bloomingtide

Ngl, while i like romance, i am watching this mainly for Park Bo Gum who is like a ray of sunshine on a rainy day in every drama he is in. His smile never fails to make me happy and is very infectious in the best way <3

That running gag of Dong Goo obsessing over something during the movie producing meeting and ending up yelling it out loud as it burst out of him.... which then accidently became part of the movie because the director found it to be a great idea had me in stitches every time. God i love KJH's acting in general but especially during these scenes hahaha

In terms of sageuk's/historical dramas... definitely Mr. Queen, so so good and the comedy is always on point, mixing perfectly with action, drama and romance. Also Welcome to Waikiki has a high and good comedy factor with lovable characters and a dash of romance.

Omg, yeees. I only saw a couple of scenes with him yet as i am currently watching the first episode but daaamn he is so cute and i love him already <3

Well, the preview does not bode well for him, but we will see. Sadly he ain't the brightest bulb, so i have my doubts he has more plans than the current super-bad one in the final two episodes.

Yeah, the red sleeve is a serious drama with melodrama/politics while Moonshine is a fusion sageuk with focus on romance, comedy and action and a tad of politic scheming (very light tho) Both have a very different approach and feel of an historical drama, so to compare the two would not be not fair. Give it a try and see if you like it. Even if the starting episodes can seem a bit messy, it will all make sense later on.

More than Moonshine however i can highly rec Mr. Queen as THE fusion sageuk, since it blends its excellent comedy perfectly with romance, drama, a tight plot and a lot of badass/lovable characters that grow/develop a lot over the course of the drama <3

Haha, valid. I just have watched a lot of sageuks back to back lately so I'm insta-suspicious af when the camera lingers on a character in the palace while they are drinking tea or eating something, lol.

Please put that in a spoiler, tho. Thanks <3

She lost her plot armor, lol

I mean since Nam has basically found out about Chief Secretary (slowly) poisoning the king (the teacups were always shady af) so it does not bode well for dumbass crown prince now where he yelled ALL IN and joined the traitor club ass first. But yeah that multi-spin of his character makes zero sense, as it is contradicting completely what we have seen of him before that stupid *twist* Super frustrating!

Did you miss that it is literally a big part of his character how Inspector Nam detesting swords and thus he had never picked up swordsmenship, though? It has to do with what happened at the temple where he had to watch Kang Ro's father die by it as a child and the trauma resulting from this. Thus why he chose to learn archery instead, but even so not all ML need crazy fighting skills. His true weapon is his quick wit and Intuition to solve the mystery at hand anyway, suited for being an investigator. And here it is even part of the plot why he can't handle a sword so????

Yeeeep. His character frustrates me so much in episode 14 and there seems no betterment in the last two episodes according to preview, ugh. Like there is literally 58343 other ways he could find in order to protect his friends that does not include joining up his evil uncle, (who did poison/kil all around him), , fabricating evidence and framing the wrong culpritwithout as much blinking an eye. Lmao, was not a big part of his character before that he cared a lot about his brother and wanted to find out what happened to him, but now where he knows, he is suddenly ike FUCK MY LATE BROTHER, LET'S SCHEME TOGETHER UNCLE. Like??? I get he is afraid for his mother buuuuut god do i wish he would stop and fucking THINK for five seconds before acting like a utter and complete dumbass. Use your resources at the palace, involve/warn your smart friends, double-cross your uncle, literally ANYTHING but what he is doing now. UUUUUGH.

That ep 15 preview tho, sigh. Crown Prince Lee be like... in order to save my friends I care a lot about, i gotta arrest them, frame and behead them. This is totally logical, yall!!!!! I'M SMOOOORT!

Oh boy his character has taken a multi-spin for the worse, unfortunately. What a pity.

Well said. His upright and narrow ideals are part of his upbringing and colored his worldview. Kang Ro Seo challenged exactly that black and white POV, bringing in much needed gray he refused to see before meeting her. I appreciate the growth of his character over the course of the drama, and how he adapts/learns from situations and mistakes made, and how it changes his stance and view on things. Like he still has a strong set of morals at his core but now is aware that not all rules are righteous, and how he has to bend them at times in the interest of the greater good. That is good good development, imo.

I had the same reaction whenever Kim Jung Hyun went off on his corrupt ministers as King Cheoljong in Mr. Queen, so i guess i am going to enjoy that part of this drama too haha

Took her till the last episode to change that, but at least it was addressed, I guess?

I'm at episode 13 atm and I'm disproportionally bothered how she keeps calling him "Chief Hong" while already dating him, ngl. It is so silly to not use his name instead now where they are in a romantic relationship. He at least calls her by her name 40% of the time.

People here have comparing/expecting it (to be like) "The red sleeve" for some nonsensical reason, when it is much closer to the likes of Mr. Queen. Aka it ain't a serious sageuk veering into melodrama and heavy palace intrigues, but is a fun romp with action, romance, humor and light politics instead. I enjoy it for that, particularly the kickass, smart female lead and the slow burn romance between her and ML. Also it takes the focus away from the royal palace/family only and shows the lifes of other people during the alcohol prohibition time in the joseon era for a change.

I, however, could not disagree more, but yeah to eacn their own i guess *shrugs*

Better mark this as spoiler tho, as it is meant to be a surprising little twist ;) But also saaaame, there are many reasons why i love Cheoljongie, as the queen calls him heh.