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Round and round we go ...
we kept going in circles and repeating same events for 9 or 10 episodes , it started strong then became weird and confusing with the body swapping then dragged till we got a great endingI know this one has fantasy in it but the body swapping at first made no sense, couldn't get how it served the plot yet as we go on , we get to see that made it was for living in each other shoes for once she saw how helpless he and his father we against kim han cheol, and he saw how it was difficult for her to stay by his side yet she chose to .
so here what went wrong : when you keep building plot in one direction which is to find the bird and prove the late queen was poisoned and killed and the owner of the bird was the killer , you just kill the bird in the stupidest way yet crown prince wasn't mad or anything , he forget about his revenge for a second there
it made no sense that he loved park dal and starting forgetting about his late wife even though we saw how her death tormented him yet he seemed to forget about it all when he fell in love with dal.
kim han cheol was willing to go very far for his revenge we get he hated the royal family for causing the death of his love yet he was a coward who left her for the king , I know of course he couldn't say no to the king or confront him yet he could have taken her and run away , trying to kill park dal when she was crown princess was just like what the royal family did to him , if he hated it so much why let other go through the same thing although they did nothing wrong .
kim han cheol didn't even had a clear goal , he wanted his daughter to marry the cp and one day become the empress for what , he was already controlling the king and crown prince . let's talk about making a strong villain with no clear goal .
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One of the best of 2025 (for me)
Everything in the story has its purpose, even if it doesn't seem like it at first.The OST superb.
It has a great balance of comedy and seriousness, the story itself is very dense so the comedy is very much appreciated, and it never falls into cringe territory.
The main couple's chemistry is amazing, they share so many little moments it's impossible not to root for them, you can truly feel they are bounded by fate.
Overall amazing drama, the only fault is some casting choices (at first, it's jarring, towards the end the actress improves so much, I'm happy for her)
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Villains aren't born they are made..
Yes this drama as some flaws and slow ,body swap made really worst in the beginning but I ended up watching to the last and this is good one , I really loved ML and FL acting when they body swap each other acting to the core, the way ML scream ,cried made me cry . One thing about Kdrama is acting , screaming crying to the core no other drama can do this looks very natural.So sad to see backstory of villain there is nothing wrong in his side he loved a girl , he wants to protect her but he has no power so he left her to the king, but the king possess and obsessed with power killed the queen so he took revenge, as a saying "A hero will sacrifice the person they love to save the world, but a villain will sacrifice the world to save the person they love".. if this story was from ML side or the king this would be the best love story everyone will praise but this from a poor villain.. This is packed with Romance, thriller,comedy,lil bit of fantacy.
Okay then OST was soo goodd, Everyone should watch this ..
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loving the OST for this show
I went in with doubts of the ml pulling off an historical royalty lead but he is nailing it. I’ve always liked him since Attorney Woo and he can definitely play a romantic lead. I also had my doubts about her the fl but she is perfect playing the troublemaker type character .I’m enjoying this show. the whole theme of the show of their body switching hasn’t really started yet. I have a feeling it may be like Mr Queen in the way the character deals with their new genders. I loved Mr Queen so I’m good with waiting to see where this goes.
I haven’t seen any reviews about the music! I actually tear up when the main song comes on towards the end of the episode. I have even rewound the episode just to hear it again. I finally downloaded it on Apple Music and can play it anytime.
I think folks just have to remember that this show is tagged as a fantasy.
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Beautiful...
It’s been a while since I last watched a historical drama, but this one was absolutely worth the time. I’m a bit biased because I’m a sucker for the lost-memory trope, yet even beyond that, the story was genuinely engaging and beautifully told. The plot twists were thoughtfully written and kept the narrative compelling, and the ending it simply made sense. Overall, this was a thoroughly enjoyable watch and a reminder of why historical dramas can be so addicting.Also, I loved the chemistry between the two leads.
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WORTH WATCHING!!!!!!
I honestly don’t even know where to start because Moon River completely blew me away. This drama is insanely good from beginning to end. Every single episode feels purposeful the character development, the emotional depth, the pacing, everything is done so beautifully that I never felt bored for even a second.What I love the most is how the characters grow naturally as the story progresses. You really get to understand their motivations, their pain, their love, and their inner conflicts. It’s an emotional rollercoaster in the best way possible. one moment you’re smiling softly, the next you’re holding back tears, and then suddenly a plot twist hits you out of nowhere.
The storytelling is incredibly strong. The plot twists don’t feel forced, they’re smart, well placed, and actually make sense within the story. Each episode leaves you wanting more, and before you know it, you’re already several episodes in without realizing how much time has passed.
The cast deserves so much praise!!! Every actor fits their role perfectly, it honestly feels like these characters were made for them. The chemistry, the expressions, the emotional delivery… everything feels real and heartfelt. You can tell how much effort and care went into bringing this story to life.
The pacing is another huge plus. The story flows smoothly, giving enough time for emotional moments to breathe while still keeping the narrative engaging and impactful. It never drags, never feels rushed, just perfectly balanced.
At this point, I’m genuinely running out of words because Moon River is just THAT good. It’s beautiful, emotional, well written, and unforgettable. This is not just a drama you casually watch, it’s a drama you feel.
If you’re even slightly interested, TRUST ME: this is absolutely worth watching. I can’t recommend it enough. One of the best dramas I’ve watched, hands down!! 😭🫶🏻
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Fantastic start ruined by weird, unnecessary body swap
I was hooked on this drama by the first few episodes. I loved the premise, I loved the ML’s yearning, and I loved the chemistry between the ML and the FL. Then they randomly switched bodies much too far into the drama and everything fell apart. All of the romantic tension they had suddenly became extremely weird and uncomfortable, considering they were having romantic tension with their own body. It went from a drama with a good balance of humour and seriousness to an overload of humour. I’m really disappointed - if they don’t swap back bodies by the halfway mark of the drama run I’ll be dropping it.Was this review helpful to you?
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BEST 2025 KDRAMA
First of all, I want to say that the story is impeccable, without unnecessary drag, and completely captivating. I know many people gave up after discovering the body swap, and for that reason, I want to say that you're missing out on an incredible drama. The cinematography is breathtaking, absolutely beautifulThe acting and casting: perfect, Taeoh and Sejeong were amazing, best romantic couple I've seen in a long time. With the body swap plot, you can feel how dedicated they were to their roles
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HIDDEN GEM!!!
Before starting this drama, I checked the overall rating and saw a 7.7 and hesitated to start it. But I ended up starting anyway because I really love both Kang Tae Oh and Kim Sejeong’s previous works, and having them together in one drama intrigued me, and oh my daysssss I’M GLAD I STARTED IT!!!!!! Imagine missing out on this hidden gem??!!! I think the only thing this drama is missing is its promotion, like why isn’t anyone talking about it? So underrated!!The story was very interesting and very well executed throughout all events happened in the drama, to the little details. I actually went in blind and didn’t know about the soul swapping trope, and when it happened it didn’t seem “too much”, like it was done right. There is usually a lot of unnecessary comedy when it comes to soul swapping trope as I’ve seen from other dramas but this is the first time I see they use it for more than comedy - it’s strategically and appropriately used to better tell their love story, their emotional growth, it’s genius. There is a perfect amount of humor mixed with all the dark serious politics, not too much, not too little, just perfectly balanced. The pacing, the plot twists, they all make sense and well placed. I genuinely don’t think there is one bad episode, each episode is a whole story on its own that builds up the bigger story, no fillers, not one second I felt bored.
Kang Tae Oh and Kim Sejeong’s acting are ELITE. Not only do they have to act their own characters, but also mirror each other’s characters the way that the other acts their character from facial expressions to personalities to dialogues. I think this is Sejeong’s first historical drama role, I need her to do moreeeee. This is also Tae Oh’s first historical drama (that I’ve seen) and he fits the crown prince/king role perfectly. Both of them have gained so much more respect from me after this!! And their chemistry? Ugh, off the roof!! When they kiss, when they hug, when they sacrifice for each other, you can FEEL the deep and genuine love.
The OSTs are amazing, I can’t stop listening to “Prayer”, every time i listen to it all the scenes from the drama start playing in my head.
100% recommend! Please watch it and see for yourself. I don’t rewatch dramas that often but this will be one of the very few ones that I rewatch. This is also my very first review on this app, that should say a lot…
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PAIRING SO GOOD but...
The pairing was SOOO GOOD, which honestly made my disappointment harder because the script was kinda mid. YK, I’m just tired of how most Joseon dramas keep using the exact same story formula we've seen hundred times already. Why are writers so scared of making a proper characters centric drama? with less politcs ofc. I get that politics are necessary in this setting, but I really wish they focused more on emotional drama, more slice of life, and actual character development. (this was my suggestion for future saeguk kdrama tho)
The body-swap plot and the red string fate concept had so much potential, but it wasn’t explored deeply enough. There were a lot of errors in this plot (I’m too lazy to list them all 😭), but the biggest issue for me was how almost no one noticed the body swap. Their mannerisms were literally switched, yet only the aunt seemed to realized. It just ridiculous and kind of lazy, like the trope existed only to keep the story moving rather than to add anything more.
Another thing that really bothered me was how everything was shown so EXPLICITLY. The grief, the storytelling, the emotions, the dialogue, everything was shoved in my fkin face. There was no space for the audience to sit with the characters’ pain or process things emotionally. Korean drama writers seriously need to put down this obsession with over explaining and let the story speak for itself. On top of that, the pacing didn’t help either. The middle episodes dragged so hard they almost made me lose it, but visually the drama actually had a lot of beautiful shots that I loved.
The supporting characters also felt underdeveloped and wasted. And honestly, fuck the king! He was embarrassingly useless for someone with that much power. The Left State Minister having insane plot armor was frustrating too, and I know I wasn’t the only one annoyed by it. Also, I’m sorry but Hong Su Zu literally cannot act… why does she keep getting cast?
What truly carried this drama to the end for me was Kang Tae Oh and Kim Se Jeong’s chemistry. Their acting was phenomenal, especially how they mimicked each other’s mannerisms, the way they smiled and interacted felt so natural. That was the main reason I stayed till the end. I also appreciated the long epilogue! This should honestly be a standard in K-dramas because most of them rush the ending way too much, while this one actually took its time.
And maybe I’m losing my mind, but I lowkey wished they kept Dal dead 😭 I feel like it would’ve given the ending a stronger emotional weight if u learn their story. The actual ending felt very template and mid, but… I guess I was still okay with it.
Maaf agak panjang review drakor biasanya ga sebanyak ini yg aku komplain :( soalnya emang uda excited bgt pas pengumuman cast cuz they're my fave bahkan nonton ongoing juga perminggunya. Suka di episode awal tapi lama-lama aku jadi ga connect sama ceritanya.
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Soul Transformation
The series started well. I expected a soul transformation in the first few episodes. It happened then. But it didn't continue. The series suddenly fell into a void, slowed down. It strayed from its subject. Things started happening that we didn't understand. It seemed a bit complicated. This stagnation continued until the last two episodes.Was it a revenge series? Was it a series about a soul transformation and its consequences? Both were done together, but because it deviated from the spirit of the story, neither was fully realized or reflected. That's the kind of series I watched. If we look at it as a revenge series, the LEFT MINISTER in the series is indeed justified in wanting revenge. However, is it right to kill so many people and get involved in crime for the sake of a woman he loves? That's debatable. I don't think so. He became a tyrant. He became a murderer. He became a traitor. While he was a flower of love, he suddenly turned into a cruel tyrant. I think he wouldn't have done these things if he loved her. Because from the beginning, he doesn't have a feeling of revenge against the king. The king takes the woman he loves from him and marries her. However, when rumors spread about him and he is condemned to death, the Left Minister opposes the killing of the woman he loves. He sees that the king doesn't love the woman, but loves his throne. Then he takes revenge. He takes the throne from him. He kidnaps the woman, claiming he killed her. While this is somewhat true up to this point, his subsequent threats against the other king, the killing of many lives, his tyranny, smuggling, treachery, and many other crimes cannot be reconciled with love and revenge. I also couldn't understand the logic of him wanting to marry his daughter to the crown prince. He had the opportunity; he could have become king. Instead of being the king's father-in-law, he should have become king. There's a contradiction here.
The body-swapping started and ended. The role changes in the body-swappings made us laugh and entertained us. But sometimes I found nothing to enjoy. At one point, the series slowed down. They went into extra time. There were the Zen bird absurdities. In the final episodes, they even experienced soul-swapping while dying. That became a bit too fantastical. I think the series failed to deliver what the audience wanted. It was incomplete, flawed. I liked the actors, except for the King. Even at the beginning, I couldn't reconcile the actions of the Left Minister's daughter with the actress cast in that role. The villainous role didn't suit Hong Su Zu.She improved later; she became angelic, a good character. She fit the role perfectly. My rating for this series is 7.5.
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It was so Good but also Quite Bad!!
In my past, future and present, there was only you!“Moon River” follows the star crossed love story between the Crown Prince of Joseon and his wife, who was deposed and murdered. Fortunately, she survives the ordeal but loses her memories. Five years later, she returns to the Capital as a lowly porter, and fatefully ends up meeting the husband she has forgotten. They end up falling in love all over again, and she becomes the Royal Concubine, only to rediscover her memories and realize that she is after all the deposed Crown Princess of the nation. Phew, in the midst of this chaos, husband and wife switch bodies very often; it happens so many times, that you lose count and interest too. The show had giant plot holes, that didn’t make any kind of sense. The actor’s performance is commendable though; whenever they had to perform the scenes where the protagonists swap souls, their acting was believable. Even for someone as manly as Kang Tae Oh, he really manages to channel a woman’s emotions and expressions. Apart from that, the storytelling is messy and contrite!
Read the complete article here-
https://kcdramamusings.wordpress.com/2025/12/21/moon-river-series-review/#more-2210
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