The episode began where the previous one left off: the nightmares that the HwaJin, BongHwan, and the King were living in real life.

HwaJin believed the decomposing body found in the well was her lady’s maid killed by SoYoung. She tried to calm herself by practicing archery all night. She wished this nightmare she was going through would end when she woke up.

But since she knew that it was impossible, she wanted the Queen dragged down into the same nightmare she was living in. She gave the ledger to the Queen Dowager.

BongHwan had a beautiful dream that he was with the new concubines until the faces of the concubines and even that of his bath attendant were transformed into the King’s face. That nightmare ruined his dream, and he couldn’t sleep all night.

The King had a nightmare of being a puppet in the Grand Queen Dowager’s political schemes. But he calmed himself down by compiling a list of all of BongHwan’s new words, and calling it “The Queen’s Dictionary.”

The next morning, he was in good spirits and told his head valet that he slept peacefully the entire night.

He was all smiles as he walked out of the room to prepare for the big banquet. He was unaware of the troubles that lay ahead because he was the “unforgiven.”

Little did he know that he would end the day in tears…just like in this caption.

Here’s a short-list of people who were “unforgiveable” in this episode.

1. The King

a. It should come as no surprise that ByeongIn would consider the King “unforgiven.” As I said, if you’re on Team SoYoung, you wouldn’t expect anything less from ByeongIn.

He saw a drunk and defenseless Queen being attacked by a mysterious nobleman. He wasn’t to know that it was the King himself under the mask. All along he suspected it was the King’s guard, Prince YP, with orders from the King himself.

He saw Prince YP flash his sword for the demo and he thought, “How dare he try to harm the Queen with that sword.”

He wasn’t to know that it was the King himself who was safeguarding his mission from the Queen. The King mistakenly assumed the Queen saw and overheard his plot to take down the corrupt Kim Clan family.

ByeongIn had every reason not to trust the King; he’d correctly guessed that the King was suppressing his true colors.

But he didn’t voice his doubts to his adopted father Minister JwaGeum, though. He kept all to himself, opting to tell his father that he acted zealously on his own accord in order not to worry the Grand Queen Dowager.

Thus, when he discovered that the King was the masked assassin of his own beloved cousin, SoYoung, he got mad. “It was you. You’re that bastard. I’ll end your life.”

Note: if viewers weren’t preconditioned to see the King as the hero in this kdrama, then they would see that ByeongIn was doing a heroic task here. He was risking his own life to defy the King and his own evil father to save his beloved SoYoung, even when he knew that his love for her was unrequited.

b. As for the Grand Queen Dowager, the King was also the “unforgiveable.” The GQD agreed to have Cheoljong as king on the understanding that he wouldn’t stir the pot.

From Ep 10:

GQD: What were you reading?
King: Just one of the appeals that I hadn’t gotten around to peruse.
GQD: You seem much more enthusiastic than usual, which makes me curious about your time outside the palace. Hence, I came to ask you about it.
King: It was good to temporarily forget about the matters of the royal court.
GQD: I’m glad to hear that. You see, I want you to be happy.
King: I’m much obliged.
GQD: You have been through a lot. Have you already forgotten about it? Perhaps fate can be inherited. If you learn to be grateful for your situation and do nothing, both you and all your loved ones will be safe. So why is it that you cannot just sit back and do nothing? Be good, Your Majesty.
King: I will, Grand Queen Dowager.

When she said that “fate can be inherited,” she meant that the iniquities of the previous generation could pass down to him. She was warning him that she knew his grandfather was a traitor, so he could be a traitor, too. But like his grandfather was executed for treason, so could he be executed for treason, too.

And remember from Ep 7 at 47:00?

JwaGeum: I was told that ByeongIn accused the King harshly.
GQD: Everybody acted strangely regarding the King yesterday. It was as if the King was hiding something.

JwaGeum: (assuring her) The King is different from the late king.
GQD: Makes sense. You were the one who chose him.
JwaGeum: There is only reason as to why I put the King in that position. It is so that you do not need to make a painful decision like you did with the late king.
GQD: That is true. It was quite painful. I protected this country by getting the blood of my grandchild on my hands. That is why if someone tries to ruin it, I cannot forgive them even more.

The GQD regarded the King as ungrateful. If he was trying to ruin what she had dearly sacrificed for, then she wouldn’t be able to forgive him. That’s why she ordered the fight between the King and ByeongIn. She wanted the King to reveal his true face because according to ByeongIn, the King was duplicitous.

ByeongIn: I dared to seek an audience with Your Royal Highness for I must tell you something without letting my father know. My father probably told you that the King is different from his predecessor. My father was wrong. Please see the King’s true face on Surit-nal.

The fight was set up to test whether the King had an ulterior motive to bring down the monarchy.

King: I said be gentle. How will you take responsibility for hurting the King’s body?
ByeongIn: It’s the Grand Queen Dowager’s order. I cannot do anything but do my best.

King: So you have Grand Queen Dowager behind you. Then I shall teach you a thing or two again. Let me show you who this palace belongs to.

When the King realized that ByeongIn had the GQD on his side, he decided to give her a message in return. Sure, the lesson was purportedly for ByeongIn. But the REAL message was intended for the GQD herself. He was letting her know that he wouldn’t be her puppet anymore.

“I’m not a puppet!” 

So the King and ByeongIn sparred. To me, the King won this contest, but he lost the fight.

You see, the minute that he sparred ByeongIn and demonstrated that he was an expert at martial arts, he lost. He lost because he revealed his “true face” — which was the ByeongIn’s and GQD’s goal all along. The King fell for their trap.

GQD: You said he’s different from the Late King. He is indeed different.

The GQD had a biting, ironic tone here. She was criticizing her brother Minister JwaGeum for underestimating Cheoljong. The King was indeed different from the late King because he was more devious.

c. Aside from ByeongIn and the GQD, BongHwan also couldn’t forgive the King for appearing in his dreams and disturbing his peace of mind.

When he met the King at the pavilion planning the banquet, he quickly turned around. The King called him back. He was confused by BongHwan’s change of heart since, as far as he knew, they spent the night sending each other poetry.

He looked excited to see BongHwan.

King: Ah! My Queen!
BongHwan: You! I told you that you’re not allowed! At the investiture, I was acting like we were a couple as it was an official ceremony. It’s an important time for me to rediscover my identity. Please cooperate.

The King attributed BongHwan’s change of demeanor to shyness. In reality, BongHwan meant every word of it. He did act like a couple during the ceremony because — as a man — he was interested in having those three concubines, Ms. Innocent, Ms. Sexy, and Ms. Cutie, join his palace entourage as soon as possible.

d. The only person who thought the King was forgivable was HwaJin.

King: How hard it must have been for you all alone last night.
HwaJin: I pulled myself together all night. So please don’t worry about me too much.

This is fake. She calmed herself by scheming to take down SoYoung.

HwaJin: There’s something I must tell you, Your Majesty. It’s about how you feel towards the Queen. It’s harder to overcome yourself than to overcome another person. That’s why you should not try to stop your feelings. What I want from you is not your apology.

In other words, the King was already forgiven. No need for apologies.

2. BongHwan

This brings me to second person who was “unforgiven” in this episode. It was BongHwan/SoYoung. Three people thought BongHwan was unforgiveable.

First was HwaJin. In her mind, SoYoung was evil because she killed her maid OWol and threatened to ruin her happiness with the King.

Second, there was the Queen Dowager (QD). To the QD, BongHwan was unforgiveable for his lack of courtesy, and respect. BongHwan had slighted her by not paying her a visit as soon after his recovery from his illness.

Lastly, BongHwan found himself unforgiveable. He couldn’t forgive himself for having “dirty” thoughts about the King. lol.

BongHwan: Teacher, I had a nightmare. But what’s scarier than the nightmare is me. I felt dirty from that dream but I also liked it at the same time. I don’t know if it’s my soul’s mind (aka SoYoung’s consciousness) or my body’s mind (or himself). It…it feels like I have been assembled with pieces taken from here and there. That’s right! It feels as if I’ve become a Lego block. Who on earth am I now?

This was good imagery. BongHwan felt his current state of mind was a composite of SoYoung’s memories and his will.

But BongHwan reminded me of Mr. Potato Head because his head wasn’t where it was supposed to be.

The Doctor reassured BongHwan that it was common “to have weird side effects after being in a vegetative state.” BongHwan was relieved to hear that his confusion was common, saying, “Wow, that gives me great comfort. Just hearing those words made all my worries go away.” He asked when this mixed-up and contradictory feelings would be resolved.

The Doctor replied that acceptance was key.

Doctor: That’s the problem from your mind. If you start accepting, then it will no longer bring pain. And when it no longer brings pain, only then will it disappear.
BongHwan: Accept myself as I am? True. Being inconsistent is the only consistent thing about me anyway.

To BongHwan, it was unforgiveable of him to fall for the charms of the King or to pity him his tough situation in the palace.

3. Mr. Han

For the most part, BongHwan was a forgiving sort of guy. The only person he considered truly “unforgiveable” was Mr. Han. To avenge himself, BongHwan wanted to frame his family as traitors and, in one fell swoop, annihilate all three generations of his family so he wouldn’t be born in the future.

So finding Mr. Han’s forefather in the Joseon period was a stroke of luck.

4. Last, the Queen Dowager

She riled up the GQD so the GQD went looking for the King and demanded the fan duel between him and ByeongIn.

QD: The Queen has risked everything to gain the King’s heart. She jumped into the lake and even stepped in front of a sword that was about to behead EuiBin. Now, she has even put one last thing on the line in the end. The Queen has abandoned her family.

The GQD wouldn’t know what she was talking about because BongHwan had been showering her with gifts and attention.

GQD: (laughing) I was getting bored, but now I’m listening to a really interesting story.
QD: The King suddenly insisted on a holding a banquet, and the Queen expedited the concubine selection, choosing prestigious families with power. It’s as if she was gathering the King’s supporters. Today, in front of these three families, the King will definitely show the true self that he has been hiding. I mean, a strong kingly figure.

The QD was telling her exactly what ByeongIn had warned her the previous night: the meekness and stupidity the king displayed were just a facade. But ByeongIn didn’t include SoYoung in the King’s conspiracy; the GQ did.

QD: Do you get it now? The Queen is making moves for the King.
GQD: Aren’t you afraid of the aftermath, after making such an accusation?

The QD wasn’t afraid of the consequences because she believed that the ledger would be released that day and the control and influence of the Kim Clan over the Royal Court would finally end. She thought that the Jo Clan would seize power that very day.

QD: I’m sure you believe the Queen is totally your ally. To be honest, I’m a bit disappointed in you. Distracted by the Queen’s petty tricks, you’ve been deceived just like that. And you’re now getting old, too, Your Highness.

This was hitting below the belt. She knew that the GQD worried about getting old.

GQD: I’ll tear those lips off.

Hmmm…I guess this was the “royal” way of saying, “Shut up!”

QD: Since the Queen’s vegetative state was fake, I’m not guilty of that charge anymore.

ByeongIn was correct right there. They shouldn’t have dropped the charges.

QD: (shouting) Therefore, I’m no longer afraid of you. (asking the performer) Why did you stop playing music? (mocking the QGD) Her Royal Highness the Grand Queen Dowager will get angry.

If I were the QGD, the QD’s behavior wouldn’t have tolerated. Like HwaJin, she crossed the line and did the unforgiveable.

*************

That’s it for this episode.

Next Episode 12. I thought the title, “Dancing on Top of a Sword” was interesting. Obviously, if you get involved in something dangerous, like dancing on top of a sword, you’ll get injured. This is the same as “If you play with fire, you’re going to get burnt.”