As actors Heo Nam-joon and Lim Ji-yeon’s powerful performances dominate living rooms, a surprising red flag has flashed for the drama’s storyline.
The June 13 broadcast of SBS’s Friday-Saturday drama My Royal Nemesis (Ep. 12) delivered whirlwind twists, scoring 11.0% in the Seoul metro area, 10.5% nationwide, and a peak of 12.8% per Nielsen Korea—once again smashing its own ratings record and proving its hot streak.
The episode hinted that Shin Seori (played by Lim Ji-yeon) is on the verge of returning to Joseon, ramping up nail-biting tension. Watching Cha Segye (Heo Nam-joon) dream of a happy future with her, Seori felt weighed down by the thought that she could be pulled back to Joseon at any moment.
Eventually, Seori confessed, "I’m going back. To where I was." Blindsided, Cha Segye couldn’t accept the sudden breakup. "You turned me into a fool who grits his teeth and lives only for you," he said, before storming out with, "No. You can’t go. I won’t let you. That’s that." Left alone, Shin Seori burst into long-held tears, saying, "I don’t want to go either. I want to stay by your side," leaving viewers heartbroken over where their romance is headed.
However, as Cha Segye kept falling helplessly for Heo Moon-do’s (played by Jang Seung-jo) schemes and the plot felt stuck in place, viewers’ frustrations erupted.
After the episode, reactions were sharply divided: "It was tough to watch the now-ineffectual Cha Segye and the forever-crying Shin Seori," "The male lead doesn’t even check on his gravely injured grandfather? Disappointing," "Cha Segye’s character never ‘collapsed’—he just had a lull in hero moments," and "Feels like a buildup for a huge payoff later."
With only two episodes left, all eyes are on whether My Royal Nemesis can overcome the split reactions and stick the landing with a perfect strong-start, strong-finish.