Overly ambitious story riddled with contrived plot devices that broke me nonetheless.

For what it’s worth, I never for a moment felt apathetic towards this show. This show put me through the wringer. If I could’ve binged the entire thing in a day, I would have. That said, I think it had big ideas but executed most of them terribly. What saved it from being a total disaster was Lee Joon Gi.

As others have said, he carried the entire show on his shoulders. I could watch his tortured soul with his Phantom of the Opera mask and his side swept fringe all day every day. This and Flower of Evil have made me realize that two flavors of my Kdrama butter are LJG playing unhinged and LJG crying. There’s a lot of both in Moon Lovers, let me tell you. I wasn’t particularly happy with his character development but it was easy to overlook because his commitment to the role deserves all the awards.

Part of me wonders if I went into this show with certain expectations and set myself up for disappointment. I was promised an epic romance and for me, the show failed to deliver, which I imagine is an unpopular opinion. It left me cold, though I put none of the blame on LJG or IU. The writing was so uneven. Her love for him never felt believable to me. She spent the entire first half of the show in love with Wook and then the entire second half afraid that So would go Kill Bill on his entire family. He loved her and demonstrated it consistently; she never trusted him. Given all his grand gestures (worth swooning over even if they were rough around the edges), I never felt like she reciprocated in a way that went beyond basic kindness. I needed way more scenes like the one at the very end - the day to day of their relationship showing their mutual affection. Instead, a lot of the romance was overshadowed by political power plays, which got so damn tedious and this is coming from someone who generally enjoys court intrigue.

Unfortunately, I also thought Hae Soo had probably the worst character arc in the show and ended up being one of the blandest heroines I’ve seen in Kdrama. She started off with guts and grit and humor, and then I guess palace life broke her? The shift felt too extreme. This is also why second half So/Soo fell so flat for me. He was in love with a shade of who she used to be, someone who beat up a prince and ran headlong into danger to do the right thing. Honestly, I was rooting for Yeon-hwa half the time. Her character was surprisingly nuanced and complex and Kang Ha Na’s performance was impeccable. She was the one who outplayed everyone and deserved the crown.

As for the rest of the cast, I really like Kang Ha Neul and Nam Joo Hyuk, and both deserved more than this show gave them. Same goes for Eun and the general’s daughter. It’s frustrating what the show sacrificed in order to move the plot along. I also did not expect that literally everyone would be a tragic character and I have a weak stomach when it comes to tragedy for tragedy’s sake. The show did not do anything well enough to justify how gut-wrenching the experience was. I would say, though, that what it did commit to with gusto is the idea that no one residing in the palace and in proximity to power stays unchanged. I just wish this hadn’t been repeatedly crammed down my throat throughout the second half of the show.

If I ever watch this again, it will be for Lee Joon Gi, his wounded eyes, and his perfect Goryeo hair.

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The characters are the heart of this show

So, as some people have already said, this is a love story in a mafia setting, not a mafia story with a side of romance. The action is just window dressing and has no through line at all. The twists and turns in the plot are laughable sometimes and require some suspension of disbelief, but did not detract from my overall enjoyment of the show. The cast really made it all work.

Kinn/Porsche - What can I say, I was in from the very beginning. Whenever they’re together, it’s electric. Yes, their relationship starts off pretty toxic. The whole thing is set in the Thai criminal underworld; every situation and emotion is taken to the extreme, and almost every character is morally gray if not purely amoral (hello, mafia). But I was pleasantly surprised that they didn’t sweep the non con/dub con under the rug. Both men grapple to some degree with the fallout and Kinn addresses it openly at a point in the show where they’re starting to build genuine affection for each other. Beyond that point, I think they really try to show that Kinn recognizes Porsche’s agency and wants him to feel like he has a choice. I also don’t understand the Kinn hate. Is the idea of his character better than the execution? Probably. But I still loved the tension between who he’s basically been forced to be and who he wishes he could be and that Porsche draws the latter out of him. The tender moments between them are everything (okay, yes, as are the sexy times so steamy they made my eyeballs melt).

Vegas/Pete - I’ll get my unpopular opinion out of the way: this relationship felt WAY too rushed. The Stockholm Syndrome is real. And I was not comfortable with what started as clearly torture and ultimately somehow framed as BDSM. I loved Pete from the get go, and I found Vegas fascinating - depraved, psychotic, and emotionally damaged to his core. The Pete/Vegas just blindsided me. I think there’s a glimmer of potential in the implication that they give each other something they need but are too ashamed or scared to want. But I thought it was handled in a clumsy, at times heavy handed way.

Kim/Porschay - While they were a welcome dose of sugar to chase down the intensity of the other couples, it felt completely unnecessary. There was clearly not enough screen time to devote to their relationship, evidenced by the scene that showed Kim looking through a pile of photos that suggested they spent way more time together than we were able to see. I would’ve loved to see more Kim, Kinn, and Tankhun, and their family dynamics. There are a few tiny but beautiful hints of brotherly affection that definitely should’ve been turned into a B or even C plot.

And I just need to give special acknowledgment to Tankhun. He’s a delight and 100% pretends to be crazy to get out of running the mafia.

Does this story contain anything I would condone or emulate IRL? Very very little. Is it a roller coaster ride of pure escapism? Yes, yes it is, and I plan on rewatching again and again.

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