Tuesday, September 20, 2016

Moonlight Drawn by Clouds (2016)


Series based on a web novel that happens in Joseon Dynasty.  A girl who impersonates an Eunuch and the love story between her and the Crown Prince.

Background:
Broadcast Period: August - October 2016 (Korea)
Episodes:  18
Status: Completed

Highlights/ Recaps   



Episode 1

Ra On (Hong Sam Nom ) writes letter on behalf of client Jung.  The Crown Prince finds out his sister has a suitor and forbids her from seeing her.  Instead he goes out in disguise to meet him which Hong is standing in as a fill in from the clients begging.  The Crown Prince claims Hong is a fake impersonating an aristocrat and to go back and verify his identity.  Hong somehow manages to push herself and the Crown Prince in a ditch.  She escapes when the Crown princes pushes her out of the ditch and says he will take back the she'll regret it statement.  But she leaves him there.   She is later saved by Yong Sung when she see a wanted poster due to her helping a servant court Misses who has elope together.  She is then captured by her loan sharks who sent to the Palace  to be an Eunuch.  She tricks the knife master that he did the job while he was drunk.  In the palace at night Hong tries to sneaks out but bumps into the Crown Prince in disguise.

Episode 2
Hong fails to leave.  The Crown Prince helps her pass the tests regardless of her attempt to fail the test and get kicked out.  Hong thinks she will fail anyway since she handed in a blank test paper for the final exam so she just doesn't care about the Crown Prince and not knowing his identity even bites his finger.  Meanwhile the answer she use to help to fellow Eunuch friend offends the Princess since it was similar to her previous letter that was written.  Last scene is the Princes trying to kill Hong but the Crown Prince telling her to stop.

Episode 3
Crown Prince saves Hong without her knowing his try identity.  Meanwhile the Prince gets Hong to pass despite handing a blank test paper in.  Later on the Crown Prince, the bodyguard and Hong somehow become friends although the Crown Prince constantly teases him.  Hong is assigned to Royal Consort Park and manages to get the king to respond to her letters.  The responses have always been blank since the king is weak and the queen is controlling him in a way.  Crown Prince remembers his mother that died not being about to see the King.  By accident we find out the blank letter really was written in secret code and they king and consort meet.  The Crown Prince finds out that his father did nothing was his way of protecting him.  Hong is later assign to the Crown Prince quarters.  In the library she is shock to find out that he is the Crown Prince.

Episode 4
At the library the Crown Prince tells Hong his name since earlier she claim that they are friends.  He says to act the way they always are.  The Crown Prince is supports his father and decides accept his decree of full regency to govern in the King's place.  They need to gain approval from China's ambassador during the kings birthday.  One scene is where Hong is in the rain and Yong Song lets her put a lady outfit over her head.  The Crown Prince almost discovers her but Yong Song comes in and says she is his women and the Crown Prince leaves.  The Crown Prince tries to put together a dance show for the King.  Suddenly the solo dancer goes missing (threaten by the queen/prime minister) Since the dance was important to the Crown Prince, Hong hides her identity and dances in the solo dancer's place.  Eunuch Ma sees her full face when she was changing knowing she is a girl.  During the dance the Crown Prince is mesmerized by Hong and remembers the time he and his mother was in the rain and he was just a kid and not a prince with his mother.  After the dance the Prince gets the Prime Minister to read a document shows the peoples devotion for the king.  He looks for the solo dancer after the show.  Just went he is about to find her, Yong Sung pulls Hong into the bushes.

Episode 5
Yong Sung knows Hong's secret and tells her she can rely on him.  They try to find the "solo dancer" but no one knows who she is.  Eunuch Ma doesn't say anything although he saw her full face in the dressing room. The princess finds out that the one that hire Hong to write the letter really likes her servant and it was mistaken identity.  In the lake Hong falls in the water when the princess wanted to confirm the mistaken identity.  The Crown Prince sees this and immediately jumps in to save Hong.  That night Hong is having a nightmare/flash back when her mom separated from each other at the lantern festival when someone is chasing her.  The Crown Prince is at her side at this time.  Next day he casually gives her medicine for her cold and gives her a 1 day vacation during the Lantern Festival.  They "accidentally" meet up and Crown Prince gets her a lantern to make a wish.  His wish is to fulfill her's to find her mother.  When Crown Prince says he sees a lady inside Hong (the solo dancer) Yoon Sung interrupts this meeting saying they have a prior engagement with Hong.  As they leave the Crown Prince grabs her hand and says he doesn't give permission and says Hong is his person.

Episode 6
Suddenly 2 Ginseng appear, Hong says he will go with them/Yong Sung.  Crown Prince leaves them alone and is angry.  Eunuch Ma later goes to the China envoy and says he can bring the solo dancer to him aka Hong.  When Hong is there the China envoy tries to do something but is stopped by the Crown Prince.  Disrespecting the envoy, Hong is put in jail and Crown Prince is under house arrest.  The China envoy leaves and takes Hong with him while Crown Prince tries to stop him unsuccessfully.  Later Yong Sung secretly helps by giving the bodyguard info on the envoy's trafficking.  This works because in route the Crown Prince saves Hong and exposes the trafficking where someone from Qing (aka China) investigates and all the evidence is laid out at the exchange point for the arrest.  Going back to the Palace Crown Prince tells Hong that even though he is angry when he sees her he is angrier when he doesn't get to see her.

Episode 7
Rumors start spreading the the Crown Prince likes men.  We find out Eunuch Ma likes a court lady which is forbidden.  Hong basically puts up a puppet show for him to declare his love to her as a farewell.  The Crown Prince finally understands Hong's previous words that you should profess you love even if you know it does not go anywhere.  It is the sincerity.  In the last scene Crown Prince confesses he told Hong to stay at his side because he loves her and doesn't care.  He will continue this bad love because he wants to.  He then basically kisses her.

Episode 8
We flashback that the Crown Prince sees Hong dressed as a girl (she tries on the clothes Yong Sung gave her)  He is happy.  Hong gives love advice to 2nd female lead that her sincerity will show.  Everyone is looking for the lost princesses of the last rebellion which is Hong.  Hong thinks the Crown Prince likes the second lead since she asks him if he liked any girl and he said yes.  In the end the Crown Prince goes to her place and gives her a matching bracelet (merchant claimed that its a pair and they will fated to be together).  He basically confesses that indeed he likes a girl and that girl is her.

Episode 9
Hong is surprise that he knows.  She later gives him back the bracelet after finding its meaning from the 2nd lead and request for him to let her leave the palace.  The little princess who does not talk we find out is because when she was hiding a few years ago she witness the Prime Minister killing some lady which basically says he did something to the Queen (aka her death was a result of his doing). The Crown Prince says he regrets telling her if he knew she would leave and can't she just stay by his side.  Later on he uses sign language that Hong talk the little princess to tell her he loves her and wants he to stay by her side.  The next scene is Hong dressed as a girl going to the garden where the Crown Prince is sitting reading a book.


Episode 10
Hong dresses up to see the Crown Prince basically she decides to stay by his side.  We find out that the Queen has a surrogate that will bear a son since her unborn child will be a daughter.  The king wants the Crown Prince to marry the 2nd female lead to secure power.  The Eunuch Han by the Crown Prince is really the head rebel leader and he finds out Hong's identity.  Last scene is Hong is going to meet the Crown Prince to see the Teacher that found a way for them to be together but is intercepted by Eunuch Han saying he finally found her.

Episode 11
Eunuch Han just claims she knows Hong when she was little and owes her mom.  Scene where crown prince puts a ink mark on Hong claiming she is his. The girl from the lantern festival is release when Crown Prince finds proof she is not rebel and didn't poison the king. Jung follows the princess and accidentally fall on each other (cute scene).  Queen finds Hong's girl clothes and tries to strip her but is stopped by Eunuch Han and Crown Prince.  Hong sees Teacher and is someone she knows when she was young. He makes remark that if she ever needs to give up anything just don't give him up.  Crown Prince finds Hong's mother and they reunite.

Episode 12
Mom and daughter reunite.  Cute scene of Jung trying to leave sweets for the Princess but fails. The Princess misunderstands that the one he likes is the servant and no her.  One of the counsels pretends to be the rebellion folks and hurt the Crown Prince.  Hong is sadden that he is injured on account of her.  When heading out of palace to meet mom she overhears her and the teacher conversation and discovers she is the daughter of the rebellion leader from 10 years ago.  Last scene we see her return to Palace where the Crown Prince is with flashback when the Crown Prince claim that if she was to ever face difficult time to not let go of him.

Episode 13
Hong returns to the palace to prepare for her departure from the Crown Prince since she promised her mother she would leave put the Crown Prince is waiting for her to go back.  Few cute scenes where she back hugs him.  Jung confesses his love to the Princess.  The second female lead saying she is willing to be his cover by marrying him even though he doesn't love her.  The assassins lie that they are from the rebellion group and that it was all staged by the daughter of the rebellion traitor, Hong Ra On.  Hong sleeps next to the Crown Prince's embrace and she kisses him in his sleep.  The next day she is gone and the Crown Prince finds out the commotion in the palace is looking for Ra On.  He goes to her quarters to find her outfit and the bracelet she left behind.

Episode 14
Hong leaves the palace.  Cute scene where princess pretends to bump into Jung.  She tells him to not use formal speak with her and he asks for her name pulling her close by.  They almost kiss which is stop short by the princess slapping him in the face saying its to fast.   The queen gives birth to a girl and is swapped with a boy.  Kim plants doubts into the Crown Prince that Hong betrayed him by letting the rebels in on the day of the attack.  The second female lead is picked as the Crown Prince's future wife.  Hong gets letter from Minister Kim to meet Eunuch Han who forgot something to tell her at the palace about her father to only meet the Crown Prince with him walking up to her and hugging her.  A bunch of solders walk toward the house they are in.

Episode 15
Hong escapes in time with help of bodyguard.  It seems they knew about it being a trap.  Hong sees the Crown Prince again but holds a knife at him saying she hates his family for causing his father's death.  Basically she is trying to push him away.  The Crown Prince holds her knife and uses it to cut off his bracelet and says he will not ask to see her again as he told her he will believe anything she says.  The Crown Prince is about to marry the 2nd female lead on the way the Eunuch tells him the king just collapses at the news that Hong's father was just arrested.  Meanwhile Hong gets home to see all stuff scattered around and her mother is in shock since she just saw her husband not to long ago in a previous scene.

Episode 16
The second female lead figures out that Hong is the woman the Crown Prince loves.  Hong goes back to the palace to see her father.  She bumps into the Crown Prince that helps her into hiding.  Crown Prince has a talk with her father and basically saying a king is for the people and is the people at the same level.  The Crown Prince tells father he wants one without bloodshed.  At the interrogation Prime Minister Kim captured Hong and tells the Crown Prince to kill her to prove he is not with the rebel daughter.  The rebels fight back to escape and when everyone says to protect the king and Crown Prince, the bodyguard hold the sword at the Crown Prince.

Episode 17
The bodyguard holds the Crown Prince at sword point and the rebels escape.  He gets shot by arrows and Eunuch Han dies helping the rebels escape.  The body guard survives. The Crown prince later exposes the 2 councils that staged the Crown Prince attack as done by the rebels.  The Prime minister finds out that the Queens baby is a fake.  We go back to earlier scene when they were young where a face reader tells the Prime Minister Kim that the Crown Prince will die young and that his grandson Yoon Sung has the aura of being king.  The Crown Prince accidentally drinks poison that was put in the medicine the Crown Princess gave him but by the time she figure it out and to take the bowl away he already drank a sip and fell to the floor.

Episode 18
The Teacher/Doctor is called into the Palace to heal the Crown Prince.  Hong follows so she can see the Crown Prince.  He discovers that it is Hong and when he pulls her towards him pushes her sleeve to see that she is put back the bracelet that he broke last time and is wearing it currently.  The little Princess bumps into Hong and ask to go back to the scary room where the court lady was killed by Prime Minister Kim.  She had hid some evidence of the late Queen's death.  Basically it is a letter by the Queen to her son to be a good king and she did what she did to protect him.  Prime Minister's minions find out and Yong Sung saves Hong but dies in the process.  Queen Kim tries to kill her daughter.  She exposes Prime Minister Kim to the King (like daughter like father that they both can throw away their family) and is later dethroned.  Prime Minister commits suicide on his way to his execution.  We later see that the face readers prediction was correct.  It was just that when he made the prediction Yong Sung and the Crown Prince switched outfits, basically Yong would die young and the Crown Prince has the aura of King.  The Crown Princess steps down as Crown Princess and is granted leave.  Jung proposes to the Princess.  Hong is a novel writer and writes a book Love in the Moonlight (alternative to the show's title) with the Crown Prince's picture. Bodyguard is in the background supporting the Crown Prince who is now King.  Last scene it is the Crown Prince and Hong asking who is Hong to the Crown Prince.  After guessing wrong the Crown Prince answers that she is the one that fills his world.  They kiss and the end.  [in this episode when the Crown Prince is playing with the people they try to explain the title Moonlight Drawn by Clouds.  Basically when clouds are drawn they emphasize the moonlight.  The same analogy that the Crown Prince shines the most when he is with the people when normally one would say a King shines like the sun by itself.]

Cut to the Chase:  A girl Hong Ra On enters the palace as a Eunuch.  She and the Crown Prince fall in love.  The evil Prime Minister Kim deeds are exposed and he commits suicide.  The grandson Yong Sung dies.  Jung proposes the the Princess.  The second female lead leaves to a far of place voluntary.  The bodyguard chooses to stays by the Crown Prince side. Hong Ra On and the Crown Prince have a happy ending.

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