This review may contain spoilers
MLSHR is among a small number of k-dramas that have left a deep impression on me, yet it's also a drama I'd hesitate to recommend to people at large. There are a couple of reasons:(1) The extent to which you'll enjoy this drama depends on whether you value IDEAS or EXECUTION. If you're the second kind of viewer, this show may drive you mad. The general consensus is that Scarlet Heart: Ryeo had a great story that was screwed up by messy editing/directing/pacing etc. and not enough space to tell it (20 episodes compared to the original 35-ep C-drama). I'm very sympathetic to this assessment.
However, I'm also the kind of viewer who will forgive a lot of flubbed execution for a really good idea, which this drama has in spades.
Scarlet Heart Ryeo is above all an *ambitious* drama, probably excessively so. The upshot is that it has possibly the most uneven execution and post-production editing ever committed... but at the same time some of the most complex and compelling character arcs I've come across in kdrama. It's not for nothing that the show has drawn such an unusual amount of discussion and fannish activity, especially internationally. (MLSHR was poorly received in Korea, but it is/was a certified international sensation, the first ever kdrama to make Tumblr trends, etc.)
(2) My other "disclaimer" for MLSHR is that it has a deeply cynical and subversive approach to romance. If you're looking for a fairytale where love conquers all, this is not the show for you. If you're looking for a classic tale of star-crossed lovers foiled by evil external forces... this is still not the show for you.
If, on the other hand, you're the sort to appreciate tragic missed opportunities of love driven by bad timing and fatal ***character flaws***, then Scarlet Heart: Ryeo is the Greek tragedy of your dreams (and/or nightmares). In a market saturated with wannabe Pride & Prejudices, Scarlet Heart Ryeo is out here being a totally unapologetic Wuthering Heights, which is pretty gutsy for a YA reverse-harem premise. (To be fair, they were working off of the Chinese novel, but they *could* have made it more public-friendly.)
Here's the bottom line: This drama is an acquired taste. If you're not a fan of tragedy or bloodbaths, if you need your female characters to be ~empowered~ and save the day, if you prefer people in love to be functional and communicate well — look elsewhere.
However, if you enjoy nonstop political scheming and backstabbing, majority-villain ensembles (including both male leads, arguably), and romantic narratives that reject relationship = identity myths, Scarlet Heart Ryeo is probably up your dark and twisted alley.
Was this review helpful to you?
So yes, saying that I was excited for Moon Lovers was putting it very mildly. I was exhilarated. Ecstatic. A lot more words with an E. And they made us wait even longer by making it a pre-produced drama and waiting a whole year before it actually came out.
But the best part? It didn't disappoint one bit. I mean, after such high expectations, it is only natural to feel a little let-down just because of all the hype you've been experiencing. But Moon Lovers actually ended up surpassing all my expectations. The drama was perfect from the beginning till the end.
Coming to the plot, it was extremely well-paced. I mean, for dramas it is rare to find such consistently well-paced dramas. Sometimes the beginning is not that good and sometimes the plot dies down after ep 12-16. But here, you never feel like there is too much or too little. It is really hard to skip anything. You just don't want to. Another important fact is that because an older version is already out there, viewers are prepared for a possibly sad/tragic ending. Even if you come without knowing anything about the parent story, the vibe of the show itself whispers the possibility of an un-fairytale-like outcome. There is an intense and gloomy feeling in the show.
The characters are the strength of the drama. I mean, can we talk about the fourth Prince? He is going down in history as one of my favorite characters ever. Firstly, he is so sexy. I mean, you simply can't get enough of him. I have never really been into Lee Jun Ki before but after this, I plan to check out all his dramas. I have seen a couple of his shows but I never realized he was THIS good. The character of Wang So is so complex and so hard to deliver. And yet, Lee Jun Ki plays him so effortlessly, becoming one with the character. What is even more surprising is that he is such a cutie in real life (lol). I really don't know anyone more perfect for this role. I mean, Kang Ha Neul's character turned to the dark side too but it was nothing compared to Wang So. Wang So was simply..addictive!
Coming for Hae Soo. IU faced a lot of flack for her poor acting skills but I felt she was good in her role. I mean, she wasn't as good as Jun Ki or Ha Neul but she did really well. You could feel her transformation from a 21st century person to Goryeo lady to a woman with a lot of scarring experiences. In her previous works she has only done cutesy roles. I really enjoyed her work in this, she showed her versatility as a serious actor. The 13th Prince. He was gentle and kind and the most perfect friend. I loved his chemistry with Woo Hee. It was surprisingly great!
Wang Eun was a big baby but he was a sweetheart too. I wouldn't say Baek Hyun is a good actor but he was given an easy role and it was handled well. Ji Soo was a delight to watch! So far I have loved him in all his roles (I think I have watched everything he has starred in). The rest of the cast was really good too. My favorite among supporting characters was General Park. His acting was so on-point even though he only starred for a few episodes. I liked his daughter too. Ji Mong was a delight to watch. And court lady Oh Sang Goong, I loved her! I can really go on and on about the characters - the good ones and the bad ones, all did well. The acting was so good here, I just couldn't get enough of it. I cried with them and laughed with them.
The music. OH MAN, the music. I love each and every song. This hasn't happened to me since Dream High (I think). I really can't pick a song that I like more than the other.
I am definitely DEFINITELY rewatching this. I know for sure.
The biggest tragedy that comes out of this drama is that the Korean audience could not fully appreciate the perfection that this drama was. The ratings were so low there. Thankfully, it did well everywhere else and made up for it.
Was this review helpful to you?
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
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
Messy & Inconsistent Script At Its Finest
Can you see how cool is the entrance of drama? Will the drama stay cool and maintain its quality? Boy what a roller-coaster ride the drama gave its viewers – it will certainly stay with me for a very long time without a doubt.Unfortunately, the only thing the drama did right is that they made Wang So a sage and a wise king. Other than that (aside from Lee Jun Ki & Kang Ha Neul’s amazing acting), I have nothing good to say about this drama. Sadly to say, this is one of the worst Kdramas I have ever seen (this probably because I usually drop bad dramas but I didnt for this one obviously since I dont love myself lol). This drama has one of the worst writing, directing and editing I have ever seen from a Kdrama. And for me this is a big indication of how awful is the drama since I dont really notice all those before (except bad scripts in general) but I truly feel it with every fiber of my being with this one.
Script: The script is the worst offender of this production. I seriously confuse why this writer got hired since her writing is very inconsistent and terrible. It is full of plot holes, unexplained happenings, dragged and rush script, poor characters’ developments and most of all, full of ridiculous and illogical plots. It seemed like her characters didnt seemed to function like a normal human beings would. I need the drama to make sense but I find myself wondering most of the times of why this and that happened. I need a legit and reasonable reasons for something to happen. Not just something you pluck from the sky thinking that you can fool the audiences. We have brains Ms. Writer, you cant expect us to buy your ridiculous plots again and again.
Directing: People said good thing about the director and his previous works but the direction quality of this production is pretty awful in general. The close-ups, soap opera zoom style and no direction input to new actors (according to Seohyun) made the directing suffers greatly esp for sageuk dramas which are known for quality production. I expect a creative directing or pretty shot from the director but instead I got the opposite of what I’m hoping for.
Editing: Hands down the worst editing I have come across from a Kdrama (and I have seen really a looooot over the years). The choppiness and shoddiness of it is out of this world. They dragged the storyline in the beginning and squeeze everything in the last 5 episodes. The fact that we have like 2 time-skips in a matter of 2 episodes are just laughable. And the fact that some of the plots didnt make sense due to the editing makes it really jarring and dreadful. I dont expect this from a pre-produced drama obviously.
Acting: Like I mentioned above, Lee Jun Ki is soo amazing as Wang So. His eyes conveyed lots of emotions and it just break your heart when you watch this drama as his character is very tragic and unloved. Kang Ha Neul is amazing as well. His characters is so underdeveloped and later forgotten by the time we reached the end (he has like 3 minutes screen time in the later episodes lol – what are you doing Ms. Writer?). The actress who play Lady Oh was great and IU improved a lot as the drama progressed. The rest of the actors are pretty much forgettable esp Seohyun as Woohee.
Soundtracks: Got to admit that the drama has one of the best OSTs for this year. But unfortunately, most of the songs are not suitable for a period drama. Why put a rap as part of the OSTs? And English words in the songs are so jarring when it was played as the background music. For goodness sake this is a sageuk and not a modern day drama. To have ‘baby baby boy’ playing at the background really killing you softly inside. :P
Money: This is a million dollar pre-produced drama but I really cant see where all the money went to. Goryeo and the Palace looks empty most of the times. Where are the servants, guards, armies, noble men, and the citizen? Why the attempted coup looks fake and underwhelming? Why the wigs look so fake? Why we can see the net for the mustache? Why the sets look cheap? Why the Palace only limited to the grand hall, court room, king’s bedroom and the hallway?!! Where did all the money went to?
I’m glad I didnt really care for any of the character so this drama didnt scar me like The Slave Hunter and Warrior Baek Dong Soo did. The writing got pretty bad at the end that I dont have emotional attachment to any of the characters anymore. One thing for sure, I will stay away from the writer’s future work – I ain’t gonna put myself in the same situation ever again.
By the end, I just want to see how this mess will conclude and boy it didn’t disappoint – I spent my time rolling my eyes watching the last 2 episodes (no tears since I was so mad with the ridiculous plots). :P Like I mentioned above, the only thing the drama did right is that they made Wang So a wise king. But thinking back, they should make him go all evil and greedy so the reasons behind everyone leaving him (even Ji Mong) will make more sense. I dont mind a tragic ending but I need it to make sense. I give this drama 4/10. I try to rate it higher but this flawed, and awfully illogical executed drama didnt deserve anything more than a 4.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Major roll-eye (◔_◔) to the writer for her insistence of making Wang So the most tragic character ever – with very illogical reasons for everyone to leave him at the end of the drama. >.>
Wang So is a flawed character without a doubt – his obsessiveness or him killing the monks and horse but somehow Wang So’s fate is just very tragic from the moment he was born right until the end where he is left alone and lonely.
It is more tragic then any other Kdramas’ characters because it is his own family who dislike or abandoned him. Its not his friends or people that he has no blood relation but his own family members.
1) He lacked of love since he was a little kid. His own mother hurt him and left that big scars on his face and later throw him away.
2) His dad use him as a captive and send him away to other tribe to console some lady who lost her son (What a terrible childhood!). And he is not loved by the lady or his adopted family (Surprise surprise ◔_◔).
3) The tribe lock, starve and sent him to the wolves that he ended up having to burn his only friend that is Mr. Tree since it was so cold during the winter (or is it because of the wolves?).
4) His Crown Prince brother, Moo ask him to replace him during the masked dance since he think someone is going to assassinate him. So its okay for So to die on his place? Both of them learn martial arts so its weird for Moo to ask him that request (But of course, So’s life is not that important I guess?).
5) His father’s reaction after the mask was removed – not worry about him being injured but quickly call for Moo and his safety.
6) He killed all the monks (what a fool lol!) for his evil mother but she still disowned and disgusted with his existence (stop Ms. Writer, stawp!!!).
7) All his brothers except Baek Ah didnt treat him right. Moo used him for the dance/marriage and Eun is too dumb(?) to care about his feeling when he ask So to show his scars. The rest just plain hate him without any legit reasons.
8) His mother call him for family dinner only to ask him to kill Moo. Attempt to use him to do her dirty work instead of accepting him as her son after he proved his worth for her attention.
9) The woman that he love; Soo didnt trust him enough that he ended up having to kill Eun with his own hands. By the time Soo decided to stop thinking about the future and be honest with him, it was too late.
10) His loved ones; Beak Ah & Soo are used again & again that forced him to do things that he hate to save them from harm.
11) He never wanted to be a King but later changed his mind since he is tired of bloodshed and everyone using him when they are on the throne (His father –> Fight Kitan, Moo –> Marriage with his niece, Yo –> Using Soo to threat him). He wanted to stop the killing cycle and Yo’s ruthless reign (Or so he thought ◔_◔).
12) He didnt want to marry evil princess Yeonhwa but the love of his life Soo said ‘its okay’ to straighten his position as the King and assured him that she wont give up and she is okay with the arrangement. (Which she didnt since no one will be okay with that kind of arrangement tbh).
13) His happy times with Soo are so brief that she left him and stay with Jung because she is pregnant. She is not honest with him and trust him enough that he will protect her and the baby. She probably think So will treat her like his father did to Lady Oh.
14) In the end, despite writing all those letters how she love and yearn for him, she still doesn’t trust him enough to tell him about their daughter. She probably think he would not respect her request about wanting the girl to stay out of the Palace. (Of course she couldn’t tell him via the letters, but still! ಠﭛಠ)
15) Everyone leave him for such ridiculous reasons; Baek Ah (??) and Ji Mong for he only loyal to the weak King Moo? Really? Why are you feeding us this crap Ms. Writer??!!1 And why I’m still watching? lol
16) Have to live the rest of his lives alone and lonely with someone that he hate. Cant love his son as it is a product of an evil Queen Yeonhwa...
Was this review helpful to you?
Missing a lot of beats along the way
A modern woman fell into a river and wakes up in the Joseon period inhabiting another woman's body, Hae Soo. She gets involved with five princes whom she becomes friends to lovers, whilst enduring all sorts of palace political stuff. This is her story of being a very naive woman with modern sensibilities struggling to survive in palace life.The show is really beautiful and the music is really good, it's very emotional and elevates this show as a whole. The first 11 episodes are the best in my opinion. I like how believable all the character's motivations are, even the villains you understand why they're doing what they're doing. Afterward, there are a couple of time jumps and characters change, relationship dynamics change quite a bit, and it feels very detached from the first 11 episodes. Everything just kind of gets murky and lost its' focus. I don't think the time jump is suitable in this show because the first 10 episodes built my interest to see these characters' journeys in progress. I lost a lot of interest in the show and just stuck it out because of all of the goodwill for the characters. I needed to watch the to the end but the ending just wasn't satisfying. I was just unsatisfied with the conclusion of the relationship. I like their dynamic in the beginning much more and then it sort of changes like it just kind of happened. I didn't see her go from one love to the other, I didn't appreciate it. I feel like they're wasting such a great foundation they have built in the first 11 episodes.
(Spoilers ahead, rants ahead... XD)
I feel that the show as a whole is kind of missing the point as I don't feel like there was a reason for our female lead to go through all this hardship. She goes through so many sufferings and it just at the end there is no point in it all, especially if she wasn't gonna end up with her true love interest. Yes, she learned about ambition and the consequences of power but that is more relevant for the 4th prince. So it's just like I can't pinpoint exactly how the female leads character arc was. The show changed a lot and I am sad that it didn't leave a good impression on me at the end.
To not end up on a negative note, some of my favorite moments from the show. These are actually the little moments... so the first one is when Hae Soo makes the decision not to tell the 8th Prince when the king has died and she actually tells the 4th Prince I really enjoyed that part because she has some agency for herself in making that decision. I thought about the moment between her and the 4th Prince when she looks at him and she's like yes I'm gonna tell him the truth and like he recognizes the significance of her telling him the truth, I loved that entire scene!
OK, another moment is when she cuts herself to give herself a scar so she can't be married off to the 1st King. Oh! like the sound of the vase breaking and then she got a cut. That whole moment I thought it was really well done, it was so juicy. There's a lot of agency there that I really appreciated because she found a solution to her problem even though it wasn't the greatest solution but solved the problem.
Was this review helpful to you?
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.
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
Absolutely an Embarrassing Ending!
How could you end up destroying this show?I love IU, I love Lee joon gi, they were great together, I was totally over the moon watching Hae soo and So together, The OSTs are masterpieces, but seriously, they messed up last two episodes. everything happend too fast and completely unreasonable. There were simply no excuses or answers for what soo was doing. She looked like a whiny little girl who couldn't understand logic. The way she left the palace was hilarious. She said She won't leave So and then in less than an Episode, she was begging to leave and Absolutely with no reasonable excuse. They didn't even give us a final Conversation and Farewell between our loving birds! Did anyone finally understand why Jung kept changing the covers of the letters???!
Absolutely Embarrassing Ending!
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
Oh God, this show was such a mess.To start off with a nicer note, I'll talk about the drama's one and only saving grace: Lee Jun Ki. I am going to be honest, this was my first time watching him, and I was simply impressed. Not only is he a beautiful, beautiful man; he can also act like nobody's business. I also believe that even though he wasn't given much to work with, he tried his level best. And it showed, for the 4th Prince was the only character who I felt somewhat connected to. For me, this was a total case of liking the actor better than the character.
Next, I'd like to come at the people who gave so much flak to IU for her acting. Like, why y'all tripping? I mean her role wasn't even that hard, neither was it anything special. It was the same old 'bumbling, fumbling, self-righteous Mother Theresa level goodness' shebang that we've seen a billion times before. Every other actress in every other drama is doing it. It doesn't even require that much effort and for what it's worth I think IU handled it quite gracefully. People simply want to jump on the bandwagon of the 'singers can't act' stereotype and bash her, while ignoring the other much bigger problems with the show.
Speaking of problems, to be frank, this has to be one of the worst written shows I have ever watched. It's like the author had this vague idea of how to begin and how to end and so she bullshitted through the road in-between.
There is no character development whatsoever and convenient plot-lines are used time and time again to further the plot.
Want to give our hero the run-of-the-mill tragic pariah look?
No problem! Let's riddle him with some mommy issues and a scar to match.
Want to show our heroine change the hero's life by covering up that scar? Alrighty, let's make our heroine a cosmetician!
Want to show that everybody loves our heroine?
Let's make a harem of princes, throw some half hearted moments between them and take a leap; suggesting that they are suddenly so close that they would die for her!
The story is lacking villains?
Ugh, why not just bring back one that we already killed and got rid of before? We will just deem it a miracle of sorts and call it a day. Haha.
Uh oh, did our cranial light bulbs just fuse and we don't know how to prolong the show to 20 fucking episodes?
Nevermind. We always have good old flashbacks to help us through.
God, what a clusterfuck.
Everything was rushed and carelessly executed. They killed people just for emotional appeal. The relationships between characters wasn't fully explored. I mean, do you really expect my peepers to gush a waterfall if you scarcely show me a character; just enough so that he'll be in mind but not enough so that I would actually come to care for him, then in one random episode you show nothing but him and quickly kill him in the next to tug at my heartstrings? Nah boo.
Scarlet Heart was the definition of an ostentatious production. There was loud music flaring up out of nowhere to make scenes more dramatic, over-acting done by a lot of actors and numerous in your face close-up scenes. All these antics did well to suck up authenticity from the show and what you were left with in the end was superficial characters that are only pretty to look at.
Even the 4th Prince had major inconsistencies throughout. Many times, he seemed like a dumbed down version of Bidam from Queen Seon Duk. Thank goodness for LJK and his roguish charm, that he somehow managed to carry the show on his shoulders but ofcourse, one poor soul can do only so much.
The OST while itself brilliant, was also highly inappropriate for the time setting of the show. Do you really want me to swallow that a court lady in 18th, 19th century Goreo would be nodding her head and singing 'My Baby baby boy' in her moving carriage? Sorry, but I'm choking.
The story flows in fits and starts and the poorly executed time jumps don't necessarily help the case. Some aspects of the storyline had so much potential but the writers failed to tap into it. You could say that some scenes were well executed individually but they fell short at fitting together as a bigger picture.
It was crazy how sometimes, so much attention would be given to a supporting role and the main one's would be ignored. Or how important scenes would be inexplicably rushed while things that would be completely random would take up so much screen-time. The jumbled motivations and the fickle thought processes of all the characters reflected the confused mind of the writer.
When a show tries to elaborately sell me the fact that characters can fall from cliffs, get poisoned and stabbed in the heart and still survive, you know what, with some grievances intact I might actually buy it. But when the same show also tries to tell me that someone who got their knee banged up a bit years ago might, out of nowhere, lose the ability to walk or that heart-ache can cause people to have chronic heart diseases, I'm sorry but I'd just have to call the bullshit out.
Even though it was labeled as a period drama, it seemed like a parody of the genre. There were no intelligent palace politics or court intrigue. No cultural focus or attention to detail. All the antagonists were hare-brained idiots and the biggest enemy the good guys had to face was their own stupidity. Needless to say, they lost to it.
I don't consider myself a particularly hard person to move. Often little things touch me deeply and bring tears to my eyes but in this show- all these character deaths and tragedies- all I felt was a vague sense of detachment.
I am not gonna lie, the love story sure was cute. No matter how over-rated they get 'good girl-bad boy' romances will always have allure. And since the romance was all the drama had going for it, I'll give acknowledgment where it's due. There were scenes that made me smile and swoon but they weren't nearly enough to overcome all the weaknesses of the show.
Normally, I would give a show like this a much poorer rating but it's solely because of my love for LJK that I brought it up a notch. Also, I have to say that despite all its flaws, it did make me watch to the end. So all in all, you should enjoy Moon Lovers like you would enjoy a toddler's company: by being indulgent and not taking it too seriously.
P.S: Go easy on the 'This ain't helpful' button. I know this drama is a crowd favorite but I gotta tell as I feel it is. :)))
Was this review helpful to you?
Very disappointed
This kdrama has been on my list for a long time because it wasn't available for US watchers. From what I remember, SO many claimed this was an all time favorite of theirs... and I don't get it. :/The first half of the drama I actually enjoyed. It's when the FL has a "vision" though, that all characters just don't make sense. It got to the point that when characters started dying I just didn't care (BESIDES MS OH, I bawled). I knew the FL wasn't going to be with her cousin's husband but the masked prince - BUT the transition from her first love to the masked prince was trash. At that point I started questioning who I was rooting for. The masked prince became aggressive suddenly and forced a kiss and I am NOT here for it. The rest of the cast too just seemed to switch all traits and desires out for something completely out of character... :(
Needless to say, I finished it all the way through and it never got better, just worse.
I think giving it the amount of stars I gave it is more than it deserved 🤷♀️
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
A Story with Great Potential… That Completely Falls Apart
With such actors and an intense historical setting, this drama had everything it needed to become a truly powerful story.The core idea is fascinating — a brutal conflict between royal brothers fighting for the throne. Then, we have a modern woman who travels back in time after being betrayed by her boyfriend… only to repeat the exact same mistakes. Instead of learning or evolving, she falls for another man who is already had a wife just because he was nice to her. Meanwhile, the man who truly loves her — Wang So — changes for her, gives her his heart, and proves he is worth far more than the one she chooses first.
Her actions only make everything worse. She interferes so much with the flow of history that countless people die because of her presence. And when she finally realizes who she truly loves, she runs away from him instead of trusting him until the end. She dies far from him, leaving him alone, broken and miserable.
They even have a daughter that Wang So barely knows exists. He suspects the truth but is never given a real chance to confirm it.
In the end, the story feels incredibly unfair to the main male character. He promised he would find her again, but he ends up living a life full of pain after her death.
There is no satisfying explanation, no emotional closure, and definitely no happy ending. The narrative becomes confusing and disconnected, leaving many unanswered questions. Instead of feeling moved, I felt no real connection to the drama at all.
Was this review helpful to you?
Overrated
I swear this drama is very overrated. It is true that IU and Lee Joon Gi have very very nice chemistry and I honestly love watching them on screen but the story has too much illogical stuffs. Also the FL has this so-called charm that almost all males fall for her. Ugh. I hate this logic.Anyways if one is after the romance and the handsome cast, go watch it.
If youre after the story, I suggest cdramas. Theyve got more complicated plots that will make you anticipate the story. Also those cool costumes haha.
Was this review helpful to you?
I would like to reiterate that this Korean version was not written by the original Bu Bu Jing Xing writer. This is entirely a Korean written drama. The biggest difference are the characters. The main male lead in this drama is a bit of a ruffian and pariah with tendencies towards brutality. The female lead of this drama is a weak character who is always the victim and never a success of her own (which is so unlike the female lead in BBJX!). Maybe the idea of a strong, arrogant, cold male with tendencies towards brutality and a weak, simpering, without backbone and a blur-bordering-on-being-stupid heroine appeals to the Korean audience as per the rich, arrogant, powerful, abusive chaebol guy and the poor, happy, innocent woman formula. In any case, the lack of strong lead characters (including that of the second male lead) totally spoiled this drama for me.
The charm and success of BBJX relied heavily on its unforgettable characters. The storyline of time-traveling and involvement in palace politics itself is not new and pretty 'standard' in the Chinese drama scene. Popular examples include Palace: Lock Heart, The Myth and the recent web-drama comedic hit Go Princess Go. The Chinese have been making such time-traveling dramas for decades now. What made BBJX achieved such a big success was mainly because of its unforgettable characters and not necessarily the storyline itself. The Koreans went and adapt the main idea of the story and the open ended ending but pretty much made a mess of all of its characters.
Do not get me wrong here. I am not comparing the Korean version with the Chinese version. To do so, will be like comparing chicken to duck. Both are two very different products although from the same story idea! I am merely stating that if the Koreans had decided to do a drama based on time-traveling, palace politics and romance - they could learn much from their Chinese counterparts about writing characters that create lasting and strong impacts instead of following the usual mold of what constitutes a successful Korean romance pairing (rich abusive guy with poor weak woman). I believe if they had dared to break away from this mold and give the audience a strong female character with a strong, upright and strategist of a male character against a kind but ambitious second male lead, the drama would have been a much bigger hit. The only characters that this drama did well are the characters of the 10th prince and his wife. To this day, I cannot decide if I like BBJX's 10th prince and wife better or this Korean version's 10th prince and wife. In both versions, the characters of the 10th prince and wife were given good justice although both had different stories and endings for the 10th prince and wife.
Acting/Cast: Most of the male casts did well, as did the supporting actresses. The female lead, however, was a total let down. She only had three expressions: shy smile, expressionless and shocked. Her body language was a bit stiff too - making it hard for me to be convinced that there's even chemistry between her and the male leads; hence making this so-called 'great romance that caused brothers to fight against each other for the throne' less convincing. Even the shocked look looked rather unconvincing. In cases like these, there are 3 possibilities: 1- This was how the character was depicted in the script, or 2- The actress is bad in acting and shouldn't be acting, or 3- Both 1 and 2. I do not know much about the female lead as I do not follow news of Korean young idols and since this is the first drama of hers that I'd watched, I cannot make a concrete judgment of her acting skills. The jury is out on this matter. What I can say for absolute certain was the lead female character was the reason why I dropped this drama after 6 episodes and only caught up after it has finished airing (with fingers firmly on the fast forward button!).
Music: Nothing that stuck in my head.
Rewatch value: I will not be re-watching this.
Overall: Enough said. I recommend that you go watch Bu Bu Jing Xing instead if you haven't watch it.
Was this review helpful to you?
