The palace is never a safe place. Not when a powerful minister is after you, and his daughter wants to exploit you. Just as our leads overcome one hurdle, they face another plight. Not to mention, they have switched bodies and need to stay sharp to avoid being caught.
On a lighter note, romance takes root in our leads’ hearts, yet the same can’t be said about the other couple, who drift further apart.
Bunny S. watches Moon River on Viki
Moon River Episodes 5 and 6 Highlights
“Where did my face go?”
It is a screaming spree as our leads notice the changes in their bodies and get shocked to realize they swapped bodies. Dal-yi is welling up in tears and refuses to eat or drink anything so she won’t have to go to the outhouse, distressing Shin-won and Eunuch Yoon Se-dol (Han Sang-jo), who wonder if “Kang” has gone crazy. Still, Kang adjusts slightly better, racking his brain for a way to enter the palace and meet Dal-yi after Woon dismisses his claim of being the crown prince for “Dal-yi” hurting her head after falling into the water.
Using his palace intel as leverage, Kang seals a deal with the dowager. Now that Woo-hee is about to become the crown princess, the dowager needs an ally to sustain her power. And sure enough, a woman resembling Yeon-wol would make for the best bait to sway “Kang’s” heart and bear a royal heir. As a result, Kang enters the palace as a eunuch, since a court lady position would be more risky.
강달이도 대환장, 사람들도 대혼란
이제 어찌해야 하옵니까…?
5-6회 스페셜 선공개#이강에는달이흐른다
매주 금토 밤 9시 40분 MBC 방송#이강달 #강태오 #김세정 #이신영 #홍수주 #진구 #mbcdrama #MBC금토드라마 #MBC pic.twitter.com/mslZDyQWP6— MBC DRAMA (@mbcdrama_pre) November 19, 2025
“We need to do exactly what we did that day.”
Coming across each other, Kang declares they need to reiterate what happened that night to return to their original bodies. But nothing they do works, and Kang’s trauma resurfaces after getting underwater.
Perhaps things will change if they leave the palace and go to the same spot where they switched bodies. But Kang gets cold feet because of his trauma and jumps into the water only after Dal-yi promises to protect him. Not that it works.
The highlight of this sequence, though, is Kang sincerely apologizing to Dal-yi for all the mean things he said before. He never saw her as a replacement for Yeon-wol. Actually, though he doesn’t say it out loud, there were days when Kang didn’t think about Yeon-wol because his mind was stuck on Dal-yi. When she is in danger, he can’t help but step in, even when it might put his position at risk.
“From now on, you have to truly become Yi Kang, the Crown Prince of Joseon.”
Now that returning to their original bodies is a pipe dream, Kang settles on teaching Dal-yi how to act like him so other people won’t notice anything. But given how vastly different they are, that might not be an easy feat.
In an intriguing twist, Dal-yi has the same nightmares Kang used to have about Yeon-wol’s death. She breaks out in a cold sweat, and Kang comforts her by her side. Then, they go on a night stroll, where Dal-yi shares with Kang that she dreams about the late crown princess. So, those nightmares might be his memories. And he feels sad that he can no longer see Yeon-wol in his dreams.
The conversation flows to how Kang won’t have dreams as Dal-yi doesn’t have memories of the past since she lost her parents when she was five while fleeing the slave hunters. And then she started living with her adoptive parents and aunt. But she doesn’t mention the near-death drowning incident or that those memories were fed to her by her aunt after she woke up remembering nothing, including her name.
Moved by how Dal-yi kept her optimism despite going through all that, Kang asks about her dream. So, Dal-yi mentions wearing silk shoes instead of straw ones. But it is a metaphor for walking at a leisurely pace and settling down rather than constantly wandering.
Holding her hand, Kang takes Dal-yi and runs together to an empty pavilion, where he prepares a petal shower for her. Instead of the pitch-black snowy winter night that she deems as her first memory, Kang hopes spring will be her season, and her path will be filled with flowers.
“I am taking it all back. The warmth I gave you, the peace, the devotion. All of it.”
Meanwhile, Han-cheol forces Woo-hee to take part in the selection. He threatens her with Woon’s life, and she has no choice but to comply. As expected, she makes it to the final round and gets chosen as the new crown princess. Though Woo-hee argues she can only claim this title after the wedding is held, insinuating that she will concoct something to get out of this predicament. Learning that “Dal-yi” is posing as a eunuch, Woo-hee plans to use her to control “Kang.” Indeed, like father, like daughter.
Running into each other in the palace, Woon congratulates Woo-hee, urging her to live happily with Kang. But she has no intention of going through with the wedding. So, Woon claims that what she felt for him wasn’t love, but pity, admiration, or some other emotion, which only makes her madder. So she resolves to take her anger out on Dal-yi and Kang.
Barging into Kang’s room unannounced, Woo-hee catches our leads snuggling. (It was unintentional.) Woon spots them too, along with the servants. And to anyone watching, except for those who know that Dal-yi is a woman, it appears to be an affair between men. Woon pleads with Woo-hee not to do anything, and she follows along, though she hates how Woon seems worried about Dal-yi.
A rumor spreads, though, about the crown prince sleeping with an eunuch. But the one behind it isn’t Woo-hee but a court maid. Hearing the rumors, Woon assumes it is Woo-hee’s doing and almost sets their secret hideout on fire. Yet she stops him at the last minute. They engage in a heated argument where Woon denounces Woo-hee for trying to take down Kang and a throne him, and she admonishes him for pushing his lover into another man’s arms, arguing he was the one who didn’t love her.
Since Woon wants her to marry Kang and become the crown princess, Woo-hee will go along with it, becoming the crown princess, queen, and dowager. But she will speed up the timeline a bit, eliminating everyone and crowning him as king. That way, they will see each other daily and grow old together as they once promised. (What an absurd plan!) In response, Woon argues he finds Woo-hee repulsive, hoping not to see her again. And she stays behind, nursing her broken heart. (Side note: Woon later learns that Woo-hee is innocent and regrets hurting her with his words.)
The flashbacks suggest that these two were truly in love, but it all went south after Woon discovered Woo-hee’s dark side. And it doesn’t help that she is turning nastier by the day. We are still annoyed by Woon’s noble idiocy. But this version of Woo-hee is obnoxious, so it won’t be surprising if Woon falls out of love along the way.
“While I am gone, hang in there.”
Returning to our leads, given how serious the situation is, Kang resolves to leave the palace and hide at Woon’s place temporarily. But first, he will bring Dal-yi’s aunt and adoptive parents to safety. Yet it proves challenging as the king orders the arrest of the eunuch involved in the scandal and those who spread the rumor. So, Kang seeks help from the father of the widow from week one, lord Heo Young-gam (Choi Duk-man), who takes Dal-yi in as his niece-in-law and urges the aunt to close the inn and run away with the adoptive parents.
Hearing Dal-yi is in Hanyang, the aunt gets frantically worried, resolving to take her and leave Joseon. Yet the adoptive parents insist on tagging along. Even if it puts them in danger, they won’t abandon their daughter no matter what.
“Do you want to hide behind me forever?”
Upon reaching Woon’s residence, Kang is miffed to hear Woon’s suggestion that he and “Dal-yi” get married. For his part, Woon is worried Kang might abandon his revenge to protect Dal-yi or call off the wedding out of his resentment of Woo-hee. As for Dal-yi, the marriage will get her off Han-cheol’s radar. Therefore, it is a win-win situation for both parties. However, Kang rightfully tells Woon to snap out of it, arguing that he can protect himself, referring to Dal-yi’s body.
The situation escalates, though, after Han-cheol hears that the eunuch in question is Dal-yi and learns she bears an uncanny resemblance to Yeon-wol. And now he is out for her blood, threatening to repeat the horrendous events from the past if he doesn’t have his way.
Fearing for Kang’s life, the king tries to convince him to hand over Dal-yi, promising to spare her life and make her a government slave. His words, along with the nightmares, make Dal-yi grasp the dreadful things Kang went through in the past. So, she tries to persuade Kang to turn himself in, or in this case, her body with his soul inside. He will suffer for a bit, but she promises to find a way and switch bodies with him, arguing she was already a slave to begin with, so she can endure some more suffering.
However, Kang refuses to accept Dal-yi’s self-sacrifice. So, she bursts into tears. She is worried about his future and that he might lose the chance to avenge Yeon-wol’s death. Through those nightmares, she can tell how tough he had it, so how can she stand in the way of his revenge?
Comforting her, Kang assures Dal-yi that he will handle it all so that no one gets sacrificed. Turning to the dowager. Kang leverages proof of her poisoning attempt. So, she agrees to shield “Dal-yi”. But the dowager also demands that Kang make Dal-yi his concubine. On the investigation day, our leads stir a dogfight among the corrupt ministers. This, along with the dowager’s testimony and a mention of some of Woo-hee’s faults, Han-cheol has no choice but to release “Dal-yi.”
“Since your body is mine right now, that means half of this revenge is mine as well.”
Our leads thank the dowager for making “Dal-yi” an official court lady. But she mentions the concubine issue, and when she doesn’t get an answer that satisfies her, she berates “Kang” for being a coward unable to protect the woman he loves, and mentions that she pities Yeon-wol for loving such a man, only to die in the end.
The dowager’s grating words break Kang’s heart, who already blames himself for Yeon-wol’s death. So, Dal-yi cheers him up by blowing some bubbles. Then, they sit down to discuss their situation. If Dal-yi doesn’t become a concubine, the dowager will discard her. And if Kang heeds Dal-yi’s advice and doesn’t marry Woo-hee, Han-cheol will kill him. Since they are up against the wall, Dal-yi wants in on Kang’s revenge.
“I smiled at another woman.”
Although hesitant, Kang lets Dal-yi on board the revenge plot. They plan to meet Woon, but he lies about being sick to avoid them. So, they go on an outing instead, where Kang vicariously pampers Dal-yi by dressing her body in silk shoes and a pretty hanbok. After that, they get portraits painted while looking awkward and enjoying it all the same. Dal-yi is particularly jubilant all day, and perhaps this is the first time we see her smile that much.
Yet again, Kang is reminded of Yeon-wol while watching Dal-yi. But this time, he feels guilty for having feelings for another woman and takes off first, heading to his previous residence, where he lived with Yeon-wol before entering the palace. He asks Yeon-wol to forgive him, feeling desolate. But then, Kang/”Dal-yi” gets kidnapped by some court ladies under Han-cheol’s payroll.
They plan to make “Dal-yi” barren so the dowager would abandon her. But Kang fights them off and even puts his bare hands into the brazier to retrieve the silk shoes, which signify Dal-yi’s dream. Worn out, Kang returns to the palace and faints on Dal-yi’s shoulder. And by this point, he can’t look the other way or deny his feelings for her anymore.
Moon River Episodes 5 and 6 Musings
Though it is mostly schemes and palace intrigue, we enjoyed the body swap hijinks this week, along with the blooming romance, especially the outing in episode 6.
Kang Tae-oh and Kim Se-jeong were already amazing in their roles, but they took their performance a step further as they portrayed each other’s characters. We look at Kang’s face, but we know it is Dal-yi and vice versa. And even when the drama shifts them momentarily to their original bodies in romantic and impactful scenes, we can barely feel any difference. Also, through the body swap, we got to explore different sides of our leads, Dal-yi’s witty and vulnerable side, and Kang’s soft and emotional side.
It is becoming increasingly difficult to connect with our secondary couple as they say things they don’t mean and hurt each other. So we hope they show some growth along the way. At least we don’t have to worry much about getting a denial phase with our leads, though it won’t be surprising if Kang avoids Dal-yi and denies his feelings after he wakes up. As much as we hope he will realize Dal-yi and Yeon-wol are the same person, we appreciate how he is falling for Dal-yi for who she is, not just because she reminds him of Yeon-wol.
Photos and Videos: MBC Drama
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K-DRAMA RECAP: “Moon River” Episodes 5 and 6
Source: Pinoy Student Wars
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