Drama review: The Moon that Embraces the Sun

As promised, I will review possibly the best Korean drama I have ever seen. It had a little bit of everything. It had romance, action, murder and tears. The most heart-breaking tears I have ever seen, but let's start at the beginning.

The beginning won me over because the young version of the future king is my favorite child actor, Yeo Jin Goo (Iljimae). Through major coincidence his main girl is also the little girl (Kim Yoo Jung) in Iljimae. In the following review you will find out how great drama magic happens.

 The Moon that Embraces the Sun  is a Korean drama set in the Joseon era of Korea (1392-1897). It tells the tale of an epic love story between the crown prince (Yeo Jin Goo) and the daughter of a palace minister (Kim Yoo Jung) pictured above. Through betrayal and dark magic they are separated, but destiny cannot be denied. The moon must embrace and protect the sun. 

Prophecy

The prophecy as seen by the shaman (Ari) is that there are two moons and two suns. The first moon is the protagonist Heo Yeon Woo. The second moon is Yoon Bo Kyung (child actress, Kim So Hyun) and the second sun is the crown prince's illegitimate older brother Yang Myung (Lee Min Ho, adult version played by Jung II Woo). The first sun is of course our beautiful crown prince and future king, Lee Hwon (Yeo Jin Goo later played by Kim Soo Hyun). Bo Kyung and Yang Myung are only two of the obstacles standing in the way of true love. The shaman has a vision that the first moon will not be queen, but will be the king's soul mate and protector. Ari sees the first moon dying in her vision and pleads with her best friend Jang Nok Young (Jun Mi Sun)  to protect the moon in the future. You had me at Yeo Jin Goo, drama. 

Review

The Moon that Embraces the Sun is divided into two parts. The first 5 episodes contain the beginning of the love story between Lee Hwonand the daughter of a  palace minister, Heo Yeon Woo. Hwon and Yeon Woo meet and fall in love at first sight. Soon the ban of marriage for all girls 12 and up are called as the crown prince is to be married.

Yang Myun is the illegitimate son of the king. He was born from a concubine and thus cannot live in the palace as he is a threat to Lee Hwon’s position as heir to the kingdom. Yang Myun is also in love with Yeon Woo and pleads with the king to let him marry her. The king doesn’t make any promises, but Yang Myung is hopeful.

I love how the main antagonists of dramas think that they can just convince a woman to marry them even when in this case Yeon Woo has clearly told him she does not feel anything for him.

Anyway, the bans are called and Yeon Woo competes with Yoon Bo Kyung for the approval of the king. Yeon Woo impresses the king and sour face Bo Kyung glares at Yeon Woo along with the Queen Dowager. The Queen Dowager is so power hungry that she is not satisfied with having her son as the current king, but wants to manipulate Lee Hwon when he grows up and becomes king.

The Queen Dowager along with Yoon Dae Hyun, a member of her clan and a minister in the palace, plan to marry his daughter Bo Kyung to the crown prince.  When this fails they plan to kill Yeon Woo so that Bo Kyung can take her place. The Queen Dowager calls on a shaman to kill Yeon Woo with black magic. However, in the past the shaman promised her best friend to protect the moon as the moon will protect the sun. The sun is the future king Lee Hwon and the moon is Yeon Woo.

The shaman pretends to kill Yeon Woo but saves her in the end. Yeon Woo loses her memory and her family is led to believe she died. Although the shaman tries to hide her away, destiny will not be denied. Yeon Woo meets her grief stricken prince again and he is now the King of Joseon. Although he is now married to evil Bo Kyung, he refuses to bed her and still pines for his beautiful Yeon Woo. Yeon Woo, who has been led to believe she is a shaman, is forced to go to the king’s chambers every night and absorb the bad energy that does not allow him to sleep with his wife. Slowly their tragic past is revealed and the people who betrayed them and ripped them apart pay for their crimes.

Opinion

I loved this drama. There were a lot of parts that were very cheesy. Like the eunuch dropping cherry blossoms on Yeon Woo and Hwon to add some romance to the atmosphere or the umbrella falling on their bodies symbolically. However, this did not detract from the drama. The acting done by the child actors was amazing. When Hwon found out that Yeon Woo was being expelled from the palace due to her dark magic illness, his tears fell effortlessly and I cried with him.  I am amazed that a 15-year-old actor could act this well and I really felt like this was happening for real.

The grown up version of Hwon played by the handsome Kim Soo Hyun was also flawless. These actors took lessons in crying because they kept coming down like a waterfall. I literally felt his heart breaking and my own face was wet with tears for every single episode.

One big negative was the actress Han Ga In, who played the adult version of Yeon Woo. She was so boring and very different from the intelligent and happy younger version of her character. It is understandable that she has been through a lot but  she never made me feel anything except for when she recovered her memory and realized the betrayal of the people around her. Otherwise, the person who was carrying this drama was clearly the king. Not to mention the king’s bodyguard, Woon, played by actor Song Jae Rim, who unfortunately did not get many lines but whose badassery I can appreciate. I, along with many fans of the drama, will be following his career for sure.  

Bottom line: This drama had comedy, sadness, murder and action. All the elements one would need to be entertained. The romance was epic and the prophecy behind their story made sense if you are willing to pay attention.  Most of all, the acting by the young cast was incredible, especially the performance of Yeo Jin Goo. He was amazing in Iljimae and he was even younger then. I’m glad to see his acting is only improving and I cannot wait to see what he will do next. If you are looking for a drama that will make you cry, break your heart and has one of the most beautiful endings I have seen in a long time, then this one is a clear winner.