Breaking Down the Supernatural Ending of The East Palace

Gu-cheon manages to bring Saeng-gang back to the mortal world, but collapses into a coma soon after. He is unconscious for days, but Saeng-gang doesn’t give up on him. Upon waking, King Ju-sang grants Gu-cheon freedom from the palace. Gu-cheon and Saeng-gang leave together, with their ggeomeoksali friend by their side. Though Saeng-gang cannot see it, Gu-cheon is still chained to the Realm of the Gwi following his deal with the Primorial Gwi-mae. But, for now, he can roam the mortal world.

“[Since] Saeng-gang isn’t chained, maybe only [Gu-cheon] will get dragged back one day?” Nam posed in an interview with Netflix. “But the three of us are a set,” Roh added, “so [if we do, we’d] all get dragged along together.” For now, however, they could probably all use a break from adventuring.

Choi, who wanted to “leave a little bit of hope at the very end” of the series, would be open to revisiting this world, should the opportunity exist. “I still think nothing much has changed at the palace,” he says. “We’ve eliminated the risks, but, you know, the king’s still there.”