VictoriaRosenstrm

I went into this series knowing nothing about it and with no idea where it would take me. For instance, I didn't know there was a Chinese original. I didn't even understand who the ML was, and I like that the series plays with that concept in the beginning. However, I didn’t realize that the show would utterly destroy me and tear my emotional life to pieces the way it did. It made me hope and, even worse, trust in the ML’s relentless protection of the FL. Being ripped away from that sense of security was deeply upsetting. But that is exactly what makes the script so good. It is psychologically believable. You can understand how everything turns out the way it does, and sometimes I think the series primarily wants to expose the structures of power. Hae Soo (the FL) manages to change history on several levels, but she never succeeds in changing the structure that creates these intrigues and bloodbaths. I find it beautiful that the series highlights this, sometimes in a barely noticeable way (such as when the eighth prince’s mother in the final episode still hasn't given up on the idea of power, expressing a wish for her grandchild to take the throne). What initially seemed like a simple love story turned out to be about something else entirely, and we are given an early clue of what lies ahead when the old king’s mistress talks about how she lived and was treated by the king—what power does to these men (and the women around them). I think the script is brilliant but also cruel. However, it manages to stay on the right side of speculative.

The music is fantastic and fits the atmosphere of the series incredibly well, even though there is some comedic timing during the first few episodes. The fourth prince is quite brutal and mean to the FL, yet romantic music plays whenever he interacts with her in a not so nice way. It is as if the series wants to emphasize that he is the man we should root for, even though he hasn't shown any good sides yet. It doesn't matter that it is overly obvious and can feel a bit misplaced. It still works and delivers exactly the butterflies it is meant to.

There is a magnificent scene in episode 11 where the eighth prince turns away and abandons the FL while she, on her bare knees in the pouring rain, tries to influence the king to pardon her friend (who is also the king's mistress). With great cinematic poetry, the eighth prince retreats and walks away, and the fourth prince steps in—offering the only protection he can at that moment (his company and his cloak to shield her from the rain). It has to be one of the most powerful scenes in K-drama history.

The ending is somehow satisfying, even though it can also be perceived as unsatisfying. Besides how powerful it is to see the ML left standing alone in the solar eclipse during the final scene, promising that he will find Hae Soo, it is also a happy ending of sorts—if you let go and dare to rest in, and trust, the idea that they will find each other in the present day with all the lessons they learned through history. I can even appreciate the dignity of letting the viewer understand without spelling it out. Personally, I feel that this was exactly where Bon Appétit tripped at the finish line, with its polished and rushed ending in the modern day (which just felt cliché and overly convenient). That being said, it doesn't make Moon Lovers any less tragic and emotionally ruthless to watch. I felt so awful after finishing this series that I cried for hours before falling asleep, cried when I woke up, and then on and off for several days after. I also frequently felt angry during the later part of the series, starting from the point where the ML crossed a romantic line and got married (to a child he wanted to save from being forced into marriage). He did this without realizing it was the beginning of the end for his and Hae Soo’s future. Furthermore, he seemingly did it too lightly without looking for other options, such as asking his brothers. This is perhaps the only major script-related flaw I reacted to—that it isn't clearly shown why there are no other ways to save this child. After that, he crosses line after line regarding what a male hero can get away with, and you constantly hope he will stop, which he doesn't. However, it doesn't provoke the same kind of anger in the viewer (or in me, at least), because it is psychologically plausible and better executed in the script.

It is also terrible to watch the scheming, calculating, and cold-hearted princess actually win the ML in the end (even if not his heart). It is a shocking outcome for a viewer who isn't prepared for it. At the same time, even I understood that a historical drama must be anchored in history, and with that said, the FL could never have had a more prominent role in history, since she doesn't exist there, and neither does her daughter. It might also have been easier to accept the outcome if the ML's feelings for the FL had cooled down, but that is not what happens. He puts love on hold and repeatedly accepts that other things must come before love. He thinks he can protect Hae Soo later, that he must handle and secure his position first, but every concession makes the next concession easier to justify. In the end, he is king, holding the power he once thought would grant him freedom, but which instead leaves his hands tied and completely at the mercy of others. He gradually loses the opportunity to be with the one person who could have made him happy.

If you are receptive to it, you can become incredibly invested as a viewer in the characters and honestly the entire world of the show. It has been a long time since I was so affected and also deeply, profoundly saddened by fiction. Moon Lovers is just... pure, emotional abuse all the way to the end. A horrible experience, but I can't give the series anything other than a ten out of ten.