Beware: THIS IS A LOOOONG POST

Hello Everybody!

So I told you guys that after I finished the series, I would give you my impression of the drama 'The Moon That Embraces the Sun'. Well, I finished it and...yeah, I got a lot to talk about with this one so I am going to break it down in two ways. First, I will give you my general impression of how the series wrapped up and then I will give character/actor critiques. So let's start with the story.

Plot: One of my favorite parts of this story is that the people that deserved to die ACTUALLY died. The problem I had, the people that DIDN'T deserve to die were gruesomely murdered. One of the hallmarks of K-dramas is the love triangle and usually, if you are not the main character, you will find yourself on the unrequited portion of that equation. Well, I guess rather than leave the characters brokenhearted, the writer's decided to kill them. Yep, that's fair.

Now onto what I found wonderful: the masterful way the politics of the story were played. In this life, adulthood will teach you the lesson that every action you take in life has a consequence and no one learns this better than the prince. As the king of the nation, he has power, but it is power by committee; wealth, but little freedom. The way that role was framed in the story was great in portraying just how little a person actually has when the world thinks you have it all. Great Job.

Finally, the use of magic/memory in the story while starting out brilliantly, had a really rough moment towards the end. We know that Heo Yeonwoo is not dead, but Wol sees her ghost and people in the palace hear her wailing at night. How is this consistent? Either way you look at it, that was probably the most glaring misstep to me.

Sidenote: There is a really fun meta moment in the story surrounding the puppet show and the prince talking about the thin plot that seemed to be the writer's nod to the fact that these kind of plots are typical but at the end of the day, it is human nature to want to watch a love story. Well played.

Now, onto characters

Crown Prince / King Lee Hwon

Kim SooHyun is probably one of the best crier's I've ever seen. That man really knows how to breakdown in sorrow. Man, did he have to be bipolar in this role. One moment he would be laughing, then he would be yelling and then he would be crying. But outside of those wild swings of emotion, I thought Kim Soo-Hyun did a great job emoting and playing that kind of animal-in-captivity role to a tee. You could tell that the reason he was so very emotional was because of all his frustration at the way the Yun family and his own grandmother was trying to control his life.

Heo Yeon-woo / Shaman Wol

I am sorry, but I found Han Ga-In to be a very flat actress. There were a couple of moment when her kind of stoic persona made sense, but there were other times when I had to question the actress' talent because I felt she could have given more.Her character is mostly sympathetic in the story, but I almost felt like she was too selfless, too restrained to be a true heroine. She seemed more of the damsel in distress type which because one of the reasons the prince loved her was because of her wisdom and education. So why didn't she get to put those skills to use in the story?

Prince Yang-Myung

I like the crowd prince..but I LOVED Prince Yang-Myung. FIrst off all, me and the actor Jung Il-Woo have history because of his great role in Flower Boy Ramyun Shop (that is a must watch if you like romantic comedy). There is a charm that he has that totally matched the kind of romantic, world traveler character of the prince but at the same time this deep well of pain from always being the leftover prince, only receiving leftovers of his father's love, his brother's title and his dream girl's affections. I'll be completely honest...I thought his death was stupid, but I understand that there was no real happy ending for him so what could the story writers do. That doesn't mean it was any easier to watch.

Yun Bo-kyung

Acted out by Kim MinSeo, I kind of felt bad for her character. The child actor portion of the story made you believe that she was a cruel and conniving and even when the adult portion of the story took over, you would still she her scheming to gain the King's attentions. But behind her attempts at manipulation, there was an odd kinship that she had with the King that I wish had been explored. One scene in particular when the King lets her hug him as she tells him how hurt she is by his hatred gives you insight into how she is just as much a political pawn as the king. Then watching her dissolve into paranoia was so awkward and heartbreaking. The final impression that I got was that she actually wanted love from the king, not power and that her love, much like Prince Yang Myung's love, was a victim of circumstance and timing with her ultimate act of love being her suicide.

Madam Heo / Lord Heo

Sunwoo JaeDuk as the father of Yeonwoo and Yeom didn't get a lot of screen time. Still, the image of him holding his daughter as he assists in putting her out of her misery was probably one of the more impactful scenes of the drama. A father holding his child as she dies in his arms...all the tears! Yang MiKyung as Madam Heo was a larger presence in the story and watching her neverending grief was a reminder of just how much havok was wrought on this family by the machinations of the Yun clan and she was a powerful symbol of love amidst tragedy. The fact that she could step outside of her pain and loss to forgive those who contributed to her loss is a strength well beyond my own understanding.

Heo Yeom

I didn't really enjoy the performance of Song Jae Hee at first. I found him rather stiff and dull. But as the story went on and he was dealing with the burden of his mother's instability, his loss of title and the betrayal of his wife, I found myself respecting him more and more. The final scene with him and the deposed princess was probably my favorite moment with him and made up for a lot of his weaker moments in the story.

Seol

Yoon SeungAh as the devoted servant of Yeonwoo wasn't an especially strong actress in my opinion. But I think that is because of how little the writers gave her in dialogue and action. Really disappointed they didn't do more with her androgyny or her burden of carrying this huge secret for eight years. While her death was sad to see, the horror was more out of the gruesome nature of the death rather than any true emotional attachment to the character.

Queen Dowager

Kim YongAe was probably my favorite female character in the drama. Her story, her villiany~ heck, even the emotions as they played across her face completely drew me in. She is a real woman of her time and in a role that shouldn't necessarily be so powerful, she WAS the power behind the throne. I think what made it even more enjoyable was that at the end of the day, all of the moves she made to protect her family and promote her clan ended up leading to her downfall. Her final betrayal and subsequent death was poetic justice for all of the destruction she caused.

King Sungjo

We didn't see a lot of Ahn Nae Sang as the former king but despite his lack of screen time, he brought a lot of pathos to the struggle of a man in power that is torn between wanting justice and trying to protect the people he loved. Where he wasn't willing to go as far for justice as his son, you still felt for him and the horrible position he was placed in. Considering everything he was up against, I don't think many of us could have done any better.

Queen So-hye

No photo because she contributed absolutely nothing to the story!

Lady Park

So, I don't have a photo for her, but she was a far more important character than the prince's mother. Kim YeRyung didn't have more than ten minutes on screen but her character was central to understanding the mindset of her son, the prince. I could just imagine him watching her play the background woman for so long and him forming his place in society based on that example. When she finally did encourage him to pursue his own happiness, it was too little too late and watching her mourn his death I can only think she felt that too.

Princess Min-hwa

What an annoying brat! Nam Bora is a beautiful actress who truly looks all of 15 years old and gave the character a lot of youthful energy. But that doesn't endear me to her character at all. Honestly, I could have forgiven her role in the plot to kill Yeonwoo as the mistake of a child who doesn't realize what the fruit of her actions would bring. Yet when she sits before the King and tell him that SHE DOESN'T REGRET ANYTHING...that ! How can you spend years with your husband and see the grief in his family, hear about his father's suicide and STILL say you have no regrets? It just goes to show how truly spoiled and selfish she is and I didn't feel any sympathy towards her in the end. In fact, I kind of wanted her to live her life without ever seeing her son so that she can live with the pain of losing a loved one the same way the Heo family had to.

Woon

I wanted to Song Jae Rim so hard in this drama. Even though he didn't really have much to say or any real emotional range, there was just something about his strong silence that . And am I the only one that picked up on a little one-sided love between him and Prince Yang-Myung?

Eunuch Hyung Sun

Jung EunPyo has got to be the cutest little man ever. As the comic sidekick, he delivered so much humor just by showing his pouty face or wide smile. I loved watching his relationship with the crown prince grow and by the end of the drama, he was probably my favorite character. There were so many sides to his character and at first you think he is a bumbling fool but he is actually a shrewd and trustworthy ally for the King and his love for his ward was quite heartwarming.

Shaman Nok-young

Jeon MiSeon plays the shaman and honestly, I thought she was a bit cold. I don't know if that is how the director wanted her to be, but considering what a terrible job she did with managing the prophecy and everything else left in her stewardship, I don't think we were meant to like her and I found myself wholly unaffected by her death. While she may have meant well, she just really did a horrible job managing the situation and in the end just became the catalyst for the prophecy to come true.

Jan-shil

Bae NooRi go stuck with a stupid character whose only real role was to help Prince Yang Myung occasionally and announce character deaths. And in the end, we have no idea what happened to her and we really don't care.

Hong Gyu-tae

Yoon Hee-suk as the King's detective was wonderfully quirky and fun to watch. He grossed me out sometimes, but he was good at his job and that's all he needed to be. Kudos to you.

Lord Yun

I had to save him for last because he earned it. Kim EungSoo did a stellar job playing the worst person on Earth. The heartless and calculating Lord Yun was so cruel and sinister that I can't imagine how anyone could bare to be in the same room with the man and not have their skin crawl. The many sparing matches he had with the Queen Dowager and the King were some of my favorite parts of the drama. Watching him die had me literally standing up and clapping with joy.  I don't think I have ever been so happy to see a character get what he deserves and considering all the murderous deeds he orchestrated, not to mention the real blood on his hands, I can't think of anyone more deserving. Excellent work, sir. Excellent!

If you have stuck around this long, then you are officially my friend. And as my friend, I want to hear from you. Did you watch this drama? What were your thoughts if you did? What drama should I watch next. Leave me a comment below, please and thank you!