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Lee Yool and Hong-shim attempt to live their own lives while separated. However, they find that this is more difficult to do than expected and they find themselves thinking about the other frequently. Though the two know that they shouldn’t be occupied with each other and have plenty of other things to remind them of that, the two strive to bind the ties that lead them to each other.

100 Days My Prince: Episode 13 Recap

Crown Prince Lee Yool returns to Hong-shim’s house to search for her. Hong-shim quickly hides behind the wall upon hearing Lee Yool and escapes out the yard once Lee Yool checks her bedroom. Lee Yool fails to find anyone in the room, but he quickly heads back out in case he finds anyone. There he discovers a panicked Hong-shim escaping.

The two engage in a conversation and it’s obvious the two have different wants. While Lee Yool wants to maintain his relationship with Hong-shim and make her his concubine, Hong-shim wants to sever all ties with him. She suggests he return to the palace as soon as possible before the Crown Princess finds out what he’s up to.

Hong-shim walks away and breaks down upon realizing what just happened. Her yearn for Lee Yool is too strong; she retraces her steps back to Lee Yool but is prohibited by Moo-yeon along the way. He places his arms around Hong-shim and warns that she can’t go back to him, but Hong-shim finds it too difficult to do. She doesn’t know how she’ll live without him (OMG I’M CRYINGGG). Lee Yool is accompanied by Kwon Hyuk who advises that he return to the palace soon. However, Lee Yool meets with Je-yoon first.

In the brief meeting with Je-yoon, Je-yoon shows Lee Yool the riddle that he had given Je-yoon prior to the rain ritual attack. Je-yoon encourages Lee Yool to recall the riddle and even solve it as soon as possible. After their meeting, Lee Yool gives Je-yoon a command: find Hong-shim and protect her so that she is safe where ever she goes.

The next day, Moo-yeon and Stepdad have a conversation while in the woods. Moo-yeon thanks Stepdad for raising Hong-shim so well over the years. Stepdad shyly accepts the compliments and adds that Hong-shim has grown up well. Moo-yeon then gets on his knees in front of Stepdad and admits that he has a confession to make.

Meanwhile, Lee Yool is reprimanded by Dad for sneaking out of the palace at night. The King wants to know who Lee Yool met up with so late at night, but Lee Yool remains quiet. He apologizes and also assumes that his dad must be unhappy with his return. This only angers the King anymore and Lord Kim has to step in to save Lee Yool. On their way out of the King’s room, Lord Kim reminds Lee Yool to remain with his private guard at all times. Lee Yool vows to never do anything that will put him or the Crown Princess’s life at harm.

Lee Yool’s eunuch and court ladies are given a warning for not protecting the Crown Prince. If he escapes once again, they could be the next ones punished. Back in his room, Lee Yool attempts to solve the riddle that Je-yoon had discussed with him about. Solving the riddle means Lee Yool will be able to find who his enemy is and who it was that initiated the rain ritual attack in the mountains.

Hong-shim, Stepdad, and assassin Hyuk set out to the port where the boat they’ll be riding to escape is stationed. However, Hong-shim can’t seem to shake off the fact that Moo-yeon isn’t with them and grows curious. She refuses to leave unless Stepdad or Hyuk informs her on his whereabouts and why he disappeared. Stepdad finally gives in and answers that Moo-yeon’s returned to Hanyang. When Moo-yeon does arrive in Hanyang, he encounters Soo-ji and wishes to visit the Royal Palace with him.

Discussions about the banquet for the Ming envoy continues. During a meeting with the King and Lee Yool, the Queen’s advisors test Lee Yool’s memory by asking him what gift he gave the envoy at their last meeting a few years ago. Lee Yool manages to fly by with his quick thinking and intelligence. The Queen’s advisors then attack Lord Kim next; they believe he shouldn’t be present at the banquet unless it’s necessary. Lord Kim is willing to not be at the banquet if he doesn’t need to be there.

After the meeting, the Queen’s advisors update the information to the Queen. They all assume that Lee Yool must be suffering from amnesia since he doesn’t seem to recall any memories. The Queen adds that she has something special and surprising planned for the banquet.

Meanwhile, Lee Yool meets up with Lord Kim and the Minister of War and is asked to recall which poem he recited to the Ming envoy on their last meeting. Lee Yool doesn’t remember so he is reminded of which poem it was that he recited. Lord Kim suggests that Lee Yool read up on journals detailing the experiences and accounts of his last encounter with the Ming envoy in preparation for the banquet. They must not make any mistakes.

Lee Yool heads to the Court Music Office to prepare for the banquet. He comes across the Crown Princess along the way so they take a brief walk together. The Crown Princess mentions about the baby and hopes that it’ll be a strong little boy like Lee Yool was when he was younger. Desperate for answers and memories, Lee Yool wants to know more about how he was as a young child.

However, the talk doesn’t last for long and the Crown Princess encourages Lee Yool to return to banquet preparations. She walks off first, but stops when she finds Moo-yeon walking towards Lee Yool’s residence. He too stops and backs away upon making eye contact with the Crown Princess. Lee Yool manages to merely catch a sight of Moo-yeon before he disappears and almost chases after him. The Crown Princess holds Lee Yool back though by faking a sudden headache and wanting Lee Yool to stay by her side. The chance for Moo-yeon and Lee Yool to meet are diminished, but the two clearly saw each other.

Hong-shim and Stepdad stop by Hanyang for a visit. They stop in front of the guard for a routine check-up before being allowed into the town. However, the guard finds their reasoning to visit Hanyang suspicious and questions their intentionality. Thankfully, Je-yoon arrives just in time to save the father-daughter duo and the three make it inside Hanyang safely. Je-yoon also has plans in Hanyang himself and wants to ask Hong-shim and Stepdad for a favor.

Lord Park demands Government official Park recruit villagers to give him 100 pieces of firewood. Meanwhile, Kkeut-nyeo, Goo-dol, and another villager all express their yearning for Hong-shim and Stepdad. Kkeut-nyeo plans on visiting Hanyang herself to rescue Hong-shim and Won-deuk who she assumes has been arrested. Goo-dol isn’t so willing to go out in fear that they will be taken away and possibly killed. However, the villager eases their anxiety by revealing to them that Won-deuk is the Crown Prince. Government Official Park overhears the bombshell not far away and faints upon learning the revelation, lol.

The meeting with the Ming envoy finally arrives. Though the Minister of War is present at the meeting, Lee Yool wishes to hold the meeting without any assistance from anyone. Seconds into the meeting and the Ming envoy wants to test Lee Yool’s memory and knowledge after hearing some rumors about him. Lee Yool expresses excitement for the test and also acknowledges the presence of the envoy’s son – Jinlin – who’s sitting next to his father.

Je-yoon lends Hong-shim and Stepdad his house to stay in for the meantime until they find Moo-yeon. While unpacking in the room, Stepdad gets some rest while Hong-shim recalls the conversation she had with Hyuk back in the woods. She assumes that Moo-yeon must have done some dangerous work considering that she found a huge considerable amount of money in his bag. If this is true, Hong-shim vows to stop Moo-yeon from further continuing this job.

Hong-shim steps outside of the room to look for some chores to do. Je-yoon suggests that the both of them can go grocery shopping in the marketplace. Lord Kim’s son Soo-ji and Jinlin are also out at the marketplace on a tour. After talking and connecting with each other, Jinlin tricks Soo-ji into helping him buy a gift for Jinlin’s lover. However, as Soo-ji will realize, this was just an excuse for Jinlin to escape and hide. After driving their guards away, Soo-ji is unable to find Jinlin at the shop that they promised they would meet at. Jinlin has disappeared.

While walking around, Je-yoon encourages Hong-shim to hurry with the search for Moo-yeon, but she’s not in a rush for a reason. The two are then interrupted by a petrified Soo-ji who pleads for Je-yoon to help him find Jinlin. Je-yoon agrees to help find Jinlin while Soo-ji heads back to the palace to inform Lee Yool. Hong-shim too wants to help Je-yoon with the special mission.

At another meeting, the Ming envoy tests Lee Yool’s memory and knowledge by having him recite the same poem two years ago. Since it wasn’t an official occasion, there are no records of the poem recital which makes for a perfect test. Lee Yool is willing to recite the poem, but only under the condition that the Ming envoy also write it at the same time. Just when the test is about to start, Soo-ji interrupts the banquet by informing Lee Yool about the disappearance of Jinlin.

Hong-shim and Je-yoon discuss different possibilities and conclude that Jinlin must have been abducted. After asking some merchants, they learn that Jinlin is actually a woman and changed into Hanbok shortly after disappearing. Meanwhile, the Ming envoy tests Lee Yool by ordering that he find Jinlin. Failure to do so will lead to his and Soo-ji’s life not being spared. However, if he does find Jinlin, Lee Yool will be given anything he wants.

Je-yoon and Hong-shim put on an act in front of two men who they assume were the ones who abducted Jinlin. Though the two guys deny the accusations, Je-yoon threatens them using Hong-shim and claims that she’s the greatest Ming assassin alive.

The Queen is informed about Jinlin’s disappearance and the Crown Prince’s responsibility to find her. She informs her advisor to keep a close watch on Jinlin. While walking away from the Queen’s residence, the advisor comes across Lee Yool and is threatened by the Crown Prince to reveal the whereabouts of Jinlin.

In a meeting with the Minister of War, Lord Kim remains calm and patient. The Queen planned this special mission, but they can also use it to their advantage. He encourages the Minister of War to help Crown Prince with the search. He has someone else to meet with for an important event.

Hong-shim and Je-yoon discover the location where Jinlin is held hostage. While Je-yoon manages to successfully distract the men guarding the shed outside, Hong-shim hurries inside to free Jinlin. However, it’s not all clear and Hong-shim fights off a man who was hiding inside. Thankfully, Hong-shim is strong and capable enough of fighting off the man and rescues Jinlin.

Lee Yool and Kwon Hyuk also head to the shed where Jinlin and Hong-shim are. Lee Yool immediately stops upon seeing Hong-shim wait outside with the envoy’s daughter. He freezes and observes the two be reunited with Je-yoon. Je-yoon suggests that Jinlin return to her father, but she refuses; she wants to meet with her lover who’s also in Hanyang. Hong-shim persuades Je-yoon to let Jinlin do what it is that she wants. Everyone has different priorities and for her it’s love.

Lee Yool stops any plans of bringing Jinlin back to the palace. He is more than positive that Hong-shim and Je-yoon will bring the daughter back. And so Je-yoon and Hong-shim do. Of course, they let her reunite with her lover first and watch as the two lovebirds hug each other. Hong-shim bids farewell with Je-yoon now that their mission is over.

It’s finally time for the banquet. Lee Yool promises to do whatever the Ming envoy wants him to do if Jinlin fails to return by the end of the banquet. Just when the banquet is about to end, Jinlin makes his grand appearance (as a boy again) and sits right next to his father.

Lee Yool prepares to bid farewell with the Ming envoy. While walking him out of the residence, the envoy warns Lee Yool to be careful of Lord Kim and his team. This alarms Lee Yool and he is urged by the envoy to regain his memories as soon as possible. Once he leaves, Lee Yool is then joined by Je-yoon who apologizes for bringing Jinlin back to the palace so late. However, that’s not the only thing he is to apologize for.

The two men have a meeting back in Lee Yool’s room. Lee Yool brings up Hong-shim and wants to know why Je-yoon didn’t report about her stop in Hanyang to him. Furthermore, how long has Je-yoon had feelings for Hong-shim? Je-yoon responds that he’ll continue his order of protecting Hong-shim, but will also follow his heart.

Back at the house, Stepdad worries for Hong-shim’s sprained ankle. She’s more concerned about food, but thankfully Je-yoon has bought some food for them. Upon seeing Je-yoon, Hong-shim asks about the end results of Jinlin which confuses Stepdad. What exactly happened to Jinlin? What is Hong-shim talking about?

Lee Yool can’t stop thinking about the moment when he witnessed Je-yoon caring for Hong-shim’s sprained ankle back at the shed. He’s then joined by his eunuch who wants him to sign a document using his royal seal. Lee Yool learns that his royal seal was made fairly recently since his old stuff disappeared when the funeral for him was held. Lee Yool demands his eunuch to find his old belongings.

Lee Yool visits the Crown Princess that night as usual. As a part of prenatal care, he begins to read a book for the Crown Princess and the baby. However, reading the book only causes memories of when he was younger to trigger and he suddenly recalls Yi-seo’s embroidered cloth that she left with him when they were younger. He then notices the embroidery that the Crown Princess herself has been engaging in and easily becomes intrigued by it.

Meanwhile, Lord Kim meets with the Ming envoy himself. He hands the envoy a piece of rock and explains his reason for doing so: he wants to start war. The next morning, the Crown Princess stops by her usual spot to hide her written letter. On her way out, she encounters Moo-yeon who has some questions for her. There’s something else he wants to know other than why she hired deceased assassin Beom to shoot him with an arrow.

Hong-shim takes a look at Won-deuk’s clothes in her room, but quickly puts them away upon being interrupted by Stepdad. Stepdad questions her real intentionality in returning to Hanyang. Is it really because of her brother or is there another reason? That’s when Hong-shim breaks down into tears and admits that yes, she did return to Hanyang in hopes of seeing Lee Yool just once more. She misses him dearly and can’t simply forget about him like everyone has been telling her. Hong-shim storms out of the room.

Meanwhile, back at the palace, Lee Yool and Kwon Hyuk catches his eunuch preparing to burn a chest of Lee Yool’s old belongings. In it, he finds the same embroidered cloth that young Hong-shim (aka Yi-seo) used to wrap around his injury when they were younger kids. Lee Yool suddenly recalls both childhood memories of them as well as special little details like cherry blossom trees when they used to live in the village together. He orders Kwon Hyuk to return to the palace; he has something else to take care of.

Hong-shim returns to the same bridge in Hanyang where she would visit in hopes of reuniting with Moo-yeon. While staring up at the sky, she’s interrupted by Lee Yool who stands across from her on the same bridge. He calls out her birth name – Yoon Yi-seo. Hong-shim turns to find Lee Yool standing from her and grows confused as to how he knows her real name.

Lee Yool provides extra evidence that proves he’s regained his memory. He adds that it’s him: “Dumb” – the same nickname Yi-seo gave him when they were kids. Hong-shim stares at Lee Yool in confusion while Lee Yool excitedly stares back into Hong-shim’s confused eyes.

My Thoughts:

Okay okay, so I have a lot of thoughts about this episode and the progress that we received, but I’ll just say that I’m glad Lee Yool has regained his memory. Though I’m not so impressed with exactly how he came about to realizing things, I’m just glad that he’s finally back and remembers something. It’ll definitely aid him in his sudden return to the palace and help him better solve who it was behind the rain ritual attack.

How adorable is it that Lee Yool regained his memories essentially through Hong-shim/Yi-seo? Everything else in the palace was so foreign to him and nothing really triggered his memory when he was there. It wasn’t until he read the same book he did when he was younger or saw the embroidered cloth in the chest that memories suddenly triggered for him. Lee Yool’s love and passion for Hong-shim basically helped him retrieve his memories and experiences. Along with the memory aspect, Hong-shim and Lee Yool’s love for each other surpasses all obstacles and they still are just as passionately in love with each other as before. Nothing’s really changed for them except for the fact that they separated for various reasons.

I generally don’t enjoy watching dramas with characters who suffer from memory loss or amnesia. I think ‘Stairway to Heaven’ has especially taught me that fairly well and made me a bit more wary on watching dramas with these types of characters (not that there’s anything wrong with them, they’re just not my cup of tea).  I’m always iffy about how the character suffering from amnesia regains their memories because it has to be done in a certain type of way. You know, it can’t be rushed, it has to be logical, it has to make some sort of sense, it shouldn’t be spontaneous, and it should happen over the course of a time span. That’s why even though Lee Yool’s memory gain was logical and did happen over a few episodes, I still wasn’t as satisfied with how he regained his memory. I think it just has to do with the fact that he suddenly remembered everything with Yi-seo’s embroidered cloth. Did nothing else in the palace trigger any memories for him?

This is why I’m a little bit more cautious around dramas with characters who suffer from amnesia because I find that the process to remembering everything feel so expected plus artificial most of the times. Of course, Lee Yool was going to eventually recall his memory with a specific item, but it’s the execution of everything that has to be done perfectly. I feel conflicted about this execution because it wasn’t like it was bad or anything. It was actually quite decent, but it’s the whole act of placing all this emphasis on a piece of embroidered cloth that suddenly did all the work for Lee Yool and changed his life around. I wished there were other hints or items around in the palace that helped him come to this realization as well. It just felt a little too convenient and served as another reason for Lee Yool and Hong-shim to meet again and fool us into thinking that Lee Yool has regained his memories.

But of course this time it’s not a trick and Lee Yool has actually regained his memories. I think this essentially confirmed the notion that Lee Yool actually didn’t recall who he was this entire time. I had been hoping that he did already know who he was, but was just choosing to be silent to test everyone else’s reactions and moves upon thinking he has amnesia. Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem like that’s the plan so I’m a little bit sad about that. Regardless, Lee Yool is back and maybe more things will trigger for him after meeting with Hong-shim. Maybe the embroidered cloth is just one of the many steps that will help him recall who he is and how he used to be like as the Crown Prince.

Now we finally see in this episode Lord Kim’s plans to start the war that Lee Yool himself was heading to in the very first scene in episode one. It seems like Lord Kim has other plans instead and I’m a bit curious as to why he wants to start war. Furthermore, this entire episode was pretty much dedicated to the Ming envoy and Jinlin’s disappearance so I think that was a nice and interesting change. Though I didn’t care too much for Jinlin’s reason for wanting to run away and disappear, I liked that the mission to find her was in line with the Ming envoy’s intentions of testing Lee Yool’s capabilities as the Crown Prince. It was nothing too far out of place and it made sense. The envoy did have plans of testing the Crown Prince after all and had set up a perfect excuse to do so.

It seemed like this episode was intentionally teasing us by having Hong-shim and Lee Yool almost run into each other or be in the same town together without the two actually interacting. I so desperately wanted Lee Yool to go up to Hong-shim when she was with Jinlin outside of the shed or I wanted Hong-shim to randomly encounter Lee Yool while out and about in Hanyang somewhere. Like gaaaaah! It killed me knowing that the two were so close but so far away from each other. It just hurt watching Hong-shim cry to Stepdad and confirm her doubts to him. Unlike what everyone has been telling her, she can’t forget about him so easily. Even if their marriage was all for show and actually wasn’t real, her feelings for him were and she just can’t all of a sudden erase that. The process to forgetting him can’t be forced, but that’s what Moo-yeon and Stepdad wants her to do. They’re essentially forcing her to let him go when she herself doesn’t want to and isn’t ready to. It’s so heart-breaking and bittersweet watching both Hong-shim and Lee Yool deny their reality and chase after their fantasy. It sort of reminds me of Romeo and Juliet in a way. Star-struck lovers who were fated to be with each other but are forbidden from being together.

Though I didn’t like that Hong-shim and Lee Yool were separated from each other for so long, I did like the moments between Je-yoon and Hong-shim in this episode. It’s not that I suffer from second lead syndrome so I liked the interactions (okay, I’m not suffering THAT much from SLS), but I genuinely enjoy the interactions between the two. I was a little iffy when Je-yoon would attempt to make his moves on Hong-shim back in the village when he knew that she and Won-deuk were married, but now that the two have separated and are forbidden from being together, I feel a little less guilty watching Je-yoon with Hong-shim.

This isn’t any excuse to make Je-yoon and Hong-shim a couple, but I find their interactions endearing and charming and I honestly believe that they complement each other well. The two worked well with each other in finding Jinlin in this episode and even though there were some things they disagreed on (responsibilities/duties vs. love), the two generally balanced each other out. I honestly wouldn’t mind an entire new drama with Hong-shim and Je-yoon as the leads. These two have an interesting and fascinating enough of a relationship on their own and it makes me sad to see that there wasn’t more that happened between the two (excluding all the circumstances of Hong-shim being married of course).

Lee Yool now knows who he is and is also aware of Hong-shim’s real identity. This finally means more interactions between our heart-broken lovers, but also chaos because Lee Yool is now aware of everything. We’ll soon find out sooner or later whether living with no recollection of his identity was better and safer or whether regaining his memories was the better choice for Lee Yool. This was always what Lee Yool himself wanted. Now that he’s gotten it, will it benefit him or only hurt him more?

Bonus: More screenshots from this episode 🙂

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