100 Days My Prince — Ending Explained

The core conspiracy driving the assassination attempt is that Crown Princess Kim So-hye is pregnant with an illegitimate child fathered by Moo-yeon (Yoon Seok-ha), Kim Cha-eon's assassin and Hong-shim's brother. Because Yul never consummated his marriage, Kim Cha-eon attempted to murder Yul to conceal the treason and crown his unborn grandchild.

In the climax, Moo-yeon is killed by Kim Cha-eon while attempting to flee with So-hye. Kim Cha-eon stages a final northern border rebellion, but Yul anticipates the trap and eliminates the treacherous minister using royal archers. Yul shows mercy by faking So-hye's death so she may raise Moo-yeon's child peacefully in exile, clears Yoon Yi-seo's family name, and returns to Songjoo village to stage a heartwarming proposal under falling cherry blossoms.

Several critical perspectives surround the drama's narrative structure:

• The Pastoral Utopian Reading: Suggests Songjoo village represents an idealized utopia where human value derives from communal support. Returning to the palace is seen not as a victory, but as a sacrifice of personal happiness to protect rustic peace.
• The Psychological Dissociation Reading: Interprets Yul's amnesia as an unconscious defense mechanism to escape sixteen years of severe PTSD, grief, and emotional paralysis, manifesting 'Won-deuk' as the carefree youth he was never allowed to be.
• Autonomy in the Epilogue: Views Hong-shim's hesitation in Episode 16 as an assertion of personal agency to avoid becoming another victim of toxic palace politics, rather than simple narrative stalling.