8.1/1013 votes#1 - A Luncheon with the Emperor
Season 1 Episode 1 - Aired 11/21/2018
In the present, mysterious skeletal remains are found on Ehwa Palace grounds with a necklace worth 2.2 million dollars thought to be a gift of the Emperor to the Empress. Jumping back one year earlier, at a luncheon with selected people, the Emperor meets Oh Sunny for the second time. In the blink of an eye, the event turns into a hostage situation where the Emperor and the people almost lose their lives.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
8.2/1013 votes#2 - The Emperor’s Day Off
Season 1 Episode 2 - Aired 11/21/2018
After saving the Emperor's life, Sunny safely returns home. The assailant is apprehended, and the Emperor and the Empress Dowager learn that he is the brother of Kang Joon Sung, an Imperial guard who went missing seven years ago. Mysteriously, the assailant dies of a heart attack during the interrogation. Meanwhile, Yu Ra tells her mother that she wants nothing to do with her and her family.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
8.3/1011 votes#3 - A Hit-and-Run
Season 1 Episode 3 - Aired 11/22/2018
The Emperor hits and kills Wang Shik's mother with his car. With Wang Shik just behind him, the Emperor loads her body and escapes. Yu Ra convinces him to trust her and tells him to dump the body. She then helps him create an alibi. Meanwhile, the Emperor orders Mr. Ma to destroy any evidence of him being in Bichido.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
8.1/1011 votes#4 - The Yellow Truck
Season 1 Episode 4 - Aired 11/22/2018
Yu Ra confesses to the hit-and-run accident and tries to stage her death, but the Emperor and his guards rescue her just in time. In the aftermath of securing his alibi, Sunny stands in the spotlight of the media. Despite the nuisance, the Emperor tries to deter the hit-and-run topic and surprises Sunny with a date. Meanwhile, Wang Shik seeks support for evidence he had secured at the accident site.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
8.0/1010 votes#5 - The Empress Dowager Underestimates Ms. Min
Season 1 Episode 5 - Aired 11/28/2018
As the Imperial Family gathers to celebrate the Grand Empress Dowager's World Peace Award, Oh Sunny appears on behalf of the Empress Dowager's request to put on a show. But really, she's there to be introduced as the Emperor's significant other. Wang Shik suffers a devastating fall but is rescued by a villager before the Emperor's men can finish their job. Meanwhile, the Empress Dowager threatens Ms. Min to stay away from the Emperor.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
8.2/1010 votes#6 - The Emperor Starts to Court Oh Sunny
Season 1 Episode 6 - Aired 11/28/2018
With substantial evidence of the hit-and-run accident in her hands, the Empress Dowager reclaims her power over the Emperor and blackmails him to marry Oh Sunny. Cornered and not wanting Ms. Min to go to prison, the Emperor starts to court Oh Sunny. Meanwhile, Na Wang Shik determines to become an Imperial guard and asks the old man who saved him, to train him.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
8.1/1010 votes#7 - Wedding Preparations
Season 1 Episode 7 - Aired 11/29/2018
Transformed and well-trained, Na Wang Shik, who is now Chun Woo Bin, gets one step closer to fulfilling his revenge. The Emperor hires him as an Imperial Guard. Preparations for the wedding of the century begin, and the two families undergo customary traditions in style. Meanwhile, the Empress Dowager banishes Min Yu Ra from the palace.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
8.4/1011 votes#8 - The Wedding
Season 1 Episode 8 - Aired 11/29/2018
As the nation watches the extravagant wedding, the elevated platform Sunny stands on breaks and sets on fire. Just as the situation gets dire, the new Imperial guard, Woo Bin, saves her. Meanwhile, the Empress Dowager thinks of a way to get rid of Yu Ra who is now the chief assistant of the palace.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
8.5/1011 votes#9 - Tell Me It’s Not True
Season 1 Episode 9 - Aired 12/5/2018
Without knowing Yu Ra's devious ways, Wang Shik contacts her to meet face to face. When he approaches her, he gets a glimpse of Ma Pil and decides to abort for Yu Ra's sake. Later, his vigilance teaches him of Yu Ra's involvement in his mother's murder.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
8.1/108 votes#10 - Wang Shik’s Rage
Season 1 Episode 10 - Aired 12/5/2018
After finding out the people involved, Wang Shik returns to Bichido and swears to kill Pil Joo, the Emperor, and Yu Ra. He also tries to abandon Dong Shik, Yo Ra's son, but doesn't have the heart to do it. Angrier than ever, Wang Shik challenges the Emperor to a sparring match and impresses the Emperor.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
7.9/108 votes#11 - Betrayal in the Palace
Season 1 Episode 11 - Aired 12/6/2018
The Grand Empress Dowager overhears Yu Ra and the Emperor talking and learns of their secret. She forbids their love and demands Yu Ra to leave the palace. Later, the Empress tries her best to please the Emperor but following Yu Ra's suggestion only angers him. Meanwhile, Wang Shik starts to get closer to the Emperor.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
8.1/108 votes#12 - Pil Joo Finds Wang Shik
Season 1 Episode 12 - Aired 12/6/2018
Knowing how the Empress must feel, the Grand Empress Dowager spends the day with her and invites her father to the palace. Pil Joo searches through Woo Bin's quarters and finds out that he is Wang Shik. When he goes after Wang Shik, he tells him the truth behind his mother's death.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
8.0/109 votes#13 - The Empress Finds Out About the Emperor and Yu Ra
Season 1 Episode 13 - Aired 12/12/2018
When the Empress sees the Emperor and Ms. Min together kissing on a cruise ship, she realizes she had been a fool but decides to hear him out. The Empress Dowager tracks down the Prince and asks him to come back to the palace, but the Prince slips away and finds refuge at Ddobong's Fried Chicken, Oh Sunny's father's restaurant. Meanwhile, Woo Bin feels for the Empress and offers his support.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
8.0/109 votes#14 - The Prince is in Town
Season 1 Episode 14 - Aired 12/12/2018
After talking to the Prince over the phone in after seven years, the Emperor starts to worry. Knowing that the presence of the Prince is a direct threat to his position, the Emperor confronts the Empress Dowager. Meanwhile, with newly found strength and courage, the Empress takes it into her own hands and strips Yu Ra of her title and incarcerates her.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
7.9/109 votes#15 - Wang Shik Betrays the Empress
Season 1 Episode 15 - Aired 12/13/2018
While trying to catch the Emperor in the act, the Empress gets entangled in a predicament of her own, putting her loyalty to the Emperor in question. Wang Shik betrays her, and with the Emperor's command, he pushes her off a cliff into a river. Meanwhile, Oh Sunny's father gets caught illegally gambling by the authorities again.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
7.9/109 votes#16 - The Grand Empress Dowager’s Downfall
Season 1 Episode 16 - Aired 12/13/2018
Trying to uncover the truth behind the death of late Empress So Hyun, Sunny discovers that Ari is the Emperor's daughter and Kang Hee, the nanny, is her mother. Wang Shik plays both sides and vows to the Empress Dowager to assist her in her ways. Meanwhile, the Grand Empress Dowager learns of the Emperor's immoral ways and tries to put a stop to the Imperial Family's corruption.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
7.1/109 votes#17 - Who Killed the Grand Empress Dowager?
Season 1 Episode 17 - Aired 12/19/2018
The Grand Empress Dowager is found dead, and an investigation of her murder begins. The police question each member of the Imperial Family, but none of them confess to the crime. Meanwhile, while clutching on to an envelope given by the Grand Empress Dowager, Ms. Hong tells Sunny of her last words.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
8.1/107 votes#18 - The Empress is Arrested for Murder
Season 1 Episode 18 - Aired 12/19/2018
Ms. Hong takes the envelope given by the Grand Empress Dowager containing evidence of the Imperial Family's corruption to the Prime Minister, but it never reaches him. The autopsy of the Grand Empress Dowager reveals poison was the cause of death, the same toxin found in the food the Empress had given her, and as a consequence, the police arrest the Empress for the murder. Meanwhile, the Imperial Family turns their back on Sunny.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
8.2/108 votes#19 - Baek Ho Enlightens the Empress
Season 1 Episode 19 - Aired 12/20/2018
Trying to clear her name, the Empress returns to the palace to retrieve a recording device she had hidden in the Emperor's chamber. She barely escapes the Emperor and slips away with the help of Wang Shik and Baek Ho. Later, Baek Ho takes her to his secret operation headquarters and reveals to her of the Emperor's coverup of murder.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
8.2/108 votes#20 - Ms. Hong’s Confession
Season 1 Episode 20 - Aired 12/20/2018
Without knowing the authorities were tapping the phones, the Empress makes a call to her family and gets caught. But before she makes it into the police station, Ms. Hong confesses to the murder. Later, the Empress broadcasts to the nation a recording of the Emperor and Yu Ra talking about his illegitimate child, damaging the Emperor's image.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
8.0/108 votes#21 - The Empress Returns to the Palace
Season 1 Episode 21 - Aired 12/26/2018
While the Emperor tries to restore his name to the people, Sunny appears boldly before him and forgives him publicly and asks to start again. Reluctantly, without an option, the Emperor and Empress are once again together. To rectify the issue of the Emperor's illegitimate child, the Imperial Family accepts Ari as a princess. Meanwhile, the Emperor promotes Wang Shik as the Chief Guard and asks him to court the Empress.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
7.1/108 votes#22 - The Empress Goes Live
Season 1 Episode 22 - Aired 12/26/2018
Prince Yoon gives Baek Ho the late Empress So Hyun's diary to help uncover the truth. The Empress starts to broadcast a live show and causes an uproar within the palace. Meanwhile, Wang Shik saves the Empress from an attacker and takes a severe blow to the head.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
7.7/107 votes#23 - Wang Shik Saves His Brother
Season 1 Episode 23 - Aired 12/27/2018
When Woo Bin arrives at the hospital, Baek Ho tells the Empress that Woo Bin is Wang Shik and that his true identity must stay a secret. Luckily, a contact within the hospital assists in hiding Woo Bin’s true identity. Meanwhile, Yu Ra finds Dong Shik and secretly tries to send him away.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
7.9/107 votes#24 - Yu Ra’s Demise
Season 1 Episode 24 - Aired 12/27/2018
Wang Shik learns from So Jin that a court lady had tried the food made by the Empress for the Grand Empress Dowager before her death and is now missing. With this new information, Wang Shik and the Empress start to dig deeper into the Grand Empress Dowager's murder. Meanwhile, an anonymous person sends the Emperor information regarding Yu Ra 's connection with Wang Shik.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
7.9/107 votes#25 - The Prince Returns
Season 1 Episode 25 - Aired 1/2/2019
When the Emperor tells the Empress Dowager that he had taken care of Yu Ra without her consent, she smiles and embraces him. She then tells him of her decision to dethrone the Crowned Prince. At the Imperial Auditor's meeting, a new law is passed to keep the option of an empress regnant. Meanwhile, the Prince gives the Empress the diary of the late Empress So Hyun.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
The Best Episodes of The Last Empress Season 1
Every episode of The Last Empress Season 1 ranked from best to worst. Discover the Best Episodes of The Last Empress Season 1!
In an alternate-reality South Korea, where a constitutional monarchical system prevails, Oh Sunny, a musical actress, becomes the empress of the country. Thus begins a...
Genres:DramaAction & AdventureMystery
Network:SBS
Season 1 Ratings Summary
"A Luncheon with the Emperor" is the best rated episode of "The Last Empress" season 1. It scored 8.1/10 based on 13 votes. Directed by N/A and written by N/A, it aired on 11/21/2018. This episode is rated 0.1 points higher than the second-best, "The Emperor’s Day Off".