As much as I’m loving Netflix drama Bon Appetit, Your Majesty, I must say, an hour and 20 minutes is way too much for a single episode for any show. K-dramas really need to go back to the old pattern, because an hour is just enough for us to enjoy and not feel overwhelmed. Episode 3 of the show takes us back to the first scene of the show, where Ji-Young broke the fourth wall to tell us how this story began. Later in episode 3, we get a little bit about the “deposed” queen, Yeon. Ji-Young continues to call Yi Heon Yeonigun, but of course, he’s never heard of this name before. I do like that she doesn’t hide the fact that she’s from the future, but of course, nobody believes her, even if she uses alien words and somehow knows skills that, as a woman, she shouldn’t know, like cooking. The king even thinks it would make more sense if she’d said she was from some other country. But, with that said, let’s jump straight into episode 3.
Spoiler Alert
What Is Ji-Young’s First Official Meal For Yi Heon?
Bon Appetit, Your Majesty episode 3 begins with the king’s wounds being treated, and Ji-Young and Gil-Geum being sent off to prison. Consort Kang oversees the king’s treatment, and the doctor says that if an unknown ointment hadn’t been applied to the wound, things would’ve turned out very differently for the king. Kang is, of course, very curious about the “gwinyeo” Ji-Young, but she pretends she doesn’t care. On the inside, she’s already making a dozen plans to get rid of her. Kang wants to meet with Im Sung-Jae to learn all about where Ji-Young came from, and who she was before she met the king. Meanwhile, in the kitchen, the rumor spreads that Ji-Young is going to become the chief royal cook (which she does, soon after), but at the moment, the chefs aren’t that concerned.
Meanwhile, the Dowager queen learns of Hong Gyeong-Dal being accused of treason. The Dowager realizes that the king might be doing this out of personal vengeance, but they think it could’ve been about Gyeong-Dal talking ill about Mok-Ju as well. Sung-Jae shows up in front of Kang and doesn’t really have any information for her, but this makes her assume that Sung-Jae brought the “gwinyeo” to the king. Sung-Jae gives Kang the jewelry he found at Gyeong-Dal’s home. She gives him some more work, which he knows will invite retaliation, but she tells him to do it anyway.
At night, somebody breaks Ji-Young and Gil-Geum out of prison, and they escape, only to realize that it was all part of the king’s plan, and he’s planned some entertainment for them. However, there’s a lesson here, and it is to teach them to never run away again. To put Ji-Young in her place, Yi Heon tells his soldiers to brand Gil-Geum with a hot iron. Ji-Young gets on her knees immediately, and Yi Heon lets her friend go because the lesson has been learned. Now, the king is famished, so Ji-Young has to make him a delicious meal. She asks him to allow Gil-Geum to be her assistant, and he does. With the ingredients they have, it doesn’t look like they can make much, until Gil-Geum’s special nose allows them to find out that there’s deer meat, after all; the king caught the deer himself. Fortunately for Ji-Young, it’s already been cured, etc., so she just needs to think of her dishes.
Ji-Young is made to serve the king herself, but the man is drunk and has his abs out. He asks her to explain the “eoseon,” which is the king’s royal meal. For this meal, Ji-Young has prepared an “Haute Cuisine,” the royal meal of the people of Versailles, apparently. As you can imagine, the elaborate meal gets the king going immediately, but they’re interrupted by Kang, who tries to show up because she knows the gwinyeo is with the king. Yi Heon tells her not to interrupt and to go to her room, but that’s because Ji-Young’s “deer tongue” has reminded him of his mother, which is why he wants to keep her close to him. It’s like she knows exactly what his taste buds want, and it feels like when his mum used to feed him. He even gets her to feed him with her own hands (wowza, moving a bit fast, Mr. King). On the other hand, Sung-Jae offers up an alliance to Ji-Young.
How Does Ji-Young Become Chief Royal Cook?
The rest of the episode is spent with Kang trying to get rid of Ji-Young. The ministers have decided to resign if the gwinyeo isn’t given the same treatment as the governor, but why she’s supposed to be a traitor, I’m really not sure. But I guess they think she’s an “evil spirit.” The entire court is against the king, and there’s talk about the treacherous subject, who we already know is Sung-Jae in the future. Ji-Young is brought to the court, but instead of dismissing her or, worse, beheading her, Yi Heon appoints her as the Chief Royal Chef, because he genuinely loves her cooking. Ultimately, Kang has no choice but to go to the Queen Dowager for help. She tells her that Ji-Young is using her cooking skills to “beguile” Yi Heon. Meanwhile, Ji-Young prepares for her new role, even getting a new outfit, which will help her fit in at the royal kitchen. But when she gets to work the next day, she tells the cooks there to do things as they used to, because she already told the king she’s just going to observe for the time being. However, the catch is that they have to take responsibility for their cooking as well. They’ve already messed with her kitchen by mixing salt in the rice, putting the good meat away, etc., so now they have to set everything straight, or they’ll get in trouble themselves.
At the end of episode 3, Ji-Young is asked to meet the Queen Dowager, who tells her she’s going to have to compete for her position. This is their internalized misogyny speaking, because they can’t believe a woman could be a good chef. Where could she have learned anyway? On the other hand, Ji-Young isn’t just a good chef; she’s well versed in history thanks to her dad, so she knows a lot more detail than an average person. But here’s the thing: if Ji-Young fails to win, her arms will be cut off. In the end, the competition is about to begin, but the king shows up and tells the Queen Dowager that the other chefs should also face the same stakes if they lose, i.e., have their arms chopped off. Ji-Young’s history lessons are going to pay off when it comes to impressing the Queen Dowager.
