3 Memorable Lines From "The King's Affection" That Touched Viewers' Hearts

Nov 21, 2021

“The King’s Affection” is tugging at viewers’ heartstrings with its impactful script!

Based on the manhwa (Korean comic) of the same name, “The King’s Affection” tells the story of a pair of royal twins, one male and one female. Although the sister is initially abandoned for being female, she is later forced to disguise herself as a man to become the crown prince when her brother dies. Park Eun Bin stars in the drama as Lee Hwi, the crown prince with a shocking secret, while SF9‘s Rowoon stars as Jung Ji Woon, who becomes Lee Hwi’s teacher.

The characters of the drama explore a plethora of deep emotions, from fatherly love, to loneliness, to comfort. Often, they convey meaningful insights through a few simple words. Here’s a look at three memorable lines uttered by the characters that resonated with viewers.

Spoilers

1. King Hyejong’s fatherly love: “Just live on.”

In the previous episode, it was revealed that King Hyejong (Lee Pil Mo) already knew that the crown prince Lee Hwi was not his son, but rather his daughter. After the last words uttered by his late wife to “protect the child,” he had buried the secret deep in his heart.

When King Hyejong had Lee Hwi dethroned, he left her a letter where he reflected on their past. The letter related the torturous moments he felt looking at his “strong child” as well as his determination to not make the same mistake twice. The final sentences of the letter read, “Just live on, so that I don’t hear about you again,” revealing his fatherly love and desire to keep his daughter safe. Before her death, Lee Hwi’s mother also gave her similar advice, and the desperation of both parents to keep their daughter alive brought tears to viewers’ eyes.

2. Lee Hwi’s loneliness: “What could be out there?”

Whenever Lee Hwi feels uneasy, she goes to a hill overlooking the world outside the palace. However, this place also appears to be the very limit of Lee Hwi’s world. When her cousin Lee Hyun (Nam Yoon Su) asked why she didn’t keep going, she simply responded, “Because I must return to the palace. The path that I know ends here.”

Although there were plenty of times when Lee Hwi wanted to run away from her difficult life, her cruel fate kept her bound to the palace. As if consoling herself, Lee Hwi said, “What could be out there? Could there really be an endless, bottomless ocean out there?” With just one question, she revealed the weight of her position as the crown prince as well as the bitter loneliness she has been enduring her whole life.

3. Court Lady Kim’s consoling words: “You’ve done well.”

Lee Hwi faced a harsh penalty for humiliating her uncle, upending the moral principles of royalty by holding him responsible for his murder of a servant girl. Responding to the reprimands of the Queen Dowager and her grandfather, Lee Hwi confidently defended her actions as she said, “It was the life of one of my subjects, whom I must serve, and whom no one must treat lightly.”

No matter how hard she tried, there were rules of the land that Lee Hwi couldn’t change, whether it be a servant who had to die because of her lowly status, or herself, who was supposed to be dead because of her gender. After Lee Hwi poured out her innermost feelings that a life where she blocked her ears and eyes from such injustices was meaningless, Court Lady Kim (Baek Hyun Joo) stepped in to comfort her with some motherly words: “If your mother were still alive, she would say you did the right thing, and that you’re doing well. Don’t be too hard on yourself. I’ll follow you until the end.” As she spoke, the tears that slipped from her eyes led to the creation of a heart-wrenching yet memorable scene.