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

[pixelsticks]

It's so quiet in here.... 

And how did LGJ drop off the BEST ACTOR top 3 at Soompi?  PLEASE VOTE MLSHR FANS!!!

 

 

[emeraldblue]

A plea to all moonlovers hard core fans!!! So Soo couple shippers, Lee Joon Gi fans and IU fans please please head over to soompi and vote.Uri Joon Gi oppa has been booted off the top three as best actor.his place has been taken by Lee Jong Suk.please vote for our beloved actor Lee Joon Gi, lets show them who runs the hallyu wave.help help

[makino92]

2 minutes ago, emeraldblue said:

A plea to all moonlovers hard core fans!!! So Soo couple shippers, Lee Joon Gi fans and IU fans please please head over to soompi and vote.Uri Joon Gi oppa has been booted off the top three as best actor.his place has been taken by Lee Jong Suk.please vote for our beloved actor Lee Joon Gi, lets show them who runs the hallyu wave.help help

 

33 minutes ago, pixelsticks said:

It's so quiet in here.... 

And how did LGJ drop off the BEST ACTOR top 3 at Soompi?  PLEASE VOTE MLSHR FANS!!!

 

Yes! I'm voting right now! We must win! let's vote Eclipeses!  

[pixelsticks]

@htk9207  I would LOVE it if you would like to share any more details about your time at the LGJ fan meeting.  Which songs, which dances, any faves, conversations, reactions of other crowd members.  How many hours?  Feel free to share your fan account at the LGJ thread!   

@40somethingahjumma I know other projects call, but I would still love to have you finish reviews of the MLSHR episodes when you can.  I'm still digesting your 3 P's post about Episode 11.  I'm still working through Wook's motivations/reactions/non-actions at the time compared to So's all-encompassing motivations/reactions/actions during this specific episode.  As I've mentioned before, the prison scene is one of my all time favorites and even though it is not the typical "romantic" couple scene ala roses, dinners, catch her falling, gaze into eyes, kiss, etc. it resonates so deeply their connection.  I do believe that is why I was so frustrated waiting for the "typical" romance to be shown between them for episodes after that.

 

And I did finish the last 3 episodes with my housemate...finally!!  It was exhausting and now we wish we would have waited for the Directors Cut to view that version.  I'll share notes about that in a bit.  She surprised me last night by telling me she started Scholar Who Walks the Night.  It just proves that the Joon Gi Effect is real!!   

  

[antoniaclamens]

@40somethingahjumma thank you So much. I Williams wait patiently

[kdramawriter]

On 1/7/2017 at 7:44 PM, 40somethingahjumma said:

 

Of course, I LOVE your reviews. Here are some of my thoughts in reflection of what you've said. 

Quote

Su might think she’s doing a good deed to restore dignity and boost the confidence of someone she cares about but So feels loved and with characteristic intensity he knows he’s found something to be passionate about, something to give his life to…She encroached his personal space and touched his wound, not to rub into mercilessly but to cover it up and bring healing. When he leans over into her space for a kiss, it is a response to their newfound intimacy but he knows from the way her body stiffens that she’s not ready yet.

This X1000. It was incredibly bold of Hae Su to touch Wang So’s face, because at this point, she has been in the palace for a significant amount of time as a court lady and knows exactly the protocol of how a servant has to act around a prince. Although this line has been crossed with her and Wook many times because of their romantic relationship, she has been fairly observant around Wang So. The one time she is seen transgressing this line with Baek Ah - when he holds her by the shoulders and tells her that she’s pretty, she’s immediately punished by the other court ladies, which shows us that she knows what the punishment. When I think back about this scene, I realized that it was a setup to show how indeed the face-touching was incredibly transgressive by Goryeo standards when even being held by the shoulders by a prince could be perceived as being worthy of punishment. 

Hae Su touching Wang So is significant. She knows it subconsciously (as I’ve established by the prior interaction with Baek Ah) and he knows it immediately. She did not touch him anywhere except the place where he is the most wounded. Just the acting of lifting off his mask and showing the scar to the person he wants to appear the most whole and impressive around is a huge act of vulnerability. IU played this scene really well, you could see from her eyes and gentle mouth that there was absolutely no judgement and that Wang So had nothing to fear in her hands. That one line about “Your life shouldn’t be dark because of this scar” is pretty ONLY thing that Wang So needed to hear.

“It’s not your fault, you don’t deserve this. I understand you.”

In a few words, Hae Su crystallize the unfairness of his entire life and conveyed her understand of his pain. In the world of Goryeo, a woman making this kind of declaration is not just being nice, a woman who is of a significantly lower rank doing this to a prince is essentially declaring herself to So in a profound way. That’s the way So read the situation, and it’s not wrong, because Hae Su herself is not fully aware of her feelings yet. 

Ep10

Quote

“In their thinking, Heaven in its infinite wisdom, would never be so foolish as to choose an outcast with imperfections. “

 

• I’m not sure I follow this, because QYoo definitely says to Yo that if he should have slashed the throat of who ever it was that sat in the palanquin. Which means that heaven’s will DOES NOT determine the person who brings the rain, but rather human choice dictates. 

 

On taking Hae Su out of the palace in Episode 10

• I think the most interesting part of taking Hae Su out of the palace is the sexual politics underlying all of this. When Wook and Jung heated debate that Hae Su has left the palace, it’s not really the physical absence that troubles them, it’s the fact that now Hae Su’s virtue is up for grabs because Wang So has taken her out of the palace. As a court lady, even Hae Su’s sexual purity is the providence of the crown. The anxiety experienced by both Wook and Jung are both around an object of love, who’s sexual purity is threatened by an X-factor, their brother So. Indeed this is reflected in the text because when Jung and Wook meet Hae Su and So coming back from their ocean outing, Wang So says “I was the one to take her out of the palace, so I will take responsibility - which echoes what Hae Su says too, “So will take responsibility for me.” Which in the korean culture, taking responsibility has all sorts of loaded implications - it is not just reputation, but love, romantic interesting, fidelity, etc etc. 
• I think overthinkingkdrama talked about this, but Jung is at this point in love with Hae Su, but because he’s too young to fully comprehend his feelings, he vicariously lives out his love of Hae Su through Wook. That’s why he’s also very upset with Wook at the beginning of Episode 12 that Wook has not done more to save Hae Su. 

 

Ep 11

Quote

“For Uk, Su was, largely in vulgar terms, a happy distraction in his burdensome existence. Sure she was a breath of fresh air, in his dreary life where everyone, according to him, wanted a piece of him. She could offer him comfort and respite but she was increasingly a repeated reminder to him of his own inability to act in his context. Even though his feelings for her were reciprocated, she became more out of reach with each passing day as newer developments would arise. All he could do over and over again was to ask her to wait, to grin and bear it.”

• This is great and I’d like to point out this is exactly what Hae Su also becomes at the end for Wang So. She is his comfort, but she is not his strength. She makes him vulnerable and open to attacks, which is why their parting is so poignant but necessary to the survival of Gwangjong. 

 

Quote

“For him Su became his life… his raison d’etre. It’s why he could so easily drink the poisoned tea to protect her because he didn’t see it as some kind of great sacrifice, but the natural overflow of how important she was to him that he would risk all in such fashion.”

• While I agree that Su is important part of why he drank the poison, the more expedient reason is still that he wants to prevent the Crown Prince from being poisoned as well. Drinking the poison served 2 purposes, hopefully shifting the blame away from Hae Su, prevent the Crown Prince from drinking the poison and obscuring the TRUE perpetrator, which is Queen Yoo. 

 

Quote

“Moreover, the last conversation between them in the secret passage sets the stage for how her own relationship with So will unfold. As long as the throne remains a coveted position, its effects will linger and the cycle of betrayal and destruction will continue.”

• This remains one of my favorite scenes when I watched it again. It’s why I call the 19 and the finale a mirror of 11, because everything Lady Oh says is said again by Hae Su towards the end of the show.

 

[luvkstyle]

@40somethingahjumma

Yes please if you are able to continue...I understand if you cant:)  I gain so much from reading them. I'll be mostly absent from this and LJGs thread for a couple of weeks...its summer holidays here and I will be busy with family things I wont mention where Im managing to find a quiet places to write this haha. ll catch up later

[40somethingahjumma]

10 hours ago, htk9207 said:

  Reveal hidden contents

40somethingahjumma said: 

I'm having a really hard time tracking down decent quality videos of LJG and IU from his fan meeting yesterday. They don't seem to be as forthcoming as IU's concert.

 

Right from the start of the FM, we were told not to use camera for recording. The staff were busy walking up and down the aisle all throughout the entire event, checking if anyone is trying to record the FM. Quite impressed someone did manage to do that. Most of the initial videos I saw posted, were obviously taken from the Upper Box seats. Too far for the staff to bother checking. This one is clearly from someone seated front and center. IU's concert venue was in a different location. I heard the venue was a bit bigger, so maybe the staff there were more relaxed about video recording. 

It isn't just that, I can't even get news snippets from legit sources either.  I'm only really interested in that 10 minute conversation they had on stage.

But please let me encourage you to blog about it here if you can spare some time. I heard that it was the first time in 7 years he's visited Taiwan. I do love how they call him the 4th Prince over there.

7 hours ago, pixelsticks said:

 

@40somethingahjumma I know other projects call, but I would still love to have you finish reviews of the MLSHR episodes when you can.  I'm still digesting your 3 P's post about Episode 11.  I'm still working through Wook's motivations/reactions/non-actions at the time compared to So's all-encompassing motivations/reactions/actions during this specific episode.  As I've mentioned before, the prison scene is one of my all time favorites and even though it is not the typical "romantic" couple scene ala roses, dinners, catch her falling, gaze into eyes, kiss, etc. it resonates so deeply their connection.  I do believe that is why I was so frustrated waiting for the "typical" romance to be shown between them for episodes after that.   

Well, if you don't mind me saying but I'll say it anyway... I think we've been brainwashed over the years to think that romance should look a certain way. It's TV romance. Hands accidentally brushing against each other, longing looks, hands on shoulders. And I think that's the reason why there are people who still think that visually at least, Uk was a better match for Su. KHN is a beautiful lad... he looked especially beautiful in ML methought so the packaging was very effective. But that was just outwardly. Inwardly, Uk was a deeply complex character with a dark streak. A kind of Mr Wickham (from P&P)... "gives the appearance of good" without the womanizing baggage. That's the genius of the director I thought... Uk was the perfect man outwardly but there were these moments where you'd see some of that darkness filter through. The writer and director were probably messing with us in those early episodes... manipulating our expectations about TV romance. That's why apparently there are people who think that the Su and Uk dalliance had a better foundation despite the fact that he was trying to woo Su under his ailing wife's nose.

1 hour ago, kdramawriter said:

 

Ep10

• I’m not sure I follow this, because QYoo definitely says to Yo that if he should have slashed the throat of who ever it was that sat in the palanquin. Which means that heaven’s will DOES NOT determine the person who brings the rain, but rather human choice dictates. 

 

 

 

Thanks for your thoughts, dear. Great interaction here.

This is something that Yo says in Ep. 10 after the rain ritual. That heaven cannot have chosen someone like So while he was trying to process and debrief after the downpour. I didn't make this up at all. 

It's all part and parcel regarding the way the characters grapple with the tension between Divine Sovereignty or Man's Machinations. We know that Ji Mong manipulated things so that So would get picked to replace the CP. But it doesn't necessarily mean he has that kind of power over the elements. 

It's the ambiguity/uncertainty that Yo is commenting on I think. How much of it is divine? How much of it is human? It rained exactly on the day So gets his scar covered up. There's a part of him that thinks it has to be divinely ordained because he keeps saying that he should have been the one sitting on that palanquin. He almost did. There's a part of him that would prefer to think that it's dumb luck because he cannot conceive of a scarred man being Heaven's choice.

Quote

While I agree that Su is important part of why he drank the poison, the more expedient reason is still that he wants to prevent the Crown Prince from being poisoned as well. Drinking the poison served 2 purposes, hopefully shifting the blame away from Hae Su, prevent the Crown Prince from drinking the poison and obscuring the TRUE perpetrator, which is Queen Yoo. 

I don't disagree about saving the CP. My point here wasn't specifically about that event but I was just providing an example of how intensely important Su was to him.

Just to say something quickly to your point here though. If it were just to save the CP, he would only need to drink the first cup. He drank the whole pot to protect Su. I believe that was commented on by Ji Mong and the CP.

 

Quote

This is great and I’d like to point out this is exactly what Hae Su also becomes at the end for Wang So. She is his comfort, but she is not his strength. She makes him vulnerable and open to attacks, which is why their parting is so poignant but necessary to the survival of Gwangjong. 

I was trying not to jump the gun there.  

And yes, I do think the last 2 episodes are really about balance and coming full circle. 

[kdramawriter]

19 minutes ago, 40somethingahjumma said:

He drank the whole pot to protect Su. I believe that was commented on by Ji Mong and the CP.

I'm going to have to watch this episode again for the CP/Jimong convo because I don't remember it. But I remember Wook questioning So, asking him, "who are you protecting that you would go so far?" and So's answer was Queen Yoo. 

And the problem with Wang So drinking the whole pot is that he didn't, he drank enough to have Hae Su leave (note that when Hae Su says that she will go refill the water that's when Wang So decides to step away) ostensibly to hide himself away after being poisoned so that no link can be traced between HS and the poisoning. He left enough poison tea that Yeon Hwa could use it to exonerate herself. Though, his reasoning is suspect to me at this point, because if he really wanted to erase the link between HS and the poisoning, he definitely shouldn't have followed her. I'll give him some leeway since he was poisoned and all. UNLESS, I'm rethinking here, he follows her with the intention of warning her what will happen and to give her a escape route, but then was too overwhelmed by the poison to complete his plan. IDK IDK SHOW why you have so many interpretations??

Of course, giving him multiple motivations to drink poison doesn't detract from HS's importance to So, but I think he does have this practicality streak which, to some, might not read as romantic. If he can kill two birds with one stone, he'll choose that option. Or in Wook's case, just one hawk and one prince <--hahahah. 

[kdramawriter]

Quote

It's the ambiguity/uncertainty that Yo is commenting on I think. How much of it is divine? How much of it is human? It rained exactly on the day So gets his scar covered up. There's a part of him that thinks it has to be divinely ordained because he keeps saying that he should have been the one sitting on that palanquin. He almost did. There's a part of him that would prefer to think that it's dumb luck because he cannot conceive of a scarred man being Heaven's choice.

I think this is Yo at his most interesting, when he's questioning who's really pulling the strings, the heavens, or Mama Yoo? The scene where Queen Yoo smacks him across the face for not sitting in the palaquin is directly the cause of when Yoo becomes King at the palace. We see there that he has decided to remove Queen Yoo from any political power positions and she feels humiliated. This family is really all about tit-for-tat. And even in Yo's death, when Queen Yoo makes him try to sign the throne over to Jung, Yoo has this final realization that it was never about him, but always about power. 

[pixelsticks]

Way to go MLSHR!! Is Netflix still an option?

I know the numbers for viewing on Dramafever have dropped but I blame it on DF putting it on Premium (paid) view only after the 1st 2 episodes (International Version).  It looks like they weren't making the "Directors Cut" premium so maybe numbers might tick up a bit. 

[oyashirazu]

I wonder whether the rain scene and handkerchief scene reenactments of last weekend were the last we will ever get to see of our SoSoo couple or MLSHR at that  Can't help but be greedy for more now.

Adorable fanart of the handkerchief scene:

Another one of the rain scene:

And LJG fanart with his leather jacket outfit looking like a rockstar 

Let's continue to support MLSHR by voting each day! If anyone has some time left after their daily soompi votes please vote at these polls for MLSHR, as well:

http://voteformost.net/best-korean-drama-ever-poll/?f

http://voteformost.net/best-korean-dramas-2016-poll/

EDIT:

@uaena_yooseunghooo_49 As far as I know, there weren't any special episodes after the drama ended but a special episode BEFORE it aired, introducting the drama and the historical background. It's like a mix of history lessons with trailer bits. You can find parts of them on the naver channel of MLSHR:

http://tvcast.naver.com/v/1058715

http://tvcast.naver.com/v/1060535

http://tvcast.naver.com/v/1064833

Another one was aired after about the first half of the drama, but was similar to the first one, explaining the history background and giving a summary of the episodes aired to date. So nothing really special: http://tvcast.naver.com/v/1121638

As for additional scenes that didn't make it into the drama, we just know about lots of them judging from the original script, interviews of the actors, BTS pictures, etc. And you probably already know about the difference in the international and Korean versions, which show many different scenes. But the additional scene of Go Ha Jin meeting modern Wang So in the future was never aired. We do know for a fact, though, that it was filmed. If you want to know more about the deleted scene, you can check out this blog entry of @briseis who made a great effort of compiling them: http://dreamingsnowflake2013.tumblr.com/post/153363155644/the-guide-to-moon-lovers-deleted-scenes

Hope that answers your question!

Edited January 10, 2017 by oyashirazu

[40somethingahjumma]

1 hour ago, kdramawriter said:

 

Of course, giving him multiple motivations to drink poison doesn't detract from HS's importance to So, but I think he does have this practicality streak which, to some, might not read as romantic. If he can kill two birds with one stone, he'll choose that option. Or in Wook's case, just one hawk and one prince <--hahahah. 

But his love for her is inherently practical, don't you think? He's a doing kind of guy anyway. I think he would die first than admit he was doing anything "romantic". That's certainly reflected in the prison scene... he was definitely quick to deflect any kind of romantic overtones to what he did.

 

1 hour ago, kdramawriter said:

I think this is Yo at his most interesting, when he's questioning who's really pulling the strings, the heavens, or Mama Yoo? The scene where Queen Yoo smacks him across the face for not sitting in the palaquin is directly the cause of when Yoo becomes King at the palace. We see there that he has decided to remove Queen Yoo from any political power positions and she feels humiliated. This family is really all about tit-for-tat. And even in Yo's death, when Queen Yoo makes him try to sign the throne over to Jung, Yoo has this final realization that it was never about him, but always about power. 

My guess is that there is a part of him that needs sanction from on high. With all his plotting, scheming and killing, he must feel the need to be sure he's on track. Despite his cocksure demeanour, he must have doubts some of the time and getting the approval of heaven or at the very least looking like he's getting approval from heaven might help ease his conscience.

By the way, I finally got around to reading your fanfic the other day and really enjoyed it. Your approach to reincarnation reminds of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine where one of the officers was a Trill. A select group of Trills are chosen to be hosts for a symbiote creature (a big slug)  that lives within them and when the host starts dying they find another host. The symbiote (I imagine a metaphor for the soul) has all the memories of the past hosts and every new host has the accumulated memories of all the various hosts.

____________________________________________

Video showing the end of LJG's fanmeet. Nice close ups.

 

LJG singing Mayday's Contentment

Credit to Black Hole

[darker91]

Love watch this video:

 

JE/IU's is very" happy in 1:14-1:30 and in 1:22 she said "Oppa" and hugged him.

Listen closely in 1:39 JE/IU laugh very funny.

In 2:54 & 3:00 laugh out loud.

And in 3:41 her compliment to him amused herself.

[40somethingahjumma]

Thanks @darker91. I'll repost it and translate from the Mandarin translation.

 

After raincoat re-enactment. LJG and IU have a little chat about how they came to do this.

LJG comments on the large crowd of people gathered and says, "OMG"

IU says she's happy that he came. LJG says he was happy to have been invited.

IU said that she had only invited LJG to this event a few hours beforehand and he agreed to it very quickly.

He says that when he heard about the invitation, he thought it would be lots of fun and there was no way he could turn her down. And when he was backstage, he couldn't wait to get onstage.

IU mentioned something about him being very busy today. 

He said he actually wanted to hear her sing as an audience member. She didn't think the audience would be listening to her singing (if he did that). He asked if there was an empty seat. He looks around and notices that it's full.

She asks him if he has a fan meet tomorrow also. He says he has.

She thanks him for taking time out of his busy schedule and says he's great!

He says as long as IU likes it, he'll do whatever.

She says everyone must want to hear LJG sing his song. He says he wants to watch her for a little longer.

She tells him she's going backstage to change and leave him here with the audience.

He says she's going to get dressed in something more beautiful.

[kdramawriter]

1 hour ago, 40somethingahjumma said:

By the way, I finally got around to reading your fanfic the other day and really enjoyed it. Your approach to reincarnation reminds of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine where one of the officers was a Trill. A select group of Trills are chosen to be hosts for a symbiote creature (a big slug)  that lives within them and when the host starts dying they find another host. The symbiote (I imagine a metaphor for the soul) has all the memories of the past hosts and every new host has the accumulated memories of all the various hosts.

I'm definitely going to rename my books to "Romantic Trills: Goryeo Slugs and Beyond"

I liked DS9 too! For the multi-cultural/UN kinda aspect of the show, though I do not recall enough storylines to actually make references. 

[ruizaio]

The director kept refusing the gifts from MLSHR DC gallery, so the production company wants the fans to take them back. The K fans on DC will discuss tonight what to do with the gifts as they can't get a refund with the way they opened the packaging. They may try to sell it on the second hand market to recoup some of the cost and use it for gifts for the actors instead.

[htk9207]

13 hours ago, pixelsticks said:

@htk9207  I would LOVE it if you would like to share any more details about your time at the LGJ fan meeting.  Which songs, which dances, any faves, conversations, reactions of other crowd members.  How many hours?  Feel free to share your fan account at the LGJ thread!   

@40somethingahjumma said:

But please let me encourage you to blog about it here if you can spare some time. I heard that it was the first time in 7 years he's visited Taiwan. I do love how they call him the 4th Prince over there.  

 

I would love to blog about the whole experience, but the moment Joon Gi appeared onstage I think my mind went auto pilot and just focused on him and his voice. I can't give much specific details but I could write down how I felt about that night.

Before the event I've read somewhere that he prepared 20 songs to perform but I only remembered 3 of the songs. LOL.

I really love his rendition of our Taiwan's local band Mayday's Contentment. It was a real crowd pleaser since Mayday remains popular here.

The second song I could remember was of course, "For You", which for me will now be forever connected to the image of IU and JG, as modern version of Wang So and Hae Soo. Finally together hand in hand, with the most beautiful smiles on their face. It was the perfect ending, giving me the closure that I wanted.

Oh and also, JG dancing to Twice's TT was really adorably cute. But to be honest seeing him dance was just AMAZING. As in WOW. Simply put Daebak. 

The fan meeting started at 6 pm and was supposed to end at 8:30 but we left the premise at past 9.  The crowd that night were really hyped to see LJG perform and it's just what he perfectly deserves as a performer who gives his 100%.

The thrill of seeing him perform live is absolutely an unforgettable experience. Despite his limited chinese, he entertained and made us laugh, impressed us with his dance moves,  his boundless energy, and most of all, his killer aegyo. 

So for those fans attending the HK FM, you're in for a real treat! His performance alone is worth the admission price.  Consider the aegyo as bonus. Oh and for those who got seats located in the upper middle, BE ON THE LOOKOUT. Once he sings a particular English song; he will just suddenly appear and walk right by the aisle. If you want to see him up close, be quick since he will be immediately surrounded. 

[booho]

1 hour ago, ruizaio said:

The director kept refusing the gifts from MLSHR DC gallery, so the production company wants the fans to take them back. The K fans on DC will discuss tonight what to do with the gifts as they can't get a refund with the way they opened the packaging. They may try to sell it on the second hand market to recoup some of the cost and use it for gifts for the actors instead.

What second hand market ??   do u know what kind of gift they give to the director ?

[bearboo]

4 hours ago, ruizaio said:

The director kept refusing the gifts from MLSHR DC gallery, so the production company wants the fans to take them back. The K fans on DC will discuss tonight what to do with the gifts as they can't get a refund with the way they opened the packaging. They may try to sell it on the second hand market to recoup some of the cost and use it for gifts for the actors instead.

why the director is so means i don't understand  why he don't care the fans who support them

i love moonlovers so much but i don't think the director love this drama i'm new here sorry if i make mistake