When Flowers Bloom, I Think of the Moon

It had a strong first episode that made the drama seems promising and interesting but turns out that the first episode was its peak and the subsequent episodes were heading in a steady downward spiral to never recover after that. The story was barely functional for a full length 16-episodes drama. The writer should be embarrassed to label this as a comedy but that wasn't even the worst part that goes for the romance. The drama would have been slightly better if they were to cut out the romance without changing anything. Not only our leads were lacking in chemistry but the romantic moments were tasteless.

Korean Drama " When Flowers Bloom I Think of The Moon " is a period drama with a strong female lead.

The start of the drama is quite strong and gets things fascinating for the continuation. However, the second part is generic and falls right into every period drama cliche. It also gets boring, if it wasn't for the villain that kept things thrilling and suspenseful. The romance, on the other hand, was boring, even though the leads had chemistry and their bickering at first was enjoyable.

The performances, moreover, were great by everyone in the cast.

So, overall, four and a half out of ten..

This would have had more reviews if it was on Netflix. Enjoyable film with likable characters. It's well balanced and have a good storyline. It is a good change of pace, nice light comedy (actually made me lol a few times) with some seriousness along with decent fight scenes. I must say that Korea has always done well with their female leads. Hyeri done well, great supporting cast, and I can say watch this. It is a nice binge worthy series.

Enjoyable for its unique collection of odd characters (misfits!), friendships, and blatant disregard for Joseon culture (it's a bizarre setup made especially to entertain the viewer). But 'Moonshine' needed laughable characters in order to enjoy how the story is presented. Like a pendulum this drama (as it unfolds each episode) swings wildly, from simple fun to lame to kinda brilliant and back again so many times it was a bit exasperating.

The main characters of 'Moonshine' are Ro Seo and Inspector Nam - very average nobles. Nam is a bit of a stuffed shirt (boring goody-two-shoes) from the country and Ro Seo is a shockingly unlikable wildcard. Her daily endeavor is to earn money to live while her ill equipped brother studies to pass the civil service exam (which he's failed repeatedly). Ro Seo frequently faces indignity and misfortune because to her erratic personality; often blunders her way through each situation in the most unattractive way. Nam and Ro Seo are not the usual heroes seen in period dramas and I did shout at the tv for their many bad choices and mistakes.

Overall it is visually appealing with spectacular camerawork and cinematography. The story in its essence is brilliant & quite enjoyable but the delivery was unhinged (IMO) and frustrating at key moments. Still it was a clever attempt to present something different.

Other summary ratings:

Episode Writers: 6/10 Director: 6/10 Supporting Roles: 10/10 Each Actors Role Portrayal: 10/10 Story Pace: 6/10 Story Conclusion: 5/10 EXTREMELY rushed Ending for all couples: 8/10 Special Mention: Byeon Woo Seo (Prince Pyo); Kang Min Na (Han Yea Jin); Moon You Kang (Shim Heon); Park Ah In (Woon Sim).

Overall Enjoyment: 7/10.

I actually really enjoyed this show, despite a rocky first few episodes that almost turned me off of watching. Thankfully the tone and pacing evened out rather quickly, and I became rather attached to the characters.

I loved Hyeri's character, she was smart, feisty, and brave. Seung Ho's character was pretty unlikeable at first, which was different from his other characters that I have seen and who have all been very likeable from the start. However, his character develops along the way and I grew to really like the awkward, stuffy Nam Young. The side characters were quite fun as well, and I thought Choi Won Young was particularly great as the villain; nuanced and flawed, he never over acted and was human at his core.

My only real gripe with the show is that the comedy was all over the place and sometimes poorly timed. It often stuck out at the wrong moment, or was placed back to back with a serious scene that took me as a viewer out of the experience.

However, I do think this was a good watch, with a really great ending that tied everything up without rushing or dragging out the conclusions of the characters. I would recommend giving it a try!