Don't read if you haven't watched episode 19...
Honestly, Yi Rim has grown soo much in Rookie Historian. From that naive prince who just wrote romance novels, didn't really have anything to do apart from spending time in his secluded chamber. Only had Sam Bo and the two female helpers. He felt soo lost and just wanted his " father's " acknowledgement. But everything changed. He's grown. He has learnt the truth. His interactions with Hae Ryung has opened his eyes to his immediate surroundings and probably the world. He was unaware of soo many things because no one thought it was important to give him some kind of exposure. But not anymore. He's actually far more intelligent than people know. He's observant. He's sharp. Even though he has no experience in administration I'm sure if he were to pursue the throne, then he'd be a just king. Bring a positive reform in his society. After all. He's his father's son.
But the fact that Yi Jin is in a denial that Yi Rim is not his blood brother but is actually the dethroned king's oldest son is driving a wedge between the two princes. The current king has poisoned Yi Jin's mind already. Yi Jin probably feels that it's wrong for Yi Rim to go after the throne because Yi Rim has zero experience in administration whereas Yi Jin has been doing the same for years. But it is NOT Yi Jin's right to claim the throne after the crucial information about Yi Rim's real father is revealed. In episode 19 I felt like Yi Jin feels threatened by Yi Rim because somewhere deep inside he knows that Yi Rim may be considered weak and pathetic prince by many, but he's actually built for that job. He knows that he could be a better king than Yi Jin. In fact Yi Rim never showed any desire to take the throne. Even in today's episode he talked about not wanting to continue to live this life in the palace anymore. All he said was he wanted to right the wrong. But that shocked Yi Jin because he saw the determination in Yi Rim's eyes and it scared him to see that his brother really is capable of being a king. Plus if the real reason for the dethroning of the actual king gets revealed to the public, no one will accept Yi Jin as the king. In fact he'll be known as " the King who stole the throne " for generations to come. Yi Jin's good deeds will forever be overshadowed by his father's thirst for the throne and how he killed Innocents for it.
Now here's the thing. Officer Min's father is an evil ass. He pushed Min's wife to commit suicide. And ordered innocents to be killed. He's a ruthless f****r. The current king is an ass too. Thinks with his d*** is what he does. But the difference between how officer Min approaches this situation vs how Yi Jin is handling it is starkly different. Officer Min knows that if they push for the reinvestigation of the events that happened 2 decades ago, his dad would be given a capital punishment for sure. But that's his end game. He wants those who did wrong to be punished. That was the reason he became a historian in the first place. Doesn't matter if that list includes his dad. If you behave like an animal, you deserve to be treated like one. He is against his father's " end justifies the means " approach. But Yi Jin easily got screwed. Even though he sees how poorly his dad treats his little brother, he chose the throne over Yi Rim. A throne that's not rightfully his to begin with.
Now I don't know what will happen in tomorrow's episode but I'm eagerly waiting and hoping that the princes can mend their differences. Or either Yi Jin accept his fate. Officer Min finally gets some closure if his evil dad is found guilty. And the current king. Oh please. Get rid of him already. The people deserve a better king. The Queen Dowager, I hope she find some peace too. And Hae Ryung will not have to be on the run anymore. She can finally get her father some justice.