What's so delightful to me about The East Palace, and perhaps the real horror, is that the villains get away. Except for the crown prince, no one is disposed of and it makes sense. The three other villains are playing the game of the palace, and the ghosts were never the real danger. Except the murderous ghost who already murdered while alive.
The Queen Dowager goes into cardiac arrest due to her own resentment. She is choked by her own snake skin. The Consort Dowager is afflicted by the spiritual version of the poison she fed her granddaughter. The King faked a curse that turned into reality on his own children.
They are all haunted, but they cannot be killed by spirits. And nobody was ever gonna hold them accountable, even though Saeng-gang vowed kill the Queen Dowager. These are the three most powerful people in Joseon. The King. The Royal Mother. The Mother of the King.
But they are miserable. None of them get what they wanted, and sometimes that is enough.
This was never a palace intrigue but a palace mystery. Gu-cheon has no power over the state and Saeng-gang can barely protect herself and him. Neither of them came to the palace to outsmart everyone else and reform the country.
