The Moon That Embraces the Sun: Episode 20 (Final)

263 March 15, 2012January 24, 2016

by javabeans

Finally, the finale! The show sure has poured on the speed in the last several episodes. hurtling us toward conclusions and endings, both happy and sad. Whether or not the show’s ratio on that latter point is satisfactory is up to you to decide.

The show bowed out with series high ratings of 42.2%, crushing the (nonexistent) competition. (To be fair, there was basically no competition, with a Drama Special on one rival station and a Salaryman special on the other.)

SONG OF THE DAY

Wheesung – “눈물길” (Tear ducts) from The Moon That Embraces the Sun’s OST.
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FINAL EPISODE RECAP

The brothers face off over their drawn swords, surrounded by rebels. In flashback, we see that Minister Yoon had demanded that Yang-myung be the one to kill the king, in order to convince everybody this wasn’t a trick. Yang-myung had agreed.

Now, Minister Yoon shouts at Yang-myung to finish the deed without hesitation. The brothers stay frozen in place while everybody watches, waiting for him to make his move.

Another flashback takes us to a previous confrontation, when Hwon had given his brother the opportunity to attack him and Yang-myung hadn’t taken it.

Yang-myung’s words had sounded cryptic then, but make sense now: this was a test to determine how Yang-myung would act the next time he challenged Hwon’s life.

Ergo, both brothers know in advance that Yang-myung won’t do it. So do we, for that matter, and the suddenness of Yang-myung’s flip-flop (and subsequent flop-flip?) means that none of this carries the dramatic impact it ought (oh, what could have been). But points for trying.

So now, Yang-myung raises his sword and sounds a battle cry… then whirls and strikes down one of the minister-rebels instead. This gives Hwon the chance to race to safety alongside his brother.

More flashbackery shows us that this was all planned by Hwon, who had predicted that Yang-myung would be approached by the traitors, and given him the instructions to go along with the plot. Everything had been Hwon’s idea, to crush the rebels once and for all, for the safety of the nation and, specifically, Yeon-woo.

Minister Yoon leads the charge to advance anyway, since they’ve got numbers on their side. Until, that is, a surprise contingent of troops swarms in, having waited for their moment to catch the insurgents off-guard. Tide turned.

The king’s troops shut the gates, ensuring that the swift battle be confined in the small courtyard. Hwon orders the “hunt” to begin.

The fight commences, with Woon and Yang-myung joining the fray together. Minister Yoon holds his own and demands the deaths of the king and prince.

Without needing to be told, Bo-kyung already knows that her father and her husband are battling it out. No matter which way the wind blows, she’s doomed; as she walks despondently through the empty palace dragging a white cloth, she knows she is about to be deposed. She thinks sadly, “From the day I first saw you, all I wanted was one thing: your heart.”

She comes to her destination and starts tying the cloth to a tree. She has decided that she will die a queen, still Hwon’s woman, before others strip her of that title. Aw. Suicide can be a storytelling crutch for many a melodramatic finale, but there’s a sad logic to her actions.

One by one, the lesser ministers in the Council of Evil go down. Yang-myung declares that he’s got the roster of traitors: “Take it from me if you can.” No, don’t tempt Fate! I have a bad feeling about this.

Minister Yoon is literally the last man standing, and he sees all his men lying dead around him. Now it’s Hwon’s turn to raise his weapon, and he sends an arrow flying into his leg. It’s not a fatal injury, and Minister Yoon charges the king anyway. Yang-myung cuts him down, delivering the deathblow, and the brothers smile in relief that all is done.

Except no, it’s not quite done. A rebel staggers to his feet behind Yang-myung’s back — ack, you can’t kill him now, when he’s safe! Hwon sees the danger and calls out a warning as the traitor grabs a spear.

Yang-myung sees the threat, who’s gathering his strength to attack… and then turns his back to the rebel. WHAT? You could just walk away, and you’re giving him a clear shot?

He faces the king, who looks at him in dawning horror, and thinks, “Please forgive my foolish choice. The heavens can only contain one sun. Now I will be the cause of no more chaos.”

Yang-myung drops his sword and awaits his fate. Arrrrrghasldkfjaldkjfalkjfas. Hulk angry, keyboard smash.

The spear flies through his abdomen, and Hwon screams, “Hyungnim!”

Nok-young and Jan-shil look up at the sky to see two suns converging. Just in case the metaphor wasn’t clear enough and you spent twenty episodes not getting it. The moment the suns meet, we also see one moon being swallowed up, symbolizing the death of Bo-kyung.

Woon cradles Yang-myung in his last moments while Hwon cries at his side. Yang-myung is smiling to the last, joking with his dying gulps that he’s gotten tired of playing the profligate. He tells Hwon not to cry: “I am fine.” He takes out the book of names and hands them over.

Yang-myung: “Once, I resented you for having everything. And so, I even desired your throne. But my friends and you, my brother, were too precious to me, to take that place from you. Be a strong ruler, and protect this nation’s people alongside her. I will watch over you from that place.”

Yang-myung looks up at the sky, now thinking inwardly that he will meet his father soon — not as king, but as a parent. If he has regrets, it’s for the mother he leaves behind. His last memory is of young Yeon-woo, and then he dies.

Hwon begs his brother to open his eyes, sobbing that it’s a royal order.

Yeon-woo is taken to a house where she will be safe, and steps inside the gate. Who should cross her path but her mother, who recognizes her on sight. Yeon-woo bursts into tears, and confirms that she’s really alive.

They hold each other and sob, which brings Yeom outside to check on his mother. His reaction is more contained, although it’s not a surprise to him because he was prepared for this by Seol.

Yeom has told his mother the gist of Min-hwa’s involvement, and she laments the dilemma of Min-hwa’s wrongdoing with her place in this family, and her unborn child to boot.

Yeon-woo leaves her mother to rest and finds Yeom outside, but he refuses to look at her. She understands that he blames himself, and tells him not to — that so doing would just make her blame herself for staying alive. Oh good lord, you wonder duo of noble idiocy. Then again, I suppose it’s an argument that works, since they’re equals on this front.

Yeom says he’s wronged her horribly, and that everything is his fault. (Which… totally doesn’t compute. Is he blaming himself for being so pretty that Min-hwa couldn’t help but be forced to dark sorcery to have him? That just takes “Don’t hate me because I’m beautiful” to new extremes, yeah?)

Yeon-woo just asks for him to be pleased that she’s here and living, and he hugs her, thanking her for being alive. She thanks him for the same.

At the sound of a visitor, Min-hwa insists she won’t eat, thinking it’s her lady in waiting, only to realize Yeon-woo stands there. Yeon-woo asks if she has decided to die along with her baby, and Min-hwa asks if that’s what Yeon-woo would like; it makes no sense to her that Yeon-woo would want her to live. Yeon-woo concedes that Min-hwa consoled her mother over the years, and has given her brother a child.

If Yeon-woo’s excessively good response is cause for frustration, at least there’s consolation in the fact that she doesn’t sound happy about it. Min-hwa can’t understand it and tells her to fly at her in a rage, or grab her hair, or do something — then, at least she could beg for forgiveness.

Yeon-woo fires back angrily, “Do you need my forgiveness? Fine, I’ll give it.” She says she’ll do it for Yeom and Hwon, who have been hurt by Min-hwa’s actions and have begged her forgiveness and suffered in Min-hwa’s place: “But live. Beg for that forgiveness, and atone for your sin yourself. Not through the king or my brother, but you yourself.”

Well, that’s actually pretty satisfying, as far as conflicted smackdowns go. Chastened, Min-hwa starts to eat and says, “Thank you… for living.” Yeon-woo replies, “Give me a reason to say the same.”

That night, Woon imagines Yang-myung coming to see him, healthy and joking. It’s not a crazy vision; Woon speaks to him as a ghost, asking how it feels on the other side. Yang-myung answers that he likes not having to fake smiles anymore, or pretend to enjoy drinking, or be a danger to the king. Most of all, he can carry a torch for Yeon-woo to his heart’s content.

Woon asks a question he’s often had to answer: “Do you still consider me your friend, even now?” Yang-myung replies, “Of course. All this while, and from now on as well, you are my friend.”

Another body lies silently in the palace: Bo-kyung, who has been discovered and laid in her chamber. There’s a rope burn around her neck and her ladies sob.

Hwon comes to her bedside and closes her eyes, then staggers out of the queen’s quarters with a heavy heart. Yeon-woo meets him in the courtyard and comforts him as he cries.

Hwon presides over his court — with some conspicuously empty seats — and outlines the path to recovery. Fitting punishments will be doled out to the guilty, while the falsely accused will be cleared.

This includes punishment for Princess Min-hwa, who will lose her status and be made a government slave after giving birth. Yeom is culpable by association, and as punishment he will be divorced and “demoted,” taking back his previous status before marrying into royalty. At least silver lining isn’t hard to find there, since the so-called punishment effectively gives back his clipped wings.

Nok-young is given special consideration for saving the princess’s life, and will leave Seongsucheong following the upcoming memorial rites. Jan-shil wants to follow her, but Nok-young tells her to remain behind and watch over Seongsucheong.

Nok-young performs rites for the recently departed, assuring them that she will take them on to the hereafter. She prays for heaven to wash clean the evil from this land, and offers up her own body — an instrument in so many sins — as the sacrificial offering for this last spell. (It sort of makes you wonder at all the grief that would’ve been spared if she just refused to cast the first spell, doesn’t it? I mean, what was to stop her from lying and just saying, “Sorry queenie, that’s not possible”?)

She prays for the remaining sun and moon to see happiness and light, and falls to the ground. Dead.

With order restored, it’s time for another wedding ceremony as Yeon-woo is made the new queen. On their wedding night, Hwon practically twitches in impatience and interrupts the court lady — who’s pouring wine slooooooowly — telling everybody they’re dismissed. Rawr.

The court lady reaches to help him out of his robes, but he rears back and warns her away: “The queen hasn’t even touched this body yet!” He declares that the queen will attend to him (I’m sure she will; waggles eyebrows) and orders them out.

He holds out a hand to Yeon-woo, then pulls her toward himself, sliding her across the floor. That’s a pretty slick move for a virgin king. Then he whirls her to the bedding, landing on top of her, in an echo of that night he discovered her as his sleep-aid amulet. He repeats the same words: “Who are you? What is your true identity?”

Yeon-woo replies, “I am your woman, the mother of this nation, Heo Yeon-woo.”

Fade to black…

…and when we reopen, several years have passed.

At the palace, two young boys run around the courtyard together — cousin princes, from the look of it. Yeon-woo sits with her brother, now wearing the robes of a government official. One son is his, and the other one hers.

She tells Yeom that Min-hwa has been granted a status change, raised from the lowest class to commoner status. The king has deemed her punishment fulfilled and released her from servitude. Yeom looks troubled at the news, but Yeon-woo tells him that if his continued resistance toward Min-hwa is out of lingering regret for Yeon-woo, he can stop feeling guilty. Furthermore, the child needs his mother.

To underscore that point, the prince trips and falls, and Yeon-woo hurries to check that he’s fine. His cousin looks sad (I’m going with sad; it’s hard to tell the acting of kiddos this young) and envious over the example of motherly affection.

The king joins the party and the prince totters off happily with Woon to learn swordfighting. Yeom’s boy says he likes books better than fighting, prompting a comment on apples not falling far from trees.

Hwon says that the prince is a lot like Yang-myung, given his interest in swordsmanship and his fondness for Woon. Yeom replies that you could say the prince resembles Hwon, too, in that.

As Yeom leaves the palace, he asks his son if he misses his mother; it’s something the boy has tried to hide, but Yeon-woo’s words have made Yeom attentive.

A group of shamans happens across their path, and Jan-shil recognizes him, asking if he knows Seol. She explains that Seol asks her the same question every day: “Is he happy? He must be happy, he must.” Yeom looks pensive at the question, thinking it over.

That night, Yeon-woo surprises Hwon with one of his games: She has hidden a gift in this room for him. The word “gift” strikes a chord, though, and he immediately gets up with a nervous gulp and excuses himself. His departure makes his court ladies wonder — he’s usually so insistent on being with the queen that he won’t leave until he’s called away. Could he have finally tired of her? Does he perhaps have another woman hidden away in his quarters?

In his own chamber, he asks if preparations are complete, and sure enough, a woman steps out of his secret room: his gayageum teacher. She’s here to prepare him for a surprise performance on Yeon-woo’s birthday, ha. Hwon boasts that he’s a fast learner and will be a quick study, then hilariously struggles to follow along. I think Hyung-sun’s expression says it all.

Frustrated, he shoves the gayageum away and blames it for sucking. Hyung-sun offers to check the validity of the instrument, then demonstrates his own amazing proficiency on it. He determines that the problem doesn’t lie with the gayageum, rubbing in the fact that he learned by watching the king’s lessons. Haha. Thoroughly schooled, Hwon pouts, “Face the wall.”

Yeom and his son walk hand in hand down the road, not seeing Min-hwa peering around the corner. In tears, she watches her men walking away before continuing on her own way.

To her surprise, she finds Yeom and her son standing in her path. To explain her unwanted presence, she tells him that the king has lifted her slave status, but now she has nowhere to go: “I wanted to see you one last time…”

The boy guesses that she’s his mother, and her spirits lift. Out of respect for Yeom’s feelings, she keeps her distance and promises not to come looking for them anymore. She keeps her head bowed and meekly asks forgiveness for this transgression.

Yeom watches tearily as she turns to leave, and then runs after her. As he back-hugs her, she says that she thought he wouldn’t forgive her. He says he meant not to, if anything as self-punishment: “But now, I want to be happy.” Family hug.

Hilariously, the king steadily practices his musical skills in his spare moments, taking a meeting with a puzzled Hong Kyu-tae (now a minister) while working his air-gayageum. That cracks me up.

Hwon’s preoccupation with his wife’s birthday present leaves Yeon-woo bored and alone, until she’s finally taken to Hidden Moon for the performance.

Hwon awaits with his gayageum and wishes her a happy birthday, then proceeds with a relatively proficient performance that Yeon-woo finds moving. All goes well until Hwon breaks a string, and Yeon-woo hurries to his side to check on his hand… at which point a gayageum continues playing, elsewhere. Omg, did you just pull a Singin’ in the Rain? Is Hyung-sun hidden in some room, rockin’ out?

Thoroughly busted, Yeon-woo levels him with a mock-reproving look, while he looks like an errant schoolboy with his hand in the cookie jar. He asks if she’s disappointed at this weak gift, and she says no, she enjoyed it.

He offers a different gift instead, and she teases, “Will you send flower petals from the rooftop?” He laughs that Hyung-sun’s too old to climb roofs these days. Good thing he has something even better.

Smooch.

And yes, as we pull away, we find Hyung-sun indeed around the corner, playing his little heart out.

JAVABEANS’ COMMENTS

And the juggernaut comes to an end. How’s that for a way to tie up loose ends, nice and neat? Regardless of whether they were tied in logical ways, that is. The point is: they’re tied, all right?

I suppose how you feel about the drama’s finale depends on what you wanted out of it: A return to its heyday of feel-good warmth? A sudden upswing in storytelling skill to do the premise justice? A happy romantic ending for Hwon and Yeon-woo? A happy ending for everyone? Retribution for all the evils perpetrated and a return to “order”?

Some of those things, we got. Others were a pipe dream. It was a pretty bloodthirsty wrap-up with a high body count, especially counting yesterday’s deaths. That’s not surprising given the gravity of crimes and conflicts we’re dealing with, but it does feel a bit like people got killed off because that was the easiest way to tie off that loose end, rather than necessarily working with our story. (And we’ve established that narrative integrity isn’t exactly this drama’s high point.) In that regard, the final body count sort of proves the skewed focus of the drama all along, because Hwon and Yeon-woo are the only ones who get their happy ever after, and the others die.

It proves (lest we forget) that this has always been, first and foremost, a romance drama. In fact, it’s basically only a romance drama. The other stuff — court plots, family strife, struggles with power — are just incidental to the love story. As such, they’re used as story tools, picked up and dropped when convenient, without having a life of their own. That’s a shame, because if any of the characters outside of Hwon and Yeon-woo had purpose beyond their function in Hwon and Yeon-woo’s story, they could have been lovely and interesting.

Nowhere is that more evident than in the character of Yang-myung. I’m deeply dissatisfied with the way he went out, even though I recognize that it makes a lot of sense for him to die. His life would always endanger Hwon’s (although I’ll argue that it’s no reason to kill yourself), so I get his stupidly noble decision to spare his brother more strife. And I was predicting that he probably would sacrifice himself; thus, death in itself isn’t the issue. It’s the fatalistic, offer-myself-up-to-fate way he faced his attacker that drove me a little bit insane.

It’s something of a no-win situation to begin with, because if he’d been taken by surprise, that would’ve been horrible. And yet for him to march into the face of death willingly? Urgggg, I just hate that he gave up, and worse, the drama then had the audacity to tell us he’s happy with this because he can stop pretending to be happy when he’s not. Or, yunno, you could’ve just become an emotionally honest person WHO’S ALIVE. In this case I would have preferred the extremely cliched, unoriginal scenario where he takes the deathblow saving his brother, because at least there it’s a choice that isn’t quite so much like suicide.

But, as we know, Yang-myung isn’t really an autonomous character so much as he is a narrative puppet to the whims of Storyline Hwon and Yeon-woo — so he is easily sacrificed, right? Just as long as we camouflage the death in the trappings of glory and sacrifice. Ugh, stupid moon-sun metaphor.

Another example of a wasted character: Seol. I’ll hand it to the show for knowing how to wring out the pathos of a moment in a purely technical sense, because I found myself crying over her death despite having no particular opinion of her character. In fact, that goes for the entire finale, because this is a drama that has long ceased to have any emotional grip on me, and yet I found the tearful moments appropriately tear-inducing, and was surprised at how much I cried along with the characters. Even though I could really not care much less about them as characters.

I feel like Seol got her heroic death as an afterthought, because what else were they going to do with her? Sure, let’s give her an ending that’s completely out of step with her place in the story, if that means we wring a few extra tears out of the audience. (I say this having wanted for Seol to play more of a role all drama long and being disappointed at her lack of presence or significance.)

Bo-kyung, too, got knocked off because the story needed the queen out of the picture and death was a convenient way to do it. Like Yang-myung, death was the only way to remove her as a threat to our characters, because even if she had been merely deposed, she would always be a threat who might garner support from more rebels. So yes, it makes sense. On the other hand, it feels like a cop-out to just wipe out all our opponents; in that, you’re not really solving problems. You’re just benefiting from happy coincidence. But of all the deaths, I’ll give the drama some credit for giving Bo-kyung a compelling logic for her actions, as her last way of asserting herself in a situation where she had no power. She could at least choose to die the queen, and not a dishonored usurper.

I do have to say the drama drives me batty with its shit-for-brains approach to women characters, though, which has been a problem all the way through. The ending only solidifies the problematic approach to the ladies, who are depicted as pawns or slaves to love. Every single woman has reduced her own identity to its association with a man. That she does so of her own accord makes it more infuriating. You have a queen, a princess, a noblewoman-turned-princess, a (supposedly) badass warrior — and each woman defines herself in relation to a man. I want to scream at them to have a little agency, to be better than that.

Even the smart-as-a-whip Yeon-woo — who as a thirteen-year-old railed against the injustice of the class-based social order — in the end just sat around, willing to leave her fate in the hands of others, until her man stepped in solved the problem, all, There ya go, little lady, I fixed it fer ya.

All that said, I thought the finale was true to the spirit of the show. It wasn’t going to miraculously turn a corner and start making perfect logical sense, but our good guys prevailed (although some in death), and our baddies saw the business end of the pointy stick. The drama was never at the top of the narrative game — or even the acting, or production-quality games, for that matter — but sometimes you have to give props to something that can capture attentions. Regardless of whether it was for the “right” reasons, Moon/Sun had a certain something that had the nation tuning in, eager to see how things ended up for our characters. You can’t quantify that kind of magnetic pull. Or maybe you can, and its name is 42.2%.

GIRLFRIDAY’S COMMENTS

URG. What the frack, drama? WHY DID YANG-MYUNG HAVE TO DIE? It wasn’t even a heroic death, or a strategic one. I thought that if he were fated to die, it’d be motivated by a last big heroic deed to protect his brother. But to just lay down his sword? I get the basic concept (repeated ad nauseum) of there-can’t-be-two-suns-in-the-sky, but it’s kind of moot when you’ve already conquered all the baddies. They’re all defeated. Time to party. Not time to die. You could go live your life as a wanderer and have all the friends you want, or have no friends and tell all your problems to rocks! Whatever! Gah. I’m fine with death if it’s properly motivated, but this was just senseless.

I think my biggest problem with this drama is that all our main characters were entirely reactive, passive characters, always one step behind and reacting to whatever happened to them. It took twenty episodes of build-up to have the king orchestrate one really big coup-reversal, but there was so much more that both he and Yeon-woo could have done to actively change their fates. It just wasn’t a priority for this drama, which consistently drove me crazy.

Overall they took one flimsy premise and then tried to stretch it for twenty episodes, instead of building a complex world with layered characters and trusting that new conflicts would drive the story forward. We basically knew exactly what would happen with the central story from day one, and it never once deviated from that path. I was behind the main couple, but their journey never really gripped me or swept me up in an epic way. And I wanted it to, really.

Perhaps when everything is left to Fate and the players given so little agency, it’s hard to root for them because they just remain in the same place for so long. I actually think the reason everyone praises the childhood portion of this drama compared to the adult years has little to do with the actors, and more to do with the characters. They were young, idealistic, and had wide-open possibilities. They spoke their minds and wanted to change the world. Of course we rooted for them.

But they quickly grew up into dutiful, passive adults who time and again let other people decide how their lives would be. Yang-myung giving up like that was just the nail in the coffin for me. Yes, Hwon turned it around in the end, but it doesn’t make up for the drama hours I spent watching him be a shell of his former spunky prince. Had THAT been the central focus of the drama, it might’ve helped to ground the conflict in something a little meatier than restoring the princess bride to her rightful place.

It was undeniably a very beautiful show to look at, and there were adorable moments of lightness and cute that made the episodes themselves very easy to watch and enjoyable. I had a good time, so I certainly don’t hate the drama or have any horrible grudge against it. I just wanted more from it, because the story had potential to be much more complex. But it chose to stay on the surface, which means I consumed it much like cotton candy – it was sweet and colorful, but disappeared into thin air.

263

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101 Jacintha

March 16, 2012 at 8:24 AM

thanks jb and gf

So, so, sad, yang myung died in the arms of his friend.

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102 Carrie

March 16, 2012 at 8:43 AM

Wow. Min-Hwa sure got off easy. The people that shouldn't have been killed off (Seol, Yang-Myung, N) were and the ONE person that they chose to save was Min-Hwa? What the...!
She was the key culprit in the conspiracy to kill Yeon-Woo with NO REGRETS unlike Bo-Kyung who just had knowledge of it being used as a pawn in the hands of her father but was held accountable. Wow. I gave her the benefit of the doubt thinking she didn't know what she was doing but she knew EXACTLY what she was doing when she said she would do that all over again if she had to. She just regrets that the truth came out and that she no longer had Yeom. So just as the truth is coming out, the writer gives her a BABY? SERIOUSLY?! So you're rewarding her by using the BABY as her redeeming card?
I can't even....

Ah, what could have been...

-Seol should have became Yeom's wife (after he divorced Min-Hwa and she gets exiled FOREVER) and had their own HAPPY family. (There's nothing HAPPY about a family whose own wife is an obsessive stalker and sociopath. UGH, *erases from memory*)

-Yang-Myung should have gone back and started his own life over again by gaining his own life and identity caring for others at the place where poor people need refuge. He would meet an equally BRIGHT girl there as awesome as he is and they'd marry and start his own family. :)

And I could go on and on...

Gah, drama, WHY?! WHY??

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103 abby

March 16, 2012 at 10:00 AM

at last my my enthusiasm got out.Happy that everything was return to its rifgtful place.Satisfied with the ending even though I'm a liittle unhappy for Yung Myung death on the other hand also with seol sudden fate.I was hoping that Woon would be find a lovelife of his own and choses one of the girls in the palace but all along he remains single.Anyway Woon i'm waiting for you here in USA. Just send me a message and I'll pick you up at the airport.

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Di

March 16, 2012 at 11:28 AM

ok... I let him now 8D, he deserves a love in his love x)

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104 Di

March 16, 2012 at 11:25 AM

I just love it ;O;

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105 Carinne

March 16, 2012 at 12:01 PM

I guess I should be happy the show got a happy ending, right? I'm still sorting out my feelings. My umbilical cord detached somewhere during the strike. Sure, I got a word in edge wise here and there, like when S died to save Y, I was chirping like a parrotlet "oh noesss, no" instead of roaring like a lioness. Then comes YM and his extensive "while I'm dying the woman I love somewhere has no idea how this spear's injury is less torture than compared to the pain of not being able to have her as my woman" kinda drag. I was like, W please just put him. out. of. his. misery. already. I was on YM's side right before the spear pierced his body, then he lost my vote getting all wishy-washy with his death. I blame the writer, not the actor. I'm sorry to KSH's fans, but honestly, those last few cries from him on the finale totally was overboard. It's like milking a cow for the very last milligram of lactose routine, which I hate to see in any show. Okay, I can understand his grievance for his hyung, whom he dearly loves, however, his cry losing BK was more of an insult than anything else. Don't try to be pitiful, please. I'm sure H is a nice guy really, but he's been shielding away cupid arrows from BK from day ~~one~~ zero so why relent all that after her death? She actually gave him an easy way out. Foolish woman! All are fools when in love, and I have no defense on such foolishness either. As the saying, there is no reason in love. It just makes me upset how H showed his weak emotions for BK when the entire time he was in jousting mode probing her so many letdowns.

Anyways, despite all that, I grew an attachment more for W, our mane of glory bodyguard. Yes, I too was insanely shipping S+W, hopes they'd be as one, but my hopeful pastel pink (Easter theme) balloon got shot down. Those moments W spent with YM I truly enjoyed and want so much more for Jae-rim's character. When W ached for YM's death, I truly felt it, moreso than with H. Pfft, I honestly threw my hands in the air when the lil' crown prince took away W for some swordplay. I was like, okay, so the show is gonna tell me W is gonna stay a ~~bachelor~~ hermit forever? You better tell me he's gay, or else I cannot compute such beauty going to waste! Give me a sign!!!

That's my rant. And I echo JB's and GF's podcast commenting how MoonSun's story development was better drawn for the young actors to play the part than for the adults. Sad but true, all actors were doing their best, both sides, goodies and baddies. Ratings? I never let such numbers affect me determining what to watch or when to watch it.

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cindy

March 16, 2012 at 1:09 PM

lol so you must love the person that died because of you?

If I did someone die because of me, even if I didn't like the person I would still cry. It was a life.

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Carinne

March 16, 2012 at 4:56 PM

For some heartfelt reaction, yes, there must be some kind of liking or loving involved. Didn't he say, he didn't hate her? All I felt during H's sob-isode, is that he just lost his bro so BK's suicide was a thin layer of icing on his iScream cake triggering his utter anguish for his bro's demise. If you say even though he didn't love BK, that if someone dies because of him he should cry no matter what for that person, then what about all those who died along with YM on the palace grounds? Maybe H won't offer alligator tears for the bad guys who been murdered, but what about those soldiers on his side who died because of him? Be consistent why don't cha. Still are lives, right?

Don't get me wrong, I like a good guy shedding manly tears for his people, but the angle played in this finale was poorly being executed in the editing room. I felt jilted of my innocence that moment when H cried and fell in YW's arms, proving my detachment, but I regained myself during all those W+YM bromances.

Who shall I blame? PP/editing? The PD? Or the writer? Who?

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pepper

March 25, 2012 at 6:08 PM

I agree with you on poor editing on that scence. My take on his crying was that he was emotionally exhausted/ check out after what happened on that day: rebellion, suprised compromise from his brother, &then losing him' infront of his own eyes, and end with BK sucide. I think he felt somewhat pity on BK, who was kind of his father prawn ( not sure how he will feel only if he find out BK attempt to kill YW ), but didn't expect her to take her own life. When he saw YW waiting for him with tender expression, he just fell apart in her arms, and let it all out. They hugged and consoled each other after going thru 8 long year separation and sad journey to be able together again finally.

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106 Alain

March 16, 2012 at 12:10 PM

I wasn't disappointed as the show met my expectation as a romantic comedy and nothing more. Moon/Sun reminded me of the Princess' Man with great art direction, cast, and soundtrack. If the producers had expanded and developed the supporting characters, that would've been a big plus, but by doing so in the allotted time (20 episodes) would've been a challenge. Looking forward to the next sageuk.

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107 boobae

March 16, 2012 at 1:00 PM

I have to comment on the negative comments regarding Han Ga-in's acting. My reaction is - this is a saguek. Proper women back then do not jump around, yell and show a lot of emotions, unless you are the princess. Like the negative comments regarding Lee Da Hae's acting in Chuno, Han Ga-in showed the right emotions by being reserved. Her acting has improved a lot compared to Witch Yee-hoo and Bad Guys.

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cindy

March 16, 2012 at 1:06 PM

A good actress just need her eyes to show us her emotion and that she can act.

HGI eyes showed me nothing. No emotion.

Put MGY there and you'll see how awesome Wol character could be.

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Anh

March 20, 2012 at 1:40 AM

Looks like I'm not the only one who kept imagining how MGY would have channeled Wol, whenever I got bored of HGI on the screen.. MGY would have KILLED the role, AND she wouldn't look 10 years older than KSH. And the chemistry between the two would have been much more electric, I'm sure.

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danna

March 16, 2012 at 1:54 PM

HA! So you say that actresses shouldn't show any emotion just cuz they're in a sageuk???...why did woman not have any emotions back in the day??...ahve you not watched Go Hyun Jung in QueenSeonduk or even Moon Chae Won Princess' Man...I don't dislike Han Ga In or her performance...it could've been much worse...but it could also have been much better in the hands of someone more skilled

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108 cindy

March 16, 2012 at 1:07 PM

People saying HGI couldn't do much because it was a sageuk, well she also doesn't do well in modern roles. Her acting in Bad Guy was also the weakeast!

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109 Erick

March 16, 2012 at 1:37 PM

I liked the drama. I admit that the drama was not done to its very best potential, but I disagree with the idea that the endings and the plot itself was illogical and poorly thought out. I actually think the opposite! This drama was tight logically and the ending (including the deaths) is what the premise and plot deserved.

Let's start with the deaths. From the beginning, we knew that neither Yang Myung nor Bo-kyung had a place in this universe. As the second moon and sun, they were fated to lose their place in our universe.

The interest in their stories is how they react to this fate. They are a foil for each other. YM faithfully accepts his fate. Bo-kyung rejects fate and fights against it. At the end though, they both end up in the same place. Both are lonely beings who lose the love of their fathers, the company of their friends, and the love in their hearts.

YM's acceptance of death is merely a continuation of the faithfulness he had shown his whole life. He has accepted that his friends are king's men, his love is the king's woman, and his own life spent as brother's keeper now spent with the end of the baddies. He has no reason to continue living. Bo-Kyung's suicide was a continuation of her rebellion -- she died to keep her position as Queen even as she knew fate was about to take it away. And now we can debate the philosphical life ethic the two of them represent.

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110 danna

March 16, 2012 at 1:57 PM

Sigh...what really kills me is the potential in the premise that was wasted....this could've been so much more in the hands of better writers/directors and even some of the actors....

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111 Erick

March 16, 2012 at 2:00 PM

Now I'll deal with why things had to happen the way they happened.

Because the socio-cultural rules, conditions, and baddies that the characters were living with dictated that a hard road be followed to achieve a happily ever after ending.

Happily ever after for Yeonwoo = 1) being with Hwon, 2) her family surviving. For Yeonwoo's family to survive, the family's reputation had to be degraded and become non-threatening to the baddies. If not, then the baddies would have killed them regardless of what happened to YW. How do you degrade a family of talented and accomplished people -- scandal of course!

Being with Hwon is also impossible without getting rid of the baddies. So a temporary separation had to occur. This brings in the shaman. She couldn't simply deny the Dowager Queen's request to kill YW. Denying the request removes YW from Nokyoung's sphere of influence/power and leaves her fate up to the decision-making of the baddies, who could have decided to kill her the conventional way (e.g. poison). So how does a shaman kill and protect at the same time. Fake death of course!

We can't have Yeom survive if he's not happy. Happily ever after for Yeom is 1) he's alive, 2) he serves the nation. For Yeom to survive the baddies, he had to be brought under protection. Getting married to the princess affords him that. But for Yeom to serve the nation, however, he had to be separated from the Princess. The only way to make this happen is for the Princess to have committed something wrong.

Any other way, and there is no happily ever after.

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112 Lizzie

March 16, 2012 at 2:19 PM

Some people say the end was ruined because of the strike and etc, not true because this end is the same end of the book it is based.

The end was the same.

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113 fimay

March 16, 2012 at 3:19 PM

thx for the recaps guys you are rocks... (☞ﾟヮﾟ)☞ girl'sfriday and javabeans ☜(ﾟヮﾟ☜)
and d'drama itself..
thx u are d'first drama that i hunted the synopsis,comment,fanpage,video,ost,history of saeguk,even the spoiler before it's airing.
but, yeah i'm in majorly same with all the comments that this storyline could do bigger plot and give us extra meaning point instead of the lovestory.between.the.two.main.characters.which.sacrifices.ALOT.people.to.die.plus.it.happened.in.the.way.that.they.think.it.honor.to.have.death.such.a.way.
puhleaze...errrrr..
but off of that.
thanks...love u all..
we have a gud time together and united by this very drama since it airing..
and that makes us in the family for entire it without even realizing it..heehe
we are family of kdrama moon-sun...yeah...
ありと~☆ヽ(∇⌒ヽ)(ﾉ⌒∇)ﾉ☆
(*￣∇￣)/ﾟ･:*【祝】*:･ﾟ＼(￣∇￣*)

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114 mommyD

March 16, 2012 at 3:56 PM

on ksh acting - all he did in this drama is mope around for his love, cry and shout.

when he cries he looks like a child who lost his fave toy, when he shouts he looks like a brat trying to get his way by shouting his way to that goal

no subtlety at all and peeps call that great acting? all he is is a pretty face.

the actor who plays ksh eunuch is the best actor in this series

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Jennyforthewin

March 17, 2012 at 2:31 PM

Somehow I agree with what you say. However the eunuch's expressions were exaggerated too. I think it's not completely true to say kWh is just a pretty face, he definitely has some acting chops. The crying, however, overrated. ;)

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Jennyforthewin

March 17, 2012 at 2:33 PM

I meant ksh*

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keke

March 20, 2012 at 12:50 AM

Oh god I totally agree with you. I think KSH can be a good actor but only in roles like in DH with some comedy involved. I just could never see him as a KING. Even JIW acted so much more of a king than he did. His crying/screaming got repetitive after a while and he cried the same way in every single crying scene. No subtlety, has a severe case of 'same-face' and just...ew. no. there were very few times when i could emotionally connect with him. I really don't understand where people are getting the "omg he is such a good actor!!!!11" He may be a good actor for some roles, but not in this drama.

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115 jen

March 16, 2012 at 4:09 PM

I think most of us spent 20 hours just to watch Hwon and the cute moments here and there.

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116 Pitch

March 16, 2012 at 5:23 PM

Looool, this drama was such a mess, I´m glad it´s over.

Well, at leat Il Woo looked hot in his blue garb /shallow

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117 diamonds

March 16, 2012 at 5:33 PM

i stuck in episode 13 and think no need to continue this series. (i got lost-interest disease)
gah, why too much people die? :(

they save the lead, but abandon the people around,
i still prefer the ending of 49 days, they let the lead gone, but made others who left behind, happy

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118 abc123

March 16, 2012 at 7:03 PM

ksh crying and shouting reminds me of autistic children in my sis school.... no offense meant to special children....

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119 obsidian

March 16, 2012 at 7:41 PM

I actually love romantic dramas, but for some reason I wanted this drama to have more action, more court intrigue. Hwon and Yeon-woo are cute, but there's only so much I can take. Or maybe it was the chemistry. I loved Hwon's little moments such as when he told Yeon-woo to lift her head, and he just sighed at her. So cute. But Yeon-woo was just a little bland. To me, she just didn't have that much range of emotion. I understood that she loved him, through her continuous repetitions of wanting Hwon to not hurt, but I just didn't see it.

I really hate the way Yang-myung died. He chose to die!! Hmm...there's a guy behind me who's really wounded, and he's getting a spear ready...I'm standing right in the line of fire...I probably should get out of the way...but nope, I'll drop my SWORD and not even try to run. Perfectly logical. AH! It drove me insane! He doesn't even have to die. I mean he's spent all these years avoiding all his supporters. And didn't we establish that the "supporters" were sent by Minister Yoon. And he's dead! So they can live in peace! And if they really had to kill him, it really should have been him dying by saving Hwon's life. Isn't that what their whole relationship is about?

I still do not care for Min-hwa. She does not get my sympathy.

I think javabeans nailed it perfectly. I didn't care for the characters, but something about this drama kept me watching week after week. Maybe it was the hope that the drama would finally take hold of the potential that it showed with the first couple episodes. I really wanted to feel for them. I tried my hardest but it was just not emotionally gripping for me.

Looking back at my comment, it looks like I really didn't like this drama, but I actually did haha. It had its' cute moments. I wish we had more scenes like the one with the fighters turning on the fighters turning on the other hidden fighters. That was pretty smooth. And I absolutely loved Hyung-sun!! Best character ever.

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120 MeOnly

March 16, 2012 at 8:53 PM

I agree that HGI not really good in acting, she failed to make people emotionally connected to her role. But she is likable , acceptable and real pretty.(same with Han Hyo Joo) Sorry to have bring in someone that are not related to this drama to state my point; comparatively actresses like Goo Hye Sun(yes Captain) and Yoona(in You are my destiny) . I have to quit the drama because of them;at some point they become irritating.

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ar_arguably romantic

March 16, 2012 at 9:28 PM

I think it is the writing of the characters. I found it hard to emotionally connect with even Hwon and Yang-myung after awhile and they were placed by Kim soo Hyun and Yang-myung. The kids were written sort of larger than life. They were destined for great tragedy and a great destiny. Their romance was like the romance of the century,. Then they grew up and became an insipid Romeo and Juliet couple. Han Ga In isn't that great of an actress but was a great actress really needed or worth it for such a bland role? Kim Soo Hyun had to do most of the crying anyways.

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MeOnly

March 16, 2012 at 10:59 PM

Ya you are right..the writing of the character also determine how far they can go.

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keke

March 20, 2012 at 12:42 AM

"I found it hard to emotionally connect with even Hwon and Yang-myung after awhile and they were placed by Kim soo Hyun and Yang-myung. The kids were written sort of larger than life. They were destined for great tragedy and a great destiny. Their romance was like the romance of the century,. Then they grew up and became an insipid Romeo and Juliet couple."

This. Exactly this. What made us become so emotionally involved in this drama at the beginning was because it seemed like there would be such great romance and tragedy in store for them. But once they grew up, I can't help but thinking....The shaman in the first episode had to die for this? Nok Young spent her entire life protecting Yeon Woo for this? Such a disappointment.

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121 ar_arguably romantic

March 16, 2012 at 9:17 PM

Thanks for the recap! Yang-myung's death was pretty annoying and I think the weird pacing of ep 19 and 20 robbed it of a lot of its could-be poignancy. There was a little too much focused on his unrequited love for Yeon-woo than on the struggles he faced as the other sun/son- so that it sort felt like he killed himself because he couldn't have her even though that wasn't why he let himself be killed.

I agree that the passive nature of the characters was hard to take. The whole series was about fate being shoved up their butts from beginning to end.

I know all the characters were sort of one-dimensional, but I was sort of surprised at how weak and sort of lame the female characters are given there has been several sageuks in recent years featuring strong female characters. There is something sort of old-school about the sort of storytelling we got here from TMTETS

I think this series wouldn't have been so bad if it was a longer series. It definitely paced itself like it was part of a 30+ episode series and then belatedly realized that something needs to happen because the end is near.

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122 Thinking.likeYG

March 17, 2012 at 12:42 AM

I was just glad it didn't turn out that our main protagonist met with tragic... even if there were tragic. Good stuff we're watching here!

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123 Sandrou

March 17, 2012 at 12:54 AM

Girlfriday, i. Totally agree with You, I'm kinda dissapointed. It began so well...

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124 k-soup

March 17, 2012 at 1:15 AM

Thanks for the awesome recap! I love reading your opinion.. you are so witty and fun jv!

I wish Yang Myung didn't die as well as Seol, it was an unexpected twist in my part. Nonetheless, it was a good story... a strong start and a nice ending.. well done!

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125 hh2468

March 17, 2012 at 1:47 AM

First off, thanks for the recaps! Watching this drama after ep 11 became half-torture for me. Besides all the complaints above, I watched Tree with Deep Roots and Salaryman in between... *regretssss*

"It proves (lest we forget) that this has always been, first and foremost, a romance drama. In fact, it’s basically only a romance drama. The other stuff — court plots, family strife, struggles with power — are just incidental to the love story. As such, they’re used as story tools, picked up and dropped when convenient, without having a life of their own."

I wanted to rant about it, but alas, javabeans, you beat me to it. I gotta say as a sageuk fan who anticipated a sageuk drama out of TMETS, I feel conned. This is just a romantic drama filled with beautiful casts and pretty hanboks.

Though I've been warned that this is just a love story with sageuk background, but no, gotta check it out for myself. And yes, it was a letdown.

I want to rant longer but other commentators have beaten me to it, i suppose =D. Glad I'm not the only one who has loooaadds to complain about this drama.

Ah, well, off to the next one.

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126 coby

March 17, 2012 at 4:10 AM

Its ok for YW to die as he will forever covet YW's love. But not that way when he drops his sword and get hit by the spear. When I saw it, I thought that he actually asked the guy to throw the spear at him. hehehe. It could have been better that he blocked the spear from hitting the Hwon and it will win an applause. He was such a good man to die like that, so lame.

Overall I enjoyed the drama. Thanks JB and GF for the recaps. I read them while I'm watching it raw better than subtitles at times!

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127 Crystal

March 17, 2012 at 5:28 AM

In the novel, did YW also die like that? ;_;

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128 yuechan

March 17, 2012 at 6:48 AM

I kept thinking about the ending and the more I do, the more I realize that I don't hate that Yang-Myung chose death. I mean, I know a boatload of people here would disagree with me, but, I think, if I was in his shoes, if death was the only thing I can chose to protect those I love and stopped being a threat to them as well, I'd chose it to. There's nothing heroic about getting stabbed trying to protect someone, I find that frustrating. It's refreshing to see how Yang-Myung choose to protect the people that he loved at the cost of his own life. If you don't think that's heroic, then, I can't change your mind about it. But, to know the consequences of it yet you still do it for the sake of another's happiness... It's much better.

Still can't forgive Min-Hwa though... I mean, I'm known Yeon-Woo hahah...

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129 leedorhoy

March 17, 2012 at 10:22 AM

Now that the sun has set, I can't wait for the heart king, fashion king, and roof prince. Bring it on!

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130 halom

March 17, 2012 at 7:40 PM

i will miss this crazy yummy
http://omonatheydidnt.livejournal.com/8734800.html

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131 Nica

March 17, 2012 at 7:52 PM

This is, by far, the MOST POSITIVE ending in a sageuk drama. SERIOUSLY. We got a good, happy ending... at least.

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132 Lilian

March 17, 2012 at 8:24 PM

Agree! A waste of so many characters! And Yang Myung's death is so argh!!!

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133 katy

March 17, 2012 at 9:37 PM

Agree , why the Queen and the prince had to die , this drama
is too black and white , no compromise and the plots are all
simple easy to guest , no brain in here .

It starts with the death of one shaman , if these shamans
having some power why they o not cast the spell to the
ministers who sentence her wrongfully ?

i feel sorry for the Queen , she did not deserve to blame for her father wrongdoing and the King is too mean to her , he is the one who turns his wife to his enemy .

I hate to watch this kind of drama , who are white remain white , who are black remain black ..... sorry not in real life ,
people can change , even love can change too .

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134 suchDrama

March 18, 2012 at 1:08 PM

I really find it hard to forgive the whoever-thought-about-it killing Yang Myung in such a meaningless and unnecessary way. While watching this scene I couldn't help but shout at the screen: Move, anyone!
Yang Myung could have moved aside, the King could've shouted anything at his glorious archers to shoot the rebel... That was one pointless death just for the sake of letting him die. (As if the whoever couldn't think of any other way of dealing with him after the almost-betrayal)

While I enjoyed the series, I have to say I still prefer the first part of it, up to Yeon U's burial.

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135 cheddar

March 19, 2012 at 3:38 AM

very well said. as it is, the drama is good and enjoyable, but comparing what happened to what might have been, what it had made us expect it would be, it ended up lacking. it could have been truly an epic drama. well, a good and successful run nevertheless. and i'm so looking forward to kim soo hyun, yeo jin gu and kim you jung's next projects.

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136 La-a (Ladasha)

March 19, 2012 at 9:45 PM

I wouldn't be so harsh on this drama. You mentioned that every woman in this drama dedicated herself to a man - that wasn't the case. Nok-Young didn't ... she seemed to have dedicated her life more to her best friend, a woman.

I know these are just personal opinions but I really didn't think the characters were that one-dimensional in this drama.

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137 keke

March 20, 2012 at 12:34 AM

Like many others, I emotionally checked out of this drama like 10 episodes ago. The finale had its beautiful moments, sweet, and breathtaking (I'm sorry but am I the only one who always gets chills when Nok Young does her spiritual dances? Whether she's trying to kill someone or giving herself up as a vessel for all the sins everyone's ever committed, (in that goorgeous red and white hanbok) she gives me goosebumps. She has such a strong, dangerous, and beautiful presence and I do think she's quite underrated :D I love the actress that plays her!)
I liked JIW's fighting scenes in the end, yet again he was the one doing all the fighting while Hwon just looked on (lame tbh) and looked amazing in that prince hunting uniform as well *_*
The final scene was perfect, it really brought back the feeling of the earlier episodes that we all loved, and reminded us of why we had watched until that point. It had the humor, lightheartdness, and sweetness that was absent in the entire last half of the series.

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138 Anh

March 20, 2012 at 1:12 AM

As disappointing as this drama became, I will still look back fondly on it, mostly for the ride it gave us, the staggering ratings, the excitement that 1 out of every 2 TV sets in Korea were tuned in, hanging on to this drama like we were.
I'm also so thankful for this drama because it catapulted these precious child actors to fame practically overnight, especially Lee Min Ho who was basically an unknown actor, even though he's been acting since age four, and always overshadowed by the older Lee Min Ho. Now he is finally getting recognition and already casted in Rooftop Prince, which I absolutely cannot wait for!! Thanks, dramabeans <3

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139 Mose

March 20, 2012 at 4:03 AM

I love this series so much...MES fan until I die

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140 cheddar

March 20, 2012 at 8:13 PM

i have listed some of the things i thought would make the show better, not that it would make any difference, i just wanted to have some sort of closure after months of religious watching:

1. hwon and yeon woo's relationship - i don't know if it's the casting, but there is just something lacking in the chemistry, although they are both cute and you'd ultimately want them together, maybe it's the age difference, or the fact that the two never did fight with all that they have for their love, and in the end if not for the help of fate which made everything especially convenient for them, you'd think that in the end they wouldn't have been together, yeon woo would just be reduced to a silent nobody while hwon would just be endlessly hitting his fist on the table. this wasn't an issue with the young cast. anyway, emphasize on the cute and you'd want them to be together, and they still pass as far as romance goes for me, although barely.

2. prince yang myung - to tell the truth, i never liked this character, and i liked jung il woo. but at the finale, i realized how hot yang myung can be when he's not pining for a woman. i wish that he had been better established as a character, a fit rival for the king, who was not a sure loser for yeon woo's affections, who has deeper intentions and was built up to be almost crossing to the dark side. whether he'd end up good or evil doesn't really matter, it's fine both ways if only the build up and character development was good.

3. yeom and min hwa - i think it would have been more effective if they invested some time in the development of these two's relationship and we were able to sympathize with min hwa, because making her naive, spoiled and a self-confessed heartless murderer makes the ending a bit disappointing and confusing as well. i never felt that yeom actually fell in love with her, and i thought that she was obsessed and infatuated, but never in love.

4. seol - ah, who could have been my favorite character if only she had the chance. she could have been perfect as a warrior, someone useful to yeon woo and maybe hwon, who'd work with them in my ideal battle of hwon and yeon woo's great fight for their love. and i think it's better that she was above it all still in love with yeom, who could not reciprocate her feelings because the former was in love with min hwa. she could have been a great example of an independent and cool woman who doesn't need a man to find her purpose.

despite the fact that there are things i'd like to change and i wasn't satisfied with, i still loved this drama because it had the feel of a fantasy sageuk, and i'll miss the show.

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141 Leslie7622

March 22, 2012 at 5:55 PM

I get Yang Myung's death although I do think a lot of his suffering is self-inflicted (move on buddy!). He was never really that happy in life and I get why he would choose to die rather than live.

I also really liked that Princess Minhwa was actually punished. While she may have been a child, she continued and took advantage of her misdeeds for 8 years so she should not be considered blameless anymore.

What really broke my heart was Seol's death. While she and Yeom could never be together, Seol was the type of person to have been happy to just be near Yeom (and that Yeom remain single). A happy ending for her would have been entirely possible as Yeom's son's bodyguard or trainer or nanny. She could have been the mother figure that Yeom's son needed.

I absolutely hate that Yeom is trying to get back with Min-hwa. Because in the end, she got what she wanted. Yeom could have forgiven her without getting back with her.

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142 tameaut

March 23, 2012 at 10:41 AM

I cannot get over the fact that this drama had such a huge amount of followers in comparisoin to many other dramas that knock the socks out of this one.

The only redeeming factor I found was the young cast in teh first 6 episodes, the rest was porridge mixed with massacre.

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143 bd

March 31, 2012 at 2:15 PM

Only started watching this after I had started watching "Rooftop Prince" which I found to be quite cookie cutter with stereotypical roles.

I decided to give TMTETS a shot and the 1st 5 eps w/ the "kiddie cast" was enjoyable.

Even tho the storyline was the same basic premise that we see in most (love story) sageuks, it was done well in no small part due to the child actors who really added some depth to their roles.

Both Kim Yoo-jung and Yeo Jin-koo really impressed me w./ their acting abilities despite their young ages; YJK really giving the young Prince some charisma (also liked YJK in "Warrior Baek Dong-soo" and preferred him to his older version) and KYJ doing great acting w/ her eyes and small changes to her facial expressions.

I had 1st seen KYJ in "Dong Yi" and was annoyed by her overuse of certain expressions/mannerisms which carried over to Han Hyo joo's older version - so I'm going to lay the blame on that on the PD (esp. since DY was raft w/ overacting - except in a few roles), but seeing her here has given me a greater appreciation of her talents.

Cute girl and she's going to grow up to be a stunner.

It was kinda weird to see Kim So-hyun here since I was watching her in RP at the same time, but she also has a bright future ahead of her as well (I hope she doesn't get typecast as the pretty "mean-girl"); oddly enough, KSH reminds me of a young Han Ga-in (except HGI, despite being older has a little bit more of a "baby face"), so physically, she may have been a better fit to play HGI's younger self.

Unfortunately, after the kids had all "grown up", the storyline ended being the same old, same old (lovers being so close, and yet all so far away) and really didn't develop anything of interest.

Even the palace machinations were kinda dull and trite; in comparison, Dong Yi had some interesting palace machinations, the writers there just over did it and then kept repeating themselves since the series was so long.

And this was made worse by what I thought was better acting by the kiddie actors.

Aside from the kids, the only actors that I was impressed with were those who played King Sungjo, Yeon-woo's parents (esp. the mother) and Nok-young.

The actress who played the adult Bo-kyung reminded me of the actress who played the evil Queen in Dong Yi.

Don't get the praise for acting by KSH and JIW - they were alright (tho some overacting creeped in from time to time).

After the switch to the "grown up" time period, the only time I really felt anything was when it was disclosed that Yeon-woo's father had committed suicide, when Yeon-woo's mother sees her daughter/realizes that she is alive (what took so long in Yeon-woo getting to see her mother and brother?) and in Yeol's death (even tho Yeol was a minor character, felt more about her death than Prince Yang-myung's - which isn't a good sign).

Unfortunately, TMTETS started off strong but ultimately ended up being a fluff romance sageuk (where the romance wasn't even that interesting past the child stage).

2 others things, thought the actress who played the adult Seol was pretty (hopefully her career advances and she gets to try some "meatier" roles) and really liked Eun-pyo's portrayal of the head Eunuch; had seen him in other sageuks where his character's "humor" was over the top and forced - here, it was done just right.

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144 CHOI

April 1, 2012 at 5:29 PM

does anyone know the song played during the king and yeon woo's consummation night?

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145 Nancy

April 3, 2012 at 12:21 AM

Your recaps made watching more enjoyable. Thank you for all the efforts to transcribe. Truly dedicated and totally addicted to kdramas.. just as I am.

I am hoping someone can clarify... what exactly was Yeon-woo's "hidden gift in this room" that she wanted to surprise Hwon with? I thought she was going to say she was pregnant again.

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146 makotoo

April 19, 2012 at 10:33 AM

I thought I was the only one who thinks that Kim so hyun looks like Han ga in - in younger version.

I'm with anyone who curse the death of our beloved Princes Yang Myung 's death, as well as Seol.
The ending would be better if Yang Myung still alive, then continued his life as a wanderer. Or it would be better if he could become a doctor in Hwalinseo. Wasn't he good at that things? I even seek a little flame of romance between him and Janshil. Afterall, they had shared some cute scenes.
Then for Seol. Omg... She didn't deserve that kind of ending. At the very beginning I I thought she would get significant role in the end. She was stunning. And pretty as well. Eventhough she couldn't end up with Heo Yeom, at least please give Woon to her. They would make such a great couple.
And I know I'm a minor here when I say that I do like Minhwa. She was spoiled, indeed. But she had the right to marry a guy she liked. (despite the fact that she couldn't marry him because he was a super genious scholar who have to serve the nation). I like when she protested against her fatherabout the wicked rule that forbid a princess to marry a smart guy. She tried hard to impress Heo Yeom and Yeon Woo. It was just her unlucky fate that the queen dowager spotted her as a GREAT alibi to kill two birds with one stone: 1) to kill yeon woo 2) to protect herself from the whole sin. The king wouldn't dare to punish her since she had Min hwa as her "protector".
She had been being haunted by her guilty feeling all over her life. She really wanted to confess but afraid of what people may think of her. I am happy to see them back together.

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147 cia

April 28, 2012 at 4:15 AM

MY GOD, THERE ARE EVEN A THOUSAND SOLDIER AND NONE OF THEM SHOOTS AN ARROW TO THE MAN WHO KILLS YANGMYUNG

BITCH PLEASE xd

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148 athena

April 29, 2012 at 7:29 AM

I think it a feel good drama too perfect for the normal world.I cry and laugh at all the right places.I can't get enough of how a man can love only one woman and the same with the woman..don't the world be a better place.Do you ever fine a women so meek and kind at the same time.I have watch quite a few saguek drama that I enjoyed extremely, this is one on the list.I think the writer of this drama want it to be a feel good drama because the world we live in will never be...Thank you for the recaps and point of views.I will have to do an encore and watch again the drama..just love the whole story because its a perfect fantasy.

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149 Jungsuh

April 29, 2012 at 12:34 PM

did anyone think this drama was kinda disappointing??? i really liked the childrens' part in the beginning and i thought it really outshone the adults. i thought the kids were more heartbreaking.

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150 nancybee

May 10, 2012 at 10:57 AM

i hate the fact that yanmyung had to die,he's the most pitiable person in this drama.i'm glad that hwon and yeon hoo got their happy ending.but too many people were sacrificed especially the more pitiable ones like seol and the first queen.saranghae kim soo hyun and jung il wook oppa.fighting!!

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