A dramatic turning point occurs when the plot to destroy the Jews is fully exposed, turning the deadly decree against its very creator. At this critical moment, it is not explicitly stated who or what approached the king. The primary approach among commentators is that Queen Esther herself arrived to plead for her people [רש״י, רלב״ג, אבן עזרא, עמנואל הרומי]. Her name is deliberately omitted because Mordecai, the author of the record, faced a dilemma. Naming her Queen Esther would serve as a public admission of her marriage to the foreign king, while simply calling her Esther would be disrespectful in the eyes of the nations. Thus, he chose a vague formulation [אור חדש]. Conversely, others suggest that what came before the king was not a person, but rather the details of Haman's wicked plot or the forged letters themselves being brought to light [מלבי״ם, מנות הלוי, ביאור שטיינזלץ].
Mordecai recorded these events with careful diplomatic tact. He intentionally obscured the king's initial agreement to the genocide. Instead, the events are framed to make it appear as though the king was completely surprised to discover that Haman had abused his royal authority and forged the decrees. According to this presentation, the moment the king learned the truth, he immediately grew furious and condemned Haman [מנות הלוי, ישע אלהים, ביאור שטיינזלץ].
The king's verbal command regarding the written records is understood in several ways. He may have personally dictated new letters to reverse the original decree [רש״י], or ordered that Haman's execution and the decree's cancellation be officially recorded in the royal chronicles [אבן עזרא]. Another perspective suggests the king recognized that the original decree could not be legally revoked. Therefore, he established that alongside the first document, new political maneuvers would cause Haman's plot to backfire [רלב״ג, עמנואל הרומי, מגילת סתרים]. Alternatively, Esther worried the king might change his mind again. To prevent this, she requested that the written instructions be accompanied by a direct verbal declaration from the king, granting the new orders absolute, unquestionable authority [תורה תמימה, אור חדש]. Taking a completely different, spiritual approach, one view suggests the speaker making the declaration is actually God, and the referenced book is the Torah. In it, God promised to erase the memory of Amalek, and it was this divine promise that ultimately protected Esther and the Israelites [שלום אסתר].
The ultimate punishment illustrates a precise measure for measure. Because Haman sought to uproot the Israelites completely from their very foundation, his punishment returned upon his own head, representing his own root and beginning. For this reason, his sons were executed alongside him, entirely uprooting his family line [אור חדש]. Ultimately, it was his own evil intention that brought about his total destruction [עמנואל הרומי].