Spoiler alert. If you haven't seen the latest episode of "Empress Ki" you may think that all is peaceful in the royal court of the Yuan Empire. The troublemaking El Temur and the evil Empress Tanashiri are dead. And with these recent positive developments it would seem that Seungyang and Emperor Ta Hwan finally get to spend a happy lifetime together with their infant son Ayu.
Not so fast.
As it actually happened in the history books, the new Regent Bayan insisted that Seungnyang, played by Ha Ji Won, should not be mpress. He pushed forward his niece Bayan Hudu in her place. Members of the court who were afraid of Seungnyang's power argued that it would not be right to have an empress with Korean blood.
After ridding the court of El Temur, poor Seungnyang can only aspire to the title of Chief Consort. The Emperor, played by Ji Chang Wook, is manipulated into choosing another empress.
When viewers first meet his new empress Bayan Hudu, played by Lim Joo Eun, she seems to be all smiles and sweetness. She works hard to win over the reluctant emperor with her kindness and concern. But she's not what she seems. And she may be all the more evil for seeming to be so kind.
In some ways Bayan Hudu will present a more formidable enemy for Seungnyang than Tanashiri. At least Seungnyang knew where Tanashiri was coming from and what she was capable of doing.
Bayan Hudu is deceptively appealing but has no compunctions about killing anyone that gets in her way and that includes the infant prince Ayu.
Her cousin Tal Tal knows what she is capable of and unsuccessfully tries to talk her out of her plotting. Bayan Hudu is more ruthless than the other strong woman in the palace and she has fewer moral compunctions. To make matters worse for Seungnyang, Bayan Hudu has the Empress Dowager on her side and now has Tanashiri's handmaidens as minions.
Who knew that Lim Joo Eun, who played the schoolteacher and the object of Choi Jin Hyuk's affections in "The Heirs," could do such a good job of playing someone who is rotten to the core?
For a young actress, she's pretty convincing. Before "The Heirs," the actress was best known for her roles in the dramas "Arang and the Magistrate" and "Wild Romance," as well as the horror film "Soul."
Her appearance in "Empress Ki" should keep the next few episodes from being dull.
