"Empress Ki" Competes With The Olympics

"Empress Ki" had no drama competition on Monday as the 2014 Sochi Olympics led to the cancellation of the other contenders. That meant viewers did not get to see either of the final episodes of "One Warm Word" or the opening episodes of the new drama "Full Sun." Only one episode of "Empress Ki" will be shown this week. The other dramas will not show any episodes as the three major stations are focusing on coverage of the Olympics.

Despite the lack of drama competition, "Empress Ki" did not gain in percentage points. Many viewers turned in to watch the speed skating events that were shown that evening. One of those events was the Speed Skating Women's 500 Meter event, which gold medalist Lee Sang Hwa took part in.

"You Who Came From The Stars" will air Episode 16 on Feb. 12th but that episode will broadcast earlier than usual. On Feb 12 and 13, the Olympics will include the Speed Skating Men's 1000 Meter and Women's 1000 Meter events.

The one episode that was shown of "Empress Ki" lost percentage points to the Olympics. Monday's episode rated 13.3 percent of the viewers, which is 2.6 percent lower than the previous episode earned.

Hopefully viewers will have a chance to catch up because it was in this episode that Seungnyang, played by Ha Ji Won, finally managed to oust the evil empress Tana Sili, played by Baek Jin Hee. After framing her in a poison plot, the empress was dethroned and sent to another palace, where out-of-favor concubines live. The Queen Mother stripped El Temur's daughter of all her powers and this also affects El Temur's power over the throne. He cannot ask the Emperor to abdicate if the Empress cannot rule, as regent on behalf of the infant she claims is their child.

Seungnyang's action sets the course for her revenge on El Temur and the villains who killed her family, her baby and her friends. It's also an important point in the drama as Seungnyang is showing Emperor Ta Hwan how to regain control of his empire. He has been afraid of El Temur's retribution on those he loves but Seungnyang inspires him with her courage.

Viewers should return to the drama once the games end. The number of viewers watching the SBS "Sochi 2014" games was 11.1 percent and the share of viewers catching the KBS "2013 Winter Olympics" was 15 percent.