Our main quartet rallies to catch the evil minister and expose his crimes, but he refuses to surrender, pushing back till the bitter end. Still, their perseverance and teamwork win against his malice.
Our antagonist might have been wronged in the past, but resorting to the same malicious tactics undermined his cause and turned him into a monster, culminating in his dreadful ending.
- Main Leads: Kang Tae-oh | Kim Se-jeong | Lee Shin-young | Hong Su-zu | Jin Goo
- Addictive Meter:
- Overall Rating:
- Rewatch Value:
- K-Dramas of Similar Vibe: Queen Love and War | The Moon Embracing The Sun | Love In The Moon Light | The King’s Affection |
Bunny S. watches Moon River on Viki
Episode Recaps: 01 & 02 | 03 & 04 | 05 & 06 | 07 & 08 | 09 & 10 | 11 & 12| Finale Week Recap + Series Review |
Moon River Finale Week Recap
Offering more context for the backstory of Han-cheol and Woon’s mother (cameo by Jang Hee-jin), we see her running a brewery after her family went broke and her father died. Scoundrels would harass Woon’s mother, but Han-cheol protected her, promising to marry after he passed the military service exam. Coming in first, Han-cheol went to buy a hairpin to propose to his beloved. Yet at the last minute, he had a change of heart and opted to put it off until later, when he grew stronger and could protect her better.
Appointed as a palace guard, Han-cheol grew close to the former king (Woon’s father), and they became friends. One day, while hanging out together, the former king came across Woon’s mother and took a fancy to her. Bound by duty and status, Han-cheol stood aside and watched as his beloved became the queen.
Watching from the sidelines, Han-cheol felt content that at least Woon’s mother seemed fine. But it all changed when the dowager framed her, and the former king offered her as a sacrifice to protect his throne. Han-cheol suggested helping Woon’s mother run away, but she feared for her son’s life and succumbed to her fate.
Unable to watch his beloved die, Han-cheol saved Woon’s mother and nursed her back to health. But she lost her memory, presumably as a side effect of the poison. And during her rare moments of lucidity, Woon’s mother tries to flee and send an important “letter” to the palace, like the time she crossed paths with Yeon-wol.
Holding a grudge against the royals, Han-cheol assassinated everyone involved, including the former king and the dowager’s brothers. While we can understand his hatred toward the former king and the dowager, who were terrible people, innocent lives were sacrificed as collateral damage, like the former crown prince and Kang’s mother. And others had their peaceful lives ruined, like the current king, and our leads.
Pushing up the wedding, Han-cheol coincidentally schedules it on the day Woon is supposed to return after inspecting the private army’s base. Dal-yi has faith in Woon to keep his promise, but in case he doesn’t make it through, she plans to run away and join the others.
Solving the riddle, Dal-yi grasps what we already know about Woon’s mother and the pact. Sneaking into Woo-hee’s quarters, they devise a plan. If Woon is held up, Dal-yi will strike Han-cheol using his weakness (Woon’s mother) and go after him with the guards. If it goes wrong, too, Woo-hee plans to confess to shooting Kang so she can tie her father’s hands.
Shifting the focus to Kang and Woon, the drama picks up where we left off last week, with Woon realizing his mother has been alive all along. He wants to push through and take her back. But Kang barely holds him back. And then, they are caught by Bird Keeper. Handing over Woo-hee’s letter, which relays how her mother had died, and Han-cheol had fooled her all this time, Bird Keeper joins our squad on their mission.
Realizing that Han-cheol keeps the secret pact with Woon’s mother, Kang devises a plan. 1# They will rescue Woon’s mother and secure the pact. 2# Woon will entrust his mother to Kang and leave for the capital to deliver the pact to Dal-yi/”Kang.” 3# Shin-won will use the tally to request reinforcements. And after attacking the private army base, he will rejoin Kang and Woon’s mother.
With some help from Bird Keeper, they make it to Woon’s mother’s quarters. Pleading with her in tears, Woon’s mother pulls herself together and recognizes Woon. They leave together after locating the secret pact, but unfortunately, the private army catches on and gives chase. Kang escorts Woon’s mother while the others stay behind to fight off the private army. Though outnumbered, they put up a strong fight until the royal guards arrive as backup and save the day.
It is the wedding day. Dal-yi/”Kang” and Woo-hee ride through the procession. Woon is on the way to the capital. Shin-won charges through the base with reinforcements. Woon’s mother is escorted by the royal guards and Dal-yi’s family. But unbeknownst to everyone, Kang, in Dal-yi’s body, got captured and held hostage while trying to serve as a distraction to protect Woon’s mother.
For better or worse, our leads switch again and return to their original bodies. (They both inadvertently touched water with injured hands at the same time.) Kang opens his eyes at the ceremony while Dal-yi is locked up. Sensing something is off, Woo-hee attempts to admit to the shooting just as Kang orders Han-cheol’s arrest for the murders of the former king, crown prince, and his mother.
Woon arrives with the pact, and Kang burns it off, discarding the leverage Han-cheol has on them. However, Han-cheol’s men show up and massacre innocent people so that their master can escape. The rest of the private army flees the base with Dal-yi as their hostage.
As Kang frantically searches for Dal-yi, he tries futilely to switch bodies and sobs over failing to protect her. But then he hears that Han-cheol is heading to the palace with Dal-yi.
Holding Dal-yi at the sword point, Han-cheol demands they hand over Woon’s mother. Stabbing her before Kang’s eyes, Dal-yi has little time left unless treated. Dal-yi tells Kang not to waver. But he can’t bear watching her die, so he cuts his palm and switches bodies with her so he will be the one dying. It is already raining, and Dal-yi is bleeding, so the switch succeeds amidst Dal-yi’s sobs.
Just before the switch happens, Kang orders the royal guards to arrest Han-cheol, and the latter retaliates by removing the blade from Dal-yi’s body, resulting in more bleeding. As she opens her eyes in Kang’s body, Dal-yi pleads with him in tears not to die on her and carries him on her back amidst the all-out battle happening around them.
Han-cheol is cutting men left and right with his sword, and only the sight of Woon’s mother distracts him long enough for the guards to take him down. With his dying breath, Han-cheol keeps walking in Woon’s mother’s direction, holding onto the hairpin he yearned to gift her. But it is already too late. Han-cheol is dead and buried in the mountains.
Back to our leads, the royal physician tries his best, but it is already too late. Dal-yi’s body lies there soulless. Devastated, Dal-yi tries to swap bodies again, but to no avail. Crying her heart out, another miracle happens. Our leads return to their original bodies, and they are both alive, marking the end of their soul switch and the beginning of their new chance at life.
With her name cleared, Dal-yi is reinstated as the crown princess. The dowager asks for forgiveness from Woon’s mother, but she can’t forget what the dowager did to Woon. As Kang oversees the seizure of Han-cheol’s assets, he stumbles upon countless medical records on madness, reflecting his desperation to find a cure for Woon’s mother. Lamenting their shared situation, Kang muses how he, too, could have turned out evil had Dal-yi not returned to him.
Getting the king’s permission, Woon plans to elope with Woo-hee and never return. But she wants to face her punishment and atone for her sins. Also, Woon just reunited with his mother, and Woo-hee can’t tear them apart again. If they leave now, she will walk on eggshells around him and overthink every gesture he makes. While respecting Woo-hee’s decision, Woon follows her to her exile with his mother so he can stay by her side and await a chance to get together.
A few months later, Dal-yi is going through labour, lamenting how they can no longer switch bodies. She gives birth to a cute boy. And then the drama skips 5 years. The king has retired from politics and abdicated the throne to Kang, who abolishes the guilt by association law and sets Woo-hee free. Adopted by some relatives, she and Woon finally get married and live happily together. Dal-yi’s family has settled down in peace and stopped running away.
Concluding the drama, our leads take a walk together with their son, who takes after Kang. Dal-yi now has two sons to raise, but she doesn’t complain much about it. Our leads gaze at their reflections in the lake as a montage of their moments together plays out, promising to stay together for a long time.
Moon River Quick Series Recap
Having lost his wife to political schemes, a grieving crown prince gets bemused after encountering her lookalike. Interestingly, a near-death experience left the woman with no memory of the past, and she now works as a peddler. Three other characters join the fray: a royal relative with his own hardships, a headstrong noblewoman who demands control over her fate, and a power-hungry minister who wants to have it all.
Moon River Series Highlights and Musings
Serving enthralling parallels, both Yeon-wol and Woon’s mother fell victim to political schemes and almost died, yet miraculously survived. They lost their memories and were separated from their loved ones. However, while Yeon-wol was lucky to get reunited with Kang as Dal-yi, Woon’s mother spent a whopping 15 years thinking of a pillow as her son.
Han-cheol blamed the royal family for what happened to his beloved. But while that might be true, he was a coward who got intimidated by the former king and gave up on his love. Contrarily, Kang resolved to throw away his title and flee with Yeon-wol. And thinking she was dead, he tried to take his life. Han-cheol got blinded by vengeance and greed. But Kang only wanted to protect his loved ones. For someone who put his life on the line to save the woman he loved, Han-cheol gave Dal-yi hell just because she remained alive.
One highlight is when Han-cheol questions why Kang seeks revenge even though his woman is alive and remembers him, making us wonder how things would have unfolded had Woon’s mother not lost her memory. Would Han-cheol still have turned into a beast? Or would he have dropped everything in favor of a happy life with the woman he loved?
This isn’t to excuse his actions or evoke pity, but to emphasize how selfish actions brought on this tragedy. The former king knew Han-cheol and Woon’s mother were in love, but he still desired to have her. Woon and Woo-hee’s story mirrored that of Han-cheol and Woon’s mother. And, ironically, despite being burned by it in the past, Han-cheol schemed to inflict the same terrible fate on his daughter.
Those engrossing themes, alongside the multi-layered characters, elevated what could have been a typical saeguk to an absorbing tale of love, fate, and taking responsibility for one’s choices. With solid writing from start to finish, immersive storytelling, steady pace, consistent tone, captivating cinematography, and evocative OSTs, on top of a talented cast, we conclude this year with a masterpiece that will stay within our hearts for a long time.
Moon River took what sounds like a simple premise and weaved a gripping tale that turned our theories upside down whenever we thought we had figured out the story, and surprised us in a good way. It isn’t a perfect show, but one that made perfect use of its strengths, knowing what story it wanted to tell, sticking to it throughout, and delivering a satisfying ending that ties up loose ends without feeling rushed.
Photos and videos: MBC Drama
The post K-DRAMA REVIEW: “Moon River” Mesmerizes With Enchanting Story Of Love And Fate appeared first on kdramadiary.
K-DRAMA REVIEW: “Moon River” Mesmerizes With Enchanting Story Of Love And Fate
Source: Pinoy Student Wars
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