For the good parts - I totally fell in love with Wang So and his character (and Lee Joon-gi in the role, he was so on point, anymore and it'd become a black hole and swallowed the universe). He was just the type of anti-hero I love in my romance - misunderstood, issues abound, yet mindful of others, caring, with a soft spot for our heroine. Seeing him get out of himself and his character ark was one of my favorite parts of the drama, though I could've done without the last couple of episodes which rocked my love of him somewhat. He did make up for it in the end, but then the end had so many other issues that.. meh. I REALLY want a second season of this because I feel like we still haven't seen the best of Wang So, and what he could be. I'd also LOVE to see him in the modern age. Basically, I rooted for him from the beginning and though the love story was a sloooow burn (understatement), I just really want to see him be happy and have a worthy romance with Hae Soo.
On that note, I found Hae Soo lovely. She was spunky when she needed to be, but she was also a deeply compassionate person and her relationship with the brothers was one of the highlights of the drama for me. Seeing them through her eyes I really got to care for all of them, even those I didn't really like at first. The problem I had was that because her ark with Wook was so long (and done really well), I started resenting her at a point because Wang So was my main man and it felt like she didn't really reciprocate his feelings until very late in the drama. And then... yeah.
Wasn't really expecting that ending (I guess I should've read up on the storyline first before I committed to watching), but I'll take it and hold my breath for more someday.
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A hot mess of a tragedy
This drama was kind of a hot mess. I watched it till the end just coz I wanted to know what kind of ending they were going with, and when it ended, I literally said out loud, "Wait, what?"What I liked:
- I love IU, and the actor playing the 4th prince was pretty good too... for about the first 4-5 episodes lol
All other thoughts:
- This show is adapted from a Chinese court intrigue romance novel and it shows: internalized misogyny where the women are either Mary Sues who die or very unlikeable assholes, court politics, power and hierarchy... Leading to my next point:
- Although this was in a Korean setting, the show felt like a Chinese story - the themes about power and the throne/succession, the storylines of each of the characters... it was pretty interesting. I've read quite a few CN court politics novels and a lot of the tropes, plot, and storylines in this drama were very familiar
- Pacing was bad. First ten episodes felt pretty slow although there were some really funny and cute moments. Last ten episodes was faster, but somewhat predictable
- I seriously did not like how the female protagonist was written. Reminded me a lot of The Rise of Phoenixes: the female protagonist starts out pretty decent, but then ends up tragic, losing the will to live, damsel in distress. By the end, the female lead exists just as a tragic female figure for manpain and angst. She even died of childbirth, lol
- Can't believe I'm meant to ship the 4th prince with the female lead? He's possessive and has serious control and power issues because of abandonment issues. I was creeped out by him. Which leads to my next point
- Characterization was poor. I didn't really find a lot of the characters' change in motivations and behavior convincing, and it felt like they were forced into being a certain way because the plot/tragedy demanded it
- Also lol what was up with that ending
- Side note that the 4th prince/Emperor alone in the snow, abandoned, totally reminded me of Ning Yi from The Rise of Phoenixes. I'm sure there's something to be said about internalized misogyny and manpain in CN novels
Overall, I've watched better shows regardless of whether it's about court politics or doomed romance
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SPOILER FREE : Tragedy is beautiful.....but only upto a limit........
Hi Guyssss, How to END a show ??????? Kill everyone.......no human being, no show.... : )No Hurry cuties, everyone will get a chance to die....come one by one.....
Jokes apart.....What this show lacks has been replinished in "Mr Queen". Don't waste your time, go watch that. I will never ever suggest this drama to anyone in my entire life, coz thats TREASON. My regret is immeasurable, my day is ruined.
This series is very realistic in potraying the hardship of life of people in early medieval age in China, specially misogyny. Its good in a way but its so much FREAKING realistic that it crossed the fine line between drama and the real world(Worse than "Heirs"). Here I thought dramas are meant to make us forget reality for sometime.
Such beautiful characters wasted.
Spolier Alert.....
EP 1-11 : (Rating : 9/10)
The first part of the show was more than fantastic.It gave me butterflies, made me cry, made me rewind so many scenes.
1) The walking in the snow scene was one of the best.
2) The scene where Wang Wook(8th Prince) was forced to betray Hae soo(his lover) is one of the most beautiful tragedy scenes ever written and acted upon. It broke my heart.
3) Wang So's makeup.
4) Wang So drinking poison.
5) Next was the scene where Wang So(4th Prince) covers Hae Soo from Rain.
6) The hanging of the head court lady.
EP 11-20 : (Rating : 0/100000)
Just half way in the series, right after the death of the first king, the moment I thought the series has started going downhill, it really did without an exception.
1) That scene was, when I saw that Hae soo is back in the place shamelessly and has completely resigned from her cheerful and quirky self, and acts like a well behaved, fully controlled, dignified, gentle GRANDMOTHER, always bowing down her head, also to the person she loves. A person from the mordern world would rather die than act this way. I FREAKING HATE these kind of romances. I can understand, huge suffering can make anyone like that. But does it need to be so real even in a TV show....like....SERIOUSLYY!!!
2) Every king(even Wang So) is a blood thirsty, power thirtly, unreasonable moron. Thus they go crazy after sitting on the throne and die. No tears, you deserved that morons. Lol.
3) Everyone kills everyone and then blames it on Hae Soo and Hae Soo be like "Oh yeah......I'm so sorry." There is no saving of a stupid girl who takes every blame on herself.
4) Everyone opposes Hae Soo's marraige but no one opposes Eun's marraige. Idk why Baek Kyung even signed for such a pathetic role.
The writer in the heat of writing forgot that she has to keep at least some people alive in the series for it to run . Still good for her, looks like the show ran just fine.
I'm not saying this show is funny........Medieval ages really had crazy men with no moral compass, women who didn't dare show any self respect, nonsense and horrifying torture methods and literally everything is treason. I'm just saying that its so realistic that I didn't enjoy it . Such beautiful characters wasted. Like what the hell did I just watch. I have been putting off this show for 2 years, guess I did right until yesterday.
Good night. --____--
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Exquisitely painful, wonderfully mature
Look idk what I expected from a story about a modern girl going back in time to charm 8 cute princes but it sure wasn't a brutal Shakespearean tragedy about power corrupting even the truest love.THE PREMISE
A near-death experience during a solar eclipse transports our girl back in time to 10th century Goryeo, where she awakes in the body of Hae Soo, a noblewoman at the royal court. She arrives in the royal bathhouse, which contains seven cute princes and their perfect abs. An eighth, played by Lee Joon Gi, gallops moodily in on his horse. He has swooping emo bangs and a little face mask that makes him look like a cross between Zuko and the Phantom of the Opera. For now this tells you everything you need to know.
These two are about to fall in love across a sweeping backdrop of deadly political intrigue, family trauma and royal corruption - all complicated by Hae Soo's knowledge that although the eight princes of Goryeo may live charmed lives, one of them is destined to slaughter his brothers and seize the throne...
THE PLOT
I often find kdramas a little soft on plot, but this one was a twisty, eventful tale which ultimately acquires a sense of steadily-ratcheting suspense and dread. I was impressed not just by how the emotional spotlight always remained on the main couple, but also by how every character in the large supporting cast had a meaningful part to play before the end. This is a complex story, spanning the better part of a decade, and it's beautifully constructed.
THE CHARACTERS
HAE SOO is our female lead, and while I could wish for a little more context about her 21st century life, to tell us what sort of family she came from and what kind of peace she'll find after her sojourn in Goryeo, her role is one of my favourites in all of kdrama. If Wang So reminds one of AVATAR: THE LAST AIRBENDER'S Zuko, Hae Soo began by reminding me of TILL THE END OF THE MOON's Li Susu. Both transmigrate into the body of a noblewoman centuries in the past and must adapt to a new life; both attempt to stop the bloody rise of a future tyrant by restoring a sense of love and humanity to a traumatised youth; both find themselves falling in love with him. But there the similarities end. Hae Soo isn't a fearless, empowered martial artist; life in Goryeo quickly weakens and threatens to destroy her. In a world of ruthless politics, Hae Soo holds no power at all; she mediates between people who do, and speaks prophetic truth to them, usually to her own cost. While TTEOTM ultimately could find little use for Li Susu in the final act, throughout SCARLET HEART RYEO Hae Soo remains a ray of light illuminating the dark world into which she has been plunged. In the end, despite her different predicament, the character Hae Soo most resembles is Daisy Ridley's Ophelia in the film of the same name. Like Ophelia, Hae Soo is an outsider to politics, partly because her sex and rank disqualify her but mostly because she comes from the future and believes that all people are equal. This sets her at variance with the world of Goryeo. Accustomed to western media, I'm used to seeing a facile take on this sort of story, where the modern heroine is rude to everyone and saves the day. Accustomed to kdrama, a friend of mine predicted the opposite - that the modern woman would be demeaned in the name of historical accuracy. Neither of those things happened in this story. Hae Soo is a tragic Cassandra figure, whose egalitarian values, historical insights and skills as a beauty therapist quickly gain her a reputation for wisdom beyond her years but are not enough to destroy the corrupt systemic injustices of medieval Goryeo. Her arc is a deeply painful one: she starts out full of life, standing up to the royals for their ruthless disdain for those below them and their desire to climb the greasy pole of power at court, but years of trauma take their toll and she becomes quiet, grave, and frail; IU's tiny frame is constantly bowed beneath the terror and grief that beset her character. Where OPHELIA gives its heroine a bittersweet ending, losing the man she loves but managing to find peace and happiness raising their daughter, Hae Soo wakes in the real world to no lover, no daughter, and only painful memories and regrets. My headcanon is that our girl now has a chance to move on and find happiness, knowing that although she was unable to redeem ancient Goryeo she did, after all, influence its king to do a limited amount of good. But I'm not sorry that they chose to end Hae Soo's arc in this way. She's one of my favourite character types, the one who has almost no agency but continually has the courage to wield what she has in the few ways she can. Throughout the series, she continues to do just this, and it's beautiful.
WANG SO is our male lead. Don't let the bangs and the Zuko mask fool you - he's so much more than a tormented bad-boy love interest trope. I got to know this actor through his role in FLOWER OF EVIL, and I'm delighted to note that SHR allows him to display all his considerable acting chops. In SHR Lee Joon Gi doesn't just get to flex his action skills - he also imparts a real desperation, gentleness and vulnerability to So that helps to sell the romance. Then he brings the crazy, the paranoia, and the unhinged grief to the final act. It's the perfect match of actor and role.
One complaint is that So’s facial scarring is a huge issue for him in the first half of the story, but after our girl uses her cosmetics skills to cover them up they disappear almost entirely from the story. For instance, the scars are completely missing in the scene where the two of them become lovers, even though Wang So has been knocked out with a fever and probably hasn't had the chance to apply perfect makeup. It felt as though the show wasn't bold enough to mess up its hero's pretty, pretty face at the romantic climax, and therefore undermined its own point about beauty standards.
Although I often feared the show was going to let Wang So get away with bad behaviour, I was thoroughly impressed that they didn't. Wang So gets a sort of arc that I think is incredibly rare - a disillusionment arc. So is someone who's been treated as lesser all his life: his scars and his mother's resentment make him less politically valuable than his brothers, so he's raised as, fundamentally, the Crown Prince's Evil Henchman. He and Hae Soo connect because she is one of the few people who actually values him as a person, and it's thanks to her giving him the means to conceal his scars that he's able to gain any power at all. He knows, far better than any of the other princes, what it's like to be an underdog in this world and how power corrupts, and he wants nothing to do with it. But then he begins to see power as a way to protect the people he loves. So falls for the lie that he can play the same game as his father and all his brothers, without going down the same path of tyranny, insanity, and blood. The final act is his disillusionment: he learns that he was wrong, and even does some good for Goryeo under the influence of Hae Soo's ideas, but he's lost her forever, together with everything that might once have made him a good person.
WANG WOOK is the second male lead, a gentle and scholarly prince who is the biggest flaming egotist in the whole story, which is saying a lot. I hated him with the fire of a thousand suns, but all the horrible decisions he makes through the middle of the story are actually just foreshadowing for the path Wang So goes down later. Where So is a kicked puppy, Wook has only ever been loved and supported by everyone around him. Yet, when faced with the decision to make a bid for the throne or lose the people he loves, Wook turns coat without blinking. Cunning, cowardly, and selfish, Wook unhesitatingly sacrifices the woman he loves for the throne, all while complaining about what a toll it takes on HIM. This makes it really hard to watch when So ultimately makes all the same decisions, and then begins to speak with the same egotism. In the end, Wook is able to give up his ambitions, stop talking about himself, and actually manipulate So into letting Hae Soo leave the palace to die in peace. This is painfully maddening. Congratulations, So: you outdid the worst man in the entire show.
THE ROMANCE
There was so much about the romance that stole my heart. The way So silently, happily waits for Soo to return his love and initiate their second kiss; the way he chooses to trust her, with the words "I am yours", when she first offers to cover up his scars; their standoff outside her bedroom door when he knows she's hiding his brother Jung inside, and she threatens to kill herself if he intrudes; the way the two of them talk through their misunderstandings afterward and he actually APOLOGISES; the way Soo tries to give him unconditional trust, even as he tears it down…it was SO GOOD.
Which isn’t to say that there weren’t elements that made me groan – a forced kiss, declarations of ownership, that moment where he Breaks Her Heart To Save Her. That said, in hindsight I can see how all these things fit very well into So’s character arc and the larger thematic picture. Take the moment where he Breaks Her Heart To Save her, for instance. Much as I dislike this trope, it was extremely well played. For one thing, it wasn't overplayed the way it usually is, and for another, this is the very first decision Wang So makes after deciding to take the throne. From the moment it happens, this is clearly the first step down the long path in which So will lose more and more of what makes him a decent person and allow the throne to come between himself and Soo.
Ultimately, Soo only wants to escape the tyrant So has become, and she is only able to do so when Wook reveals that Soo had once promised to marry him. This enrages So, who never quite stopped claiming Soo as belonging to him and has only done so more insistently since claiming the throne. It’s this that finally makes him cast her aside in rage. It was never romantic: it was only ever the seed of the relationship’s destruction.
THE THEMES
The show's thesis statement is delivered by Wook and Yeon Hwa's mother, the not-so-evil-(but-still-moderately-rubbish)-queen: to gain the throne, one must throw away love.
A monarchy, see, is fundamentally an unequal system. Even the most liberal, constitutional monarchy today is still fundamentally corrupt. In medieval Goryeo, or in the version of it depicted in the show, things are even worse. The king has conquered multiple kingdoms and enslaved the inhabitants. He strives to keep power by marrying dozens of women from noble families. He fathers large numbers of sons, wielding absolute power over their lives. They murder each other for the chance to succeed him, terrified that if they refuse to play the game they will in turn be murdered by their brothers. Women can gain power only through proximity to the throne and to powerful families. The whole system preys upon those enmeshed within it, and it's almost impossible to leave, because everyone else you know and love is trapped inside it.
There was a point, I think in episodes 12-13, when I got quite angry at the show because I didn't realise how nuanced it was being. I thought the horrible King Taejo was being let off the hook for presiding over this corrupt system while the show blamed all the problems on scheming women. When Taejo dies I was ready to gut the showrunners for giving him a misty-eyed recap of his love for Lady Oh, the court lady he treated like dirt and finally executed as a scapegoat for a crime she didn't commit. I still feel that Taejo was treated more gently than he really deserved. In hindsight, though, maybe that wasn't so much pulling punches as recognising that the system makes victims of everyone, even the ones at the top, even those who genuinely want to change it (which is something I’ve also seen in history). In short, the antagonist of this show isn't so much the kings who benefit from the system as it is the system itself, which is upheld by the entirety of society.
The drama pulls no punches when showing how the systemic injustice of this society poisons absolutely everything. It isn't just the bad female characters: they are sidelined for long periods while the men go on playing the game and upholding the system. This is driven home mercilessly when So decides to play the game, expecting a different result because of his pure motivations. But the game is the game, and if you play it, you have to follow the rules.
The whole show, I was on tenterhooks to see how things would go down. Hae Soo is clearly an Ophelia-esque figure, who consistently desires to opt out of the game altogether and find happiness in a humble life outside it. I've seen murmurs online that some people think she should have showed more ambition, had more agency, and become a queen who could support So, but this overlooks everything the show is telling us thematically about what the game does. Power is a devil's bargain that you take in order to protect what you love, but which takes your love anyway in the end. The only way to win is not to play at all. Soo does not have the power to play the game, but neither does she leave when she gets the opportunity, because she wants to save the people she loves. As a mediator, she refuses to inflict violence on others, instead following in Lady Oh's footsteps and absorbing the violence into herself: she cuts herself to make herself unfit as a wife for the king, she threatens herself to protect Jung from So; she refuses to marry So when he asks her, throwing herself aside so that he doesn't have to. This has no salvific power: ultimately, it kills her.
The princes, meanwhile, especially Yo, So, and Wook, fall one by one to the temptation to play the game because they are fitted by birth and disposition to play it and do it well. When So does decide to play the game, I hoped he would find a way to do it without being corrupted. Having been used ruthlessly himself, he identifies with the underprivileged. (Just as he did with his child niece, and let me say right away that I never dreamed this show would actually make me OK with a grown man marrying his underage niece, but it is very careful to establish that So actually follows through on giving her as much freedom as he can in this context - he immediately sends her off to live without him and she becomes a Buddhist nun). So justifies his ambitions by telling Hae Soo that he believes he can make things better, not just for himself and the people he loves, but for all of Goryeo. Unlike Yo or Wook, he actually has an unselfish motivation: but can he redeem the game?
THE ENDING
The answer is that no, you can't play the game of power and remain a good person. The final quarter is what makes this show so horribly painful. So can take the throne quite easily, but in order to hold onto it he is forced to give up one piece of his humanity after another. Soo loves the person he used to be, which is what keeps her in the palace, a pawn in the game, absorbing its violence and dying by inches, until it's too late for her. Unlike Daisy Ridley's OPHELIA, she doesn't flee soon enough to save her life; perhaps she never could. Perhaps her choice to act as a mediator, to absorb the game's violence, was the dramatic choice that doomed her all the way back in the first act. Certainly, just like in any tragedy, So's dramatic choice occurs at the end of the second act, when he decides to take the throne. That's the thing that seals HIS fate, and the rest of the story is simply the unspooling consequences.
There are many who wished the ending to be different - who hold out for a second season or want to see the deleted scene in which So makes his way from Goryeo to the modern world and finds Soo there. I would actually have been horribly disappointed if that scene had made it in. Once So kills Chae Ryung he and Soo were over for me - I would have been wildly upset if the show had tried to put them together again or soften the consequences in any way. Chae Ryung is the embodiment of Soo's ethics - that even a slave girl is as important as a prince - and by killing her, So ceases to be someone whom Soo can have a relationship with at all.
I was SO IMPRESSED that they didn't try to soften this, that they let it be the tragedy the whole show was set up to be. Of course they do this in a distinctively kdrama way. Soo leaves partly because she wants to be alone with the So she remembers, the So she loves, rather than staying until her love turns entirely into disgust and hatred. She softens enough to call him to her bedside as she is dying, and when she awakes in the modern world, she's left sobbing that she's sorry. I didn't mind this too much, however, because it didn't come across as the show trying to tell me that Soo was wrong to leave. I could imagine someone like Soo feeling regret that she couldn't save the people she loved. What counts for me is that the show itself justifies Soo's actions: So is now so proud and angry that he misses her letters simply because they have Jung’s handwriting on them.
I would call the ending bittersweet rather than a tragedy. So becomes a slightly better king and a better person, not just because Soo loved him, but because she had the moral courage to leave him. I could have done with more hope for Soo, too, but obviously the only way they could think of to make the ending better would actually have made it worse, and so I am content with the way it stands.
MOON LOVERS: SCARLET HEART RYEO is one of the most mature dramas I've ever seen and one I'll be thinking over for a very long time. 10/10, practically perfect.
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Besides that. Plot was very romance heavy. They took out all the despair and angst over the inherent unfairness of the imperial system our female lead suffers through and replaced it with romance angst. Which made the court intrigue bits extremely juvenile and hard to take seriously. The cheap costumes certainly didn't help with its seriousness.
The one shining spot in this effortful trashfire was the acting. Everyone brought their A game. Especially Lee Joon-Gi. He honestly should've won something. All the idol actors performed way above my expectations, and I was surprised how solid they all were. Which, inevitably, lent the whole production a quality of "they put a lot of effort into it, they tried really hard, but they veered off onto the wrong road in the first place and now there's no way to get them back." Also, all the male actors need to have better posture. You can't have any princely royal gravita if you're slouching all the time.
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For sensitive people like me, prepare tissue box hahaha ;)
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The story was decent. However it felt like the writers didn’t want to commit to a more political drama so they made the character’s motivations more personal. This ended up limiting the drama as those motivations were not always convincing. The script felt very rushed towards the end in contrast to the fullness of the character exploration in earlier episodes. It was also repetitive at times, rather than exploring new territory with the characters the same events ended up happening each time. The major issue with this drama is that while some characters progressed immensely, others remained two dimensional.
The cast was a mixed bag. Lee Joon Gi as Wang So was phenomenal. He did an amazing job portraying the emotion of his character and was persuasive. Unfortunately towards the end he was let down by the script that didn’t leave him enough room to show the change in Wang So’s motivations. IU was not convincing as Hae Soo. It felt like she could have been replaced by any other pretty face and the drama would have been fine if not better. Part of this is that Hae Soo was written as a character who has things done to her, as opposed to being a character that makes decisions for herself. This could have been made up for by a skilled actress who could have shown the depth of feelings outside the spoken dialog, instead however the viewer was given a blank slate. The rest of the cast was great but the script only allowed them to be two dimensional (e.g. angry ambitious character, bungling character who has all the power and connections, funny cute character forever changed by tragedy, and so on).
The music was on point but nothing remarkable.
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Most of the adaptation I have watched, oftenly are a let down to me. But this is an exception,and I would say this has been one of the the best adaptation if not the BEST adaptation of any drama that I have watched. I am a big fan of the original chinese version. I have scored the cdrama a perfect 10 and I will do the same with this korean version.
The story for me is perfect given that it has resemblance with history. The plot is engaging together with the characters. The writing has flaws but they are covered by great cinematography, costumes and acting. The setting is visually stunning! The pacing is just right given that it is historical in nature. I enjoyed watching how the plot are interspersed with each episodes. I think 20 episodes is enough to create a beautiful story of love, friendship and family ties!
Characterization is well written including the progression of the loveline! But what amazing in this drama are the actors, all of them acted brilliantly. I am surprised that IU has improved a lot especially towards the end of the drama. Two thumbs up to her and to all the prince (s).
Music is excellently chosen, they all stir the emotions and give more gravity to a scene.
Yes I am gonna rewatch but only for those light and feel good scenes and not those that rendered me heart-broken.
This is highly recommended drama, many layered of emotions, lots of twisted plots, great acting and grand visuals!
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I thought the best part of this drama was Lee Joon Gi and his portrayal of Wang So. Wang So is my ideal drama lead. He's incredibly sad, has a laundry list of deep personal issues, and underneath it all a heart of gold. He is desperately lonely throughout the majority of the show and any time he seems to clutch happiness it's ripped away from him. I love anything sad so this is perfect for me. Lee Joon Gi captured my heart in this drama. I cried even when he smiled. I cried for three straight days and still cry when I listen to Will Be Back. I watched this drama over a year ago and yet I still think about it constantly. Most of those thoughts revolve around Wang So; that is truly how compelling I found him. Watching the character development So goes through was amazing. He is almost unrecognizable in the 16th episode compared to the 1st. The adorable moments with IU's Hae Soo brought the character fully to life. I truly believed in their love by the drama's conclusion. They made me want that love for myself.
On the note of Hae Soo her character is also worth discussing. I am a huge IU fan. I say that outright because my analysis of her acting will undoubtedly be influenced by my opinions of her as a singer. I personally thought Hae Soo was adorable. Her interactions with all the princes was very sweet and she had a very kind disposition. That being said I know IU is not the world's best actress. Hae Soo as a character was also very stagnant and had the misfortune of being the 'positive thinking female in the face of adversity' trope come to life; literally nothing that happened could break her spirit and it eventually came off as rather ridiculous. She was also unfortunately caught in a reverse harem that I wanted no part of. I chose to ignore this and focus on the main romance but I can see this being a major annoyance for some. Overall I felt she served her function well and highlighted So, the princes, and the plot perfectly.
Overall I loved this drama for the little moments. The brotherly interactions with the princes, the private scenes of love, the small gestures of kindness and warmth between all of the characters. The plot as a whole was nothing spectacular and the ending leaves a sour unfinished taste in one's mouth. Even with all of that I loved this show. The princes were funny, cute, melancholy, sweet, loving, caring, devious, and everything in between and Hae Soo (mostly) lived my dream. If you're looking for a fun light hearted drama that is 30% sad, 20% funny, 20% heart warming, and 30% meme this is the right one for you.
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Truly Disappointed WITH THIS MESSY DRAMA
I generally don't write review, I couldn't stop my anger when I watched this drama for its ratings.I have watched over 100 dramas, never seen such a bad emperor, he clearly knew the situation in the palace, he will not order for investigation at all.
This drama shows what happens to royal
family when a mindless person sits on throne. Atleast the king should select good ruler from his sons, he is always obsessed with crowe prince who is not worthy of ruling at all.
Everyone knew who is the betrayer yet they just go with the flow and suffer from crisis...bad story..I am very disappointed to watch it believing the reviews.
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First, I have very mixed feeling about the lead. I actually liked her in the beginning, but slowly she started to annoy me, and then her character stopped making sense at all. IU was great when if came to flirting with and challenging all the Princes, but once the role became more serious, her acting seemed more and more lacking. Then add to that the fact that the character's actions made no sense, and I could no longer stand her, or her visions. She was a very frustrating character to try to root for.
To me, the real stars are two of the Princes, Prince Hottie (#8) Kang Ha Neul, and Prince Bad@ss (#4) Lee Joon Gi. They are the ones who kept me watching. They were definitely the most complicated of all the characters, and they both had great chemistry with IU in the beginning. Unfortunately, as the story progressed they both went from being complicated characters I could empathize with, to characters that were very hard to defend or like. I know in some ways that this is a tragedy, but leaving me with only characters I don't like left to root for makes it hard to want to keep watching.
There were also some good villain characters, which I can appreciate. One of the worst mom's in the history of dramas, the worst sister, the worst father, and of course the worst brother (or two, or three...), but once almost everyone left seemed to be evil, the villains were a lot less fun to hate. I just started to dislike everyone instead.
That brings me to the story. There were so many characters, and some really great dramatic stories to follow, with a great supporting cast to make it all work. The problem is that after building up each story, where it eventually all lead to was very disappointing. The way characters suddenly completely switched personalities made no sense. The main romances started to feel forced and fake. The tragedy aspect of the story started to get extreme, almost like they threw every terrible thing they could think of in... with even the cute romantic scenes starting to seem rapey. Still I was more frustrated than sad, and also totally confused. The conclusion, and why she was there in the first place seemed thrown together, and I felt cheated. Many of the supporting characters had better plots, and stronger performances, than the lead. It almost seems like a waste of a great ensemble cast.
One good thing was that the soundtrack was good, with a few songs being worthy of my KDrama OST playlist.
Would I watch this again? Probably not, but part of me still remembers what I loved in the beginning, which may be worth revisiting. However, 20 episodes did feel way too long once the story started to fall apart. If I could go back in time I would probably tell myself to watch it again, but with lower expectations, and maybe skipping through most of the last few episodes.
Overall, this is a hard one to recommend unless you are a true sageuk fan, or a fangirl for any of the Princes. Part of me is curious to see what the Chinese version is like, but I doubt I will ever watch it. This was my first time watching 2 on air sageuks, and If I had to choose the best one with "moon" in the title, this one wouldn't be it.
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