Breaking Down the Time-Hopping Ending of Bon Appetit, Your Majesty

I’ve been totally hooked on Bon Appetit, Your Majesty! It’s become one of Netflix’s biggest hits this fall, and I can see why – it’s a fantastic mix of historical romance and delicious food. The series, which has 12 episodes, is based on a web novel called Surviving as Yeonsangun’s Chef by Park Guk-jae. It follows Yeon Ji-yeong (Lim Yoon-a, who you might know from King the Land), a modern chef who somehow travels back in time to Korea during the Joseon era. Once she’s stuck in the past, she has to rely on her cooking skills to survive while working under King Lee Heon (Hierarchy’s Lee Chae-min), who’s known for being a really tough ruler.

Speaking with TIME about the show’s approach to historical settings, Lee Hye-young, Chief Producer at Studio Dragon, explained, “We didn’t set out to be strictly accurate with the history, especially with the fantasy elements we added.” She described the historical details as a way to enhance the story, saying, “It’s more of an interesting addition – a nice side to the central focus on love and drama.” This lighter touch with history was important, considering the series centers on a romance between someone from the present day and a character inspired by a real, and historically powerful, ruler.

When the King appoints Ji-yeon as his royal cook, they start developing a connection. Director Jang Tae-yoo explained, “Because their love story unfolds through food, it was crucial to show their chemistry through flavors, scents, and the overall mood-not just through physical touch.” As Bon Appetit, Your Majesty nears its end, Ji-yeon becomes more and more determined to prevent the man she’s falling for from becoming the king history will remember. Will she succeed in this incredibly difficult, history-altering task? Let’s examine the dramatic, romantic conclusion of Bon Appetit, Your Majesty…

The King asks Ji-yeon to stay

As Bon Appetit, Your Majesty nears its conclusion with just two episodes left, King Lee Heon has told Ji-yeon how he feels and asked her to remain in Joseon with him. Ji-yeon, now aware of her own feelings for the king, is struggling with a difficult decision. While she longs to go back to the 21st century – where her father and job await – she also doesn’t want to leave the man she’s falling in love with.

Before Ji-yeon can decide what to do-or even locate the mangurok, the historical document from the Joseon dynasty that sent her back in time-violence erupts. Prince Jesan (Choi Gwi-hwa), who has been plotting to take over from his nephew throughout the series, finally takes action. During the birthday festivities for the Grand Queen Dowager Inju (Seo Yi-sook), Lee Heon’s grandmother, Jesan arranges for proof about the circumstances surrounding Heon’s mother’s death to be revealed.

The deposed queen’s execution

The King’s past violence stemmed from a relentless desire for revenge. When he was young, his mother was first exiled and then put to death. It’s finally discovered, through the schemes of Jesan, that the Queen Dowager and several court officials actively pushed for the Queen’s execution. Filled with rage, the King declares he will kill everyone involved, even his own grandmother. Jesan observes this with satisfaction, believing that if Lee Heon initiates another crackdown on scholars, he will gain the leverage needed to take Lee Heon’s place.

Just as the King is about to strike, Ji-yeon steps in front of him. She confesses her love and begs him to stop, reminding him of his promise not to become a cruel ruler. While her words briefly pause Heon, it’s not enough to completely stop him. Ultimately, it’s a revelation from Heon’s maternal grandmother-brought forward by Jesan to demonstrate the tragedy of the former queen’s poisoning-that finally makes him hesitate. The old woman has been deeply traumatized and confused since her daughter’s death, but a bite of Ji-yeon’s homemade chocolates helps her regain her clarity. She then tells the court, including Heon, that her daughter wanted her son to rule with wisdom and seek justice as a benevolent king. Hearing this, Heon lowers his sword.

Prince Jesan gets his coup

Naturally, Prince Jesan had a contingency plan. That night, he disguised himself using the same mask and outfit Lee Heon uses for his talchum performances, and proceeded to kill numerous courtiers, including the Queen Dowager. He then tricked the King into leaving the palace by kidnapping Im Song-jae (Oh Eui-shik), Heon’s close friend and chief royal secretary, and falsely told those remaining at court that the King was behaving strangely, had already killed several people, and had gone out to hunt.

With Lee Heon gone, Jesan persuades Queen Ja-hyeon (Shin Eun-jung), Heon’s stepmother, to back her young son’s claim to the throne. Worried about the safety of Prince Jin-myeong (Kim Kang-yoon), she hesitantly agrees, and he becomes King. At the same time, Lee Heon has fallen into a trap set by Jesan’s soldiers who intend to kill him. Though he survives, Song-jae makes the ultimate sacrifice during the fight. Lee Heon returns to the palace to question his uncle, but surprisingly, he doesn’t attempt to regain control. He simply seeks explanations. Jesan openly confesses his ambition to become king.

To be honest, Lee Heon isn’t a wise or virtuous king. Although he wasn’t directly responsible for the most recent killings in the palace, he *did* lead the previous one. Before Ji-yeon came along, he was collecting young women from all over Joseon for his own amusement. His first reaction upon meeting Ji-yeon was to try and kill her. The character does develop significantly throughout the series, but it’s only after talking with Jesan that he finally admits responsibility for all the violence and suffering he’s caused.

Showing significant development, Heon has stopped seeking power. Instead, he promises to eliminate his uncle so that his half-brother, Jin-myeong, might potentially become the wise and benevolent king Heon himself could never be. Initially, however, Heon is banished, with Jesan scheming to have him murdered. Heon’s supporters, including Ji-yeon, rally to fight by their King’s side. Jesan avoids total defeat by abducting Ji-yeon and demanding a one-on-one meeting with Heon. This sets the stage for a dangerous confrontation. It’s a crucial turning point.

The power of the mangurok

Everything culminates in the forest where Heon and Ji-yeon initially connected. Heon presents the mangurok, the recipe book that it’s now evident Heon created as an expression of his love for Ji-yeon. Throughout the series, Heon has carefully recorded and illustrated each dish Ji-yeon made. This resulted in the first edition of the book that transported Ji-yeon through time, drawn by the message Heon wrote at the end, imploring his beloved to come back to him.

Once more, Ji-yeon doesn’t choose to travel through time; it happens to her. She jumps in front of Jesan’s sword to shield Heon and dies in his arms from the wound. A heartbroken Heon is desperate to save her, but only the mangurok has the power to do so. Triggered by Ji-yeon’s blood, the mangurok pulls her away from Heon and sends her back to the present. Just before she passes out, Ji-yeon tells the King she wished she could have stayed.

Heon kills Jesan, and is left alone.

Does Bon Appetit, Your Majesty have a happy ending?

Ji-yeon finds herself awake in a hospital in Seoul. It’s unknown how she got there from the airplane she was traveling in before the time-slip, but she has a wound on her back that matches the cut from Jesan’s sword. She and her father have an emotional reunion filled with tears, but Ji-yeon can’t shake her memories of Heon. Back at home, she takes out the mangurok and attempts to use it to return to him, but the magical artifact doesn’t respond – she’s unable to activate its powers.

A month has passed, and Ji-yeon is attempting to rebuild her life. A friend asks her to fill in as a chef at his restaurant for a short time. She’s shocked to discover that the kitchen staff looks exactly like her former colleagues from the royal kitchen of the Joseon dynasty. Strangely, none of them remember her. The series leaves it ambiguous whether they are reincarnations of her old friends or simply descendants who bear an uncanny resemblance. The show doesn’t bother to provide any answers; it simply presents the mystery.

The chefs aren’t the only ones who have look-alikes. A disrespectful customer who bears a striking resemblance to Im Song-jae shows up at the restaurant, falsely claiming to be a Michelin inspector. While Ji-yeon is arguing with him, someone steps in to help. It’s Heon, sporting a contemporary style and haircut. He’s journeyed through time to reunite with Ji-yeon. The two share an embrace. Afterwards, we see Heon preparing a bibimbap breakfast for Ji-yeon, just as he had promised. Yes, Bon Appetit, Your Majesty concludes with a happy ending-an ending that is joyfully, and perhaps illogically, satisfying.

How did the king travel through time?

Bon Appetit, Your Majesty deliberately avoids answering this question, playfully hinting at the answer with the line, “that’s not important-because we’re together again,” shown during the show’s concluding moments.

Naturally, there are some ideas about what happened. Lee Heon was left with a ripped page from the mangurok when Ji-yeon disappeared, and details like that are important in creating a believable fantasy world. Maybe Heon managed to use the mangurok to travel to Ji-yeon’s time. Interestingly, when Ji-yeon searches online for information about Lee Heon’s reign, historical records now say his body was never discovered. This suggests that when he showed up in present-day Seoul, it wasn’t a case of him being reborn, but rather the same kind of time travel that brought Ji-yeon back to Joseon.

Ultimately, Bon Appetit, Your Majesty finished much like it started: focusing first on carefully crafted food, then on the characters’ stories, and lastly on the fantasy elements. Though Bon Appetit, Your Majesty didn’t quite reach the heights of popular K-dramas like Crash Landing on You or Alchemy of Souls, it was still an enjoyable series.

2025-09-29 23:07