Captivating the King Episode 15 Recap and Review: Famous director, Jo Nam-gook known for his top hit series The Good Detective is back with a historical romance drama with a spoonful of twists and turns, Starring top-notch actors like Jo Jung-suk, Shin Sae-kyeong, and Lee Shin-young, Captivating the King (세작, 매혹된 자들) has all the fun and spice in it to make the viewers sit back and watch throughout. Both Netflix and TV are distributing the series, meaning its potential is global.
The three main roles are done by Jo Jung-suk as Lee In, Shin Sae-kyeong as Kang Hee-soo/ Kang Mong-woo and Lee Shin-young as Kim Myung-ha. Jo Jung-suk’s previous hit was Hospital Playlist (2020 – 2021), Shin Sae-kyeong’s last venture was Run On (2020 – 2021) and Lee Shin-young was last seen in CEO-dol Mart (2023).
– Captivating the King Episode 15 Review Contains Spoilers –
Captivating the King Plot
Lee In is a prince with a caring older brother, King Lee Sun. Pledging loyalty to his brother, Lee In is taken hostage by the Qing Dynasty. Unfortunately, King Lee Sun misinterprets this loyalty as betrayal, leading to a strained relationship. Lee In suffers emotionally due to his brother’s resentment.
During his time as a hostage, Lee In encounters an unknown baduk player who captivates him with her skills. Eventually, circumstances unfold, and Lee In ascends to the throne as the king. Despite holding a powerful position, he grapples with internal sadness and vulnerability.
Kang Hee-soo, previously known as a skilled but unknown baduk player, crosses paths with Prince Lee In and falls in love with him. However, fate takes a twist as she becomes a spy with a mission for revenge. Her journey involves approaching King Lee In, adding complexities to their intertwined destinies.
Captivating the King Episode 15 Recap
The King stops the court lady from kissing him and says that he cannot accept her as such as it will make it look like he’s captivating her and using her. The court lady says that she knew he wouldn’t accept her request. She then starts puking blood and the King panics. Before taking her last breath, she confesses that she took the poison as she was ordered to kill him which she cannot. She also confesses her love for him and the desire to protect him. Before she can tell who asked her to kill him, the court lady dies.
The King barges into the Queen Dowager’s quarters and demands an answer regarding his late brother’s death. The Queen Dowager, afraid of her son’s life, begs him to spare the life of Principal Director Jong-hwan however, the King tells that he has the power and that he will not let such an act slide. He also realises that it is indeed his mother and the Principal director who ordered the court lady to poison the late king.
The King commands an interrogation the next day to make Jong-hwan pay for his sin. Meanwhile, news about the court lady’s death reaches Jong-hwan through Hyun-bo. Jong-hwan tells that if anything happens to him, Hyun-bo will also come down. Hyun-bo packs his bags and decides to escape but gets caught by Sang-hwa and his men.
On the day of the interrogation, initially, Jong-hwan wins but soon after Hyun-bo comes and confesses all the crimes, they strip Jong-hwan and torture him until he confesses his sins. The day passes and the night falls but Jong-hwan endures all torture and doesn’t agree to his crimes. The King then sends everyone out and has a conversation with Jong-hwan and has a heartwrenching conversation, which eventually makes him confess his sins. The authorities take Jong-hwan to his confinement cell.
The next day, the King gives punishment for Dal-ha (3 years of labour) and Hyun-bo (exiled from the capital) but struggles to come up with a punishment for Jong-hwan. When Myung-ha comes to confess his sins on briefly joining Hee-soo and Dal-ha’s plan before, the King doesn’t punish him but rather makes him give poison to Jong-hwan and watch him die so that serves as a warning. Myung-ha happily gives Jong-hwan a bowl of poison and watches him die, remembering his father’s death.
Qing envoy comes and says that Jun-pyo will return to the Joseon dynasty (spy) and that Prince Rui wants to play Baduk with Mong-woo. This request startles the King as he doesn’t want to send Hee-soo to Beijing. Meanwhile, the Queen Dowager’s court lady finds out the truth about Mong-woo’s identity and reports it to her. They summon Mong-woo/Hee-soo and start making her feel uncomfortable. The King hears about it and rushes to the quarters and stops the act.
Captivating the King Episode 15 Review
After years of sadness finally, the King has set himself free by bringing justice. He has found the truth at the cost of his loved ones but at least played fair. Now that Queen Dowager knows Hee-soo is a woman, she will force the King to marry her which of course he’d loved to do however Prince Rui needs Mong-woo currently (he’s not aware of the identity).
Hee-soo will go to Beijing as she wants to serve her country as well. If they refuse to send her, the Qing will captivate the King and shatter the Joseon dynasty, hence they have to. Hopefully, she will return safe and sound and get married to the King.
Captivating the King is streaming on Netflix. Let us know your thoughts in the comment section.
Also read: All Reviews of Captivating the King!
