And so it ended. "Empress Ki' did not quite reach the anticipated 30 percent in the ratings but what it accomplished was quite significant. The 51st episode did reach 28.7 percent in the ratings, but more importantly the drama remained first in its time slot for the duration and the plot's pacing was intensely involving.
When the drama ended, Seungnyang, played by Ha Ji Won, triumphed but at an unimaginable cost. In the final episode the last of her enemies were defeated but for the second time a man she loved died because of his efforts to protect her. Ta Hwan, played by Ji Chang Wook, learned of the plot to kill her that was staged by the Empress Dowager, played by Kim Seo Hyung, and Golta, played by Jo Jae Yoon.
Not only did they die but so did her ally Tal Tal, played by Jin Yi Han, and finally the emperor. As he lay dying she asked if he wanted to ride out into the fields with her. He told her that he would do anything for her. The two confessed their love for each other before he died, poisoned by the very retainer he trusted.
Not only did viewers cry when the final episode ended. So did Ha Ji Won and the other members of the cast.
"We finished filming this morning and I returned to the dressing room to put down my costume and crown," said Ha Ji Won. "When I faced the cast and crew that I worked with for nine months it made me cry. We just cried without saying anything."
Nine months is a long time to work together on a drama. The cast and crew began working in the sweltering heat last August and worked through a long hard winter.
"We went through a lot of tough times, but never once did the smile fade from their faces," she said. "The energy they radiated is what made this drama."
The drama was very special to her and she admits to worrying about every detail of her portrayal.
"It was one of the toughest and saddest dramas I ever had to do," she said. "I realized that as time passed and I couldn't stop my eyes from watering, that I understood her."
And thanks to her performance, so did viewers.
"I am so grateful to everyone who watched the drama," she said.
Although the actress has said that it will be difficult to let go of Seungnyang, whom she has lived with for the past nine months, she will only take a short break before moving on to her next project, the film "Chronicles of a Blood Merchant."
