River Where the Moon Rises Archives

2021 Year of the Youth Sageuks with Grown Up Child Actresses Kim So Hyun, Park Eun Bin, and Kim Yoo Jung Fails So Much Talent with Lee Se Young on Deck for the Final at Bat

Posted on November 2, 2021 by ockoalaOctober 31, 2021

It hurts my drama loving heart to have seen so much talented wasted so far and I wish these young actresses came of age a decade ago when there was actually good female lead sageuk roles and amazing scripts. The year of 2021 was supposed to the arrival of the grown up child actress talents and their headlining role in … Continue reading →

KBS Sageuk Drama River Where the Moon Rises Ends with 6.8%, 8.3% Ratings, a Sweet Ending, and a Lot of What Could Have Beens

Posted on April 20, 2021 by ockoalaApril 20, 2021

I feel like I just watched half a drama, but considering all the behind the scenes trials and tribulations that befell this production, I’ll give it as a glass half full scenario. KBS Mon-Tues sageuk River Where the Moon Rises ended today, the ratings were the same as the penultimate episode, and overall was in the high single digits but … Continue reading →

Reunion Then Onward to Battle for Our OTP in the Penultimate Episode 19 of River Where the Moon Rises with Ratings of 6.8%, 8.3%

Posted on April 19, 2021 by ockoalaApril 19, 2021

The second to last episode of River Where the Moon Rises is here and it entertained me well enough for an hour since it led to so many eyerolls I was wondering how much more I can hate all the major male characters not named Ondal. I wonder how Kwon Hwa Woon‘s manager sold him this guest starring role as … Continue reading →

River Where the Moon Rises Releases New Stills Gearing Up for Final Two Episodes This Coming Mon-Tues

Posted on April 18, 2021 by ockoalaApril 17, 2021

I started my K-drama journey on a sageuk, years and years ago. A good and proper sageuk, all 55-episodes that was Seodongyo full of slow and meaningful developments interspersed with cliffhanger episode endings and plenty of meat to keep me hooked. I haven’t seen one of those in years, and it’s a shame. I mean, Jumong was 81-episodes long and … Continue reading →

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

Posted on April 14, 2021 by ockoalaApril 14, 2021

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 … Continue reading →

The Attempted Coup in Episode 17 of River Where the Moon Rises Deflates Like a Souffle as Both Male Leads Hie Off to Angst Afterwards

Posted on April 12, 2021 by ockoalaApril 12, 2021

Remember when what happened to KBS drama River Where the Moon Rises was like the biggest news in K-ent? Oh what a month does to keep one upping another in terms of wild news and crazy scandals. River has now settled back down to just being a mediocre sageuk that might have actually benefitted from losing a leading man, it … Continue reading →

River Where the Moon Rises Time Jumps in Upcoming Episode 17 with Kwon Hwa Woon’s Arrival and Production Apologizes for Incorrect Chinese Characters Used Onscreen

Posted on April 11, 2021 by ockoalaApril 10, 2021

KBS Mon-Tues sageuk River Where the Moon Rises is rounding into the final stretch and everyone must be exhausted and deserving of that sigh of relief when it’s all done. Next week’s episode 17 is confirmed to have a time jump that turns the teenage crown prince into adult broody Kwon Hwa Woon, which means no more drunk and guilt-ridden … Continue reading →

Episode 16 of River Where the Moon Rises Stays at 6.0%, 7.8% Ratings as the Plot Barrels Ahead into Fighting, Deaths, and a Thwarted Coup

Posted on April 6, 2021 by ockoalaApril 6, 2021

I’ve stopped digging too deeply into the why, where, how, whats of River Where the Moon Rises, the early episodes I was super excited about and tried to analyze only to realize stuff just sorta happened and the foundations were not properly laid. It’s really come to a head in episode 16 as a full scale coup went underway and … Continue reading →

Fractures Appear in the OTP as Episode 15 of River Where the Moon Rises Shows the Price of Playing the Political Game with Ratings of 6.7%, 7.8%

Posted on April 5, 2021 by ockoalaApril 5, 2021

It’s the final stretch for KBS Mon-Tues sageuk River Where the Moon Rises, and that hubbub of the earlier real world distractions have abated and now it’s back to the same old shallow drawing board in terms of telling a compelling story. The drama remains sageuk for kids, rudimentary in politicking and plotting and even now after 15 episodes not … Continue reading →

Production Company Behind River Where the Moon Rises Sues Ji Soo’s Agency KeyEast for $2.7M of Additional Costs to Re-film Drama With New Male Lead

Posted on April 2, 2021 by ockoalaApril 3, 2021

In the annals of least surprising developments in K-ent, the lawsuit that was bound to happen is here. The production company behind River Where the Moon Rises has sued former male lead Ji Soo‘s agency KeyEast Entertainment. It’s a straight forward claim for damages, costs, expenses due to Ji Soo‘s bullying scandal which led to the production company needing to … Continue reading →

Episode 14 of River Where the Moon Rises Starts Ga Jin’s Palace Politicking with Ratings of 6.4%, 8.4%

Posted on March 30, 2021 by ockoalaMarch 30, 2021

After the action packing episode 13 of River Where the Moon Rises, the action moves squarely back to the palace and I kinda dozed off because it’s back to the stuff that the drama never did well in the first place. Ga Jin is starting to politic and set traps herself, good for her but it always feels like a … Continue reading →

A Smartly Won Battle Gets Ga Jin and Ondal Back to the Palace in Episode 13 of River Where the Moon Rises as Ratings Stay at 6.8%, 8.7%

Posted on March 29, 2021 by ockoalaMarch 29, 2021

It’s wild to think that a week ago the worst thing to befall K-dramas in 2021 was the male lead swap in River Where the Moon Rises, and then Joseon Exorcist came along and went “Hold my beer.”. Mon-Tues remains thin on drama offerings and I’m happily still enjoying River, a drama that has gotten better narratively but still a … Continue reading →

Kwon Hwa Woon Goes From Being Shady in Mouse to Guest-starring in Last Two Episodes of River Where the Moon Rises as Kim So Hyun’s Grown Up Younger Brother