[Drama 2016] Moon Lovers ❤ Scarlet Heart Ryeo, 달의 연인-보보경심 려 \^0^/ Soompi Kdrama 2016 Winner

[Diana Blanche]

Again I'm behind with the comments but I have to read them all. And these are my last thoughts about this drama:

I know many of you hate Jimong but I understand that he was one of the few friends of So (in fact the only one) who stayed till the end with him. All he wanted was So to become king because he knew that under his reign will be made good reforms for the country. So, as some of you have already specified the role of Hae Soo was to help WS to become king and not to fall in love with him. I wondered why Jimong left the palace at the end. The answer was provided by the second eclipse. Jimong knew that WS was going to die in the time of the second eclipse. When WS came back to the palace in ep.1, Jimong was always with him. After the death of WS his presence in the palace would have become useless. He is the gateway between past and present. And I don't think Jimong was travelling alone in the future, he took on WS with him, because their destinies are inseparable. The presence of Jimong in the future means the presence of So in the future too. Somehow this end let us to understand that Soo-So will meet again.

About Jung. His feelings for Hae Soo were pure and so little selfish. I'm glad that Hae Soo has entrusted him with the most precious thing she had. Maybe I'm in the minority but I think Jung will be a better father for the little girl than So.

In the end I don't know what I will miss more. The drama or this threat. Anyway both will have forever a special place in my heart. I don't think there is a thread so warm, full of smart analysis, speculation, observations moderated by so patient and understanding moderators. Thank you all for this wonderful journey.

And this is my most favorite scene in this drama. The point of no return:

[antiherofans]

29 minutes ago, kiinn said:

 

If he looks this hot, I don't mind 

 

LOL Somebody need to include that 'no-death' clause in the production's contract in advance, and please don't murder his parents this time. The man has had enough. 

He said in his FM, he's got a lot of period dramas offers. I honestly don't mind him playing another sageuk. Nobody looks as good as him in long hair and ponytail. Yeah, I'm also a sucker for this. 

 

 

Nice argument. He will look like that huh?? Very nice argument from you. 

Fine. Sold. 

PUT HIM ON THE SCREEN AS LONG AS HE LOOKS LIKE THAT. I will watch anything they write. 

[antiherofans]

6 minutes ago, enigmatic_zephy said:

why ca n't he do a simple modern age love story..

he firmly rejected the idea on vlive when fans asked..

 

Whats the big harm in doing just one cheesy flick... for your fans.. pick a decent project.. even if the complexities of character don't meet his standards..

 

I mean do a DOTS ( no offence but its a cheese fest and nothing more than that.. personal opinion) or 15 of anything or UF sorta stuff.. just plain simple stuff.. a simple sweet romantic drama.. 

 

Maybe it is the same if we ask classical musician doing a rap song. 

It is not his element

[Ainee Etp]

11 minutes ago, Diana Blanche said:

Again I'm behind with the comments but I have to read them all. And these are my last thoughts about this drama:

I know many of you hate Jimong but I understand that he was one of the few friends of So (in fact the only one) who stayed till the end with him. All he wanted was So to become king because he knew that under his reign will be made good reforms for the country. So, as some of you have already specified the role of Hae Soo was to help WS to become king and not to fall in love with him. I wondered why Jimong left the palace at the end. The answer was provided by the second eclipse. Jimong knew that WS was going to die in the time of the second eclipse. When WS came back to the palace in ep.1, Jimong was always with him. After the death of WS his presence in the palace would have become useless. He is the gateway between past and present. And I don't think Jimong was travelling alone in the future, he took on WS with him, because their destinies are inseparable. The presence of Jimong in the future means the presence of So in the future too. Somehow this end let us to understand that Soo-So will meet again.

About Jung. His feelings for Hae Soo were pure and so little selfish. I'm glad that Hae Soo has entrusted him with the most precious thing she had. Maybe I'm in the minority but I think Jung will be a better father for the little girl than So.

In the end I don't know what I will miss more. The drama or this threat. Anyway both will have forever a special place in my heart. I don't think there is a thread so warm, full of smart analysis, speculation, observations moderated by so patient and understanding moderators. Thank you all for this wonderful journey.

And this is my most favorite scene in this drama. The point of no return:

 

I like your hypothesis. This cheers me up a little considering "JM took on WS with him".

"Jimong knew that WS was going to die in the time of the second eclipse", is this historically true? Sorry I think someone put up a list of eclipse that happened during Goryeo, but I forgot whether the there's eclipse in the year that GJ died or not.

I do believe there's a hidden clue in WS's word "I will find you no matter where you are". It must meant something.

 

 

[enigmatic_zephy]

5 minutes ago, antiherofans said:

 

Maybe it is the same if we ask classical musician doing a rap song. 

It is not his element

 

Who knows.. he hasn't tried it..

without trying can't say can we?

I get it that he wants to do roles that he wants to do... but if in every interview you are claiming that you pay attention to what fans want etc.. maybe give it a try once.. just once.. Oviously no 3rd person can dictate his choices..

 

but if it is about, selling your product to your customers ( drama/movie to audience).. shouldn't audience' expectations be addressed atleast once?

 

edit: I am referring to genre.. not script quality.. as in he can seek his own quality script in that genre.. but he just seemed not so open to certain genres altogther

[redlion]

Helloooo eclipses!!! Me Still here... Still here... 

Finally finished watching the final episode with sub.....  OK agree...... I enjoyed it... and  was crying almost in every scenes 

[ohgee]

2 minutes ago, enigmatic_zephy said:

 

Who knows.. he hasn't tried it..

without trying can't say can we?

I get it that he wants to do roles that he wants to do... but if in every interview you are claiming that you pay attention to what fans want etc.. maybe give it a try once.. just once.. Oviously no 3rd person can dictate his choices..

 

but if it is about, selling your product to your customers ( drama/movie to audience).. shouldn't audience' expectations be addressed atleast once?

i agree with you, the first half of moon lovers was sort of romcom and he was good at it so why not just try it. Anyway i just want him to do a drama that will help him crack 20% ratings and get more recognition.

[enigmatic_zephy]

does anyone know if producers was a ratings hit or not?

I remember it was not.. so if KSH is popular without a hit.. then i guess at the end of the day ratings don't matter for individual work.. as long as fandom exists

[staygold]

I am back after being miserable the whole of yesterday. I decided I am going to focus on what I liked about this series. Long post alert!! 

Lee Jun Gi and IU. I wouldn't have watched it to begin with if it didn't have these actors. They did justice to the roles that were written for them. There was no glaring misstep from either of them as regards to acting. More over they excelled at it. The obsessive desperation of Wang So (sometimes leaning towards insanity. The way he holds on to HS at the end of ep 2 and says he doesn't want to let her go would do Heath Ledger proud!!) and the confusion and final resignation to fate of Hae Soo. Subtleties and nuances executed perfectly episode after episode. Loved them both!!

Cinematography. The visuals were spectacular. Initial episodes were a delight to watch. The framing of the shots was something that appealed to me. The martial dance by the princes in ep 2 for instance. The scene where Wang So enters Queen Yoo's chambers after killing the monks/assassins. The meeting at the laundry scene. These show that lot of planning did actually went into it. Even the shot of the lonely Wang So in front of the palace was perfect! Oh the walk in the snow and the first snow before WS goes off to the palace. The rain scene in the palace courtyard.... There are so many I could go on listing. 

Locations. They did a tremendous job hunting locations for sure. They meet the epic-ness of the story. I don't really see how any team could have bettered it. The outdoor scenes in earlier episodes really helped highlight the claustrophobia that the later half of the palace story brought in. Kudos to the team who was in charge of it!!

The supporting characters. I was pleasantly surprised by Hong Jong Hyun playing Wang Yo, Park Ji Young playing Queen Yoo and Baek Hyun. There was something to look forward to until Yo and Yoo were in the story. I loved Kang Ha Na. Her's was one of my favourite character. Woo Hee Jin's Lady Oh was beautifully played. Apart from them I didn't care much about anyone. Even Kang Ha Neul didn't seem convincing as WW. 

The action and horse riding scenes. I loved all the action scenes and wanted more of it. They were decently choreographed. Although nothing came close to the ep 3 WS's fight sequence in the monastery in grandeur. The WW and WS one on one fight scene was beautiful. Lee Jun Gi on a horse is breath taking!  Thank you PD for including one scene of him riding his horse in the finale!!!

OST. Loved Epik High's Can you hear my heart, Lee Hi's My love, Sun Hae Im's I will be back. But my favourite was Jung Seung Hwan's Wind. It suited the story perfectly. That music screams lost love.

What I thought could have been done differently.

Ending. I am a fan of BBJX. I knew what was coming. I was prepared for it. I was even looking forward to it. Give me a beautiful sad ending. That was all I asked. From the editing of the last episode I got a feel that the writer PD were not willing to commit to it. As if they were afraid the audience will not accept it. There is no point in showing WS monologue -ing that he will find HS in a different world. Just how is he going to find her. There is no shaman (like in Mirror of the witch) or no gateway (like in Faith). If you wanted to please the audience all you had to do was show WS in a suit standing in front of HS. No dialogues needed. No explanations needed. Remember ep 11. That worked beautifully cos you were not trying to tell a lot in an hour. 

Pacing and Editing. When you hear its a pre produced drama, you expect them to atleast get the pacing right. But the last 5 episode story didn't get enough time. The gradual restrictions being placed on WS and their effects on him and HS needed more footage. But I am sure not one person takes a call on such things. There is a team. Atleast I hope there is.

Excessive use of close up and flash back scenes. When your script and editing is on point this will work. But by the end of the series the unnecessary close ups and the flash back montage scenes frustrated me. 

Costume. I am not a fan of bright colors in korean costume dramas. I notice that they do a different take on colors in the korean period movies. eg being The Royal Tailor, The Fatal Encounter, The Concubine, Memories of the sword, The sword with no name etc. Of course I understand that this story is from a different era but I wish they could have toned down the colors. The natural dyes from those times wouldn't have given that kind of vibrancy. The costumes were repeated not only by a character (which is ok) but the same was passed down to others too. That is unacceptable considering this was a lavish production. I cringed and laughed at our goryeo power ranger princes!! 

Would I watch this drama again? Yes. I loved it. 

[enigmatic_zephy]

2 minutes ago, LyraYoo said:

 

Was she wearing those ear rings when she died?

Otherwise.. i guess then its just a ear ring

[antiherofans]

37 minutes ago, ziggy123 said:

she probably couldnt resist gwangjong even when she was angry with him i mean aint nothing wrong with it when he is irresistibly hot/handsome.

 

 

LOL Burst into laugh reading your post. 

He probably do his signature moves to her 

It is kinda hard to resist that jawline 

[honeyapricot]

I want to appreciate LJK performance at the last scene in which he wipes his scar and say he will find her in another world.. the emotion and message of the scene is so well delivered (well, his acting always stands out from like ep 1, anyway).. I have never watched his project before, and I am surprise what a talent he has!!

The cinematography of this drama is so spot on! so many beautiful scene, I have never known exist in Korea.. so good at promoting korea tourism..

on the side note, do you guys notice the painting of So standing alone, which HS cries over? that painting so accurately depicts his emptiness, sadness, and loneliness. I could cry over watching that picture alone. the painter must be a really great one.

after all this drama is about cross lovers, separated by time dimension, which human can do nothing about. so I consider the ending is very good and well-thought out. although there is weakness here and there, but I still consider this drama one of the most memorable this year!!

 

[aine7]

13 minutes ago, roneddski said:

I have been re-thinking about this.. Maybe the makeup expert/lecturer at the end could in fact be Ji Mong's real identity?

So maybe he disguised himself as a drunkard and purposely got close to GHJ at the lake, so that he can create the situation where GHJ falling into the lake coincided with the eclipse happening, thus dragging her into this time travel to Goryeo stuff. As to why GHJ is chosen as the candidate for time travel, only Ji Mong he himself knows. From the way the makeup expert talked, he is definitely the same old Ji Mong that was from Goryeo.. because both versions talk in the same riddle-like roundabout way!

 

"There is no such thing as a coincidence. Things only return to their original places." Future Ji Mong knows where to find her, knows who she is, knows that she might not remember the time spent in the past. Ji Mong and Ha Jin could have met in a museum or an art gallery or history class or something, but they met in the specific environment Goryeo Make up Culture event. Coincidence?! Definitely not. 

I think they both belong to the future, and traveled back to Goryeo era, each of them with their specific roles, Ji Mong to secure the sequence of events to take place, and Hae Soo/Ha Jin to create circumstances for specific events to occur/to be positively changed/altered/amended. Ji Mong as a expert time traveler appeared on eclipse to witness Ha Jin jump back to Goryo, wait for another eclipse to occur in order to make a dramatic exit from the royal palace. As he said "There is no such thing as a coincidence. Things only return to their original places". Mission completed back to future. 

 

 

[ohgee]

6 minutes ago, antiherofans said:

 

LOL Burst into laugh reading your post. 

He probably do his signature moves to her 

It is kinda hard to resist that jawline 

glad i could make you laugh.

how are yo all getting over you're withdrawal, I'm just listening to all Michael Jackson songs on repeat as they give me life.

[Diana Blanche]

14 minutes ago, Ainee Etp said:

I like your hypothesis. This cheers me up a little considering "JM took on WS with him".

"Jimong knew that WS was going to die in the time of the second eclipse", is this historically true? Sorry I think someone put up a list of eclipse that happened during Goryeo, but I forgot whether the there's eclipse in the year that GJ died or not.

I do believe there's a hidden clue in WS's word "I will find you no matter where you are". It must meant something.

I don't know. It seems that in the year in which GJ died it was a solar eclipse (I read this in one of  the comments). But I think the Drama is based on this astrological aspect. First eclipse – Ha Jin dies - travels in the past. Second eclipse – Wang So – dies - travels in the future. The link is Jimong.

[antiherofans]

18 minutes ago, enigmatic_zephy said:

 

Who knows.. he hasn't tried it..

without trying can't say can we?

I get it that he wants to do roles that he wants to do... but if in every interview you are claiming that you pay attention to what fans want etc.. maybe give it a try once.. just once.. Oviously no 3rd person can dictate his choices..

 

but if it is about, selling your product to your customers ( drama/movie to audience).. shouldn't audience' expectations be addressed atleast once?

 

edit: I am referring to genre.. not script quality.. as in he can seek his own quality script in that genre.. but he just seemed not so open to certain genres altogther

 

Maybe this time he will choose different genre because he has to break free from Wang So character. Let just hope he will pick a good rom-com for once 

[antiherofans]

6 minutes ago, ziggy123 said:

glad i could make you laugh.

how are yo all getting over you're withdrawal, I'm just listening to all Michael Jackson songs on repeat as they give me life.

 

I have to avoid anything related to MLSHR except this thread. I still can't listen to the Ost because it still hurts . I endup listen to ringa linga over and over again. 

[pauexclusive]

I think they made the ending like that for they want to make the kdrama version shine on its own. This version is being compared to the original from the beginning. Although i havent watched the bbjx some says the kdrama was following the plot of the cdrama. And then approaching the end they made changes navigate away from the old and then TA-DA!!!! netizens uproar! I watched the last episode again conditioning my mind to remove the "disclaimer" and came to like it... It wasn't that bad...

[pauexclusive]

54 minutes ago, antiherofans said:

 

Manse Manse Manmanse!

 

Manse Manse Manmanse! 

[clarissasan]

I've been thinking is it possible that beggar Jimong is the real Jimong from goryeo era who switch place with modern JM when he was 5 years old (like what JM said)? So the JM in goryeo is actually modern JM. 

Then after the total eclipse, the modern JM who stuck in goryeo finally can go home to his original body in the future. This modern JM from goryeo has intelligent and knowledge, he may be thinking 'what happened with my body this whole years!?' and then he started living properly and has a new career as goryeo specialist because that's what he knows best. That drunk beggar JM also return to the past where he actually belongs.

That JM who met Go Ha Jin is actually the same person like JM in goryeo. Maybe JM knows her but not gonna tell her anything, just clues.