Early Access: River Where The Moon Rises E1 (Patreon)

E1. Wow. That was quite an opening episode. So much to digest, and so many characters; it all made my head spin, to be honest. However - and this is important - I don't think it hampers the watch too much, even if you relax a little bit with keeping track of the details and who's who. I think you'd still get a good sense of the story, and be able to find your bearings reasonably well, even if there might be a little bit of confusion along the way.

One of the things I found confusing this episode, is the fact that Kim So Hyun plays both Princess Pyeonggang and her mother Queen Yeon. When we flashback to Princess Pyeonggang's younger days, where she's played by Heo Jung Eun, after opening with a scene of Princess Pyeonggang played by Kim So Hyun, I was quite thrown to find that in the flashback, Kim So Hyun is the queen. Because I hadn't looked up the cast list before my watch of the episode, I was preetty confused about what was going on, even though Show does make sure to introduce Princess Pyeonggang in each timeline.

However, looking up the cast list got me sorted quite quickly, and by the end of the pilot episode, I realized why they'd decided that it was important that Kim So Hyun play Queen Yeon - so that On Dal would recognize Princess Pyeonggang right away, when he saw her all grown up after the 8-year time skip. Of course, other shows have had similar moments of recognition even while using different actors to play characters who supposedly look alike, and while that works too, I feel that this choice, to make the fact that Pyeonggang is the spitting image of her mother, visible to us too, is quite nice.

Also, Kim So Hyun does a very decent job playing Queen Yeon, even though she's clearly playing above her age. She manages to carry Queen Yeon with a maturity and gravitas beyond her years, and so it's not that much of a stretch, despite her youthful appearance.

A great deal happens this first episode, and I realize that I was bracing myself for tragedy pretty early on. Given that Kim So Hyun doesn't play Queen Yeon for long, and given that Kang Ha Neul is only making a special appearance, I quite easily gathered that they would both die, and pretty early in our story. I'm a little disappointed that we lose On Hyeob so soon, because Kang Ha Neul is fantastic as On Hyeob. (Well, we don't actually see him die this episode, but if he's not dead now, he soon will be - that I'm sure of.)

I'd last seen Kang Ha Neul as his earnestly dorky simpleton character in When The Camellia Blooms, and so I was quite startled to be reminded that Kang Ha Neul can channel serious gravitas too. I was suitably impressed with how commanding and dignified he made On Hyeob, in the little screen time he's given. What an efficient introduction and summary of On Hyeob the character, who's a wise, strict but loving father, a respected warrior, and a fearless and loyal servant to those whom he serves.

Also, what an irony, that Pyeonggang is saved by Cheonjubang, a sect whose sworn enemy is Goguryeo. I wonder if they'd saved her knowing that she's princess of Goguryeo, and had wiped her memory, while actively pursuing the irony - or poetic justice, in their eyes - of having her kill her own father..? Hmm. I'm definitely curious about that.

I'm also curious to see where this reconnection with On Dal goes. How intriguing it must be for her, to be met with a young man who claims to know her, since she's struggling to regain her lost memories?

All in all, I'd say this was a strong opening episode. It did feel a little overwhelming because of everything moving along so quickly, with so many people and moving parts involved, even while I'm still trying to wrap my brain around who's who, but overall, I do feel like Show knows what it's doing, and that things will become clearer as I go. Importantly, I already feel very interested in our key characters, and I'm keen to keep following them on their journey.