1,282

Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo: Episode 20 (Final)

by HeadsNo2

We must not have wished hard enough for an ending that would magically solve the issues endemic to this production, since I can think of no other reason why this happened. It could’ve been worse (they all can be worse), but it’s certainly not what we would’ve hoped to see at the end of this sometimes rewarding, sometimes grueling journey through a modern girl’s integration into a time far from her own. Which leaves us to wonder, was it all about love? Altering history? Fate working in very mysterious ways? Who knows.

…No, really, does anyone know?

 
FINAL EPISODE RECAP

Su arrives at Jung’s secondary home, and finds herself thinking of So when Jung outstretches his hand to help her out of her palanquin. But since they’ve been forbidden from marrying by the king, Jung’s prepared a more secret ceremony, though he tells her not to worry—even married, he’ll just consider them as friends.

He explains how she’ll be set up nicely in this house, and that he’ll come to visit her often. She’s all smiles until he gives her back the hairpin she’d given him as a symbol of her desire to leave the palace, which carries with it the memories of So, who had given it to her.

The small box of belongings she brought with her contain the multiple copies of the poem she had So write, and she looks at them with tears in her eyes. We then cut to her married life with Jung, as Su etches a likeness of So on a stone, and Jung practices his swordsmanship.

But Jung gets the eerie feeling that they’re being watched, and suddenly leans forward as though to receive a kiss from his wife. She just smiles and dabs his sweaty forehead instead, which is when Jung gently takes her hand and tells her that he’s arranged for the recently retired royal doctor to pay her a visit.

It’s clear that Jung’s putting on a husbandly show for whoever it is that’s spying on them, but we can’t see who. Inside, the doctor feels her pulse to check on the baby in her womb—apparently this is something Su’s known about, but when the doctor first checked her, it was too early for him to tell.

However, he warns that her already shaky health will be tested with the baby, but Su is adamant that she’ll do whatever it takes to ensure the health of the child. Jung is taken by surprise with the news, and orders that the doctor stay with them for a time, since they can’t risk this secret getting out.

So receives an account of events from his spy, detailing how affectionate Jung and Su are. He’s livid since Baek-ah said the marriage would only be a formality, but this report claims anything but.

While completing her rock drawing of So, Su is suddenly overtaken by heart trouble, and So gets there in time to see Jung fret over her and carry her inside.

Adorably, Jung sleeps in a separate bed only feet away so that he can at least look at his wife. “Do you remember when we first met?” he asks. She wonders whether it was when she ran into the forest to save him, and the two reminisce over fond memories.

So can hear the two of them laughing from outside, and returns to his throne in a daze as he tells Astronomer Choi that he never wants to hear a single word spoken about Jung or Su ever again.

Meanwhile, Su imagines sitting across a table from So, both of them smiling at each other. “We have finally left the palace, and are alone together. You and I… we are the only ones left. We can forget the truths, lies, misunderstandings, and jealousy… the restless bickering over the throne and the many deaths. It is a time meant only for us, and I can love you to my heart’s content.”

Six months later.

Jung paces nervously outside the birthing room, the sounds of a crying baby coming from inside. The midwife comes out with a perfectly healthy baby girl, though Jung instructs the midwife to claim that the baby was stillborn to anyone who asks.

He goes in to find Su in a sorry state, though he reassures her that the baby’s in good hands—now all she needs to do is worry about herself. A tear snakes down Su’s cheek as she weakly hands him a letter to be delivered to So, though it’s not news of the baby. “I… want to see him,” she explains, and Jung readily agrees (though he changes the calligraphy on the front, claiming that his wife’s writing is too identical to the king’s).

Su holds her infant daughter in her arms, but is suddenly stricken by an illness that has her swaying on her feet. We don’t hear what the doctor has to say, and Su doesn’t seem to notice the letter she wrote to the king sitting on the table nearby. Or is it another letter? I can’t tell.

After discussing matters of state with Astronomer Choi regarding a plan to cut off supplies to the most powerful clans to silence their voice, So is given another letter from Su.

But since the envelope is in Jung’s handwriting, he believes it to be from his half-brother and throws it into a pile of other unread letters, all of them from Su.

Looking sicker than ever, Su wonders why So hasn’t come yet, considering how she’s sent him so many messages: “Does he hate me that much?” Jung stops himself from saying that he’s already sent messengers, instead claiming that he forgot while promising to get on that immediately. Aww. Just live happily ever after, you two.

In an effort to cheer her, he brings her outside, where he’s gathered musicians from the capital to sing for her. Su is too weak to speak, so Jung ushers the singer to sing anything she wants, and the singer opts for a song that a court lady sang which made the king fall in love with her.

Su’s eyes open a little wider at that, and the singer commences with her song. Su recognizes it as the song she did, in fact, sing at Eun’s birthday. So had overheard from a distance.

This sparks more memories to come flooding forth as Su murmurs, “Long ago, you promised that you would treat my life as if it were your own. Do you remember that?” Then she turns to Jung as she weakly tells him to protect her daughter in her stead, and to never let her go to the palace.

Jung looks like he’s trying to hold it together, but Su’s given up all hope on So ever coming to see her before she leaves this world. He pulls her in so her head rests on his shoulder, saying, “Su-ya, in your next life, you will remember me, won’t you?”

Instead, Su whispers, “I’m going to forget you. I will forget everything. Even in my dreams… I will forget all of you.” She dies in his arms, and Jung can only cry as he holds her to him.

So receives news of her death in utter shock, only now coming to realize that all those letters he ignored were from Su. He tears them open one by one and reads them, and in them, she explains that she loved him completely. She knew that she left him with hate rather than love, and wondered if he resented her for it.

He clutches the letter in his hands and sobs, only now realizing the depth of Su’s feelings for him. And too late, at that. We flash back to her writing more letters of her love for him, recognizing each time he was there for her, and each time he was there to save her.

The voiceover continues as So spurs his horse to Jung’s house as fast as he can:

“I still love you. In the rain, when you tossed everything aside and stood at my side, when you threw yourself in the path of a flying arrow for me, I became unable to forget you for the rest of my life. The opposite of ‘to love’ isn’t ‘to hate’ — it’s to throw away. That I threw you away, and that you threw me away… I’m afraid [we’ll] think that. I miss you, but I cannot be close to you. Hoping we will meet again inside a winding fence, I wait for you every day.”

Baek-ah finds Jung in mourning clothes, caressing Su’s urn. He hands him a letter, which Baek-ah begins to read with tears in his eyes. They’re interrupted by a frantic So, who comes in crying for Su to show herself.

But when his eyes come to rest on the urn, devastation hits. Jung blames him for waiting too long, but So blames him for writing his own name on the letters—he had no idea they were from Su. Jung says he did it only because her handwriting was so similar to his (again, what and why?), but he can’t believe that So wouldn’t have known Su was dying when he knows So was tracking them with spies.

Baek-ah is the one to tell Jung that So stopped receiving reports once he learned that they were getting on so well, leaving that realization to hit as So grasps Su’s urn and sobs his heart out. “Su-ya, let’s go,” he says, clutching it. “Let’s go.” Ouch.

Jung refuses to let him pass, reminding So that she was his wife. “Su may be dead, but she is still mine,” So cries, and it’s only with Baek-ah’s intervention that Jung allows So to take the urn. Baek-ah laments that Su spent her life caught between all of them, and urges Jung not to make it any harder on her, even now.

But poor Jung can only take out the hairpin he originally took from Su as he cries pitifully. Only then does Baek-ah realize that Jung actually loved Su, and embraces his half-brother in solidarity. Aww.

So takes Su’s ashes to the spot where she’d once stacked her prayer stones, thinking back to his memories of her, and how she promised she wouldn’t leave.

After what Won only describes as “a long time” has passed, he’s given a ceremonial cup of poison with which to kill himself. But before he does, Baek-ah hands him the letter Chae-ryung wrote in blood to Su, which Su had wanted delivered to Won.

While the soundtrack transports us to The Lord of the Rings, Won reads Chae-ryung’s letter and thinks back to their few scenes together. He feels a shred of remorse as the chyron tells us that he was put to death for treason. (He’s not worth the screencap, guys.)

Baek-ah finds himself shadowed by a small girl, who he recognizes as Wook’s daughter. He tells her that he’s her uncle, and is momentarily off-put by her name being Bok-soon, since that’s name Woo-hee tried to give him once (before she was promptly outed for lying). Even stranger, he recognizes the ornament that Woo-hee favored on the little girl, who claims to not know where it came from.

But in the time it takes him to flash back to his memories with Woo-hee, the little girl disappears.

An older, bearded, and seemingly ill Wook takes a walk with Baek-ah, mentioning the changes So has made since becoming king. Rather than have any aspirations for the throne himself, Wook only says that he wants to see the kind of king So becomes. “I wonder if perhaps Goryeo has its most powerful king in history,” Wook adds thoughtfully.

Baek-ah asks if he still misses Su, prompting a rueful smile from Wook. “I don’t know,” he answers. “I was always giving my heart, but I was always making mistakes. I’ve only come to realize that now.” He coughs, and you know what that means—it’s time for Wook’s obligatory flashback to the past, though he surprisingly thinks of his first wife, Lady Hae.

Yeonhwa tears into her husband for not going to see his firstborn son, Wang Ju (future King Gyeongjong), even on his birthday. She thinks he only sees his son as competition, reminding So of the royal nephews he’s killed in order to keep his reign secure. The least he can do is trust his own son.

But So basically says that he doesn’t trust Ju because he doesn’t trust Yeonhwa, and he knows the two of them will turn against him one day. Yeonhwa blames his thinking on Su, since she was the only person who ever said that all people should be treated as equals. That’s why she believes So passed a law emancipating slaves (this was a reform Gwangjong was well known for).

Claiming that she now understands why Su left, Yeonhwa is all too happy to bring that up just to hurt So. He says nothing, and goes instead to the spot where Su once set up her prayer stones.

A little girl bumps into him and makes a big fuss about it, which reminds So of how Su once did the same thing. And lo and behold, the little girl runs to the man she calls “Father.” It’s Jung, of course—and oh God, his sideburns have only gotten bigger.

Jung apologizes for breaking his exile to come to the palace, claiming that it was only because today is the anniversary of Su’s death. When So asks if the child is his, Jung says yes, though So notes that the child is too old to be from his recent marriage.

Taking this as his cue to leave, Jung turns with the girl in his arms, which is when So notices that she’s wearing the same hairpin he’d once given to Su. He orders Jung to leave the girl with him, and Jung drops to his knees to give his firmest “No.”

He confirms So’s suspicions when he says that Su never wanted her daughter to live in the palace, leaving the poor little girl clueless as to what the adults are talking about. She looks over to her real father as So looks to Jung, officially releasing him from his exile. In fact, he wants him to come visit the palace as often as he wants. Aw, that’s going to be the only way he’ll ever see his daughter, isn’t it?

Astronomer Choi decides to retire from his position, but doesn’t leave without telling So to forget Su, who was never of this world anyway. Now it’s time—wait for it—for Astronomer Choi to get his own flashback to happier times. Has anyone not gotten a flashback yet? No?

The sky darkens suddenly with an eclipse, and So looks to the sky as the light disappears. A rider rides against the darkening horizon as we get a flashback montage of Su falling into the water and ending up in Goryeo under an eclipsing sky…

…And then, Su wakes in her own bed, in her own time, with tears running down her cheeks over the mysterious man haunting her dreams. Oh no. No no no no. You are not pulling the Dream Card on us. Anything but that!

While working at her cosmetics job, Su tells her coworker that she’s been having dreams about a man dressed in ye olde clothes with a scar on his face for nearly a year. Her coworker says it’s because she almost died from drowning, spent a year in a coma, and then woke up. Thanks, Exposition Fairy.

Su overhears snippets of a presentation being given on cosmetics in the Goryeo era (which she may have had a hand in helping along?), and is approached by the presenter afterward. It’s Astronomer Choi, although, not him, and he gives her an enigmatic smile as he reads her name tag.

Seeing her name as “Go Ha-jin,” he tells her that in the Goryeo era, “Go” was known as “Hae.” She notes that it’s a funny coincidence since she’s selling makeup inspired by the era, to which Choi says, “There is no such thing as coincidence. Things only return to their rightful place.”

But when she introduces the line of makeup to him, she remembers Baek-ah’s voice mentioning Bulgarian rose oil to her—though she’s confused as to where she remembers hearing that. Choi seems to study her knowingly, though Su does her best to shake it off and introduce some BB cream, which she claims was invented in Goryeo as well.

Saying that prompts her to think of So and his scar, leaving her severely shaken and confused. She leaves work early, but finds herself drawn to an exhibit of Goryeo paintings, each reminding her of scenes she doesn’t know how she remembers.

The paintings show the rain ritual, which she remembers in vivid detail, and King Gwangjong. “It wasn’t a dream,” she thinks, as some honestly random images are put forth in paint form—scenes that literally no one would have thought to paint, like her bowing deeply to the king on their first meeting, her saving Jung in the forest, etc. But we’ll just have to go with it.

Su looks around the gallery with tears in her eyes, seeing herself in every painting. Only then does she stop at a portrait of King Gwangjong, remembering So in detail. The biography accompanying the portrait tells of his legacy as a good king, which makes Su think of the day she’d been sure that So wouldn’t go down in history as a tyrant.

“I’m sorry,” she cries. “I’m sorry for leaving you alone.”

As she cries, the painting before her slowly comes into focus as we return to Goryeo during the eclipse. So looks up as though he’s heard her voice, which is when Baek-ah tells him that Wook has died, and he’ll be leaving the palace as well.

Standing alone like he was in the painting, So looks back over his shoulder, as though expecting someone. But he’s alone, and comments, “Life is fleeting.” It was the same thing his father said before he died.

He’d related what his father said to Su once, and had worried over her lost facial expression. He’d wondered what she was hiding, but Su only said that she felt anxious every day she was there.

“If we had met in another world, and in another time, I can’t help but think how great that would have been,” she said. “If only that were so, I wouldn’t fear anything. I could freely, truly, love you all I wanted.” The flashback fades, and So is left in the present (of the past) to rub the makeup off the scarred side of his face with a shaking hand.

“If you and I are not of the same world,” he thinks, “then I will find you, my Su-ya.”

Cut to: The two of them walking together in flashback, with So offering to carry Su on his back due to her hurting knees. Together and laughing, they run forward.

 
COMMENTS

Really, Moon Lovers? Not one hint that Su would find her present day So? Not even after that line? You chose to show a piece of flashback footage instead? That’s how you wanted to end this, by having So look to the future, but think of the past instead? That’s your big message?

I admit it would’ve been a cheap fix to have So appear in the present day, but I was willing to take anything. It’s not as if the show established any kind of rules when it came to Su’s time-traveling, but this ending gave me horrible Dr. Jin vibes, in that both were adaptations of much more successful foreign dramas, both protagonists woke up in the present day remembering the past, and no questions were ever answered. Ever.

While we can point to failures on many levels, it was really the execution that bogged this show down, and that was never more apparent than in the episodes leading up to this finale. Su gradually lost any sense of self she may have possessed, and we lost our eyes and ears into the strange world she’d entered into. Nothing solidified that more than when we found out she was pregnant this episode, which was something she already knew. There’s a cardinal rule for protagonists in TV, especially those whose point of view we’re seeing the show through: You can keep secrets from everybody else, but you can’t keep them from the audience.

Because at that point, we’ve lost our point of entry into the events happening on screen. At the point where Su had her own agenda that we weren’t privy to, why keep trying? Who were we following? Why did it matter? I hate how bad finales bring up existential questions, but I sat for a good five minutes after this show ended just trying to think of the why of it all. What were the resonant themes? Where was the dramatic clarity, or tension? How did Su hope to solve anything by leaving?

If her main reason was her pregnancy, then we were really cheated when it came to her realization happening off-screen. The reason why it sucks to have protagonists keep secrets is because we can’t follow them, and it would’ve been a great help for us to know whether Su was playing the noble idiot and leaving the palace because of the baby. But instead it felt like she left because she just had to, but she missed So every day because she left. So why? Why anything?

By the time we reached the end, I realized that what was missing was a central conflict. I still don’t know what we were supposed to want for this show and its characters, because I couldn’t buy into the love story between Su and So despite desperately wanting to. Unfortunately for So, he was virtually nonexistent for much too long, and we only knew he would be important later on by virtue of him being played by Lee Jun-ki. But were he a total unknown, and were this not an adaptation, we would’ve been sorely misled in the beginning with the Su/Wook loveline, the development of which seemed to outweigh the thought put in to the development of the Su/So pairing.

Which isn’t to say that they made a mistake in focusing on that loveline first, but they did make one in not laying down a better foundation for us to jump to the So ship later. It’s entirely possible that these two lovelines worked out great in the much longer original version, but there’s really no excuse for this show’s inability to tell the story it wanted to tell in the time allotted to it—and with it being pre-produced, it’s even worse. It’s not like that twentieth episode just snuck up on the writer, or that the writer didn’t have time to plan out how to adapt a longer drama into a shorter format. That’s the whole point of pre-production!

Going back to the episode, and bypassing all the WTF-ery surrounding Su’s return to the present, her year in a coma, presumably another year having dreams about the past, Astronomer Choi being back in the future (but not as a homeless man), the eclipse that somehow blurred the lines between both worlds, the paintings of scenes no one else would’ve seen or thought to paint, the fact that Su spent years in the past while only a year or so passed in the present, the fact that Su physically died in the past and all the questions that raises about whatever happened to the girl who used to inhabit Su’s body, what were we left with?

We’re left with Lee Jun-ki putting on a one-man show. And, okay, Ji-soo got his moment to shine this week, which made me desperately wish we’d focused on his love for Su rather than the tenth prince’s crush. But that’s neither here nor there at this juncture. I guess it’s the same as with any show that limps its way to its finale: I wish it had been better, because there was a good drama underneath all the nonsensicality and noise. But we can’t win ’em all.

RELATED POSTS

Tags: featured, IU, Kang Haneul, Lee Jun-ki, Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo

1,282

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

First of all, thanks so much for you recaps. It's helped me go through this drama lmao. and plus I can rant here and voice my frustrations?

so that was it?! all the tears, death, sufferings and we get a flashback of their piggyback ride? T.T wow this drama is truly something else....
I would have been less heartbroken if they showed some more scenes of Wang So/Gwangjong with his daughter meeting in secret or something.. OR if he managed to make it to Jung's house on time and she died in her arms. OR... if he shows up in the modern version.. alas, we got none of those LOL.
Another think that made me so sad is that literally almost everyone else atleast halfway decent in the show gets an okay to "happy"ish ending:
- wook at least died of natural causes and had kids
- baek ah gets another chance in love with his niece/woo hee reincarnation & lives the way he's wanted to (freely, as an artist, wandering around etc)
- Jung.. gets to remarry (I assume quite happily), keeps his promise and raises Hae Su's daughter to remind him of her (who is technically still his niece it's not like it's his wife+random guy's kid LOL)
- even friggin queen hwangbo will go on to make her grandson a king
and then we have So, all alone with a wife&son who plot against him and a daughter he can't admit is his own. He became a great King though, so is that supposed to be his consolation?!

omg I can't believe I wrote so much. This is the first drama I've ever been compelled to write comments for, so I guess that's saying something, MLSHR..

0
0
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

I have been in a coma watching this drama- looking forward to it every single week while brushing over the clear flaws that exist. At first I was so unhappy with the ending, like wtf was that ending? Su died thinking that So hated her and So is probably living thinking that Su died thinking that he hated her- litrelly the biggest tragedy ever
But now that I think about it and read other people's comments, I'm going to be mildly content:
1. So now knows he has a child, it will always be there to remind him of how much they loved each other even if they ended up 'abandoning' each other at the end
2. So was so influenced by her that he's now remembered as a wise King
3. Soo has acknowledged it wasn't a dream
4. I dont know why but now think that So believes that Soo was different and perharps from smewhere else/from another time which is super important as it means he knows that she is somewhere even if they are not physically together

Who knows what the future holds? I think even if they met its not like they would of been like instant OH I KNOW YOU- BACK TO NORMAL NOW, it would have been even more tragic when they just inevitably walk away from each other again
So okay show, I'm just going to make up my own story

0
0
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

at the end so is left alone

0
0
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

I haven't watch the last two episodes, just here to say goodbye to this strangely addictive drama. I won't really have severe withdrawal syndrome because I'll still have plenty of Lee Jun Ki's dose on my plate with all of his previous works ^^, (half way through Two Weeks and Arang)

And I'll look forward for Kang Ha Neul's future drama as the main lead. The way he made me hating him as Wook but loving him as Kang Ha Neul just showed me that he is a talented actor indeed..

No matter how messy this drama was, I'm sure I'll remember it for a long long time :)

0
0
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

This show is like an EXAM you could have done so well, because you have prepared enough, and got all materials with you, but still the time constraint, and irrelevancy and too much things going on the paper, never clearly defining what you want and the end its a mess, and you wish you could have done so well and regret about it later once you come out of the exam hall.
This is that type of show.

So things i have noted in this show.

1. Throne is a curse.

Whoever sits on it, has to let inner peace be fed to the dogs, and continuous nightmares and changing personalities.Somehow, you just call out your other multiple personalities residing in your heart, waiting in queue to be called upon.

2. Men's hairstyle change when they get married.

Marriage Time comes when you have to sacrifice your bangs to some bun on top of your head, which actually is more burdensome to you than other problems, because it literally weighs you down.

3. Friend zone existed in Goryeo times too.

Eun, Jung has been the victims of friend zone. Jung got her to be his wife, but never got her heart. That isnt fair right Jung?

4. Evil people are defined by the eyeliner.
The more evil the darker the eyeliner is.

5. There is no time to kill people.
Anytime, anywhere, just Kill. Kill me, but never Heal me.

6. BB cream and makeup is the most essential thing in this world.

0
1
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

And, the astronomer must be a Quantom Leap dude.

0
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

I want to tgank HeadsNo2 and all the Beanies who made this a wonderful viewing experience for me. I cried a lot out of emotion from the show and frustration of the show. I laughed a lot at the show and at the clever comments. And, I learned . . . a lot!

Thank you all. Peace and love until we meet next time!

0
1
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

♥

0
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

I was going to watch this... i like Lee Junki and company and it was hyped. But i read the first episode review, got addicted to moonlight drawn by clouds... saw the terrible ratings for such a hyped up show... I'm going to pass and watch the Chinese version.

0
0
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

I'm just dropping by to say that the best things of this drama were:

- Kang Ha Neul being sexy as hell...I already suspected that he had potential, but here I saw him shine. Looking forward to see him in more interesting roles.
- The discovery of Nam Joo Hyuk. This boy is so stunningly beautiful, and even seems talented. I am so happy that he is starring in a new drama with my last girl crush Lee Sung Kyung. Really looking forward to this.
- My love for IU can get away with this. I like her a lot despite all the criticism. I find that she makes her characters relatable and conveys emotion. It is not her fault that her character was poorly written and the edition of this show was a disaster. And, can she get a show with Kang Ha Neul in the future? (a good one this time, please).

0
0
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

I always look up the recaps but never comment, but I decided to this time. This show reminds of the movie Cloud Atlas as it confusing,but also shows that we're keeping making through our lifetime. Maybe this is why Go ha Jin was transported there as it was her biggest mistake so she needed to be reminded of that so she doesn't lose him twice as HaeSu made the mistake with Soo from not trusting him to not fully committing to him. Also, there is so many unanswered questions from the finale? Why didn't they multiple ending or at least show a special episode to explain some questions. Hopefully, with the how big the show was international SBS or a different channel may pick it up to continue the story.

I know this is a bit of track, but there is 6 princes, maybe the writer wanted to explore the 6 degrees to separation theory? Also, HaeSoo and So were always around water (someone mentioned this before), Haeso came to Goryeo through water. Lots of defining moments in there relationship were around water. Water is renewable, but is consistently changes. It would also explain their daughter, another re-newly, but a re-newly of there love.

0
0
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

I admit...barely any tears for the final episode. I was crying a river at Woo Hee's death scene with poor Baek-Ah. I guess I just gave up on SoSoo couple a while ago.
I agree with the comments about how annoying it was to discover that Hae Soo wanted to leave the palace because pregnant. Why not show us that scene? That way we could have empathised with the character and we would have avoided all this confusion. Grrrrrrrrr
Jung redeemed himself in the end but just by accident...I was really pissed thinking he would not reveal to So that he has a daughter.
Wook, poor guy, ended up with an epiphany...his life was just like Lady Hae's. He gave his heart to the wrong person. Just like his first wife did with him. Karma is a b*tch.
I did not like the end...how comes Ji Mong was not a homeless guy anymore?
I know SBS cut scenes from this finale episode that show LJK in present time...would have been a nice way to end it instead of just having Soo realise she made a mess and left So alone to deal with it.

I wonder if SBS is considering a 2nd season. Since they used the C-drama material they must have thought about a possible S2 if the drama was a success, no? Do korean drama contracts have clauses about possible 2nd seasons like the US versions have? After DOTS this must be an option they are starting to consider, no?

0
0
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

Still reading the comments, but....now that it's all over, what are we going to do with our Mondays and Tuesdays? :(

0
1
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

I was wondering the same...

0
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

Watching the finale (live) together with fellow viewers of the show was like watching the SuperBowl with zero knowledge of the game, the players and the coveted rule book. I got myself into the mix and witnessed the disparity, the anger, the disappointment, the rage, the disgust and the hilarity of simultaneous jaws dropping when the shows final credits started to roll. It was in that very moment where all of us realized that we've all been trolled just like that. Where was the promised happy ending? I'm not buying these gleeful flashbacks even if its got the infamous piggyback less the drunken stupor. No, that's shortchanging us viewers. Among other things that I and probably the majority wondered where in this ludicrous finale was the relevance to the novel or the c-version? #WHATISADAPTATION? C'mon, show! Your audiences aren't a bunch of 3 to 7 year olds that get bewildered by mystical colors and enchanting songs. I didn't stick it out for 20 full episodes to see Barney. Color me angry, I seriously defended this show to the very end despite its flaws. But...but..but...this finale, oh man! It was so underwhelming that it made Cheese In The Trap's finale seem like an epic masterpiece. *slow claps of sarcasm* Enough ranting about the finale; off to more serious ranting about the scenes in the finale...

Why oh why did you kill poor Cinnamon that way? Ok, he didn't die, die.. But having Baek-ha set eyes on Wook's 6yr old daughter at the premise that she's the reincarnated version of Woo-hee was just wrong, oh so wrong! I get that incest was a thing in Goryeo, but did it really have to be Cinnamon? You do death scenes masterfully, show! You should've just killed off Baek-ha and I wouldn't have to throw such a verbal fit as to why among all other relevant things in the novel did you, yes you, Kim PD, decide to highlight that. Subtlety aside, no, wait, that wasn't even a subtle approach. Who were you fooling? Not my trained drama eyes. Nah-uh! *pokes eyes*

On the lighter side of crazy, we at camp Team Preggers were at least satisfied to see that Su did indeed get knocked up, but of course this show did a wonderful job in skipping the 8 months of her pregnancy and creatively lulled us with a healthy hairy baby girl, again, #WHATISADAPTATION? Su's miscarriage was an important part of the novel but nope, that wasn't really important eh, Kim PD? You and I need to meet by the Han River real soon.

I'll stop with the wrong things that happened because everyone else will highlight that. Let's just wrap things up with that open ending, was that really intentional or was it blatant laziness? And why are people still harping about a happy ending when the novel was really a tragic one? I want my tragedy! I was prepared to bawl like crazy but I got enraged like my life was at stake. This mashup of the novel and BBJX was such a mess! Now let me excuse myself and take my frustration out on this burrito because,...

0
8
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

......Chae Ryung

0
3
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

Agree. So very much agree. I raged all day yesterday.

0
1
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

I'm still raging. I was ready for tragedy, but I wanted it to be epic. Not THIS. And what happened to the urn?

I didn't know about Baek-Ah and niece so the scene didn't make sense. Now it does, in a sickening sort of way.

0
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

Taco Bell calling: We got your Torture Taco right here and would you like today's special, a Beaten Bean Burrito added to your order?

0
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

Upon further reflection, my disappointment with the finale was not that we were cheated out of a promised happy ending, but that the ending felt so disorganized.

Even an open ending should be clear and clean while offering some kind of closure.

Two epic, tragic love stories (films) that were done well are Atonement and Possession. I'm not sure if you've seen either, but both endings showed finesse and clarity within a believable framework of tragedy. Oh well.

0
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

#WHATISADAPTATION

This is all that is needed to be said.

0
1
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

In this case, adaptation is like being in a Friends with Benefits relationship: You get to screw around and you don't have to be particularly faithful to the source material.

My personal feeling is that the pregnancy itself was more than enough reason to need Hae su out of the palace. With her weakened health, she and the baby would not have survived to term.
That part of the original miscarriage tragedy is flipped and tho they didn't show it, I want to believe that the baby would be a glimmer of happiness in So's future life. Along with So's determination to find Hae Su again, we have a little more hope. They ditched the epic tragedy for a bittersweet hope and a vision of piggybacked happiness.

Which tells me they are either going to meet again as kids or as drinking buddies.

0
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

#WHATISADAPTION

>_>

0
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

Whaaaaaaaaaaat was this. I have a whole laundry list of complaints but feel like I've already wasted enough time on this drama. If only I could wake up and realize this drama was just a dream...(or nightmare, whatever).

0
0
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

I have been waiting for these recaps on Dramabeans (thank you recappers) because I need to commiserate with others who felt my pain.

I am SO upset that I watched this final episode sober. This could have been much more tolerable while drinking.

[1 shot] Every flashback
[1 shot] Every unnecessary character in the last episode (I'm looking at you, Won)
[1 shot] Every noble idiot moment
[1 shot] Every longing look by a character
[1 shot] For every scene with Jung's sideburns because they are a character on their own

This drama had so much potential. I've been watching Korean dramas for over 20 years now and I've seen them evolve from really crappy trope plots and characters to the beauties we see today.

But this... Moon Lovers literally seemed to time travel to the dark ages. When writers and producers would refuse to agree on a decent ending that made sense plot-wise but also was good fan service.

We got the bat boy rain scene. That will still go down as one of my favorite scenes in a drama, ever. And that was the epitome of lost potential in this drama. We went from bat boy rain scene to a complete cop out ending - there is no amount of explaining away the gigantic plot holes. If the drama had done a good job of being ambiguous and actually intellectual about time travel, the dangers of changing where you are to fit 'your' vision - well, the ending would have been acceptable. It was NOT an open-ended drama throughout 19 episodes and then the producer decides to become a philosopher and wax on at the end? No. Nope nope nope.

I've always been a fan of Lee Jun Ki, ever since watching his film "The King and the Clown". The only thing I got out of this drama was the potential in the actors that I haven't seen before. Sigh. I... am still disjointed in my thoughts about this drama.

1
0
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

They made us wait for 14 episodes to see them finally united just to separate them again FOREVER/INDEFINITELY (whichever you like) 6 episodes afterward.

Im so done with it. Need some healing for this emotional scar right now. Like, WHY DID THEY CUT THAT REUNION SCENE, WHY? ?????

Sorry for this rant.

0
0
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

I cried a lot because of this drama. I cried for Wang So's tragic life and I cried for Jung who loved So, so much...ah I cried after seeing Wang So's painting with him standing alone outside the palace.

Honestly, I am happy that Wang So is not in the future...because for me, they will be different people. I hated that ending from Rooftop Prince so I am glad they didn't used that ending here.

But there are things that changed. I think the future changed because Hae So, shouldn't be part of the history but we can see the she became part of history with those paintings and soaps she made.

And Wang So's line "I will find you, my beloved So" and how she woke up in her "own bed" even though she was in coma...doesn't that mean her body or the future Hae So was already living in the Present world even before Hae So died and returned to the future.? and Ji Mong is no longer a beggar even though he was a beggar when he and So met for the first time.

Maybe this is not the real future that Hae So was in before? Maybe it's a new world or a parallel world and maybe Wang So (the real Wang So not the reincarnated one) is also in that world, that's why he said "I will find you"

0
1
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

Oh, she was in a coma? Maybe I was in a coma when I watched this; I was like 'How did she get from drowning in a pond to her bed?'.

0
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

All I have to say is the Korean version of this drama has no more plot holes or is in no way more of head scratch than the original. I think people want closure and a clearly drawn characters and that's not what you get with this story. You get this modern day woman that very quickly and very successfully navigates a completely new and foreign world to her. Sure she gets punished a couple of times and those punishments last for years, but she mostly gets away with a lot of things a woman of her time never would have survived. She's wishy washy, both characters are fickle in my mind. Her reason for shifting her affections from 8th prince to 4th prince are ridiculous and never clearly defined. In the end I couldn't help but think that she hitched her wagon to him because she new he would one day be king. Only by the time he was king all the crappy stuff that goes along with being king had either rubbed off on him or was there hidden all the time. She "compromised" her principles more than once when she turned a blind eye to his cruelty and manipulations. And like in the original the only prince that was really "worthy" of her affections she never loved like a man, 14th prince. True 14th was not a fully fleshed out character like in the original but he did remain the same kind of guy, hardworking and steadfast to her and to his king. This was not going to end well and it was never going to fully explain everything because the original while slower and much more focused on the court intrigue than the romance was in my opinion just as frustrating because neither satisfies our need for good guys over bad guys and a real point to it all other than she changed the way history saw him as a king.

0
0
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

I don't get the rage. It was kinda clear that there won't be a happy ending for the main pairing anyway. What does it even matter if they meet in the present time again? It's not the same people and the reincarnation trope is annoying as hell. It's supposed to be a tragic love story with a sad ending.

Reading all the comments made me realize how people don't give any shit about narrative and thematics on the show. Su's flaw has always been her hesitation and distrust towards So. In the end it lead her to loneliness and losing the love she could have. The tragic thing is there are no second chances. She's back in the present lonely and alone again. That's the overall story. The fact that people care more about fulfilling their shipping fantasies and a consistent narrative is shameful.

I know you have to turn off your brain and just enjoy the pretty to get through 20 episodes but at least accept the barely there narrative a little bit.

0
3
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

I love tragic dramas. I do. I've seen well done ones before and bawled and cried over the folks I was shipping. But the reason for my rage wasn't that they didn't meet up in the present time - I felt like the 'tragic' aspects weren't done very well.

Like when Woo Hee died - she was this great fighter for the rest of the drama and then just dies by suicide? I expected her to go fighting. There was a lot that didn't line up in order for the tragedy to work. At least have Ji Mong give more cryptic tragic comments in the last episode - that would have been a better wrap up, with him voicing over some things.

The cinematography was also lacking in the last few episodes. Like I wrote in my post - the bat boy rain scene was beautifully done. And then we lost that kind of wonderful scene set up near the end, same with the finale.

1
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

And it's funny that most are angry that So is left alone in the end as if it was narrative betrayal. He was a childish obsessive tantrum throwing brat most of the time who didn't care about anyone except those he was crazily obsessed with (Mother, Su). His story was that he did despicable things to get an unrealistic unconditional love from those. Only to see that power can't get the unrealistic unconditional love in the end. Neither is he self reflecting over that but simply continues being his horrible self after his actions didn't get what he wants. He keeps being a horrible father, distrustful and killing his nephew.

0
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

@Queen Zero: "Su’s flaw has always been her hesitation and distrust towards So. In the end it lead her to loneliness and losing the love she could have."

I don't know, Queen Zero--I don't think that was her flaw. Even if she accepted him 100% and unconditionally, the way he wanted, he would have still done some awful things--and she would still have been alone and lonely in the palace, as Court Lady Oh was. Do you think she would have been happy as he kept making babies with Yeon Hwa? Do you think she wouldn't fear (rightly) for the lives of her own children?

She did miss him terribly after she left, but it's worth noting that when she imagined him with her, it was just the two of them together, without him focused on the kingship--and that just wasn't going to happen in reality.

Maybe her flaw was falling in love with really questionable men. Jung turned out to be wonderful to her, and to her child, and she was never interested in him that way.

"He was a childish obsessive tantrum throwing brat most of the time who didn’t care about anyone except those he was crazily obsessed with (Mother, Su). His story was that he did despicable things to get an unrealistic unconditional love from those. Only to see that power can’t get the unrealistic unconditional love in the end. Neither is he self reflecting over that but simply continues being his horrible self after his actions didn’t get what he wants. He keeps being a horrible father, distrustful and killing his nephew."

You say Hae Soo was flawed because she had "hesitation and distrust towards So," despite your description of him? So was definitely a mixed bag of nuts (lol), but some of him was good: he freed the slaves, after all. That's a pretty big deal. Killing his nephews because they were rebelling: the show didn't say they were children. What if they were like Won, or Yo?

The show was following history, and I think they did well with a complex and ambiguous character. Think of Thomas Jefferson: Was he good? Was he bad?

Yes, it's pretty terrible about his son. Again, the show was following history, and setting up a reason why his son might undo his reforms. But the show gave a reason why that might come to be, that made emotional and psychological sense, though we don't like it.

When it comes to not-history (his daughter with Hae Soo), we can see his growth: When he realized who the child was, he ordered Jung to leave her there. When Jung said So would have to kill him, we saw So's face twist up very nastily, as though he would be very willing to do that. But when Jung begged him on Hae Soo's behalf, saying it was all she worried about until the end, and that the palace would be so lonely and scary for the little girl, So backed off, composed himself, retracted Jung's exile, and asked him to visit once in a while. I imagine it was then very difficult to walk away, but he did so--for her sake, and for Hae Soo's. I...

0
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

"Really, Moon Lovers? Not one hint that Su would find her present day So? Not even after that line? You chose to show a piece of flashback footage instead? That’s how you wanted to end this, by having So look to the future, but think of the past instead? That’s your big message? I admit it would’ve been a cheap fix to have So appear in the present day, but I was willing to take anything." that's exactly how I feel!! to sum it up, Moon Lovers is a drama that I started and got stuck to it till the very end only for Lee Jun Ki (who gave a GREAT performance) and that only gave me pain and tears with no satisfying story telling whatsoever!!! *sigh*

0
0
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

In contrarary, i love the ending. Life is not all happy ending.
For me this ending...although sad...its close the reality.

0
3
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

i have the same thoughts.. it is closer to reality... all the couples in this drama who loved their true one ended up loosing them directly or indirectly with the influence of the throne... So should be no exception then.. like Soo said to Wook ' you can't have everything'...

0
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

Finally! a comment I agree with.

Reading the comments about how disappointed they were and all that whining got me more confused. Like, "did we watch the same drama?"I'm glad that they are in both parts of their own world wondering and longing of the time that was.Well, it's just me.

\^o^/

0
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

The problem isn't that the ending isn't happy, it's that it's completely illogical (those paintings!)

0
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

LJK's acting was great from start to finish. Jisoo was a dark horse the scene when Soo died has got to be his best.

I feel like the drama editor's got lazy by just piecing together old footage. Like many of the viewers it was exhausting and just awful. So bad that i might go out on a limb to say who ever is the director / editor I'm threatening to never watch your crap again. Great cinematography check, good story given its reception in China check, some damn good acting I've seen check, good soundtrack check .... But the overall execution was just such a letdown.

0
0
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

After ep7 this show became dull for me. So many things started NOT to make sense. I still dont understand why the queen hated So so much ?
And the ending......i know it would have been cheezy but i was all for SO finding SU in the present.
Lots of things which are already mentioned in the comments are so true as to what i felt too.
And why dint they change the palace maids when the first king already died of poison water ????
May be its not exactly as much the shows fault as the hype that was created when it was about to release that definitely made the bar high and any silly point became a source of dissatisfaction.
I hope another show or season 2 is made with all the hotties here this time them in being the present.
That would be something interesting to look forward to.
But in all fairness the actors did total justice to the roles given to them. This ones totally on the poor editing or scripting.

0
0
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

If there is one thing I see after the finale is that all you need is a strong male lead with Hallyu pull for a k-drama to work. Despite this drama failing in literally all aspects (writing, directing, acting) all it took was swooning and thirsting over Lee Joon Gi and the male eye candy to keep going on.

Never mind his character is crazy, obsessive and violent. The disconnection between the actors. IU doing wide eyes and looking bored during scenes where Lee Joon Gi pulled out every emotions.

Viewers hated the female lead but loved the pairing. Was it because Su was just a projection platform for So's romance acts? I think they never saw Su as her own character but simply a wishful platform to fulfill their romantic fantasies of what it's like to be swooped by Lee Joon Gi. They are living themselves out through the female lead.

Which is why they can't take them not getting a second chance again in modern times. Instead of a complete consistent tragic ending they rather want their fantasies fulfilled.

0
7
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

Interesting that the swooning and thirsting for LJG came from the international audience while most SK audience are indifferent to him and his acting. Hence the low rating there.

0
6
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

The low rating was because of Park Bo gum, IU and Baekhyun. Before it even began I saw people on other sites talking about what a terrible actress IU was and how Baekhyun was a bad idol actor. Then you had the current golden boy Park Bo gum running in a saeguk on the other channel. This drama was likely never going to reach those magic high numbers in the double digits but it might have done a lot better if it hadn't run opposite Moonlight Drawn by Clouds. Park Bo gum was such a huge draw. I dropped that trite and predictable drama right around episode 10. Even though I had to hold my nose to even start watching another stupid "damsel in disguise" drama. I thought it was boring and the lead, I can't remember her name, is about the same caliber of actress as IU. She spent those first 10 episodes looking wide eyed or looking down. I stuck with Scarlet Heart because it was a least something different.

0
4
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

@TJ
Moonlight Drawn By The Clouds was good. Kim Yoo Jung is a good actress. I don't get why people feel the need to put it down because it was beating Moon Lovers Scarlet Heart Ryeo in the ratings.

0
1
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

@ Nae - I don’t get why people feel the need to put it down because it was beating Moon Lovers Scarlet Heart Ryeo in the ratings.

Not people, btw. Not plural. Just ONE person, and that's the one you're responding to. The rest of us are just here to watch our drama, not run down someone else's.

0

gaaaah this excuse again.
Moonlight is a drama that marketed as the usual predictable plot cause they don't want to gamble high for young cast that "just" started their lead role. They just did every thing good so viewer satisfied and loved it.

PBG is the sweetheart but not the golden boy before moonlight cause his success comes from ensemble cast of reply and being followed by reply curse,
lot of people wants him to fail,
he is not the man that being famous over 5+ years in hallyu drama, and even can make SBS re-edit the footage before moonlight,
the drama moonlight even didn't passed KBS bar for a pre-produced drama so they didn't has that much budget for this,
besides, the PD admit they aimed for 10% because the only had endorsement after signing PBG,

stupid damsel in distress??
ggaaaaah then it's SOO, that girl in moonlight at least give emotional support and be there, she just 18 y/old character try to survive joseon era and not some 26 - 36 years old soul in goryeo era backed by 5+ princes who would do anything for her and still make the bad decision over and over again.

0
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

The low rating was because of Park Bo gum, IU and Baekhyun.

What utter rubbish.

If Scarlet Heart had actually got its act together and put together a decent pair of opening episodes, it would have been a hit, IU or no.

And having a female lead who was harshly criticised before the drama never stopped Answer Me 1988 from being a smash hit. You can keep repeating the 'IU vs Park Bo-gum' nonsense as much as you like, but it's not going to change the truth, which is that the ultimate reason for Scarlet Heart's ratings failure is that it was a hot mess. I say this as someone who loved it despite that.

Also maybe try to knock off the bitterness about Moonlight Drawn By Clouds, while you're at it.

0
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

most SK audience are indifferent to him and his acting.

That's a funny thing to say, considering virtually all the translated Korean comments I've seen about this drama as it was airing, have been in praise of Lee Jun-ki.

The low ratings are the result of the production and script being an utter mess and airing against a much better-produced drama. If anything, Lee Jun-ki is the reason this show didn't dip into the sub-5 percent range, ratings-wise.

0
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

Comment was deleted

0
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

Ah hell. That was as tragic as a Shakespeare play TT

I need several bottles of soju and Adele on repeat. Honestly, someone leak the damn epilogue if it exists! I need closure! NEED IT.

0
0
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

I never felt so betrayed by kdrama after Reply 1988 specifically its 18 eps...I hope special eps were made cutting only sosoo story plus the brothers. Put aside the revenge n throne seeking. Only 2 reasons make me stay for this drama. Brotherhood n sosoo interaction. And both end sooooo unfairly n sadly. Healers is needed for me to start new drama n I saw goblin around ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

0
0
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

Dear me, dear me! This show gave me tremendous heartache right until the end. I mean, it didn’t even give me the satisfaction of seeing Wang So in the present day, and that’s after saying in the end that “I’ll find you”. I was waiting for that too, hoping that these two tragic characters will finally be with each other in this time. I mean gee, isn’t that too much to ask, show? Instead you showed us a flashback, yet again. But that was what could have been, the happier times of the past. What I need to see is their happy future together, good lord. My heart! I tell ya, this show is bad for ones health!

I went crazy when So didn’t read the letters and yes, why would Jung had to put those letters in another envelope with his handwriting??? He said it’s weird that So and Su have the same penmanship, so what? Is there some palace rule that I missed out somewhere? I just couldn’t see the logic really.

So was always there at the wrong time, misunderstandings just pile up one after the other and then there’s this scene with the musicians, oh my goodness. This show can wring your hearts good, killing you softly, jeez. I felt I was dying too. Then the confrontation with the urn, oh my goodness. So intense!

The scenes in the present overwhelmed me so much of the feeling of loneliness and despair. I mean seeing the photo of the palace with Gwangjong by his lonesome just broke my heart, that poor king, I could feel what the character of IU was feeling, and of course, the song in the background didn’t help. I was bawling. I couldn’t understand one word of its lyrics but I could feel that the soprano was singing of loneliness and grief. It is just so sad.

Now my favourite scene with their cute daughter…Jung was always fearless in front of So but during that scene by the lake, I reckon So knew something was off as Jung looked so nervous. Although, of course, there is that thing about recognising ones own blood or something , plus the pin, and the girl’s questionable age. So was able to put two and two together as he ordered Jung to leave the girl behind. Jung by this time knew that So knows so he can’t do anything else but to kneel and fight for Su’s wishes of not letting her daughter live in the palace. I could see that So was trying to tamp down his emotions. I mean Lee Jun-ki’s acting is really on the intense side, but in this scene he was really subtle. I could feel what he was feeling through the nuances of his facial expressions. I saw anger, then shock, then hurt, then realisation that Su is right (the palace is indeed scary and lonely) and when he looks at his daughter, there was a glint of smile, just a smidgen, for a nano second, before telling Jung that he’s releasing him from his exile and that he would like it if he visits the palace often.

0
6
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

I mean So could have wanted to hug the little girl but he did not. I reckon this means he is letting Jung continue to be the father, hence, granting Su’s wishes. It is Su until the end and so I am so touched. Never mind what he feels or wants ( I know he would have wanted his daughter by his side), he would grant his one true love’s wish. Also with Jung, I could see that he loves the little girl so much that I don’t think that he would be able to part with her. The way he hugged her when So left, oh boy, I actually also felt relieved that she wasn’t taken away from him. This scene is the only one I like in all fronts - acting, directing, even cinematography!

I really did wish Wang So showed up in the present, that way, it would somehow ease my aching heart. So selfish, show! I love the acting of Lee Jung-ki and IU here. This show is tragic in the Goryeo days but it could have been so much better if So and Su have their happy ending in this era at least. Just sayin’ again, show!

Thank you so much, Heads, for the wonderful recaps!!!

0
3
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

By the way, about the paintings, I really think Su did those herself, I mean she knows how to draw, so they must have been found in her chest or somewhere. It appears to be a journal of sorts as she was always there...well, this is my opinion as nobody could have witnessed all those events except her.

0
2
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

Good point that Su can indeed paint, we saw her painting the faces of the prices on stones, but I think ? its Baek-ah since its more detailed and intricate or it was King Gwangjong/WangSo who commissioned an artist to do the paintings either way we can never know for sure.

0
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

These scenes would all have been included in her diary. Somebody translated it or figured it out, and the portraits were painted.

0
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

He said it’s weird that So and Su have the same penmanship, so what? Is there some palace rule that I missed out somewhere?

In BBJX it was apparently treason to 'mock' the ruler by imitating his handwriting, so I suppose they followed the same logic here and that's why Jung covered up Su's writing for being identical to So's.

0
1
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

I don't think that's made clear here, btw. I don't blame anyone for being confused.

0
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

Same hand writing as the king is dangerous in the past because it could create the treason issue.

Calligraphy is individually unique for each person which consider the same as signature or signed written paper. Therefore, if the person is caught having same hand writing as the king who could write the edict and write order, that person could be excused as trying do treason, give fabricated order and etc. This is then forbidden.

For the moon lovers ride, I give up the reason of story development long ago lol. I really like Bubujingxin (Scarlet heart), the Chinese version which could surprisingly make me addict despite its length and guys with half bald. It is really addictive and make much much more sense which could convince me to believe in their character decision and actions. When the story end, it leave me this gloomy feeling for a day. It is real famous in China with good reasons.
( The 16 episodes are my upper tolerant limit when watching drama, I could barely pass any drama with more episodes unless it is really really good. BBJX has 35 ep could do that)

Despite the story has much potential, it understandable why the korean ver is kind of failure. Most of the time, if we start the word why, it is not going to be good drama.

However, if stop thinking why why why and much complains to every scenes, I think it is eye candy and entertaining enough. Don't think too much!

0
1
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

Oh is that right? Thanks for the info, time!

0
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

I'm glad I'm not alone in the messed up ending. It's one of the reasons I truly enjoy reading your summaries and commentary. Thank you! I was yelling at the screen at the end--my brother was wondering what had happened. lol

0
0
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

Now I get why so many actresses refused to play Hae-Su, it's terribly written character that makes zero sense to me. For a finale, this felt like a never-ending montage of flashbacks and fillers. Jung redeemed himself though.
Now, I plan on ranting a bit especially because I hate to say this but even Lee Jun Ki can't justify his characters bias for his offsprings and being an ass for a father. Don't sleep around with women to make a "Bitch, I'm over you" statement and impregnate women left, right and centre if you have no intention to accept the child with your whole heart. I don't like Yeon Hwa but his ignoring his own son to punish her was disgusting. For a guy who for his whole life kept craving for his father's love and was being neglected, him choosing to love only Hae-Su's child was god awful. So at the end, none of the characters had any growth, none of the explanations and motivations that drove 20 freaking episodes makes sense.
Goodbye drama. Good riddance.

0
1
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

@Gem
Exactly. Wang So was wrong for treating his son badly. The writing for this drama was bad. Acting wise, everybody did good.

0
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

LJK just posted on his instagram (actor_jg) the scene of So alone saying he would find Soo and writed SOON. I think we'll have an extra episode! Weeeeee! \o/

0
1
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

Lee jun ki is such a sweetheart when it comes to his fans, he's probably worried ? about us getting anxiety attacks and deep depression because of the ending.

0
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

Please join this petition. You guys want to see SooSo couple again right?
https://www.change.org/p/sbs-make-scarlet-heart-ryeo-season-2-possible?recruiter=false&utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=copylink

0
0
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

Why did Jung always lust after someone else's woman. He was quite the pervert, not capable of getting a woman on his on. First he lusted after Wook's wife and then knowingly asked for the hand of Wo's woman. Didn't the first king give Hae Soo to Wang So?

0
4
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

Buck,
You're a little confused. It was Baek-ah (13th prince, painter/musician) who loved Wook's first wife. He loved her even before she married Wook. Su and Baek-ah became friends after Lady Hae died. Baek-ah later fell in love with Woo-Hee.
Wang Jung (14th prince) is the youngest brother of So and Yo. Jung was 'saved' when he was young by Su when he was ganged up on in the forest. He called her "older sister" for quite some time. It wasn't until after he became a military man that he started having feelings for Su. Yet, I wouldn't call his love lustful. Lust is a strong sexual desire. Instead, I see Jung's love as quite noble, pure, and righteous. He remained devoted to Su despite knowing her heart belonged to another man. He never forced himself upon her... he never even asked her to love him in return. He just let her know if she ever needed his help, he would always be there for her. I think he is the most noble of the men in Su's life. So I have to disagree with you on Jung being a pervert, instead I believe he exhibited the most selfless love of all.

0
2
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

@Buck

Like @Sarai mentioned,you are confusing the two princes.

@Sarai
+1 .

0
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

@Buck: King Taejo didnt "give" Hae Soo to Wang So.. She was just assigned to serve him and for that, he promote her to the highest rank as a court lady to serve the prince directly..

@Sarai: Agreed, Jung love was so selfless.. Even when Yo gave him a decree for their marriage.. He didnt even use that to get her to his side.. Instead only using it years later (whatever long that time skip had been..) when Soo wants to leave the palace willingly and only does he use the decree to get her out, yet only in name and remaining as friends..

0
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

like other people have pointed out, it was baek-ah that liked lady hae.

also, what does it matter that the first king 'gave' hae soo to so? the king doesn't own her and neither does so. if jung asked for her hand, and she willingly gave it, then that's a consensual, happy relationship. nothing perverted about it at all.

0
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

Count me out. I know karma is a b***h but I shudder at the thought of WS being paired with that simpleton for eternity.

0
1
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

Same here. To me Scarlet Heart was tragic because So fell for the first woman who was kind to him, and unfortunately that woman was not suitable for him, at all. As for her, I am still not certain whom she really loved - based on how the part was acted I would say Wook, but she said one thing and then did the opposite throughout the drama. Her final statement on the issue was that she wanted to forget all of them, forever; not exactly a love-filled statement for anyone but perhaps herself.

0
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

First I just need to thank HeadsNo2 for finishing the recaps until the very end even if it got really frustrating ? on almost every episode. About So and Su's handwriting being so similar (again, what and why?) its because Su have repeatedly rewrite the poem that was given by So so many times this was when she was learning to read and write ancient writing, Su tracing the handwriting of So would have given her hands muscle memory on how to write thus they now have the same hand writing. I think that she is having dreams of So after a year is because she will meet So in the near future, Im hoping its the real So and not the painting in the gallery, plus Ji Mong was there trying to assest if Su remembers him or anything from the past, it had me thinking that So is there he just sent Ji mong to assest the situation. The director, writer and staff would probably release the scene we want to see after the special episode. I'm hoping thats the case cause they wont allow lee junki to tell his fans that there is an extra scene if they wouldn't show it eventually right.

0
0
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

In my opinion, this show had a really talented and strong cast on top of a unique, engaging topic (time-traveling historical romance). Sadly, somewhere along the way, between the writing and editing, aspects of strength, clarity, and heart was lost.

0
0
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

I'm basing this off what I've read so far of the recaps here, but I think the writers/editors/production team were going for a meditation on why people betray each other.

Hae Su at the beginning of the story was in a funk because of what was done to her; the rest of the story shows the answer - because life is fleeting.

We strive to better our positions in life before it's over. At the same time, people change, or their circumstances change. We don't have all the information we need to make the best possible decision, or our biases cloud us to the truth, or we delude ourselves anyway, or we don't case so long as we aren't the only ones hurting.

We don't have as intimate an understanding of each other as we think, and we often mistrust each other. The gambit pile-up that resulted is probably what So wants to avoid with his son, and keeping the latter at arm's length is his way of protecting him so a Crown Prince Mu situation doesn't happen.

Another theme that came up for me was of history repeating itself. There's characters who start out noble but fall into unsavory actions because there's no way they can do better - imagine in what way being a hostage is better than being a queen. In compromising their values they mirror the villains.

There's also characters who come to the same realization as their predecessors. The realizations come after they've walked a mile in the other's shoes, which I think is an awesome thing to illustrate in a drama, bad execution or not.

I think the ending would've been okay with a more deft editor, who would've worked the anachronic order better. The way it's been presented though, my interpretation about the intent was that the paintings and his legacy were So's way of answering Hae Su's love. He did away with the slaves, and it looked like he had Wook adopt a member of Later Baekje's royalty. He instigated reforms and he spared his brothers, all so he could live up to his beloved's request that he not be a tyrant. The questionable paintings of scenes could be handwaved by So painting based on what he knew of the characters and hearsay - I mean, somehow a song that Su sang only once decades ago could be passed down to a singer with such fidelity that the original singer recognized it immediately. I'm not putting anything past So's ability to preserve anything for posterity. Maybe all these was his way of "finding" Su again - basically letting his works reach Su wherever world she is.

Fun fact, I learned from Wikipedia that the real King Gwangjong was a patron of Buddhism. It works to the drama's advantage because if he wanted to see Su again the concept of reincarnation would've been nice to believe in; also, the tenets of Buddhism would've been a comfort after all the trauma he's been through.

0
3
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

@Cloudberry...I appreciate your clear thinking analysis...well summed up.....I see many of the same themes developed thru the story.....I prefer not getting to hung up on the ending or how it ends but instead focusing on what I learned from all the characters in the end...thank u for sharing.

0
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

Oo, great point of buddhism! The real Gwangjong did built a ton of Buddhist temples to the point where people said he was a bad king because he spent too much $$ on public works.

*interesting theory about the paintings
-Baek Ah says to Wang So right after they cut from Go Ha Jin looking at Wang So's lonely painting -> dissolve to Wang So.
Baek Ah - "There's no more people to meet, so I will go now."

This could be an indication that WS commissioned Baek Ah to talk to all the people who were close to HS so that he could record all moments in Hae Su's life. Because there were moments in the paintings that WS or BA were not privy too (like Myung Hee's death). The style of the painting was definitely Baek Ah - as seen in the earlier episodes. This again is the show being very frustratingly obscure, why not just tell us this and give us the satisfaction that WS was determined to show Hae Su that he loved her, no matter the millennia that separated them.

0
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

@Cloudberry
Thank you for this. I'm actually having my own "reflection" on the characters and the way they acted at every situation presented to them, "in what they have done and what they have failed to do" literally. Your's pretty much sums up it all.

\^o^/

0
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

Is it only me who feel empty after watch this show ends?
It is like... I can not describe it... like there is a hole in my chest

I just feel so blank... blank and empty

0
1
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

i am here too... this show reminded me how i used to be .. i was one of them who didn't want anyone to get hurt.. i always ended up putting myself under the bus.. i lost a lot of things.. had a painful journey.. now all those people left me as if it had nothing to do with them.. part of So and Soo was me.. all the bad ones... after watching this i felt very empty .. i decided not to repeat any of these episodes anymore.. i deleted my search history so it does keep showing me youtube recommendations...

0
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

The answer to those questions is all of the above. And here I will go off on the very personal tangent. As a life time nerd/geek/dork - whatever the current vocabulary holds, I have to admit I've seen it all before. Captain Picard once got stuck in the memory portal of dead civilization that found and locked on to only him many centuries later; and in a span of twenty minutes he has lived a lifetime in that world. The only thing that was left for him at the end of his journey was a flute. (Imagine all those grueling session with Deanna Troi!) Now think of maternal genetic memory - my first encounter with the idea was at the age of fourteen. (That was 1/2 of my life ago) Frank Herbert was and is my all time favorite sci fi writer, also happens to be the one responsible for introducing me to the idea and if someone has an earlier memory of the introduction of this concept please enlighten me. Now, I'm being self indulgent here and assuming anyone who reads this knows of mitochondrial DNA inheritance. With that assumption in mind - let us go on. I don't remember the blog or the writer who said that most Chinese dramas are about the journey - not the destination. The same hold true for Scarlet Heart. What we see is not the end, but the ongoing journey of the souls so intertwined (does quantum entanglement of the soul exist?) that timespace holds no power over them. I see the opening for the sequel and I most desperately hope that the devil called "Public Opinion" does not hold the director hostage. I most sincerely hope for him to make the drama he wants to make and not try and please us all.

0
2
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

@Lena...deep, and I'm a Sci Fi addict myself, enjoy your references...I like this very much " I don’t remember the blog or the writer who said that most Chinese dramas are about the journey – not the destination. The same hold true for Scarlet Heart. What we see is not the end, but the ongoing journey of the souls so intertwined (does quantum entanglement of the soul exist?) that timespace holds no power over them. I see the opening for the sequel and I most desperately hope that the devil called “Public Opinion” does not hold the director hostage. I most sincerely hope for him to make the drama he wants to make and not try and please us all."...so well summed up...instead of feeling empty because of what we missed or the producer didn't give us...or stuck in definitions of what this should have looked like because of previous work done this way....I like that there is a creative process at work here, and that chaos theory is in there too...

Reply

0
1
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

Now, I was going somewhere with that genetic memory thing. Since every single one of us carry our genetic past it is theoretically possible for both characters to remember their past lives and find each other in the future. And for those who missed the appearance of LJK in the future should remember his final memento. "If we are not from the same world, I will find you. My... Soo ah".

0
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

Well-written :)

0
0
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

This drama has taught just how much a show can deteriorate until I just stop watching. I didn't mind the weird editing in the earlier episodes, as long as there were complex characters (which there were - Wook, Wook's wife, So, the King, maybe Su??) and an interesting plot (which also existed - aka So's quest to be accepted, Wook and Su's love). There were even some AMAZING visual scenes in the drama which made the editing not such a big deal (a la So's amazing bloody fight scene against 100's of monks).

However as the drama kept getting more simplistic and "ordinary" there was no point anymore! I mean, the last 3 episode especially were completely ridiculous. Not even LJK's genius acting could save the thin plot (WTF Su. Why you so so so so stupid), and the characters were no longer interesting. I mean, half of the characters in this drama did not even need to exist. Woo hee, Eun, Yo, Baek-ah and Wook's wife love story (remember when that happened?). What reeeeaaaaally was their point in the story? I don't see it.

I guess the moral of the story is that I really need a MORAL in a STORY. I can forgive cinematography if the characters and story pulls me in (usually those two go hand in hand).

0
0
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

I feel so much camaraderie with everyone on this board! I have no background with the Chinese series at all, so I just went into this blind and I LOVED how compelling the first few episodes were, with regards to plot, scenery, music (UGH THE MUSIC - SO GOOD), acting, etc. I started off thinking that going back in time was Ha Jin's chance at redeeming herself from the shitty things that happened in the present (that we have very little background of, but whatever) and was looking forward to see how her character, still willful and outspoken in those beginning episodes, would shake things up and have a real PURPOSE. I also knew that despite all the cheesy setup with Wook that they would not ultimately end up together (I know they had multiple wives back then but I was just NOT down with him being so lovesick over her as a MARRIED man), because the Laws of Korean Drama dictate that the main actor/actress usually end up together, plus the scene where he scoops her up onto the horse to save her from falling (and my ovaries exploded making me Team So forever). One of my most favorite moments in the whole series is when she sings to them and the brothers are all happy together. My naive little self really, honestly thought that she would be some kind of shining light for them.
AND THEN SHIT STARTED HITTING THE FAN, she got tortured, accused for poisoning everyone under the sun (if I hear the word "regicide" one more time...), was almost executed, etc., so did she go back in time from an already shitty present to get even more shit in the past?! WHAT EVEN. The love triangle with So and Wook was getting exhausting and I didn't care for all the political BS and treachery going on. By the time I hit episode 15 I honestly gave up on watching and just read these wonderful recaps instead, because I knew we were running out of episodes and the series had really lost a lot of cohesive direction. I did watch the finale and echo everyone's sentiments about the ending (I kept waiting up through the last 30 SECONDS of the episode for modern-day So to show the hell up), the various confusing children, loose ends with many of the characters, who the hell is kept in a coma for over a year... I wish the last image we were left with was So staring the camera down and saying that he would find Soo, this would have been more powerful rather than the stupid happy piggybacking (I'm sorry but REALLY) because let's be real, this was NOT a happy series! But what I would have given to have them meet in present day and for her to take his hand and for them to stare in each other's eyes... I can only imagine what might have been. One of the things I love about Korean dramas is that they don't drag things on for endless seasons like US shows, but man, what an unresolved ending.

0
2
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

Agreed! That scar scene where he wipes off his makeup and vows to find his Hae Su again, no matter the millennia that separates them completely broke me. Really should have ended there. The fluffy ending was cute, but did nothing for me.

0
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

What made the piggyback scene emotional for me was the way So looked around before offering to carry her, and then happilly run without a care in the world. That symbolized what they longed for, to be able to love freely, maybe in the future, if not in that moment where they could only do so when nobody's looking.

0
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

Thank you heads for the recap! I bid farewell to a series that has left it's mark on me, I was deeply touched by the acting, and so many scenes that continue to replay in my head, and songs I loved in this series...It has been one unequal emotional rollercoaster for me...and I am grateful for the journey and what I learned. Beanies thank u for your comments, and all the time we shared here....

0
0
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

They will meet again for sure: WS said that he will find her no matter what. And just remember the astronomer: he remembers everything about his past, and said to HS that "everything is where it should be"... So in my opinion, since HS has returned in the present, WS will come back too since they are meant to be together. (Well to be honest I prefer to think that way, rather that being depressed for days about that end haha).

0
0
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

In an essence, "Moon Lovers" was an echo of its original source: combining both "Bu Bu Jing Xin" the novel and the drama (the "season 1").

Proof? SpoilersnotspoilersanywaysearchatWiki

Original novel: girl gets stuck in Qing and dies of illness and does not return to her timeline EVER (causing of course a rift in time which is problem to Orwell's laws LOL)

Drama: girl returns to her present timeline, and is in a museum where she tears up at a portrait of Yongzheng Emperor (if memory serves me right), then she bumps into guy's modern counterpart but they do not interact AT ALL

-

Tho why a figment of astronomer remains...?

And what's with LJK saying there were modern-day scenes. Were those cut??? Will MBC even release special episodes like MDBC/LITM???

0
0
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

so, this was a drama about two epic love stories: hae soo's love for wook and wang so's love for hae soo. sadly, neither was a full-on love story that both protagonists were involved in.

the best character - obviously wang so. LJK is perfect in this one, despite the strange cuts and edits and re-edits and strange choices for music etc. when he's masterful, everyone in the house knows it.
and i loved his hair-down dos better than his knot-top ones. just sayin'.

hae soo is one of the most useless characters in any time-travel drama ever. it would have been much better had she been someone from that age, a slave to her circumstances despite being someone with an inner fire.

most of the princes are props - baek-ah survived though, i'm inclined to give the show a nod for that. though all of the endings - for basically all of the princes - were rushed through, i did love them. most of them had moving death/fade-out scenes. maybe even won.

my two cents on the main plot: the writer was on the wook/soo ship and invested half the plot in something that wasn't going to go to a good end then lost heart (and interest) in making anyone else good and powerful. kudos again to LJK for making wang so what he became - i'll never forget that rain ritual and that first moment of bath-meeting when he covers his scar from soo. he's the best actor of his generation. i just wish he had the gift of picking good stories and good female actor partners. it's hard to carry a drama all by yourself, but he almost made it anyway.

in other words, what i take from this drama is that - wang so is one of the best charas LJK played, LJK is the best at acting, a few scenes that are perfection itself (need i mention the rain ritual again?) and that's about it.

also, i find wook's ending good - and now i wonder if he got the tuberculosis from lady hae. lol, revenge from beyond the grave (also cliche, but he needed to be punished for it.)

that last scene of wang so's - alone in his palace, wife and child at odds with him already, all his brothers either dead or leaving - heartbreaking. loved it.

i imagine the show meant to say that without soo, he would have been a true butcher, so she did change history after all. well i don't buy it. you don't make someone like that invest all his love in one person and repeatedly betray him then oops, back in your time you're all "sorry, so, my bad!"

and the astronomer's mystery remains a mystery... bad storytelling all around...

and one last annoying bit - the soundtrack came out a week since, and that last - and first - eclipse epic theme isn't on it. why not, show?? why not? *sigh*

0
0
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

Thanks for the great recaps, headsNo2. I am in agreement with you about this drama. It could've been so much better! After it ended I just sat on the couch for several moments thinking "WHYY??" I am not happy with this. It is not so much that it was a sad ending as that the sad events didn't seem to have a point or reinforce any overarching theme in this drama. And leaves viewers feeling empty.

Though not perfect, I thoroughly enjoyed Scarlett Heart up through Episode 16. I thought it was an entertaining mix of family angst, brotherly camaraderie, good action, good love triangles, spunky heroine, cuteness, comedy and good pacing. I loved the So and Soo love story though and wanted more scenes with them being cute together. Throughout I loved Lee Joon Ki as So and am now a huge fan watching his other works. I actually liked the Hae Soo character up until Episode 17 when she chose Chae ryung over So. That was just a ridiculous and senseless. From there everything took a turn for the worse. The plot seemed unsalvagable at that point.

It could have been so much better if they had used the plot events to reinforce some of the overall themes such as Hae Soo helping to make So into a good king. But they treat that as an afterthought and focus on making everything happen to be as sad as possible so viewers get no feeling of reward or closure. The whole drama led up to So becoming king and they put so little emphasis on it after it happened. Instead they focus on tearing So and Soo apart immediately after. Even if Soo had to die, the way she died without seeing So again was pointlessly sad as well. To put that happy flashback at the very end was jarring and maddening after all the tragedy. Why couldn't they have give So and Soo more moments like that before she died? And why did Baek Ah have to leave So in the end? I didn't get that. Why did they have to make him so alone? Couldn't they at least leave him with Baek Ah? I have to admit that if So appeared in modern day it would have made no sense, but I would have taken any crumb of happiness for his character and I would totally watch a sequel. Arg! Despite all these flaws, it had me hooked til the end.

0
0
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

Hi. This is the first time I comment but I usually read this blog because I always fond the answers to my doubts. I only would like to contribute with this reflection: the sad ending for So was clear from the very beginning, there is a scene where the helad of the soldiers (the father os Eun's wife), says to So that he have killed many people and that he knows he is never going to be forgiven. Even more, he says So he has to pay for all the blood he has spilled. That's why I knew he was going to lose Su as he couln't die because he was a knwon king. It was impossible from the beginning.

No the there hand, Ji Mo says Su in the current life every thing finally will be in the right mood, for me that means that So and Su are going to have their chance to live their love freely that time. To sum up, So promise in the ancient era to find her And I'm sure that's the real end. That also could explain why wook sees Her first wife when he is going to die, because he realizes she is his real love. That means that maybe also in the future they could gather and release Su and So of that love triangle.

I think Ji Mo isn't a time traveller. He explained So in Gorgyeo he almost die and when comes back he was like a new person and even can dream about planes. I think it happens just the same to Ji Mo and Su, the difference is that while Su was in coma during a year Ji Mo also comes back to the future with the eclipse and recover his memory related to Georgyeo. MAybe even during that year he has been able to see So in the future, and that's why he knows every think is going to be in the right path but he can't tell anything more to Su because he doesn't know is she has recover her memories like him. OF course, Ji Mo came back as a homeless but when he recovers his memory he takes advantage of his knowledge about Georgyeo and achieve a better life. That's all. That's my happy end.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts and sorry for my English (I'm Spanish)

0
0
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

I don't understand... With all money investment made to make ML, why did this pre-produced drama become such a mess? I think Lee Jun Ki is probably one good thing that came out of it. Other than LJK, I couldn't find any reasons to keep watching it.

0
0
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

One more thing, about the drawings: the rain ritual was a public scene that could be drawed by someone at the palace, if you remeber, Wook gives So a little notebook with the scene of him followed by Su walking in the snow, so It's quite possible someone could have found that notebook And draw the scene in a paint. About the Otero drawings is quite simple to thing that So order a palace painter to draw scenes that remeber Su to him because He loved And missed her so much, one of that scenes was the one Su saves Jung at the forestal where So was also involved. The paint about So alone looking to the palace can be another official palace paint because he was known as a solitary king, and the portrait of So was ordered by himself to a painter in one of the caps.
Another possibility is that the drawings were made by the own Su, remeber that he painted the portrait of all the pinces in stones, she perfectly could have drawn the others just while waiting for Her death.
Sometimes, the simplest answer is the right one.

0
3
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

nah, they all look similar, as painted by the same person, and i think it's supposed to be ji mong.

at least two drawings are lady hae, wook and soo - only ji mong would have spied on them in those moments, if he were interested in soo's presence in goryeo. though i don't remember if he was there when she met the king. still, that part he could have been told about.

the only drawing officially painted by a court painter is that portrait of wang so's he's sitting for in the last eps sometime, and that one's also in the expo.

if would make sense ji mong "donated" the drawings to a place close to where soo's working, maybe to test her memory.

BUT how on earth would all these drawings just BE there, in the public, not much security, where everyone could just come up to them and rip them up?! i mean, they're a thousand years old!! is this what an ancient history expo looks like in modern korea? i think not...

0
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

@Lim, me gusta tu interpretacion...Thank you for sharing, I think this is is a very logical explanation to how the paintings showed up there....gracias por compartir...

0
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

Someone in our group chat wrote something about this, I forgot who >.<
One of the theory was Cinnamon BA did the painting job, since he himself got extraordinary talent in arts. All of those painting are requested by Soo, remember the letter that Jung gave to BA after Soo died? Maybe Soo just need to show her future self that she did exist in Goryeo era after all will-forget-all-of-you-in-afterlife, I don't think she actually want to forget. Probably that is why she's still having countless dreams about Goryeo.
As the last painting where Soo breakdown to cries, it was a message from BA to Soo. GJ was all alone in the end.

I like this theory and it makes sense!
Beanies, this genius theory WAS NOT my theory. I just copy paste something from our group chat and share it with you all.

This show just had to make us do extra job on analysing and researching history. And LJG made us through all of that, I guess this is the answer why I start watching the show, LEE JOON GI!

0
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

Can someone please explain more in details of the actual history part in scarlet heart.

The Chinese version bbjx was based on true history of yongzheng emperor, and I just realized recently scarlet heart Goryeo is also based on actual history of King of Goryeo. So, both happened to have the 4th prince along with many other princes during ancient time. Bothers battling for the throne, which one actually happened first in history?? For those that actually learned about Chinese/Korean history in school during this time period please share since I didn't have the opportunity to learn them in US beside Wikipedia and google info. I truly find them very fascinating

0
1
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

with that many wives and concubines, i think it's not a rarity to have lots of contending princes for any one emperor at any time in either country's ancient or medieval history.

gwangjong is 10th century, though, while yongzheng's 17th century. the story in the chinese original book just got transplanted to the period of history that seemed most similar for SK.

0
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

Join our newsletter ♥

Editors' Digest

Currently Airing

PRIME-TIME DRAMAS THIS WEEK
Monday-Tuesday (November 4-5) Wednesday-Thursday (November 6-7)



    Script from Main Sidebar 2