To My Beloved Thief Ending Explained: Directed by Ham Young-geol, 은애하는 도적님아 is a fantasy historical romance drama starring Nam Ji-hyun in a powerful dual role as Hong Eun-jo and her masked alter ego Gil Dong, alongside Moon Sang-min as Crown Prince Yi Yeol (also known as Grand Prince Do Wol). The supporting cast includes Han So-eun, Hong Min-ki, Choi Won-young, Ha Seok-jin, Lee Seung-woo, and others.
To My Beloved Thief Recap
The Korean drama To My Beloved Thief revolves around Hong Eun-jo, a noblewoman who is illegitimate and therefore has to keep her identity hidden and live as a servant, despite her intelligence and medical expertise. By day, she is a brilliant doctor for commoners, and by night, she is the legendary masked thief Gil Dong, stealing from corrupt officials to give to the poor. Her bravery earns her a legendary status as a folk hero among the commoners, while Crown Prince Yi Yeol is hot on her heels to capture her, unaware that the thief he is chasing is the woman he is slowly falling in love with.
As palace politics escalate, their lives become entwined. Minister Sa-hyeong is secretly working in the background, poisoning the king, while Eun-jo is secretly working to help Yi Yeol gather evidence against the corrupt officials. However, a twist of the supernatural variety turns everything upside down: Eun-jo and Yi Yeol’s souls are swapped, and they are compelled to live each other’s lives, facing a reality that they never could have anticipated. In the process, Yi Yeol learns about Eun-jo’s struggles, while Eun-jo has to bear the responsibilities of being a royal.
To My Beloved Thief Ending Explained
What Happened to Sa-hyeong in the End of To My Beloved Thief?
Sa-hyeong’s downfall is a slow but brutal one, as he gets what he has given out. Throughout the story, he is the puppet master of a complex web of politics, dazzling the King with hallucinatory incense, laying the blame on the innocent, and even using his own sons to maintain his hold on power. His ambition is ultimately his downfall.
In episode 16 of To My Beloved Thief, he kidnaps Eun-jo after discovering that she is the legendary thief Gil Dong. He holds her captive in the courtesans’ quarters, trying to regain his hold on Yi Yeol and the royal court. However, Eun-jo is the cleverer one, releasing a cloud of cosmetic powder that turns into toxic smoke, draining the energy of all who are present, including Sa-hyeong. In the heat of battle, he reveals the truth bombshell: he was the one who killed Eun-jo’s father, not the King as everyone thought. The revelation is a burning torment to him, stripping him bare of any veneer of righteousness.
Back in prison, Sa-hyeong reads Eun-jo’s letter and realizes how much of a failure he is—politically, morally, and as a father. Pride gives way to the weight of shame and lost power. As they lead him to execution, he decides to take matters into his own hands, preferring death to the indignity of defeat. In the end,Sa-hyeong takes his own life, overcome by ambition and guilt.
Why Did Yi Yeol Give Up the Throne?
Yi Yeol abdicates the throne not because he never wanted to rule, but because he recognizes that ruling a kingdom was never his goal. He took up the mantle of leadership during a period of upheaval: the old king’s madness, Sa-hyeong’s corruption.
He took up the mantle to calm the kingdom and protect its people from suffering. But once the kingdom is at peace, he recognizes that the throne is not really for him. The true king is Ban, the son of his elder brother, and ruling the kingdom would mean continuing the injustices he has fought all his life. So he passes the throne on to Ban, hoping to restore the true line of kings and to heal the kingdom from the wounds inflicted by the political turmoil.
This is a very personal choice. Yi Yeol has seen the destruction the lust for power causes, and he has learned that the throne is a source of more pain than happiness. As king, he would never be able to live freely with Eun-jo. By giving up the throne, he hopes to find a life outside the palace, a life where he could be with Eun-jo as an equal, not as a king bound by his duties. In making the choice to give up the throne, Yi Yeol grows up: he chooses love, freedom, and justice over the throne.
What Happened to Jae-i?
Jae-i’s story is a subtle, emotional one about obligation, self-discovery, and the choices he makes about who he wants to be. At first, he is caught up in his relationship with his father, Sa-hyeong, struggling to live up to the way he is expected to live and walk the path that has been set out for him in life. At the same time, he is struggling with his feelings for Eun-jo, a conflict that only serves to further entwine the strings of his loyalty and the expectations of the court. Sa-hyeong’s betrayal of Seung-jae, which ultimately leads to Seung-jae’s death, finally reveals the hard, cold truth of the man who raised him.
Also Read: Pavane Ending Explained: Did Mi-jeong and Gyeong-rok End Up Together? What Happened to Yo-han?
Ultimately, Jae-i comes forward as a witness against Sa-hyeong, allowing the truth of his father’s actions to come to light. It pains him to go against his own father, but he chooses the truth over his familial relationship. In To My Beloved Thief Episode 16, Jae-i reveals a deep, personal truth to Yi Yeol: like Eun-jo, he is the son of a courtesan, living in a different, more humble world. He has kept this truth hidden in order to survive in the strict social hierarchy of the palace. He confesses that at one point, he envied Eun-jo’s brazen defiance, but her courage gave him the strength to re-evaluate his own position.
After the events have come to a close, Jae-i chooses to leave Joseon and begin a new life. He wishes Yi Yeol happiness and bids farewell to politics, the politics of power, and the strict grip of the palace, a sign of his longing for freedom and a softer sense of self.
Did Hong Eun-jo and Yi Yeol End Up Together?
They do come together, but not in a fairy tale, crown-and-sceptre kind of way. Throughout the story, their relationship is intertwined with fate, sacrifices, soul swaps, and politics. Even after Yi Yeol becomes the king, they cannot be together as lovers openly because of their position, responsibilities, and the political world around them.
At the end of To My Beloved Thief, after Yi Yeol gives up the throne, they are together as commoners. There is no royalty, no social class, and no politics that can tear them apart. They just wait for the right moment to get married. Their relationship changes to one of equality and authenticity: no master, no servant, but just two people who are bound together by choice and fate. At the end of the story, they hug each other freely, which means that Eun-jo has finally gotten what she wanted, to be with Yi Yeol, not as a pawn of fate but as an equal.
What Does the Epilogue of To My Beloved Thief Mean?
To My Beloved Thief final epilogue comes as a symbolic and emotional conclusion that weaves together the themes of fate, love, and reincarnation. Taking place in modern-day Korea, it involves museum-goers who are disputing over artifacts excavated from a royal tomb, which were believed to be owned by the Grand Prince’s wife. Among them are Eun-jo’s shoes and the ring that Yi Yeol gave her, which are all lovingly conserved in expensive fabric. The manner in which these artifacts are treated is a possible indication that their relationship is remembered as something precious, something that has been cherished through the years.
In the ending of To My Beloved Thief, we see Yi Yeol and Eun-jo enter the museum, but they do not recognize each other. However, there is a quiet and palpable feeling of familiarity between them, as if their souls have met again in another life. This serves as a fulfilment of Eun-jo’s lantern wish in a past life, where she had wished to meet Yi Yeol again as his wife. This also indicates that their wish was granted, to be two lives born in the same generation, without the constraints of social classes, politics, and tragedy, and to have the opportunity to meet and fall in love again.
Also Read: In Your Radiant Season Episode 1-2 Review: Poignant Reunion Wrapped in Trauma and Hope
