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This is a review subpage for the drama Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo.

Review by User:Nova984

The drama was above all a story that was replete with a lot of melodrama, the story had everything to please the fan of average dramas, had action, intrigue, and romance. The drama always boasted of exhibiting an intensity that hadn't been noticed in a fantasy genre drama for some time.

An era such as the Goryeo era really required the greatest possible fidelity to be replicated by the production team of the drama, and indeed achieved it, the results are visible in the drama, it came to mention before its premiere the incredible amount of money spent by SBS in alliance with two other international studios, one Chinese and the other North American to make the drama. The CGI is used creatively, with imagination and not in an excessive way that makes it obvious to the viewer.

Both male and female costumes are of excellent quality and attest to the craftsmanship that had to be used to make them.

The predominantly light-colored colors were remarkable, the men in their costumes always wear loose suits while the women's were intricate something that communicates an important message in the narrative theme of the drama.

The sets were spectacular, absolutely real and convincing nothing of any trick by resorting to special effects.

As for the performances, Lee Joon Ki in his interpretation of Wang So, who was the fourth prince, managed to communicate convincingly to a character with a past full of suffering whose soul has been consumed by darkness. A man who has been subjected to much abuse and has no hesitation in punishing those who defy him. Lee Joon Ki manages to convey the vulnerability and intensity of the character wonderfully.

IU in her role, it was seen as very limited, not bad, only that it seemed to be outside her comfort zone. In some scenes she was excellent and in others, it just seemed that she was disoriented as to exactly what to communicate about her character. She managed to convey an impressive chemistry with Lee Joon Ki, and many of the best drama scenes had to do with them.

The rest of the cast was excellent, the casting was fabulous, new and experienced actors complemented each other very well in their respective roles.

The biggest negative about the drama is the terrible editing work, it was disastrous, and unfortunately, that means that the flow of the drama does not follow a natural progression. The transitions from one scene to another were completely clumsy.

The camera simply focused on some distant object and there was a sharp cut to another scene, regrettable, it looked like something from an amateur director. The approaches to the faces of the actors were exaggeratedly very close. The faces with this approach seemed to be cut in half, it was a terrible idea of who suggested that idea.

Another negative criticism is that even though the drama was super extensive, it didn't seem to fully cover or develop all the characters in a satisfactory way. An example is how the past of the royal family is only sporadically revealed during the course of the drama leaving many motivations and actions of the characters unrevealed for the viewers.

The world was interesting and clearly, a lot of effort was made to make it so, it is a pity that no more of the history or more of the world itself was revealed either.

In conclusion, it is an excellent drama, with some glaring flaws, it is incredibly obvious the enormous amount of effort and professional work done behind the scenes from the part of the production team that wanted to make an ambitious drama, did they succeed in their ambition? Not quite, at all, but they tried at least.