Aryael

Raincat, I've watched many korean versions of taiwanese and chinese dramas and not all of them were disappointments despite having different stories to the originals and yes, I am aware that it is not a re-make. My beef is with the weak female lead character. There is hardly any character development and she's portrayed as an air-head, literally. The charm of the original is on its strong and memorable characters which is lacking in the Korean version (except for the 4th prince whom pretty much shine in every episode). I do not mind if the story is entirely different, but the lack of chemistry and strong female character spoiled it for me.
I know many ppl are blaming IU for poor acting but I am unfamiliar with her acting and therefore I cannot comment on that. It could also be that the female lead character was poorly written with limited script and character development and therefore may not entirely be IU's fault. I am not into pointing fingers; simply pointing out how the chemistry and character development for the rest of the cast besides 4th prince is sorely lacking.

I'm still not as impressed with this compared to the original chinese version (BBJX). I know it's a different story and all but I am annoyed at the female lead for being such a weak character and so far the only characters standing out are the 4th prince and the 8th prince. In the original Scarlet Heart - all main characters have very strong and memorable personalities; down to 13th & 14th princes and the female servant of the female lead! Many of the things happened because of the will, decision and choices of the female lead who's a headstrong, smart, capable, independent woman - not some damsel in distress with no inkling of palace politics and not smart enough to climb the political ladder! The female lead in BBJX treated her position in the palace as a career opportunity and actually achieved very high position amongst the palace maids before ending up as the kept woman/unofficial concubine of the king. The female lead in this Korean version is more of an afterthought....she just needs to exist for all the princes to fall for her and fight each other. Her influence is indirect and mild while she sits around mooning over 8th prince and when bad things happened, just wonders why it happened, blames herself and tries to harm herself or throws tantrums which then leads to others being harmed instead. It's not a strong and memorable character. In the end, what the audience will remember is just the 4th prince and the 8th prince. The other characters fade in significance. This is so different to the chinese version where all the princes and the female lead are remembered and talked about long after the drama ended - which was why it was so popular to start with! Also, the chemistry between the leads is not convincing enough to cause the slaughter and fight for the throne that is to proceed later. This is so unlike the sizzling chemistry between the leads in BBJX - to the point that the audience could relate to why the princes fought each other so hard for the female lead. On top of that, in BBJX, the female character takes central stage as the story was told from her perspective and experience. Each actor and actress went on to achieve greater successes from BBJX but I have a feeling that Scarlet Heart Ryeo is created more as a fan-service to highlight the 4th (especially) & 8th princes. The rest of the cast is not important since anyone who calls himself or herself an actor can fill those roles. Since this failed to impress me much, I am putting it on hold in favour of the long awaited Princess of Lang Ling which is FINALLY airing this week!

It's a slapstick type webdrama; similar to the Go Princess Go series. Nothing make sense but in the absurdity, there's a story.

as in solid six-pack muscles! and maybe we will get a shower scene thrown in as well! *hopeful*

yes, you read correctly. the men get pregnant in this drama. it's a total opposite world to ours. i'm in this for the reversed harem. i'm a sucker for reversed harems! it'll be fun to see how ppl react to this drama and its outrageous concept of men getting pregnant! ;)

I'm guilty for being one of those people who could finish watching series with over 100 eps. How I did it? Well... I live a very routine and predictable life. Pretty much work, eat, yoga, reading while listening to music, drama, sleep on weekdays. On weekends, I may spend the day with friends and families during the day but like on weekdays, I almost always watch a drama or movie after dinner and before I go to sleep. It's become my after-dinner habit for the past 30+ years. So, I do not find it hard to finish watching dramas if they have a good story line, regardless of their length. I do acquire a skill after decades of watching dramas though.... stamina and patience. Nowadays, I seldom binge on dramas unless it's super super good and since I pretty much had seen it all, not many dramas can cause me to go into a binge. The trick is to form a manageable habit like 1-2 eps per day and to fit it into your everyday routine without being obstructive or destructive. :)

I sure won't be taking the train to Busan! >_< Other than that, this is a pretty good movie. Off to re-watch for the 5th time my fav zombie apocalypse movies: Warm Bodies & World War Z! :)

An interesting story with multiple twists. This type of genre is not well explored and I'm glad someone went and wrote about it. Recently, there seemed to be an explosion of interest in setting a story around manga/comic (W) and online games (Love O2O) following the recent interest in time travelling and ghosts/spirit world. There are so many possible settings in the fantasy world and this is the reason why I love fantasy-themed stories. Anything is possible. However, there is a very real danger of the story being so complicated with too many twists that it loses its impact and ended up confusing and frustrating its viewers instead. The real art is to make it fresh and complicated enough that it still retains its impact factor. I have no qualms in killing off main characters and going for an open ending or sad ending as long as the story flow makes sense and delivers the required impact that will make viewers think and talk about it for a long time (hence good for ratings). I sure hope W will deliver this with its final 2 episodes.

This story is similar to the 2009 Japanese drama Atashinchi no Danshi where a homeless girl was given tasks to complete in order to pay of her step-father's debts by living in a house with six men (all adopted and real sons of a rich man). Her first task was also to ensure they eat a meal together. Through various tasks, she starts to become part of the family and the men starts to come together because of her. The male lead is an adopted son of the rich man who was trained to be an heir but he gave it up. Because of this girl, he wants to be part of the family again. The twist at the end is...the girl is actually the biological daughter of the rich man. She ends up with the adopted son. The family is complete and they (all seven of them) manage to defend the rich man's inheritance for each child. I feel this drama takes some of its idea from this Japanese drama. Ha Won would be revealed as the biological granddaughter of the rich man and Ji Woon most likely was misunderstood as the biological grandson when he's not. There's something about their mothers and the father that caused a misunderstanding. That is the only way Ha Won and Ji Woon can end up together.

I think this drama is going to challenge a few 'romantic' pre-conceptions of KDrama lovers:- 1) The idea of a married male lead (not just married but with concubines), 2) The idea that royalty in those days marry within their families (eg: half-sisters, nieces, cousins, step-daughters etc), 3) The idea that just because you are in love with each other does not mean you end up married to each other, 4) And possibly, the idea of being a kept woman or cheating behind your spouses' backs.
If those possibilities do not sit well with you, then please proceed with this drama with caution. As for me, I'm not very happy with an overly physically brutal 4th prince and a crying and whimpering damsel-in-distress female lead but am enjoying all the six packs and aesthetic factors that KDramas are famous for. More bath house scenes to boost the ratings maybe? ;)

maybe it's because they are doing the ad for Pantene instead. ;)

yes, steph, wang so married his half-sister and i think they will keep it this way for the drama as well to establish a heartbreaking triangle love. in the original scarlet heart (BBJX), the female lead never ended up married to the male lead (he's already married with wife and concubines) and was his kept woman for many years until she got married to 14th prince as a second wife. political marriages are the norm in those days and the king's word is final. the ending was tragic. it is a story of star-crossed lovers. hopefully, in the korean version, the writer will find a way to give the leads a happy ending? so far, they kept the initial love crush between 10th prince (the funny prince) with her. he will want to marry her but she will reject him. then, the story will progress to the love between her and 8th prince which will end when 4th prince starts to go after her earnestly. most likely, the writers will keep to this progression.

during Goryeo days, it is common for royalty to marry amongst themselves to retain power within the family. if you study Korean (and generally Asian) history, you'll find many kings and emperors marrying their sisters, cousins, nieces etc. i believe this is also the common practice amongst Egyptian kings as well. when you are the most powerful person, your choice of suitable brides kind of get limited. >_<

no, it is not a spoiler but a discussion of history and character. :)

The 4th prince in BBJX and in this Korean version of BBJX is an interesting and pivotal role. He's the sort of person you want to hate but cannot bring yourself to hate. He's the victim of politics who became the ultimate perpetrator of politics. He's the baddie and the goodie. He's the 'grey'. This is the reason why he became one of the most influential and famous emperor in Chinese history (for the Chinese version - it's Emperor Yong Zheng). I read the history re. the 4th prince in Goryeo history and apparently, he's the Goryeo king (King Gwangjong) who pretty much turned the tide around following his father's rule. Although he's tough and 'evil' and many of his subjects were afraid of him, he got rid of many powerful nobles and consolidated power for the king. He set the foundation to a smoother rule for his descendants. I suppose, that is the mark of a great ruler - you need to be both good and bad.

Yes, I can read, write and speak fluent Mandarin and usually help out in viki as one of their Mandarin-English subber. :) Her reincarnated lover is Tian Yi but he lost his 'power' to Ting Jun. Ting Jun used this trick to end up with Fu Ling but towards the end before she vanished, she remembered Tian Yi. This made Tian Yi believe that she will be re-born again, hence he waits for her; even if it takes him an entire lifetime. The ending showed a couple of kids implying that Fu Ling and Ting Jun may have both been re-born. I find this ending similar to the ending of another Zhang Ruo Yun's drama - Fifteen Years Waiting for Migratory Birds where it also ended with him waiting for his lover for a lifetime but with a hint that the lover may be alive. Poignant with some hope but nevertheless, a suitable ending for both dramas.Hope this explains. Happy to discuss this drama further if you PM me. :)

Ending wonderfully done. Not rushed. Leaves a nostalgic feeling to the viewers. While many mourn the ending, I am all for it as it is the only logical and natural ending. Lovely drama with good story that does not drag, makes you wanna watch more and has very minimal recollection scenes. Two thumbs up!

The problem we are currently facing is licensing. Without license, the vids available are not permanently there and therefore any work done on the subs will go to waste. This is the reason why we are not progressing on the subbing until the licensing issue is addressed. The subbing team is also currently very busy with other more popular projects such as Nine Gates, Noble Aspirations and Novoland. We appreciate anyone who is interested to help Eng sub this drama. If you are interested to help with Demon Girl, please PM us in viki. Thanks.

Wed & Thurs - 4 episodes per day, total 8 episodes per week.

Judging from the first 2 episodes, this drama falls short of expectations. The story is disjointed at places and a bit of a mess. If you have never read the novel, you would be lost as to why the drama started so abruptly and jumped timeline without obvious fluidity of the story telling. It's obvious that the directing and editing are done by amateurs. The CGI looks good in posters but absolutely fake on screen. I'm tempted to drop this but giving it a second chance by keeping it in my To Watch list. Will wait till all the episodes are out before continuing. That way, I can fast forward the unnecessary parts.