Categories: K-dramas

Ga Jin Tries To Hold Shit Together in Episode 18 of River Where the Moon Rises as All the Men Continue to Emo in Their Own Pit of Misery

I finally realized that Daddy King has turned into the progenitor of where all the male characters in River Where the Moon Rises is going, i.e. moping, drinking, seeing dead people, and generally being USELESS while the women keep shit together. Ga Jin/Princess Pyeonggang remains my sole sanity in this drama, she’s not just kickass, smart, sensible, she’s also capable of emotional giving and taking. She traded a useless dad for an even more useless younger brother on the throne, and during those four years when she was keeping Gorguyeo from falling apart her husband was off living in a hut, talking to his dead nanny mom, and just feeling miserable all day long. It’s like me having a four-year menopause, sure I may feel like crap outside my control but wallowing in it makes everyone around me suffer more than needs be. Go Geun was the shining light of this episode because I wanted to shiv him so bad, not to mention he was beyond entertaining with his bipolar emotional outbursts. I thought he gave it all up for Mo Young and cuz Go Daddy’s ultimate plan failed, but alas he’s still hung up on Ga Jin and now he’s totally lost me every which way. Pick your poison boy! This grand stroll back to Gorguyeo as the Shilla envoy went down as well received as you expect (sword to the neck) but it truly was the one good scene in this episode. That, and the way Ga Jin looked at him like “da hell you talkin’ bout boy?” when he was all like “You and I, we could have been something!” grand plea. Two more left to go, peeps!

ockoala

View Comments

  • There’s always these type of men who say I’ll protect you forever and then forgets lol. Ondal fitting into that territory completely this episode. All my likeness for him turned into confusion as I was wondering why and what is he doing. He said staying away will keep them both safe? How lol ?? Gajin fought 5 wars in span of 4 years. Is he not worried that she may die fighting in those wars. Like I totally couldn’t understand his reasoning other than it being a very selfish one. He’s still cute but this episode writing for ondal was disappointing.
    And the grown up Prince now King is such a turn off. How could they change his personality so much. Even if the throne made him change , the new actor’s portrayal was so different and drastic compared to the young prince, it looked like a new character came instead of a time jump. He could have shown the change in personality but with the same nuance as his younger self so that it doesn’t seem so hard to take in. It somehow to me gives the vibe as though the actor never looked at or studied the younger actor’s portrayal to match his. Which I think is important considering the younger was in front of the viewers for more time. But I am just assuming anyways I didn’t like the new Prince/King. Two more episodes and even though the writing is definitely weak, I hope it ends nicely.

  • Comment disappeared again, so gonna re-type it.

    Koala you're totally right about Ga Jin, I love how women are supposed to be the emotional ones, but she's the only level-headed one in the court. This episode just sealed it for me, that Ga Jin/Pyeonggang is my favorite character and she's the best character in this drama. I wish she's Goguryeo's ruler instead.

    The new king is so annoying. Didn't he learn from their father's mistake? Their father literally got their mother killed out of paranoia and jealousy, and he's now repeating history. What an ungrateful brat. I really really wish Pyeonggang would just leave his useless ass, but alas, of course she can't as he's still her brother.
    Too bad, the actor is actually so handsome, he reminds me of that one EXO member (can't remember his name) lol, but I hate his character!

    The second leads.. sigh. WTF is the writer-nim doing to Go Geon? lmao ?
    And I was right, he still has feelings for Pyeonggang. The way I see it, he definitely cared for Mo Yong, they did have a special kind of connection even in the earlier episodes, but it wasn't love. After he got rejected by the princess and saw that he has no hope of having her, he turned to Mo Yong because he's the only one who's there for him and she's the only one who cares for him, and he's grateful for her, which he had mistaken for love. Throw in lust and desperation in there, and there you go, that's why he got into a relationship with her and made declarations of love. After some years in Silla, he realized he doesn't really love her and living with her isn't making him happy. He said so himself, that he would rather see Pyeonggang one last time and die than live a worthless life in Silla and never see her again. And the way he's still insisting that he and Pyeonggang could've changed Goguryeo had she agreed to marry him, he's clearly still mourning for what could've been. Mo Yong was kind of delusional to think he got over Pyeonggang that quickly.
    Never bought the Geon-Mo Yong loveline anyway, it's just too unbelievable to me, and I'm glad that the show clarified that his feelings for Pyeonggang never went away, which makes sense, I mean he pined for her for years!

    The main OTP is breaking my heart. Never thought the line “I'm hungry” could sound so heartbreaking ?
    It's so frustrating to watch them repress their desire to live with each other, just because they think that being apart is what's best for each other. Just live quietly in the mountains already, please! ?

    And in the preview, Dal is going to yet another battle. They would probably follow the novel's ending, and I wish they wouldn't ?

    On a shallow note, wow, Kim So Hyun is an absolutely gorgeous lady. Pyeonggang's current hairstyle shows off her perfect features so well, especially her eyes! And she did look like she matured a few years.

    Damn, time sure flies quickly. Can't believe we're down to the last 2 episodes already. I will surely miss this drama, flaws and all.

    • I didn’t watch this episode as of yet but I watched a few clips and read spoilers haha I’m also glad they explained that his love (albeit toxic) for Pyeong hasn’t actually gone away, it was all self-denial that he had feelings for Moyoung only if genuine at all. It’s a realistic action that he’s using her as rebound. Thanks for sharing your thoughts. When will brother king wake up? Listen to your noona please! She’s the one besides you who genuinely cares for you and the kingdom at the same time. Wake up! Haha

    • KSH is stunning! Her high cheekbones and glorious forehead have been hiding behind the curtain of hair for years! She is much much much prettier without bangs!

    • The whole visit is so sad. That line "I'm hungry" hits different and the way they eat together. It's supposed to be happy but On Dal is just cold and distant. The way their eyes tell how much they missed each other. The Princess is constantly smiling while her tears drop. On Dal hallucinating of his mother telling him to come back to the Princess and take care of her only reflects his heart because that's what he really wants to do but for some reasons he can't. If there's a consolation for this very sad episode, it's KSH's visual. Man, she's beautiful in every frame. Her doll-like features are so unreal specially her big eyes. And NIW's stubble suits him.

  • For a change the men are also weak and the women are also strong which honestly seems to resemble reality more especially in those times. This drama has always been driven by the female characters and in that sense I would say the writer has been consistent. Everything else could be better but the women in this drama have always been strong characters.

  • All the characters here are really good looking! A korean drama isnt complete without a man expressing emo

  • My faith in Go Geon has been restored in this episode! Unrequited love ftw lol!

    But really, I feel bad for the herb lady. Now that he knows Go Geon’s true feelings, will she betray him? Or will she die with him?

    I’m so frustrated at Ondal, what husband in his right mind will let his wife fight four wars? So if she died in one of those he’ll continue being hermit and talking to two dead people lol!

    But really I thought reunions are happy but why theirs are so heartbreaking? ?

Recent Posts

Jang Nara Tearfully Accepts the Daesang for Good Partner at the 2024 SBS Drama Awards

Awwwww, such a deserving recognition and a long time coming for K-actress Jang Nara. She's…

7 hours ago

Queen of Tears Tops the GoodData Full Year 2024 Drama Buzz Rankings Followed by Lovely Runner

It's still crazy that the two biggest K-dramas of this year 2024 aired basically at…

15 hours ago

Tang Yan Leads the Big Name Cast for Modern Romance C-drama Lady Liberty in Her First Post Blossoms Shanghai Casted Role

So there are new posters, stills, and a first teaser out already for modern C-drama…

23 hours ago

Jung Kyung Ho, Seol In Ah, and Cha Hak Yeon Confirmed for Supernatural Legal Drama Labor Attorney Noh Moo Jin

This is an interesting twist on what sounds like a standard legal K-drama, the male…

1 day ago

Xu Kai and Chen Yao Cast in Period Romance C-drama Wishing You Eternal Happiness

So Xu Kai is back in period drama land and has a new actress costar…

2 days ago

Prada Announces Kim Soo Hyun as New Brand Ambassador for the Italian Couture House

So Kim Soo Hyun recently became the new face of fragrance house Jo Malone in…

2 days ago

This website uses cookies.