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Moonlight Drawn By Clouds: Episode 5

Holy moly, this episode jumped Moonlight Drawn By Clouds’ ratings to 19.3%. That’s a nice bump, and judging from the episode, wholly deserved; this storyline is heating up and the emotions are deepening, leading us into my favorite part of a romance—when feelings are still coming into focus, setting us up for a whirlwind of exhilarating, giddy interactions. (On the other stations, Monster drew 9.4%, while Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo dropped to 5.7%.)

 

 
EPISODE 5: “Tell Me Your Wish”

After Prince Yeong shrewdly brings the prime minister to his knees at the king’s birthday celebration, he notices that the lead dancer has disappeared and sets out in search of her.

Ra-on slips away from the performance quietly and doesn’t notice that the prince has spotted her until she’s pulled aside in the nick of time. Yoon-sung pulls her around the corner behind a bush, and they huddle with suspended breaths as Yeong heads in their direction.

But it’s a different dancer he sees in the vicinity, so he turns and heads off in the opposite direction. Ra-on is safe, for now.

Caught in her disguise, Ra-on says that it’s embarrassing for her as “a guy” to be seen like this. Ha, isn’t it a little late to still be clinging to the cover story? She explains that she resorted to this because the prince would be in trouble if this important event were ruined, and Yoon-sung asks if the reason she put herself in such danger was for the prince.

She answers readily that it was, since she’s employed in the prince’s palace and thus one of his people. Then Yoon-sung asks why she became a eunuch despite being a woman, and the direct question makes her freeze.

Yeong inquires after the mysterious dancer, and is puzzled to be told that nobody knows who she is. Yeong can’t understand how she knew every part of the dance, including parts he’d only told the original dancer who disappeared at the last minute.

And then, he’s struck with a thought: There was one other person who knew the dance. He flashes back to his conversation with Ra-on, where she’d boasted of her ability to learn song and dance at a glance.

Ra-on doesn’t answer Yoon-sung’s question and excuses herself instead, although he stops her when he sees that her bare foot is bleeding. He kneels to bind her foot with a sash and asks her to wait, then runs off to grab her eunuch’s garb.

Yoon-sung pulls up short to see the prince out in front, looking for Ra-on. Hiding her clothes out of sight, he tells Yeong that he saw her hurrying toward the prince’s palace, under the impression that the prince was already there. Immediately, Yeong and his entourage head off in that direction.

Yeong bursts into his chamber a short time later, and finds Ra-on waiting for him after all. Eyes narrowed, he asks how long she’s been here and what she’s been doing. Ra-on replies that she has been organizing documents, as he instructed, then she spies an ornament from her dancer’s costume peeking out under a book and quickly covers it up.

Yeong notices the movement, but as he stares suspiciously at Ra-on, he asks himself what ridiculous things he’s imagining, and shakes off his line of thinking. He leaves Ra-on to her work, and after he’s gone, she collapses into her chair in relief. In a flashback, we’d seen how Yoon-sung had given her the eunuch’s clothing and urged her to hurry back to the prince’s palace.

But the prince continues observing Ra-on in the following days, and watches her in his library. When she sneezes and holds up a cloth to her mouth, he’s struck by the appearance of her momentarily covering her face.

Yeong tells her to sneeze again, then holds his hand up to cover the bottom half of her face. He flashes back to the dancer’s face, which unnerves him so much that he drops his hand. He shakes the thought aside again.

Ra-on mentions the upcoming Chuseok holiday, asking hopefully if she might be allowed a day off. Yeong guesses that she wants to go to the wishing lantern festival, and she’s surprised that he knew. He orders her to step closer, then holds up a hand to her cheek—a gentle gesture that makes Ra-on stiffen in shock.

Then he smacks her hat, chiding her for wanting to go out when she has a fever. Ra-on retorts that her minor cold is her business, telling him not to worry, and Yeong blusters, “Worry? Who?” He orders her to stay in her quarters tonight, warning dire punishment if he catches her cold.

Princess Myeongeun calls Ra-on out, much friendlier in this encounter than she’d been at the last, what with the sword-wielding and all. She makes the pretext that she called Ra-on out for her exceptional tea-preparation skills, then takes a sip and grimaces, ha.

The real reason for the princess’s summons is to ask about her pen-pal lover, Young Master Jung. Ra-on had assured her before that although she had been the one writing the love letters, the feelings behind them had been genuine. Princess Myeongeun presses her for details about the young man, and Ra-on answers.

Yeong strolls by with his entourage, and Eunuch Jang points out that Ra-on is out, despite his orders to remain indoors all day. Yeong grumbles to see Ra-on disregarding his instructions.

Ra-on coughs, and the princess suggests they head back in. Ra-on starts to row them back to shore, then pauses to comment on the princess’s cold “that time” too—according to Young Master Jung, he’d seen her riding a swing despite coughing, finding her lovely, and that prompted him to send his first letter.

Princess Myeongeun furrows her brow, trying to remember when that happened. But when she places the memory, it upsets her and she bolts to her feet suddenly—which makes her lose her balance. Ra-on lurches forward to steady her, and the princess falls back down safely in the boat… while Ra-on falls into the pond. Unable to stay afloat, she flails for a few moments before sinking below the surface.

Yeong witnesses the fall and dives into the pond without a second thought, swimming underwater toward Ra-on, prompting his eunuchs to panic and jump in after him.

Yeong makes it to Ra-on, slings an arm around her, and swims them back up to the surface. Yoon-sung walks by just in time to witness them being assisted out of the water and gapes in surprise.

The prince’s attendants fuss over him, while Eunuch Jang lights into Ra-on for endangering the prince. Yeong points out that he jumped in of his own accord, and sees that Ra-on is shivering uncontrollably.

He pulls the cloak off his shoulders to give to her, but Eunuch Jang stops him—casting a look around, he indicates that eyes are watching and asks how a eunuch who endangered the prince could expect to live.

Yeong registers the warning that appearances matter, and thrusts his cloak at the eunuch, saying that he doesn’t need it. Eunuch Jang orders Ra-on to apologize, and she does immediately. Yeong tells her to get up and heads off first, though he does cast a backward glance her way.

Eunuch Jang warns that Ra-on will be punished severely, I suspect for appearance’s sake, because Yoon-sung and Eunuch Ma—more to the point, the prime minister’s eunuch—are watching.

Hilariously, everybody has forgotten about Princess Myeongeun, who’s stranded in her boat in the middle of the pond, calling out ineffectually for help. Hee.

As a sodden Ra-on makes her way back to her quarters, Yoon-sung finds her and drapes a cloak over her shoulders. She thanks him and excuses herself quickly, and he seems disappointed by that, asking, “You feel that your secret has been exposed, don’t you? Can you not think of it as me sharing your secret? Can you not believe that it’s a reassuring thing?”

He tells her not to feel anxious because of him, or to avoid him. Ra-on doesn’t have an answer, and excuses herself. As she heads off, Yoon-sung makes note of the building she heads toward, which he seems to recognize.

Eunuch Ma asks Eunuch Jang whether the mysterious lead dancer has been identified. Ah, right, Eunuch Ma was the one who spied Ra-on dressing in the dancer’s costume, though he keeps this bit of information to himself. What are you planning on doing with it, and should we be worried?

Next, Eunuch Ma digs up Ra-on’s records, and sees that she passed the physical examination. He wonders how.

The king consults on state matters with the crown prince and the prime minister, who hear of the increased tributary demands from China. Yeong is outraged at the sudden increase, but Prime Minister Kim states that it’s in response to the prince’s regency, which has spurred them to be greedy.

The king sighs in resignation, as is his wont, but Yeong gets fired up about the indignity. Prime Minister Kim argues that you can’t gain things without paying a price and the king concedes, not wanting to rock the boat or ruffle any feathers. He asks Yeong to “close our eyes to it this once.”

Yeong replies that if you close your eyes one time, you’ll get them cut out the next: “I am sorry, but I cannot do that.”

That night, Ra-on dreams feverishly, going back to the day in her childhood when, on the night of the lantern festival, she and her mother had been on the run. Young Ra-on had been dressed as a boy, and hadn’t quite grasped her mother’s fear as they made their way through the busy city. Seeing that the pursuing officers had been closing in, her mother had suggested a game of hide and seek, convincing Ra-on to hide herself and not divulge her identity until Mom came back for her.

Mom had done her best to hide her panic until Ra-on had ducked under a table. Then she’d run, with officers close on her heels. Ra-on had cried, alone in her hiding spot, and now as she relives those moments, she cries in her fitful sleep.

Sitting at her bedside is Yeong, and he wipes the tears from her cheek. Ra-on grabs his sleeve and looks up, seeing only a blur and mistaking him for “Kim hyung,” aka Byung-yeon. She tells him that she dreamt of the day she separated from her mother.

“You dreamed a sad dream,” Yeong tells her. But Ra-on replies, “It was a happy dream. At least I could see my mother again that way.”

Ra-on falls back asleep, and from a distance, Byung-yeon sees the prince sitting at her bedside. Then he winces in pain, clutching his abdomen with a bloody hand. Oh no, what happened to you and what are you up to?

The next day, Ra-on comes upon the prince in his library, thinking of him swimming to her rescue as she brings up yesterday’s events. Yeong reminds her coolly that she wasn’t to come near him until her cold was better.

She retorts that she’s all better, which makes Yeong smile, until she adds that it’s thanks to the thoughtful care of Kim hyung. “Our Kim hyung?” he asks incredulously.

He orders her to sit down, and she refuses, coughing deliberately and exclaiming in faux concern that his precious health might be compromised. Yeong shoves a pill into her mouth while she’s talking, and tells her (a little pettishly, hee) that it’ll be ten times more effective than Kim hyung.

Eunuch Jang informs Ra-on that the eunuchs have been granted special leave for the Chuseok holiday, and hands her a wooden pass. She thanks him profusely and runs off in excitement, while Eunuch Jang wonders why the prince is granting leaves all of a sudden.

Ra-on comes upon her eunuch buddy Sung-yeol comforting Do Ki, who had been working hard in his position serving the Chinese envoys, only to have the plum assignment taken away without explanation. Ra-on gets offended on his behalf and demands to know who would do that, not seeing that Eunuch Ma has entered the room.

She shuts up when she spots him, but Eunuch Ma merely leans in to examine her closely, murmuring that she looks quite gisaeng-like. After he leaves, Do Ki confirms that it was Eunuch Ma who took his spot, and adds, “Bad person.”

The Chinese ambassador meets with the Kim faction (which includes Yoon-sung, since he’s being groomed to join them), and asks the prime minister if he thinks the crown prince is up for a regency. The prime minister replies that the prince is still too young; it would be like giving a child a knife before he’s learned to use chopsticks. The ambassador promises to convey that message to his emperor.

Yoon-sung excuses himself, and then the ambassador chuckles that Joseon is full of lovely things, namely women. He expresses a desire to see the dancer again from the other night—and nearby, Eunuch Ma registers this and smiles.

Yoon-sung heads to the building he’d noticed the other day, and reminisces about his childhood adventures here, when he was one of the prince’s close companions. He smiles at the happy memories… but when Yeong finds him standing there, the air becomes strained.

Yoon-sung asks why Yeong accepted the regency, and the air becomes even thicker with tension. Yeong states his intention to drive out his maternal family from the nation—by which he means the Kim clan.

Now it’s Yeong’s turn to flash back to a childhood memory, where he received lessons alongside Yoon-sung and a third companion (Byung-yeon?). The teacher had explained that childhood friends were on equal footing, but a king and his subjects were in a hierarchical relationships, drawing a representation with a horizontal line and a vertical one. “If you had to choose one, which relationship would you choose?” the teacher had asked.

Yoon-sung had combined the two lines to form a cross shape, answering that his role would be to stop the prince from straying, and stay by his side forever to help him make the right choices. Yeong had replied that with a trustworthy friend and supporter like Yoon-sung at his side, he felt he could become an excellent king.

Ra-on peeks into Yoon-sung’s room and is relieved to find it empty, only to turn around and come face to face with Yoon-sung. He’s pleased to see her, and has already guessed the reason for her visit, having seen that Do Ki had been dropped from the roster of eunuchs assigned to serve the ambassador. He stays he’ll rectify it, and Ra-on thanks him for his constant help.

He asks teasingly if she only means to thank him with words, and she asks what he’d like her to do. He asks for half of her day off, and Ra-on tries to turn him down, explaining that she has something to do at the lantern festival. He counters that she could meet him after her errand, and she can’t protest.

Then he offers her a box of medicine balls for her cold, but Ra-on tells him that the prince already gave her some.

Princess Myeongeun returns to the swing where Young Master Jung had reportedly fallen for her. The first poetic letter written by Ra-on had compared a cold to love—something that couldn’t be hidden, and also something that caused pain. Yet in the princess’s recollection, we see that it wasn’t Myeongeun who’d been ill, but her lady’s maid Wol-hee.

Wol-hee sees how dejected the princess is and tries to cheer her up, suggesting a trip to see the lanterns.

Unbeknownst to them, Young Master Jung also returns to the swing, heavy-hearted over his lost love. He sighs that his wish would be to just see her one more time, not seeing that the princess and her court lady are leaving in the distance.

Prime Minister Kim introduces Yoon-sung to another crony, Minister Jo, and the two men exchange a whole round of compliments and flattery about Yoon-sung and Minister Jo’s daughter. Yoon-sung tries to gracefully excuse himself, as he often does, but his grandfather doesn’t allow it today. He’s stuck, looking distinctly uncomfortable.

At the site of the lantern festival, Ra-on takes up a spot on a bridge and watches everybody who passes with sad, disappointed eyes—she must be looking for her long-lost mother. Over at the palace, Yeong thinks of Ra-on’s longing for her mother.

In flashback, we see Young Ra-on crying alone at the festival, separated from her mother. Then, she’d looked up to see somebody, which made her wipe her tears.

The moment repeats now in the present, and she looks up and recognizes a figure in the distance. We see her mother, walking toward her and breaking into a smile—and then it’s the prince, smiling as he joins her on that bridge.

Yeong teases her for acting like she’d be having such a ball on her day off, and she retorts that she’s having fun right now. When she says she’s meeting someone here, he takes that for a fib and tells her not to waste her time off, and instructs her to follow. He heads off wearing a big grin.

Ra-on tries to decline, but he grabs her around the shoulders and insists she follow.

Together they take in the sounds and sights, observe the street performances, and play some festival games. Aw, Ra-on is so hopeless at the archery game that Yeong actually shoots a doll from behind her, letting her believe she won it herself.

Delayed by his grandfather’s politicking, Yoon-sung runs up to the festival and looks around for sign of Ra-on.

Meanwhile, Yeong stops to chat with a little girl selling wishing lanterns, and unintentionally insults her by offering her money without taking a lantern. He apologizes, then asks what her wish would be. She replies that she’d like to meet the king, to ask him to make Joseon into a better country. Yeong asks what a better country would look like, and she thinks a minute before replying that the king, who worries the most about his own people, will know the answer.

That’s when a well-born young lady joins them to buy a lantern, only to have trouble locating her purse. Yeong asks to buy all of the lanterns, and the lady, JO HA-YEON (Chae Soo-bin), assumes he’s buying them for her and preens a little.

Yeong leaves the girl one lantern for her own wish, and another to give to someone who has a wish but no money, indicating Ha-yeon. HA, Ha-yeon wasn’t expect to be dismissed like that, but Yeong just leaves with a bow.

The lovelorn Young Master Jung makes his way through the crowd, but freezes on the spot when he sees Princess Myeongeun and Wol-hee walking toward them. They pass by without noticing, but he stammers so loudly that they turn back questioningly—and then widen their eyes in recognition.

Looking horrified, the ladies turn and run away, dropping a lantern in the process. Devastated, Young Master Jung sinks to the ground… revealing Yeong standing behind him. Pwahaha. Poor lonelyhearts!

Yeong has seen his sister in the crowd, but just laughs as she darts off fearfully.

Young Master Jung picks up the princess’s dropped lantern and makes his wish on it: to see her again. The princess’s wish, meanwhile, is to become beautiful “like that girl.”

From the palace, the king watches the lanterns floating into the sky, calling them the wishes of his people—wishes to not be hungry, to be healthy. He asks if he can make a wish of his eunuch, not having a lantern of his own, and requests, “Take care of the prince. So that he does not break or collapse like my foolish self, watch over him.” The eunuch vows to do his utmost, though he looks a little concerned at what prompted those words.

Meanwhile, Byung-yeon meets with a man who informs him of the date and time of the Chinese envoys’ planned departure. Ah, he’s a member of a secret organization that’s planning an attack on the envoys’ land route, to take back the tributes demanded of the downtrodden people. At Byung-yeon’s hesitation, the leader asks if he’s afraid of his activities being discovered by the crown prince.

Byung-yeon asks for more time until the prince makes his decision—he must be holding out hope that Yeong will find a different solution—but his leader warns him not to forget his duty: “You are not the prince’s friend.” No, but you are! Don’t let him tear your bromance apart!

At the festival, Ra-on watches wishing lanterns floating away with tears in her eyes. Yeong joins her and proudly presents her with a lantern of her own, which makes her smile.

Yeong initially declines to write a wish of his own on the lantern, but Ra-on presses him to, saying that if only one of their wishes were to come true, it would be better if his did.

Yoon-sung scours the festival grounds and finally smiles to spot Ra-on off in the distance, preparing her lantern… and then registers that she’s with Yeong. The smile drops from his face.

As Ra-on prepares the lantern for flight, Yeong looks over at her… and in that moment, with the bottom half of her face masked by the lantern, Yeong is struck with her eyes, and how they resemble the mysterious dancer’s.

Then it’s time to let them fly, and Ra-on declares, “Let our crown prince’s wish come true!” As it floats upward, Ra-on reads the wish Yeong wrote on it: “Let Eunuch Hong find his mother.”

Stunned, she asks if that was really his wish. He replies, “Yes. Asking for your wish to be fulfilled is my wish.” Kaboom. Well there goes my heart, and from the looks of it, Ra-on’s too. Smashed to sentimental smithereens. Let it never be whole again.

Yoon-sung walks away, shoulders drooping, thinking of how he’d hidden Ra-on from the prince’s view and called her his woman, and then asked her to consider them sharing in her secret.

Belatedly, Ra-on realizes something strange, and asks how Yeong knew of her separation with her mother. Ah, right, she thought that was Byung-yeon in her fever daze.

But Yeong is lost in thoughts of his own, remembering the dancer and staring intently into Ra-on’s face. It makes her uneasy, and she asks why he’s looking at her that way.

Yeong says, “I know this is absurd, but I don’t know why I keep seeing someone else in you.” She asks, “Someone else?”

“Yes,” he says slowly. “A woman.”

Ra-on’s eyes widen and she stands stock-still, not knowing how to react. Yeong continues staring closely at her face, and the tension builds and builds…

“Eunuch Hong!” A voice interrupts, and Yoon-sung joins them, apologizing for his tardiness. He informs the prince that he has a prior engagement with Ra-on, and Yeong doesn’t say a word, waiting for Ra-on to react.

Ra-on excuses herself and turns to go with Yoon-sung—and Yeong grabs her wrist.

“I disallow it,” he says. “[He’s] my person.”

 
COMMENTS

Whee! I love this stage of a romance, particularly a mistaken-identity (or hero/heroine-in-disguise) romance, when the feelings are brewing, but the mask is still in place. I so want for Yeong to connect all the dots and figure things out right away, except the one thing I want more is for him to stew in the indecision a bit longer and suffer some delicious angst. It’s not even just the gender-confusion angst, because to be frank that’s a thing that loses its punch once it’s been done a lot in dramaland, and by now we’ve had too many really great dramas explore that confusion the straight (heh) way.

For me, it’s more about the fact that he suspects she’s someone else who’s captivated him, and really the gender aspect is just one facet of the tease. I love it when the sought-after party is right under your nose, and the questions are there but the confirmation is tantalizingly out of reach. It’s like Clark Kent all over again, or Healer, and I can’t get enough of it.

Of course, the question now is how long to draw out the tease, because I expect the prince to figure things out fairly quickly, given his smarts and suspicions. (And if he were unable to, he’d start to seem dense and that would dull the excitement in a different way.) I’m both anticipating and dreading the path to Yeong discovering the truth, because I’ll miss this stage of nerve-tingly, heart-in-my-throat near-misses when he does.

In the meantime, though, I love the bickering friendship he’s built up with his favorite eunuch, and their smorgasbord of hilarious, cute, and poignant facial expressions enriches the whole experience—it feels like we’ll never run out of them, and that’s a lovely gift.

I do appreciate that the show points out that their friendship isn’t without problems of its own, because it’s unseemly for the prince to treat Ra-on too much like a friend. I thought it was a nicely expressed moment in the aftermath of the pond dive, where he had to outwardly castigate Ra-on rather than show her concern. It’s a particularly hairy situation since he’s in a relatively weak position in the palace, and a political target himself—and it must chafe that his budding rival belongs to that dangerous faction.

Speaking of whom, I like how Yoon-sung is being portrayed, as a reluctant member of his party who doesn’t like his grandfather’s brand of cronyism but isn’t in a position to reject it. He’s so much like Yeong, and he seems like a decent, principled person, but his affiliation makes him exceedingly dangerous—especially since it’s easy to downplay his role because he seems so nice. I wonder at his future trajectory even as I’m wailing, But why aren’t you friends anymooooore? It seems as though Yoon-sung would like to be friends again and it’s Yeong who’s keeping him away, and I find that both saddening and wise at the same time, which is why it’s a great setup for the romance. I mean, it’s not like the setup is new for dramaland or anything, but I do feel like Moonlight has fulfilled the setup well and brought emotion and pathos to it. And as long as I can feel with the characters, I’ll overlook that it’s a familiar story. Really, all stories are familiar; it’s up to the show to make them entertaining regardless, right?

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It's here! This drama makes my heart throb for the OTP!

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But really the drama is more than that...beautiful directing, script, cinematography, musical scoring (love the soundtrack !), and the stellar acting from the cast! Love that it both character and plot-driven!

Sold! Sold! Sold!

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I'm loving the soundtrack too! And even the slowmos work for me.

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I love when the music just stops and let the emotions fill in (the director is o soo good with this) Love love love everything, moonlight fighting!! ♡

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Weirdly, for me too, the slow-mos are working. I'm generally not a fan of them, but here they match the scenes well and the emotions in them. e.g. when Young was looking for the dancer and YS grabbed Ra-on to hide her. It was a wonderful scene. Loving the OST and BGM too.

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Yeah, it's a triumph of doing everything right. Well done!

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Such a fan of the musical scoring. To me, it's reminiscent of Goong's. I don't know why, but it feels that way to me.

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I feel like watching Goong too. I hope the rating will beat DoTS. Finally a drama that has a good combination of actors and actress, writer, and director.

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Yeah, I thought of Goong too for some reason.

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It's the background music and some of the palace scenes, they're similar to the opening credits music of Goong.

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A lot of the musical scoring in Gurumi is done by the ethnic-fusion band "The Second Moon", who also did the now well-known and much-beloved musical scoring of Goong. So there might be some similar overall "feel", but there's a definite difference between the two.

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I just love Park Bogum's teary-eyed face! His face while watching Kim Yoojung sleeping made me swoon. It also made me question myself as I felt the same way when he made the same face while killing people in I Remember you. I guess I just love him.

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well, makes sense, his tears kill me every time.

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I agree! Both PBG and KYJ have such great facial expressions! They can both convey such subtle expressions so well. Especially that scene where Ra-On was crying for her mom in her sleep and Yeong is teary-eyed for her because he gets it, he really gets her sadness. And what great line delivery when he softly says, "it must have been a sad dream." The acting is so fantastic it really does watching this rather cliched story worth the while and more!

Also, I don't know if Jin Young has been in other dramas but he's really delivering here also. His subtle expressions and looks of concern towards Ra-On are really touching. The cast is really spectacular.

Oh yeah, and who is not loving Eunuch Jang!

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You know your drama of choice is doing things right when it makes you feel like you're falling in love all over again. Mind the cheesiness, I live for that.

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To those with Secondary Lead Syndrome

I pity you as you're going to be in a lot of heartbreak. I get you though.

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Awesome episode ..Love both leads

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I am ridiculously happy that Park Bo Gum looked to be a good swimmer. He looked completely comfortable in the water and was moving around like I'd expect someone confident about rescuing someone else to move.

I get fixated on the weirdest little things, but that just makes me happier when they resolve. Hooray for swimming competence!

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The eunuchs all diving in after Yeong was pure comedy. This drama is gold.

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I remember that scene, they look like penguin and start to jump in group, lol

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OMG YES! Penguins to the rescue! lmao

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Yes exactly! Bahahah

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that was what I said in twitter yesterday, too, because really it reminded a scenic view of Antarctica from some nature doc ... except the penguins were green.

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Those green flappy eunuch penguins. That was hilarious.

Also, that pond was suspiciously deep for a pond.

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there must be the lair of the secret organization at the bottom of the pond. also, one level of underground parking, a hairdresser and the safe. so deep it must be.

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I shouted: "Lemmings!" In total glee.

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LOL, redfox, you're so funny!

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I thought I was the only one! You see, despite being a noob at sports in general, I'm a proficient swimmer and I can tell if an actor is doing exactly what he was just trained to do yesterday for a rescue scene. Park Bogum doesn't look like it, he's in control and not formulaic at all. Both Yoojung and he look beautiful underwater and the cinematic effects are just perfect.

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Honestly it may have taken me away from the drama a little - I was watching him cycle through kicks in perfectly appropriate ways. How long is it since I saw someone do a real dolphin kick in a film/show? It's 100% the fastest, easiest kick to do when trying to swim underwater, but you'll look like a fool if you're not comfortable with it, and he went right to it. There's nothing to pick apart there (well, other than the jackknifed dive at the start, but allowances can be made for diving off a bridge in hanbok).

And then there's the fact that he looks like he's just not breathing, not that hold-your-breath look that others get. He's completely comfortable down there, knows exactly how much air he has and is in complete control. Good man!

It's amazing how much non-swimmers stress me out. As much as I love W, midway through the Yeon Joo scene where she's swimming towards Kang Chul, I legit thought "You are too far down and don't know how to do anything but flutter kick, and you are going to drown".

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Oooh I agree that when I was watching I noticed the dive was off but then discounted it because he is trying to save someone's life and I may have found it weirder if the dive was too perfect (especially in a hanbok).

“You are too far down and don’t know how to do anything but flutter kick, and you are going to drown” Ha, so true!

With so much to love and discuss, I still love how this comment thread is largely about PBG's swimming skills :D

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He does move gracefully in the water, even when wearing that royal robe!
Some people are just born to be actors! Every expression is natural and yet a piece of art. That 2nd to last screen cap of Bo Gum squishing up his mouth. I can stare at that all day.
I must be fixated on the weirdest little things too, like:

1. Eunuchs were meant to serve the royal family ONLY. Why would they be serving the prime minister? A PM who has eunuchs at his residence is committing treason, and it is a crime punishable by death to his whole clan.
2. The little girl who sells lanterns is great. Hope to see more of her.

Hooray for the ratings!

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This show is breaking many rules but I just laugh and ride along.
The royal kids are running around outside of the palace whenever they want lol.

I bet you you'd find a lot more in future episodes too.
They are probably thinking, "the heck with it" this is not a proper sageuk.

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Even I can swim, I can't swim like him.

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I noticed too. He swam so well and gracefully.

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I read in the comments below that he has been part of the swimming team in his school before, thus, his ease in swimming and he has good technique.

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Yup! Yoojung apparently loves diving as well, which probably helped her underwater performance as well. All in all a good synergy <3

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Wow i didn't know that.he really looked like a pro down there and he didn't look like he's struggling considering that he's wearing what looks like a heavy robe.

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Same! I normally cringe at these "heroine falls into water, hero jumps into save her" scenes but that water saving scene was particularly well done! From Bogummy's swimming, to the background music, to the camera angles, to the expressions...loved it!

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The look he gave her just before they swam to the surface made me blush. This guy and his swoon-worthy glances...

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The gold medal goes to Park Bogum for good diving form - although the execution was messy. Eunuch 1 get silver. And Eunuch 2 gets bronze. And #3 and #4 get gold stars for participation.

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I think I remember a BTS (or maybe I'm just hallucinating it) that they had to do several takes of the dive because it was just too good at first.

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waaah that's impressive, I like that scene because he looks dependable as the rescuer, can't believe the need to retake it to look less than it should be

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I would 100% believe that. He is too good at swimming to dive like that. Men who dolphin kick don't crunch their dives.

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I feel like that scene was not actually shot underwater, but using green background instead and they are being pulled up with strings? I don't know exactly what these things called sorry. But it's amazing how he managed to make it look like he's actually swimming for real.

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Haha, I know what you mean - that backdrop used in so many mainland Chinese dramas, right? ?

Though in my observation, the scene didn't seem that way at all, and from what I see from behind-the-scenes of better-produced Korean dramas, they rarely use this technique!

(But if you're right, Bo-gum would be a legitimate acting prodigy, which I am okay with. ?)

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I found it really awesome both Yoo Jung and esp. Bogum still emoted well with their eyes underwater. BTW that underwater scene was totally shot on water and underwater -- in that pond and in an indoor pool. I cant upload pix right now but BTS pix of that can be seen on both Bogum's and the drama's soompi thread. And I agree 100%, he's legit an acting prodigy.

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If I remember correctly, he used to be swimming athlete rep when he was younger for his school.

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PBG used to be a competitive swimmer till 8th grade (2nd level in Korean middle school system). He swims like a merman, and that was so beautifully incorporated in this scene.

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Title : Tell Me Your Wish
My wish is that your wishes come true
with the delivery so smooth, normal tone and the looked at her,
a sincere wish that hope nothing in return.

*so where's the ideal guy's form again??
that's how you make the nation fall in love with you, Song Jong Ki and Park Bo Gum show how a nice guy doesn't come last in capturing people's heart,
a nice and mature guy you can depend on (even if he also has that young tendency),
and bad guy is not attractive,

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I actually like that the Prince has both super swoony moments like those as well as adorable cheeky ones and even the petty ones- he feels so real and even more loveable! If he was just swoony or smooth, he would be cheesy but seriously the combination of his fierce grit when wanting to make his nation better, and the cheekiness alternating with sweet tenderness when he deals with Ra On makes me seriously swoon and I'm totally in love with him. All of him! ❤️

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Lee Young is just mesmerising,
he has sad past, the heartbreaking love with his father, longing for his mother figure and yet can be so cheeky with his Eunuch Jang (?),
a good brother to his sister (he really care about her)
a well thought young man and really nice as a person

but I think he doesn't like being betrayed,
I hope he will not take this hidden identity of Raon badly,
he seems really concern about this trust issue,

it gonna be really sad if Ra-On and God-Byung
yeon get taken away from his side and make mistakes he can't forgive, oooh my brain thinking too much of a heartbreak

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Well yes, he does have that side to him. Which is bound to make me cry when they start moving towards the angsty bits...
But I guess it's only after going through hardship that you truly enjoy the happiness? So I will treasure every tear I shed for these two and look forward to them being happy at the end! (It better be happy. I did NOT sign up for a tragedy!!)

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You might want to brace for just a little sadness at the end of this drama - the PD even mentioned this in opening press conference. Although I think vast majority of drama will be light and charming as it has been so far

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so he suspected it, right off the bat,
but the logic can't apply and it's rude to assume that he is a woman,

I like how the story progress and how they all open up their secret (or sharing to the viewer) one by one,
the instrumental still sounds really good , the opening is s intense because if the music fitted the expression when C is walking, YS is glancing and PBG expression give those susense
and also I loved the cicadas sounds in from of the repentance hall scene,
it feels natural somehow,

so I go for a search and I find this comment
The story is engaging because it doesn't seem that we have hope, yes LY, RO and BY are awesome but they lacked help, no one is on their side, no adult watch them, it's sad to see a promising person can't build enough power cause there's no support,
and all of this thin line of hope and perseverance is also embraces by how young they are looked, like really young but mature.

the show gives us their rule that it's bad if CP favor someone and the faction already started spread their wing and it's so engaging to hope for the underdog to win, realistically said, it's hard for CP to win this battle,

on the lighthearted moment,
- the princess love story is heartbreaking and she is so comical in expression
- the eunuch conversation about rice (oh god they are really good to change the mood)

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Why do I get the feeling that Eunuch Ma is going to command Sam Nom to attend to the envoys? T_T

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I'm worried that he's going to legally be able to basically sell Sam Nom off as a slave to the Chinese envoy. He's got enough to get her kicked out of the palace, certainly, and likely criminal charges - selling her off wholesale probably wouldn't even get him a slap on the wrist, he'd be congratulated for disappearing her.

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The Prince, Yoon Sung and Byung Yeon would never allow that! Even if she gets sent off they will find a way to snatch her back... she is worth fighting for!

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I'm pretty sketchy about that girl he met when he was buying those lanterns.

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noo . . . but maybe Byung Yeon will help her on that matter and that's how she'll open up to CP

and I really hope this show will open about Raon secret like Lee Young did, not by accident (but I maybe like it if it played good) but by choice

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Today highlight lines are "my wish is that your wish come true" and "he is my person".. i was squaled out loud when bogummy said that. Lol

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aaah I really like the wish thing because it's unpredictable for me,
I think he would write about the country or something since he just met that girl,
so I totally surprise and when he said about "my person"
I was gaah, smiling to my cheek because "my person" is describing something I care but not necessarily mine in my opinion,
so if you want to take her, I have to know the reason before I let you go,

it's suspicious, it feels like Lee Young want to asked like
" when did my eunuch befriend with him? "

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and Prince So on Moon Lovers said the similar line, on the same day. It just have to go that way, right.

"Or should I call you my person?"

The moons are overwhelming.

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Kaboom! Javabeans was spot on. I heard the many sighs of women all over the world in that one moment.

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I loved everything about this episode. The way this show interweaves its comedy with the more serious moments is truly artful--one moment I'm laughing at the eunuchs all jumping in the water and the next moment I'm afraid of the consequences if Yeong continues to pay too much attention to Ra-on. You go show! Hopefully it breaks 20% tomorrow!

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So many favourite moments this episode!

I love how there is cute and playful Prince, smart and devious Prince, soft hearted and tender Prince, jealous and protective Prince and PBG does them all so well!

That carnival scene with the arrow shooting- seriously it could not have been more adorable. ? #boyfriendgoals

Yes! the lost friendship between Prince and Jin Young makes my heart ache for them. And it seems like Byung Yeon's story is also going to add to it as well. I just want the Prince to have his friends back! ? They really are tugging at my heart strings about the lost childhood innocence of all the main characters.

They truly deserve the high ratings! So happy for them and I'm really enjoying the show.

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We want bromance! We want bromance! If the writer took away the love triangle and put the 3 childhood friends back together to fight the bad guys, I bet the ratings would shoot to 30%.

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just wait, I think that's the road they gonna take but they need to build up their motivation 1st and I believe it will happen . . .

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YES! bromance! Im really sold and invested in them as childhood friends.

I do think we will get some later on because all the hints are there... or it could end tragically and have me drowning in tears. OMG i can't even think of it... if one of them sacrifices themselves for each other i think I will cry and cry and cry....

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Dear Prince and everyone else,

If watching W has taught me anything, please do not try and achieve ultra happiness, because we all know what will happen next.

For now, please continue to swoon, wonder, chase, bewilder and be shaken. That should suffice. No super dooper happy moments just yet.

Tragedy comes in all forms, including candy wrapped medicine balls. Don't make us cry just yet. #fighting

Love,
Yoyo

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Damn true!
When everything is fine, happy and all-prepare tissue.someone gonna die.

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This is me:
#foreverindenialuntilithappens

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ooh. .that's so true
hah I hope they can handle all the hurdles by summoning all the.puppies...

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Tbh, I find that Yoon Sung was more charming when he was being a cheeky, carefree wanderer... Now that he's becoming more serious, his charm factor is plummeting.

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Yeah yeah, I couldn't agree more with you on this. It's good then. I don't have to feel sorry for him to not get the female lead.

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And I fear it'll get worse before it gets better. There were moments where his subtle but revealing expressions betrayed him to me. Yes, his younger self's declaration to steer Lee Yeong in the right direction if he wanders off it was touching, but who will steer HIM in the right direction if he's the one straying? He seems like he'll cause some trouble (i.e. love triangle drama, the struggle of being his evil grandfather's prodigy, etc) before he comes full circle as Yeong's friend again (if he ever returns... I hope he does, their childhood friendship was so sweet).

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I think it because.he starts doing what we afraid the.most,
a person he dislikes too,
someone that involves in.politic and be the opposite of Lee Young despite his memories about him

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Watched the first one or two episodes, following the rest through recaps. I love Park Bo-gum but am not of a fan of Kim Yoo-jung; I don't dislike her, I don't [anything] her. I liked Coffee Prince and loved Sungkyungkwan Scandal, but I guess that's too many gender-bendy romances for one lifetime. I must be getting old; I feel like love is complicated enough without adding mistaken-identity high jinks. And instead of feeling deliciously tingly, I always feel bad for the person doing the mistaking. Will continue to read recaps, of course.

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I'm kind of confused. Are you not liking her character or the actress?

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I get what you mean. I mean this drama is good, but sorry it can't top either 'Coffee Prince' or 'Sungkyungkwan Scandal.' They were both iconic dramas in the gender-bender category.

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haha I don't think this drama is gender bender to be the gender bender theme (like I love you but you are a guy thing, it happen in both, this may take some of the route)

imo, it more about gathering the puppies to help Lee young ascend the throne who just happen to involve a gender bender

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The only sageuk that did it for me was Moon Geun-young in "Painter of the Wind" Nothing else came close but we each have our favorites.

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Probably @lindi is like me, not a fan of KYJ but don't have any reason to dislike either. But my main reason is i'm so done with cross-dressing drama, if five years ago probably i will love this more.

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As Sera speculates below, I don't dislike the actress. I don't like her either. I'm neutral. As for the character, I'm neutral as well. I expected to like this drama simply because of Park Bo-gum, but I'm finding that I can no longer squee over "romantic" interactions that involve this much (gender-based) deception.

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Replied in the wrong spot; I should have said, "As Sera speculates above." Haha

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I do understand and I hope it won't drag on for very long. It's kind of overused in sageuk based novels. (SKKS, Scholar who Walks the Night, Painter of the Wind, Moonlight). All are set at the Joseon era which was a very strict patriarchal society governed by Confucian ideals.

They went from Goryeo where women had more freedom to the opposite with Joseon.

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Oh, I forgot to mention "You're Beautiful," which I also loved. So I'm not against gender-bendy high jinks in principle, or I didn't used to be.

You're right, I hope they don't draw out the misunderstanding for very long. I'm fine with keeping up appearances around others, as long as things are open between the lead guy and girl :)

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I haven't watched or read yet. But yay, javabeans is back! Looking forward to her take on this fun and meaningful drama.

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Watch watch watch! It's awesome. Totally worth the 1 hour. ❤️

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Yep, and the episodes feel shorter than one hour.

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"I mean, it’s not like the setup is new for dramaland or anything, but I do feel like Moonlight has fulfilled the setup well and brought emotion and pathos to it. And as long as I can feel with the characters, I’ll overlook that it’s a familiar story. Really, all stories are familiar; it’s up to the show to make them entertaining regardless, right?"

I really like this comment. Moonlight is not doing anything new but it's doing everything so well that I can't help but be involved in Yeong, Raon, Yoonsung and Byungyeon. My heart almost dropped when we got the scene of Byungyeon being forced into betraying Yeong. I'm so glad we got that twist because he's already seems to be closed off to Yoonsung (it makes me so sad that Yoonsung pines after their childhood friendship more) and I can't see Raon betraying him.... so I preparing my heart to Yeong's reaction when he finds out his closest friend is not who he claims to be.

Eunuch Ma... he's giving me a heart attack. I can't tell!! I really can't tell whether he's evil or not - making me shit nervously.... Also I love how he knows for sure Raon is a girl after seeing her dressed up. She looks pretty much the same in her eunuch garments. lol

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let make a twist that eunuch ma will fall for her because she reminds him of his cousin . .. .

haha I think he will try to find who is Raon father and mother because he is suspicious with her entrance result,
when... it's actually a simple mistake because the god just doesn't allow the wicked prime minister wins imo

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Lol, that would officially make this a makjang?

But based on the preview for tomorrow's episode, I actually think he's going to rat her out to the Kim faction. It can't be a coincidence that he placed himself at the Chinese ambassador's place and he smiled when he heard that the ambassador wants to meet the dancer again. Though I don't think he'll expose her gender, rather just her part in the dance.

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nope, eunuch Ma will sell her to a gisaeng house and then present to the chinese envoy. or just straight up captures her and takes her to him

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EUNUCH MA IS DEFINITELY EVIL

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All caps on evil, huh?

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Yup. His smile was evil!

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Which is sad. I prefer him as the funny man on daytime dramas and had this foolish hope that he would end up being good here... but I guess Moonlight need a few more evil underlings because what show doesn't have the good guys outnumbered/outmatched? Ugh.

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I agree. This is such a familiar setup, but it is doing it wonderfully well. It makes you feel emotions and you just want to root for them for their love, their friendship, their family, their victory against the baddies... I couldn't count the number of times I went "aww" and caught myself tearing up because of various scenes be it between the King and Young or Young and Ra-on or Rao-on and his eunuch clique.

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Seriously! My heart actually skipped several beats when Lee Yeong appeared on the bridge at that lantern festival... like why is he so thoughtful and cute?

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I thought it was yoon sung and I thought we gonna get 2nd lead leading far before the male lead, but no they pull the narrative, Lee young knew that she would be waiting in one place and come to her then I scream
"mansae!!"

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I swear I swooned everytime I see Park Bo Gum and Kim Yoo Jung on the screen together!! I think I couldn't even close my mouth by the end of the episode. ???

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Dear Heads No. 2 and JB:
Geez you guys, it's a holiday!
Thank you for the crazy-fast recaps on the Moon-Moon shows ????
From
Your adoring Beanies

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Yes! Thank you for the recaps today!

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You have a holiday?! and here I was holding my phone under my desk watching MLDBC in secret scared my boss will catch me!

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This episode in a nutshell: Joseon Simon Cowell found his star and he's determined to never let her go missing again.

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The more I'm invested in Moonlight's story, the more I'm reminded of Sungkyunkwan Scandal, though so far I think I like the Moonlight's Lee Young a lot more than SKKS's Lee Sunjoon. Though both are proud of their high-born status, Lee Young is far less stiff and principled, he's more layered and more human, not to mention more...swoonworthy as a romantic male lead. This is totally understandable because SKKS's bookish female lead first fell for Lee Sunjoon's intellect and uprightness while street-smart Raon, on the other hand, is falling for Lee Young's warmth.

(And I'm here just falling for Park Bogum's everything.)

I'm not sold on Yoonsung's growing interest in Raon yet because I have a hard time understanding why he's so invested in her so quickly. He helped her out over and over, sure, but Raon didn't exactly do anything special FOR HIM to make him head over heels for her. However, Jiyoung is very believable when he appears hurt by Lee Young's cold and distant attitude. The production team dedicated a decent part of the plot to bromance in SKKS and I can totally see it happening for Moonlight.

Kim Yoojung continues to be such a delight! She's so comfortable in her role, I have never seen her own awareness that she's acting or there's a camera in her face. A lot of times, especially in sageuk, I can't sit still in my chair because it's awkward watching actors ~exchanging lines in order~ and imagine how many takes it took for this to make the final cut. Kim Yoojung and Park Bogum just bounce off each other's energy and it looks like from how great they are together, Raon and Lee Young truly have fun around one another.

I'm glad the ratings are only moving up and can't wait for the next episode. I wish I had Raon's problem though - having to decide whether to go on a Chuseok date with a royal or to go on a Chuseok date with a noble. I'd double-book them both, lol.

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for Yoon sung, not even Ra On thought that he loves her,

and you want a double date with LY and YS,
great,
now I can take god-byung yeon somewhere

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I think Yoon-sung finds her fascinating from day 1 because he knows that she is a girl and she is breaking all the rules.
I mean who on earth would advise a servant to run away with his master's daughter in law? She is just asking for the death penalty in every turn lol.
Yeong doesn't consider him a friend anymore and he is just as lonely.

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Yep, he finds her interesting and different. What she is doing is dangerous and punishable by death. I think he's both concerned of her wellbeing and is also starting to feel attraction for her. I mean, its only natural. Plus he feels special for being the only one who knows her secret . So it makes sense that he'd want to be close to her especially considering the number of times he has saved her.
I also think that because he doesn't seem to be particularly interested in all the royal politics, he wonders around the palace and feels like an outsider. Sharing a secret with Ra On, I suspect he feels or wants to be a sort of confidante to her because she is also and outsider who is trying to navigate her way in the palace...but so is the Crown Prince too...even Byung Yeoung, I think.
Really, their all trying to survive in this times the best way they can, caught up in this political war the had no choice in being a part of.

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Hm. That's true, Raon is anything but boring. Yoonsung's life has been very boarrring (to him) so he's probably like a emo teen finding a cool, adventurous girl to feel infatuated with while wanting nothing to do with his family's thirst for power. But I don't think his infatuation is deep enough to be broody over Raon's closeness to Lee Young. As a 21st century woman, I'm very wary of men who gets possessive quickly, lol.

(I'm obviously speaking about Yoonsung since Lee Young kind of has a master - puppy relationship with Raon while Yoonsung is just a kind friend who helps her along the way).

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The possessive quality bothers me as well, especially because as you say it seems a bit too early? I know it's a plot contrivance to stop Yeong from getting too close to Ra On's secret but IDK. Gender Bender's usually always have 2nd leads who figure out the secret quickly enough, then pretend they don't know it and help the girl keep their secret identity but like the flipside interpretation is they also try to cozy up to the disguised girl who is unaware her secret is busted? (Ooh stop overthinking things brain!)

So, I really like the fact that Yoonsung has been hinting rather heavily he knows her secret right from the start (and I was always unsure whether she was just really that unaware or she was just avoiding an outright admission) and he pretty much calls her out in this episode.

But the flipside is, she knows that he knows a pretty BIG secret, and while he may not have any nefarious ideas right now, she may still feel like she has to listen to him because he could potentially bust her? Not that I think he would blackmail her just...haha, I like yoonsung, I don't know why I am imagining evil nefarious purposes to him (because he is being second lead-y in a drama where I am far too invested in the first lead!)

Also, sigh, Yeong's not going to find out, is he? because of REASONS. Though it will make him look dumb? I'd rather they went with the Splish Splash Love way.

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I find him annoying for popping up everytime but I can't deny that his interest in Ra On was built up nicely for him to do so. He is basically attracted to her knowing she is pretty girl and rather bold enough to pose as boy.

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Yes, I find it's annoying too that they have to put him into a scene where the leads are together, basically just to witness / distract them, three times in one episode!

I totally adore this show so this is just one small pet peeve because from everything going on so far, the writer / PD have done magnificent job.

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I know we just met Chae Soo Bin today, but I don't see the point of her character. There is plently of conflict to be had within the love triangle; a love square would be overkill.

Seeing as how Yeong hasn't fully figured out Ra On is a girl, he doesn't like-like her yet, so his diving in the water to save her was either something he would have done for Byung Yeon (a friend) or his subconscious coming out. But then he says all these butterflies-inducing things ("Asking for your wish to be fulfilled is my wish"), it makes you wonder how could he not know.

Crap, Eunuch Ma is going to sell Ra On off to the Chinese ambassador, isn't he? The crown prince needs to hurry up and figure it out in order to save her. I am going to flip tables if Byung Yeon betrays Yeong. He already lost one friend, he can't lose another.

Moonlight Drawn By Clouds is killing it in the ratings. Congrats to the cast and crew. Thanks lots for the recap, javabeans!

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I think the 1st meeting with CSB character is essential to make her care more about the CP when they officially meet later, it also gonna add their familiarity to each other that can be mistranslated,

like before, CP is really weak now since he has no backup, he practically has no one who big enough to back his movement,
so if CSB character can connect with him outside his CP facade, she can warm up and convince her father to support him and even make her can really fall for his charm naturally,

who can imagine that guy from the market is the crown prince,
yeah I think of that effect, so a love square is an overkill if only looked at the love part but I don't think it's gonna be overkill if we consider the whole situation,
it adds the tension for me,
just like in TMTETS, I feel really bad for the queen, I get her and he indeed helping the king at some point,

for the love part, I don't think CP understand that as an attraction in form of love, but that word can translate differently between man and woman and perfectly okay for any relationship IMO, there's nothing weird about wanting someone wished to succeed, it's the tension on the screen that makes us feel different,

he likes the girl and cares about Ra-On,
he suspected it but it feels like reaching in his opinion,
it's like how can an eunuch is a girl?
not how this beautiful man I saw is a girl,

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This webtoon/drama is based on real historical figures. Chae Soo Bin's character is thus necessary because she's historically speaking his wife. Everybody knows it so there's no point changing history that's people learn about at school or can google it. It would be different if it was a fictional royal family a la Goong.

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Yea a love square is overkill but Yeong has no political supporters and Jo Ha-Yeon (Chae Soo Bin) would be from the opposite faction of Minister Kim's clan.
I believe Minister Jo is her father and they were actually talking about her. I wonder if Minister Kim is trying to propose a marriage between her and Yoon-sung.

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The same thought I had. The daughter Minister Kim praised must be her... which is rather advantageous for Team Evil and precarious for our OTP. No doubt they'll use her as a pawn to distract or weaken the Prince in some way... and since she's historically the Prince's wife, I'm sad about the impending finale of this drama and the romance.

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I was worried that she might fall a little short when she is opposite someone with such skills. she did okish but she is still not the same level with acting. still, do your best, girl. it must not be easy to match the level of PBG & KYJ. it did not really leave such a powerful first impression

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The jump in ratings of this show is insane! Will they break 20% tonight?!

I finally caught up in the episodes of this. I marathoned 1-4 and I just love it! The drama is visually appealing. Really beautiful shots and the music makes the scene even more perfect. The acting's on point and I feel every bit of emotion, especially from PBG.

I am so over the moon with this OTP. Gah!! I love them to bits! Off to watch EP 5 now!

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While waiting for episode 5, I marathon episode 1-4 again and it was well worth it. A Labor Day weekend well spent, hee.

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I think I have found my saeguk version of my Coffee Prince OTP.... yeah, the watching of raw version , the rewatching of the subbed version and couldn't watch wait til the days come faster for the new week.... Crown Prince and his mong mongie slay me .... sigh

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And I can see glimpses of the Crown Prince's sadness like our Choi Han Kyul when he, too, found his confusion over his love for an eunuch, the betrayal when the truth comes out who she is....
yeah, my heart will join you in aching and hoping a good ending like CP, too( although this might be hard since the Prince here has too many enemies).

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I love this show but I'm so sad about Moon Lovers' ratings being so low. It's really fun so I don't get what the big deal is. Can someone explain to me why the Korean public won't give it a chance?

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I can't give you the reason for Moon Lovers here,
but I can get you reasons why people love this drama without any relation to the Moon Lovers

- the execution is good, we find a good amount of character to get warm up and the follow up is good,
- they are funny and fresh
- the acting is good and anjoyable
- they have the darker side
- . . . .

but tbvh, it doesn't matter what we said about Moonlight if you asked about the reason Moon Lovers rating drowned,
maybe people from that recap or Open thread can answer this to avoid the ill feeling since it just not a good time to answer imo

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