Moon in the Day

Bittersweet Reality ✨

Coming into this thinking it's just a little fantasy and just tons of romance with a bit of sageuk and I was so wrong.
It was heavy fantasy, and sageuk heavy, but the story and the production itself were so well done, their acting and range here were impressive.

LIKES
-When they finally fell in love in this modern timeline
-or course his devotion towards her
-Their acting and production were just top-tier
DISLIKES
- The fantasy was darker than what I usually like. Ghost and spirits creep me out. Not into it.
-The ending felt too open and unresolved. Not as clear as I would have liked it
-They focused on their love as an original couple too much for me. I would have liked the modern couple to have had more time to love each other instead of just seeing it in dreams
-More than them falling in love again, like I thought or expected, it was plot-focused.

Overall even if it wasn't what I was expecting or came in for, it still delivered a compelling love sorry that even though it didn't how I thought or wanted I still find myself liking.

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Truly beautiful concept, not so great execution, and an amazing finale. Deserves a try!

INTRO:

Firstly, I have to say that I am not someone who really enjoys romance in general. Rom-coms, especially, are just not up there for me. I tend to enjoy thriller and action dramas/ movies more. Secondly, I am a little bit biased towards sentimental and emotional romances, if i had to pick out of romance as a genre. Thirdly, I have the attention span of a toddler, I lose interest extremely fast, especially if the story is slow paced. All that said, on to the review!


STORY:

I, personally, loved the whole premise of the story. The idea was very interesting and emotionally provocative. Love that transcends time and existence, there's quite a profound beauty to that. As beautiful as the concept sounds, I felt that it wasn't executed as well as it should have been.

To be honest, while I was watching the show as it was airing, I thought that episode 12 was the final episode, until I checked kisskh and realised that the drama was actually 14 episodes long. I felt like that was enough proof that the drama was dragged two episodes too much. Had they made the execution more concise, it would have been more memorable and more enjoyable.

Somewhere around the middle, the drama started dragging. There was a bit of repetition and too many flashbacks that gave the same feeling (and didn't necessarily add essence or emotion). I felt that there were missed opportunities for emotional and deep moments. The characters' growth and change wasn't seamless enough. Also, I did identify some loopholes in the plot.

Plus, I really wished that they kept the FL as strong as she was in the beginning. There should have been more occasions for the FL to show her strength, both physically and mentally. After all, she was a firefighter who had seen death and faced tough situations.

Even so, there was something about the drama that kept me wanting to come back and watch. I was made curious about the ending and about the fate of the leads. I've seen many people claim that the last few episodes were the most disappointing to them. But I beg to differ, for me, the last two episodes were my favourite from the whole drama. They were the most memorable and most emotionally provocative to me. Personally, I loved the ending and the depth behind it. The ending was a true testament to transcendental love. The last episode was the most well done in my opinion. You could clearly see how much the leads had improved in their acting, chemistry and roles. Although, I did feel that last scene of the finale was somewhat unnecessary. I would have preferred for it to not have been there and instead shown the characters in their old age so, that the audience could have really felt the time pass and the story come to an end.


ACTING:

I did feel that the leads (Pyo Ye-Jin and Kim Young-Dae) were quite awkward in their acting at the start. KYD in a historical context felt a bit odd to me, as if he wasn't very suited for it. PYJ was great but there were awkward moments but in her modern settings. The kiss scenes were just not giving, especially considering that the drama was supposed to be overflowing with emotion. There was only one decent kiss scene, every other one was lacking passion by heap. PYJ was absolutely gorgeous in her historical attire.

Their acting and assimilation into their roles peaked in the final episode. It felt like they finally got to be their characters. To me, their chemistry during the historical settings felt more natural and convincing.

P.s. I have to say that I am a simple person: I see KYD, I click. I see PYJ, I'm convinced.


OVERALL:

I really did like the drama. It's one I would recommend others give a try. But I can also see why it might not be someone's cup of tea too. At least for the sake of the finale, you should give it a try. As for me, the reason the drama got a such a high rating was simply because of its finale and concept.


Thank you for reading hehe <3

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Sweet horrific romance

Full marks for the extreme angst of the romance. A drama that does not play around with the enemies to lovers, it truly is as blatantly dark and bloody as can be for the character's romantic set up of entangled karma. The deep conflict within Ri Ta is so palpable with both the hate and sympathy that clenches her heart and soul for Do Ha who slaughtered her father on the battle field and also executed her mother and entire household in front of her. She didn't witness the battlefield so that would be one thing if she fell for her father's murderer, but she watched him personally execute her mom. That would normally be the deal breaker for anyone, but she tries to assassinate him as well as a untrained former rich girl could and gets stabbed in the shoulder, though spared by him to serve and hide in his household in secret while he gives her some training to kill him properly. She learns he's murder machine Cinderella for his adopted father who uses him to gain glory and higher position at court while also deeply jealous that his puppet that risks his life for him is awarded with attention from the king. Her heart can't help but soften as she sees him with a constant death wish, breaking for him as he muses aloud how the only person that wishes him to live is his would be assassin, falling in love with him, but still horrified when he uses his killing skills to kill countless people for her in place of killing for his adopted father. The scene where she stops him from killing a child is truly chilling and she knows she has to kill him save others hunting them just as he had killed her family as an example to quell her people and save them from being killed. His dying breaths is stopping he from killing herself immediately, telling her to live, but his spirit forgets already in the moment he left his body what his lingering feelings keeping him to her are and in the succeeding 19 lifetimes of reincarnations that he watches over her.

Ri Ta's 19th life is Young Hwa, who is a dogged firefighter who may have a bit of anger issues, at least ones that are triggered by popular actor Jun Oh. She's unintentionally framed for excessive violence against her kidnappers who were left severely injured by the Do Ha possessed Jun Oh. An example of the kinds of victim blaming laws that may or may not be real in Korean, but there certainly real life examples of such injustices. She's suspended for a few months which gives her time to become Do Ha's personal bodyguard for a while as she slowly recalls her past life through her dreams which she initially could not remember, but could now seem to retain the memory of now that she's within the vicinity of the person she's been dreaming of. This could have been better explained in the show, but it can still be taken as so through observation. Her life time is unique in that she's the only one that can see him, remember him, looks like Ri Ta and also got to receive the special lotus seed amulet that she had received from Do Ha as a wedding gift as Ri Ta. There's no explanation for why Jun Oh looks like Do Ha. Young Hwa doesn't have any feelings of person hood separation despite her life and personality being absolutely different than Ri Ta, she accepts that she's the same person. Both sets of parents are dead, but the trauma is different and Young Hwa still lives a loving and fulfilling life, perhaps she is who Ri Ta would have been all along. Her 20th life reincarnation being the same kind of upbeat personality seems to suggest so, that this is who her soul would always be if not in such dire circumstances. It's strange that even though she accepts her memories as Ri Ta, she still calls Do Ha as Jun Oh and not by his actual name even when they're not in public around people who already know the truth.

Do Ha's supernatural ghost abilities and limitations is very inconsistent. He can affect the lights a little bit to his will, which was funny when she challenges to do more than just the ones around them outside at night and even he found silly. He seems to have healing powers to be able to resuscitate the dead, terminally ill body he occupies. At first he was prone to fainting symptoms just as Jun Oh originally dealt with from the cancer, but then that just disappears towards the end of the drama. Jun Oh whose prognosis was death from every doctor his brother Min Oh consulted is suddenly able to recover within a year of chemotherapy. I do like the set up of Do Ha being able to access Jun Oh's memories as needed and Jun Oh retaining a little bit of Do Ha's personality and feelings for Young Hwa, but not enough to have transference of love or anything, just enough to deliver Do Ha's final letter to Young Hwa for closure to the 19 lives of strife so that they start her 20th fresh with Do Ha again after living a full life.

The angst and chemistry between the lead characters is great, but the stiff jpeg kisses AND stiff hugs takes you out of the immersion of the intensity of the show. They don't need to do much, just kiss and hug in an organic way. It's all the more flummoxing when they do get to do one scene of organic kissing at the end. It's like they're only allowed one like an F word in a PG 13 American film.

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A Reincarnation Drama handled differently

While I watched this drama, many times I felt the need to commend whosever brain came up with not only the story, but also in how the story is told onscreen. I see that it's based on a webtoon, so I don't know how much is screenwriter's originality and how much the original work. Nevertheless, this is such a different overall product that I really appreciate the people behind the scenes for direction, editing, screenplay, script, etc. The whole vibe of this drama is just...different.

This *actually* has forbidden lovers--not some 'misunderstanding' or *hidden/actual truth* etc. The first scenes immediately tell you this is not supposed to be a 'happy' ending with the couple in terms of their physical life. But their souls get their peace and satisfaction. If you watch understanding that what was shown in the first episode is the foundation of their story, which means they really cannot be together--and you are into that type of story, then you won't be disappointed with this drama.

I really loved the storyline and how they utilized flashbacks and scene repetitions. I was only slightly impatient with the repetition maybe one or two times, and that too faded away soon. Things are hinted and shown in the beginning but characters claim something else--then we and the characters see the truth unravel.

They also acknowledged reincarnations don't manifest in the the same face/body. Of course, when it came to the reincarnation where they deal with that past life, the reincarnation took the same form, and that was also an important aspect to the story.

In short, I really appreciate how they told the story though there were some plot holes and a few head scratchers. Certain things are not explained or given sufficient background. Twice the lead characters instead of talking about an obvious third party decide not to discus and compare notes. My issues are explained in the comments. But despite all of that, I must give this a high mark simply due to the overall product.

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There is something interesting about Kim Young Dae...

I enjoyed the historical plot and the plot around the main characters and was always waiting to find out. Historical flashbacks were exciting. For those who like historical fated love that magically meets in the future, go for it. A little spoiler: The series depicted the life of the main character in the past, who did not belong to a high-level family by blood, and was trained by his "adoptive father" to do dirty work. And when it stopped being useful, they would have him killed just to get what they wanted. With his life on the edge, he was no longer afraid of anything ... because his death was his redemption from the life he had to live. He will make you feel sad. And finally, the woman whose family he had to kill, and she luckily survived, got into his hands. Over time, the relationship where she hated him, despised him and wanted to take revenge on him, and his outwardly neutral to indifferent attitude turned into understanding, pity, and painful love. The real-life (present time) could be without someone who came from the past to make a hell among the main characters. Especially, when it didn't occur to the main character for a long time that who could come like him... the main couple had something to deal with even without him. I would skip the additional happy ending after some years. That is beyond the real heroes. Kim Young Dae was great in this show. I saw him for the first time in When the Weather Is Fine, where he immediately caught my attention. Then I saw the Forbidden Marriage, where I thought that even historical ones fit him. And here in the series a total combo of both. like the historical love story and the main actors. I give a lower rating because of someone I won't reveal, who came from the past.

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I am not happy with the ending

End disappointed me. Starting was the story was good. Modern era connected with historical era. Story of the prince who worked according to his father who was a king . The father was always cruel with his son . He made him doing the cruel thing and because of that the prince image infront of the public was a cruel . Because of this the female protagonist hated him . She killed him . Here there is a suspence which I will not reveal. His soul was not liberate . In every reincarnation of her his soul was always around her. In one of her reincarnation he got the body of dead person and since at that time he started taking revenge from her but since at that time gradually many things started reveal infront of him .

Two things not satisfied me here were her reason of killing him ,second what was the story between father and son why he made his son cruel infront of his people.

Story end with the scene if she didn't kill him the story of theirs would be different and their ending would be different.

The series left me puzzled when the female lead chose to end the life of the male lead, a moment depicted around the third or fourth last episode. The motive behind her action remained unclear to me. The notion that they could never meet led her to this drastic decision. In my view, it seemed more reasonable for her to place trust in him, or if trust was unattainable, they could have faced their fate together, finding solace in each other's company until their last breath.

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Love the lead couple - but ultimately dissapointing

Let me start with the good. There was great acting all around. I love the lead couple (Pro Ye-Jin and Kim Young-Dae), which is why my wife and I watched in the first place. And they were great. Also, the premise of the story was fun.

But...

First and foremost , there was too much sadness throughout the series with too little payoff at the end. The ending was very disappointing and NOT what we were hoping for. I won't spoil it, but gads, what a letdown. :-(

Also, although Mr. Kim, as usual, did a great job, his character was too morose and sullen through virtually the whole series. It gold pretty darn old after a while. He is much better in more upbeat roles. We absolutely LOVED him in Sh**ting Stars, where he was so fun and totally killed it!

Overall, the story was just not our cup of tea, I guess. So we won't be rewatching this one. Too bad.

If you are up for being down (ha ha) for 14 episodes, go for it. But don't expect to be happy at the end.

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Great Start, Confusing Progression

Moon in the Day started well and caught my attention right from the beginning. One of the best things about this show is the actors. They're talented and do a great job in their roles. Their acting made the characters come to life and added a lot to the show. In the beginning, the story was engaging and made me want to keep watching to see what happens next.

However, as the show went on, it started to get a bit confusing. There were too many flashbacks, which made it hard to follow the story sometimes. It felt like the same scenes were being shown over and over again. This repetition made the show less enjoyable as it progressed. Even though the actors were great, the way the story was told with all these flashbacks and repeat scenes made it harder to stay interested in what was going to happen.

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? Moon in the Day – Where Breakups Happen More Often Than Lunch Breaks ??

If Moon in the Day were a relationship status, it would be: “It’s complicated, with a side of reincarnation trauma and emotionally constipated men.”
Let’s start with the leads. Kim Young-dae and Pyo Ye-jin? Beautiful people 😍🔥. Seriously, they could sell sadness in a perfume bottle. Their chemistry? Think slow-burning candle 🕯️—moody, flickering, and likely to go out in a gust of miscommunication. One moment you’re rooting for them, the next you’re watching yet another angsty breakup wondering, “Wasn’t this resolved like... two episodes ago?” 🤯
Now the breakups—whew. These two separate more often than my phone charger from the wall ⚡🔌. Betrayal? Check. Past-life curses? Check. Vague reasons that make you squint at the screen? Double check ✅🤨. It's like a full-time hobby for them.

Relationship health? Let’s just say, if a therapist watched this, they’d retire early. Lots of trauma bonding, resentment stewing, and ghostly vendettas. Definitely not your standard “let’s communicate and grow” arc. More like “let’s suffer separately, then dramatically reunite near death.”
As for the side characters, bless them. Half of them are plot devices, the other half are plot holes with hair. A few standout performances tried to ground the drama, but many were there just to fill in the reincarnation roster and throw out cryptic wisdom like “The moon remembers everything.” Cool, but does the moon remember how to move the plot forward?
Acting-wise, the cast gave it their all. Kim Young-dae brooded like a pro, with eyes that screamed, “I have regrets in this life and the last.” Pyo Ye-jin managed to make her character likable even when the script handed her a bag of angst and told her to jog with it. They carried what they could, even when the plot felt like a bad relationship: pretty, confusing, and full of red flags.

In summary, Moon in the Day is like a gorgeous, messy ex—you know it's bad for your emotional stability, but you have to see it through 👀💣. It’s beautiful, chaotic, tragic, and... oddly addictive.

⭐ Final Rating: 6.5/10 moonlit makeups 🌙💋

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