The story definitely made me feel. I was angry and heartbroken at various stages, particularly the end, I started watching this because of IU but by the end, I was really tired of her character. I was surprised by myself because my I was not th The inking of her as IU any more but Hae Soo, and Hae Soo's misplaced compassion and lack of understanding of So bogged me. I really could not understand how she felt so strongly about the death of her 'sister' when it was a story of utter betrayal. are we to accept that the worst crimes are forgivable because someone was in love? The martial part of me really wanted more use of the sword instead of just accepting the usual needs of politics. In the end, it seemed that even So did not have fierce defiance and will to overcome everything that had been promised at the beginning.
I almost felt like skipping the last two episodes even as they were running because it was so predictably going wrong. The flashbacks did not help. They reinforced the fact that the leads got almost no happiness through it all. It was just fleeting. i don't think the 13th prince's love story's closure was handled properly.
I still give it a high rating because the pain moved me and I could see such a lot of IU. However, I won't be able to rewatch it. I had expected tragedy throughout the time but i felt a lot of it was preventable and the characters just wanted it to be tragic; they were just so stupid at times. That's not like how I like my characters.
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Yeah, the second half of the show, after it’s “dark turn” in it’s storyline, fell into a sinkhole. It felt like The writers didn’t know how to write Hae Soo’s character anymore and she became a dull, flat, boring character. Maybe the second half of the show was written by another team of writers. Her character wasn't appealing to begin with. The ending also sucked.
IU's acting was bland and still the same in other shows I've seen her in.
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This review may contain spoilers
Even with the tough reviews online… it is worth watching
I did not check the reviews before starting… trying to avoid being biased and all that.. just read them afterwards… and a lot of what has been said is true.Let me clarify that I have not watch the original Chinese version… only this one.
It is true… I was very frustrated with this “love story” between Hae Soo and Wang So…. It did not happen until mid season. It came to a point that I actually thought I read it wrong..l that she would end up with The brother Wook… but no… finally after more than 10 hrs, it happened.
The best in this drama comes from Wang So… he is amazing.
I was rooting for him since ep1….
But Hae Soo… well… it took me very long to like her. She is supposed to be modern-contemporary woman… and in the beginning she was… but also very naive and clueless to the actions of others. Very self centered.
She meets 7 princes.. and after 3 episodes, almost all of them started to like her. Like she would just smile to them and they would be immediately smitten. For princes that had any woman in the kingdom at their disposal… it was hard to believe.
The actors playing the brothers were also very good. You will immediately like/hate them .
Having said that… this story has the most iconic scene I had scene ever…
Wang So covering Hae Soo from the rain, while she is on her knees in front of the palace.. beginning for the life of her friend.
No words were needed…. His action spoke of his courage and his love for her.
This scene made it worth watching…
I admit, I cried at the end… Wang So’s karma came back to bite him in the ass…
And yes.. the ending could have been different.. it is obvious they made it in mind of a season 2 that will never happen… leaving us with unanswered questions.
Do I recommend it? Yes…. Wang Wook and Wang So make it worth it.
Will I watch it again? No
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Perfection !!
I am usually very careful when it comes to dramas rating , I don't walk around distributing high ratings for every drama I've liked ; it has to be perfect !There are (so far ) only two dramas I rated 10/10 , and moon lovers is one of them . It has been 5 years and it still siting on the top of my K-dramas list. I remember crying my eyes out and getting into depression after finishing it .
This is neither a typical time traveling drama nor a usual historical drama ; it's deeper than that. The leads did a great job presenting us the complex characters of the story ; I must also applaud IU's acting that has improved a lot since her last drama. And the OST is just OMG , amazingly amazing !
The love story is unprecedented , it's not the sweetest one but definitely the deepest one.
It's a drama full of life lessons ; family love , sacrifices , greediness , power struggle ...
To sum up , it's a MUST WATCH !
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Daebak!
First of all let me get this straight that i watched this drama for IU. In episode 1, the whole cast is introduced and I was really happy to see JiSoo and NamJooHyuk there. They are really my fav ones.Story line was epic. The fact that it was all in goryeo with all these cute princes and ofc Hae Soo it became really intresting.
How the story moved on from all the comedy to the actual politics and fight of attaining the throne was at a good pace. REALLY GOOD PACE.
Thing which made me quite sad was that people were judging on the basis of a scar. These things are considered Taboo in today's time and I am really relieved for that.
As we all know their is supposed to be this one bitch whom we all mutually hate and can never like her. That was the princess Yeon Hwa. I just can't stop hating her.
We can justify the greed for throne of others as they wanted to protect something or someone but this girl was just playing to get to the throne which litreally made no sense. She could have married some other king and could have became a queen but idk why she was so obsessed with the throne of goryeo.
After all this time the one person who was trested the most unfairly was Wang So followed by Hae Soo.
Wang So never got the love of his mother. He was hated by her over something for which he was not even at fault. Even though he was not greedy for the throne still she was misunderstood by people for no reason. At the end after becoming the king, he still did not kill his brothers and was a really good king. All efforts he did for the Baekje Slaves are Daebak.
Coming to Hae Soo, she was unexpecteely in goryeo where she was not even supposed to be. Even in modern times, she was sad and cheated by people. See ing how many people were there to save her, she was way less lonely that Wang So. After all this, she was cheated by the girl she trusted the most. It kind of makes her pitiful.
All other characters were there as jewels to decorate this long lasting love which was between ages.
Cinematography was one of a kind.
Points to look forward:
1. That amazing friendship and bond between the princes and Hae Soo.
2. The slow yet amaizng romance in the middle of all the chaos.
3. Lots of cuteness, which was later taken over by maturity.
P.S.
Also, get a handkerchief after episode 8-9 as you will really cry a lot
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This review may contain spoilers
Great Drama - Recommending It to History Lovers
This drama is fantastic if you're into historical romances. It isn't 100% accurate to the true story, but how can we blame them? The influence takes place around 925 when Prince So was born up until, I believe, 970-980. Not talking about Hae Soo. Although, making that poor girl relive some crucial moments in history where she would experience so much pain is cruel. Her main goal changes from avoiding the murderous king to wanting to change him.I do HIGHLY recommend watching this series with your brain turned on. All of the character's outcomes and stories are very tragic. But no matter how high their hair goes, don't fall for these types of men in real life. Hae Soo is an example of being in the wrong place at the wrong time in both life times. So, keep an open mind, and do not project for the sake of your own sanity, they will not be the same as these fictional characters.
I will say, when you get to episode 15 or 16, the writing gets a little carried away and reels more into filler. Those have to have been my least favorite episodes out of the two.
The score they set up for the heavy emotional scenes is very well-done. Really good music does set a nice tone for a drama, don't you think?
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It certainly is addictive and engrossing, but tends to frustrate you on a lot of issues.
I loved the part with the princes meetings, they were the lighter moments of the drama. Lots of intrigues and twists which sometime you like and sometime you feel...why??
The first love story su/wook is given much more time to develop and grow than the Su/So love story, confusing the audience who to root for. Besides how can a nice kind person suddenly change overnight. not possible. All in all I found the character of Su very fickle and indecisive, switching princes..its annoying. Just not well written, to top it off the actress although better here than her previous works, is so expressionless. I don't know about others but I had very little sympathy with her and found her choices annoying.
The end was kind of incomplete. Lots of things are left for the audience to figure out themselves. I would have liked it better if they had some parts of the present day life between characters.
Overall I liked it but not as much as the other sageuk I have seen earlier. Don't expect too much but deserves to be watched atleast once.
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First, this drama is not similar completely to the original ( include the number of the princes, the personalities of princes and so on).
Second, of all people, Lee Joon Gi's acting is dominant in this drama. He is so good to convey complicated feeling of Wang So- the fourth prince. He is 11/10 acting. Just perfect! Of course, his character is different from the fourth prince in Chinese version.
IU is neither stiff nor good. Her acting can be accepted. She knows how to act innocent and how to cry. However, she cannot show the different faces of her character and she cannot express the complex feeling when it is necessary. Her acting only improved in the last two episodes.
Kang Ha Neul is also so good at his role, especially first few episodes, but now his character does not shine brightly as the first few episodes. The writer perhaps has not invested in Wang Wook character right now. I do like his personalities in the beginning but I do not like how they solved the triangle Hae Soo- Wang Wook- Lady Hae.
Other princes are handsome but I do not understand why they need many princes when the number of episodes is limited. The other princes such as the tenth prince and thirteen prince is too stiff. They need to improve a lot.
The quality of the direction and music and even story are going up and down. Some episodes are good, some are bad.
Those episodes in the middle of this drama are well done. But both the beginning and the other half of this drama from episode 14 is very boring. The final episode is ok.
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But after watching the series and completing it i can now say i am a big big fan of both actors the way the series carried itself over the streches of 3 to 5 episodes showed a different side to them and you were on the edge of your seat with there acting as was the rest of the cast.
When some of there motives and emotions start to show the show really grabs at you and doesn't let go untl the end of the ride.
The music and ost of this drama is really excellent one of my favorites along side Who are you 2015
Its truelly a shame this didn't do well in korea and i for the life of me can't figure out why IU was critised for her acting in it props to all the cast for the amazing roller coaster and well done this instanly made it into my top 10 dramas and found myself 2 new of my favorite actors in the process i am glad at least on the international stage it did well and it receive the real love it deserver a great fantasy history drama.
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The biggest problem with the series is that it was too ambitious. I think I already said it in another review: that's the main problem with most dramas these days. Since the target audience is expanding every year, the pressure is bigger. Also, most idols seem to be forced to develop good acting skills in a short span, even if they've hardly had any training. There were high expectations on the cast in this one. The result was just OK, I think.
I have to say, however, that I don't agree with all the criticism that IU's acting had to face. I actually really liked her performance (I have to say that I haven't seen any of her previous works), even though it's true that her character was poorly written.
In my own humble opinion, the best developed characters were the ones played by Kang Ha Neul and Kang Ha Na. And their performances were good enough.
I really REALLY liked Woo He Jin's moving performance and her character's relation with IU's.
As for Lee Joon Gi... well, he'll be a favourite of mine always and forever, and this character suited him. But I insist: I miss him in more lighthearted roles such as the ones he played in Iljimae or Arang. I really miss this goofy side of him. He seems to be obsessed in proving his value in dramatic roles.
All in all, I liked the story and its message (I haven't seen the original Taiwanese drama), but the direction was lacking. I feel that's also a big problem in many dramas: they have a good primal source, but some directors don't seem to know what to do with it. They wanted to try innovative things, like leaps in time (some of them I felt that really worked), but as I said, the excess of ambition was a setback.
I liked the close-ups, though. Some people complained about the overuse of close-ups, but I actually liked them (and any Lee Joon Gi, Kang Ha Neul or Nam Joo Hyuk close-up is always welcome and appreciated, let's be honest).
Anyway, in spite of its flaws, I don't think you're going to regret watching this drama.
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