Hmmm these are really good thoughts! I think in the end, Eleanor realized that if she brought the royal family down with a scandal, the common people would suffer with the collapse of the government. She was able to forgive for their sake--it was her last act as Sarbia's real "princess". The queen is inspired to be a better person by Eleanor's forgiving spirit, and she also sees that Eleanor is a true Sarbian at heart and that they both desire to protect the country. It's much simpler than it would be in real life, right? Haha. It's really like a fairy tale, but that's okay, sometimes that's all we need. (=・ω・=)
People don’t need to rely on a totalitarian government for anything, especially when that government is a cruel royal family who kills and gets away with anything.
South Koreans suffered under a dictator’s tight grip but look how they turned out after he was assassinated.
Still, we cannot refute the fact that Eleanor’s mother’s body is forever buried inside a snowy mountain and she deserves a proper burial. The Queen may try to be a better person but it doesn’t change the fact that she is still a cold-blooded murderess whose power deserves to be stripped off.
And why is it that the villainess get what she wants (getting away with murder and Eleanor’s silence) in the end? Eleanor might have the desire to protect Sarbia Kingdom and its people but the evil queen only wants to protects herself. Maybe if she just left a mother and her daughter be from the start, she wouldn’t have to worry about her past coming back to haunt her.
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While I get that Eleanor found the strength in herself to move on with her life and love, what she did was essentially letting the queen get away scot-free with her crimes (she ordered to kill 2 innocent people: her mother and the girl who was mistake for Eleanor). And hence, it defeated her life's purpose which was to destroy the royal family. And not just her but other innocent people would be killed because the royal family could kill whomever they want and get away with it. The scandal would only destroy the royal family but Salbia would be transformed into constitutional monarchy or become a republic, wherein the royal family has little to no power to do what they want.
What is exactly redeemable about this ending ? Eleanor still could not retrieve her mother's body to have a proper burial nor seek justice / grievances. Forgiveness should only be done when the other party has no more power over you and is remorseful about their actions. In this case, the queen still has the power to kill Eleanor right there and get away with it. Maybe she won't but this ending isn't satisfactory at all. She found love but who knows what if the queen might go after her husband and future children ?
The only satisfactory element of this element is the King's early death. He died whilst knowing that he did not deserve to be called her dad.