It Had Potential but it Fizzled out
It was a cute drama but it had some issues. I almost dropped this drama at episode 12 because it really started to drag and get boring but I pushed through literally because of Park Bo Gum. I have a feeling that a good amount of people that loved this drama were around the high school/early 20s realm. I noticed some reviewers have compared this to Disney films/fairytales and I totally agree. I love and enjoy Disney movies but the show should have been cut down.Pros:
Park Bo Gum. He is the only reason why I didn't drop the drama. I totally understand why everyone is gushing over this actor. The man really has a gift. He has something about him that draws the eye and you can't help but focus on him when he is on the screen. It is much more than his looks. I can tell he really makes an effort to work on every detail of a character from mannerisms to expressions. He also has a smile that makes you want to smile back lol. I will definitely be keeping an eye on him.
The drama really showcases the beauty of South Korea with its landscapes and architecture. K dramas are usually pretty good about paying attention to all the details on the set and they really went all out. Vivid colors, lavish clothing, and beautiful music really makes the show look like it was taken from the page of a fairy tale.
Cons:
I was super disappointed in the FL. I know some people consider gender bender dramas to be a mixed bag but I usually find them interesting if done well. The strength to hide your identity and to live in fear of being discovered is very interesting. The character is constantly focusing on maintaining the mannerisms of that gender and making sure to not be out of step. I was annoyed that they didn't even make an effort to even make her look like a boy. I kept focusing on her smoked out outer v eye makeup and wondered why a girl who is impersonating a boy has detectable makeup? They literally just gave her an updo and put her in boys clothes and called it a day. There was no way she could have passed. I get we want a pretty FL but there can still be some effort to make her look like a boy. They should have found a different actress. Coffee Prince and Bromance are two gender bender dramas were the FL's looked cute as a boy and pretty as girl.
I felt she was really one dimensional and boring as character. I actually liked her in the beginning and thought she was cute with her coarse, mischievous, and playful behavior. She completely changed to a super passive character by the middle of the show. She literally just stared and smiled or stared and cried. I wish both their identities had stayed hidden longer because they had way more chemistry in their relationship. The other female characters had way more personality smh.
Funny enough my other main issue with the show was the romance. I love romance and majority of the dramas I watch are romantic dramas. My issue is that everything happened way too fast and we don't really get to see any kind of tension or conflict to get the leads together. I loved the drama Bromance because you get to see that push and pull between the leads and you could literally cut the sexual tension with a knife. This drama gave me struggle Romeo and Juliet vibes lol. The romantic scenes were cute but dragged out and it would be five minutes of them just staring at each other. I think this show would have been better as a shorter drama or as a movie. I actually got excited when the SML stepped up to the plate and we kept getting palace drama. It was literally the only conflict that kept the show from completely dying out.
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I always have to finish a story when I start, but it was painful. It's already a stereotypic plot, which in itself wouldn't be that bad. They just made the worst of it.
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Even though KYJ is very good at acting but something is still missing. And I realize she cannot express the feeling of love toward the crown prince naturally. Maybe she is too young for love role.
In case of Park Bo Gum, whenever he acts with KYJ, his acting is very natural but when he acts with older actors, he is sometimes stiff or overacted.
Moreover, PBG and KYJ is only cute without sexual chemistry. The second leads are not too good at acting too.
The story is a little boring. Even though I tried my best but I am not eager to see the new episode as the first two weeks. This drama is very slow. Some scene in ep 7 and ep 8 is worth remembering but whenever I finished watching this, I forgot all scene and dialogues so I think that it is not special to remember
The only thing is getting better is the music if compared with the first few episodes.
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Strong start but weak progression
Love in the Moonlight is one of those dramas that are considered gateway dramas for most. I can see why and how it can make for a good first start in saegeuks , cross dress and just overall first k drama. It's approachable, youthful and cute.Be that as it may, it's not great and watches tiredly.
At first, it's lively balance of comedy, politics and romance was pretty well done that you will be tuning in for next 10 eps like I did. The female lead is tenacious, spunky and witty and she is surrounded by a cute crown prince and two very strong mysterious men who encompass the crown prince's friend group. The story surrounding why she cross dresses will pique your interest, so will the court intrigues surrounding the Premier and his dastardly tricks and some uprising that occurred before the show started. BUT even with all that, it got boring, wearisome and tiring.
I believe it's down to underwriting the main leads who just became puddles of their former glorious selves. The female lead lost her spunk and the main lead lost his grace. In fact, he became less understandable and pricklier which I found confusing. The trope for the prickly male lead is prickly in the first half and soft and self-sacrificing in the second half? No? Well, apparently, it's a no.
It even had some great and reflective quotes going for it but then they started saying some really cringe things. I did not like that inconsistency too.
The direction and editing were also annoying. There were so many pauses and focuses on their faces as they were staring at NOTHING. It got infuriating, I just dropped it.
OVERALL: There are far better youthful saegeuks out there that one can watch. i.e Moon Embracing the Sun . Sungkwan Scandal etc
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Those handsome face closeups tho...*fans self*
Watched for the romance, stayed for the plot. Came right over here after watching Reply 1988, and figured it would be nice to see Park Bo Gum show off his range of acting besides the shy likeable dork and I was definitely NOT disappointed! The range of emotions he shows off here is phenomenal, and so is the rest of the cast! It was super cute and lighthearted at the beginning which I enjoyed, and then it got steamy with the innocent romance, which was the best cringey fest ever, and that dark drama at the end for a finale! Came here not having any expectations, but I was pleasantly surprised and I thoroughly enjoyed every moment of it!!! Definitely recommend! (Docked it one star for those episodes our hero suffered for his girl, his steadfast love was like a puppy's and he didn't deserve that sort of treatment.)Was this review helpful to you?
At first when I saw the girl who is disguised as a guy, I was like... who can't notice that?! So even though the girl lead's acting was quite nice and charming, it just does not work to imagine her as a guy, just does NOT. Cute little face, big eyes, cherry lips... just can't. It's possible to get used to it but it's just a little weird casting in my opinion.
There were a few annoying misunderstandings from time to time as usual but not that many and they got solved quite fast. The villains were a little more interesting to be honest, it would have been maybe a little better to know them more, or have some explanation to their actions, some made more sense, some were just kind of evil and that's it.
Nothing really extraordinary to be honest, but the first half of the show was VERY lovely to watch. (that's why I gave 7 after all) Quite sweet romance between the leads, more playful and innocent. Then it turned more into dramatic and tragic as it usually does with these shows. Still nice to watch through, especially the first half.
Also throughout the whole show there are these situations which seem to be unsolvable, and well you know it's gonna be solved, but the method is unknown, so in a way that's also entertaining and sort of thrilling to watch how the story tries to solve itself.
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There’s something about this show that seems overdone. Everything kind of happens a bit fast and disjointedly. I’ve never had a problem with that before in previous Kdramas but in this one, it’s seriously obvious how the relationships don’t make that much sense.
This show isn’t the greatest but the feelings were still intense even if they weren’t always portrayed right. It’s a very strange and not well thought out plotline.
Ra On – female lead
She's quite a rascally heroine. I liked that. And she's got the charisma to pull it off.
I liked seeing her problem solving skills and how smart she was. Also, she was super tough.
Really interesting to see that she doesn’t get a choice to be a girl. Also interesting to see that the most you see of boobies is when the girls are dressing up as boys. They don’t mind showing the binding.
With Ra On, she’s very confident in herself. I like that she doesn’t back down.
However, I’m sorry to say, the darling Ra On (Kim Joo Young), just doesn’t match up to Park Bo Gum’s emoting. He’s saying everything and her face is just not saying much at all.
Prince Lee – main lead
As a prince he is actually very intelligent. There is very little that gets past him. Even at his lowest and most emotional, no one can trick him.
It’s Park Bo Gum. I know, I know, I myself get tired of the magic of this guy. But honestly, no matter what he does, he can’t do any wrong. So normally, I would dread this kind of personality, but it’s Park Bo Gum. So if he’s happy, I’m happy. Honestly, even his silly character, who I would hate under any under circumstances, he just makes me smile. I can’t believe this. The Park Bo Gum magic…
I do have a complaint. His face is so dramatic. His emotions, they’re too much. I’ve actually only ever seen him in Hello Monster and there, he was this serious character and the understated emotions that Park Bo Gum conveyed was amazing. But here, where he’s allowed to let loose on the facial expressions, I’m finding it over the top. At the same time, I think that’s supposed to be his character.
He is so seldom not putting on a show.
In a way, Park Bo Gum is too good for this stereotypical character. His face is too kind when he shows concern. And when he’s being a jerk, it doesn’t feel real haha. But as always, I’m impressed by how alive his face is.
I was fascinated by what his character is like when he’s in love. It’s very touching.
Also Park Bo Gum always has such brilliant chemistry with his male compatriots.
Romance
I wasn’t always convinced by the romance but towards the end, I desperately wanted a happy ending and I was really rooting for the couple.
Park Bo Gum is the one that really carries the value of this drama. His conveyance of emotion and scenarios makes me devote myself to the outcome. I didn’t think it was sad until Park Bo Gum showed me how sad he was.
I really liked the interesting aspect of how it went from general comedy to something a bit darker and that question of betrayal in the romance and how the characters responded to it.
“I’m frightened because I’m so happy. What if someone else’s happiness came to me as well?”
I also realised that PBG has man hands. Not every male actor has those. Most of the time it’s hard to tell if it’s the woman’s or the man’s hand.
“I will only listen to you. No matter what lie you tell. I will believe it.”
Byung Yun
I kind of rolled my eyes at his character at first, but I do always appreciate the stolid and silent best friend who is up to all sorts of night time activities. I was impressed by his loyalty but also sometimes conflicted by his secrecy.
The fun thing is when the best friend finally finds someone who is brave enough to rile the hero so they can join in and let loose on their friend most carthartically.
Jo’s Daughter
Finally a secondary daughter who isn’t some idiot. She is smart and brave and I was impacted by her decision making.
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If there was a single reason I powered through this show, it was because of its uniformly excellent performances; I'm yet to see a drama with three better-looking men competing for attention than PBG, Kwak Dong-yeon and Jinyoung (with that fairytale dimple at the end of his mouth, like Mrs Darling's kiss!) -- all of whom turned out to be good actors too. How did that happen?
I'd mark this down more severely for setting up a really great character in Hong Sam-nom/Ra-on, and then hamstringing her so that the crown prince's character could shine. It's also upsetting that they didn't fully do justice to the second female lead, who deserves a full show of her own. But it's normal for candy to leave you feeling slightly guilty for eating it afterwards, and I'll chalk down the aftertaste of its gender politics to that.
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It got of to a really good start, it was interesting to follow Ra Ons daily struggles and her interactions with the prince.
Since this drama, Park Bo Geum has really grown in my eyes, his acting was great. Sadly, I cannot say the same thing about Kim Yu Jeong. Maybe it's due to her young age but, especially in the latter part of the drama, I found her acting a bit stiff.
I think the ending left us with some loose ends, for example;
what happened to Cha Tae Hyeon and that lady that was seen in the first episode? The way it was portrayed made me think it was something major plotwise. That part has left me very confused since there doesn't seem to come a sequel.
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Update: My 2nd time watching it and I had to upgrade the rating to 10. I so loved this drama after watching it a 2nd time... and there will probably be a 3rd time.
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Do not miss & rewatch
Most reviews here regardless of ratings are essentially true to some point. End result is it is very much worth the time to watch.Just like any Korean drama series that start funny and light, towards the middle the heavy drama starts until the end.
Bogum truthfully did well here and lead cast has awesome chemistry that I’m wishing for another series with both of them.
There are so many casts who did an awesome job that without their role, I don’t think this would have ended up with a great rating. Kwak Dong Yeon and Jung Jin Young, then Byung Yeon was so talented played the role of a man of few words, his was the only character made me emotional.
Kudos to the director and production team for this exemplary series. Wouldn’t it be nice if they add another season? Hah! My wishful thinking.
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