As the ML says, "let's fix this"

The reviews for this show are very polarizing. People either seem to love it or hate it, and I can definitely see how that could be. I almost didn't watch it because of the negative reviews, but I'm so glad I decided to give it a chance!

For some reason, I was very patient while watching this show. Maybe it's because I'm in my early 30's and work as school psychologist, so everyday I work with very dysfunctional couples and families! :) Yes, the two leads are incredibly flawed people and make many mistakes along the way. Yes, I got a little frustrated at certain parts and just wished they could communicate. But I kept going back to how these characters are in their 20's and I remember what it was like dating in college. The writers of this show did a fantastic job of really describing the messiness of dating in your 20's (i.e. the feelings of insecurity, rejection, falling in love for the first time, loneliness, navigating past traumas, "hook up" culture, social media/gossiping, etc.). I keep seeing people throw around the word "toxic" for the lead couple's relationship. I honestly don't see that. Yes, the two leads are very flawed, but the whole point at the end of the show is that they BOTH make a definitive decision to work on themselves/move past their traumas, while finally giving their relationship a chance. I don't see anything toxic with that. Millions of couples around the world have struggles/past traumas that they are working through.

What I love:
*The music is fantastic! Every single song used is perfection in helping to set up the scene/mood. It is very soothing and pleasing.
*The visuals, cinematography, and sceneries are beautiful! This show has a very cozy and calm vibe.
*I love the fact that this show takes place at an art school and I loved the scenes of them working on sculptures/art pieces. This was an interesting and unique set-up.
*The acting is top notch. I wasn't familiar with the FL's work, but when she was crying in episode 10, WOW! I had goosebumps. I could feel the utter pain, heartbreak, and despair in that scene. The ML and FL's acting was very mature and convincing. The supporting characters did a great job as well.
-10 episodes was the perfect amount of episodes for this show. I'm so glad they didn't drag it out for a typical 16 episodes.

Is this a perfect drama? Absolutely not! There are some frustrating moments and slow paced scenes. Before you start watching this show, I would encourage you to have an open mind and be patient. There are so many hidden meanings and symbolism that is just so beautiful.

*The review on MDL from ZeeWoods is the best interpretation/analysis I have seen of this show! This person's analysis is exactly my feelings on what this show is truly about. When you can view the show from this perspective, you can really see that this is a beautiful show and what it means for these two flawed people to finally grow as individuals and give into their love.

I saved this show to my watchlist on Netflix so I can rewatch! I really enjoyed this show! :)

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LOVE!

I absolutely ADORE this show! It is now in my collection of top 10 shows. I've watched it twice all the way through, and it is even better the second time around!

Whether you like this drama or not, will depend on if you can be patient enough to endure a slow burn romance. There is no "love at first sight" or an instant attraction. The romance between the two leads develops over a long period of time and at a slow and steady pace. It's a beautiful story of love! It is such a journey to see the two main leads come together through an arranged marriage, try and convince themselves that they will simply coexist and nothing more, and then have the ML slowly fall in love and woo his wife. Mistakes and misunderstandings along the way, the leads eventually realized that they were stronger together and their love made them better people. I've seen other people comment on this drama saying it is "slow paced" and "boring", but the slow pace is the beauty of this drama. It's wonderful to see the main leads overcome obstacles together, communicate, learn about each other's past, and grow stronger together. I've started to watch other dramas and I find myself laughing, like how do these other characters simply "fall in love" with each other?! The Sword and the Brocade depicts such a deep and meaningful love, that when I see other dramas, it feels so superficial.

What I love:
-The ACTING is some of the best! Wow-Wallace Chung and Seven Tan hit it out of the park with this drama. Seven Tan is a STAR! Her future is so bright. Her smile lights up the whole room. She did a great job depicting a strong and intelligent FL. Wallace is an incredible actor! He is truly a veteran actor and he did a fantastic job depicting a lonely and stoic nobleman. It is so refreshing to watch a drama with two high caliber actors. Their acting is convincing and mature. Many times while watching this drama I kept asking myself, who is the better actor (Wallace Chung or Seven Tan) and I couldn't decide because they both matched each other so perfectly! The supporting characters and villains also did an excellent job!
-The costumes, cinematography, camera work and directing is top notch! You can really tell this drama had a fairly good budget because the props, costumes and sceneries look beautiful.
-The MUSIC is fantastic! EVERY single song in this drama is wonderful and perfectly fits! Even the instrumental and back ground music was stunning. Between the instrumental music and the beautiful flower/nature shots transitioning to a new scene, it felt like a meditation.

What I didn't like:
-The last few episodes had a ridiculous story arc with the FL's maids. It was so unnecessary and quite frankly annoying. It's like the writer desperately wanted to squeeze in this side plot (hence my overall 9.5 rating). However, it only lasted like 2 episodes so it didn't negatively impact my view of the show. The last three episodes were amazing!

Overall: I truly enjoyed this drama! I laughed, smiled, cried, and experienced every emotion while watching. Do yourself a favor and watch The Sword and the Brocade!!

On a side note, I recently found out that Seven Tan's mother passed away at the end of 2018 in a car accident (before the shooting of this series). That explains so much. I can definitely see how much Seven Tan poured her heart and soul into her acting, especially with certain scenes in this drama!

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Love is the most powerful force in the universe!

I just finished this drama (I know I'm late to the party, 2 years later Lol)!! I've only been watching Asian dramas for a year now, so that's why. I just finished it, and it's difficult to say how I feel about it. It's not the best show I have ever seen and definitely not the worst. Watching this in 2021, after I've already seen Goblin and It's Ok to Not be Okay (hands down one of the best Korean dramas ever created), Hotel Del Luna fell a little short in comparison. Goblin and IOTNBO deal with very similar themes such as trauma, healing, letting go, forgiveness, reincarnation, etc., but I personally feel that those dramas did a better job with tackling these issues.

That said, I agree 100% with what every reviewer has commented about this show: the cinematography is spectacular! Everything from the directing, camera angles, color grading, locations, and costumes are STUNNING! This doesn't even look like a television series, it looks more like a movie. I can't even imagine what the budget was for this series, it must have been astronomical :)

What I like:
-IU single handedly carried this show, without a doubt!! Nothing against the other actors, but her story was the most compelling. Her acting was powerful, mature, multidimensional, and convincing. Her backstory was so fascinating to watch.
-I've read other reviews of this show stating, Hotel Del Luna has a very Buddhist central storyline and I couldn't agree more. The themes of forgiveness, suffering, attachments, and healing from trauma are incredibly powerful.
-Like I said before, huge props to the director and creators of this show. This is a visually pleasing drama. Episode 16 where Man Wol is crossing the afterlife bridge is a visual treat! Between the stunning color grading, instrumental music, and camera angles, I wish I could tattoo that scene on my body!!! It is THAT good!
-The music is pretty good. I'm not a fan of the official soundtrack (even though I know there are some big Korean stars singing), it just feels a little cheesy. I personally think the background/instrumental music fits this drama perfectly and I loved it.

What I didn't like:
-The ML actor. Nothing personal against him, I really didn't connect with his character and I did not see the chemistry between him and IU. I also feel like his character was very one dimensional. His character was very sweet, but I didn't see any depth with him (I'm not sure if it was because of the script or his acting).
-The episodes were way too long. 1 hour and 20 minutes per episode is crazy! This led to many episodes feeling dragged out. I would much have preferred this drama to have 30-40 min. episodes.
-Some of the side ghost stories were amazing and many of the other stories felt like "fillers". This led me to feeling very bored and wanting to go back to Man Wol's back story.
-I didn't fully "connect" to this drama like I have with others. I'm not sure why, I'm only led to believe that the poor script at times is why I feel this way?

Overall, this drama was good (maybe okay), definitely not the best drama I've ever seen. I actually think when I have some free time, I might come back to this drama and try to watch it fully again. I'm wondering if I just wasn't in the right head space to watch and appreciate it. There are truly some heartwarming and amazing scenes in this drama, the problem is that they're so few and far in between. I appreciate all of the hard work that went into making this drama. I just felt that by the end, it was still missing that "wow" factor to truly stand out and I couldn't connect with it fully.

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