A round of applause may be in order for the writers of the 50-episode historical drama "Empress Ki." Not only have they been able to keep the pace of the drama going for 24 exciting episodes. But the complex puzzle of a plot was set up so neatly that the story is now divided into two acts.
Right on target, by the end of Episode 24, Act One ended. Ha Ji Won's character Seungnyang underwent a transformation. She left her dreams behind and abandoned her principles to enact revenge and attain justice.
Seungnyang has lived through terrible tragedies, losing both her mother and father in horrible circumstances. And she plotted murder before to avenge her father's death. But in the end she could not exact her revenge. She has been a fierce determined warrior fighting for what she believed in, but she always had some principles. She could have used Emperor Ta Hwan's affection for her to change her own destiny and that of her fellow enslaved Koreans. She didn't. She was clear about wanting to return to Korea and serve her king Wang Yoo, played by Joo Jin Mo.
And for a while it seemed that she would not only get her heart's desire but she would reign in Korea as his queen.
The cruel loss of Lady Pak, her friends and her newborn child made Seungnyang want to avenge their murder, which was ordered by the reigning empress. And then finding out that Wang Yoo was marrying someone else broke her heart. What she saw as his betrayal helped her realize how she would accomplish her revenge.
She does not know that he thinks she died or that he is using his marriage alliance to seek revenge for her death.
The second act in "Empress Ki" may correspond more closely to what actually happened in history. The real Empress Ki arrived in the Yuan court as a concubine and rose to Empress by winning the Emperor's favor. Winning the war of court intrigue she became a powerful ruler in her own right.
Sungnyang is now prepared to do whatever it takes to revenge the deaths of those she loves. She will marry the Emperor, played by Ji Chang Wook. She cares for him but does not love him the way she loved Wang Yoo. But it is only by helping him regain power that she will be able to defeat El Temur and his evil daughter, the reigning Empress.
From the first act, viewers know that Seungnyang will do whatever it takes to accomplish a mission. In the drama's second act she will use the arts of war to win at court intrigues rather than on the battlefield. The real battle is about to begin.
