Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo (2016)

A second season needs to happen!

This show went from very happy, cheerful and optimistic to bleak and heartbreaking. The last few episodes are just drenched in sadness, and the very last one hits peak anguish, so be ready for that.

During the first few episodes (before anyone died) I kept pondering how in a much smuttier and adult rated world, this would have been a badass reverse harem story. Having a bunch of good looking guys crushing on a somewhat oblivious girl, I found it impossible for my mind not to fall straight into the gutter.

Ahem, anyways...

Lee Joon Gi really gave it his all in this drama, he was absolutely fantastic! He made me cry my eyes out in the last episode. And as unlikable as could be, and as questionable as some of his actions and decisions were, I still found myself empathizing with him and rooting for him to find some peace and happiness. The broken bad boy, be it in historical drama version, or in modern times is always so alluring.

IU was also did a great job. Her transformation from bewildered girl transported back in time to dignified court lady was seamless. It's crazy how she had unique chemistry with each of the guys playing a Prince. From sibling-like love, to puppy love to full on soulmates love, she had such great rapport with them.

The costumes were beautiful, even if at times the wigs looked insane and the polka-dotted court lady uniforms were kinda weird. It was my first time watching a historical drama not set in the Joseon era, so seeing everyone rocking the loose hair was kind of a wild experience LOL

Keep an eye out for the weird zooms into the actors faces during some of the episodes. It'll feel like you're watching the Office (US), and the characters will break the 4th wall, address you directly and say something completely at odds with the time period. I still wonder about that directorial choice.

All in all, not everything about this was great, but the good definitely outweighed the bad. This is worth watching if only to see the main couple act their butts off.

P.S. I want a second season set in modern times, with a rom-com feel where everyone gets a happy ending! Make it happen SBS!

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A 花より男子 (Hana Yori Dango); Meteor Garden show with political sibling rivalry

I. Story
In a story with many important characters, it is important to tell it clearly, they did well in doing that. The political war between the brothers were interesting, they also picked a good period for the Korean version of a Chinese novel.

Sadly, the romantic aspect of the story was delivered poorly. It did not elicit any emotional reaction. There was no built-up. This is primarily a story about sibling rivalry gone to the political level.

II. Acting
It was lacking in some areas, there were also scenes which looked like they were practicing. There were also memorable scenes, from pure laughter to serious where their acting were very natural.

III. Music
The music, unfortunately, did not make an impact. There were scenes where a powerful music fits but instead it did not have any or a weaker music was used. They should've used more.

IV. Production
The production was very good. They spent for quality materials and designs for the wardrobe of the actors. This is specially true for IU where she was able to wear historical wardrobes yet with a modern touch which fits her aura. Great job in blending the two eras.

However, close-up shots were overused to the 5th power. It wasn't needed in many of the scenes, it became annoying. In the boat scenes, there was too much backlight glare from the sun the actors (again close-up shots) can be barely seen.

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Everyone loses everything . . .

Touching characters and heartfelt acting are the reason to watch. In the first 10 or so episodes, we spend a lot of nostalgic 'golden' time, experience the innocence and courage of youth. Hae Soo inspires the brothers to hope that palace life could be different, and you the foolish audience member begins to hope too . . .

But, by the end, the show is racing through a Wikipedia of historical events with Hae Soo barely present. Scenes are chopped and spliced until the plot turns into simply everyone loses everything. Objectively, there's lots wrong with the show not just the plot, the themes are unclear, action scenes weak, and perhaps worst of all the romance between Hae Soo and 4th prince on paper is underdeveloped, toxic and not particularly inspiring. Despite the mess, the strength of the chemistry and the acting kept me watching.

It is worth sticking it out for some key touching moments: Hae Soo's song becoming a legendary classic sung throughout the land or the 14th prince revealing his commitment and deep love for Hae Soo all along.

Does this drama deserve it's legendary status? Overall no . . . but I'm glad I watched. These characters are going to live on in my head for years to come. And that made this drama a rare and precious watching experience.

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Un meraviglioso capolavoro.

Partendo già che sapevo come finiva che sapevo che era un drama impegnativo emotivamente e che ne avevo lette di ogni genere mi aspettavo che sarebbe stato molto meno emozionante.Alla fine mi sbagliavo perché nonostante tutto mi ha colpita e affondata questa bellissimo drama storico e fantasy allo stesso tempo.
La trama e storia romanzata ma storia perciò non c'era molto da aspettarsi su quello,re,regine,principi ereditari e principi di ogni genere,dame di corte complotti ammazzamenti e tutto e di più però in mezzo c'è questa meravigliosa storia d'amore che lascia il segno.I principi uno più affascinate dell'altro,belli,buoni e qualcuno anche spietato.Poi c'è l'8 principe che nonostante tutto lo si ama e lo si odia,i altri con le loro storie,tutto ben strutturato che non c'è mai un momento di noia.
Di lui e lei c'è poco da dire sono meravigliosi fin da subito.Insieme una chimica pazzesca nonostante l'ambientazione storica sono dolci e sensuali.Una storia talmente sofferta che lascia segni anche nel spettatore.
Non credevo che mi avrebbe tanto fatto emozionare e che sarebbe diventato il DRAMA in cima alla mia classifica.
Se volete qualcosa che veramente vi faccia emozionare questo è il drama perfetto,in tutto dalla trama al amore alla storia ai attori e nonostante tutto il finale.

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Magnifique drama

Je ne sais même pas par quoi commencer cette critique tellement tout se bouscule dans ma tête. Voilà un de mes dramas historiques préférés, y a pas à dire.
Tout a été (à mon goût évidemment) magnifique et fort. Je vais tenter de décrire toutes ces impressions :
L’histoire : Déjà, là il y a du lourd. Une femme de notre époque se voit transporter à l’ère Goryeo, pendant le règne de Taejo, le premier roi de cette ère, suite à une éclipse solaire. La partie moderne tient donc dans les premières 10 minutes du drama et le dernier quart d’heure de fin. Tout le reste est durant l’ère Goreyo. Et là, s’entremêle les histoires des 14 princes, et de cette femme qui arrive, mais étrangement prend la place, d’une cousine proche de la femme d’un des princes. Ce drama s’étale ensuite sur plusieurs années.
Points forts : Tous les princes ont leur propre caractère et leur histoire. Tout se mélange, s’entrechoque et l’amour côtoie la haine et l’avidité du pouvoir à longueur de temps. On ne peut pas ne pas être touché par chacun de ces personnages. Certains sortent du lot, mais quand même, bravo…
La cinématographie est magnifique, les costumes aussi. Certaines scènes comme celle des princes et du rituel de la pluie m’ont littéralement filé des frissons
L’ascenseur émotionnel : Franchement dès le premier épisode, j’ai été embarquée, et j’ai vécu plein d’émotions de toutes sortes avec intensité. Grâce à l’histoire mais aussi et surtout aux acteurs, tous quel qu’ils soient, principaux ou secondaires.
Aucun temps mort durant les 20 épisodes, tout se tient, tout se met en place, et qu’on aime ou pas, toute l’histoire reste logique. De fait, on peut prévoir la boite de mouchoirs. J’ai versé bien des larmes. Mais j’ai trouvé dans ce drama un travail et une profondeur que je ne retrouve pas toujours. Alors chapeau !
L’OST accompagne magnifiquement le drama.
Quand au couple principal, énorme. J’ai adoré Lee Joon Gi comme d’habitude : Il n’y a pas à dire quel acteur, il dégage quelque chose d’intense. Même si son rôle au final apporte une moral difficile. Pas de spoil, mais j’ai été touchée.
Quant à IU, elle reste une de mes actrices préférées. Elle porte son rôle à merveille. Leur histoire est magnifique même si loin d’être rose.
Un aparté sur Kang Ha Neul : Très belle découverte pour moi, j’ai adoré son rôle et son évolution en tant que 8ème prince.
Je ne sais pas quoi dire de plus, hormis que si vous êtes prêts à être embarqué, et verser quelques larmes, alors laissez-vous porter par ce drama de qualité.

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Who would she end up with?

For a drama produced eight years ago, it was still very appealing. I had not watched the Scarlet Heart produced earlier in China, which was what this drama was modelled after. But I am now inspired to do that.

Heart broken by her boyfriend and best friend who betrayed her, Go Han Jin was crying by the sea. While trying to save a drowning boy, an eclipse happened and Han Jin found herself transported back to the Goryeo era and into the body of Hae Soo. Here she witnessed the fight over the throne by the Princes.

Han Jin unwittingly attracted the attention of several of the princes and they fell in love with her. Most prominent was the 8th prince and 4th prince. The 8th prince was quietly plotting for the throne. The 4th prince was seemingly the ostracised and the least favoured for the throne, but unknown to most people including himself, he was born under the star of the King, the same as for the Crown Prince Wu.

So, who would Hae Soo end up with? The gentle loving 8th prince, the forceful 4th prince, the playful 10th prince or the righteous 14th prince?

1. The story was interesting. It was difficult to predict what might happened next. We know quite early who the next king would be but would he become the cruel king who massacred his brothers? Would Hae Soo be able to change that?

2. Character development was very evident. How a gentle soul become cunning in the face of the desire for power. How someone with no interest in the throne was eventually lead to follow his fate. How a confident modern maiden bowed down to the cruelty of the time.

3. Having only 20 episodes, the pace of the story development was fast and there were no dilly-dallying.

4. The cast was outstanding. The leads did a fabulous job. Lee Joon Gi portrayed the forceful 4th prince who was very much ashamed of the scar of his face. Kang Ha Neul had such a gentle look on his face when he was in love with Hae Soo. Hong Jong Hyun was absolute evil looking and he looked really deranged later in the drama. Then there is Byun Baek Hyun with this innocent, playful and silly look.

5. However, the drama was not without some flaws. In some instance, it was clear that the drama was deliberately made very makjang. The rather intelligent Hae Soo became brainless, weak and hesitant. And she started blaming Wang So for beating to death someone who had betrayed her trust. Of course, this was to lead to the chosen ending of the drama.

However, overall I highly recommend this drama.

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Memorable ending

Story: A heartbroken woman in modern world suddenly time traveled to Goryeo Dynasty after drowning and woke up with Hae Soo's body. The plot is full of politics, love stories, family issues and tragedies.

Acting: Both leads did amazing in the series, as well as the other side characters and villains. However, there were few noticeable unconvincing acting or lacking of intensity emotions to some, especially in the last episodes of the drama.

Music: I love most of the sound effects used with catchy background music / osts.

Rewatch value: It's not rewatchable for me but i might wanna watch Jun Ki's scenes as he's really good looking in this drama.

Overall: What made this drama memorable for me is only the ending, some may hate it, some may love it but directing wise, it was an impactful one. It's one of those series that will make you feel sad whenever you remember it because of the ending. Kudos to IU and Lee Jun Ki for giving their best in creating their roles that will forever remain in our hearts and hopefully will remind everyone to not regret things and keep giving all our best in the face of challenges in life. Despite the traumatic ending, Scarlet Heart Ryeo isn't memorable as a whole. IU's character was all over the place and I couldn't understand what her goal was or what she values. Sometimes she values her life, sometimes she doesn't, so the things she did was a bit confusing and made me question her decisions in living in the palace, then staying away then back to living there again. The progress of Hae Soo and Wang So's (4th Prince)relationship was not as convincing like her and Wang Wook(8th Prince)'s initial love story, even so, they were still cute and believable because of their acting. The first few episodes were full of wisdom or quotable quotes but then faltered in the middle until the end because the focus was directed to the brothers fighting for the throne and giving us tragedy every step of the way. Even with the devastating events, i wasn't fully invested with each story as i felt detached or the flow of the story didn't make me feel connected with some of the princes' while IU's modern character had no explanation whatsoever as to what happened of her 'coma' like how she was saved and what happened to her best friend, boyfriend etc, where she's suddenly awake, back to working and with snippets of her 'time travel' experience via her dreams, which felt rushed and left me more confused. Quite a bit disappointed but still happy that I got to watch this drama, so my overall score would be 7-8 stars.

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One of my all time favourites

All of my friends
know how big of a moon lovers fan
I am. I just love this drama so so
so so much and there are so many
reasons for that as it is sad and you
all know how much I love sad and
tragic dramas.

2nd thing is the actors I mean you
gotta accept the fact that the cast is
amazing consisting lee jong gi, IU,
kang ha neul, ji soo, nam joo hyuk
and many more fabulous actors (
and they all are hot too ). They all
potrayed their characters so well that
I was fascinated by it.

3rd reason is the story of course. I
mean for me story is the main
important thing in any drama. The
story was very well written that in the
first episode it made me laugh out
loud and so they made me connect
with the characters and when I got
enough time to connect with the
character they broke our hearts by
making them suffer a lot.

I won't tell how they suffer as it will be
a spoiler. The characters were well
written. I liked the fact that nobody
was “perfect” as a lot of dramas do.
And the chemistry between the leads
was awesome! From episode 1 till the
last episode I laughed with them, I
cried with the. If it was a sad scene I
would feel bad for them if it was a
happy scene I would feel happy for
them, overall their chemistry was on
another level!

Like they are my favorite couple that’s
for sure. I really liked the female lead
too. Even though many people don’t
like her but I think she was very strong
and had her own very understandable
reasons for doing the things that she
did in the end. If I were in her place i
would have done the same.

Overall the drama holds a very special
place in my heart as it’s the first and
last kdrama that made me cry a lot
and not only me but even my mom.
She cried more than me and she also
loved this drama so if my mom likes
something then it has to be the best.
Period.

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Not the ending I would've wanted!

So I rewatch this Kdrama again on 11/16/2019. I love Lee Joon Gi. The fight for the throne amongst the brothers when they started becoming adults was a steady game. Li Joon Gi played his part very well and the idea of having a scar on his face... he pulled it off with his acting abilities. Lee Joon Gi's martial arts was absolutely bad a__. Actually, his martial art was a 10 by itself. IU who plays Hae Soo was very emotional but she did well. The first time I watch this I just couldn't connect with her but this time I did connect with her. Now the storyline, I don't know what I was thinking when I first watch this. I wished this had a better ending and that is the reason why I brought it down to 8 stars. The story where Hae Soo married his younger brother and had a baby where did the time go that not unless that was Wang So's baby got me all confused and Wang So married that horrifying Woo Hee princess. That part didn't make any sense to me for like 3 episodes. I was not happy with the ending at all. Sorry to the screenwriter on that part. I do want to thank all the various teams for doing the best they could.

The screenwriters did an alternate ending as I rated it low now it's back up to 10. You can check it out yourself by copying and pasting the link to your browser https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SYNf0KBd404

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Honestly.. I was so into this drama, the main couple, the acting, the pretty directing, lovely OST,.. But it all falls flat because the storylines were all over the place.

Everything was focused too long on being "set up" and "leading up to". Then when everything was good it lasted for a quick second only to fall apart again.
Will be good to edit to, but what a mess to watch!

Acting was on point, however. IU was pretty and just subtle enough. Lee Jun Ki takes the cake here, I feel like he really gave it his all. Very powerful, sad, yet sometimes light and sweet, his character really lived through it all. I should have known it would break my heart, as I've read the story online beforehand, but I was hoping, with the changes made already, that the story would be directed and/or written better.

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