With a splash of the metaphysical and a splash of reality, this drama combines perfectly. The storyline is one that I dont want to describe because I truly feel watching it all the way through is the best way to give it justice. I cheat sometimes and read Dramabeans, as I love her reviews but even for this one - I just allowed myself to watch and not read blogs until after. This drama has a merry-go-round of several lives and to watch the rise and fall is beyond captivating. I am glad I didnt watch it when it was airing, as I would have died to watch each week! Binge this one, you wont be disappointed.
The cast? Just, wow. Unlike others - I liked the casting of the female lead. I think what they were trying to prove with her and her acting, is how demure, well-kept and classy the child actress was/is. I think they tried the best they could to not fit the child with the adult, but the adult with the child. Its hard to find strong likeness, as each of those actors have their own striking features, which is why they are the go-to veterans of the drama world when it comes to child actors (not child so much anymore, hey guys? Almost adults now, but ive been watching you all for a long time!) Lets get real, having LSH and JIW is a dream match up. That is an easy sell. Seeing LSH in the gonryongpo has me sold before I even know what the drama is about. There is eye-candy galore. As usual, the palace is amazing and they throw in a the Korean Heritage Location several times. Cool.
Music - long before I saw this drama, I had the ringtone to the main song as my alarm tone. So, everytime I heard it - I thought it was time for work. lol. At any rate, its very classy, catchy and I like that they didnt overdo it with the OST. Simple, classic. Nice.
Rewatch? Well, I have yet to this day ever rewatch a drama. I dont care if its my number 1 or 10. Never. Not even a movie. So, to me this is a 1. If I could go lower I would, as it is N/A for me. However, I am not sure id recommend it anyway as rewatch so I would still go with 1-4 if trying to sell someone else on it.
Do yourself a favor and watch this drama. It was all the rage when it was airing, and it still is - 3 years later. Still cant believe its taken me this long to watch and/or complete but. Glad I did. If you dont think you can get into Sageuk, I say watch another gateway before this one. However, its in the top 5 for Sageuks to watch when you are a historical beginner. :-)
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i gave this drama a shot and you know what...
I'M HAPPY I DID ^_^ because this drama was AWESOME!!!!!! ^_^
acting:
the acting was awesome. i think that the acting was really good ^_^
the people who where evil played their parts well because i really didn't like them (because they were evil)
i cried a few times when sad parts happened
cast:
for most part i was amazed how the older actors looked so much like the younger ones ^_^ i say the did an awesome job picking the cast ^_^
to get to the point i liked this drama because of everything ^_^ the story was romantic had some fighting and some sad parts, the actors were great ^_^
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I swear I'm not trying to be lazy, but for some reason, that's just my score for average shows. Which matches perfectly to what this is to me: Average.
I'm glad to have it completed, although I'm a bit irritated over certain things.
But even with the irritation, I found myself really enjoying other parts, making so much good and bad to deliberate over.
So let's cut into the turkey!
Story 〆(・∀・＠): I'm not a huge historical person, so that part of the show isn't what drew me in. I went in not expecting much and was already surprised by how the show begins. It starts in the past, but not in a flashback type of way. The first few episodes illustrate the conflicts and introduce the characters (their child versions that is). I was a bit unsure about it, but believe me when I say that the beginning is probably one of my favorite parts of the show. It started so strong, and the child actors all did amazing. One of them even did better than their adult counterpart, which I'll discuss later. This made my average expectations turn into overloading excitement. METS had one of my favorite beginnings. And getting to watch Heo Yeon-woo "die" was enjoyable. I'm not trying to sound like a cold-blooded monster, but just seeing everyone's acting and the emotional turmoil so early on made me feel extremely invested. She didn't actually die, so maybe that's why I liked it so much.
The excitement slowly died in the middle, though. Everything felt so flat, and all the hopes I had for it turned into boredom. It was never too severe, and I still found a way to enjoy it, but it definitely does not hold a candle to the emotional beginning. The second half picked the pace back up, but it still never felt the same. The characters slowly got more irritating to me, and the unused potential it had made me feel bad. Regardless of that, I still found myself liking the show quite a bit. There was more good than bad in the final few episodes, which is why I'm a bit more forgiving. But not enough to where I can feel the same investment I once felt.
I also feel that it should be known that this is a romance through and through. The whole political aspect didn't feel as enforced and seemed like a side story to the leads' romantic journey. Everything centers around the two lovers, and all their decisions were made with the other one in mind. I'm all for an undying romance, but it becomes a bit of an issue when that makes the characters into flat pieces of cardboard. There were still a lot of cute moments with emotional ones not far behind. The two leads did have a chemistry that I can get behind, but I wished the writers exceeded them.
But as much as I keep ragging on METS, I will admit that the heartwarming moments did manage to reach me. There was so much passion put into it by the actors and made the dull moments somehow likable. If you're into romance, then this is your show, but if not, I wouldn't recommend it.
Acting ｡゜(｀Д')゜｡: I wish I could say that all the actors did flawlessly. To be honest, 90% of them did do a fantastic job. You have to consider that they had to find child and adult actors that had some sort of resemblance to each other, so there was a pretty big limitation put up. But casting wise, they did spectacular. Some characters didn't look exactly the same, but close enough to where I could believe it. For example, the two actors playing Princess Min-hwa (Jin Ji-hee and Nam Bo-ra) could honestly be sisters. They were just one of the many pairs of successful casting that I witnessed. So massive round of applause in that department!!
Without appearance in mind, the acting was also done really well. As I mentioned earlier, there were many emotional scenes that only hit the mark due to its cast of talented actors. Most of them I already knew, so I had a lot of faith that they could do anything the writers gave them. The only one I had a problem with is Han Ga-in. I don't blame her entirely since the writers had a hand in worsening her character, but she just felt like an emotionless piece of bread to me. Her younger self was a much more established character with a much more likable personality.
Yeah yeah, I know she loses her memories which is why she becomes a bit boring, but even when Yeon-woo regained them, she didn't recover any of the spunk her child actor self brought. It was kind of disappointing. Not my favorite female lead, but what can you do? At least Kim Soo-hyun swooped in and saved the day a bit. Jung II-woo was also a big help in the acting side of things. Good job boys and nice try Ga-in.
Music ヾ(⌐■_■)ノ♪: If you like traditional Korean music, then you'll like the soundtrack a lot. And by soundtrack, I mean the opening song. It was a charming tune to listen too and suited the show really well. Other than that, nothing hit me as impressive. The background songs were all the same to me and did their jobs just fine. They helped set the mood but nothing else. Nothing for hardcore music fans but never out of place.
A completely average show music wise.
Other (ง°ل͜°)ง: Yes, there was supernatural stuff. And a whole bunch of it too.
The show brought in the idea of spiritual magic and shamans who can use it. I can't talk about loopholes since the whole magic side of things was extremely open-ended. It's one of those things where the world is so open that anything can happen, making all the questions okay without answers. Did I have a few of them? Yeah, but not too many.
Nothing was plot threatening or confusing. In fact, everything was laid out pretty well.
The magic stuff never felt too overpowering and seemed like a helping hand in making the show unique. It didn't even look like a cheap plot cop-out and was only used to help strengthen the main events. Something I can entirely get behind!
My last thoughts on METS is that it's a waste of potential that I still found myself enjoying.
I'd recommend it to those who love romance but not to anyone else.
And if I could see myself maybe going back to watch a few more of the gut-wrenching scenes. I might even rewatch it if I'm ever bored or going through a show hole phase. But no promises since I might not want to sit through the boring middle again.
I just wish it could have kept up with the fantastic pace that was laid out in the beginning.
But I guess beggars can't be choosers...
Happy Watching <3
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Better child actresses, should keep on using them
For me this drama is totally ruined by Han Ga In very bad acting. I have no idea how she could be chosen as the FL. There’s only one expression on her face through out the whole season, wide eyes stupid surprised expression. This matter become so obvious because she’s acting agains Kim Soo Hyun and playing the older version of Kim Yoo Jung. How could a child actress outperformed the older and more veteran actress. It’s so awful.Kim Soo Hyun as ML and Yeo Jin Goo as the younger version of ML is acting very well. They portray all the conflicting emotions and layers of the character. Kim Yoo Jung as FL younger version also give a really wonderful performance. So overall, the acting in this drama is really good.
The story, hmmm... this could use a bit of improvement, cause I feel like there’s some unnecessary twist and it also rush through the last few episodes while dragging on some of the middle part. Some conflict felt like an afterthought because it’s not been explored further.
The music is good. I don’t think I’ll ever rewatch this because I cannot stand the FL cringey acting.
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This review may contain spoilers
O peso de atores conhecidos no cast contribuiu
A princípio eu peguei para assistir por se tratar de um clássico dos dramas sul coreanos, depois o peso de atores conhecidos no cast contribuiu também. Me peguei várias vezes fazendo comparações com Moon lovers que tenho como parâmetro para dramas de época por se tratar de ser o melhor (na minha opinião) e o meu favorito. Assim como lá, aqui eu também me peguei torcendo pelo irmão "esquecido" e chorei absurdamente com a morte dele, foi a cena mais impactante para mim. Ele não merecia ter morrido e por um segundo cheguei a duvidar de que ele trairia mesmo o irmão. Todavia, eu não curti o final dos vilões, achei fácil e rápido demais ficou um gostinho agridoce, eles deveriam ter sofrido e pagado pelas maldades. A rainha que cometeu suicídio sofreu muito mais e ela nem foi a grande culpada. Enfim.. acho que deixaram a desejar nesse final para os vilões, uns sofrerem demais e outros de menos. Portanto, deixo aqui minha ressalva de que para a época em que foi produzido agradou, e que está na minha lista de dramas de épocas sul coreanos favoritos.Was this review helpful to you?
Cried repeatedly
I think I cried almost every episode. The entire cast was a master of portraying unbridled emotion. From the kids to the adults, all had a gravity to their performance that made me emotionally invested to the end. I haven’t cried this much since Scarlet Heart Ryeo. Just a stunning gem of a drama. Hit all the classic tropes of a sageuk: the politics, the scheming prime minister and dowager Queen, the unsuitable love interest, the second male lead that you cheer for until the end... but all are done well. Throw in a bit of the supernatural to allow our main character to return from the dead and emotions run high. Definitely worth watching.Was this review helpful to you?
The child actors won me over so that I would be interested in the storyline. I was glad that they were given the amount of showtime that they were given, so that they were able to develop the characters before we see them when they are older. And what a truly lovable group of characters. There are the antagonists one expects from a Korean drama, the ones we all love to hate. One notable character that always provided entertainment was Hyung Sun.
The acting was also well done for the most part. There were only a few moments during the show in which I felt the acting may have been a bit lacking, but these were points I was willing to overlook in favour of how much I liked the rest of it. I thought Kim Soo Hyun did a good job of showing that he could play more than just a pretty boy part. His acting as the King definitely made this show more enjoyable. (Something I had not expected so much at first.)
The storyline lends itself to certain cliches, but these I were happy to accept as a part of a romance drama. The drama part of it certainly had many moments of tears, but I didn't find it too excessive. In light of the rest of the drama, I felt that the ending fit.
The set was also beautiful and the music was well chosen.
Was there anything incredibly exceptional about this drama? Certainly it wasn't one of those thought provoking dramas, nor was this a drama focused on the intricacies of politics--it had its imperfections and repetitions. However it is a story about staying true to one's ideals and it was interesting to watch a show where the King is someone young, with all the passion that comes with youth. The chemistry between the characters was also quite satisfying. But overall, I enjoyed this drama because it gave me the tears and laughter that I was looking for in a sweet romance drama, set in a historic time. Not a perfect drama, but a good one to pass the time with.
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This review may contain spoilers
I’ve started to watch this last year since I want to watch more drama of Kim Soo Hyun but I ended up dropping it for some reasons. However, I have found out weeks ago that Kim So Hyun is also part of this drama, so I’ve decided to give it a try once more.The first episodes wasn’t quite interesting as I have noticed before. It was when the incident with the crown princess happened that I’ve become interested with it. As I’ve come to think of it, the story was indeed interesting, maybe I just didn’t like the acting on the first episodes that it bored me. Maybe because most of the leading casts are young that time. When they’ve become older, things became more interesting. I didn’t feel much excitement while watching it, but the story was interesting that it made me want to see it to the end. I love the fact that even though it’s not a comedy drama, it still has a touch of humor in it. Also, the story and how it was acted were really moving – they made me cry.
I didn’t notice Yeo Jin Goo before till I’ve watched Hotel Del Luna, but his acting is really great even during his younger years. His eyes were full of emotions, and he was able to make me cry with him.
I almost didn’t recognize Kim So Hyun in this drama. I didn’t expect that I would be seeing the young Kim So Hyun. But the moment she entered the scene, she was sense appealing. I already got annoyed by her after a few scenes, then I’ve come to be amazed of her more. No wonder she’s still a star these days – her acting is really superb.
Han Ga In is very captivating. Her beauty is simple yet very appealing for me. I remember how I silently commented “she’s so beautiful” in my mind every time I’ve come to see her. Her acting is very moving too. She has the face of an angel which suited in the character she’s playing, but she’s also very striking when she’s angry.
Kim Soo Hyun was, as always, very appealing whenever he has a serious role. He’s also very charming every time he tried to look cute. I really found it funny when he looked so impatient while his servant was pouring tea during their “honeymoon”. Though sometimes his eyes missed some reactions, I am really amazed by how he easily cried.
Why, of all the actors, Jung Il Woo has to play Prince Yang role. It was so heart breaking for me to see him in such a pitiful character. He is too handsome. I’m one of those who wanted a happy ending for him. I almost want him to be the one Yeon Woo would end up in the end. I got so affected by this drama because of him, especially the last part – they could’ve stopped it with arrows, why did they let it happen to him.
Kim Min Seo has a very expressive eyes. She’s very effective in her role. She looked so hateful but pitiful at the same time.
Though it was not appealing at first, but it was really worth watching. Aside from the love that the king was fighting, I love the friendship and the brotherhood that was touched in this drama. Also, I find all the casts very much suited in their roles, but I enjoyed Jung Eun Pyo the most. I was really entertained whenever he put a happier-than-the-king face.
#kimsoohyun #yeojingoo #hangain #kimsohyun #kimminseo #jungilwoo #jungeunpyu #moonembracingthesun #kdrama #worthwatchingkdrama #kdramahookedbylady28
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This review may contain spoilers
My initial reason for watching this drama is my new-found love for Kim Soo Hyun. I was bedazzled by his handsome face and although his looks is just closed to perfection, I was truly captivated by it. Rarely you find an actor who has it all; looks, talent, aura …etc.. His performance in MLFS got me curious of how he faired out in his other dramas. Since I read so many good feedback about The Moon That Embraces the Sun I decided to try this one out even though I have not been exposed to Joseon Era plot. I love historical romances especially Victorian Times but was just not sure about Korea's historical romances. Now don’t get me wrong, it’s not that this kind of genre has no appeal to me but it’s just a thing in me that is a little bit skeptical about such plot; scared I may end up disappointed. The Moon that Embraces the Sun changed my perspective. Because of this drama I was somewhat educated by the culture of Korea during Joseon era. But (please don’t kill me for saying this) I just find their wedding and consummation ritual slightly discomforting but not in a derogatory way. One servant from outside telling the king to take of his robe and doing it step by step! I was like, “Are you serious?”. And then I can’t help but imagine them doing their marital duties and then the servants are within earshot! Can’t they have some privacy??! BUUUT, it was cute though! ? Sorry guys, just can’t help myself from mentioning this. Heee! But if some of you can help me understand this please feel free to make comment!Now I’m slightly embarassed that I just watched this drama after 2 years this was aired and I know I’m too years behind from the excitement and thrill. Others may have gotten over this already and I’m just beginning but well there’s no use crying over spilled milk.
Now about the story, I really like the story and how it evolved. From beginning to the end, there has never been a dull moment. While watching this, I feel like I was watching a Hollywood movie. I have this weird habit of skipping episodes especially if I already figured out the plot but this one is one of those exceptions for me. Every episode got me curious from beginning to the end. And once again Kim Soo Hyun did not disappoint me in this drama. Aside from his majestic beauty he nailed the rule as the king.
My only complaint is the acting of the female lead. She was lacking in some areas. Her projection or the variation of her voice is just the same but in fairness it’s not entirely all throughout the drama. If she’s mad, talking casually, in pain or even running, the tone of her voice is just the same for crying out loud! I mean, I find the queen’s acting more convincing than hers or even the princess’ acting. How many times I was tempted to drop this drama because of her. I just persevered because I was really interested on the story and Kim Soo Hyun was just so amazing in this and never disappointed me in playing an arrogant, kind, lovestruck king. Story and acting (the way actors carry out their roles) for me are my major attractions in a drama so you could just imagine my frustration when she gave no life to her role. It would be forgivable if she was not the female lead but she’s supposed to be one of those who is bringing the show. The supporting roles had managed to outshine her in my opinion! But in fairness she cries easily. For instance, I was moved but her silent agony when she heard a certain a bad news.
But all in all, I enjoyed this drama and even recommended this to a friend who has not watched this. Others may have been disappointed with ending but for me as long as the main leads have a happily-ever-after that’s all that matters regardless who died. I was so happy they let Un live. I just love him next to the king and I find the right hand man of the king so hilarious.
The song “Back in Time” was not exceptional but it really fits the time period. I hope I have not given much spoilers from this drama although I admit I got a little carried away and gave some bits and pieces.
Although I enjoyed this drama, I will rewatch this in just a short period of time.
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The 20 episodes was just right. And the ending, they wrapped it up pretty nicely. No loose ends and no abrupt ending...
So I am a happy drama watcher. Totally satisfied. =)
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Child actors stream the show.
This was a very good drama even though I'm watching it over 10 years after it aired It didn't appear dated much at all. I was going to the drama because the two young male and female leads I've seen them other dramas and wanted to see some of their earliest stuff and was very pleasantly surprised with the entire cast for this one.Big fan of the production of Sageuk dramas.
It amazes me with the depth of political backstabbing that went on during the Joseon era. The actors did an excellent job portraying the climate of the times as well as the emotional turmoils they had to endure... Very well done considering it's over 10 years old.
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