Talk about the story: This drama did start on a high note. I love the beginning of the story. I find it sweet for early teenagers to experience what they call puppy love. What didn't work for me is that - when they became adults I find it really really odd that they're still so crazy for each other after the years of absence? And really really hate that everything that's going on is very predictable and repeatable! Argh.. till now I want to wring the neck of the writer. They should stick at the teenage story and stop the story there and it could been a masterpiece! If I may also add, this drama is full of cliche and they didn't go deeper than I expect the story to be!
The acting... I like the acting of the whole cast! What didn't work for me is that - there is NO CHEMISTRY between Han Ga In and
Kim Soo Hyun. The younger actors did have a chemistry, actually that's why I keep on saying that they should stick the entire story about them being young...
Music. I love the ost of this drama.
Overall. If I happen to be 12 years old I might like it but then I'm over 20 now so my expectations is quite high. So for people who likes stories w/ no depth then this is for you. I will salute people who can actually finish this till end. Even Rooftop Prince (w/c sucks at the middle) is better than this.
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Boys over Flowers meets Sageuk ( you decide if that’s good or not)
Why the comparison ?It has everything BOF is : story line that is fairytale-esque based on some sort of literature , noble idiot of a female protagonist who has the overly wealthy and rich men (first banana and second banana) licking the ground she walks on, ultra wealth for days showcased in beautiful clothes coupled with ultra cinematography with the extremely charismatic machismo male lead who borders on mean with acute levels of conceit but you can’t help but fall in love with . Moreover - the detractors of the love embodied in mean Middle Aged adults . However on the lovers side is always the chaebol/ chief eunuch/ bodyguard helper and guardian who utterly adores the male protagonist. Is that not BoF? It’s also The Moon That Embraces The Sun. Ha
Unlike its comparison- TMETS is witty and better done .
It’s also a beautiful story and equally entertaining. I actually found it quite cracktastic especially for a sageuk. I especially loved the metaphors and wise sayings. I got so many quotes on love , politics and leadership so it definitely engages the mind and is in no way brainless. I also especially loved the take on truth vs honesty and the depiction of noble idiots and honest fools. The character portraits were not so shabby and made for pleasant ponder. I especially loved the Crown Prince / King as he was able to balance the conflicting forces of duality that came with the throne . Definitely one of my fave fictional characters in Dramaland.
However ,it doesn’t score a full 10 / 10 because in certain aspects the story went too fast for its own good . This is seen in the overuse of the already good metaphors , everyone knowing the bad guys MO from day one , making out characters to be bad from born day . Like, there’s nothing wrong with these plots but they require directing to act more deftly and concurrently with its script . So the show become a bit like a panting race horse which was a bit unfortunate. Moreover dramatic consequence buckled under the weight of the noble sacrifice trope. The other subsidiary stories premised just disappeared which was very disappointing.
As for the acting - hats off to the younger cast especially Kim Yoo Jung. She gave Yeon Woo so much heart that I had to rely on her portrayal because the older cast member did not portray anything at all . My case is particularly with Ha Ga In. Remind me to avoid her like Kim Na Heul. Ha Ga In was passive , flat and lacked nuance ;it was dismal . It’s even more jarring because her male counterparts were exceptional and they embarrassingly threw her out the water. It was so sad that I fast forwarded her bits when she wasn’t with the King.
As for Kim Soo Hyun - WOW. He definitely deserved that Baeksung Award. His portrayal of Lee Hwon was passioned , strong , demanding yet elegant , witty and approachable. He gave the script levels that it didn’t have for him which was such a class act. I wish he had a better female lead and this show would be hitting the 9’s and 10’s out 10’s. Everyone else did a great job especially Kim Jae Woon and Kim Eu Song.
The cinematography was also breathtaking. It was such a pretty drama . I especially loved the hair pieces which were so ornate.
The music was okay . I really liked the instrumentals . My favorite is The Sorrow Song of Love . That was beautiful and poignant and generously inserted.
Then for the rewatch value... mmmm... not so much . It’s one of those shows with ultra baddies so the fun is kinda lost a second time around. However the last episode is BEAUTIFUL. I would definitely watch that again for sure.
OVERALL: I really enjoyed this show but in retrospect I don’t know why because the story was quite thin in the end . It was cracktastic enough to keep me wanting hence it’s a BoF type of show. A sort of pop culture phenomenon. It was actually really fun to watch and that should count for something hence the 8.5.I do sort of resent the dramatic consequence plus the lacking female lead actress however this show is a really worthy watch .
Tears , laughter intense hatred for villains and triumph are sure to ensue .
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Story. I give it a solid ten. This was another drama I was hesitant to watch. Why? Historical drama. I was never really interested in those. In fact, it took me four months to get myself to watch it. What happened then? I finished it in two days. I couldn't stop myself. It was a great drama, and although it has the cliche storyline of two guys fighting for a girl, the context that it was put in made it simply amazing. Even more amazing, I actually thought that the ending pair actually deserved each other. In most dramas, it's either the girl who's not worthy, or the guy, but in this drama, they deserve each other, and their love for each other match. There are twists and turns, but then again, I sort of did expect everything that was going to happen. Was it because I watched Iljimae first? They have around the same storyline, and even the young actors were the same ^^ So, while I did guess the ending, and what was going to happen, the producers still managed to pull off another great drama, full of suspense, action, love, and betrayal.
Acting/Cast. Well, first off, let me just say that most of the dramas I watch, I watch because of the actors. I was just going to pass this drama while I was searching for a new drama to watch, but the actors held me back. I recognized Kim Soo Hyun from Dream High, and Jung Il Woo from Flower Boy Ramyun Shop (which I had just recently finished), and decided to give it a try. I set my standards very high for actors whose other dramas I've watched before, and I wasn't in the least disappointed by their acting. I admit that Prince Yang Myeong's transition from a teenager to an adult did take a while to get adjusted to, but Jung Il Woo hasn't disappointed me yet. And surprisingly, neither did the teenage actors. From what I could tell, they were amazingly mature for their acting, and
Music. Well, music is one of the smaller things I pay attention to when watching a drama, so I can't rate this category very well, but since the music always seemed to match the mood beautifully, I also give it a ten.
Rewatch value. I have rewatched very few dramas in my life. I have explained in my other reviews why, but I do not feel the need to explain it here. It was an outstanding drama, and I might watch it again in the future. If I have time, or if I get bored. I just want the impact of the full drama to stay with me when I watch it, and if I rewatch it, there's a chance the impact won't be as great.
Overall, I believe this drama deserves a ten.
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I mean seriously i got sold by some serious piece of acting. Not only were the leads amazing but the child actors.I was like OMO they can seriously act!!!
This drama is a beautifully composed well written n superbly acted drama. The directer absolutely knew what he was doing n he did a superb job in filling each n every gap in this story beautifully. Its kind of (like 10%) similar to The Princess Man but it was WAY as in WAY better than it in terms of plot. The problem i had with The Princess Man was too many loop holes n not a strong ending in the end, But this drama left nothing behind except for pure entertainment n lots of buckets of tears(both happy and sad). Those who loved princess man will simply adore this drama too. Give it a go people. You guys wont be disappointed at all. :)
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The child actors were brilliant and in fact I found myself missing them when they finally grew up. One thing I loved about the transition between the child and adult actors was the fact that the adults still resembled their younger counterparts. I had no difficulty working out who was who when they grew up and the acting from every character was outstanding.
Every character was perfect in their role and no character was unnecessary. The emotions that they managed to express... there's enough tears in this drama to fill the Pacific Ocean! I almost drowned during episode 20!
The story was also very original although sometimes was a little predictable. Still, I often found myself wondering how the characters were going to get out of the mess they'd got themselves into. The ending was very satisfying and no story line was left hanging.
Although all of the music was great, a couple of songs didn't seem to fit the genre of the drama. This wasn't much of a problem though and the music overall was outstanding.
I usually find historical dramas a little dull but this one kept me intrigued till the end. I would have watched it just to look at the amazing costumes they wore. This is a very colourful and mesmerising show.
My only criticisms are the story dragged on a little long and I got a bit tired of some of the characters. Without mentioning any names, I sometimes felt like screaming, "JUST GIVE UP!" There were also a few moments that should have been serious but were actually just laughable, how the bad guys seemed to have an endless supply of incompetent ninjas for example. Also after such a long drama, some of episode 20's moments felt a bit rushed and the amount of wailing that went on was understandable but slightly irritating.
However, overall a great drama, I will definitely be rewatching.
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But Moon Embraces the Sun is different.. It only has 20 episodes, and I think it's fair.. Well, I have to admit that the first reason I watch this is because of the casts.. But I end up hooked till the end..
Story: It's kinda different with other saeguk dramas.. It's not just a historical drama, but it is a fantasy and historical drama. I was relieved that the PD decided not to extend to 24 episodes. 20 episodes is perfect for me. The story ended smoothly.. Nothing was rushed, nothing was dragged.. Even though, the ending was kinda sad for me (and bloody).
Acting/Cast: All of the main role did a GREAT job.. Especially for Han Ga In & Kim Soo Hyun. Jung Il Woo was lacking at start, but he got better as the time goes by. But the adult Yeom & Princess Min Hwa don't give the same feeling as the child actor.. That's why I cannot give 10 for the score. But, actually all of them really did great job, especially for their heartbreaking crying scenes.
Music: Moon Embraces the Sun have the best OST so far.. It was proved when some of their soundtrack made it to the top billboard.. Some of them are PERFECT to build the mood, but some of them are just complementary..
Rewatch Value: this is barely because I usually don't rewatch my dramas..
Overall, this is a masterpiece. Best saeguk drama I watched so far. I looked forward for each episodes. And I do think this drama deserve those title "National Drama". Congratulations The Moon Embraces The Sun for preserve those title till the last episodes :)
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The ending didn't come to me as surprising as the writers of the drama intended,since we all knew it a couple of episodes ago,but I found the ending still satisfying if not perfect.
The music is really good in this drama as well as the chemistry between all the actors.
Not the best history drama out there but it totally make into my top 5.
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1) It left me with a good feeling at the end. You know how at the end of some dramas you're still kind of 'wtf just happened, how did it end like this' feeling? Well, TMTETS did a good job of completing the whole story
2) The actors were outstanding in how they acted and their reactions to the things that were done. Even though I hated the queen, I still felt sorry for her since her father, or no one, loved her at all.
3) Even though they aired two episodes in one week, their cliff hangers at the end of every Thursday episode was the worst to wait for. Especially when something REALLY exciting happened, it just turned out to be the Thursday episode. And the solution was a week away, leaving viewers to hold their breath until the next one airs.
However, some things I didn't particularly like were things like
1) The casting. I know they all did a good job, but I wanted a more suitable couple pairing. I just keep on remembering how when they first turned into adults and they showed the 'grown-up' version of everybody, the brother didn't look like how I imagined him to be and they were kind of off on some other things too. Like she looked a bit too old for him even though they were the same age, etc. But I'm not saying they weren't great, I'm just saying that the casting could've been better. The actors and actresses themselves were outstanding, but some things could have been changed.
2) The dramatic irony is unbearable for the viewers! I mean, there were so many times that the characters could've just done one thing to solve all the problems that would come, but nooo they had to, HAD TO do it the harder way and keep secrets and cause all of these problems. Sometimes, there were times when I even started cursing at my computer screen because they were being so dumb; not to mention the considerable acts of violence that have befallen on my laptop because of it. -__-"
In all, there were more good things then bad for this drama, but it was all worth watching! Have fun and don't break too many things while you wait for the plot to unfold. I like complete and happy endings that make sense, so if you're like that too, it won't disappoint. ;D
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COMPLICATED LOVE STORY BY DESIGN
Complicated love story by design. King's mother was a very ambitious highly-motivated woman which would use all means to get what she wanted, including ordered Chief Shaman to deliver black magic blow to kill the young future queen of Crown Prince as they both young in love (13 & 15), she's heavily medicated to presumably died. As she awoken inside the coffin, traumatized by the experience she lost memory and recruited as a human mullet for the young King (her husband). The King recognized her but she didn't remember at all, she thought what she sees from King's memory was visions of her being a shaman or human mullet but all what she saw was their memory 8 years ago when both were together. Meanwhile King' step brother loved the same woman, wanted to take her away from the politic in the palace and be with her. The strong rivalry between brothers, not just regarding love but also throne and influences as many officials interested in him to abdicate the King. As they both brotherly love, character wise were totally different, one is the king who's dedicated and observant, the older brother was easy going and pleasant in which he have no ambition to take part of politics or royal life.After the death of young Crown Princess, Crown Prince forced to marry the Prime Minister's daughter - the favorite choice of girl to become their future queen which related to King's mother. He's not interested in her, only despise and contempt he delivered to his bride. After 8 years of marriage, the Crown Prince became the King, she became the unhappy Queen. She tried with all mighty to get the husband to love her, pay attention to her, and sleep with her. None worked! Because the reason of pending consummation is King's illness - they brought back in Chief Shaman from isolation to the palace. The official kidnapped Shaman's successor as a human mullet to pick bad/ill vibes from the King while he's sleeping soundlessly. The Queen was a pathetic woman, sole focus was only her neglectful husband who she cried, begged, whined, pleaded, hurt just to get little solace. The King believed that she's the main reason on why his first love/young queen died, he hated her father the prime minister and won't give an opportunity for his grandmother the Dowager Regent grandmother more political influences (maternal political family). Their marriage is the sad one, the queen became paranoia and hateful. Her beautiful smile and face was strain with sadness and tearful hopelessness.
While finally the young rightful bride back to the King's life after so much terrible struggles and issues, they maintained a secret union in the closed room as he still the husband of the queen and keeping the secret of her existence from his officials and her broken-heart family. The King's little sister took part of her dying, in agreement with their grandmother to marry as she's deeply in love with Crown Princess's beautiful brother (Crown Prince's tutor) - she married the man of her dream but subconsciously sadden and guilt by her part of killing in seeing the sadness and broken of her in-laws. Yeah, all got tangle up. Lots of crying, anger and frustration over love story drama. The young King that has to fight his own family; overly ambitious grand mother, greedy/power hungry father in-law, unwanted wife the queen, step brother (over same woman), little sister who betrayed him for a man, as well of corrupted officials. Not in happy situation he was in....but end in happy reunion and he got the love and family he's been longing far too long.
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It's a good introductory to Sageuk. It's like a pretty picture book come to life. Gorgeous costumes, charming characters and a fairy tale like love story. In as much as I enjoyed this, I couldn't give it the rating (9.0 and above) that I wanted to. I gave it an 8.5 purely because I enjoyed it so much but in reality, this is probably at 8 at best. This type of historical isn't for everyone and one's enjoyment will really depend on his/her expectations. To put it bluntly, if you don't mind watching a traditional love story (think of it like reading a Grimm fairy tale, not one of the revised fairy tales you see on tv) then you probably won't mind how male centric this is. The female characters are very likeable but you won't see any badass female leads here, save for the FL's bodyguard who doesn't have much scenes. Personally, I am the type of viewer who can also enjoy a traditional female lead as well as a tough one...so, while this was a source of disappointment for me it was not a deal breaker. The reasons why I couldn't give this a higher score were:
The FL lead's casting: I don't want to criticize the actress but I think she was miscast. When I compared the child actress to the adult one, it really seemed as if they were two different people and not in a good way. This drama has 2 sets of characters. The child actors who take up the first 5 episodes, then the adult cast...and the FL's actress is the only one who seems nothing like the child actress :/ The actress playing the princess Minhwa, the FL antagonist Bo Kyung and even the FL's sidekicks (heck, even all the male leads!)...while they didn't exactly resemble the outward appearance of their child counterparts...they were still able to appear as the same person. Not so for the FL. And, I hate to say it, but she wasn't as good an actress as the rest. I compared all crying/high tension/emoting scenes of all the characters and only the FL's scenes appeared very forced and unnatural :(
The magical premise/the Shaman: I found the Shaman's character extremely annoying. It really seemed as if- in trying to 'prevent anything bad from happening to the FL', she basically killed her and robbed her of her life.
I get that there is a magical superstition involved here but the show didn't execute this very well so her reasons weren't convincing for me. She had one good Shamanic fight with another shaman at the end of the show and this is the only scene where I enjoyed her character. For the rest of her scenes I found myself rolling my eyes at her "I won't let anything bad happen to you so I will kill you and deprive you of your family" arguments. Everytime one of the other characters questioned her logic, she would resort to riddles and start blabbing about the moon and the sun! >< The sad thing is that she could have been a really cool character if they only executed the magic/superstitious plot points better. The shamanic element was also one of the aspects that made this Sageuk different from, say, Princess Man or Empress Ki. Too bad the most powerful Shaman was a moron.
I also wish the side characters (both male and female) were better developed and had different endings . Then again, it might not be fair of me to expect this, given that this drama only had 20 episodes and other plot points to deal with. Aside from the FL's Cinderellesque story arc, there was also the corruption in the palace arc, Prince Yangmyeung's existential musings., the rivalry between the brothers, etc. I feel that Chinese dramas like Eternal Love do a better job of developing side characters because they have more episodes to work with, not to mention a bigger character scope. But I gave this a high rating for a couple of reasons:
The main couple: I really enjoyed the main pairing, despite wishing a different actress was cast. They had really cute moments and good chemistry. It was mostly because of the ML's performance and it's a pity a better actress was not used.
The ML: Kim So Hyun was really* good here. I was surprised because he didn't make any impression on me when I saw him in You Who Came from the Stars (that drama was more female centric, and it was all about the fabulous Jun Jihyun); I guess in here it was the opposite. METS was mostly ML centered and KSH pretty much carried the show on his back. He was perfect in the role of a young king who could be so many things- authoritative, angry, bitter, heartbroken... and at the same time charming, boyish and devoted. Very different from his flat character in YWCFTS!
His scenes with the FL were some of the best OTP moments I've seen in romantic kdrama. Aside from that, I really loved the scenes where he was being sarcastic, even when smiling. I think his verbal sparring with his corrupt court officials were some of my favorites. His character appears passive first but develops better in the latter part of the drama. It might appear slow to some, but the 'adult years' actually open around only 3 years into his reign when he is still learning the ropes and how badly the court was run before. He turns out to a be a more effective, capable ruler than his father, who let himself be lead around the nose by others. This is a pretty intelligent ML here.
The second ML: Jung Il Woo as YangMyeung. He was pretty good as well in playing a carefree outsider. He managed to be both likable and yet very distinct from his royal brother. While I don't care for love triangles, his infatuation with the FL wasn't annoying whatsoever. It's mostly because the writer treated both MLs with respect. Certainly much better compared to the annoying catfights you see in Chinese drama where the women are unbelievably catty towards each other; unfortunately, even when it comes to love triangles, male characters get better treatment :(
The side characters: Despite the fact that the side characters didn't have as much scenes, their performances were all good, considering what they were given and the short time frame where so many characters had to be juggled.
So yeah, overall, there's a lot to enjoy in this, if one watches it with these things in mind. It's not as grand an epic, nor as deep as something like Eternal Love but I think this is one of the better historical kdramas.
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Don't really know why I delayed watching this because this is a gem! All the actors are superb! This drama is daebak, from the story line to the actors to music just wow! It's actually been a long time since I've watched a period drama like this.
I really loved how they made an effort to cast younger actors that somehow has a resemblance to the older ones. I really can't say much but I really really love the story line. If you think about it, it's just a simple plot, nothing too complicated but it has this charm to it that makes the viewers fall in love. I think these days a lot of dramas has a lot of plot twists and complicated stories just to make the show more "unpredictable" but honestly if you're a constant viewer of dramas like me, it does get tiring some times.
so kudos to everyone behind this! (though I know I'm late to the party but still)
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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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