Kdrama : Scarlet Heart Ryeo

Assalamualaikum and Hi,

This drama was my favorite during my final semester! I watched this while working and doing assignments. When the last episode was aired, I watched it while I was studying for finals because I was so impatient and curious to know the ending. As a fan of historical and time travelling genre, for me this one was a very amazing.

 The plot

It was about a girl named Go Ha Jin who  was trying to save a drowning boy. Suddenly, a solar eclipse occurred and transported her to the beginning of Goryeo era (ruled by King Taejo at that time), When she arrived in Goryeo, she appeared in the princes' bath place. They looked at her feeling so weird wondering how she entered that place. One of the prince named Wang Wook immediately recognized her. Go Ha Jin was trapped in the body Hae Soo, his wife's cousin. 

The princes she saw was Wang Wook, Wang So, Wang Mu, Wang Yo, Wang Eun, Wang Jung, Wang Won and Baek Ah. At first, Hae Soo was so sad to find herself in someone's else body but then she accepted her fate when Wang Wook said to her everything will be okay. Hae Soo was very close to Chae-Ryung, her maid and friend. She lived in Wang Wook and Lady Hae's home. Initially she felt in love with the gentle and loving Wook. I think part was stupid because both Wook and Hae Soo didn't care about Lady Hae's feeling. Lady Hae was became sick and then died while Wook carried her on his back. After her death, bad times had began for Hae Soo.

Wook kept a distance from Hae Soo because he felt guilty for Lady Hae's death (when she was alive you cheated on her boo Wook!!). The drama continued when the king wanted to Hae Soo as her wife. All the princes tried to protect her but in the end Hae Soo volunteered to go to the palace because she didn't want the princes to be punished. In the palace, Wook and So tried to persuade the king to stop the marriage but he refused. Hae Soo then cut her wrist and said it will leave a big scar, so she won't be fit to be queen (What kind of rule laa duhh?). Hae Soo was punished to be a court lady. She became closed to Lady Oh the head of Damiwon Palace. Her relationship with Wook was still okay but they were not really close as before. Instead, Hae Soo started to be closer to So, who was very worried about her after the incident. Hae Soo also helped Wang So to cover his scar (which was the reason why people afraid of him and his mom hated him. I don't understand who created such a foolish rule) and since that day So was accepted by everyone. He felt grateful and thankful for Hae Soo's help.

A conspiracy to kill the Crown Prince was done to make Yo the King by Queen Dowager Yoo . She ordered one of the maid to put poison in Crown Prince's tea which was served by Hae Soo. So who knew the plan drank the tea but Hae Soo managed to save him. Princess Yeon Hwa also drank the tea to cover up the evil plan. This event caused Hae So was sentenced to death. However, Lady Oh saved her by saying the plan was hers, thus she was the one to be beheaded. The part about Lady Oh was the saddest part. She suffered so much in her life but still she stayed by the King, the love of her life. She said Hae Soo was just like a daughter to her, and she will save her daughter. She reminded her not to be closed to the prince but stupid Hae Soo was so stubborn she won't listen. When Hae Soo tried to beg the King to save Lady Oh, nobody stood  beside her including Wok, who turned away from her. So came to cover her with his coat when it rained. That was the beginning of their love story. Hae Soo was punished to become a water maid. Meanwhile, the princes had to go to war and busy growing up so they did not contact each other anymore.

Few years later, they met each other again. At this time the king was almost dead. Wook, Yoo, Won and Yeon Hwa planned  to make Yoo the king so they tried to delay the returning of Crown Prince to the palace. Actually Yoo was trapped by Wook to destroy his evil plan and Yoo was captured. At the same time, the Crown Prince returned and he was crowned as king. Hae soo was appointed as the head of Damiwon palace. She get back with So and they became so close to each other yeayy. However, good times don't last long, Yoo came back to rebel and with the help of Wook, he managed to kill the king and he finally get on the throne as King Jeongjong. Soo and So wanted to escape from the palace but the king didn't let them to. The king wanted to get rid of Wang Eun whom he thought might be a threaten to him. So had to be the king's dog and followed his orders because he wanted Soo to be safe. However, Wang Eun was finally killed because the king shot his arrow at him and then So stabbed him with his sword as the king ordered him to do so. This was very different from Soo's vision as she saw So was the one to killed Eun. At this point, So decided to be the king of Goryeo so he did not have to be anyone's dog. 

After a long time on the throne, King Jeongjong felt sick as he always heard the voices of the people he killed. While he was dying, he didn't leave his will of who will ascending the throne. Soo greeted Soo as the new King and everyone greeted him too. Wang So became King Gwangjong.

When he became the King, his relationship with So became closer, and he wanted make her the Queen. However, Soo has no family, so the officials rejected her and suggested him to marry Yeon-Hwa, the one and only princess of Goryeo (at this era, half-siblings can get married. Despite her sadness, Soo asked So to marry Yeon-Hwa as she can't guarantee him safety but only comfort and love. Although So already became the king, some people have doubt about the king's will. So get mad and killed anybody who questioned his position. He even framed Wook and wanted to punished after knowing he helped the previous king to kill the Crown Prince. Soo begged him to not to kill his brothers as he promised, So agreed but he punished Wook to live in his home forever and he could never stepped away from his home. 

Yeon-Hwa asked help from Wook to make So hated Soo. Wook confessed about his relationship with Soo and his intention to marry her. So was so mad and he cut off his relationship with Soo. Soo who was devastated already with the life in palace that have too much bloodshed decided to leave. She married Jung and then found out she was pregnant with So's baby. She gave birth to the baby and and died because her body was already weak. After knowing the news, So rushed to Jung's home. He didn't believe So would die without getting back with him. Soo did send letters to him under envelops with Jung's name but So was so mad at both of them so he decided not to read it. So cried so badly with a lot of regrets.  

When Hae Soo woke up as Go Ha Jin after a year in coma, she didn't remember anything she went through. While she continued her job as sale promoter for skin care products line in a Goryeo's exhibition, she started to remember her memories in Goryeo. Then, when she went to see Goryeo's panting on that exhibition, her memories in Goryeo came back. She cried so hard and felt guilty for leaving So alone in his throne. Meanwhile, So had become a good king but he killed many people who were against him. Although he reformed Goryeo, such as establishing Civil Service Exam and Slave Reform Act, he was known as bloody tyrant. He had children with Yeon-Hwa but he never trusted them as he believed they will go against him one day.  

The drama ended with a scene of happy moments So had with Soo. She said to him if they met in another life in a better world, they will be happier together. 

The princes and Hae Soo.

Don't kill each other. You're brothers.

The characters 

• Hae Soo/Go Ha Jin - she was a very cheerful and loving girl. She cared for all the princes and would do anything to keep them safe. She fell in love with Wook, yet their love didn't last. She saw a vision of So as Gwangjong, the bloody tyrant. She became close to him to make sure all the princes will be safe. Then, she accepted So's heart and stayed by his side to make him happy. In the end she left him to stop hating him and make sure she would always loved him.

“I want to live, if I can’t change how I look…” 

“I wish I’d never met you. Then I wouldn’t have to miss you this much.”

• Wang So - . The 4th prince. Son of King Taejo and Queen Yoo. A child who never felt the love from his mother. He get a scar from and accident and it made people kept distance from him. He started to cared for Soo when she always get into troubles but then he loved her when she covered his scars. He too, would do anything to protect Soo. He had to marry Yeon Hwa to protect his throne. He was known as bloody tyrant yet he was also the one who reformed the young kingdo

“He didn’t want to become the sun, but he shone brightly." 

“Brace yourself from here on out. I won’t ever lose you.”

• Wang Wook - The 8th prince. A brilliant and skillful prince. He was the husband of Lady Hae. When Soo came into his life, he felt for her and abandoned his wife until the end of her life. He always want to protect Soo yet he had so many hearts to care for. He felt his responsibilites were a burden to him. He had to let go Soo and for that he became the bad guy. He was the one to create tricky and detailed plan to kill King Hyeojong. So framed him when he knew Wook's helped Yo to kill King Hyeojong. Wook was punished to be at his home till the end of his life. His son later became the 6th king of Goryeo.

“Love and power, I hold both in my heart.” 

• Wang Jung - The 14th prince. He was full brother with So and Yo. He was very close with her overprotective mother who gave all the attention to him. He didn't care much about the throne. He just want to have and be happy. Secretly falling in love with Hae Soo but never told her his feelings. In the end he married Soo to take her out of the palace.

“Forever the youngest brother to his sisters.”

• Baek Ah - The 13th prince. He was the kindest guy ever. He was Soo and So's best friend. He loved to draw and played music. Never been into war. Despite all his kindness, he was a sad guy. His love story never succeed. He loved Lady Hae but she already in love with his brother, Wook. He always visit Lady Hae to play music for her and had conversation together. He was mad at both Soo and Wook when they fell in love, as they ignored Lady Hae's feeling. Years later, he met Woo Hee. They loved each other, but Woo Hee, the only surviving princess of Silla felt guilty for not being able to protect her people. She committed suicide in front of people of Silla and Baek Ah saw her death. He was too heartbroken, after realizing he was too selfish to have her but not understanding the pain she had. He left So, and went to travel to mend his broken heart.

“Full of grace and elegance.” 

• Wang Yo - The 3rd prince. So and Jung's brother. Greedy for the throne. Spoiled by his mother. Always humiliate So in front of others. Very evil. Killed King Hyeojong and Eun. He died because of sickness as he claimed he often heard the voice of people he killed.

“Dreams of being Goryeo’s owner.”

• Wang Mu - The crown prince. He was a very kind brother and cared for his brothers. He was always sick. He treated everyone kindly and fairly. He was killed very cruelly by Yo and Wook.

• Wang Eun - The 10th prince. The closest to Hae Soo. He was very innocent and cute. Very childsh. He loved Soo but she only treated him like a friend. He was forced into arranged marriage. He wasn't happy at first but eventually he developed mutual feelings with his wife, Soon Deok. Unfortunately, both of them were killed by Yo.

“Mischievous and high-spirited." Isn't he kind of adorable?

• Wang Won - The 9th prince. He was the closest to Yo and always helped him with his evil plans. Loved by Chae Ryung but he used the love to manipulate her.

“Possesses pride, greed, perception… and money.”

• Yeon Hwa - The only princess in the family. Full sister to Wook. She was very pretty and well mannered in front of the elders and powerful people. However, she was very rude to the people with lower status. She's a snake who will manipulate people. A very ambitious woman. She knew her goals and find ways to achieve them. Although she was always threaten by marriage with all the kings, she believed she will gain power either through her brother or she will get on the throne by herself. She secretly have crush on So, though he rejected her, she managed to marry him and became the Queen. Despite that, So never loved her until the end.

• Court Lady Oh - the Head of Damiwon. She acted very serious and cold to Soo. Sometimes, she was quite harsh on Soo. Soo never give up and eventually she started to love her like a daughter. She was a very sad lady. She was Taejo's lover, but didn't get to be together. She stayed by his side as a Court Lady. She was pregnant before, but evil Queen Yoo poisoned her tea and she had miscarriage. She sacrificed her life to save Soo when she was framed. 

• Chae-ryung - Soo's first friend in Goryeo. She was her maid too, but they were so close to each other. She betrayed Soo to help Won in killing king Hyeojong. When So found out about this, he ordered for her to be killed. Soo was extremely sad and mad for her to be killed like that. However, Soo was not mad at Chae-ryung. Instead she said her only mistake was she was born as a slave.

• Lady Hae - Soo's cousin and Wook's wife. She's a very loving and caring lady who wanted her loved ones to be happy. She cared for Soo and she was like a mother to her. She was always sick and very weak. She wasn't able to give Wook children. She wanted Soo and Wook to be together after her death. She died in the snow while Wook carried her on his back.

• Queen Yoo - the evil queen. Very influential and powerful. She was greed for power. So she planned for his son's future, so he can be a king. She was the one who assisted Yo the ideas on how to get on the throne. She was a biased mom. She hated So because of scar on his face (but she was the one who caused him to have the scar. Bad mother). In the end, she died on the arm of the child she hated the most.

• King Tae Jo - the founder of Goryeo. He was a good king. However, although he loved his children, he was not a good father because he neglected them too. As he was the king, he thought he should kept distance with his children so he can protect the throne and the country.

It was your fault: part 1.

It was your fault: part 2.

It was your fault: part 3.

After seeing the pictures above (from episode 19), I just realized it was true. Everything happened because of Hae Soo's actions.She knew So will be Gwangjong, but she interfered with the destiny with hope she couldn't changed it. As Ji Mong always said, even you knew what will happen, you must not take any action. Of course in real life this story was not true, it was just a plot twist.

There were many moral values from this story; parents shouldn't be biased or hated their child, siblings should love and protect each other and sometimes the best way to love was to let go so the love will always stay, not hate. 

The very talented casts of Scarlet Heart Ryeo.

This drama was so good. The plot was nicely arranged and it made the audience very nervous to see the ending. The characters were so full of emotions and make us can feel their feelings. I felt quite sad as So and Soo were not together in the end, but I felt so glad she didn't end up with Wook. Nevertheless, the winner of this battle was Yeon Hwa as she became the queen of her crush and had children with him. The only thing she lose was So's love, but I still hate her haha. So and Soo wished they will be together in the next world. I hope there will be part 2 soon. Hence, I rated this drama 9/10.

So and Soo on their night out and they prayed together.

Through thick and thin.

Hopefully they will be together in the next world.