Kannadin

I'm at episode 30 and I feel the same. Strong start but then it draaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaags a lot... Almost dropped it... Hung on for Cheng Lei.

Things are moving on nicely where I am though... but I'm still struggling because I'm just overly ANNOYED with how the Crown Prince is basically third wheeling hard and becoming evil as fudge. Don't mind his evilness for all the nasty court politics, but I find him disgusting whenever he's dealing with Shuang, Jin'An and the Li family. So I ended up spacing episodes a lot... Hopefully he gets less screen time soon because I've had enough of him.

As for Song Yi and Cheng Lei... We seem to be part of the minority here. I was more sold with his romance with Zhou Ye in Legend of the Female General but I've read lots of comments saying the romance was stronger here.

I think they obviously had more romantic and intimate scenes... but I never really could see how both of them fell in love for each other apart from the fact that they're both very attractive people. It feels a lot like insta-love to me which is a trope I utterly abhor.

I think one of the thing that also lessen my appreciation of the series is that Jin An' is this very sweet green flag and I don't know... He's boring?
I prefer Cheng Lei when he's being all dark, brooding and mysterious so I can't wait for him to get back his former identity of the (outwardly) cold-hearted Prince.

THANKS ^^You too! 🥳

Yeah I think that's the main issue basically. If you don't mind or even like Anna's character, you can enjoy the drama but if you don't, it ruins the whole experience.

This type of female characters and innocent romance used to be pretty frequent in K dramas from that period though... But I remember I hated it back then as well.

I think the main story has aged pretty well, but the way her character was written and the romance didn't.

As you wrote, Jae Ah suffers from some "savior syndrom" so whether it's him or Anna, they suit each other and I can't say it's incoherent with how they were written... But sadly that's also my issue.

I think Jae Ah was a great character for Ji Chang Wook... EXCEPT regarding his love story ^^
I'm in the middle of episode 15 so I'm probably gonna finish this series today. Right now, it's either a 5 or a 6 for me...

I regret wasting my time but I like Ji Chang Wook so just for his performance I'm not gonna rant too much about it 😅

So coming back here after a couple of days. I've just finished episode 14...

ANNNNNNNNNNNNNNNND I can now fully relate why most people HATE Anna... Since I've also boarded the hate train.
Nothing against the actress but her character is such a blank canvas, boring, non-interesting, dull, insipid etc. that I just get thoroughly annoyed whenever she's on screen.

I think the biggest mistake was giving this marie-sue as much screentime as she got. Honestly, plot wise, her existence is needed but her presence is not.

But let's say we need the romance... I'm still not sold on Jae Ha falling in love with an idiot dancing over a pack of noodles.
But even buying that... She's does absolutely NOTHING except crying, sleeping, putting herself in danger and the few times she took "matters in her own hands" was under the guidance of her Uncle being thoroughly manipulated.

She's a brainless idiot.

Again, that's in line with how her character was written... But the issue is just that: How she was written.

Anyway, I'm going to finish this since I only have 2 episodes left but I'm glad K dramas have stopped forcing in some love plotline in every story. Sometimes it's just not needed and it just ruins the whole thing.

This drama could have been a good one one-time watch if it had focused on Yoo Jin ( who I was hoping would win in the end but I spoiled myself and sadly knows that's not the case) and Jae Ha.

But since they included that Snow White uselessness I think I'm probably going to rate this 5 or less. I'm fed up with Anna.

Definitely going to check it out I don't know when... But I'm being cautious. I was thoroughly disappointed by "Revenged Love" which I ended up dropping so I'm gonna keep my expectations low.

When I say live air it's not necessarily when it's airing though... Rather watching the episodes as they come out...
Love in the Moonlight aired at 3:30pm were I live though... Actually since I'm living at UTC +2. Anything that airs in Eastern Asia comes out during the day for me... Sometimes it does make the wait annoying. What I wouldn't give to wake up and have my long-expected episode directly available 🙄

I get it ^^ My favorite periods of the year are Halloween and Christmas 😎
I can cozy up at home without having to find an excuse not to go out.

Right now, I'm busy emptying my watching list ^^ I'm allowing myself a complete rest day on the 1st of November so I'm already thinking about which series to binge on that particular day...

Currently Im hesitating between Khemjira, the Hearkillers and... this very long list of C dramas: Fated Hearts, Love in the Clouds, Moonlight Mystique, the Story of Kunning Palace, the Untamed, Legend of Samsara, Moonlit Reunion, Feud, Guardians of the Dafeng, the K drama Lovers of the Red Sky AND the J dramas Romantic Anonymous, Alice in Borderland or Marry my Husband [JP version]

Existential problems as you can see 🤣🤣🤣🤣 I rarely allow myself a single day not working ( that's the issue when being your own boss sadly) so when I do give myself a day... I want to make most of it but here I am...

Too many choices...

Thank you ^^
LOL!!!
Most of the time it's not that difficult. You just learn to keep strict hours and you stick to it... The issue is watching shows as they air. If the show sucks that's ok... but if it's too good... I just can't focus and look through comments to find pictures, spoilers, shorts ANYTHING. It's hell.

I can totally relate with you checking out previews at work ( still haven't come to watch that one btw... I sometimes miss the days during my youth where not so much content was available... It was easier to pick what to choose... since there was basically nothing to watch🙄).

At least when all episodes are already available, you can just spoil yourself and that makes the wait more bearable... though the side effect might be... losing one's interest in the series in question 😅

😂😂😂 You know I wasn't thinking of this as a review.... more a commentary but due to your comment I ended up copy-pasting it in the review section.

But yeah... Glad tomorrow is work day as well. I can focus on something else because it pissed me off the whole week and I know it's "just" a drama but I was SO INVESTED!!!

But I swore to myself... No live watching until at least next year. It literally ruined 2 days of work each week for 6 weeks straight... Then I had to catch up by sleeping late etc... Just nope. Not gonna do that again 😅

4 episodes left...

Probably my last comment regarding this one.

This show doesn't know what it wants to be and so it fails at literally everything.

Ji Chang Wook aka the K2 and Song Yoon Ah aka Choi Yoo Jin are the real MVP. I'm going to finish this just for them ESPECIALLY Choi Yoo Jin.

Lim Yoon A aka Anna is a bland character. She's totally dull, uninteresting, completely naive and is being manipulated by everyone. That's in line with her character to be fair... but honestly she's so stupid I don't see why she gets so much screen time.
I don't mind her romance with Jae Ah aka the K2... But I wish we didn't spend so much time with their dynamic instead of the K2-Yoo Jin dynamic that is SO MUCH MORE interesting.

Like I get that Jae Ah likes her but come on'!

Every single character in these series apart from Jae Ah and Yoo Jin piss me off.

Also Choi Yoo Jin should have been the main character. She's such a layered intelligent woman and she's got such an interesting past and dynamic with all characters that I don't understand why the show insisted of forcing all that screentime with that blank canvas that is Anna. I don't understand why Jae Ah didn't warm up to her either. But I guess killing innocents made her unredeemable in his eyes... Still, she at least treated him well, that should have counted for something but he never cared.

Anyway... I'm currently thinking of rating this a 7... But let's be honest... I think my rating is probably going to go down by the time I finish this.

Not worth anyone's time imho, however Ji Chang Wook and Song Yoon Ah deliver great performances and have insane chemistry. I wish the show had only been about them but alas!

Finally came around to watch the two last episodes with subs after watching them live last Monday and Tuesday...

Sadly I'm still pissed.

This series to me has an amazing start. The emotional buildup between Saenkaew and Sasin was chef's kiss. You could see how both of them fell in love with each other... The way they looked at each other was EVERYTHING. However once both got together, the drama gave priority to the classic lakhorn over the top angst and didn't let go. Basically our two mains kept crying their eyes out up to the last episode.

Still I hang on because episode 12 was two hours so they were bound to give us some sweet times between our leads after what they and WE had endured for weeks.

Sadly we only got a few crumbs of fanservice. Most of episode 12 flew by though. Lots of things happening so there was no time to get bored but I was still frustrated. The final episode focused more on all the side characters than our couple...

And the final nail in the coffin... Was how two of the most undeserving characters got forgiven.

I checked neither Pin nor Saenkaew's Father even said the word "sorry" ( But Saenkaew did apologize repeatedly for being a disgusting HOMO until the last minute 🤬🤬🤬). I just can't.

The fact that basically the only reason they finally managed to elope was because Pin "allowed them" to be together pissed me off. These two didn't need anyone's permission thank you very much but I guess the show wanted us to forgive her, so ok. I'll let it go.

While I can let go of Pin's awful behavior, the father though was unredeemable. No amount of crocodile tears can erase the years of mental abuse he put his son through. I was done with this character the moment he blamed his son for his wife's death.

That's the most cruel thing he could do to his own son not even mentioning the fact that he repeatedly called him "disgusting". I don't care that he did it because he was afraid for his son.

This can excuse some behaviors to a certain degree, but the father was a controlling ass**le who never even bothered to even try to listen to Saenkaew's plan to reach a better compromise. And then even trying to kill Sasin... Only letting go because his son threatened to commit suicide. I mean in what way exactly am I supposed to be satisfied with the way he got a happy family picture by the end?

I honestly didn't care for Pin's father's death... But as much as a jerk Saenkaew's Uncle was, he didn't deserve to be killed mercilessly the way he was.

Finally as much as I don't like Pin, this girl still deserves better than staying in a loveless marriage. She deserves the divorce and starting a new life with somebody who loves her... while obviously keeping close ties with Sasin and Saenkaew. After all they're family. This sadly was never shown. But I'm going to assume that's what they did, otherwise, that would be too cruel.

There was this very interesting comment by oddsare which she posted a couple of days ago:
https://kisskh.at/778234-salak-rak-nai-saengjan#comment-23915192

I think it's really on point when she explains that we have to accept that cultural logic trampled narrative logic with how the father and Pin got no consequences for their actions ( except not seeing his son for one year but let's be honest here... That's NOTHING).

I was hoping that a week after the ending, I would have calmed down... But sadly no.

Still. It was an amazing ride. I loved sharing ideas here, weeks after weeks... and ruining my working days because of my obsession ( No longer watching anything live now, honestly it's hell to be disciplined when you work from home, and I failed miserably😭😭😭)

I will try to remember that a satisfying ending for me might not be a satisfying ending for these characters. Sasin is attached to his cousin Pin, and Saenkaew still loves his abusive father (that's called Stokholm's syndrom and he needs therapy) and delulu Grandma. Neither Sasin nor Saenkaew want them out of their lives in spite of what they've made them go through.

So as much as I H.A.T.E.D this ending and think it S.U.C.K.E.D, I'm gonna make peace with it.

I'll try to remember the journey, not the destination. And it was an amazing journey but one I won't go through twice.

Removing 1.5 points for that shitty ending lacking fanservice.

Final rating: 8.5

It's sadly your typical colorism at play that is sadly rampant in all of Eastern Asia but as wrote wheezythew8ve it used to be way less severe since filters didn't exist before.

The more people get used to literally everyone being whytified, the more they unconscientiously bow down to this idea that "whiter is better"... even if it's just not which is truly sad. If it's not your natural skin color... it just isn't, it looks weird.

Can't count the number of Asians I've met that are complaining that every time they're on holidays in their parents' home country, the whole family is literally bulldozing them to use some whitening cream. Truly sickening.

These type of whytified pictures sadly doesn't help.

You know in these C dramas I've noticed... It's always the kindest characters that turn the most evil. It's really unpleasant to watch.

You get attached, you root for them... Only to be repeatedly, no matter the drama, stabbed in the back.

Ans yet I fall for it EVERY TIME. Every time I tell myself, this character is too nice, you can be sure he's gonna turn detestable, I can't help it.

I'm an idiot.

I'm at episode 26. My take. Honestly the pace is terrible up to episode 19. If you manage to keep on till then ( and mind you I also struggled) the plot gets really engaging from that point on.

Lol since when is logic part of any gender bender story? It's called suspension of disbelief, just accept the premise and enjoy the ride...

Oh... I must be really losing some brain cells become I finally got the analogy with Snow White... after 11 episodes. Lol 🤣
So K2 is the Hunter, Choi Yoo Jin is the Step Mother (and has a magic mirror for that matter) and obviously Anna is Snow White.

Obviously they changed some key elements in the overall plot but the basic premise is literally the same.

Well that explains why Anna is so bland. Never got the hype with Snow White seriously. Out of all the classic fairytales it's my least favorite, no wonder Anna is such a doormat.

Lol is there some form of disguised LGBTQ+ content in here? Yoo Jin's secretary looks sus. Her undying devotion to her boss looks... weird. Also her obsession with getting rid of Jae Ha.

1. Ji Chang Wook doesn't always pick the best projects... but honestly, no matter the country, he is the BEST at doing the "man head over heels in love" look. , honestly, he always gets me. Those eyes my God, I want a man who looks at me like that.

2. I think most people don't like the FL because she's this typical 2000s doe eyed damsel in distress heroine that has no agency and needs to be saved constantly.

It's a stapple of that era to have the dark hero falling for the innocent girl whose innocence he wants to protect and reminds him of a time when he himself didn't look at the world as cynically.

On the other hand, Yoo Jin is way more layered and interesting than Anna. Can't blame people for wanting that K2-Yoo Jin ship to sail since she's pretty badass and has more working brain cells... That would have given a great enemies-to-lovers arc right here but it was never meant to be.

This being said, I've got to admit, I miss these stories where the ML was in all protective mode and FL had absolutely nothing to do but be pretty and naive bringing some well needed innocence and light in tired, rugged and cynical heros. I miss the super cool dude turning totally uncool and shy regarding every single little interactions he has with his crush.

She's a one note bland and uninteresting mary-sue who has close to nothing going for her except her innocence and pretty face but the romance is pure. If she had more spunk, that could have been a romance I could have rooted for but instead I'm just either bored or annoyed whenever they're together.

The main draw is the ML not the bland FL.

Thank you for your insightful comment... As you wrote for me the end game which was Sasin and Saenkaew being together is what matters most...

But I have to admit that I still feel a bit bitter about the ending ( I watched live for literally the whole run of the series and then rewatched the episodes with subs) which is why I've yet to watch episode 11 and 12 with subs. I need to settle my emotions because I don't want to hate-watch the last two episodes ranting about how unsatisfied I am with the way things turned out and how little of our main couple we saw in that last 2 hour episode. Lots of drama, almost no fanservice ( and I usually hate those, but I needed some sweet moments after these weeks of mental torture but alas!).

I have to remember that the journey is more important than the destination and that it's not that much of a big deal if the ending wasn't up to par. It rarely is anyway.

Like Diva 70, I feel emotionally drained and I think the way you rationalize that - to me - unsatisfying ending ( though in terms on non-accountability, I've seen WAY WORSE from these Lakhorns) through the lense of culture vs narrative logic is on point...

But it doesn't matter, my heart can't accept it.

I will probably watch the last two episodes by Sunday though... and after that... next stop like Diva70 is Khemjira ^^

It's Halloween next week, so right on point, the last episode airs this weekend. Perfect timing to binge :D

Yeah that reincarnation thing is really stupid but I think it's because it's one the stapple of Buddhist belief and communism has never really been friendly with whichever religion for that matter.

Sometimes the censorship works in favor of the story though. They changed the plot for the Double due to that reincarnation problem but it actually served the story in my opinion... Though... that was the exception not the rule sadly.

But yeah I'm like you. I check for sad endings. I don't mind bittersweet ones but sad is a no-no UNLESS it's universally loved... But for Moon Lovers, honestly the ML has a tragic past and there's a layer of sadness that you can feel throughout the drama and I hadn't even reached the most tragic part, so for me dropping it was the right call.

Yeah there was a follow up to that series called Forever and Ever . Basically both are reincarnated but only the FL remembers the past. Due to censorship in the drama, she "dreamed" the past and wrote a book about it. 2 other key characters are also reincarnated though we understand who they are only at the end. I wasn't really in the mood to watch it when I started it to be honest so I dropped it after about 10 episodes... I still watched some key moments to spoil myself the story though... But honestly the fact that they removed the reincarnation part and made it a "dream" really ruins the emotional impact in my opinion.

Nevertheless, the trauma was too deep for me. The ending was sad... but also insanely cruel as well so I don't think I'll ever watch the following series even if I know it's a happy ending in modern time.

SOON TO BE AVAILABLE ON VIKI!!!

I knew they were going to license it given they've already the 2 previous series in the same universe
😁