Its a great story with the perfect actors. The romance the two protagonists had was something that no one could replace but this wasn't about how they fell in love fully it was about how the love of her life tried to become king through all his brothers. This drama made me sad it made me happy and it made me angry but that is what your supposed to go through when you watch a drama.
I was never bored from the first time I clicked the drama all the way to when I finished. It's a heart warming drama, I would come back from secondary school excited just to see this drama I would literally count how many hours would be left till I could go home and watch that one drama.
Moon lovers had the best romance if I do say so myself but it also had a slight bit of history (I also gotta say the men in this always made my heart skip a beat cause of how hot they were anyway back to review)
The ending was quite heartbreaking and when it ended I was quite upset (I still am) You will find yourself looking online to see if there will be a season 2 (trust me I did and till this day I still do) cause that is just how good the drama was.
Overall I loved it (Love doesn't even begin to explain how i felt towards this drama) it was AMAZING you SHOULD watch it cause it MORE THAN GOOD! <3
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A great love story that transcends time and the beauty of unconditional love.
Phenomenal and outstanding series!I have watched many Kdrama series through the years, yet still think that this one will remain forever #1 on my list. Everything about it was amazing: the intriguing story line, the superb cinematography, the awesome acting skill of each significant character, the beautiful sceneries that served as backdrop for each situation, the intricate costumes, the wonderful accompanying music. Although the ending was sad (I watched and re-watched Ep 20 several times and each time, I have cried), it was impactful as it presented the marvelous idea of unconditional love.
I totally and wholeheartedly recommend Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo, especially for those who want to watch a drama which is entertaining and leaves a lasting impression.
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I was completely wrong
This drama was all the rage, even when it came out due to an all-round amazing cast. I was really critical about it and didn't want to watch it due to the hype and honestly I was STUPID! One of the best dramas I ever watched, it's in my top ten for sure! It ripped my heart out, placed it back in and tugged it again one last time. I was a complete wreck watching this. Everything about it from the storyline to the cast to the ost's, it was truly perfection. To this day I still wish for a season 2, it ticked all the boxes for a great drama and ticked the box for a potential season 2, however, sadly we don't usually get those with kdramas often.Was this review helpful to you?
The cast was spectacular (especially Lee Joon gi who plays the character of the fourth prince Wang So), and definitely gave an added value to the story.
And the soundtrack was great too, except for some modern songs which are out of context.
You can't even imagine what the song "Will be back" performed by IIm Sun-hye has done to me. You can watch scarlet heart with your eyes closed and when u hear this song u will find yourself crying, 'cause you will know there's someone dying.
I don't want to talk about all the characters 'cause they are too many, but I want to spend a few words on my favourite character, Wang So (the 4th Prince). He was the best character, and I have appreciated the fact that he has tried with all his strenght and for all the time to protect himself from the desire of power. As you can se, power can be a heavy load to bear with. And even when he became king, the only thing he tried to do was protect his beloved ones.
The only thing I can say about the end of the drama is: Sometimes things need to be let go of. If it's mean to be you'll find each other again. And I hope this is the case. I want a second season!!!!
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One of the greatest love stories of all time!!!!
This is sooooooooooooo good!!!!! Top 3 favourite dramas ever!! Be prepared to cry and not be able to think about anything but this show for weeks after finishing it. So good. Phenomenal acting, phenomenal storyline, amazing everything.I’ve re-watched this show three times now and I still get so affected by it. One episode I’m laughing and smiling so hard my face hurts and the next I am ugly crying in the foetal position on my bedroom floor. And I’m not gonna lie after I finished the series I couldn’t watch anything else for over a week it just lingers in my head.
There has only been one other drama that I feel is on the scale of this drama and that is The Story of Yanxi Palace. So if you enjoyed this show at all I think that you would probably really like The Story of Yanxi Palace.
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This review may contain spoilers
I would say if you're a person who gets easily attached to characters, this drama isn't for you.
Moonlovers or Scarlet Heart has been and probably will be one of my most favourite dramas of all time. The cast, the music, the acting and the plot were laid out so well - it will get you hooked. Unfortunately, as good as I have rated this drama, there's a reason behind that. A beautiful yet tragic storyline where more than half the central cast lose their lives - heartstrings will be pulled. This drama still leaves an impact - powerfully told and even a slight bit of attachment to the characters will bring out those tears.Was this review helpful to you?
My only miff is the ending and the fact that sometimes the story goes too much towards sadness. If you're hesitating on watching, don't. You will enjoy this gem.
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This review may contain spoilers
A review in 2021 - This is worth the watch, but ...
The bad:My review may have some biases, as I am reviewing this drama in 2021. If I watched this drama in 2016, I probably would have given it a 9.5 instead of an 9 but I cannot do that now, and here's the reason why, ignorance is bliss! What I mean by this is nowadays, I loathe toxic male leads, you know, the ones who tell you they are going to kill you one second, and then the next tell you that you belong to them. As much as I wanted to romanticized the female and male lead in this drama, I couldn't because the male lead character screamed toxic, although his acting was on point! BTW, in real life I do believe monarchies were very toxic people, so it's not unreasonable for the characters to exhibit such traits. The male lead was looking to the female lead to give him the maternal love that he never received from his mother, or older brother. Thus, he sought that in the female lead, but it was never truly love as much as it was his self-appeasing nature. He grew up trying to appease his family but all in all he still wasn't wanted. I did have compassion for the male lead, as he went through extreme trauma growing up, and it's human nature to make mistakes and try to learn how to behave better, as we grow and learn. Nevertheless, I am over the misogynist male lead characters (e.g. kissing women without their permission, not understanding that no actually means no, putting their hands behind the female characters back and pushing her up for a kiss, etc..). Although, there's a level of toxicity with the princes and princess, I am so glad that I did not get the damsel in distress vibe from the female lead character. Oh yeah, I think the music was somewhat too dramatic for certain scenes. Like in one scene around episode 6, the song "I love you," is played when the male lead is threatening the female lead. It's a bit weird.
The good:
*The scriptwriter did a great job explaining why the male lead end up killing his brothers. Usually when we hear of stories like this, we automatically assume that the killer was a psychopath murderer. Instead of investigating the real culprit working behind the scenes. The female lead did have visions about the future, but those visions didn't tell the full story but rather what would happen.
*The acting was on point. While watching this drama, I thought the female lead was the same female lead from Records of Youth. I never watched a movie in which IU acted, until this one. Neither am I familiar with her music, so my opinion is not bias. I think she did a fantastic job acting as a woman who was wanted by all the princes, except for 2. That's not an easy task to be able to act that out so well, that it doesn't turn the audience off. I believe each actor played their roles well, although this series probably could have had 23 episodes instead of 20 in order to allow for the romance between the female lead and male lead to seem more realistic. I believe their romance between episodes 7-13 was a bit rushed. However, the screenwriter did a fantastic job, with what she had. Btw, Eun's death was so tragic (episode 16), him and his wife are so cute in that episode. Good acting, I am in tears!
Overall, this drama was good but watching this in 2021, and not being ignorant of how media plays a role in sociocultural, and the viewpoints of society is the reason why I cannot give it a 9.5. BTW, I know it's a creative licensed historical drama, thus, there has to be some toxic traits, and that is the reason why I did not give it an 8.
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Do not underestimate the angst.
I knew that Moon Lovers was one of the saddest dramas out there, and because i wasn’t able to avoid spoilers, I was also aware of certain events, despite all of it, it still took me by surprise and was intensely painful to watch. What I loved the most about this drama was how they’ve stuck to history and brought about the important events by making them revolve around/influenced by a character who may or may not have existed.The first half of Moon Lovers is quite playful, it builds the set up, it lets you get attached to these characters who you know are going to suffer. Its from the latter part of eight episode that things really start to get intense. There are time skips as the episodes progress, some are well done and some could have been better paced out. The character development and the acting of the older Princes is too notch. IU’s acting was a bit botchy in the beginning but as the episodes start to get sadder, she seems to have levelled up. It’s in episode 11 that she really shines! And of course, it’s the episode with the umbrella scene which one can watch uncountable times!
The last few episodes promise you constant sadness and angst. What hurts you more is that their happy moments feel momentary and don’t give you any hope. “I came to sit by water. However the clouds had come.” Are the lines told by Wang So to Hae Soo, and it seems to perfectly represent them. They yearn to be together but things don’t quite allow them to be so. Even in their happier moments, there’s a sense of uncertainty.
The drama ends making you wish for a future, not quite promising or leaving you with hope. I can see why fans of this drama are still hung up over it — I’m a part of them now.
From love, greed, politics, bloodshed, well wrapped plot, great character development, layered antagonists, this drama is packed to serve.
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This review may contain spoilers
devastating ending
this is the first kdrama i watched and my greatest heartache. i was hoping for a happy ending. I was so suprised to learn that it wasn't well received in their own country that merits a Part 2. But the international fans are clamoring for it. This i where i started to admire IU as an actress then found out she's a very good singer as well. Lee Joongi's character fits him so well. kudos also to all the actors, they are amazing. It's as if the character was molded to them. Maybe, just maybe a Part 2 will be made.. in another 10yrs or so.Was this review helpful to you?
Cast/Acting
Beforehand I was a bit wary of this drama due to it's cast. Now, I don't judge actors and whatever kind of background they may have, but idols (or singers, for that matter) who decide to act are often either really lacking or turn out to be surprisingly talented. In this case I was extremely positively surprised by IU's acting skills! I have never listened to her music or seen any other film/series in which she stars in, so if I hadn't known before that she was a singer I would definitely have mistaken her as a pure actress! Besides her I also genuinely loved the entire cast in this drama! The acting was superb on everyone's part and all of the characters they portrayed were just so so great and insteresting. I honestly felt like I was part of the world, which really doesn't happen that often.
Story
Story-wise this drama was a whole rollercoaster of feelings. In the beginning I thought, oh alright it's picking up the pace here we go, and then, yes, this is good! and then came the point were I believed we would get the ultimate happy end .. and suddenly the entire drama pulled a 90° turn. It made me happy, sad, giggle around due to all of the sweet scenes and cry like a baby throughout the entire 80% of the series. Personally I'd say if someone likes romance and tragedy than this is quite a nice watch, even though there are some reeeeeeeealllly tiny moments of comedy too, though those were really nice rays of sunshine in between all of the more sad and heavy scenes.
OST
Now, the most important thing of this drama for me was it's OST. I have to admit that I often don't even pay attention to the music playing in the background of certain scenes mostly because it's just ... lacking something. But here everytime the soundtrack came on, especially - that- song (you know which if you have watched the drama) my heart stopped, because I knew 1) I'd probably start to cry again and the scene that would come on would be really impactful. While as a whole I loved the drama I still think that this soundtrack has made a juwel into a diamond. I don't normally by OST's of any kind of media, may it be film, series or similar but for Moon Lover I will make an exception because I need this music in my life.
In the end I finished this drama within two days and while I started it not expecting much it turned into the most memorable 48hours of laughcrying I had ever the joy of torturing myself with. The story, the characters and the world as a whole grew on me so much within this short time span and I'll probably be stuck thinking about this series for a while before I can start watching another drama again. I'll definitely rewatch this, and that probably more than only just one time.
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