I saw complaints from viewers who watched the cliffhanger last week and realized that the plot contains a body swap. I think the complaints are idiotic. Here are my reasons.

1. Those viewers didn’t PAY ATTENTION. From the outset, the show was clear that the two main leads would exchange bodies (or souls, depending on how one looks at this). It was plainly written in the synopsis. The viewers who were surprised about the body swap vex me just as much as viewers who miss obvious connections in the story.

2. Those viewers didn’t do their RESEARCH. Many grumbled about the body swap because it wasn’t so long ago that “Moon River,” the other kdrama with a body swap plot, concluded. But if these viewers were to check the timing, they would discover that the script for “To My Beloved Thief” (original working title was “The Bandit,” IIRC) won in a Studio Dragon Corporation script contest back in 2020.

It could be argued then that TMBT PREDATES “Moon River.” MR was produced and released earlier, but it’s entirely possible that TMBT’s script existed long before MR’s script was conceived.

3. Those viewers CONFLATE a trope with cliché. They bellyached, “OMG! It’s another trope!” as if being a trope per se is a bad thing. It isn’t. I already explained it here: Bon Appetit, Your Majesty: Ep 6 On Tropes and Mangunrok

Body swap is simply one of the many possible ways that two lead characters meet and fall in love. It’s a plot device, similar to arranged marriages, forced cohabitation, rags-to-riches story, enemies to lovers, and so on.

Sure, in kdramas, there’s an additional magical element to the body swaps, but even Shakespeare did “body swaps” – in the form of cross-dressing – in his famous plays like, “As You Like It” and“Twelfth Night.” Do we roll our eyes and bash Shakespeare for doing another iteration of this cross-dressing trope then?

To me, to look down on TMBT’s body swap merely because it’s a trope is silly. What these viewers should complain about is a “cliché.” That’s when a trope is recycled without an original or fresh take. But for viewers to correctly determine whether a trope is a cliché or not, they would need to watch the show and think.

In short, as far as I’m concerned, the complaints about TMBT’s body swap have no merit except to expose the posters’ stupidity. I would avoid these posters.

Here’s why the body swap in this kdrama works for me…so far.

1. Yi Yeol (YY) instantly grasps the extent of EunJo’s subterfuge and her reasons for it.

Thus, we the viewers are spared from a long-drawn-out moral lesson that a royalty like him won’t understand what it is to be a low-born woman in a rigid Confucian society. The body swap cuts to the chase.

EunJo as the YY: (explaining her May-December wedding) It must sound absurd to you, but for someone of my status, such things are common. I’m sorry for lying that the second son was my husband. I thought it would be better for us. That way, you’d give up faster and it would cause me less trouble. (taking a few steps closer) Why haven’t you said anything this whole time? We can’t solve this unless you say something.
YY as Eunjo: I don’t know what to say. I’ve thought about it all the way here and still nothing comes to mind. We’re nothing to each other so I can’t even express this rage.

Hmmm…this reminds me of the Second Male Lead (2ML) in the cdrama, “Shine on Me.” I can’t for the life of me understand what gives the 2ML right to criticize the heroine on the way she lives her life when they aren’t in a relationship.

YY as EunJo: Nor can I recklessly condemn the choice you might have struggled with. I also refuse to pretend to agree with your claim that weddings like this are common. The only thing driving me mad right now is that this isn’t my body. So I can’t even storm in there and drag you out. So, first I need to get back into my own body.

Awww. Though he can’t support the choice she made, he understands why she went with it. He still wants to protect her.

EunJo as the YY: It sounds like you mean to do exactly as you said once you’re back to normal.
YY as Eunjo: You heard correctly. I’m also thinking about how to bring down the family that forced this wedding. And whether that would finally ease this anger.

Nice. His reaction bodes well for the future. If for some reason he ends up replacing his brother as King, he won’t be an impulsive, temperamental and capricious ruler.

EunJo as the YY: (flustered)
YY as EunJo: What angers me most is that, not knowing any of this, I wished you well and foolishly sent you those embroidered shoes.

I interpret this to mean two things. One, he regrets that he let her go without a fight. He thought he was doing the “heroic” thing for her by acquiescing to her marriage and letting her go, when all along, he could have prevented this situation from happening. If he had stepped in earlier, she wouldn’t be in this predicament.

Two, he mistakenly thought that the romantic gestures that he did, like sending her embroidered shoes and paving the way for her so her shoes would stay dry, were enough when a bolder, more committed and unrestrained effort from him was needed.

YY as EunJo: So, let me say this in advance. From now on, I won’t hold back. And I won’t hesitate for a single moment.
EunJo as the YY: Let’s end that talk here.

I think that Yi Yeol behaves like a dilettante, that is, he cultivates many hobbies (e.g., investigating in the Bureau) but he isn’t seriously invested in them as his status as Grand Prince hinders him from showing interest. His interest could be misconstrued as a power-grab. Meeting someone like EunJo forces him to be more assertive, to stop flittering around, and to act more purposeful in life.

2. I believe the reason for the body swap is because of a wish his mother the Queen Dowager expressed.

She wished that he would escape his brother the King’s watchful eye and settle down with a woman from a family that could protect him. When she invited him to tea to the Queen’s Pavilion, she told him of her plan to marry him off to the Chief Inspector. She uttered her maternal wish.

QD: From now on, live for one woman. Not for me.

That’s when the black butterfly appeared. Fate has already found a woman to whom he can devote his entire life.

Then, on YY’s first meeting with EunJo, they both sought shelter from the rain under the eaves of a little hut. I’m sure it didn’t escape our BODers’ eyes 👀 that the hut was right beside a shaman’s prayer tree.

There were brightly colored ribbons (or long fabrics) tied to the tree, some of which were connected to the hut. (In fact, the cold water that doused YY’s back came from a blue ribbon.) This tells us that the hut must have some sort of magical, shamanic powers to grant wishes, too.

Sticking her hand out in the rain, EunJo expressed her belief that the raindrops would wash away her sorrows. Then, the next thing she knew, YY had a bucketload of cold rainwater dumped on his back.

EJ: (annoyed) Then, why did you come to this side?
YY: You said it’s your only silk clothes, right?
EJ: (stunned at his unexpected thoughtfulness)
YY: Heaven hasn’t granted you anything. So you shouldn’t have to suffer the rain as well.

There. I thought that moment was symbolic. (Darn it, I should have written my First Impressions 🤪)

To me, this scene meant:

a. He was rain personified. (He was drenched in rainwater, wasn’t he?) He’d come to wash away her sorrows.
b. Whether he was aware of it or not, he’s found the woman to live for.
c. They both were wrong to assume that the heavens were deaf to their unspoken wishes.

As I wrote elsewhere, it was when EunJo thanked him for helping GilDong take down the corrupt Chief Inspector that he realized that he would gladly take on the responsibility of bringing her happiness. Since all her life is just “poverty, misery, wretchedness, tears,” he decided that he’d be the one to change her fortune.

In other words, he would live for her, just as his mother had wished.

Hence, I get it why they ended up swapping bodies after EunJo, in her GilDong disguise, met an unfortunate accident. When she had no one to rescue her, their stringed bracelets of fate vibrated, and they switched bodies.

To me, the bracelets are a distress beacon…like the Bat Signal that appears up in the sky when Gotham City is in trouble and Batman needs to come.

For now, it seems like the bracelets activate whenever EunJo – both her body and soul – is in grave danger. Yi Yeol then replaces her in a body swap.

In a way, it’s his way of fulfilling his boast to her on the rooftop that evening that he was “someone who can make her quit, whatever it is.” 😂 Objectively speaking, he does make her quit when he takes on her body and assumes her burden.

3. Another reason I don’t find the body swap tedious is that it affords EunJo and YY the opportunity to reset the family relationships.

For instance, when EunJo (as Grand Prince) intervened when she saw that the King was overly medicated with the incense, the King was naturally suspicious of his motive. But after EunJo sensibly explained the medical contraindications of such drugs, the King reckoned that his younger brother was being sincere.

Same thing with YY. As EunJo, he repaired the mother-daughter relationship by having a heart-to-heart talk with the mother and promising her that she wouldn’t suffer hardship again.

I also enjoyed the scenes when YY (as EunJo) put JaeYi in his place. In one scene, he laid the ground rules.

YY as EunJo: I thought I’d talk with the young grandson. I’m only telling you this since the men of this household seem to lack respect for their elders. So take it to heart. From this moment on, uttering words like “eolnyeo” or “concubine” or threats of trampling or killing before me, none of it will be tolerated.

Then, in another scene, he (as EunJo) called JaeYi out for liking EunJo. Lol. It’s funny because the real EunJo would have remained oblivious to it, but a guy could obviously sniff out another rival.

YY as EunJo: I’ve been wondering all day, why is my grandson so angry?
JaeYi: What?
YY as EunJo: (taunting) It’s too dreadful to repeat myself. Anyone seeing this would think you are my husband.
JaeYi: Forgotten already? Household discipline.
YY as EunJo: That? It just seems like an excuse. (taking a step closer) The look in your eyes is wavering terribly.

He means that JaeYi just became flustered when he (in EunJo’s body) bridged the distance between them. It’s a sign that JaeYi’s attracted to EunJo and the real reason he was so angry that day was because he was jealous of the Grand Prince.

JaeYi: What do you want?
YY as EunJo: I’m telling you not to try anything. It’s a warning.

And that’s one reason I like how the body swap is done in this cdrama. JaeYi naturally didn’t know what to make of YY/EunJo’s “warning.” Had EunJo really said that, then JaeYi could take it as a challenge, a dare. It would also result in JaeYi liking EunJo more because of her fearlessness and audacity. But as it was YY in EunJo’s body who issued the warning, JaeYi should heed it carefully.

4. YY doesn’t waste time in exercising the privilege of his (to be exact, EunJo’s) rank and position as bereaved widow of the oldest master in the household. He takes them to task for disrespecting her. If it had been the real EunJo, she would have borne the insults and humiliation.

EJ’s grandson-in-law: Your shameless face takes after your father.
EJ’s son (Secretary Im): What’s this commotion?
EJ’s grandson-in-law: I saw this wench with some man.
Sec Im: Is this true?

EunJo, realizing that they won’t know that he’s the Grand Prince in EunJo’s body, decides to call them out.

EJ: Must I answer such vulgar suspicions?
Grandson: What did you say?
EJ: If you were a man of virtue, you’d have asked for the circumstances first, even in doubt.

Meaning, the grandson-in-law should have verified identities first instead of accusing EunJo of an improper rendezvous. The fact that this vulgar suspicion even crossed his mind indicates that he’s the one with a dirty mind.

EJ: The person I met yesterday was my young master. Who did you think it was?
Sec Im: Did you not even check his face?
Grandson: I didn’t get that far. But, to think that a wench would wander outside at such a late hour…
EJ: A wench, you say? Though my status is low, I’m your elder in the family register now. That word is far too harsh. Above it all, to insult me is to disregard the respect owed to the deceased. Surely a gentleman like you would know that.

Lol. Not only does EunJo shames the grandson-in-law’s lack of filial piety, EunJo also points out that his actions are like that of a uncouth, low-class, ignoble man. Somebody from the true nobility (or royal class like Yi Yeol) would have known better.

EJ: Even in the royal court, when a commoner is taken as a royal concubine, she is granted the proper title and shown due respect. What kind of attitude is this?

Lol. Yi Yeol turns the table on them. He’s saying that if they don’t follow the lead of the palace where even a low-born royal concubine is treated with respect, then they’re defying and/or mocking the king. The royal court sets the standards and a loyal subject follows them.

Grandson: How dare you talk to me like this, not knowing your place!
Sec Im: (stopping his son) Don’t act rashly.

Remember now? In a previous episode (was it in Episode 1 or 2?) when Secretary Im interviewed EunJo, he had expressed great amazement and respect for EunJo’s composure and intelligence. He was impressed that someone like her was born from a commoner like her mother.

Sec Im: (addressing his son) She isn’t wrong. Maintain proper decorum. (addressing Eunjo) The devotion you should have shown in serving my father, let it be fulfilled in honoring him for the rest of your life.

I’ll limit myself to four reasons as I need to watch another show tonight. Toodles!