lee Yun Hee) needs to pull herself yourself together in Hwajung/Splendid Politics!
I’m used to my royals not going down without a fight. When Princess Deok Man was routed from the castle in Queen Seokdeok, she didn’t take that lying down! She hatched a plan to get back to her rightful place. When Geunchogo gets exiled from the palace in King Geunchogo, he comes back full force. He goes out, gets a crew, and busts back into the castle. Deok Man and Geunchogo aren’t just concerned with their own royal selves, either. The primary reason they want to get back into the palace is to keep the crazy power-hungry royals from running roughshod over the people.
What also bothers me about Jungmyung is that she seems completely unconcerned about anyone else but herself. She keeps saying that she wants what was taken from her. Ok, cool. Never mind the people who work at the weapons depot, risking their lives to make gunpowder. Forget about the people of Joseon who knows their king will whack them at a moment’s notice. Let’s just ignore the Ming threat. And ets forget about the lowly court personnel who risked their lives to get your ungrateful self out of the palace in the first place. While she’s not completely out for self, she clearly doesn’t care that much about the plight of others.
Jungmyung could learn a few things from other K-drama heroes. She needs to be more proactive. Here are some tips:
Get a posse. Let’s face it, you need backup. Jungmyung just thinks she can waltz back into Joseon and get her stuff back all by herself. Girl, you need help. You can’t have help if you keep kicking potential members of the entourage to the curb. She just left her friend from the sulfur mine in Japan. She doesn’t make friends with the people at the weapons depot. She doesn’t even look up people who were allies in the past.
Do reconnaissance. Look, you can’t just show up in Joseon and think things still operate the same way as when you left. Girl, you need info! A successful storming of the palace always depends on knowing who you can depend on. Rather than thinking her childhood acquaintance Joo Won might be an ally in Joseon, she gives him some serious side-eye and assumes he is the king’s lackey. She doesn’t even give dude the benefit of the doubt. If she had gathered some intel, she would know how Joo Won really feels about the king!
Formulate a plan. This is probably the greatest flaw in Jungmyung’s desire to get back in the palace. She literally has no plan. When she is in Japan, all she talks about is getting back to Joseon. When she gets back to Joseon, she’s all about getting back what people took from her. Um, how? She never says!
I still have the last five episodes to go. Even if she radically changes her attitude, Jungmyung would have still squandered lots of opportunities to have a winning strategy.
High Yellow - Asian Popular Culture 
Yes, I think a re-writing of this story would worked. The characters were great, many were funny yet even when they put their heads together – the old dudes with beards were able to outwit them. I’m waiting a bit to watch the final episodes.
Me too! I know I should finish it, but I’m not in a hurry to do so. Something is definitely off.