This review may contain spoilers
The Moon truly does rise where the River is
Acting and Characters: Kim So Hyun was absolutely perfect as Pyeonggang. Na In Woo took on the difficult job of filling in On Dal after Ji Soo got dropped and exceeded all expectations. Lee Ji Hoon was the swoony SML that we grew to love and hate. Choi Yu Hwa did an amazing job portraying a cunning yet kind-hearted Silla spy. The side characters were all so lovable. Pung Gae and Jin were so cute. The Queen and Go Won Pyo were extremely well portrayed. Won (or King Yeongyang) was lovable as a teen and despised as an adult. King Pyeongwon was a character that we grew to love over the course of the show.
Plot: The plot was iffy at times but it was bearable. It didn't help that they rush a couple of episodes and write a whole new set of episodes due to the allegations around Ji Soo. Overall I think they did a really good job of sticking to the history and folktale while giving us the viewers some fanservice with that ending. They did Geon and Won (or King Yeongyang) dirty in the latter half of the show, but at least we got their true character back by the end. The "death" of On Dal was kind of unnecessary but I get why they did it. They needed to stay somewhat true to the ending of the folktale.
OST and Cinematography: OST was amazing. The soundtracks used for the battle scenes so perfectly. The main OST was lovely. The cinematography was absolutely stunning at times. One of the better cinematographies I've seen. The setting for the scenes was absolutely beautiful. The camerawork was pretty good. Overall a very well-produced show given the circumstances.
Final Score: 9/10
Plot: The plot was iffy at times but it was bearable. It didn't help that they rush a couple of episodes and write a whole new set of episodes due to the allegations around Ji Soo. Overall I think they did a really good job of sticking to the history and folktale while giving us the viewers some fanservice with that ending. They did Geon and Won (or King Yeongyang) dirty in the latter half of the show, but at least we got their true character back by the end. The "death" of On Dal was kind of unnecessary but I get why they did it. They needed to stay somewhat true to the ending of the folktale.
OST and Cinematography: OST was amazing. The soundtracks used for the battle scenes so perfectly. The main OST was lovely. The cinematography was absolutely stunning at times. One of the better cinematographies I've seen. The setting for the scenes was absolutely beautiful. The camerawork was pretty good. Overall a very well-produced show given the circumstances.
Final Score: 9/10
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