The Prince was intelligent, kind, caring, sweet and oh so lovable especially when he smiled or joked. They did a good job with making his younger and older versions look alike. I wish he had not been so hateful to the Queen I am not sure the contempt he had for her was necessary. The prince's brother was fun, I wish he too had been even more jovial than his character already was. Like so many K-drama's there was a love triangle but this one unnecessary as well. I think their love story could have carried the show without the other brother also being in love.
I loved that the Prince/King actually had a good relationship with his brother and with the friends. I loved Woon- I think a side love story with him would have been fun- but even by himself I just liked his devout character. I even felt sorry for the Princess and of course for Yeonwoo's family. I wish people had been more forgiving.
Overall I liked this drama as a cute historical romance but some parts were slow and others underdeveloped. I wish the characters had been more resolute and more open. I would suggest this drama to people who like historical romance novels.
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Back to the story, personally it didn't meet my expectations. If I am right, this drama is popular in my country that's why I'm really excited to watch this. But the story is slow pace I got bored. After 5 episodes, I find it hard to finish it. Took me 15 days (with a lot of skipping) just to end this drama. I can't really give a long review since I didn't watch it sincerely so I'll just give it a 5.5/10.
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not something you can enjoy
First of all this drama is full of angst. This has nail biting moments but has more torture than love. My heart was hurting so much through out the drama as i was watching it. The twist are really surprising and painful. This is all about sacrifices someone else makes becoz someone is power hungry and killing happens the way you are out there to buy groceries. This won't calm your nerves instead it will work u up. So if you looking for something which will make you happy, put your heart at ease than this is not the drama for you. On top that this drama has the FL lead with dead pan expression which i hated through out the drama.i preferred younger version of FL and her acting skill. Older version of FL has no emotions or expressions coming out and in a way the are saying FL is little dumb as she know she is not a real shaman but she likes to keep believing it that makes you question the intelligence of FL in this drama.
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Moon Embracing the Sun suffers from being pre- golden age of big budget, creative concept era K dramas.
Plot points are endlessly repeated, pacing is slow to allow for viewers skipping/missing episodes. Each character has their predictable role to play: the endlessly self-sacrificing female lead, the righteous, angst filled male lead, the long-suffering mother etc. Very little is explored or developed despite being longer than most K dramas today. It's an addictive show as the female lead is often in need of rescuing, and there's lots of romantic suspense. But, once you realize that there will be no twist, no resetting of expectations it starts to drag.
Acting is all over the map. Some of the child actors are brilliant (and at this point we know on their way to successful adult acting careers), some are over-acting and stilted. Same when everything switches to adults. The two main adult leads have little chemistry together but both are very good at playing their roles independently (especially angst filled/sad moments).
Music is fine. Would not rewatch.
I grade on other criteria:
Complex Themes: 7
Beware of karma it comes for everyone. Attempting to protect relatives from the consequences of their own actions/greed, just allows them to continue to damage others. Keeping secrets is unfair to those hurt by them. Don't force a romantic relationship if it doesn't feel right.
Character Development/Growth: 5
The king's sister matures a bit, but the show almost makes a point of how people stay the same over the years.
Complex women characters/relationships: 4
There's lots of women roles, but everyone is a stereotype/caricature. The one exception is actually the head shaman.There's some interesting ideas about how to sort out competing priorities and values, and sisterhood. The shaman is an interesting, complicated character.
Production budget/cinematography: 4
The costuming for the men is not flattering, materials looks shiny and cheap and are in strange color combinations. The sets are very claustrophobic and repeat all the time. This was shot with HD Cameras full on, and clear in a way that isn't particularly flattering.
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This review may contain spoilers
The story was engaging, especially from episode 1-6. I never felt bored while watching it. In most epic dramas, I tend to skip the political part but in this drama, I was more interested in it than the love story. The OSTs were also really good.I think Kim soo hyun did justice to his role but I could not accept the other adult actors for a very long time. The child actors were too good while the adult cast lacked chemistry because of which I could not feel any emotions. The female lead didn't have the charm that the child actress had. To be honest, Kim soo hyun had a much better chemistry with the 2nd female lead.
I don't really understand the purpose of the 2nd male lead in this drama. They didn't develop his and the female lead's relationship properly. I couldn't feel bad for him at all even when he died.
Overall, I think it had a good story but it could have been much better if it had a better actress.
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I really don't know what else to say about this drama other than it was long and disappointing, with caricature characters that seemed very one-dimensional.
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At first I don't want to watch this because this is historical drama and my favorite type is RomCom so this is something new for me. I thought this will be like boring and dramatic love stories but it's actually not boring and really sweet also cute and pure. I really don't regret watching this. In fact, I personally think this drama is really great.
The story is really great and unique. I love how the story and twist develop in each episodes too. Although on some parts [especially on some first episode] is not really good and boring but it's getting better and better and the ending is definitely not disappointing !
The cast is AWESOME. I all love the teen actors and the adult actors. Both are awesome. And surprisingly I actually think that the teen and adult faces resemble each other so it's really convenient ^^
Overall I think this drama is really worth watching and I suggest everyone to watch this.
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Furthermore, the male lead was one of the most boring, uninteresting and helpless I've ever seen. There's no gravity to him being the king - neither in his official actions as a ruler nor as a person. Plot points related to his rule and not to the romance are being thrown around without meaning or a conclusion.
The rest of the characters were also overdrawn and flattened, made to fit into the limited scenario.
The highest point of this drama was, without a doubt, the acting. Especially the young actors in the first part of the series. Even though the events themselves weren't very captivating, they, with the skill of their acting, managed to pull me in nonetheless. Which is what, in the end, made me watch this to the end.
Overall, I suppose it's a fair drama if romance is what you wanted to get out of it. However, if you - like me - were looking for a plot with more levels than just the romantic one, there's a lot of better choices out there. So that if the first few episodes won't catch your interest, the chances are that the rest won't either.
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I think the cast sucks. Seriously.. Kim Soo Hyun (Lee Hwon) was not really appropriate as a king, and seems to force himself to act coldly when he was far better in acting as a cheerful, clumsy Sam Dong in DH.
I also have difficulties in liking the adult Wol/ Yeon Woo. Ga In's chipmunk expressions are the most horrible focus scenes. But, I like MinHwa and Prince Yang Myung adult's faces!!!! Heo Yeom's terrible, Bo Kyung? Pretty....
Besides cast, everything's great. The story, music, it also have high rewatch values. But if you read the novel's version, this drama was FAR behind. The screenwriter did a lot of amazing scenes, but cutting MOST of the kissing and romantic scenes between Wol and Hwon? That sucks....
The ending? Hate it... Why should everyone suffers for only Yeon Woo and Hwon's happiness?
This IS OF COURSE NOT the best sageuk i've ever seen, No doubt.
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With a splash of the metaphysical and a splash of reality, this drama combines perfectly. The storyline is one that I dont want to describe because I truly feel watching it all the way through is the best way to give it justice. I cheat sometimes and read Dramabeans, as I love her reviews but even for this one - I just allowed myself to watch and not read blogs until after. This drama has a merry-go-round of several lives and to watch the rise and fall is beyond captivating. I am glad I didnt watch it when it was airing, as I would have died to watch each week! Binge this one, you wont be disappointed.
The cast? Just, wow. Unlike others - I liked the casting of the female lead. I think what they were trying to prove with her and her acting, is how demure, well-kept and classy the child actress was/is. I think they tried the best they could to not fit the child with the adult, but the adult with the child. Its hard to find strong likeness, as each of those actors have their own striking features, which is why they are the go-to veterans of the drama world when it comes to child actors (not child so much anymore, hey guys? Almost adults now, but ive been watching you all for a long time!) Lets get real, having LSH and JIW is a dream match up. That is an easy sell. Seeing LSH in the gonryongpo has me sold before I even know what the drama is about. There is eye-candy galore. As usual, the palace is amazing and they throw in a the Korean Heritage Location several times. Cool.
Music - long before I saw this drama, I had the ringtone to the main song as my alarm tone. So, everytime I heard it - I thought it was time for work. lol. At any rate, its very classy, catchy and I like that they didnt overdo it with the OST. Simple, classic. Nice.
Rewatch? Well, I have yet to this day ever rewatch a drama. I dont care if its my number 1 or 10. Never. Not even a movie. So, to me this is a 1. If I could go lower I would, as it is N/A for me. However, I am not sure id recommend it anyway as rewatch so I would still go with 1-4 if trying to sell someone else on it.
Do yourself a favor and watch this drama. It was all the rage when it was airing, and it still is - 3 years later. Still cant believe its taken me this long to watch and/or complete but. Glad I did. If you dont think you can get into Sageuk, I say watch another gateway before this one. However, its in the top 5 for Sageuks to watch when you are a historical beginner. :-)
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