Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo

August 29, 2016

Ha Jin (IU) is transported from 2016 to the Goryeo Dynasty during a solar eclipse. She wakes in the body of a Goryeo noblewoman surrounded by the sons of King Taejo. The Damyang bamboo forest sequences establish the drama's visual world.

August 29, 2016

The many princes of Taejo's court — their rivalries, their ambitions, their characters — introduced. Wang So (Lee Joon-gi), scarred and feared, is immediately different from his brothers.

September 5, 2016

The story of Wang So's scar and the mother who gave it to him — Lee Joon-gi's most emotionally demanding episode.

September 5, 2016

The gentle 8th prince Wang Wook (Kang Ha-neul) and his feelings for Ha Jin — the triangle at the drama's centre.

September 12, 2016

Extended sequences in the Damyang bamboo forest — Ha Jin and Wang So's most romantically charged outdoor location.

September 12, 2016

Wang So's removal of his mask in Ha Jin's presence — the drama's most iconic moment.

September 19, 2016

The political power struggle among the princes beginning in earnest — the historical violence that will determine who becomes king.

September 19, 2016

Ha Jin's heart divided between Wang Wook's safety and Wang So's intensity.

September 26, 2016

Extended palace sequences — the political world that will consume everyone Ha Jin has come to love.

September 26, 2016

Wang So and Ha Jin at the drama's midpoint — the love declared, the political world closing in.

October 3, 2016

The first major sacrifice — one of the princes paying for the political chaos with everything.

October 3, 2016

Wang So's political ascent — the violence required, the man it makes him.

October 10, 2016

Ha Jin's growing fear of who Wang So is becoming — the future king she already knows from history.

October 10, 2016

Wang So as king — the historical record's verdict on Gwangjong's reign made flesh.

October 17, 2016

The political forces separating Wang So and Ha Jin — the tragedy the drama's audience could see coming from its first episode.

October 17, 2016

Ha Jin's crossing back to the present — leaving everyone she loved in the past.

October 24, 2016

The historical consequences of Ha Jin's presence in Goryeo — what changed and what could not be changed.

October 24, 2016

Wang So's reign without Ha Jin — the king who lost the woman who understood him.

October 31, 2016

The drama's most devastating sequence — Wang So and a portrait.

October 31, 2016

The finale. IU and Lee Joon-gi's performances — and the drama's beautiful, devastating argument that some loves are too large for the worlds that contain them.