I feel like River Where the Moon Rises is a cliff notes version of a K-drama sageuk. I know there is a broader/deeper story in there but the execution jumps briskly from scene to scene without delving further into the threads that would render a compelling story. I still like it, leads Ga Jin and Ondal are so adorable together, that reverse cold girl/sweet boy dynamic that works even better here because he’s so big and teddy bear like and she’s all tiny sharp edges. Episode 3 continued the weird spatial problem where it feels like all the locations are right next door to each other so people are running into each other or just wandering over to the next city or town as the narrative requires.
Ondal overhearing Ga Jin’s problems with her assassin clan and going to help save her dad and extricate her was useful for the drama to get them closer but totally nonsensical otherwise. Go Geun, meanwhile, is off being this super smexy, so hot, so brooding piece of warrior general statue doing whatever investigation into the assassin girl and just wandering around to run into Ga Jin as needed. She also manages to enter and exit the palace once again easily, makes me wonder why Evil Go Daddy doesn’t just have the Dumbass Mentally Impaired King killed outright and take over Goguryeo. The whole plot seems way to convulated and unnecessary. Ok, rant done, back to smiling like a fool at cute OTP scenes and drooling over Young General Go
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I agree there are some easy conveniences but it’s overshadow by the emotional gravitas and the heart. I love most of the relationships. FL foster father showing GJ genuine parental love is everything. His apologies to her ? I just love that scene where they were pulling a ruse and fooling the baddies, the foster father feigning and melodramatically wailing that his daughter was not being filial for abandoning him just destroyed me ?
I want more scenes with the siblings, ML, FL, and foster father. They are loves.
Okay, the ML looking for FL all over the mountains was kind of silly haha I just let it go because it demonstrates his magnanimity nature and how hard he fallen for FL.
ML is actually pretty clever with his ruse in gathering attention from 2FL by having the funny infomercial of the natural medicinal roots.
ML & FL dynamic, one silly and one a straight-man is pure diamond to me! ML: ‘what makes a butterfly a butterfly?’ I thought that was such a clever line that alludes to his growing feelings for FL.
2FL finally made her appearance and it was wonderful!
The story may need a bit tightening but the dialogues are well-written and the emotional delivery is superb.
The ending to episode 3 was powerful! FL confrontation to her father ‘…why did you abandon me?’ That is such a highlight! I’m impressed!
This drama is most enjoyable for its acting and OTP chemistry because everyone is on their A game. The editing is wonky but the cinematography is top notch. KSH and JS are casting gold and LJH is going to give serious SLS and already has sizzling chemistry with KSH. All the dramas that started last week have been thin on plot but heavy on acting chops.
I’m actually enjoying the drama too. It’s too fast paced for me but not that I’m complaining because they didn’t drag the amnesia thing too long. And because it’s fast paced I’m wanting more and curious what will happen next haha.
I couldn’t agree more with Ms. Koala, the king should have been done with years ago.
They offed the Queen along with so many innocent people in episode one but now many years passed and they’re STILL plotting to kill the king?
The ratings will definitely decrease to 6% when JE premieres. Haha.
Haters are so obvious nowadays. Before they swarm around here showing fake concerns. Now look at that “Haha” in her statement. She cannot hide it anymore.
omg.. that fake concerns is really hitting the nail ??? lmao.. they be like, I got tired to be such a pretentious clown.. i don’t want to hide anymore ??
The ratings are slowly going down.
really? hmmmmm
FYI, ‘The River with the Moon Rising’ exceeded double digits in viewer ratings in 4 episodes. According to Nielsen Korea, an audience rating research agency on the 24th, the 4th episode of’The River Rising the Moon’, broadcast on the 23rd, recorded a nationwide rating of 6.3% of the first part and 10.0% of the second part. In addition, this viewership rating was a breakthrough in its own highest ratings. You know what I mean, It’s rising ?
I have to agree on ALL of Koala’s criticisms. On Dal rushing off to rescue an assassin girl he just met and then following her around like a lost puppy was truly nonsensical. I like them individually but I’m still not charmed by their pairing.
And yes, why haven’t they killed the king yet? What’s the holdup?
Instead of getting out of the den of assassins first, they decide to chill and tell her the truth right there in the cell?
And Ga-jin doesn’t bother to change her clothes and get a better disguise?
I feel like Ga-jin’s nanny could have been more careful not to betray the dangerous knowledge of seeing the princess.
Live-watching this (and some of the other new dramas) is going to be a real struggle. But Lee Ji-hoon and Choi Yu hwa are giving me a strong reason to stick around. They stood out to me in this episode. Her outfit, styling and demeanor were gorgeous. And their interactions are electric. Oh, and my Tara-jin, of course.
Now how will the king react? Will he run to call the guards or embrace Pyeonggang? Find out on the next episode of River Where The Moon Rises!
He rushed to rescue an assasin girl who he just met. Now, he fits the definition of a fool. He’s Ondal the fool anyway.
That scene in the cave, too much drama.
GaJin might only have one set of clothes.
Hae Mo Yong’s acting is on point. She’s bitchy and mysterious but I’m not sure if she’s truly evil or just going with the flow.
Go Geon, I’m having SLS already when Ga Jin cut his arm and his eyes looked so betrayed knowing that it’s the princess who he have feelings with.
The chase scene with is lame. It could have been better.
Ondal and Ga Jin’s little play in the town is so cute and funny.
I will continue to watch this for now. Haters on the above comment, stay away we don’t need you here.
Hae Mo Yong is visually arresting. When she’s on the screen, I can’t take my eyes off her. I like that we can’t tell if she’s good or bad. It’s like that beautiful black and white overcoat she was wearing is symbolism. I hope she’s grey.
The chase scene was indeed lame. But the way Go Geon’s gaze lingered on that building, I believe he knew she was hiding there and let her get away. I have a feeling the SLS will get worse.
@Aurora
I couldn’t agree with you more about the nonsensical idea of breaking the news to her while she was still in the holding cell. Fortunately, what I expected didn’t happen, which was that they would be found in the cell and not be able to escape. And isn’t it ironic that the one person who seems to recognize her instantly is the prime minister who killed the queen, which begs the question, why didn’t all the other folks recognize her on sight? Hello! She’s only the spitting image of the late queen!! The acting is great, but there are a lot of holes in the plot; and Choi Yu Hwa looks too young to be the head of an intelligence organization (I can’t believe she’s 35 years old!). Somehow, I expected someone with more gravitas. I love KSH’s acting; but I’m not sold on Ji Soo playing her love interest, I find I can’t take him seriously in that role. And I can already see the makings of sizzling chemistry between Lee Ji Hoon and Kim So Hyun. It’s a shame he’s the second lead.
There truly a lot of holes. I keep stumbling over them as I watch the drama. Lol.
I’ve been low-key shipping Ji hoon’s character with Ga-jin since their brief sword fight in EP2. I saw the sparks then. After this episode, I’m also shipping him with Choi Yuhwa’s character. Whichever one sails, I’m down. But I don’t see myself climbing aboard the Gajin-Ondal ship, even if I’m stranded in the middle of the ocean.
I think it’s possible that she took over the organization from her father or holds a major position beside him. The familiarity with which Go Geon mentioned her father tells me he’s well-known.
Lately I’m watching more c-drama xianxia and wuxia coz they have a lot of kick-ass female characters unlike in sageuk female are mostly for romance. So this drama is actually a treat! Flying KSH is all I need lol.
Main characters acting are on point. OTP’s chemistry is so cute, agree with the teddy bear and tiny description lol. Can’t stop smiling whenever they are on my screen. But KSH’s chemistry with LJH too is ?. Dunno how many times I’ve replayed that fighting scene ?
I’m not sure why my comment never appeared although I posted before other comments.
There were some nonsensical things but since the drama is adapted from a folktale and a novel, I personally allow a few misgivings and see the drama in the perspective of a fairytale.
I genuinely love how fast pace the drama is, for example kingdom politics scenes tend to run long in many historical dramas and I get dreadful bore watching them because they’re so dry especially after seeing them so many times. Here they get to the point. I’m so glad they didn’t drag the amnesia.
I think the reason why they haven’t eliminated the king is that the enemies are playing a long, patient game. It takes time to get all of the leaders on boards. There’s so many behind the scene work. They already have most of the power in hand minus the title. The general citizens clearly see the king as a waste and is deteriorating overtime but he is heaven chosen (how people generally view kings in the past, like deity) so that may play a factor in why he hasn’t been overthrown, many people add uncomfortable with removing him. We read history on how mad certain rulers are but they don’t get overthrown or until much later in years because of facet number of reasons. 2FL may be one of the players that influence the game, she supposedly have the ability to see the future, so perhaps she told her father to convinced the others to wait for a certain time. 2ml is a loyalist to the royal family and therefore protected the king in times of danger and may had thwarted his father plans in the past. These are obviously just conjectures haha
Ondal trying to find FL in the mountains is silly but I gave it a pass since it shows what a magnanimous person he is haha His motto on how precious life is and with a combination of his growing feelings for her was showcased in display. I honestly believe that he went to help her after hearing she was in danger was more of because he’s a kind soul rather than mostly because he likes her romantically.
Overall I enjoyed episode 3 immensely, it was so much fun and there wasn’t any moment that I wasn’t entertained. I love most of the relationships. FL relationship with her adoptive father is just great and so warm! I loved how she still called him father after he explained that they weren’t related. The feels ❤️
I love the prison break scene and how they basically threw a grand performance to throw the sharks off scent haha
Ondal & Gajin also had their own theatrical performance at the marketplace so that they could attract 2FL performance. That was hilarious haha I seriously love their tandem, the silliness and the straight man vibes their characters are exuding respectively blend well together. I keep looking forward to their interactions 🙂 The dark, mysterious beauty with the light-hearted, silly fool is vibes.
I enjoy 2ml interactions with 2fl, it was fun! I also love 2ml interactions with Gajin, their fight scene is wonderful 🙂
The ending was an acting performance to behold, ‘father, why did you abandon me?’ I got goosebumps.
I personally think that the well-written dialogue, the colorful characters, the fast pace, and the heart in display overcome any of the flaws and conveniences in the drama. This drama has a heart, a large one ❤️
It doesn’t seem like he built many relationships or interact with many people after going into hiding. She may be the first in a long time therefore although he likes her romantically, I think it is his mother bear protection that got triggered to help out those who are in trouble haha
I think fortune telling 2fl may be one of the reasons why they haven’t killed the king yet. It’s just not the right timing and she should be well-informed since she is the leader of the information gathering guild and 2ml is devoted to the royal family, so he may also have prevented his father from crossing certain lines. And there’s this idea that kings are blessed and chosen by heaven, so they have to thread lightly not to cause general uproar since the general public tend to be superstitious (mentioned in many historical novels and dramas). But yeah in many of the historical dramas, I felt like the bad kings could have been snuffed long time ago haha
I agree they should have their heart to heart after leaving jail haha
I personally don’t think she needed to disguise herself any longer since after recollecting her memories she is now aware of the ins and outs of the palace and also she knows everyone is looking for her after the painting is revealed. So there’s no true point of disguising yourself any longer since everyone is already on high alert and knows what you look like haha
The nanny accidentally reveal she saw the princess in epi 2 due to her outburst. Her emotions clouded her need to be careful haha I was like you better not confirmed anything ? thankfully she back pedal.
@aurora
It was dangerous and foolish. He’s in hiding for a reason. And his adoptive mum brutally blinded herself to check his impulsiveness and keep him safe. If the assassins came for him, who’s to say they wouldn’t kill his family and loved ones too? And all for a girl he barely knows? If the plot needed to bring them closer, I think they should have written it better than this.
About the disguise…I’m referring to before they met Choi Yuhwa’s character. She didn’t know then that there was a painting of her and that people were looking for her. She only found out when Yuhwa showed it to her and you could clearly see the surprise on her face. Also, when they were selling the herbs, she kept trying to cover the lower part of her face with the cloth around her neck but it slipped off.
The nanny didn’t even know she was the princess till she arranged the chair in EP2. Not from her face which is a dead ringer for her mother, the late queen. That itself is another flaw. But I feel like she should have restrained herself from blurting out “princess” in full hearing of the other women in the palace because it was dangerous to both her and the princess. And this episode proved it.
Hahaha, I see you’re more forgiving of this drama’s glaring flaws than the others. It doesn’t have my heart yet but let’s see in a few more episodes. ?
What other dramas are you watching besides this one?
I totally agree he’s in hiding for a reason. But the bigger question is should he hide forever? That’s the dilemma. That’s not truly living if you’re living in constant fear all the time. The villagers were more than willing to give up their life when ondal father was given two options. They begged him not to choose the option that would spare their lives but brand him as someone who committed treason.
Sometimes you do reckless things to help others even if it’s puts your own life in danger. Well at least certain people would. There’s a probability that they may harm the villagers but at the same time maybe not but it’s a certainty Gajin was in a predicament.
Wars are sadly like that in life, some innocents will perish so that hopefully the greater good can win and that life can be beneficial for more.
I agree, I suppose they could had written it better, let me go into my storytelling mode haha let’s say Gajin and a few villagers and maybe his mother as were kidnapped and in danger together and he had to find them ?
If she was in a general public setting, I’m not sure why she would need to have a disguise in the first place? I think the only time she needs to actually disguise herself is when she is doing her mercenary deeds on certain human targets and sneaking into the palace or other related palace events? I honestly thought she was only trying to conceal her face in the herbs scene because she was embarrassed by ondal public salesman promotion. She was getting second hand embarrassment ?
From my perspective I thought she was dazed and therefore the nanny was internally dense until she notice the chair action and it finally clicked haha imagine you seeing someone you knew for the first time in a decade at the most randomness of times when you thought they were gone and went to heaven? LOL yes she should had restrained herself, I was yelling at her to shut it haha but I was understanding because she wasn’t completely 100 percent sure, and she only had a glimpse of her and her mind was in turmoil. People sometimes do things before they think haha
I suppose so I’m more forgiving ? I loved empress ki and so far this is a good complementary pair to it. This type of drama, female centric, and action oriented and the historical time period is so rare so maybe that’s why I gloss over the flaws so easily haha
I’m still going to check out the myths mainly for laughs and hello just to see Adult FL better herself unless all the characters continue to grate at me too often without any genuine emotional rewards then perhaps I’ll stop haha
I’m watching ep 4 right now, it’s filling in many of the blanks haha why ondal helped her, he has been known to help saved many of the people in ghost village. The village is not just the people from the tribe but made of all kind of misfits just like Gajin throughout the years. So him rescuing Gajin is not an abnormal move on his part. I’m not close to finishing but would 4 is becoming my favorite episode, everything is clicking 🙂 ondal surprised me not just with his loyalty but his intelligence. He was not as helpless as we thought when he was collateral haha
Hmm I don’t think the drama is bad but I find myself not enjoying it, like sighing on the supposed cute scene and definitely feel that “ah this is drama”
I don’t have any problems with story, it just not enjoyable
@Laura
@Aurora
Such good reviews. I haven’t watched episode 3 yet and I don’t think I will watch until the drama ends because GOD!!! I hate waiting for the next episode haha. I will just read spoilers for now because I like spoiling myself. LOL
i admit that ep 3 is really not to my liking, which made me feeling down watching this ep..which also may explain that why i think the rating slightly dropped…but then the next ep 4 was totally on top! a very good episode to see.. just like ep 1 and 2. Happy to see they reached double digit rating already in just 4 episodes. hoping that the rating will continue to increase. even tho slowly, but surely.