[Drama 2021] River Where the Moon Rises, 달이 뜨는 강

[Sleepy Owl]

8 minutes ago, elan1 said:

I read a comment where they accused ep 1 & 2 of dragging palace politics and upset that includes some politics... I be like are we watching the same drama? Every historical drama needs to have some politics in it... it’s normal lol 

 

 

The reason for it to have such a fast pace right now, dealing with the memory loss, and other stuff is the fact that I believe we'll have some proper palace politics happening. We already are seeing what is happening in the palace, and when Ga Jin returns as the princess, things will get more intense as the King will be less under control. At the same time, we already saw in this episode that the Tribe chiefs are not really in support of Go Won Pyo, and we might see some conspiracies happening between them too and all this would require some proper writing and screen time. Apart from the palace politics, we might see a war happening too, since we saw in the first episode at the same time in the trailer and still images. So that's why I believe they are just clearing up the comparatively smaller issues here.

 

As for the politics, Sageuk, without conspiracies, backstabbing, political power struggle and palace politics is quite a rare thing. There surely are some out there like that, but seeing the basic synopsis of this one, it wouldn't just be a fairy tale where a Princess falls in love with a commoner. It surely had hinted that this drama will have some serious palace politics happening. 

[andy78]

1 hour ago, Sleepy Owl said:

it wouldn't just be a fairy tale where a Princess falls in love with a commoner. It surely had hinted that this drama will have some serious palace politics happening. 

This drama ONDAL is not like this ...his father was a general and a chief  he was supposed to the next chief...we know many from his tribe died ...those who survived hide...the way i see it general Go won't give up...he will bring her to palace ...he will use the secret village people for that...maybe her feelings for them:return at the palace or they'll die...she does feel guilty for what happened with his father and tribe ...i want to know more about 5th tribe JEOLLA queen's tribe...what happened with them?They want revenge?Their leader must be princess grandfather if is still alive or uncle...

[andy78]

GG confronted her about the man whom he recognized and chased to her premises.  As for why she let GJ and OD go and then turned around to send GG there to look for them, it’s probably part of some devious plan of hers to gain power over the bigger tribe (Go’s tribe).  I get the feeling she wants them to fight it out whilst she(and her father) stand by and watch them kill each other and then pick up the spoils after.  Much like how her employee tossed the sword to GJ to kill the king.  They didn’t actually kill the King, they just helped in the background.  So they never get pulled up for it.  They can watch someone else do the dirty work for them.

 

You might be right @nrllee!!!From what i read she'll  be princess antagonist...The other tribes does not like Go tribe at all there is a struggle Go wants to be the king but he can't do it the others chiefs does not support him ...they helped him 8 years ago they wanted the salt deal but it seems they do not want him as a king...

[Sleepy Owl]

Chingus, the poll for this week's episodes are up, please don't forget to vote 

Special Thanks to @elan1for providing me ideas for the poll 

 

re: @Lmangla, @partyon

[andy78]

3 minutes ago, Sleepy Owl said:

Chingus, the poll for this week's episodes are up, please don't forget to vote 

i voted ...let's see if i'm right...

[Breeze]

BTS video of ep 3

 

 

[Breeze]

Chief Producer Kang Byeongtaek and Kim Youngjo sent a coffee truck!

 

 

[Sleepy Owl]

2 hours ago, andy78 said:

GG confronted her about the man whom he recognized and chased to her premises.  As for why she let GJ and OD go and then turned around to send GG there to look for them, it’s probably part of some devious plan of hers to gain power over the bigger tribe (Go’s tribe).  I get the feeling she wants them to fight it out whilst she(and her father) stand by and watch them kill each other and then pick up the spoils after.  Much like how her employee tossed the sword to GJ to kill the king.  They didn’t actually kill the King, they just helped in the background.  So they never get pulled up for it.  They can watch someone else do the dirty work for them.

 

 

The fact that she let them go despite having some ideas about who she is, mainly currently it is no use for her here. Mo Yong has been dealing with information for a long time, and knows that there are some info, which need to be used with patience. As you said, the tribes are not united, but the other tribes are weaker than Gye Ru and have decided to follow its chief, from what I remember, Gye Ru was the biggest and strongest tribe for a long time. The first tribe to support the founder of Gogoryeo, and a lot of the Queens were actually from that tribe for generations. Which means, they were part of Royal Family too, and so benefitted a lot more than the other tribes making them stronger. 

 

Mo Yong was actually right to suggest to Hae Ji Wol to not really get caught in the "catch the Princess" plot, since, she knows about the possibility of power shift in case the princess returns. So she has decided its better to be observer and choose the winner instead of take a side and end up with a 50% chance of being on the losing side. At the same time, as we know the tribes are just with Gye Ru since they are not strong enough, so this will give them (Sono Tribe) to strike when the time is right and gain the control over the other tribes, if Gye Ru ends up being weak. 

 

As for Jeolla tribe, there is a high chance they have not done anything since the Queen's death. Mainly because they lost a big political power, since she died as traitor, it must have put the tribe in a tight position, and I think Gye Ru chief must have made a deal with them to let them live if they lay low and stay away from the politics. Emergence of princess might actually provide them the motivation to rise again, and there is a chance that the King will ask their help. The king knows that he was manipulated to kill the Queen and knows she had nothing wrong, also knows it was the Gye Ru who orchestrated it all. Will be interesting to see if Wol Gwang will have some more plot involvement or not. I think we will be seeing him more in the coming episodes, and he was not just there to tell to Ga Jin about her past. On a side note, it will be probably for the first time, we'll not see Cho Tae Kwan (The guy playing Wol Gwang) speak English . 

[andy78]

14 minutes ago, Sleepy Owl said:

Emergence of princess might actually provide them the motivation to rise again, and there is a chance that the King will ask their help. The king knows that he was manipulated to kill the Queen and knows she had nothing wrong, also knows it was the Gye Ru who orchestrated it all. Will be interesting to see if Wol Gwang will have some more plot involvement or not. I think we will be seeing him more in the coming episodes, and he was not just there to tell to Ga Jin about her past. On a side note, it will be probably for the first time, we'll not see Cho Tae Kwan (The guy playing Wol Gwang) speak English

i think you're right...it seems foolish king relized his mistake too late...i hope the queen tribe rise again and with what is left from on general  ON tribe help otp ....

[Breeze]

Koala's new article about ep 4

 

http://koalasplayground.com/2021/02/23/memory-recovered-ga-jin-tries-to-run-away-from-her-princess-identity-in-episode-4-of-river-where-the-moon-rises-with-6-3-10-ratings/

[yeli]

4 hours ago, Sleepy Owl said:

Chingus, the poll for this week's episodes are up, please don't forget to vote 

Special Thanks to @elan1for providing me ideas for the poll 

 

re: @Lmangla, @partyon

Voted! Thank you for making this poll. 

 

Everyone who voted chose the same for  Q3. GG don’t let us down

[ferily]

 

14 hours ago, elan1 said:

omg this is so true! The fast pace 

Haha I love it!! I'm liking how they aren't dragging anything out in this drama.

 

Like I mentioned in my last post, basically all of our important characters in the drama know that the princess is alive. Also I like the fact that both On Dal and Ga Jin know their true identity

 

13 hours ago, Sleepy Owl said:

The reason for it to have such a fast pace right now, dealing with the memory loss, and other stuff is the fact that I believe we'll have some proper palace politics happening. We already are seeing what is happening in the palace, and when Ga Jin returns as the princess, things will get more intense as the King will be less under control. At the same time, we already saw in this episode that the Tribe chiefs are not really in support of Go Won Pyo, and we might see some conspiracies happening between them too and all this would require some proper writing and screen time. Apart from the palace politics, we might see a war happening too, since we saw in the first episode at the same time in the trailer and still images. So that's why I believe they are just clearing up the comparatively smaller issues here.

 

As for the politics, Sageuk, without conspiracies, backstabbing, political power struggle and palace politics is quite a rare thing. There surely are some out there like that, but seeing the basic synopsis of this one, it wouldn't just be a fairy tale where a Princess falls in love with a commoner. It surely had hinted that this drama will have some serious palace politics happening. 

Yes, I completely agree! I think we will definitely see more politics later on in the drama, especially with Go Won Pyo trying to take the throne away from the King (I mean he's already poisoning/making the King delusional). It's not a sageuk without all of those politics, debates, conspiracies and etc like you said  I mean that's the charm of sageuks right? But this drama being Episode 20, aside from the Princess and On Dal falling in love, I'm wondering how the drama will play out the whole political power struggle, with Go Won Pyo wanting the throne and the Princess trying to protect it.

 

I'm also curious to see what the King will do now that he knows the princess is alive. I wonder if the reason why Gajin returns back to the palace is because of his father or it could be because of threatening from Go Geon as well. Well we just gotta sit back and watch the drama!

 

6 hours ago, yeli said:

Voted! Thank you for making this poll. 

 

Everyone who voted chose the same for  Q3. GG don’t let us down

I have faith in Go Geon 

[maddymappo]

10 hours ago, Sleepy Owl said:

Chingus, the poll for this week's episodes are up, please don't forget to vote 

Special Thanks to @elan1for providing me ideas for the poll 

 

re: @Lmangla, @partyon

Hi where is the poll?

[Sleepy Owl]

25 minutes ago, maddymappo said:

Hi where is the poll?

 

Chingu, if you scroll up the page, in the top you will see the poll questions 

[backstreetboysfan]

This drama is fast paced nod.

[Breeze]

BTS video of RWTMR's ep 1 and 2 with Eng sub

 

 

 

[elan1]

23 hours ago, Sleepy Owl said:

 

The reason for it to have such a fast pace right now, dealing with the memory loss, and other stuff is the fact that I believe we'll have some proper palace politics happening. We already are seeing what is happening in the palace, and when Ga Jin returns as the princess, things will get more intense as the King will be less under control. At the same time, we already saw in this episode that the Tribe chiefs are not really in support of Go Won Pyo, and we might see some conspiracies happening between them too and all this would require some proper writing and screen time. Apart from the palace politics, we might see a war happening too, since we saw in the first episode at the same time in the trailer and still images. So that's why I believe they are just clearing up the comparatively smaller issues joo here.

 

As for the politics, Sageuk, without conspiracies, backstabbing, political power struggle and palace politics is quite a rare thing. There surely are some out there like that, but seeing the basic synopsis of this one, it wouldn't just be a fairy tale where a Princess falls in love with a commoner. It surely had hinted that this drama will have some serious palace politics happening. 

I wholeheartedly agree with you, a historical drama without genuine politics is supremely rare and also in my opinion lacking 

 

I recall one of the supporting actors comparing this show to games of thrones (I’ve never seen it lol), so I expect fun political scenes between the tribes perhaps(?) 

 

im actually excited to see Gajin return back to the palace and deal with the scums. I think it’s going to be so much fun and then I expect her to leave the palace after some time to go on her military campaigns obviously with ondal to tow 

 

22 hours ago, andy78 said:

i want to know more about 5th tribe JEOLLA queen's tribe...what happened with them?They want revenge?Their leader must be princess grandfather if is still alive or uncle...

interesting questions, I hope we can hear about this as well. 
 

20 hours ago, andy78 said:

From what i read she'll  be princess antagonist...The other tribes does not like Go tribe at all there is a struggle Go wants to be the king but he can't do it the others chiefs does not support him ...they helped him 8 years ago they wanted the salt deal but it seems they do not want him as a king...

this makes sense why they didn’t take down the king long time ago because not all the tribes are on board and doesn’t want Go Geun father to be king.

 

 

feels like I’m traveling when I’m watching this drama  

[Breeze]

The 15 Most Anticipated Korean Dramas of 2021

Every few years, a particularly swoon-worthy Korean drama turns a wave of international viewers into avid fans of the genre. Notable examples include Full House in 2004, Boys Over Flowers in 2009, The Heirs in 2013. In 2020, both Crash Landing on You and Itaewon Class hooked the attention of large audiences at the start of the year, and the interest in K-dramas only grew as the months wore on. Viewing for the genre on Netflix nearly tripled in the U.S. last year, and the streaming giant recently announced that its investment in Korean content between 2015 and 2020 will total $700 million and include leasing nine stages across two production facilities in Korea. Beyond Netflix, Korean networks continue to produce series which are regularly distributed globally through platforms including the American streaming service Rakuten Viki, Chinese video site iQIYI and Hong-Kong based provider Viu.

A bountiful slate of new series is on the horizon for 2021. They feature actors we have missed on our screens and newcomers who are taking on lead roles for the first time (including, to the great anticipation of many, Jisoo from K-pop phenom BLACKPINK). Many of these shows are helmed by directors and writers who have produced some of the hottest Korean dramas to date, while others are adapted from webtoons that have attracted a significant audience online.

Most of the series do not have confirmed launch dates but are planned for release in 2021. Some of the shows will debut on Korean networks like tvN and JTBC, with no confirmed plans for international distribution at the moment. This could change, though, as a growing number of global fans call for Korean dramas to be made available in their countries.

Here, the most anticipated K-dramas of 2021.

River Where the Moon Rises

Release date: Feb. 15

Network: KBS2; will be available on Rakuten Viki

Kim So-Hyun (Love Alarm, The Tale of Nokdu) and Ji Soo (When I Was Most Beautiful, My First First Love) star in this reimagining of the folktale about Princess Pyeonggang and On Dal. Pyeonggang (Kim) is resolute in her goal: to become the first female ruler to lead the Korean kingdom of Goguryeo. Her aspirations are tested when she meets On Dal (Ji Soo), whose love for Pyeonggang drives him to protect her above all else. In this period drama that promises plenty of action and romance, the versatile Kang Ha-Neul (When the Camellia Blooms, Midnight Runners) also plays a role as On Dal’s father and a general of Goguryeo.

 

https://time.com/5934125/new-korean-dramas-2021/?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=editorial&utm_term=entertainment_television&linkId=112059771

[Breeze]

K-drama River Where the Moon Rises: period action-romance has too many moving parts and too few sparks

 

• Kim So-hyun and Ji Soo reunite five years after youth drama Page Turner to play the protagonists of a classic Goguryeo folktale
• There’s plenty going on in this period drama, and a refreshingly strong woman character, but the series is hampered with clunky scripting and uneven casting

 

 

 

 

Kim So-hyun in a still from River Where the Moon Rises. There’s plenty going on in this period drama, but it is hampered by clunky scripting and uneven casting. Photo: Viu

River Where the Moon Rises, a sweeping tale of bloodshed and romance set in the Goguryeo era (37BC – 668AD) on the Korean peninsula, starts at the point where it wants to lead us – the hero dying in his lover’s arms on the battlefield. Or does he?

Kim So-hyun and Ji Soo reunite five years after the youth drama Page Turner, playing Princess Pyeonggang and On Dal, the protagonists of a classic Goguryeo folktale. This modern spin on the tale is based on the 2010 novel Princess Pyeonggang, penned by Choi Sa-gyu.

The 

new period drama

 from Korean broadcaster KBS2 features plenty of action, in addition to the usual quotient of romance and political intrigue. There’s also a refreshingly strong female character leading the charge, but along with these encouraging and progressive elements, the series is also hampered by old-fashioned and clunky scripting and uneven casting.

Kicking off in grand fashion, River Where the Moon Rises introduces us to Princess Pyeonggang (Kim) as she rides into the thick of battle, sword at the ready. This fierce warrior cuts through her opponents on the battlefield, but though the day is eventually won, among the fallen is On Dal (Ji Soo), her beloved. She holds the bloodied soldier close as he breathes what may be his last.

 

Following this highly dramatic opening, the series travels back in time to when the princess was but a young girl (played by Heo Jung-eun) living in the royal palace. In the midst of political troubles, her father, King Pyeongwon (Kim Pub-lae), allows Go Won-pyo (Lee Hae-young) of the Gyeru tribe to gain exclusive rights to the lucrative salt trade. Soon after, Queen Yeon (also played by Kim So-hyun) brings her daughter on a patrol and meets Oh Hyeop (a cameo appearance by Kang Ha-neul) of the Sunny tribe.

 

Meanwhile, Won-pyo begins to manipulate the king at the palace and, after insinuating infidelity on the queen’s part, he and his personal army are sent out to kill the queen. With troubles escalating on every side, the queen sends Princess Pyeonggang away with On Dal, the son of Oh Hyeop. They escape over a cliff face but are separated when On Dal falls into a river.

 

 

Eight years later, Pyeonggang has become Yeon Ga-jin, a member of a secret assassins’ league with no memory of her past. She has decided to stop being an assassin, but she has one more job to complete: kill King Pyeongwon. On her way there, she happens to bump into On Dal during an altercation with some poachers.

 

From this meet-cute onwards (they don’t recognise one another yet), the show settles into its main story – a burgeoning romance that plays out at the same time as Ga-jin discovers her true identity and resolves to re-establish her family’s blood line and become the first female leader of Goguryeo.

 

Joseon era (1392-1897) tales, which often detail power struggles for the throne, can occasionally be tricky to settle into, but stories set in the Goguryeo era, a much earlier kingdom whose dominion stretched over most of Korea and parts of what are now China and Russia, can be even harder to follow.

 

 

Alas, this is the case in River Where the Moon Rises, which depicts a network of tribes with murky origins and intentions whose actions detract from what we’re really here to see – a grand tale of romance that will, hopefully, in time sweep us off our feet.

 

Much of the first four episodes is devoted to sketching the show’s many characters, but it’s hard to get a sense of most of them, and we don’t see much of Ga-jin and On Dal getting to know each other. What’s more, in the few scenes where we do see them their interactions are largely by-the-numbers, such as one where Ga-jin claims to On Dal that she is not hungry, only for her rumbling stomach to give her away.

 

The show also has an awkward mix of sincere period elements and anachronistic comedy. Some characters feel like they are part of an ancient kingdom, albeit a highly stylised one, while others - such as some of the gossipy characters that lurk around the royal palace - with their contemporary vernacular, could have walked straight out of a 

Gangnam cafe

.

Ji Soo (front) and Kim in a still from River Where the Moon Rises. Photo: Viu

A number of characters offer comic relief, notably those in On Dal’s mountain village, whose caricatured and occasionally grating performances add to the show’s uncomfortable mix of styles.

 

With the pieces all in play and 16 episodes still to go, River Where the Moon Rises may well evolve into something that is both easier to follow and more engaging. As of now, however, the show has its work cut out.

River Where the Moon Rises is streaming on Viu.

 

https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/k-pop/k-drama/article/3123022/k-drama-river-where-moon-rises-period-action-romance-has

[Vera Vainio]

So, does anyone have second lead syndrome?  I don't , I find Go Geon too arrogant and selfish. And by watching teaser of next ep I think Ga Jin and Ondal will steal my heart completely when watching that ep <3