When the soul of Joseon-era royal concubine Kang Dan-shim (The Glory’s Lim Ji-yeon) is magically transported to modern-day Seoul in Netflix’s My Royal Nemesis, Dan-shim takes the time-slip in stride. Waking up in the body of struggling actress Shin Seo-ri (also played by Lim), she soon finds herself landing bigger roles in the K-drama industry and winning over neighbors at her goshiwon with her bold, no-nonsense personality. 

As she learns the ropes of modern life, Dan-shim catches the eye of Cha Se-gye (When the Phone Rings’ Heo Nam-jun), a lonely chaebol heir with a reputation for cutting corners and screwing over the little guy. But, as Dan-shim gets to know Se-gye, it becomes clear that those rumors are false, the result of an ongoing smear campaign masterminded by Choi Mun-do (Jang Seung-jo), Se-gye’s cousin, who will stop at nothing to be named the next CEO of The Chail Group. 

The 14-episode reincarnation rom-com ups its stakes by not only tying the souls of Dan-shim and Seo-ri together, but also the souls of Se-gye and Yi Heon (a.k.a. Grand Prince Cheongheon) and Mun-do and Yi Jae (a.k.a. King Anjong). Like Dan-shim does with Seo-ri, Se-gye and Mun-do share faces and fates with these men from Joseon. 

In present-day Seoul, Se-gye and Dan-shim fall in love, and plan to stay together forever. But forever may not be very long. The red comet that appeared in the sky of Dan-shim’s Joseon and in the sky of modern-day Seoul is about to move on, and Dan-shim fears her soul will be pulled back into her original body just as mysteriously as it was brought to Se-gye’s time. Will the two be granted a happy ending?

The truth behind Shin Seo-ri and Kang Dan-sim’s soul swap

For most of My Royal Nemesis, our protagonist operates under the assumption that she was born Kang Dan-shim, a Joseon-era peasant who would become a royal concubine. However, when she starts to remember a painful memory from Seo-ri’s past, she realizes that she was born Shin Seo-ri in modern-day Korea. Dan-shim and Seo-ri swapped souls when they were both children, following near-death drownings. They grew up in each other’s times and bodies before switching again as adults when Seo-ri (living as royal concubine Dan-shim) is forced to drink poison by order of King Anjong.   

At first, this major revelation seems to spell a happy ending for Seo-ri and Se-gye. Seo-ri can stay in the body (and time) she was born into without feeling like an imposter. Then, Se-gye is stabbed by one of Mun-do’s hired hands and his life hangs in the balance. Seo-ri’s shaman friend tells Seo-ri that she must go back to the Joseon era if she wants her love to live. For Se-gye to survive in modern-day Seoul, Yi Heon must survive his brother’s murder attempt in the Joseon era.   

Seo-ri does it, willing her soul back to the Joseon era without knowing if she will ever be able to return. She finds Yi Heon, with whom she shared a companionship before traveling to modern times, and helps him escape his brother’s clutches. Seo-ri takes an arrow for Yi Heon, and the two fall from a cliff into a river below. While we don’t see their fate, Se-gye wakes up in the hospital, implying that Yi Heon at least survived and Seo-ri successfully broke one part of the tragic cycle of fate. Se-gye’s relief is short-lived when he realizes that Seo-ri has fallen into a mysterious coma.

Does My Royal Nemesis have a happy ending?

Yes, My Royal Nemesis has a happy ending. At first, Seo-ri’s soul does not return to either body it has inhabited. It is instead stuck in a painless purgatory somewhere between life and death. This liminal space is so painless that Seo-ri cannot remember her love for Se-gye. 

But Se-gye does not give up on her. He visits The Seoul Museum of History, where the Joseon-era portrait Yi Heon once painted of Dan-shim/Seo-ri hangs on display. After seeing the artwork and Yi Heon’s journal, recently returned to Korea by the British Museum, Se-gye remembers Yi Heon’s love for Dan-shim. Though Se-gye had previously only seen Yi Heon’s life through reincarnation dreams, their souls are connected.

The power of the moment allows Se-gye to reach Seo-ri. She hears his voice, asking her to “please come back,” and she remembers her love. Seo-ri chooses to leave the purgatory for a life with Se-gye; even if it will come with its fair share of pain, it will come with joy too. The two reunite and fall into one another’s arms as a summer snow falls from the sky.

Mun-do’s karma comes around too. Se-gye and Seo-ri work with the police to prove Mun-do’s role in the death of a nurse he paid off to poison Se-gye. He ends the series in jail, away from his beloved son and his beloved corporation. Seo-ri visits him to explain that he lost his one chance to redeem himself, implying that he should have prioritized taking care of his son over vying for money and power. 

In the Joseon era, we see that both Yi Heon and Dan-shim survived their fall from a great height. They are now in disguise, but free to live their lives together as nobodies. It’s a bit of a sloppy ending for the two, given that Dan-shim was in Se-ri’s body when Yi Heon met Dan-shim. Presumably, Dan-shim did not meet Yi Heon until she woke up, wet with an arrow wound. However, if we’ve learned anything from My Royal Nemesis, it is that a soul connection can supercede reason.

In Seoul, Seo-ri and Se-gye live happily ever after. With Mun-do in jail, Se-gye is in line to become the next CEO of Chail Group. And Seo-ri is already studying her lines for her next K-drama. Most importantly, the two have promised to stay by one another’s side.