[K-Drama Review] The Moon that Embraces The Sun

The Moon That Embraces the Sun aired its final episode last March 15 and along with it I'll write my thoughts about this one heck of a Korean national drama.

I jumped into the Moon/Sun fandom because of three reasons:

1. The casts. Kim Soo Hyun and Jung Il Woo are the male leads... uhmm, should I explain further? Lol
2. The story. I'm a sucker for stories that involves the deadly combination of royalty and tragedy. Not necessarily a tragic ending but tragedy along the length of the story.
3. And lastly but definitely the strongest reason of all, the type of drama --- It's SAGEUK. I have this sudden interest in Korean history because of the 2011 drama The Princess' Man. That drama was epic in both romance and politics. Although Moon/Sun is not based on real history, I still watched it so I'll have my dose of sageuk and hanboks to satisfy my cravings. If it's sageuk, fusion or 100%, I'm IN!

With that three reasons in mind, I went into full fangirl mode for The Moon That Embraces The Sun.





Moon/Sun started with flying colors. The storytelling was fast-paced with heavy conflicts that promises to tragically unfold as we go along with it. The child actors who portrayed the characters in their teenage years were terrific. They were young but most of them have been around the kdramaworld at an early age. Ha! I take pride of recognizing Yeo Jin Gu (young Hwon) the moment I laid my eyes on him as the child who made my heart bleed in 'A Sad Movie'. Anyhow, If I could have the chance to keep them until the 20th episode, I'd gladly go for it. Oh! There's also the added bonus of seeing Ahn Nae Sang in yet another sageuk role. Fighting ahjusshi! ^_^

SPOILER ALERT!!!

It was on episode 6 when the adult casts took over and stirred me into a whole lot of hair pulling WTF-I-don't-know-whose-side-I'm-cheering-anymore moments. One thing's for sure though, it's always a sight to behold every time Kim Soo Hyun and Jung Il Woo shared one camera frame (There were a lot!!!).



I'm sure there were a lot of happenings between the start and the end of the drama and I'm also sure it were compelling events but the ending just made me forget all of it because I DON'T FREAKIN' LIKE THE ENDING! For crying out loud! You can't kill Jung Il Woo and expect me to be happy about it. It's not silly fangirl rant on my part because I know you can give him better end than that. And if you insist on killing him, you could've at least give it justice. Rawr! asdffghjklzxcvbnm!!!!!



There is no point arguing that it's awesome in the cinematography and acting department. The content is another story because it is far from what I expected... There was a shaman girl between the brothers BUT she has no powers, bummer! The brothers fought over the girl but it's pretty much straightforward that the King will win the tug-of-war.


I cried at the wrong moments with nothing to do with the main couple. I didn't bought the tragic story at all because I know right from the beginning they will end up together. And the political power play is rather lame. It is there but I didn't find it strong enough to be scared for their lives. I prepared for 'The Princess Man' level of awesomeness but Moon/Sun never got that far...

I complain a lot right? oh well! That's the price you have to pay for the injustice of killing Yang-myung. T.T

The Moon That Embraces The Sun surely is a hit when it comes to ratings in Korea (it reached 52.1% in real-time) and the number of international fans who joined the craze. I myself was so caught up with the fandom that I sang the OST, watched the BTS, spazzed about it in FB, Twitter, Tumblr and iForums. Being a crazed fan though is not an excuse to go all-praise with the drama because it freakin' made me want to kick the writers.



Nevertheless, it was a fun ride and I'd gladly take it again for a whole different reasons than the ones I had when it started three months ago. I'd watch it again and RECOMMEND it to every Kdrama watchers out there because of the following:

1. The pretty faces, pretty hanboks and pretty scenery.
2. The heart-tugging acting of Kim Soo Hyun and Jung Il Woo especially when they cry!

3. The epicness of the teenage casts because they sure made Moon/Sun awesome at the beginning.
4. Lastly, the sweetness of true love that knows no boundary, even death and amnesia can not break them apart. (CHEESE!!!)

Goodbye The Moon That Embraces The Sun and thank you. It's been fun aboard your ship! ^_^