Episode 9 of Bon Appetit, Your Majesty shows us the final round of the grand competition set between the Ming dynasty and Joseon. We’ve come so far in the show, and there’s still no sign of the king going crazy or setting off a purge, though we’ve heard a lot about it. Has Ji-Young really changed the course of history? From experience, these dramas never tend to have positive endings. How can things work out when history meets the future? It’s nearly impossible. But it would be interesting to see if this show does things differently and tries to give us something new. The characters are fictionalized despite being based on historical figures, so maybe this time around, we’ll get an ending where the protagonist doesn’t have to return alone, or doesn’t have to leave her whole life behind. We still don’t know how the mangunrok’s magic works. Now there are only 3 episodes of the show left, so I’m really wondering if things will get rushed right at the end. With that said, though, let’s jump straight into episode 9.
Spoiler Alert
Does Chun-Saeng Arrive In Time?
Episode 9 of Bon Appetit, Your Majesty begins with the revelation of the scores for round two. Not unexpectedly, the chief envoy, Yu Kun, scores the Joseon team unfairly at just one point, while the king gives the Ming team 8 points. This is clear discrimination on Yu Kun’s part, so the king decides there has to be a different way of scoring the teams. He decides that it’s best to have the cooks taste the food and score each other themselves. While they can taste their own food, it wouldn’t be fair to score the other team, according to Ji-Young. It would be a disservice to the cooks on her team if she scores the food. The Ming cooks feel similarly, so the result is that the king calls it a tie, because both teams worked hard. Afterwards, when the cooks are by themselves, the Ming chef says that though he has lost, he feels like he’s won, and vice versa for Ji-Young. Gil-Geum and the gang don’t understand what this means. While the Joseon meal was tastier than the Ming one, the latter would’ve won the competition because of the story behind it. It is the dish that would’ve been most memorable, despite the superior taste of the Joseon dish. This is why it’s a half-win and half-loss for both teams. I guess the tie seems fair.
The king later asks Ji-Young, when it’s just the two of them, if she wants him to call off the competition. She says that she was mad at first that the king wanted to use food to decide the future of the country, but after seeing how hard the chefs all worked, she decided she enjoyed the competition. Soon after, she accidentally drops some hot tea on her hand, and the king becomes concerned. He gets her treated by the royal doctor, and with some acupuncture, Ji-Young’s hand gets much better.
In round 3, the two teams have to use “ginseng” in a soup dish, and this is what the team has been preparing for right from the start. Also, the gochugaru that Jaesan had given away is finally returned to the king’s kitchen. All the preparation for Ji-Young’s “Ogyetang” is done, but with some time on her hands, she believes she can wait for Chun-Saeng to make it. At the last moment, Chun-Saeng arrives in a Joseon glider, created by him, of course. I suppose he was one of Joseon’s biggest scientists back then; that’s why Ji-Young trusted him with the cooker as well. He hands her the lid, and she’s ready to pressure cook the chicken. Everybody is shocked when she removes the steam, but more importantly, by the fact that the food gets cooked so quickly.
Who Wins The Competition?
At first, Yu Kun claims the Joseon dish doesn’t look that great. However, the taste tells a different story. While the Ming team used unique ingredients that are hard to find, including a sea cucumber (known as the wild ginseng of the sea) and lion’s mane mushroom, Ji-Young’s food is a genuine flavor bomb. Both dishes have their own advantages, but when it comes to scoring them, the king says that both teams need to score each other. This seems all okay, because 3 chefs each can score the food, which would let them grade each other out of 30, until it’s revealed that one of the Ming chefs doesn’t eat anymore. Ji-Young assumes he’s an anorexic chef, but I’m not entirely sure that term applies? He stopped tasting the food he makes because when he was younger, he was always focused on taste until his grandmother simply threw a bunch of ingredients in the pot, making the most delicious soup ever. The chef could never reach the level of his grandmother, so he just stopped eating in search of that taste again.
Ji-Young somehow understands the sentiment the chef is going through and decides to give him the dish without the fancy plating. She says this is how the dish is meant to be enjoyed. Seeing it look like the mess of a stew his grandmother gave him, the chef tastes the dish. He immediately begins to cry because this is exactly the taste he’s been missing for years. I suppose that’s likely to happen if you haven’t eaten in forever, eh? But there’s no doubt, Ji-Young’s food has touched his heart, and he tells her that he’s lost to her already. When it comes time to score, the two teams nearly give each other equal scores, but Joseon wins by one point.
Obviously, Yu Kun can’t stand the idea of losing; however, he’s already got another trick up his sleeve. He says he’s going to take Ji-Young to the emperor as a tribute woman. The king loses his temper and headbutts Yu Kun. Even if he’s angry, this is not something he should be doing, and his grandmother shows up to tell him this. She also has a letter for Yu Kun, though, from her aunt, the 3rd wife of the late emperor. Yu Kun is humbled immediately because he’s been revealed to be lying all along, and everybody is safe. But are they? Yi Heon’s grandmother asks for a favor in return, saying that his half-brother Jinmyeong wants to taste the food made by the chief royal cook. He gladly agrees; however, Jaesan and Mok-Ju have their own plan. Also, he essentially makes a proposal at this point out of the blue, saying he thought Mok-Ju would’ve betrayed him by now, but he’ll make her his wife sometime soon.
What Happens to Jinmyeong?
Mok-Ju plans on poisoning Jinmyeong with a secret poison that doesn’t leave a trace. This would get rid of Ji-Young for good. The tasting goes well, though, and everybody seems to enjoy themselves. It also looks like the king really likes the company of his half-brother and suggests he call him “hyung.” This puts Ji-Young’s mind at ease, because it’s not what she expected from the tyrant she knows of. But the purge could still happen, and I believe Jinmyeong is supposed to become Yi Heon’s successor. But, this might all change in one night.
At the end of episode 9 of Bon Appetit, Your Majesty, Jinmyeong’s mother gives Ji-Young a slap and tells her that she’s going to torture her until she finds out the truth about what she gave her son. Turns out Jinmyeong has been bedridden since he ate her food. The episode ends with the king daydreaming about his time with Ji-Young while her torture at the hands of his stepmother begins. How will he get her out of this situation now? We’ll have to wait and find out. It seems this is a plan that cannot easily be reversed, but the king is mad about Ji-Young, so he’ll do everything in his power to save her.
