This is one of the rare times that I will actually say that the drama NEEDED to be longer. AND that I totally believe the writers could have pulled it off. However, how could they have with this being pre-shot? They took a gamble with 20. That's the drawback of doing that, it did make the storyline and pacing pretty awesome. A show with no filler is all my heart truly yearns for. Sadly in Korea from what I Googled later episodes never took off, so I'm sure the people backing it are happy they only did 20 episodes. Which saddens me as it looks else where it had “favorable response”. What's up Korea? (I will not get on my soap box. I will not. ^_-) Apparently one of the bigger reasons for the lack of interest and ratings was due to the actors. Actually, I really only heard grumbling about IU and Byun Baek Hyun. Byun Baek Hyun plays the cheerful and child like 10th Prince. IU the lead female Soo Hae. For me I thought they did a great job, in fact the whole cast was stellar. There wasn't a single performance that didn't move me in some way. I will address IU. This is not my first time watching her. Nope it's my second. I first watched her in Dream High and I enjoyed her. Clearly it was her first gig, but I enjoyed her and have always meant to see her in some of her other roles. Even in Dream High I knew she would make a great leading lady. The vast difference from her first acting gig to Moon Lovers was awesome. I think IU is a fantastic actress and she had wonderful chemistry with the entire cast. Most importantly all of the Princes. I believed the ones who fell in love with her, how could they resist? It's hard to emphasis how amazing the actors are. I will make some highlights. Ji Soo as Wang Jeong (14th Prince) was awesome and I loved him with Baek Hyun, they were such a wonderful duo. I do feel like poor Ji Soo's character got back seated again. Kang Ha Neul as Wook (8th Prince) was really good. I'm a fan. Kang Han Na as the 8th Prince's sister did such an amazing job! She may have been more villain, but I did find myself cheering her on. Even if it meant beloved characters got hurt. However, my new actor obsession has been born. Lee Joon Gi. He was A-mazing to watch. His character was so complex that I was blown away by how Lee Joon Gi pulled it all off. The story at times was predictable, but many times it surprised me! Which I loved. As I mentioned I felt like it could have been longer. Due to how much AWESOME things are in here I felt like certain aspects were overlooked or not developed enough. The one powerful thing about Moon Lovers is that the character development is off the charts! Whether they're "villains" or the good guys. In fact, a lot of times the good guys became villainous. You could understand where everyone was coming from. There are A LOT of time jumps! Besides the jump to the past!! Ha-ha. Those 20 episodes cover a huge span of time. There are no rooms for fillers. The writers knew the story they had to cover and tried the best they could to convey where everyone was at the times. I was impressed. Sometimes it was hard to tell how much time was actually passing for the non-time-jumps. So that felt a bit off. There were some annoying tropes used. The first kiss of a certain love pair actually left me feeling hollow and disappointed at first. Yet every time the writers saved it. Some of the characters are so complex and while even in a trope you understood why that particular character would do it. So it eased the blow. What I loved most is that while the era is romantic and lovely, it's brutal. For a K-drama I thought that the reality and harshness of the time period was done well. Characters die and are even tortured/maimed. I was a little disappointed by when the Princes finally started dying, but only because the show was short did it feel late. In truth I was happy for the time I had with my princes. (No I won't say who goes first or anything. Avoid all spoilers I tell you!) The romances are so complex and wonderful. I love that Soo Hae doesn't just have one romance. Life is messy and the heart can (and will) fall in love and grow many times. I also love how the writers emphasis all the kinds of different loves there are. Betrayal, choosing who to trust, bravery, courage, kindness, and so on. I love it when things are complex. The music was a bit odd at first. Like this electronic feel to it mixed with classical Korean. After a while I was quite fond of it and it fit the series well. The OSTs with vocals were wonderful as well and I loved whenever they were utilized. Will I rewatch it? Um, yeah. In fact, I started rewatching episodes as they aired. More than once. This is one of those Dramas you will know right away whether you're in or out! Honestly I don't think I can explain enough or write enough about how awesome it all was for me. Character depth and growth, great interactions, writing that most of the time blew me away, even if some tropes were used they were well used, and the princes weren't just man candy. The female characters are amazing and so well developed. Tragically awesome romances and just a heads up: the last episode will probably destroy you. You will cry! So don't late night binge that because you may not function for the next day. Give it time to soak in. Though I would suggest watching this when you have time to binge most of it! Because once Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo grabs hold of you it won't let go. Enjoy the addiction. (Now I'm super curious about the original drama! Oh, and FYI I actually really liked how it ended.)