SBS and KBS Swap Ratings Lead with New Mon-Tues Sageuk Dramas From Last Doctor Drama Showdown

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• Both were meh tbh, but Moonlight has better cast with better acting skill

• Could be just timings. This year - DOTS, Doctors, Moonlight - all are more light and easy-breezy. So maybe thats the flavour of the year.

  Sucks for Moon lovers because the show is slowly becoming FAN-TAS-TIC!!!
  Hug to the actors who are probably feeling very low. Fighting!

  • tbh Moon Lovers is bad, beside LJK and KHN, with the typical saeguk wanna be king story we've seen over and over

    and when you said Moonlight is light and breezy, yeah story about a weak political crown prince that want to become king with enough 1st love and humour just a typical saeguk with very good acting in all places that fitted and make people care about them,

    at least in moonlight, the male lead has torturous childhood when the dad abandoned him inside the palace, mom leaves him and he need to live like a puppet and yet managed to become a good and nice guy, still humorous and not broody like the 4th prince,
    oh wait in the chinese ver, 4th prince also a gentleman to the girl in their meeting and really hurt by his mom obvious rejection

    see . . . I can make the point obvious when you start seeing it with calm heart ala lee young and not the suffered injured fate ala Wang So (not the lovable misfit wang so jang hyuk, but the injure one by LJK_great acting thought but the plot can be boring and overused)

    • I don't understand what the crap you even wrote about.

      It's fine that you love Moonlight but to compare the character of Lee Young with 4th Prince Wang So is ridiculous. Both just share the similarities over tumultuous childhood but the surrounding is different. Obviously you didn't watch Moon Lovers to understand why Wang So is how he is - the pain suffered by Lee Yeon is no where as brutal as the one experienced by Wang So.

      And 4th Prince in C-version is based on real life figure of Yongzheng and since they adapt to suit the Korean history, the character is based on the real life figure of Wang So whom is known as a king who created the atmosphere of fear within his political realm and during his reign.

      And in term of political struggle and battle of the throne, this plot is almost everywhere in saeguk. So, don't complain about it.

      See, I can also point the weakness of Moonlight if I wish to do so but there is no point for that since ones can choose to love and enjoy whatever they want.

      Having said that, I agree with Koala. She said it like a pro. Moon Lovers certainly does not deserve such low ratings. The hatred and negativity implanted is too much to bring the drama down when actually the show isn't half as bad. I enjoy it to the core.

    • what are you saying 4th prince intense trauma is not even close to Moonlight. He has been put in a wild wold hole to be eaten. No wonder he is a brutal and damage as he is now

    • I find scarlet lover quite amazing so far.And I would be looking forward to it from now on.It is true that qualitatively the drama is better than moonlight.And the story has more narratives in running ..which is more rich in content IMO.But this year audience have been brutal to some really quality drama..And it's sad to see moon lovers is fairing so poorly.I felt the same for BM too.Only the difference is KBS itself was quite indifferent to its own drama and pulled the plug out then and there like a step mom.So I would rather that they didn't get the buzz worthy drama again.Also it sucks that even after there are so many detailed handling of scarlet's production..they are not receiving the deserved credit.Though at least it's doing better in China..so it's not going away unnoticed.

    • @Alexa
      no I don't want to bad mouthing 4th prince but they both have their own scar, character wise ,they deal with their scar differently,
      people easily warmed up to lee young because they show his compassionate side and 4th prince should just live and go free if he wants to be happy, but not he choose to emotionally scar and choose the brutality, it helps by LJK acting, but the narrative? it never show once with only with the burned scene, we never see his past, and just when I said that lee young has mental scarred people would flock to said nooo without knowing that the execution is the context, not your interpretation by you history googled,
      it's about the execution
      - both is typical
      - both is emotionally scarred
      but to claim Moon Lovers is fantastic is the same reach as saying MDBC is just bright,
      it's not crap when you didn't replied any point about my opinion,
      Wang So choose to be brutal, Lee Young choose to be looked down upon and be called poop-prince,
      just like Yong-zheng said "make the best out of it"
      they both had the same ingredient but MDBC execute it better than ML, that's my point,
      so funny to see a big bugdet show fans said that people have a prejudice against ML without saw the flaw in it, people give it a choice and there's a reason why it flop or gonna be remembered as rated flop
      MDBC is not perfect but it used what they have.

    • and addiction : I am not fan of both,
      MDBC is too young for me and SC is too dramatic like everything is for emotional scarred to the max without context,

      but even I can see how ML and MDBC get those rating

    • Dena, its amazing that you are not a fan of either show yet so much time posting multiple times on an article about them. So please drop the neutral act. Its obvious that you love moonlight. Fair enough. Your choice. But why drag the other show through the mud to make your point?

      In answer to your original comment, One can reduce any story to its basic plot and call it unoriginal and boring and overused. By similar standards, moonlight is nothing but the done-to-death gender bender. You can hardly find one original scene in the show that don't litter this genre. The idea that you find the childhood of the two leads comparable on any level is laughable but then others have already pointed that out.

    • @kdramacrazy,
      no I like to criticise IU and LJK drama when it's not good, I've seen their fans defended them so much and I finally find the right time when I agree with the criticism and I happen to watched both,
      the hype intrigued me,
      don't have any affiliation with PBG, just realised it sounds like it,
      even if SC korean version winning the rating, I still write the same

    • I seriously think @Dena has no idea what the crap she actually wrote.
      She wants the chracterization of 4th Prince Wang So in ML to be similar as Lee Young in MDBC. And went on about a hurt puppy that should not be all angsty? Wth? So,you are saying that how ones handle trauma should be standardized? So hurt puppy shouldn't mind being refer to as poop prince and shouldn't go on a killing spree?
      How they dramatized the 4th Prince character is up to them, may not suit your preference but I am liking it more than the pouty poop prince.
      And I doubt that ML underperformed because of this characterization.

    • @dena: you can love all of you want of Moonlight in fact I'm watching Moonlight right now. However it doesn't captured my emotion and my feelings but gonna still watch if i have time. The problemm is it repeated. I have seen there. But it is presented in a fresh, great acting, directing and editing all that has a recipe for success. Congrats to the team. I have critisized Moon Lover for how many occasion but for me Moon Lover is more watachble since maybe I want to know where they bring the drama where as Moonlight we can already guess what happen. I dislike IU's acting but I can't feel KYJ acting as well and the plot seem predictable for instance, how CP keep involved her exams, and how suppose she can ran from the palace but CP is everywhere and she can run if she wanted and dressed as a woman but the lot said otherwise. Also when she presented a blank paper it is more noticeable. The cliche plot again and again.

      There is no great or smart writing just a fluffy, fun romcom in saeguk dress and good if lots of people enjoyed it. It just don't try to compare with 4th prince misery in ML that no matter I dislike the brutality his brutal treatment and what happen to him cannot even be compared with the CP in Moonlight plus the drama set in Garyeo. So enjoy what you wanna enjoy.

    • @Dena
      "No I like to criticize IU and LJK drama when it's not good. I've seen their fans defended them so much and I finally find the right time when I agree with the criticism and I happened to watched both"

      When you made that comment, my impression is that you are a narcissistic.

    • @OMG
      thanks for the character analysation (I guess this is how I will improve my narcissistic trait)

      I find the timing is just fit, I got holiday and I get to watch drama to have impression, then the I see lot of angry ML comment which sounds so funny after I watch the drama,
      I'm gonna stop replied but ML fans is really dedicated narcisisstic too for all of their defends, they brag all the time for not related thing just to make their drama worth more, even in Reddit, good comment got +3 one day and turn -10 the next day, don't know if that person deleted the comment or not,
      to be fair it's okay but just don't go overboard, people like me get intrigued by the facade (search on narcissitic trait is helping thought)

  • the fact that is slowly becoming good is the issue, when it should have beeen like that from the start to hook the viewers

  • Well to tell you the truth I was keenly waiting for both dramas to be released. Since moonlight released first , I started watching it. And waited for moon lovers , but then moon lovers aired and let me tell you the difference that I felt watching the two dramas. MDBC is a light fluff drama that anyone can watch with a light heart and can be dropped easily . while in case of ML, when i started watching it i was drawn into it, it has such a charm that makes one curious to know what will happen next unlike MDBC ( which I felt) . It got me hooked up. And eventually since I am a busy person so I had to choose Moon lovers over MDBC ( no offence) because i just can't stop thinking about it. In case of MDBC everything is so straight while in ML the things are topsy turvy and it makes one cringe and curious to know what will happen next.

    Side note: I've never watched any IU dramas ( and her acting was good, i mean , there was no need to criticize her THAT much !! :/) before neither did I watch any of the other actors's dramas :p i have watched only kang ha neul's to the beautiful you. I am not new to k-drama or kpop, I just don't get time for recreation being a busy bee. But this drama MOON LOVERS has made me cling onto it and so its my comeback to K-drama :p because for about 3 years i stopped keeping track of kpop and kdrama. Kpop is still on hault though.
    * I'M ONLY WATCHING THIS DRAMA BECAUSE THIS DRAMA IS THIS DRAMA AND NO OTHER DRAMA CAN TAKE ITS PLACE. STAR STUDDED CAST , IU , LEE JUNKI ( he's new to me and whatta man he is ? I didn't know about him until the first episode aired, WELL i didn't know any of the cast though!! I'm innocent guys) EVEN KANG HA NEUL is NOT my reasons to watch this drama.

    I hope i explained myself clearly to everyone.*

• I find Mooonlight more entertaining and understandable cause the plot flow smoothly and the acting fitted,

  Moon lovers is like the grand shot for everything without proper build up to care about the character,
  LJK and KHN give enough with acting to feel it but the narrative is just weird,
  and Hae soo has no purpose except to give wise word here and there that somehow touch the prince heart because the plot said so

  • What you said is your feeling talking.We can't just take this as statement TBH.

  • Well put. I agree completely.

• Currently watching Dont Dare to Dream and it is super good esp ep 4, I cant wait for ep 5...

  • Wow sorry wrong thread, I dont read, I think this is CPI index, sorry guys :)

• I think Moonlight deserve 30 % rating, good casts, good story :) I am waiting Guirella Date from Bo Gum, ^^ and seriously IU is hopeless at acting! Lol

  • Did you even watch the show? IU is doing fine. She is nowhere near LJK's level (and honestly given his vast saguek experience, few youngsters are) but she is nowhere near hopeless

    • Yes I am, and you what? It so blech! I just try to watch 1 ep for Jun Ki sake (because I like him)

    • did we watch the same drama?
      IU with LJK on the rock scene, can her acting get any worse?
      i cringed at her facial expressions throughout
      and people kept saying she's decent lollll

  • @KdramaaCrazy

    She is free to think that way as such (after all to this sort of judgement is based on preference and is totally subjective) as how I think Moonlight is overrated in term of the ratings.

    • I know she is free to think any way but if you are going to compare the shows, at least have some semblance of coherence.

      "IU is hopeless at acting! LOL" doesn't sound like much of an informed opinion

    • similar to how i think moon lovers isnt as fantastic/amazing as many of the fans make it out to be

  • OMG... really? IU level never same with Lee Jun Ki!!! What the heck..! Stop comparing so so singer with the real actor.

    Then why people always say SH doing well in Chinese market? I believe if Park Yoo Chun make a drama come back in China it will be hit too, LOL!

  • I think you must not be watching the same drama because she IS decent. There are a lot of scenes she's really good in, like her scene with Lady Hae in episode 5 is one of the best of the series yet. And she's entertaining. She's not as good as Hanuel or Junki but those two are insanely accomplished actors.

    • A good actress has to be versatile. People always defend her saying she is good in emotional acting, but that's pretty much it - she is decent. But she is mad awkward in other scenes.

      And is it even good enough to be decent when her leading men are "insanely accomplished"? The audience can clearly see the gap in abilities.

• No offence meant but god that camera angle for LJK's in the last picture is weird. He looks like he's carrying a magic wand than a sword. His whole action scene was very fast- paced and attention drawing I didn't even pay attention to this scene. Yet it does say something about this PD. Well, not like I hold the writer in any better regard either.
  I hope the ratings will improve. It's kind of painful to see when LJK is acting his heart out. KHN & he are the gems of this show. IU comes close, but I don't have strong feelings toward her acting either way.

  • Argh! The zoom in and then zoom out didn't get slightly better in ep4 of SH. I just can't take the editing seriously any more. The directing/editing ruined a could-be super melo-romantic sageuk. And I couldn't help laughing at each super close up as if I were forced to examine actors' skin pores and makeup through magnifying glass. LOL

    I'm not so critical of IU's acting. Her expressions convey her emotions effectively to me. But I try to understand why Knetizens particularly picked on her. Could that be her modern tomboyish voice or are her looks not classical enough? The actress in the C version is indeed famed for her classy appearance and the voice was dubbed beautifully even she blurted out funny slang of modern Chinese in the 21st century.

    Seriously, if LJK reprises another sageuk again next time, I may just skip. He should get out of this genre for a while even he's been doing all his best and already has got the hang of it.

    • I agree. This has all the potentials to be a hit, not specific to any country really, but while it is well-loved (and I'm glad it is), the viewing experience has been ruined for me afa filming and editing is concerned. I swear I could even hear the 'vrrr' sound clicking in my head when the zoom-in happened, just like when I did the zoom-in myself on my old-fashioned Canon digital camera lol.

      I don't have any problem with IU's look or voice, tbh. I also find her acting effective, though what I meant when saying I don't have strong feelings either way is more like my acknowledgement that she's not on par with her sunbaes who are LJK and KHN, but the three of them are surely the saving grace of this show for me. I actually feel bad for her because the writing and editing don't seem to provide such a focus and nice flow to her character's development at this point (but I hope this will change in the future). I guess this might add oil to the already furious flame, because many can blame the character's lack of consistency on the acting. Not fair, I know, but hate is blind.

      Then there is also a possible factor that is all this political thing going on between Korea and China. So even more to add to the already overwhelming plate.

    • IU with lee jun ki on rock scene
      those facial expressions of hers
      she might excel in emotional scenes when she cries w/ those pretty eyes of hers
      but when she has to act any other emotion, she flops hard
      no wonder knetz are so critical of her acting

• Before starting Moonlight I knew I would enjoy the fluffiness but had accepted that it most likely wouldn't fare well in the ratings battle. What a major surprise it has turned out to be in both quality and ratings. It's lovely and tugs at the heartstrings. I've found myself thoroughly invested in all the characters. The leads are doing great selling the sweet romance. Good job Moonlight team! It's definitely turning out to be a winner for me so far.

• Thing is, there's a huge acting gap between LJK/KHN and IU/the other princes. Both male leads are so committed to their roles that it's jarring when IU shares the screen and doesn't have that same commitment. LJK (and KHN) carrying the show while the rest aren't pulling their own weight is a major reason why it's just not attracting a wider audience.

  Moonlight on the other hand, has an excellent cast that elevates its cliched script. You've seen it a million times before, but it's somehow sweet and fresh.

  • Moonlight also have a better directing and editing. The music and the scenery are pretty so a lot of people love to watch it. Many people drop SH because ep 1&2 are not good.

    • Yeah, the overwhelmingly negative first impressions pretty much killed SH's chances. I personally wondered about the PD's haphazard editing/music choices, but I heard they're much better now. I've decided to put the series on the backburner for now and will marathon it once it's done just so I can be sure I'll watch the best/final version in case the prod team makes further re-edits.

    • Yes, me too. I decided to drop it and will see later if i will continue or not. Because i watch to many drama right now: W, Moonlight and Dont dare to dream. And as international fans, we can just enjoy the drama because we cannot do anything to rating.

    • Oohh we're watching the same dramas! Are you me? lol

    • No.. i can guarantee we're not same person, just same preverence.. lol.. Yes, too much drama when time is so little. Plus i still must watch PU 38 for seo in guk..

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• I can't say much about Moon Lovers as I dropped it. But for Moonlight Drawn By Clouds I can say it definitely deserves the ratings as it combines good acting, fluffiness with a good - not great - but definitely engaging story, good characters (who are layered) played by an awesome cast. Also the production looks high-quality and overall the cast and crew looks like they're having fun even though to achieve the good look is hard work.

  Again I'm not here saying Moon Lover doesn't deserve high ratings as well because I can't judge about that anymore. But to say MDBC doesn't is a bit much, ockoala.

  • I think it's not so much about MDBC not deserving high ratings as it is about whether MDBC deserves the kind of ratings it gets in comparison to ML i.e. more than thrice the rating (since this is necessarily comparative, one has to go down for the other to go up). I've seen both and I too believe the same, that it doesn't, because both dramas are pretty great and there isn't such a vast difference in them or their quality as the ratings would suggest.

    • @Z: The thing is you and many people tend to view ratings as indicative of quality while they actually are indicative of taste or preference. 100 people liking a drama doesn't mean it is better or equal in quality with a drama with only 20 loyal viewers.

      So when it comes to preference/ taste/ liking, you can't say something deserves to be liked more than something else. If, for example, you like Jack and don't have a feeling for Joe, should someone convince you to break up with Jack because Joe deserves to be liked more?

      Sorry for the childish analogy but there we go. Ratings are not in themselves rewards (though benefits that come afterwards may be) for quality. The Korean audience has every right to watch whatever they like. Why should we be concerned about their personal taste?