Daleui Ddeuneun Gang

RIVER WHERE THE MOON RISES (2021) was a really great show. Going into this, I was reluctant, given some of the controversy and outrage of changing the male lead cast member mid-show. I won't get into that topic, but was worried that presumably significant change might have caused the show to suffer and feel disjointed somehow, whether in story, character chemistry or even by editing flaws. I was concerned something might not feel right. Still, I reluctantly gave it a chance.

That was not the case, thankfully. The cast, Kim So Hyun as the Assassin / Warrior named Princess Pyeonggang, and Na In Woo as the charming, peaceful On Dal had such adorable chemistry and many of the side cast was likable or relatable as well, such as the other Ghost Village members, but especially On Dal's Mother / nanny. I adored On Dal and his mother's sweet, unique relationship. That was probably one of the most absolute sweetest things I've seen in a K-Drama in a while. The little orphan girl was so adorable as well. The side cast did a really good job honestly and truly helped make this show so memorable.

While the show used a few old drama tropes that I'm not a huge fan of, such as convenient amnesia, unrequited love from childhood friend (to the point of silliness imo), and random breakups of serious couples, it still managed to keep me engaged.

All that aside, this series was really touching, great writing and direction, great acting/casting, great character development, great story arcs and scene settings, and wonderful aesthetic design, such as costumes and cinematographic visuals. The music was really memorable as well. Overall, this was a show that has it all; adventure, action, romance, mystery, comedy, and tragedy. I highly recommend giving this one a fair chance (with the reshot episodes/scenes with Na In Woo), despite the critics, naysayers and casting controversy concerns.

STORY: 8/10 CINEMATOGRAPHY: 10/10 ART/DESIGN/VISUALS: 10/10 MUSIC: 9/10 OVERALL RATING: 8.5.

Kim So-hyun plays Princess Pyeonggang whose mother, the Queen was killed when she was a child and whilst trying to escape she is assisted by the son of a General called On Dal played by Na In-woo. They become separated and the princess has an accident and loses her memory and she is adopted by a secret society and is trained to become a very efficient assassin. Many years later they meet by accident and this begins to unravel a chain of events going to the top of the Royal household and the events from their childhoods. It is an entertaining story and the pace of the first two thirds of the series is engaging and the momentum retains your interest. Sadly the final third is where to me the pacing is off and it would have benefitted from fewer episodes.

Congratulations to the lead actors and lead actresses especially Na in Woo, he is amazing. You can see all of his emotions in his expressive eyes. The story too was well written and was well directed. I hope they will have another historical drama like this !

The lead actor change part way through (in the original, although by now they may have re-shot all those earlier episodes) did create unevenness. Na In Woo hoo had no time for any character prep, so the first couple of episodes where he had to dive straight in had him seeming a bit wooden after JiSoo. Na In Woo quickly made up for that though and developed On Dal as his own intrinsic character, with excellent chemistry between the leads. The second leads' story was also very well done. Compelling writing and an epic tale.

I'm a fan of Na In-Woo, but Ji Soo is more effective as On Dal. Ji Soo has a boyish, innocent charm.