Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo

Lee Jun Ki carried the whole show on his shoulder.

Lee Jun Ki is really good. But i pity his awkward acting with IU because IU just cannot carry the emotions well.
Felt like Jun Ki is acting on his own.
Kang Han-na is awesome.
IU is indeed a worldclass musician. No one can dispute that.
But sorry, she really cannot act.
Acting is not her forte and she seriously should focus on music.
One can enjoy acting but doesn't mean they can really act.
She is lucky to get the main role due to her popularity as a musician.
Not even her music fans can defend her acting problem in this drama.
Check out the amount of complains about her acting in Moon lovers online.
The fact that Hae Soo (IU) reciprocated to (8th)Prince Wang Wook's flirting even when Lady Hae Myung-hee is alive, is disgusting. The worst is they quickly get together after Lady Hae Myung-hee's death. But both Hae Soo and Wang Wook are compatible because of their low morale value. To think that Lady Hae Myung-hee was so nice to Hae Soo and didn't know about the betrayal is the most disgusting thing in this show.

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Sad ending

Ridiculous waste of time. I hate dramas that end this way. Will never watch again. Not much else to say. Lots of potential, horrible execution. I want to parade the writers through the streets game of thrones cersei style while i ring the bell of shame at them. Is it memorable? Sure. Did i like it? Absolutely not. This show kills off people for shock value. It reminds me of that one show about the korean slave that ran away to the us and who comes back to korea as a us soldier. Matter of fact i think it's the same girl. Anyway if i see her again i will quickly know to turn the chamnel since all her dramas are horribly ended.

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No.

I went through a lot to find a watchable version of this with English subs. Which makes my disappointment, at how bad this is, much stronger stronger…

I’m dropping this on episode 9. I decided to watch the kdrama bc it’s so highly recommended and rated. IU was great in ‘My Mister’—a drama that I consider to be super impactful. And despite my misgivings about the production quality in the beginning, I decided to push on because of her. Yet, in ‘Moon Lovers’, her character is in perpetual deer in headlights mode. The initial portrayal they gave us was that she was bad ass and wouldn’t take shit from anyone. Her brashness was getting her into trouble in this era, but instead of her character growing to be smarter/cunning, she has become the total opposite. The director is to blame for this I guess. I’m not sure how things will play out from here, but another major gripe I have is the dynamic between FL and SML. As of this point, which is more than half way thru, THEY ARE MUTUALLY IN LOVE. They have made promises to each other. They have had many intimate and tender moments. This persisted despite him being married to her benevolent cousin in this lifetime. So I don’t see how we’ll be convinced that the love story with ML is ~the one~. Furthermore, most of the interactions FL has had with ML usually end with him being violent towards her. While he is a tragic character and I feel for him, the potential romance between them is already at a disadvantage. With that being said, the ML is a great actor and I loved him in ‘Flower of Evil’. Another thing, isn’t the princess actually related to all the princes if they all have the same father? The suggestion of incest is so unnecessary/weird EVEN if it was commonplace during that time.

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FL has no morals

This show is basically a korean remake of the hit chinese show Bu Bu Jing Xin, so nothing groundbreaking about the plot. BUT in the first 5 eps the FL basically is openly flirting with her cousin's husband while her cousin is on her deathbed. AND the cousin is supposedly ok with it and gives them her blessing to have a relationship with each other. like what the HELL??? nawwwwww. even if the FL did not end up with the guy in the end i just.... couldn't empathize with the FL anymore after that. so i dropped it. i just can't fathom how anyone can feel for the FL after this.

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Nine Years Later, This Time-Slip K-Drama Still Rips Your Heart Out ?

Genre: Historical, Slight Fantasy
Tropes: Transmigration, Love Triangle (that turns into some other weird shape later in the series)

I’ll start by saying that I have no words after finishing this. I had to take some time to process everything before sharing my feels.

If you are an international K-Drama fan like me, you probably know that for the longest time, "Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo" remained unavailable for viewing on any major streaming platforms.

It’s also important to note that it’s not a new drama. It was released in 2016, and while the quality of K-dramas has gotten way better in the past 9 years, this is still an ambitious series with a larger-than-life story, and it’s currently one of the most searched series on Viki.

At the heart of the story is a young woman in the present day who, after a
drowning incident during an eclipse, finds herself transported back in time, inhabiting the body of a noble lady closely connected to the royal family. As she navigates the unfamiliar customs and expectations of the Goryeo era, our heroine must forge new relationships with various people to survive. I’d like to mention that Goryeo dynasty was a significant period in Korean history that lasted from 918 to 1392. So, it’s important to understand this was the time of strict societal norms and a power struggle that knew no bounds.

Our heroine makes friends with several princes, ultimately falling for two of them simultaneously. So, the first half of the show we are invested in the love triangle.

But as the drama progresses, the narrative takes a dark turn. The love story becomes entangled in a complex web of family feuds, as the princes vie for the throne (and a few more vie for our heroine’s heart), their ambitions eclipsing any notion of a happily-ever-after. It's a harrowing, emotionally draining journey, yet one that we simply cannot tear ourselves away from. At this point, we are too invested in the characters and their fates because they are fleshed out and real, and we can’t help it. It’s almost like watching a trainwreck in slow-motion. There’s absolutely no comedic moments left, just lots of anxiety and some foreshadowing.

Things I enjoyed:

Acting and star-studded cast. And I do mean star-studded. This show gave a boost in popularity to a lot of beloved Korean actors. We even have a small cameo from Byeon Woo Seok from “Lovely Runner.”

I know the opinions on IU’s acting are divided. I think it has nothing to do with her skills but with the way her character was written. Historical setting and rules women had to adhere at the time also play a big role in her behavior. She essentially had to forget where she was from and try to make it work in her current situation. I have no problem with her character or acting. I think she did a great job. I think any woman in such circumstances would have done the same.

Lee Joon Gi, who played 4th Prince, carried the show on his shoulders. But… I am also not upset about some of the things that happened in the last two episodes. Yes, there’s romance but it’s not going to end the way you think. (SPOILER) For some reason, I rooted for 14th prince because he gave our heroine what she wanted. Not all, but the most important things that mattered in the end, in my opinion.

I loved all the other couples and how the relationships between the characters were portrayed.

Things I think could have been done better:

The ending. It’s not a secret this show doesn’t have a happy ending. This is ultimately a historical show with a dash of fantasy (and I mean just a dash) and it reflects the harsh realities of the time period it’s set at. I can definitely deal with some of the open endings where it’s easy to guess what could happen. Knowing what the deleted scene at the end of the last episode would have been, it gives me a little comfort. But leaving it the way it is is weird because if the writers are alluding to what we think they are alluding, it needs to be shown somehow. I think the ending definitely needed some finesse.

In a nutshell, “Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo” is a romantic historical drama about the price of power.

I suppose, you’re asking yourself why watch it if it doesn’t have a HEA.

Some shows are there for pure entertainment and to make you feel good. “Moon Lovers” is a show where you enjoy the journey not the destination. Not every work of fiction is going to give you fuzzy feelings. Some are there to show you other things.

Even years after its release, the series remains a staple of what a Korean historical drama, or "sageuk," should aspire to be. Its ability to seamlessly blend romance, political intrigue, and gut-wrenching tragedy has cemented its status as a true classic of K-drama.

It's finally available to watch on Viki.

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Well known doesn't always mean you can't endure the heart ache

You need a stout heart to watch this one, and I barely managed it. As one of over 50k subscribers harassing Viki to get this drama back for viewing, I was determined to see it through. I'm not disappointed to check it off my "must watch" list. But goodness gracious me, it was a bitter journey. Frankly, if Viki didn't limit it to 5 episodes each week, I might have ruined myself. It took about a week to recover after watch each 5 episodes.

Definitely one of the best dramas‼️ The soundtrack was too good. And the choice of cast actors was Directed in an exemplary manner from start to finish. The costumes were beautiful, but some wigs were really terrible distractions. The story was great fantasy but heart rending from beginning to end. And the end was disappointing. Now I understand why so many people have spent years crying for the second season. But too many years have passed.

While I highly recommend it as HIGH quality, not everyone can endure the ultimately sad journey of such wonderfully crafted characters. So in the world of Korean Dramas, this one is definitely a 10⭐️. But in the heart of this viewer, the end didn't satisfy. And as a person who loves a happy ending and can accept well written sad endings - I simply cannot endure ambiguous holes for an ending.

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BE PREPARED

I watched Moonlovers in 2018 and when I reopened my dramatist account I realized it's also my profile pic, so given the fact that I also did a rewatch I need to review this drama.

Also I was very not surprised by seeing that the reviews for Moon Lovers are either a 10/10 or a 4/10, cause this drama is a all in or not, I recommend to not drop it after the few first episodes cause the drama hits in the middle in my opinion.

So Moon Lovers is on my top five of fav dramas and that because it was a really heart wrenching story that literally made me binge watch the whole thing in two days and i could rewatch it again till 6 year later this year, if you don't like historical dramas try it, if you like enemies to lovers try it, if you like obsessed kind of love try it, however if you are not ready to suffer don't do that.
chemistry 10/10, I do believed they loved each other in real life.
music is still engraved in my memory.
The cast is sooo rich and on point.
i recommend this drama I need to share this suffering with more people!

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