The New Year celebration that kicks off the first four episodes of the series continues in The Remarried Empress Episodes 5-6, and the stakes keep climbing. The drama, romance, and humor all take a sharp upward turn. Now halfway through the series, The Remarried Empress is in an even better position than it was after the premiere.
Rashta (Lee Se-Yeong) has just identified herself as the one writing to Prince Heinrey (Lee Jong-suk) of the Western Kingdom through his bird, Queen. Of course, Rashta doesn’t know that Heinrey is also Queen. Setting a trap, he warns Rashta that she’ll face severe consequences if she’s lying to him.
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The situation comes to a head during a luncheon that Emperor Sovieshu (Ju Ji-hoon) is hosting for his guests. Although it’s forbidden to bring a mistress to such an occasion, Rashta convinces Sovieshu to break protocol and take her with him. During the luncheon, Rashta becomes increasingly flirtatious with Heinrey. When he catches her in a lie, he makes a large, melodramatic scene about her deceit.
Sovieshu and Heinrey clash over Rashta.
Sovieshu, ever the protector of his beloved mistress, intervenes on Rashta’s behalf. When Heinrey refuses to drop the matter, and Empress Navier (Shin Min-a) takes his side, Sovieshu challenges Heinrey to a duel. After a few minutes of clashing swords in front of Sovieshu and Navier’s guests, the Empress decisively ends their duel, reminding them of the ramifications if one of them is killed.
Throughout The Remarried Empress Episodes 5-6, Navier continues to show dignity, composure, and intellect while facing difficult situations. Thankfully, Shin Min-a, the lead protagonist of The Remarried Empress, is a titan of her craft. She wastes nothing, using every moment she’s on screen. The result is an empress who stands tall, regal, and fierce.
Opposite her is her husband, Sovieshu, emperor of the Eastern Kingdom. The Remarried Empress Episodes 5-6 remind us that he’s extremely toxic. Fighting with Heinrey over Rashta is only the beginning. After that moment, The Remarried Empress Episode 5 doesn’t spend too much time on Sovieshu, but he becomes a much bigger piece of the narrative by Episode 6.
The Remarried Empress Episodes 5-6 throw a wrench in everyone’s plans.
Much to the delight of their top servants, Sovieshu invites Navier to the Imperial Villa for her birthday in The Remarried Empress Episode 6. The hope of rekindling their distant relationship is a meaningful step in protecting the kingdom. Unfortunately, two things happen that threaten everything.
Just after the married rulers leave for their time away, Rashta falls ill. Despite being attended to by the emperor’s personal physician, Sovieshu’s favorite side piece doesn’t seem to be getting any better. Meanwhile, Sovieshu is kept abreast of her condition but continues to attempt to reconcile his fractured relationship with his wife. His efforts are thwarted when he mistakenly calls Navier by his mistress’s name in bed.
Navier leaves the villa, needing time to cool down, but when she returns, she finds that her husband is gone, off to attend to Rashta. For her part, Rashta really is feeling under the weather. There had been some concern earlier in Sovieshu’s absence as to her sincerity. The doctor confirms the diagnosis near the end of The Remarried Empress Episode 6, setting up what will likely be a very explosive and emotional seventh episode.
Lee Jong-suk makes Heinrey’s sly behavior seem effortless.
Ju Ji-hoon delivers an incredibly intense performance in The Remarried Empress Episodes 5-6. The fiery chemistry between Sovieshu and Navier is especially effective because of how contentious their relationship dynamics are. Ju does a wonderful job bringing Sovieshu’s smug, overbearing qualities to life.
Heinrey is featured much more in The Remarried Empress Episode 5 than in the following episode, but it becomes clear that he is interested in becoming more than just a pen pal. In the short time he’s in The Remarried Empress Episode 6, Heinrey is quite shaken by Navier’s decision to spend her birthday with her husband.
Lee Jong-suk is truly remarkable in showing that Heinrey is sly and willing to take shortcuts to get what he wants. It makes it believable that Heinrey is known for taking half the empire to bed because trickery is second nature to him, and Lee makes it look effortless.
Lee Se-yeong helps make Rashta a compelling and dynamic character.
Still, Lee successfully portrays a man who’s watching as the woman he’s falling in love with is disrespected and neglected by her husband. Heinrey is unwilling to be just a bystander. He goes toe-to-toe with the emperor not once, but twice, with the second time being a result of his decision to give Navier comfort after she returns from the Imperial Villa alone.
The biggest surprise is Lee Se-yeong as Rashta. The Remarried Empress Episodes 5-6 ask a lot of Lee. Rashta is seen in an incendiary light, nearly villainous in her own right. At times, she’s scared and hurt. Other times, she’s gloriously happy. And still, her time in The Remarried Empress Episodes 5-6 ends with her in a hospital bed, being tended to by a doctor.
Lee handles these large swings with ease. Her best acting comes when Rashta is actively trying to get under Navier’s skin. She becomes the kind of antagonist that audiences simply love to hate. She’s not a villain, per se. In fact, it seems like she’s the hero, even if only in her own mind. That delusion, and Lee’s ability to sell it, are the unlikely standouts of The Remarried Empress Episodes 5-6.
In reality, there are only two issues with The Remarried Empress Episodes 5-6. The first concerns the true villain of the series: Lady Albani (Jung Young-joo). Jung Young-joo has a hard task in making Albani a compelling villain. While Jung is clearly a skilled actress, the writing for Lady Albani is simply not that good.
The Remarried Empress Episodes 5-6 are incredible.
Albani feels more like a cartoon character against the main cast. Everything she does in The Remarried Empress Episodes 5-6 is over the top, while everyone else, even in big moments, has the luxury to act with more subtlety and nuance. The result is an entirely underwhelming character.
The other issue is that the series is called The Remarried Empress. And yet, 60% of the episodes have already aired, and Navier isn’t remarried. She’s not even divorced yet. Disney+ is marketing this as a limited series, but it’ll feel unusually short if The Remarried Empress only lasts one season. It’s increasingly feeling like her status as remarried is going to be the end of the story instead of the beginning.
Still, despite those two issues, The Remarried Empress Episodes 5-6 are incredible. The acting is superb, and the characters are mostly well-written, showing depth even in unexpected places. With four episodes left, The Remarried Empress is shaping up to be one of 2026’s best KDramas.
The Remarried Empress Episodes 5-6 are streaming now on Hulu and Disney+, with new episodes airing Wednesdays.
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Rating
The Remarried Empress Episodes 5-6 are incredible. The acting is superb, and the characters are mostly well-written, showing depth even in unexpected places.
