K-Drama Review - The Bleeding Heart Edition : Moon Lovers/Scarlet Heart Ryeo Review

Hiya abandoned blog! (Told ya, I’m gonna make this one my trademark opening line)

(source : The Tonight Show tumblr)

So I’m back with another Korean drama review! (Also, I just realized that my last blog post was also about another Korean drama review. What did that say about me?)

(Don’t say it)

Moon Lovers - Scarlet Heart Ryeo Official Poster

Oh Moon Lovers. Where do I begin?

Okay so when I started this drama right when it started airing around two months ago, I had no idea that this drama would be another one of my obsession. I think I talked about this before but despite being the biggest K-drama nerd ever, I actually rarely watch K-drama in its entirety. My knowledge of K-drama comes from those weekly recaps I read religiously on Dramabeans and any other K-drama recappers’ blog I found on the net. So despite being a self-acclaimed K-drama aficionado, I actually don’t watch that many dramas UNLESS it really, really catches my attention in some ways, drives me insane with the story, got me obsessed and makes me spend my whole waking moment to think about the fictional characters and the fictional world they are living in 24/7 because apparently, I have no social life whatsoever.

 

Such is the case with Moon Lovers/Scarlet Heart Ryeo. This drama is driving me MAD.  

I am not entirely sure why I have a strong feeling for this particular drama. To be completely honest, this drama is not the greatest drama of all time – quite the contrary, the drama has been deemed a failure since its domestic rating in South Korea is tragic (compared to other dramas airing at the same time), despite its exorbitant production costs and extensive publicity. In addition, there are also this never ending critics about the acting of its lead actors/actresses (in particular, Lee Ji Eun as the heroine) and the whole drama production (which includes the directing, writing and editing) leaves so much to be desired. The only consolation for the production team is the fact that this drama receives a much more favorable response abroad. And for me personally, despite the glaring flaws that plague the entire drama, there’s something addictive about Moon Lovers that keeps me glued every single week in front of my screen waiting for my heart to be torn by the endless frustrating narrative angst.

So what is it about this particular drama that makes me willingly put myself constantly in the emotional roller coaster ride? 

(Well, there’s also a possibility that I might be a masochist but let’s not talk about that) 

(WARNING: MANY, MANY SPOILERS AHEAD)

Moon Lovers or otherwise known as Scarlet Heart Ryeo is an adaptation of a Chinese romance novel titled Bu-Bu Jing Xin (Startling by Each Steps) which has also been adapted previously into a Chinese television series starring Nicky Wu and Cecilia Liu. The Chinese television series went on to become a commercial and critical hit both in China and across Asia and the success contributes to the decision of television executives in Korea to adapt the same story for Korean television, moving the story background from Qing Dynasty in China to Goryeo Dynasty in Korea. Moon Lovers tells a story about Go Ha Jin (Lee Ji Eun), the 21st century girl who gets transported back into the middle ages in Goryeo Dynasty after being drown to death in her future timeline and trapped into the body of her previous incarnation, Hae Soo. While struggling to adjust to her new life in the past era (which includes different mannerism and languages), she finds herself unwittingly entangled in the ensuing fight for her affection as well as the thrones among the princes of the reigning royal family. Similar to the previous Scarlet Heart version, the main contender in the race for her heart in this version is still the the intelligent and kind 8th Prince (played by the always mesmerizing Kang Ha Neul), her brother in law in the past timeline and 4th Prince (played by the charismatic Lee Jun Ki), the formidable outcast of the royal family.

Hae Soo and her two hot royal princes. Envy is an understatement.

My interest in Moon Lovers is undoubtedly influenced by my familiarity to the Chinese television series (although to be completely honest, I have not watched the Chinese version in its entirety and only manage to be knowledgeable about the general plot through my habit of reading recaps) and the same interest exacerbate my curiosity on the Korean take of the series. Basically, I am looking forward to see how they are going to do things differently in terms of narratives in the Korean version and whether the new spin in this version will be exciting enough to make the drama a tragic epic I have always been looking for. 

This is why I really need to be careful with what I wish for. 

Wish carefully. Or you might just get want you want.

Scarlet Heart Ryeo does a couple things right despite its many flaws.  For starters,  the 4th Prince character. For me personally the character feels like an upgrade from its Chinese counterpart (Nicky Wu) because I always found it really hard to actually like the 4th Prince in the Chinese version. He came across as a cold and manipulative character and thus, I couldn't really get behind his plight for the throne and the heroine (Plus the hair! Nicky Wu is a beautiful man but I just can't take him seriously with that hair). On the other hand, the 4th Prince character in the Korean version is a different creature altogether (with glorious mane to boot). His backstory is well-laid from the first episode - the victim of years of horrible abuse from the hand of his mother, he emerges in front of the audience as an emotionally tortured and brutally violent Prince from the royal family who secretly wants nothing in this world but the love and acknowledgement from his dysfunctional family. The 4th Prince in this version is infamously known by the derogatory name Dog-Wolf because of his violent history of killing anyone without remorse and every characters in the drama, including our heroine, is basically warned to keep their distance away from him unless they want to get badly hurt. But from time to time, his desperation and longing for human connection belies his menacing outer appearance, turning him into a complex and vulnerable characters the audience roots for (at least, in the earlier episodes. More on this later)

The Fourth Prince, Wang So aka The Dog-Wolf

But the character is nothing without the actor playing it and Lee Jun Ki's brilliant performance as Wang So helps heighten the intensity of this character into another level. Ask anyone who has been watching this drama and I'd bet (almost) everyone would agree that this drama has nearly turned into an one man show for Lee Jun Ki because he makes (almost) everyone looks pale in comparison. In addition, his character has been one of the very few things that are consistently written in the drama which is a huge blessing in the middle of poor narratives and despite the fact that his character takes a very bleak turn for the worse in the latter half of the drama (which drives half of the audience fiercely against the central romance), I'd argue that Wang So character is one of the highlight of the drama. In retrospect, this drama would probably never gonna earn its lion share of international attention without Lee Jun Ki's passionate performance as Wang So. It's truly unfortunate that the writer could not really manage to skillfully realize Wang So character into a multi-layered, fluid anti-hero character but instead put him firmly in the villain you-don't-want-to-meet-in-real-life territory. The little mad fan-girl in me wants everyone to take my favorites characters' sides all the time but I guess in the end, everyone is entitled to their opinion and I fully understand that it could be really difficult to feel empathy to the villain of the story. Several things he did in the drama could not be easily forgiven and trust me when I say that liking this character really wreaks havoc inside my mind because what he did contradicts what I truly believe should present in any male characters. But this is truly the case of the heart wants what it wants because while I despise many of his actions, I do understand that there are circumstances that spurs him into those very actions and that makes a world of difference to me as an audience. 

You know there is something wrong with your hero when the first thing he did  when he saw the heroine for the first time was choking the life out of her

Understanding the context behind the darkness inside Wang So eventually helps me to get behind the central romance because after years of abandonment from basically everyone around him, his single-minded devotion to Hae Soo, the modern girl who gets transported far from her time in the future along with her own share of issues, is heartbreaking. Their odd friendship which later  turns into a fragile and volatile romantic relationship is really what attracts me the most about this drama. I'm a sucker for those love stories where two people are drawn to each other but never meant to be together - from the start, they are always protecting each other, (literally) dying for each other but at the same time hurting and tearing each other apart. Their story is deliciously angsty - the ill fated love story at its best. There are so many people in the K-drama fandom would argue that their relationship is unhealthy and abusive even, especially when Wang So is in the position of power and frankly, I couldn't agree more. If this happens in real life, I'd drag Hae Soo away from Wang So and file for a mid-century restraining order right away because he is beyond dangerous and it is plain for anyone to see that his love and ambition for the throne is exactly what burns her in the end. But in the realm of fictional story, I could not imagine shipping Wang So or Hae Soo with anyone else. What they have are the very definition of star-crossed lovers and I will go down with this ship to the bitter end.  

When the wolf ends up falling in love with purple riding hood

Speaking of which, lets talk more about the heroine of the story - Hae Soo. Granted, IU (Lee Ji Eun) is not the strongest actress on the block and her deer in the headlight acting in the earlier episodes is unintentionally hilarious, especially when compared to the intensity that Lee Jun Ki brings to the screen. But as the drama goes on, I can see that IU starts to find her footing as Hae Soo who gets trapped in the middle of terrifying Goryeo's game of thrones. Her strongest performance is probably most notable in Episode 11 of the drama (aka the best episodes ever where every components finally comes together in cohesion) and later on, she manages to believably display the changes in Hae Soo emotional state over the years, from the cheerful noble lady to the broken slave to the poised court lady to the lonely lover of the King. Her transformation adds to the sense of foreboding that distinguishes their romance from any other romance. Amidst nonsensical storytelling, her breaking down emotionally and falling apart from the love of her life is surprisingly one of the most organic development in the story. I do wish Hae Soo is played as someone stronger in the acting front but IU has done a pretty good job given the materials or lack thereof and complaining will only kill my chills so I'll take what I can get. 

Interestingly, my favourite look of Hae-Soo from the entire drama is her slaves look. Mainly because I need her skirt in my life.

In spite of my love for the drama, I do wish that they'd brought a better writer on board to bring the story to its full potential. Alas it did not happen since the writer managed to botch the execution of such great premise so spectacularly in the span of two freaking months so I am left here wishing that I could write over the drama myself. There are so many underdeveloped characters who could be more compelling and propels the story into the level of awesomeness it aspires to be but unfortunately, each one of them got sidelined so much in the beginning despite their importance in Hae Soo life later on (for example, the 14th Prince aka the youngest brother of Wang So who happens to be the last person Hae Soo spends her life with before she eventually meets her demise, Chae Ryung the maid aka the spy whose death push Hae Soo into her breaking point and Wang Yo aka the older brother of Wang So whose trajectory as the main villain could be much more interesting and unpredictable). There are also too many lazy time skips used by the writer in the expense of the organic development of emotional connection between characters populating the drama. In the end, the problematic writing leads to so many unanswered questions that happens to be pivotal for the story (including the question on the beginning of Hae Soo infatuation to Wang So), which eventually establishes a truncated end narrative that frustrates nearly everyone watching...

Jung, Yo and Chae Ryung - the three side characters I'd like to see more in the drama

... excluding me. Strangely enough, I am pretty satisfied with the drama flow including the ending, albeit there is no happiness abound because everyone in the drama is basically suffering of some sort (the two main characters are separated by misunderstanding and jealousy until death do them apart without seeing each other one last time and there is no turning back afterwards. What could be worse than that?! Oh wait. They are also 1000 years apart from each other after the death. Yikes). I could not see they can ever earn their happy ending in the past timeline with all the distrust and blood and violent history between them so this ending is weirdly appropriate. It's still bittersweet to see how much they could have been happy together if only there were no thrones or any other life-threatening obstacles between them but I guess in life, sometimes love is not enough to guarantee your happy ending. In the end, Wang So is still a damaged human being and the love Hae Soo has for him is never gonna be magical cure for his lifetime of misery.

A few of their happy moments together.

I will persistenly insist that the biggest problem of the drama is the writing and thus the drama would had been benefited if only there were a better writer attached but nevertheless, I will have to give credits where it's due since the drama still manages to steal my heart in a way only few dramas have ever done. I enjoyed every single moment of it (even the moment where thing gets annoyingly frustrating and I had no choice but to curse the writer out loud) and the fact that the drama generates a very strong feeling across the fandom, whether it's hatred or love, is an enough testimony for the value of this drama. For me personally, I can see myself spending the next couple of weeks hunting for series of fan-fictions or even writing my own fan-fiction about Wang So and Hae Soo to ease the pain of withdrawal (which has started way before the drama ends)

I'll write my own version of their happy ending, thank you very much.

In the end,  I really wish to salute everyone in the production team for their work in delivering a hot mess yet addictive piece of entertainment such as Moon Lovers.  I guess I'll be seeing more of this characters in the realm of fan fictions until my next K-drama obsession comes along.  

Cheers! 

Si Mbak.