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The angst is strong in this one, but so is Hong-shim and Won-deuk’s love for each other. Though times may be tough and there are many obstacles separating the two and many challenges awaiting the married couple, they realize that maybe true love does conquer all.

100 Days My Prince: Episode 12 Recap

Lord Kim discovers Won-deuk in the village and requests to send him back to the palace where he belongs. He is the Crown Prince after all. Though Won-deuk refuses at first, it finally begins to dawn upon him that maybe he is the Crown Prince. Upon hearing about the Crown Princess, memories between Won-deuk and the Crown Princess suddenly appear in Won-deuk’s mind.

Meanwhile, Hong-shim is carried away inside of a palanquin. Je-yoon witnesses the kidnapping and asks Government Official Park for a favor. While Je-yoon secretly follows after Hong-shim, Stepdad and Government Official Park watch two of Lord Kim’s assassins wander throughout Stepdad’s house.

The night passes and the morning arrives. It’s the day of Prince Seo-won’s inauguration as Crown Prince. However, just before he is established as the Crown Prince, the ceremony is interrupted by the sudden appearance of Lord Kim. He makes the grand announcement that no one saw coming: Crown Prince Lee Yool is alive. Then enters Won-deuk/Lee Yool dressed in blue royalty walking down the aisle and right in front of his own father. It’s too good to be true.

Hong-shim finally awakens and finds herself at an abandoned house. When she walks outside, she’s greeted by brother Moo-yeon who still plans on running away. However, Hong-shim is reluctant. She can’t leave without Stepdad and she especially can’t leave without Won-deuk. Moo-yeon then breaks the news to Hong-shim: Won-deuk is Crown Prince Lee Yool. He’s the son-in-law of Lord Kim who murdered their father. Hong-shim breaks down into tears upon the revelation; she is so bewildered she wants to hear this news from Won-deuk himself.

With the appearance of Lee Yool at the inauguration ceremony, the King decides to halt the ceremony. Prince Seo-won updates his mother on the news while the Crown Princess is informed about the return of the Crown Prince. She reacts in shock upon reuniting with Lee Yool herself and worries that he might be putting up an act. However, Lord Kim reassures his daughter that Lee Yool has forgotten all his memories. That must be the reason why he never returned to the palace. Or is it?

While Lee Yool returns to his chambers to change into his official uniform, Lord Kim updates the Crown Princess on their next moves. Since Lee Yool has forgotten his memories, they can take advantage of that and use him to take the Queen down. The Crown Princess can seduce Lee Yool into liking her again while Lord Kim’s people will work for Lee Yool as his eunuch, court ladies, etc.

Lord Kim tricked Lee Yool into thinking that it was the Queen who planned the attack against Lee Yool. In order to protect Hong-shim, Stepdad, the Crown Princess, and the baby (which Lord Kim proclaims is Lee Yool’s), Lee Yool will need to stay low, forget about the past 100 days, and not let anyone know about his forgotten memory. Lord Kim hopes that the new plan will work out; there’s not much time until the baby is born.

Stepdad learns about Hong-shim and Won-deuk’s situation and pleads for Je-yoon to help them out. Though Hong-shim is safe with her brother, Won-deuk is in an entirely different situation. Je-yoon too breaks the news to Stepdad: Won-deuk is the Crown Prince. Stepdad grows confused and shocked at the news; outside of the room, a villager overhears the grand revelation and responds in shock too.

During a meeting with the court officials, the King decides to punish Lord Kim for all the issues the past 100 days: mistakening Lee Yool’s body as the corpse, wasting funds on the funeral, and much more. However, Lee Yool interrupts the meeting and requests that his father revoke the decision. Lord Kim was the one who went out to search for him when none of the other court officials did. Furthermore, Lee Yool was recovering from a wound inflicted from the attack and he lost his memory so there was no way to contact anyone from the palace. Lee Yool wishes for the King to not punish anyone for what happened the past 100 days.

Lee Yool takes some medicine given by Lord Kim that will apparently help him regain his memory. He is also introduced to his new staff consisting of men and women from Lord Kim’s team. Lee Yool is advised to visit the Crown Princess afterwards; she is in need of some comfort.

Hong-shim yearns for Won-deuk so much she doesn’t even have the appetite to eat. Though Moo-yeon warns her that her relationship with Won-deuk is ill-fated and that she must cut all ties with him, Hong-shim finds this challenging to do. She throws the shoes that Won-deuk got her away in the woods, but she quickly searches for them again. She cries upon retrieving the shoes as her heart aches for Won-deuk. The shoes are the only remnants she has of him left. Who knew that a pair of shoes would make me cry so much?

Je-yoon recalls the conversation he overheard between Moo-yeon and Hong-shim earlier that day at the abandoned house. Moo-yeon had advised her to forget about Won-deuk as well as to erase all her feelings and memories about him. However, a part of Je-yoon feels like Hong-shim won’t be able to forget about Won-deuk so easily.

Meanwhile, Lee Yool visits the Crown Princess at her chambers. He’s advised by the court lady to read a book to the baby, but Lee Yool is reluctant in doing so. The Crown Princess then pleads for Lee Yool to change his ways. Before he lost his memory, he and the Crown Princess didn’t get along and were forced into a marriage neither of them wanted. There were even times that she resented him. It’s okay if Lee Yool doesn’t love the Crown Princess. However, she wants him to at least love the baby. Lee Yool feels guilty afterwards and vows to do better for the baby if anything.

Ae-wol and Je-yoon have a conversation about the Crown Princess’s baby and debate who the father of the baby is. However, the two are interrupted by a fearful and panicked Lord Park who’s afraid that Lee Yool will punish him for what they did to him at the archery competition. Lord Park worries that something will happen to him now that he knows Won-deuk was the Crown Prince.

Lord Kim visits the King to give him a warning: if someone dares to hurt him – the Crown Prince’s father-in-law – Lord Kim won’t let it slide so easily.

The King shares some drinks with the Queen that night. While the Queen isn’t so happy with Lee Yool’s return, the King is just relieved and grateful that his son has come back alive. However, he’s still bothered by Lord Kim’s presence and wants him gone.

Moo-yeon receives some medicine for his injury by assassin Hyuk and is also informed about a ship that he can take with Hong-shim to escape. Moo-yeon also learns that other co-assassin Beom was the one who shot him with the arrow and that it was the Crown Princess who thought of the attack. While treating his injury with some medicine, Moo-yeon is approached by Hong-shim. She’s curious as to how Moo-yeon knew that Won-deuk was the Crown Prince. Moo-yeon is hesitant in answering her question and vows to give her an answer when the time is right. After their separation, he’s worked for high officials and have committed some shameful and dangerous missions. He wants to leave as soon as possible so that they can start anew. Hong-shim wishes for the same thing too.

The next morning, Lee Yool is given some breakfast, but he hesitates to feed himself. He’s a bit taken back by all the amount of food and side dishes that he is given which he compares to the amount of food that the villagers feed themselves. It’s then at that moment that Lee Yool hallucinates an image of Hong-shim sitting right in his room and across from him. She notes the meat pancakes among the multiple dishes and comments that he must be so happy to be having it. Lee Yool can’t seem to process what he’s seeing. When he finally breaks out of his hallucination, he orders for the food to be taken away from him. He’s no longer in the mood to eat.

Even during class, Lee Yool can’t seem to stop thinking about Hong-shim. She once again appears in front of him which throws him off and leads him to cancel the class. As Lee Yool walks out, he’s approached first by Advisor Soo-ji who he ignores and then by Prince Seo-won afterwards. Prince Seo-won expresses his envy towards Lee Yool; Lee Yool has everything that Prince Seo-won himself wishes for. However, Lee Yool reasons that he was given all of this and that his position as the Crown Prince wasn’t something he wanted. Plus, he too can’t have everything that he wants either.

Je-yoon and Lord Park visit Lord Kim and ask to meet with Lee Yool. Lord Kim finds Je-yoon a bit suspicious and questions why Je-yoon wasn’t able to recognize Won-deuk as the Crown Prince. Didn’t he claim that Lee Yool had given him a secret letter? Je-yoon defends himself by stating that he has trouble recognizing faces and often has to resort to other characteristics to recognize people. If Je-yoon had recognized Won-deuk as the Crown Prince, he wouldn’t have shot an arrow at him during the archery competition and would have already contacted Lord Kim. Thankfully, Je-yoon is let off the hook and Lord Kim agrees to relay the message to Lee Yool. Phew, that was close.

After the meeting with Lord Kim, Je-yoon heads over to Lee Yool’s chambers to pay him a visit. During their meeting, Lee Yool immediately asks about Hong-shim. He’s curious as to what’s happened to her ever since their separation. However, Je-yoon advises Lee Yool to forget about Hong-shim and to let her go. Clinging onto her and their memories will put everyone’s lives in danger. Lee Yool insists on maintaining contact with Hong-shim through Je-yoon, but Je-yoon denies the proposal. As the Crown Prince, he must severe all ties with Hong-shim.

Hong-shim still finds it difficult to be separated from Won-deuk. However, she receives some company by Je-yoon who visits her at her remote house. He hands her some food and also a piece of paper solidifying her new identity: Yeon Hwa-bong. Je-yoon manages to put a smile on Hong-shim’s sullen face. She then asks him for a favor.

Stepdad agonizes over Hong-shim. It’s all his fault Hong-shim and Won-deuk has separated and that Hong-shim is living in isolation. The same female villager who overheard Stepdad’s conversation with Je-yoon a few days before consoles a depressed Stepdad. Je-yoon interrupts the two’s intimate interaction to talk to Stepdad, but excuses himself immediately after seeing the two in the room. LOL.

Lee Yool and the Crown Princess visit the King and the Queen. In the same room are two of the Queen’s advisors as well as Lord Kim. News that Ming envoys from China who were originally traveling to Korea for Prince Seo-won’s inauguration ceremony has arrived. The King panics at the news, but ultimately decides that Lee Yool will welcome the envoys by hosting a welcome banquet. There, Lee Yool can prove to the Ming envoys as well as to the people of the country that he is fit to be the Crown Prince and heir to the throne.

After the meeting, Lord Kim meets with Lee Yool and wants him to recite some poems as it’s custom for the Crown Prince to recite poems during the welcome banquet to impress the Ming envoys. However, Lee Yool is hesitant in reading the books and poems stacked on his desk. Though he might have forgotten his memory, he still has knowledge on the books and poems like before.

The Crown Princess meets with her brother, Advisor Soo-ji. She’s confident that her baby will be a son as she had a dream about him. She also asks her brother about Moo-yeon and Hyuk. Soo-ji claims that their father has ordered his men to find Moo-yeon and bring him back to Lord Kim. There’s something Lord Kim wants to verify with Moo-yeon first.

Hong-shim stays by her brother’s side as he suffers from a nightmare about killing Won-deuk. When he wakes up, the two agree to grab some cherries in the woods like they used to do when they were younger. On their way out, Hong-shim is reunited with Stepdad all thanks to Je-yoon. The two give each other a hug and cry over the news about Won-deuk. Stepdad expresses his wish to start anew with Hong-shim and to run away from everything.

Back in his room, Lee Yool begins to hallucinate about Hong-shim again. In what would be the last hallucination Lee Yool has of Hong-shim ever, Lee Yool expresses his pain and regret in the forbidden love he has with Hong-shim. He’s married and he’s the Crown Prince. He will never be able to be with Hong-shim. It’s for that reason that the imagined Hong-shim bids a final farewell with Lee Yool and disappears from his sight. Lee Yool tears up upon thinking about the possibility of never seeing Hong-shim again and sets out to search for her.

He demands for normal villager clothes as he sets out to leave the palace and to reunite with Hong-shim. Though it takes a few steps to finally be able to leave the royal palace, Won-deuk eventually makes it out on a horse and travels to Hong-shim’s house in Songjoo Village.

Hong-shim is prepared to leave with Stepdad and Moo-yeon once and for all. She has all her belongings packed and waits outside for them at their house in Songjoo Village. At that moment, she overhears the sounds of Won-deuk’s horse approaching the house and hides behind the wall upon seeing Won-deuk. Meanwhile, Won-deuk gets off his horse and searches for Hong-shim.

My Thoughts:

THIS DRAMA GIVES ME SO MUCH STRESS. SO MUCH STRESSSS. But it’s good stress and stress that comes from logical and reasonable decisions. Granted, no stress would be ideal, but we’ve reached that point where there’s just going to be lots and lots of stress, angst, pain, and crying. You don’t want to feel those things nor see our characters suffer these emotions, but it’s necessary and all their past actions and decisions have lead them to this very point.

Who knew that one episode with little to no interactions between Lee Yool and Hong-shim could be so difficult and tough to watch? We took all their interactions in the past episode for granted because it felt so long and was so hard watching them yearn for each other in this entire episode. The only scenes we got of them together weren’t even of them actually present with each other, but just hallucinations that Lee Yool had of Hong-shim. That’s how sad, challenging, and heart-breaking this episode was. However, that’s also how meaningful and exciting the ending scene to this episode was. The scene where Lee Yool finally couldn’t restrain himself any longer and needed to reunite with Hong-shim again was executed so nicely and so intensely; the build-up to the ending scene was perfect. I really missed seeing Hong-shim and Won-deuk together like the old times, but I also have to say that I’m excited to see them reunite again after being separated for a few days. That time away from each other has definitely taught our married couple to feel and realize a few things, and this will only make their love for each other stronger.

I’m really hoping that Hong-shim doesn’t distance herself away from Won-deuk though. I know her mind is probably telling her to let go of Won-deuk because she’s well aware (and has been told by others) that she’s not in the situation to be with him. Their love is forbidden and no matter what they do, she will never be able to live with Won-deuk. However, I know Hong-shim’s heart feels differently and her feelings are tugging at her to go back to Won-deuk. The way she hid at the end of this episode was so concerning to me because it was a sign that she didn’t want to be reunited with Won-deuk; she hid from him in an effort to get away from him and watching that hurt. Your love is forbidden and the two of you are in entirely different situations and have been told numerous things from multiple people, but you don’t have to let other people dictate your lives. If you love each other, just love each other. If only things were that simple. *sigh*

As much as I wouldn’t want Hong-shim to hide from Won-deuk, a part of me can also understand why she’s so hesitant in reuniting with him again. She realizes their respective situations and understands that Won-deuk is the Crown Prince. THE Crown Prince. He’s one of the most important people in the country and has a duty and responsibility to fulfill that does not involve her. Plus, his father-in-law killed their father himself. Just imagine the extreme amount of guilt she faced upon learning that. Hong-shim can’t stay with Lee Yool even if she wants to and that’s the hard part to watch. Hong-shim and Won-deuk love each other so much, but their situations and positions and environments are tearing them apart. When they were living as villagers, everything was fine, but now that they’re suddenly tossed back into the reality that they avoided for so long, they now have to learn to confront their respective situations. It would be great if Hong-shim and Won-deuk could just live their lives with each other and remain as a married couple, but they can’t. Will they ever get to?

As hard as it was watching Hong-shim and Won-deuk be apart in this episode, I have to admit that I enjoyed the angst and the yearning that the two had for each other. I just really enjoy angst in general, but the longing was also really well done. Granted, the two were only separated for an episode, but you never really felt like the angst dragged on for too long or that it was unnecessary. It was nicely paced, and maybe a part of this was that this entire episode was also mixed in with political scenes as well reactions from Stepdad and Moo-yeon on the entire Won-deuk situation. I was afraid as to how the drama was going to progress once Lee Yool returned to the palace, but I’m glad to see that nothing too dramatic or spontaneous happened. The drama still stayed true to its roots and the plan to utilize Lee Yool to bring down the Queen still resumes as Lord Kim had planned all along.

I think the drama did a fine job in plotting the return of Lee Yool into the palace. There couldn’t have been a better time to have him show up than at Prince Seo-won’s inauguration ceremony. I was curious this entire time how exactly Lee Yool was going to make his appearance at the royal palace, but witnessing just how exactly he showed up was a huge relief to me. Everything was well thought-out and planned and made perfect sense. Lee Yool is here to reclaim his position as the Crown Prince after nearly losing it to his younger half-brother. Talk about perfect timing.

I worry for Je-yoon and that Lord Kim will eventually find out the truth as to why he wanted to work for him. I’m also worried about Moo-yeon who Lord Kim wants to meet with again for some unknown reason. With Lord Kim’s return, his plans to overthrow the King has resumed and it’s a scary time for everyone. No one really knows what he’s going to do or what his next moves and plans are. He’s also so powerful and smart he can get anything that he wants.

I’m not so convinced that Lee Yool has entirely forgotten his memories. I want to believe that he’s already gained back his memory, but is just feigning ignorance to test the waters and everyone’s reactions to his appearance. I mean, that would be the greatest plot twist ever. Lee Yool is playing pretend to fool everyone when in reality he already knew that he was the Crown Prince. I would love for this to happen, but maybe the drama is really just playing it straight out without any turns or twists. It’d be such a shame and waste if the drama didn’t pull some kind of trick or plot twist on us and made us watch Lee Yool learn through others about his position as the Crown Prince. Where’s the fun in that? Let’s keep up the momentum and have Lee Yool fool everyone. He must have figured something out before he was brought back to the palace right?

The two scenes that moved me the most in this episode was the ending scene as well as the moment when Stepdad and Hong-shim reunited. The immense amount of guilt that Stepdad faced and the incredible amount of blame he put on himself was so hard to watch. He didn’t think that Hong-shim would want to see him or be with him after everything that happened, but Hong-shim accepted him right into her arms as she’s always done the past ten years that they’ve been father and daughter. The bond between Stepdad and Hong-shim is truly priceless and inseparable. People may come and go, but Hong-shim and Stepdad will always have each other.

My biggest wish (and probably theirs too) is for Hong-shim and Won-deuk to reunite at this point. Forget about the politics, forget about the forbidden love, forget about everything else – Hong-shim and Won-deuk is priority for now. With everyone and everything else preventing the two from being together, will their love for each other be strong enough to surpass all these challenges?

Bonus: Extra screenshots from the episode 🙂

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