This review may contain spoilers
Like many Reverse Harem anime/manga
I was excited to watch this show, in fact i tried to savor it for special occasion to watch it. As soon as i watched episode 2, i was praying for it not to fall into trap of those Shoujo anime/manga. Unfortunately, it followed the exact same pattern, very hard to watch all the Princes swarming the heroine and falling in love with her. Of course the one who is the black sheep and is the most outlier will eventually wins her heart etc etc. I can name 10 anime with exact same plot, going back in history, some political intrigue, some tear jerking story about the ML and eventual romance. I was hoping more from this highly praised kdrama (And I've watched over 50 shows), but this one really could not differentiate itself from some run off the mil Shoujo anime/manga.If you have a hard time believing me, just google "time travel reverse harem manga" and see for yourself.
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Moon Lovers is a remake of a Chinese drama with its story modified to fit the Goryeo setting. This one is a challenging story to execute with a lot of Goryeo princes to build up (and destroy too) and a modern girl transported to live in their period. I love how refreshing the first few episodes were. A female-centric story just lost its way along the way. I'd like to think that these amazing actors are shooting a different drama at some point because sometimes I don't even understand why a certain character acted that way. At some point some of the characters just went incoherent and crazy.
It's very rare to assemble such amazing cast and they really did a good job. I love Lee Jun-ki even before and I rarely watch sageuk, but if it's him, I'll surely try it out. Kang Haneul is the best! I've seen him in his other dramas but he just made me amazed in him. I'm totally sold with Wook's love story with Soo. I like Nam Joo-hyuk here as the only brother who's close with So and the bromance he briefly shared with Jung. There's a lot of amazing cast that I will no longer mention all of them. Even the portrayal of Yeon Hwa and the Queen Mother is an act to behold.
I love the story, the cast and acting, the music, the cinematography (I'm talking about shots of landscapes here), all of which are almost perfect for me.
What I really don't like about this is how the direction of the drama went. I don't think that this is a matter of messy writing cause I believe there's a limit on how a good drama can be ruined. The drama's greatest flaw will definitely be its editing which is a big part of its directing. I think SBS learned their lesson on having a fully pre-produced drama that came out half-baked. The confusion it cause when we had two different versions for a single version will never be justified. It may be unfair to the drama to be evaluated because of these things but since watching Korean drama should be a wholistic experience, I can't just ignore it.
I finished this drama definitely because of the great actors in it. Such an amazing display of talent there is in Korea. I will forever treasure it's characters and remember them on those bright moments at the beginning of the drama.
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This review may contain spoilers
Ok, this is the first drama that i watch when it was still airing.. STORY
It is based on Bu Bu Jing Xin novel from China, so i cannot criticize it for it's weakness.
However, I still think that this show should have more episodes coz the few last episodes seem to be fast forwarded, everything happened so fast and somehow i don't understand why certain people did certain things? There are too many characters that have not been developed well enough, so I don't really have attachment with the characters here except maybe 4th Prince character lol.
As for Hae Soo character, I really dislike her character so much. I know the author of that novel created her that way, ok, ok, but i really don't like her. She is weak and too naive. Somehow her sense of justice is twisted too, i don't understand her action.. Or maybe since this show does not have many episodes, i still don't understand hae soo's character.. I don't know. I don't see what's the reason many princes fall for her. She is quite pitiful though, to be trapped between palace politics.
I like the politic but the politic is not deep enough, too focus on romance and romance as the reason for them to act. Certain part/scene seem to be forced just like that without any reasons to back up. Certain action is also questionable and without explanation why they do it. I still left with questions even though the drama has ended..
ACTING
Acting is good, especially for Lee Joon Gi and Kang Ha Neul. IU is also not bad, could be better.
Lee Jon Gi can act perfectly, he can show 4th prince character so well without being disrespectful.
MUSIC
Music is good from the beginning although some musics are too modern for this era.. So it's a bit out of place while listening it during the scene...hahahaha so weird, but if the songs are listened by itself, without the movie, they are catchy..
Re-watch
I don't really re-watch anything
OVERALL
My feeling while watching it just like a roller-coaster, sometimes annoyed, sad, angry, happy, disgusted etc.The ending is satisfying for me, coz i believe hae soo need to get a lesson for her poor actions, but i think she does not even realize what her mistakes. I don't really like the Chinese novel original story, But this show really bring Lee Joon Gi for more fame and I don't mind since he is such a talented actor..
I admit that this drama is great, they put everything in details, like the scenery, the costums, make up, the palace, really beautiful, but i really disike lead female character so it may harm my review..
I still recommend u to watch this drama, if u want something unpredictable u should watch this.
****SPOILERSSSSS!!!**************************************************************************************
When I said certain things seem to be forced without any reason, that Eun's death, oh come on, it's Yo who Killed him and why Eun asked So to finish him instead, it does not make sense.
I also don't understand why woo hee needs to sacrifice her life, yes she is baekje princess but there is other way to stop the war.
Don't understand why Queen Yoo hates her child 4th prince so much but love her other kids so much????! There is no reason at all, Why is she so cold blooded with her own blood? If he is not related to her, i would understand, but he is her own flesh and blood. Also don't understand Kang family, i thought they hate 4th prince but then why they are helping 4th prince to take the throne? I NEED TO SEE MORE WARS!! HAHAHA, i really hope to see how well they fight when 4th prince take the throne, but there is no scene like that hix!
Don't understand why finally Won drink poison when he read ChaeRyung's letter, i mean he is clearly a cruel person whose hobby is to kill his own brothers but why only now he is sad and regret of his action only because of 1 slave that he used before? No idea. And so many more that i could not explain one by one here. The writer nim is weird.
Jung is being a good husband, perhaps if Soo did not die, she will be happy with Jung... Too bad Soo does not have enough time to turn her affection to Jung hahaha
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I forgave plot holes or inconsistencies much of the time because it was so enjoyable to watch, but towards the end it fell apart and the actions of the characters didn't make sense to me. As a whole the events at the end didn't hold together to tell a cohesive or rewarding story. If only it could have finished as strongly as it started, I would've given it a 9 or 10. But still I'm glad I spent the time to watch it. It was worth it and it had me hooked to the last episode which not every drama can do.
Now that some time has past and I've watched many more dramas since, it still holds up for me as a great romance despite it's flaws.
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The first thing that I felt in love with was the music. I am no person that is much interested about a OST but I seriously loved this one! It is a perfect mix between modern and historical sounding songs. It was amazing!
The cast was amazing too. The acting seemed really natural, nothing was out of place and I feeled the emotions they tried to show with their acting. Every scene felt real and not like acting and I was astonished about how good it was.
The story was absolutely fascinating and thrilling, I was not one second bored while watching this drama. I had a few unanswered questions at the end tho, and that is the teeny tiny aspect that bothered me, but aside that it was really, really good.
Maybe rewatching this drama will answer my questions, so that is worth a try.
So you can say that this drama is definitely worth a watch! If you like this kind of genre, it is almost a must-watch in my eyes!
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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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This review may contain spoilers
The Best KDrama I've Ever Seen- detailed character analysis below
Scarlet Heart: Ryeo was the first Asian drama I ever saw and since then I have never seen anything that has topped it in my heart. No other show has made me cry as many tears, think back as longingly, analyze as critically, or rewatch as many times as Scarlet Heart. Watch out, this review is gonna be long.STORY:
Frankly, to all those who say the plot was choppy and didn't develop the characters, I don't understand you. I could write a critical analysis describing the trajectory of every single character. Literally. All of them. Every character has someone they want to love and protect, and ultimately someone they lose (see my list of the full cast at the bottom). And therein lies the tragedy to me of Scarlet Heart: There is no single villain bent solely on hurting other people, and yet there is also no one who achieves a happy ending. Moreover, there is a lot written in the small moments, in a single shot that may not seem relevant on your first watch. For instance, *MAJOR SPOILER* in episode 3 or 4 when Chae Ryung if being whipped, the 9th prince looks worried for a moment. Why does the camera pan to him? How is he relevant? It is not until the last episode that you learn the 9th prince and Chae Ryung were in love throughout the show. *END SPOILER* But it is small details like that that flesh out the characters, their relationships, their hopes, and their dreams. To me, the plot is entirely character-driven, focused on the decisions each individual makes rather than external incidents, and that's one reason it's so captivating.
CHARACTERS:
HAE SOO. MY PRECIOUS. I see a lot of reviews on here saying she's not empowered/strong, and that she's only happy-go-lucky with no other personality. Have you watched the show??? First of all, her "cheerfulness." People can have cheerful personalities without being naive, and I think Hae Soo showcases this excellently. Moreover, her fear, trauma, and depression increases as the show develops, until *MAJOR SPOILER* she literally dies of heart break and stress. *END SPOILER* Second of all, something I LOVE about this show is that an empowered woman does not need to be the smartest or the physically strongest or the cleverest. Hae Soo respects herself, and she respects the people around her. As she says in the first episode, "I'm smart, and I learn quickly." She adapts to her circumstances while protecting herself and those she cares for. She knows what she's good at and she uses her skills to affect her circumstances. Hae Soo is not a character who waits for people to save her, who just docilely goes along with what she's told. I mean, in episode 5 *MINOR SPOILER* she literally almost kills herself rather than marry the king. *END SPOILER*. She does not know martial arts. She is not politically savvy. But she doesn't let people walk over her, and she holds true to her values. *MAJOR SPOILER* She leaves the palace in order to free herself from a terrible, toxic relationship, even though she is still in love and does not want to end the relationship. *END SPOILER* To me, that is the epitome of strength, far more than the KDrama cliches of a woman who is in the top of her field in order to be "empowered."
Wang So- Wang So does carry a cliche of mommy problems. But what I love about SHR is that he doesn't "get over" his issues when he falls in love with a "nice girl." The intense abuse he suffers at the hand of his mother and adopted parents carries through all of his decisions, ultimately leading to *MAJOR SPOILER* his toxic relationship and breakup with Hae Soo. *END SPOILER* He does have a good heart, and he wants to be loved and respected and do the right thing. However, when he feels that love slipping, he grasps onto it however he can, even though that may hurt people, because he is so viscerally afraid of being abandoned and made an outcast. And though he originally seeks the throne for love, if that was his only reason he would have dropped it. Rather, as the central theme of Scarlet Heart portrays, eventually the throne casts its spell over him and he succumbs to pure and simple greed, fooling himself all the while that he is doing it "for love" or "to help people." No, babe. You're doing it cause you're greedy, and that's why you ultimately lose so much.
Wang Wook- I was in love with Wang Wook episodes 1-11. That's more than half the show. However, I eventually realized that Wang Wook is a coward, and then I see his cowardice in all his actions. Yet just like Wang So hid his greed under "true love," Wang Wook hides his cowardice under "doing the right thing." *MINOR SPOILERS* If Wook really wanted to do the right thing, he wouldn't have pursued Hae Soo while married. He would have married Hae Soo sooner after Lady Hae's death. He would have told Hae Soo honestly, "Hey, my sister has black mailed me, and so I can't protect you or continue this relationship. I'm so sorry." (hello Hae Soo would have understood and respected him for it.) If he wanted to do the right thing, he would not have used such awful, jealous, petty methods to chase the throne. *END SPOILERS* Rather, Wang Wook is always afraid to make a ripple, always afraid of how people will view him, and he is always afraid of losing his comfort and security. He hides behind books and righteousness to keep from having to make choices and actions, and this becomes the pattern that leads Wang Wook into a greedy, selfish mindset himself.
Aside from the three main characters, all the other characters have tragic desires and losses as well that I could examine in full detail. Instead at the end of the review I listed all the characters along with what they fought to protect, and what they lost.
To me, this is the romance and the tragedy of Scarlet Heart.
OTHER NOTES:
Music - This is one of my favorite OSTs ever. I think the rapping adds a harsh element to the scenes, and it's not like the characters hear the background music, so I don't see why it's a historical inaccuracy. As many mentioned, I Will Be Back rings like the tolling church bells whenever a character dies, adding a somber tone and a moment of reflection for every major death.
Directing- I took off half a point for acting because I do think the director does too many facial close-ups during non-dramatic scenes. I think that even though the actors were all great, highlighting their smallest facial movements like that is a disservice to most of them.
Court Lady Oh + King Taejo- I want to mention these two specifically because I think their love story is the most tragic in the entire show, even more tragic than the main characters. I also think their story is incredibly important, as it is essentially a foreshadowing of Hae Soo and Wang So. We learn about Court Lady Oh and King Taejo's romance right at the turning point between Wook and So, right at the turning point where the story begins to take a darker note. At this point, Court Lady Oh essentially tells Hae Soo (and the audience) outright what the outcome of the story will be, but Hae Soo (and the audience) are convinced that she can do it differently, that this time it will be okay. Whenever I rewatch SHR, seeing Court Lady Oh and King Taejo makes the entire series flash before my eyes and I feel this sense of inevitability, that even with this explicit warning, the characters still took the paths that led to their demise.
FINAL THOUGHTS:
Scarlet Heart: Ryeo is a story about inevitability. It is a story about everyone trying so desperately to protect their loved ones that they lose themselves in greed, cowardice, and denial. It is a story about how flawed human nature can be, how good intentions does not mean there will be a good outcome. In my opinion, Wang So and Hae Soo loved each other truly, but you know what? Their relationship was still toxic. Just because love is real does not mean it is healthy, and Hae Soo was right to leave. And in the struggle for power, there are no winners, only losers.
Character List:
Wang So - wants Hae Soo, loses Hae Soo
Hae Soo - wants Wang So, loses Wang So
Wang Wook - wants Hae Soo, loses Hae Soo
Wang Yo - wants his mother's love, realizes he never had it
Baek Ah - wants Woo Hee, loses Woo Hee
Wang Eun - wants a carefree life, is caught in political intrigue
Wang Jeong - wants Hae Soo, loses Hae Soo (he comes the closest to happiness though)
Wang Mu - wants to be a good ruler, loses all of his sense in ruling
Wang Won - wants wealth, respect, and Chang Ryeo, loses all of the above
King Taejo - wants Court Lady Oh, loses Court Lady Oh
Empress Yoo - wants the king's love and power through her sons, loses all of the above
Princess Yeon Hwa - wants to protect her family, loses all respect and love from her family
Choi Ji Mong - wants Crown Prince Mu's happiness, loses Crown Prince Mu
General Park Gyeong - wants to protect his daughter and his kingdom, loses his daughter and watches the kingdom's downfall
Shin Ju Kang - wants power, is killed off as a traitor
Wang Ryeom - wants power, is killed off as a traitor
Park Yeong Kyu - wants power, is killed off as a traitor
Court Lady Oh - wants the king, loses the king
Empress Hwang Bo - wants to protect her children, watches her children destroy each other
Lady Hae - wants Wang Wook's love, doesn't receive it until after her death
Park Soon Duk - wants Wang Eun's love, doesn't receive it until her death
Chae Ryung - wants Wang Won and to protect Hae Soo's friendship, loses Wang Won and hurts Hae Soo
Woo Hee - wants Baek Ah and to protect her kingdom, loses Baek Ah in order to protect her kingdom
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Brothers knives
I've been waiting for a long time to watch this series and I was disappointed. My feedback may not be popular, but honestly I found the plot different from what I expected, maybe more romantic, but also the cast and the script did not convince me. If I had to keep something it would be the OST.Since it's a historical drama and I didn't like the plot, after I ended it, I did a little research. I found out that there really was a "bloody monarch" named Wang So, fourth son of King Taejo, who reigned from 949-975 in the Goryeo era and it's also true that he married his half-sister Daemok, he had many half-brothers and he certainly killed one of them, the 9th prince.
Now, I don't know how much and what else of this whole story is considered a true story and what is just fantasy, but the fact remains that I didn't like it.
This cursed throne that everyone covets, changes people for the worse and they become evil puppets.
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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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This review may contain spoilers
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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I expected better
Well, I finally got to see Moon Lovers Scarlet Heart Ryeo (on Viki).(Minor spoilers ahead)
For all the hype. I expected better. Don't get me wrong. It had a great cast (including a screen full of shirtless hotties right from the get-go), good music, a story that I wanted to see the end of, and characters that made me love them and cry. BUT all it also has all of the things I've come to hate in (especially older) K-dramas: toxic relationships, out of control spiraling self-sabotage, a lack of communication being a major source of tension (or not telling the whole truth to protect someone. Over. And. Over. Again.) lack of chemistry between leads, and a vague ending that doesn't give much closure (although, that seems to be more a regular C-drama issue).
I'm not sorry I watched it. Some of the characters are very memorable, and now I can cross this one off my bucket list. I cried several times (and if I couldn't tell whether or not I should care, they kept playing what sounds kind of like a Korean version of Take My Breath Away from the Top Gun soundtrack, which helped w the lack of chemistry). But it was extremely frustrating that there were almost no protagonist driven plot changes after the first few episodes and until the last two or so (like the FL was just calling it in). I spent a lot of the time wanting to pound my head against something (or one of the leads', especially FL). I get that it's supposed to be tragic and all, but I don't understand why this is so beloved. Just not my type of drama, I guess. I would much rather sob over a love story that I actually got to care about like Princess Weiyoung or Empress Ki.
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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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