alienshore7

Sure. Makes sense. But they do seem to be sticking to some historical truths regarding succession, so I hope that means 8th prince won't die too soon.

DON'T READ THIS UNLESS YOU WANT TO GET SPOILED BY A HISTORY LESSON -

It really does suck that Hae Soo does not know her history better. If she did she'd know that in many ways Gwangjong, although brutal, was a good king. And from what I've read, Goryeo didn't have that many of those (probably all the inbreeding). He brought on a lot of reforms and decreased the power of the corrupt aristocrats. He even freed some slaves for goodness sake! And although he did end up killing some of his nephews and aristocratic families (they were plotting a coup, btw, so it was kill or be killed like it often was in history), there does not seem to be any clear history that I can find saying he killed all his brothers. In fact, 8th prince lives to have a son and that son becomes the 6th king of Goryeo.

Hae Soo is a study in why we cannot judge the actions of historical persons by modern standards. Gwangjong would undoubtedly have ended up dead 10 times over had he not taken the actions he did. So, he should not have protected himself? He should have just let himself be killed?

And on a personal note, stop making my puppy sad, Hae Soo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yes, 20 is way too short. Although the original's episodes were only about 45 minutes and these are 60, so the time difference is not as great as it seems, but still. I like IU. I think that she is doing well. I actually believe strongly that what is hurting her here is bad directing more than anything. All those darn close ups! Seriously! If the camera didn't zoom right in on her face for every scene, there would be some nuance, but those close ups are a killer.

That's what I felt was kind of the point of the original: self-fulfilling prophecies, dangers of knowing the future, time travel, the inevitability of fate, etc... In trying to avoid the tragic future, the lead female possibly makes it happen. That kind of story makes for great tragedy and is why this is such a good story worth telling and retelling. I wish there was a full English translation of the original novel. I think there is only a partial.

4th prince is way more likeable and empathetic in this one. He had good chemistry with the lead female in the Chinese version, and he was kind of likeable at first, but he was not nearly so tragic and in need of a hug as Wang So. The Korean version did a great job (even if it is a bit over the top) of making Wang So so beautifully flawed that he could do pretty much anything and we'd still love him. And it seems to me they are going to keep the cruelty for sure.

I never felt that way about Chinese 4th prince. He got on my sh#!list pretty fast. Of course, how much of this is LJG's acting? A lot of it probably.

Thanks. I watch it on Dramafever and it's the cut version that I see. But I still manage to find all the cut out scenes in various places, so I'm ok, just annoyed that they cut it in the first place!

I've been watching the SBS version too. Dramabeans recaps the original version, so after I watch the SBS version with subs I read the recap to see what I missed. Then I can usually at least see the cut scenes on Naver and I know what they are saying from reading the recaps. It was never that big of a deal until episode 8, but the stuff they cut in that one was some of the best of the whole ep.

I agree and don't care about the Korean rating system except that I've seen it affect the broadcast of the show too many times. I've seen shows I really liked get cut because of low ratings. Even SHR is getting weird scene cuts partially because of the low ratings. That's what I'm worried about - that something could happen to this show that is getting international love and that we all love just because the SK audience doesn't. Not fair. At least it is pre-produced. If this were live shoot, they might cut it.

Darn the idiots butchering the editing on the international version. They left out basically the best scene of the whole episode 8. It's like they are intentionally trying to destroy this drama. That this drama is failing to connect with domestic SK audiences is all down to bad directing and editing. It's a chopped up mess. But in between that chopped up mess and insane overuse of close up shots, this is a compelling drama with one of the best acting performances (Lee Joon Ki) I've ever seen. And Wang So is one of the most compelling and complex characters.

I'm watching both this and Moonlight, which is crushing it in ratings. And I have this to say: Moonlight is a much better put together drama. It's beautiful and smooth to look at. It's got a perfectly pleasant OST. The acting is fantastic across the board. It hits all the right feels. But you know what else, it's kind of boring and it's very safe. Scarlet Heart: Ryeo (SHR) is the polar opposite. It's a hot mess. The directing goes from awesome to crap in the blink of an eye. It looks beautiful one moment and cartoony the next. The OST is jarring: some times perfect other times ridiculous. But SHR is so ambitious and exciting. It's not safe at all. I wake up Monday morning salivating to find out what will happen next in SHR. You never know. It's nuts!

I think that I will always bemoan what could have been with SHR if they had had about 10 more episodes to work with and a better director. They could have fleshed out characters and side plots that need serious fleshing out. They could have made a consistent visual feast. It's like the world's tastiest food, but it's been served with plasticware and just slopped on the plate. But Lee Joon Ki is still an acting god and he is still making this must see TV every week.

Alas, if only W had come out before this drama was written then maybe this writer would have seen the warning that you should never write one-dimensional, shallow plot device characters or it WILL come back to haunt you! Hey Ji - ugh! What a pointless plot device. She's not even a character; she's more like a decorative vase. And episode 11 has way too much empty vase!

Ok, I never thought I would say this in a drama starring Jo Jung Seok - and I KNOW I won't be saying it by the end - but I am developing a serious case of 2nd lead syndrome. Go Gyeong Pyo is normally cute but bland, but for some reason that is totally working for me here. It's like a perfect marriage of character and actor. Can't our awesome heroine just have both men? She deserves it!

Yes!!! <3

Gets better every episode. I hate that it actually started off with its weakest episodes and turned off domestic viewers because the further along it goes the better the directing, the acting, the writing and the soundtrack. Really getting into a rhythm now at episodes 5 and 6.

She needs to take a break from men, preferably in another country and go find herself.

Seriously. She is not even written like a real person. She's like this robot that only turns on when one of those rich cousins is around. She has no personality or life of her own. That's just bad, lazy writing.

I was completely nuts for watching episode 15 when I knew I'd have to wait a whole week for 16. Dumb. I should have waited. I'm not going to make it. Is there a support group?

Hey Ji is an utterly awful character. She is a pointless plot device who is a disservice to women. Geeze, if they could at least give the back story about her brother dying, but no. She is just awful, and horribly written. Yuck. No man in his right mind should date her. Hosebeast.

Me too!!!

I bet he just thinks it is and it's probably some old footage of him on TV - or maybe that awful commercial they made in Thailand - that's good for a laugh.

OMG, episode 6! I am totally in love with this show. There is a rare kind of short form (16-24 eps) Kdrama that is a kind of slice of life / workplace / ensemble drama and when they are done well, they are definitely some of the best work to come out of SK. This is one of those dramas. Other examples I can think of are Dalja's Spring and How to Meet the Perfect Neighbor. Episode 6 was so perfect. I laughed my head off; I cried; I squeed at the awesome OTP chemistry. Gong Hyo Jin and Jo Jung Seok are absolute gold together. I knew they would be, but wow! This drama is something special.