Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo (2016)

Messy & Inconsistent Script At Its Finest

Can you see how cool is the entrance of drama? Will the drama stay cool and maintain its quality? Boy what a roller-coaster ride the drama gave its viewers – it will certainly stay with me for a very long time without a doubt.

Unfortunately, the only thing the drama did right is that they made Wang So a sage and a wise king. Other than that (aside from Lee Jun Ki & Kang Ha Neul’s amazing acting), I have nothing good to say about this drama. Sadly to say, this is one of the worst Kdramas I have ever seen (this probably because I usually drop bad dramas but I didnt for this one obviously since I dont love myself lol). This drama has one of the worst writing, directing and editing I have ever seen from a Kdrama. And for me this is a big indication of how awful is the drama since I dont really notice all those before (except bad scripts in general) but I truly feel it with every fiber of my being with this one.

Script: The script is the worst offender of this production. I seriously confuse why this writer got hired since her writing is very inconsistent and terrible. It is full of plot holes, unexplained happenings, dragged and rush script, poor characters’ developments and most of all, full of ridiculous and illogical plots. It seemed like her characters didnt seemed to function like a normal human beings would. I need the drama to make sense but I find myself wondering most of the times of why this and that happened. I need a legit and reasonable reasons for something to happen. Not just something you pluck from the sky thinking that you can fool the audiences. We have brains Ms. Writer, you cant expect us to buy your ridiculous plots again and again.

Directing: People said good thing about the director and his previous works but the direction quality of this production is pretty awful in general. The close-ups, soap opera zoom style and no direction input to new actors (according to Seohyun) made the directing suffers greatly esp for sageuk dramas which are known for quality production. I expect a creative directing or pretty shot from the director but instead I got the opposite of what I’m hoping for.

Editing: Hands down the worst editing I have come across from a Kdrama (and I have seen really a looooot over the years). The choppiness and shoddiness of it is out of this world. They dragged the storyline in the beginning and squeeze everything in the last 5 episodes. The fact that we have like 2 time-skips in a matter of 2 episodes are just laughable. And the fact that some of the plots didnt make sense due to the editing makes it really jarring and dreadful. I dont expect this from a pre-produced drama obviously.

Acting: Like I mentioned above, Lee Jun Ki is soo amazing as Wang So. His eyes conveyed lots of emotions and it just break your heart when you watch this drama as his character is very tragic and unloved. Kang Ha Neul is amazing as well. His characters is so underdeveloped and later forgotten by the time we reached the end (he has like 3 minutes screen time in the later episodes lol – what are you doing Ms. Writer?). The actress who play Lady Oh was great and IU improved a lot as the drama progressed. The rest of the actors are pretty much forgettable esp Seohyun as Woohee.

Soundtracks: Got to admit that the drama has one of the best OSTs for this year. But unfortunately, most of the songs are not suitable for a period drama. Why put a rap as part of the OSTs? And English words in the songs are so jarring when it was played as the background music. For goodness sake this is a sageuk and not a modern day drama. To have ‘baby baby boy’ playing at the background really killing you softly inside. :P

Money: This is a million dollar pre-produced drama but I really cant see where all the money went to. Goryeo and the Palace looks empty most of the times. Where are the servants, guards, armies, noble men, and the citizen? Why the attempted coup looks fake and underwhelming? Why the wigs look so fake? Why we can see the net for the mustache? Why the sets look cheap? Why the Palace only limited to the grand hall, court room, king’s bedroom and the hallway?!! Where did all the money went to?

I’m glad I didnt really care for any of the character so this drama didnt scar me like The Slave Hunter and Warrior Baek Dong Soo did. The writing got pretty bad at the end that I dont have emotional attachment to any of the characters anymore. One thing for sure, I will stay away from the writer’s future work – I ain’t gonna put myself in the same situation ever again.

By the end, I just want to see how this mess will conclude and boy it didn’t disappoint – I spent my time rolling my eyes watching the last 2 episodes (no tears since I was so mad with the ridiculous plots). :P Like I mentioned above, the only thing the drama did right is that they made Wang So a wise king. But thinking back, they should make him go all evil and greedy so the reasons behind everyone leaving him (even Ji Mong) will make more sense. I dont mind a tragic ending but I need it to make sense. I give this drama 4/10. I try to rate it higher but this flawed, and awfully illogical executed drama didnt deserve anything more than a 4.

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Major roll-eye (◔_◔) to the writer for her insistence of making Wang So the most tragic character ever – with very illogical reasons for everyone to leave him at the end of the drama. >.>

Wang So is a flawed character without a doubt – his obsessiveness or him killing the monks and horse but somehow Wang So’s fate is just very tragic from the moment he was born right until the end where he is left alone and lonely.

It is more tragic then any other Kdramas’ characters because it is his own family who dislike or abandoned him. Its not his friends or people that he has no blood relation but his own family members.

1) He lacked of love since he was a little kid. His own mother hurt him and left that big scars on his face and later throw him away.

2) His dad use him as a captive and send him away to other tribe to console some lady who lost her son (What a terrible childhood!). And he is not loved by the lady or his adopted family (Surprise surprise ◔_◔).

3) The tribe lock, starve and sent him to the wolves that he ended up having to burn his only friend that is Mr. Tree since it was so cold during the winter (or is it because of the wolves?).

4) His Crown Prince brother, Moo ask him to replace him during the masked dance since he think someone is going to assassinate him. So its okay for So to die on his place? Both of them learn martial arts so its weird for Moo to ask him that request (But of course, So’s life is not that important I guess?).

5) His father’s reaction after the mask was removed – not worry about him being injured but quickly call for Moo and his safety.

6) He killed all the monks (what a fool lol!) for his evil mother but she still disowned and disgusted with his existence (stop Ms. Writer, stawp!!!).

7) All his brothers except Baek Ah didnt treat him right. Moo used him for the dance/marriage and Eun is too dumb(?) to care about his feeling when he ask So to show his scars. The rest just plain hate him without any legit reasons.

8) His mother call him for family dinner only to ask him to kill Moo. Attempt to use him to do her dirty work instead of accepting him as her son after he proved his worth for her attention.

9) The woman that he love; Soo didnt trust him enough that he ended up having to kill Eun with his own hands. By the time Soo decided to stop thinking about the future and be honest with him, it was too late.

10) His loved ones; Beak Ah & Soo are used again & again that forced him to do things that he hate to save them from harm.

11) He never wanted to be a King but later changed his mind since he is tired of bloodshed and everyone using him when they are on the throne (His father –> Fight Kitan, Moo –> Marriage with his niece, Yo –> Using Soo to threat him). He wanted to stop the killing cycle and Yo’s ruthless reign (Or so he thought ◔_◔).

12) He didnt want to marry evil princess Yeonhwa but the love of his life Soo said ‘its okay’ to straighten his position as the King and assured him that she wont give up and she is okay with the arrangement. (Which she didnt since no one will be okay with that kind of arrangement tbh).

13) His happy times with Soo are so brief that she left him and stay with Jung because she is pregnant. She is not honest with him and trust him enough that he will protect her and the baby. She probably think So will treat her like his father did to Lady Oh.

14) In the end, despite writing all those letters how she love and yearn for him, she still doesn’t trust him enough to tell him about their daughter. She probably think he would not respect her request about wanting the girl to stay out of the Palace. (Of course she couldn’t tell him via the letters, but still! ಠﭛಠ)

15) Everyone leave him for such ridiculous reasons; Baek Ah (??) and Ji Mong for he only loyal to the weak King Moo? Really? Why are you feeding us this crap Ms. Writer??!!1 And why I’m still watching? lol

16) Have to live the rest of his lives alone and lonely with someone that he hate. Cant love his son as it is a product of an evil Queen Yeonhwa...

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As a fan of C-BBJX, and watched both version til the end. I can't help to compare these two. Warning : i might write some SPOILERS without realising.

Story :
I'm disappointed with this version, the story is one of the main reason. C-BBJX shows lot of brotherhood of the 4th prince and 13th prince, strong friendship between female main lead and 13th prince, the relation between female main lead and the (late) king - how the king loved her as his own child, how the female lead loved, respected him, yet was afraid of him at the same time. Butt in this version, 80% of the story is about 4th prince and 8th prince's romance with the female lead.

The story pace of K-BBJX is also a problem, The first 8 or 10 episodes were filled with 8th prince and Hae Soo romance story, not a bad thing, but the last 10 episodes flows so quick that left so many questions.

I also despise how they change K-8th prince's character all of sudden (from good to bad to not so bad). In C-BBJX, he was ambitious and honest from the start that he wanted to be king. But after the 4th prince became king, he obeyed the king and started to lived peacefully with his wife (loved it when he realised that his 1st fujin was the one who always with him, and treated her with love), and left good impression at the end. C-BBJX is more realistic, they show that not everybody are 100% bad or good, they have reasons why they become what they are.

Acting :
Despite Lee jun ki and Kang ha neul, i think the others are failed to deliver the character.
I never hate when idols or flower boys dominate the dramas, but i always hope that they can deliver the character well.
IU really didn't convince me anything, especially in the last episode. Jisoo is not much different than IU, i heard that he's a good actor based on his late works, but i have to disagree if i judge from this drama.

Music :
One thing i love from this version is the songs! I love almost all of the OSTs.

Rewatch value :
Instead of wasting another 20 hours of my life for this, i prefer to waste it on C-BBJX.

Conclusion :
I'm a fan of Chinese Scarlet Heart, so i was exited when they announced that they would remake into Korean versions. But now i end up disappointed because of the story mess and the actings. But the cinematography in this version is better (not much better, i don't like so many close up shoots) than the C-BBJX.

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How do I begin writing a review of something that left an impact so strong, that 6 months after watching it, I still tear up a little when I think of the end?

This Korean adaptation was not liked by a lot for its end but despite being a fan of happy endings, I think the conclusion to this was not only heartbreaking, but extremely beautiful, sad, nevertheless. I don't think I would have been this moved by the story if it did indeed have a typical happy ending.

To remember that Wang So, despite all his hardships, became the king only to lose the only thing that mattered to him in the entire world, still tears me apart. I cried for a week after I finished watching this show because that's how strong its impact is.

His character is written so well that you can't help by root for him from the very beginning. His character is seen to have developed and matured the most among all others.

STORY- The plot is very intriguing and keep you hooked with the greed of just ONE MORE EPISODE until you finish watching all in one go. And then you want more.

MUSIC- This show has one of the best musics I have seen in K Dramas.

ACTING- All the characters are top notch but Lee Joon Gi strikes out. Also, you cant help but fall in love with Byun Baek Hyun's innocent character.

REWATCH VALUE- I would place it pretty high because over the past 6 months of first watching this show, I have already seen it 3 times thus far.

If you want to cry your heart out, definitely give this a try. I might sound sadistic, but sometimes, shows like these act as a trigger for releasing burdens that have been cooped up for long.

For me, Moon Lovers is one of the greatest things I have ever seen in my life.

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The Good:



I'm having trouble coming up with things for this one. I think very often it's easy to overlook a drama's strong points because its flaws are so obvious. It is especially so for Moon Lovers. And so I'll acknowledge that this review perhaps isn't really that great of a reflection of the quality of the drama.



Firstly, I think the drama did a pretty good job in executing several parts of the story, particularly when the supporting characters die. I think that's partly due to the actors' portrayals, and partly because the writer seemed to have gotten his grip on at the right moments. It would have been great if the writing was more consistent throughout the drama. If the drama managed to relay such poignant emotions more frequently I wouldn't have felt as detached from the story. In any case, I think those scenes were possibly the most awesome scenes in the drama.



Next, Lee Jun-ki. I'm certainly biased, but I think he delivered his character well, especially during the more emotional scenes. I can't elaborate more since I don't want to spoil the story. I also appreciated his cleaned-up look after he became emperor. It was about a thousand times better than that side-swept fringe hairstyle. I'm not that fond of his acting as a "blood-thirsty" emperor however. I like how his expressions changed, but imo he overacted a little when trying to portray Wang So's darker side. I also think Hong Jong-hyun was pretty good in his role as well. All in all, I don't think the acting was deserving of all the criticisms it was subjected to. I won't deny that there are some jarring scenes here and there because of "not-so-great" acting, but on the whole it was pretty watchable as far as I'm concerned and the actors did improve.



Lastly, the romance. I don't think the chemistry was great. However, there were certain scenes which were really cute. I'm personally not a huge fan of lovelines actually, but people who like to watch romance scenes will like it. It's a pity that a couple of scenes were cut from the international version, and you have to scour the Internet to look for the SBS version.



The Bad:



I think they got the OST choices very, very wrong. I'm personally not a fan of rap songs, and I don't think rap songs have a place in a historical drama anyway. The music was really annoying in some of the scenes because of this. Also, the fact that there were English lyrics in a couple of others as well. However, I did give a high score to the music because:

1. The "dadada" song was really catchy, despite the fact that it's not very suitable for the drama.

2. I also liked My Love by Lee Hi and Wind by Jung Seung-hwan.

3. Im Sun-hye's Will Be Back was really really really good. Not something I'll listen to in my spare time, but I felt it added value to the drama.

And seeing how they phased out the more unsuitable songs towards the end, I'm alright with giving them a higher score.



Many people have also complained about the directing. I have to say, I was actually overwhelmed by it at the start. I loved the shot with Wang So riding away from the eclipse. It was beautiful. Till I realised that that's perhaps the only redeeming scene. A lot of close-ups were wholly unnecessary. I don't mind that the director likes to take close-up shots, but I think it should be done in moderation, and only when it's contributing to the drama. The poor directing and editing knocked a lot of points off this drama.



Also, this may seem like a minor point, but despite it being a high budget production they didn't invest a lot in calefares. I understand that they wanted to put focus on the main characters, but does it make sense that no one is on the streets when Wang So and Hae Soo snuck out? I thought a festival was supposed to be ongoing but there wasn't even a soul on the streets. It just seemed too "cold" because there were only the two of them.



The Ugly:



The writing really let the drama down. I was actually looking forward to more political intrigues, a stronger heroine, better character development in general, and more cohesiveness.



I don't know what the writer was thinking of when he/she first starting conceptualising the characters. They had to dig into Kdrama tropes and hand Wang So a parent issue right at the start. Was that necessary? Was it necessary to give him a scar too? I think the writer was trying very hard to plant conflicts, but it didn't work to plan. And because of the scar, they made the female lead a cosmetics saleswoman. Not very useful in the ancient times. In fact (minor spoiler), it's was awkwardly hilarious that at the end they spoke about how Goryeo was very advanced in terms of cosmetics and tea culture. Riiiiiiight. Furthermore, Hae Soo wasn't the female lead I expected as well. I wanted a stronger, smarter, more independent female lead. Plus the fact that all the princes were crazy for love made them seem like really superficial characters. Personally, if your only motivation to fight for the throne is love, I absolutely will not love you. That's just too lame a reason.



Characters aside, I also have qualms about how they choose to leave out certain scenes. A lot of scenes were left to the viewers' imaginations, and that made the show really incoherent. At the very least they should have added in some of the more important scenes. How Wang So got the throne and all was pretty poorly thought out. The time skips weren't handled well as well (though the same can be said of the Chinese version). They were just there to advance the story so that the next scene can be played out, but the characters didn't really grow or change. Side plots such as the Baek-ah and Woo-hee story line was also choppy and they were given what I'd consider a slipshod ending that didn't make much sense.



Conclusion:



The drama is just disappointing. I expected a lot from it, but I don't think the fact that it was a pre-production did anything for it, nor the fact that it was a high-budget production because that totally didn't show. I think it may be worth a look if you like any of the actors, but that's about it.

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Warning! This review will be long because I can't help having *A Lot* to praise.

Let me just start off by saying that I had been waiting for this drama to air since late last year, when it was first announced. When the first of January arrived, I was excited, but then my soul was crushed when I found out that it was to be pre-produced and that while the shooting began in early January, the actual drama would not air until August. I thought I was going to die! >_<

Finally, August 29th arrived, and with it, the airing of the very first episode. I was immediately captivated and hooked. The original Scarlet Heart is one of my favorite dramas, so I was really looking forward to the Korean adaption. I was *not* disappointed at all. I stayed hooked and obsessed with this drama the entire way through.

Story:
This was an adaption, so even I was a little unsure how faithful to the original it would be. There were a couple of times I was sincerely worried that it was going to veer off course, but my fears there were proven to be groundless. Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Goreyo truly impressed me with how faithful it stayed to the original story while adapting it to real, actual Goreyo history. There were a couple of things it did leave out that did disappointment me, however. The relationship between 4th Prince and 13th Prince was not shown as often as in the original, at least in the earlier episodes. It made up for it in the latter episodes, though, plus, having only 20 episodes, extra things being cut down is understandable. The only other missing piece for me is very minor, but still felt like an endearing part was left out. In the original, 4th Prince had a habit of teasing the female lead by thumping her on her forhead. Here in Moon Lovers, that only occurs once, and it is a light smack on the head instead. I missed the thumps very much! :(

Cast:
I sincerely think that the whole cast was excellent. Especially Lee Joon Gi as 4th Prince Wang So. This man is my bias, it is true, but here in this role, it is easy to understand why. He is, quite blunty, amazing in this. He dominates every scene he is in. His emotions are raw and heartwrenching and I daresay he deserves a best actor award this year for this.

IU as Hae Soo was very good, as well. During the airing, a lot of netizens were putting her down and criticizing her acting, but I think she was great. Honestly, the Korean version of this character was written differently than the Chinese version. She was not nearly as strong or independant, so that is a reason in the writing, not IU's acting. I liked her here.

Kang Ha Neul as 8th Prince Wang Wook was truly impressive. I have always liked him, but he really blew me away here with his portrayal of hopeless romantic turned manipulative bastard. He really shines here, especially as he evolved into the antagonist.

Baekhyun as 10th Prince deserves a mention here too. Despite also getting a lot of grief from netizens, I was truly impressed with him and how he acted here. I wonder how many of those that shamed him had ever even seen the original Scarlet Heart or even knew what sort of character 10th Prince was, because Baekhyun was absolutely perfect! The character of 10th Prince is, frankly speaking, childish and not very smart. He is overly enthusiastic and quick to respond, but slow to 'get' things. Baekhyun portrayed this perfectly and it was not a lack of talent at all, in my opinion, but a truely legitimate rendition of the character. I say this, by the way, as someone who does not follow K Pop at all and whose only knowledge of EXO is what my friends post on the feeds here and the song that was used in this drama.

Hong Jong Hyun as 3rd Prince impressed me as well. I knew who he was before, had seen him around, but he never really stood out to me before this. He was wonderfully manipulative and evil here, plus he shows a wonderful range of conflicting emotions as his character evolves. He makes a great bad boy and looks *very* sexy in guyliner.

Music:
The music was great. I fell in love with every OST that was released. Even though it was, essentially, a historical drama, most of the non instrumental songs were modern K Pop. However, I found it a lovely paradox that fit very well, given that the heroine is a time traveller from our modern times. As the story goes on, she adapts so well to her new home in that time period that it is almost possible to forget that she doesn't really belong there. The music that plays during the drama feels like a reminder of this fact. It is like a link from the Goreyo period to modern times.

In the end, I enjoyed this drama more than any other drama this year, and more than all other dramas I have seen thus far. There are some things that I feel did not quite match up to the original, but then there are also aspects I felt were better. After thinking on it a good while, I have decided that I liked this Korean version even more than the Chinese version. For me personally, I feel I was more emotionally invested and it just seemed to hit me harder. It has earned the #1 spot on My Favorites list. It has made me feel a range of emotions, starting even before it ever aired. It has both enthralled and enchanted me. It also broke my heart. Very few dramas have ever actually made my heart flutter or truly brought me tears. Moon Lovers was one that accomplished that. Now that it is all over, I am left in a daze, not knowing what to do next, just as I was after completing the first Scarlet Heart. I do not often rewatch dramas, especially the very emotional ones, but I feel like this one will end up being an exception. It is hard to say goodbye to it and let go. For me, Moon Lovers is a masterpiece.

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Of all Lee Joon Gi’s dramas, this is actually my top 1 well in fact to all Korean dramas I’ve watched so far this is definitely my all time favorite and I’m still hoping & praying for the Second Season.
Story - This drama for me is a total package. Comedy, Action, Historical, Romance, heavy Drama as in everything is here.
Acting/Cast - Very good actors even Idols are here like IU & Baekhyun, they both gave justice to their characters and special mentioned to my favorite actor Lee Joon Gi who really captured my heart after watching like (first 2 episodes).
Music - OST is love
Rewatch Value - I've watched this I think 5 or 6 times already and still can't move on..
Overall - Perfect dramas to watch for over and over

?

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Let me start saying I didn't watch the other remake (or even the original one) or read the novel, so it was the first drama I watched with this story that was told plenty of times. And let me say this made me want to watch everything (including the chinese original, saddly I didn't find it yet).

Scalert Heart has an overused plot, or at least that's the impression I've got after reading so many chinese novels with almost the exact same description. However, instead of China, it takes place in Goryeo and, unlike many heroines I've seen in these kind of novels, the main character seems rather docile and ingenue. Althought don't be fooled! This drama is a rollercoaster and it will make you cry more than an infant.

Let's start with the acting: what can I say except superb? I know that IU was not great at all, but at least she made a half decent job in some scenes, and her forever frightened face kind of mixed well with other scenes too. But the real star I'm talking about here is none other than Lee Joon Gi and his portrayal of the dark, traumatized and passionate Wang So. Seriously, he got me crying, smiling, squirming and cheering for him even though his decisions and actions weren't always likeable. And let me say that it's very difficult for me to feel this way about a character.

Other thing I really liked on this drama was how morally ambiguous every character was. Even some characters I didn't like from the beginning, I felt some sort of empathy for them (except Wang So's mother, that bitch). And their morally ambiguity is more than justified given how living on a palace, pratically sparring for the throne, is stressing. Really, I also liked how Hae Soo's love interest changed through episodes, which gave us a really well done love triangle. One thing I always hated on kdramas was how most of the time the second lead has no space on the female lead's heart except friendship, but this one did a good job by balancing both love interests instead of doing one-sided crushes. 

The music was also addictive and made me feel warm and sad at the same time. I know it seems strange to mix such modern and upbeat music to a historical drama, but everything was mixed so well it gave me not only good additions to my playlist, but also made some scenes seem so much sweeter.

My only major complaint though, was how they dealt with Soo's time traveling and adjusting to a whole different era. It was like they began to develop it on the first few episodes, but then suddenly she was already used to everything and how everything worked. It just didn't feel realistic at all. I understand that with her more submissive, sensitive demeanor she can blend in easier, but her life suddenly changing from one thing to another was mostly handwaved.

And now to finish this review, I'll talk about the ending(spoiler free): I know many may complain about it, and I agree in some parts, but overall I think it was great. It gave me the goosebumps, made me cry a river, but still I wouldn't change a thing. That's how I feel about this drama: sure it had it's flaws, but the overall picture was so well done, it made me cry and have the feels for at least two days. Not every drama makes me like that.

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Missing a lot of beats along the way

A modern woman fell into a river and wakes up in the Joseon period inhabiting another woman's body, Hae Soo. She gets involved with five princes whom she becomes friends to lovers, whilst enduring all sorts of palace political stuff. This is her story of being a very naive woman with modern sensibilities struggling to survive in palace life.

The show is really beautiful and the music is really good, it's very emotional and elevates this show as a whole. The first 11 episodes are the best in my opinion. I like how believable all the character's motivations are, even the villains you understand why they're doing what they're doing. Afterward, there are a couple of time jumps and characters change, relationship dynamics change quite a bit, and it feels very detached from the first 11 episodes. Everything just kind of gets murky and lost its' focus. I don't think the time jump is suitable in this show because the first 10 episodes built my interest to see these characters' journeys in progress. I lost a lot of interest in the show and just stuck it out because of all of the goodwill for the characters. I needed to watch the to the end but the ending just wasn't satisfying. I was just unsatisfied with the conclusion of the relationship. I like their dynamic in the beginning much more and then it sort of changes like it just kind of happened. I didn't see her go from one love to the other, I didn't appreciate it. I feel like they're wasting such a great foundation they have built in the first 11 episodes.

(Spoilers ahead, rants ahead... XD)

I feel that the show as a whole is kind of missing the point as I don't feel like there was a reason for our female lead to go through all this hardship. She goes through so many sufferings and it just at the end there is no point in it all, especially if she wasn't gonna end up with her true love interest. Yes, she learned about ambition and the consequences of power but that is more relevant for the 4th prince. So it's just like I can't pinpoint exactly how the female leads character arc was. The show changed a lot and I am sad that it didn't leave a good impression on me at the end.

To not end up on a negative note, some of my favorite moments from the show. These are actually the little moments... so the first one is when Hae Soo makes the decision not to tell the 8th Prince when the king has died and she actually tells the 4th Prince I really enjoyed that part because she has some agency for herself in making that decision. I thought about the moment between her and the 4th Prince when she looks at him and she's like yes I'm gonna tell him the truth and like he recognizes the significance of her telling him the truth, I loved that entire scene!

OK, another moment is when she cuts herself to give herself a scar so she can't be married off to the 1st King. Oh! like the sound of the vase breaking and then she got a cut. That whole moment I thought it was really well done, it was so juicy. There's a lot of agency there that I really appreciated because she found a solution to her problem even though it wasn't the greatest solution but solved the problem.

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Like many Reverse Harem anime/manga

I was excited to watch this show, in fact i tried to savor it for special occasion to watch it. As soon as i watched episode 2, i was praying for it not to fall into trap of those Shoujo anime/manga. Unfortunately, it followed the exact same pattern, very hard to watch all the Princes swarming the heroine and falling in love with her. Of course the one who is the black sheep and is the most outlier will eventually wins her heart etc etc. I can name 10 anime with exact same plot, going back in history, some political intrigue, some tear jerking story about the ML and eventual romance. I was hoping more from this highly praised kdrama (And I've watched over 50 shows), but this one really could not differentiate itself from some run off the mil Shoujo anime/manga.
If you have a hard time believing me, just google "time travel reverse harem manga" and see for yourself.

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Story: Many would have you believe that this is the Korean adaptation of the highly successful Chinese drama Bu Bu Jing Xing (BBJX). It is not! More accurately, there are only a few similarities (can be counted in one hand) of circumstances but other than that, this is an entirely different story. In a nutshell, it's a story about a woman from the current time accidentally ended up in the ancient times where she became a part of a royal household and became friends with the princes of that era. She was caught in the middle of the political rivalry between the brothers for the throne.

I would like to reiterate that this Korean version was not written by the original Bu Bu Jing Xing writer. This is entirely a Korean written drama. The biggest difference are the characters. The main male lead in this drama is a bit of a ruffian and pariah with tendencies towards brutality. The female lead of this drama is a weak character who is always the victim and never a success of her own (which is so unlike the female lead in BBJX!). Maybe the idea of a strong, arrogant, cold male with tendencies towards brutality and a weak, simpering, without backbone and a blur-bordering-on-being-stupid heroine appeals to the Korean audience as per the rich, arrogant, powerful, abusive chaebol guy and the poor, happy, innocent woman formula. In any case, the lack of strong lead characters (including that of the second male lead) totally spoiled this drama for me.

The charm and success of BBJX relied heavily on its unforgettable characters. The storyline of time-traveling and involvement in palace politics itself is not new and pretty 'standard' in the Chinese drama scene. Popular examples include Palace: Lock Heart, The Myth and the recent web-drama comedic hit Go Princess Go. The Chinese have been making such time-traveling dramas for decades now. What made BBJX achieved such a big success was mainly because of its unforgettable characters and not necessarily the storyline itself. The Koreans went and adapt the main idea of the story and the open ended ending but pretty much made a mess of all of its characters.

Do not get me wrong here. I am not comparing the Korean version with the Chinese version. To do so, will be like comparing chicken to duck. Both are two very different products although from the same story idea! I am merely stating that if the Koreans had decided to do a drama based on time-traveling, palace politics and romance - they could learn much from their Chinese counterparts about writing characters that create lasting and strong impacts instead of following the usual mold of what constitutes a successful Korean romance pairing (rich abusive guy with poor weak woman). I believe if they had dared to break away from this mold and give the audience a strong female character with a strong, upright and strategist of a male character against a kind but ambitious second male lead, the drama would have been a much bigger hit. The only characters that this drama did well are the characters of the 10th prince and his wife. To this day, I cannot decide if I like BBJX's 10th prince and wife better or this Korean version's 10th prince and wife. In both versions, the characters of the 10th prince and wife were given good justice although both had different stories and endings for the 10th prince and wife.

Acting/Cast: Most of the male casts did well, as did the supporting actresses. The female lead, however, was a total let down. She only had three expressions: shy smile, expressionless and shocked. Her body language was a bit stiff too - making it hard for me to be convinced that there's even chemistry between her and the male leads; hence making this so-called 'great romance that caused brothers to fight against each other for the throne' less convincing. Even the shocked look looked rather unconvincing. In cases like these, there are 3 possibilities: 1- This was how the character was depicted in the script, or 2- The actress is bad in acting and shouldn't be acting, or 3- Both 1 and 2. I do not know much about the female lead as I do not follow news of Korean young idols and since this is the first drama of hers that I'd watched, I cannot make a concrete judgment of her acting skills. The jury is out on this matter. What I can say for absolute certain was the lead female character was the reason why I dropped this drama after 6 episodes and only caught up after it has finished airing (with fingers firmly on the fast forward button!).

Music: Nothing that stuck in my head.

Rewatch value: I will not be re-watching this.

Overall: Enough said. I recommend that you go watch Bu Bu Jing Xing instead if you haven't watch it.

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if i had come here right after watching, i would have given 10/10 for all regardless of the ratings.  but i went and watched the Chinese version and had to deduct some points here, because the original was so good. I understand the criticism this one got.
anyway not here to review about the Chinese version but the korean version. first of all i have to say, i loved this drama...  i had stopped watching kdramas for almost seven years because it got so monotonous and boring, then came across this with no recommendation and no expectations  i didn't even  read the synopsis,  and then wow just wow,  the story got me hooked. coming to the second point,  the cast...  They were all pretty :)  and then there's lee junki my all time favorite.  but kang ha neul caught my eyes  i loved him as wang wook, 8th prince.  and iu  i guess she did Ok
Lee junki was a standout though.
thirdly, the music  the soundtracks...  well some of them had English words and rap,  which kind of didn't fit the historical settings  but damn they are all so good,  the soundtracks was one of the best I have to say.  

and lastly i couldn't get over this drama for weeks.  it left me shattered, normally I don't watch tragedy  but this drama is worth it.  worth all the tears and emotions u are going to invest.  

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