Jacinta
The snoozefest I didn't see coming
Hotel Del Luna (HDL) was an extremely hyped up drama when it came out in 2019 and I thought the title was appealing in the sense that it really evoked fantasy cinematic vibes. Having briefly looked at the premise however, it reminded me a bit too much of the 2013 drama, The Master's Sun (TMS). Despite being a human, the leading lady in that latter named drama also had this exceptionally rare capability of being able to see and communicate with spirits; thereby being an exact replica of Gu Chan-sung's (GCS) character here in HDL.
Now it's also important to keep in mind that these kinds of themes/ideas are unique to a specific writer(s) for a drama, and so as it turned out, it was none other than the Hong Sisters who wrote the scripts for both HDL TMS. So, in that respect, perhaps one of the many reasons why I didn't enjoy HDL as much was because I found myself re-watching a drama which had almost the same plot focus as its predecessor. Having said that, HDL was just not hype-worthy sorry to say, but what I will say is that it was exceptional in many other aspects other than its storyline.
Firstly, I commend the people in the costume department for providing such an exquisite array of outfits for Jang Man-wol (JMW). I've never seen anything quite like it before to be honest, whereby the female lead had about ten different outfits, hairstyles, and accessories per episode which in many ways, was all thanks to her character's impeccable taste in fashion. Secondly, the production was quite amazing needless to say; I could not fault one episode which did not scream "attention to detail". In particular, I was in awe of the grand magnificence, size and classiness of the hotel.
However, was this enough to save the storyline?
Characters
If I can recall correctly, there were about six deities in total which starred in HDL (i.e. rich, poor, life, death, health, and love). Each served a different purpose, but it was mainly just one which really contributed to JMW's existence (save for the rest which had more involvement with GCS's character).
In terms of JMW's character, I thought there were some aspects of her which painted her to be quite headstrong, but also many others where she came across as needy and short-tempered; thereby making her seem like a damsel-in-distress and very unlikeable. But just some further examples. First, thriving off money and luxurious purchases to be able to live is not a new concept in the K-drama world - without this materialistic aspect, JMW would be nothing she says. Second, JMW's elegant fashion sense and mesmerising beauty no doubt won the heart of many viewers, but that alone could not save her character's god-awful temperament.
GCS's character was well... I'm not sure? I love Yeo Jin-goo, but his character I felt was more like a supporting cast type of role rather than a breaking male-lead kind. The characters around him were so twisted yet he treated them all nicely only to become their sacrificial lamb. Not to mention, why him? All of JMW's previous human managers could have been given the same responsibilities and duties as GCS thereby speeding up her process of heading to the afterlife by helping resolve the wishes of her hotel berieved guests. Sure, I get her past managers weren't all men, or as young, handsome and savvy like GCS, but at least they were humans who were emotionally present and could have helped her realise her mistakes sooner if Mago planted that moon flower inside any one of them.
As for Mago and the five other Mago's - why are there so many is my question? I understand the purpose of each one, but I found the whole premise of having a "deity" to be extremely convoluted and random by the end. The deity of health and wellbeing for example - I mean, what does she do with all the other medicines she makes apart from the flower-based drink JMW eventually drinks? Deity of wealth - extremely random and unnecessary given she appeared for less than 5 minutes to give JMW advice and then poof into thin air.
Storyline
Well, this one was just lacking in all aspects. I understand JMW spent 1,000 years living to right her wrongs but why did it take that long when another human could have landed the scapegoat role within that time?
Not to mention, there is no plot hole - the plot is simply finding out what murder she committed (which was hardly a surprise by the end) and then being freed from the chains of the tree which tied her down initially. When I read the plot analysis and saw the sentence "for a crime she committed but could not remember", I just thought well, what crime could be worse than murder itself? It's pretty self-explanatory isn't it? But the most predictable was her finding out the crime and then being sent to the afterlife before coming back as herself (I think it was) at the very end.
Come to think of it, the only plot holes were that of the ghosts - why did they die? How did they die? What were the circumstances surrounding their death? In many ways, they weren't all that interesting considering most didn't even talk and had to keep leading GCS on a chase/mission to help them get to the afterlife. That said, their sidestories were more powerful than JMW's.
Also as we are all aware, what is a drama without a plotting romance between the two leads? Sadly, and much to my dismay, I felt absolutely zero connection between JMW and GCS. Whilst you could see that GCS cared deeply for JMW, and JMW very subtly did the same, there was no romance to simply put it. For there to be romance, you have to feel it - the intensity, the chemistry and the pain in the eyes and portrayal of emotions.
Other comments
Unfortunately, the camera compositions and flashbacks became very tedious to look at. The tree, the entrance, the grand hotel foyer, and hallways, etc. - each setting/backdrop did very little to present new ideas and was more or less the same each time. For example, the significance of the Moon Tree was that it claimed JMW's immortality and in many ways served as a powerful symbol of growth, death, and rebirth. Yet, a lot of the time was dedicated to the protagonists standing in front of it trying to pull out any emotions you would have developed towards them and sure, you may feel some sympathy towards JMW, but not me. Similarly, the hotel served as a safe haven for lost/restless souls who were unable to move onto the afterlife but by the end, its purpose was made redundant when it disappeared after JMW's ties with the Moon Tree severed.
Finally, the flashbacks were repetitive and didn't add any excitement to the drama. While I understand each flashback served as a memory/indicator of the people JMW was surrounded by, including the events leading up to JMW's vengeance, they did very little to contribute to her character growth. In the present, she remained just as arrogant, uptight and vain as she was/did in the past and that made it all the more difficult for me to feel any sympathy for her. If anything, I thought JMW's ties to the hotel and Moon Tree served her just right, and felt way more pity for GCS who was chosen to be her sacrificial lamb.
Now it's also important to keep in mind that these kinds of themes/ideas are unique to a specific writer(s) for a drama, and so as it turned out, it was none other than the Hong Sisters who wrote the scripts for both HDL TMS. So, in that respect, perhaps one of the many reasons why I didn't enjoy HDL as much was because I found myself re-watching a drama which had almost the same plot focus as its predecessor. Having said that, HDL was just not hype-worthy sorry to say, but what I will say is that it was exceptional in many other aspects other than its storyline.
Firstly, I commend the people in the costume department for providing such an exquisite array of outfits for Jang Man-wol (JMW). I've never seen anything quite like it before to be honest, whereby the female lead had about ten different outfits, hairstyles, and accessories per episode which in many ways, was all thanks to her character's impeccable taste in fashion. Secondly, the production was quite amazing needless to say; I could not fault one episode which did not scream "attention to detail". In particular, I was in awe of the grand magnificence, size and classiness of the hotel.
However, was this enough to save the storyline?
Characters
If I can recall correctly, there were about six deities in total which starred in HDL (i.e. rich, poor, life, death, health, and love). Each served a different purpose, but it was mainly just one which really contributed to JMW's existence (save for the rest which had more involvement with GCS's character).
In terms of JMW's character, I thought there were some aspects of her which painted her to be quite headstrong, but also many others where she came across as needy and short-tempered; thereby making her seem like a damsel-in-distress and very unlikeable. But just some further examples. First, thriving off money and luxurious purchases to be able to live is not a new concept in the K-drama world - without this materialistic aspect, JMW would be nothing she says. Second, JMW's elegant fashion sense and mesmerising beauty no doubt won the heart of many viewers, but that alone could not save her character's god-awful temperament.
GCS's character was well... I'm not sure? I love Yeo Jin-goo, but his character I felt was more like a supporting cast type of role rather than a breaking male-lead kind. The characters around him were so twisted yet he treated them all nicely only to become their sacrificial lamb. Not to mention, why him? All of JMW's previous human managers could have been given the same responsibilities and duties as GCS thereby speeding up her process of heading to the afterlife by helping resolve the wishes of her hotel berieved guests. Sure, I get her past managers weren't all men, or as young, handsome and savvy like GCS, but at least they were humans who were emotionally present and could have helped her realise her mistakes sooner if Mago planted that moon flower inside any one of them.
As for Mago and the five other Mago's - why are there so many is my question? I understand the purpose of each one, but I found the whole premise of having a "deity" to be extremely convoluted and random by the end. The deity of health and wellbeing for example - I mean, what does she do with all the other medicines she makes apart from the flower-based drink JMW eventually drinks? Deity of wealth - extremely random and unnecessary given she appeared for less than 5 minutes to give JMW advice and then poof into thin air.
Storyline
Well, this one was just lacking in all aspects. I understand JMW spent 1,000 years living to right her wrongs but why did it take that long when another human could have landed the scapegoat role within that time?
Not to mention, there is no plot hole - the plot is simply finding out what murder she committed (which was hardly a surprise by the end) and then being freed from the chains of the tree which tied her down initially. When I read the plot analysis and saw the sentence "for a crime she committed but could not remember", I just thought well, what crime could be worse than murder itself? It's pretty self-explanatory isn't it? But the most predictable was her finding out the crime and then being sent to the afterlife before coming back as herself (I think it was) at the very end.
Come to think of it, the only plot holes were that of the ghosts - why did they die? How did they die? What were the circumstances surrounding their death? In many ways, they weren't all that interesting considering most didn't even talk and had to keep leading GCS on a chase/mission to help them get to the afterlife. That said, their sidestories were more powerful than JMW's.
Also as we are all aware, what is a drama without a plotting romance between the two leads? Sadly, and much to my dismay, I felt absolutely zero connection between JMW and GCS. Whilst you could see that GCS cared deeply for JMW, and JMW very subtly did the same, there was no romance to simply put it. For there to be romance, you have to feel it - the intensity, the chemistry and the pain in the eyes and portrayal of emotions.
Other comments
Unfortunately, the camera compositions and flashbacks became very tedious to look at. The tree, the entrance, the grand hotel foyer, and hallways, etc. - each setting/backdrop did very little to present new ideas and was more or less the same each time. For example, the significance of the Moon Tree was that it claimed JMW's immortality and in many ways served as a powerful symbol of growth, death, and rebirth. Yet, a lot of the time was dedicated to the protagonists standing in front of it trying to pull out any emotions you would have developed towards them and sure, you may feel some sympathy towards JMW, but not me. Similarly, the hotel served as a safe haven for lost/restless souls who were unable to move onto the afterlife but by the end, its purpose was made redundant when it disappeared after JMW's ties with the Moon Tree severed.
Finally, the flashbacks were repetitive and didn't add any excitement to the drama. While I understand each flashback served as a memory/indicator of the people JMW was surrounded by, including the events leading up to JMW's vengeance, they did very little to contribute to her character growth. In the present, she remained just as arrogant, uptight and vain as she was/did in the past and that made it all the more difficult for me to feel any sympathy for her. If anything, I thought JMW's ties to the hotel and Moon Tree served her just right, and felt way more pity for GCS who was chosen to be her sacrificial lamb.
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