Lovers of the Red Sky – Full Review
Welcome to Lovers of the Red Sky – Full Review. A couple fated to create a vessel and capture an evil spirit join forces to save their country. If you haven’t watched this drama yet, I recommend checking out my unspoiled review here.
Lovers of the Red Sky
♥ Aired: – August 30 – October 26, 2021
♥# of Episodes: 16
♥Where to Watch: Viki
♥Genre: Historical Fantasy Romance
♥Starring: Kim Yoo Jung and Ahn Hyo Seop
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The Story
A talented painter and a blind astronomer, born the same day, share a common fate that involves imprisoning an evil spirit to save the country from destruction. Together the couple must discover the key that will enable them to bind the spirit before he unleashes his evil chaos. But little do they know, the spirit is lurking even closer than they imagine and he will stop at nothing to keep them from fulfilling their destiny.
The Leads
Kim Yoo Jung as Hong Chun Ki
As a child, Hong Chun Ki was blind, but she still dreamed of becoming a famous painter like her father. So when she miraculously gains her eyesight, she immediately enrolls at the local art academy. Now, after years of study, she is a talented artist who cares for her mentally ill father. But those close to her worry that painting will destroy her mental health the same way it did her father. A request from the King to recreate her father’s greatest piece of art and help capture the evil spirit, Ma Wang, only adds to their concern. But when Chun Ki realizes that this project could not only save the stability of their country but also the life of the man she has loved since she was a child, she can’t refuse.
Hong Chun Ki is passionate and determined. Her father’s health and her own blindness left her very lonely as a child. But one stranger’s kindness left an unforgettable mark on her heart. When she meets him again as adults, she understands that they must be fated to to be together. Kim Yoo Jung is well-suited for this character. Her lively charm shines through as Chun Ki and we see the most character development in the series as Chun Ki grows as an artist and as a woman.
Ahn Hyo Seop as Ha Ram
Ha Ram comes from a family blessed by the water god. He is chosen to take part in the royal rain ritual used to stop drought. But when the ritual errupts into chaos, Ha Ram ends up losing his sight and being possessed by the evil spirit, Ma Wang. While the spirit lies dormant for years, no one realizes he is there, but attempts to capture him in a divine vessel make his situation more urgent. Now the spirit plans to fully take over Ha Ram’s mind and body so that he can rule the kingdom. The only thing missing are his eyes, which have been given to Chun Ki. As Ha Ram finds out about the evil that lives inside him, he is ready to sacrifice himself for the good of the kingdom. But Chun Ki insists on finding a way to trap the spirit and free Ha Ram to live a life with her.
Ha Ram is reserved and intelligent. Believing that his father died at the hands of the royal family, he has lived his life waiting for a chance to take revenge on them. But his plans falter when he discovers that the king was as much of a victim as his father. Ha Ram has always loved Chun Ki, but he knows that his revenge will end in his own death so he tries to keep her at a distance, for her own sake. Lucky for him, Chun Ki doesn’t give up easily. Ahn Hyo Seop is a good actor, but I found this particular role very flat. There is very little character development and even the chemistry he shares with Kim Yoo Jung early in the drama seems to fizzle out as the series goes on.
Supporting Characters
Gong Myung as Prince Lee Yul
Prince Lee Yul is the youngest of the King’s sons. He loves art and culture and has a warm personality. He has grown up with Ha Ram, and the two are friends. Lee Yul falls in love with Chun Ki, but it doesn’t take him long to realize that her heart already belongs to Ha Ram.
Kwak Shi Yang as Prince Yi Hoo
Prince Yi Hoo is the middle son of the King. His older brother, the Crown Prince, has been ill for years and Yi Hoo hopes to inherit the crown from his father. Yi Hoo is responsible for helping release Ma Wang and he bears a scar from the fire that is the evil spirits mark. Yi Hoo plans to use his connection with Ma Wang to take power and feed his greed.
Kim Kwang Gyu as Choi Won Ho
Choi Won Ho runs the art academy where Chun Ki studies. He was friends with her father and now takes care of her, since he friend is no longer capable. He tries to protect Chun Ki so she won’t lose her sanity to art in the same way as her father. But his paternal instincts are no match for the stubborn young woman Chun Ki has become.
Things I Liked
♥ Guardian Spirits
I loved the character of Sam Shin and Ho Ryung. The costumes and graphics surrounding these two characters were the strongest in the drama and their magical presence gave a good break from the main storyline. It was also fun to watch Ho Ryung and Chun Ki form an awkward and slightly tenuous friendship. And while Sam Shin was involved in the story from the very beginning, it was sweet to watch Ho Ryung get swept up in the human love story and try to protect the two of them.
♥ Folklore
The fantasy concept for this drama was very interesting and I liked how they were able to incorporate real traditional folklore into the story. Each of the stories brought a new dimension to the overall plot and it was fun to learn some of the lesser known tales, like Hwacha. I never felt like these stories were out of place within the context of the drama as a whole.
♥ Baekgyu Institute “Family”
Another friendship I enjoyed was the interaction between Chun Ki and her art academy “family”, especially Young Wook and Painter Jung. Their familiar camaraderie was touching, and seeing how protective all of them were of Chun Ki seemed very natural. I looked forward to the scenes where the group of them interacted together. And the lengths that Chun Ki went to to save them from Prince Yi Hoo made perfect sense.
Things I Didn’t Like
Woman Artist
I don’t know a lot about artists during this time period, but it doesn’t take much to imagine that women artists were incredibly rare, if not unheard of. And that would be proven by the fact that Chun Ki is the only woman in the academy or the art competition. And yet I only heard one passing comment that anyone found it noteworthy. That seems strange to me. It seems like more should have been made about how rare it was for a woman to be a painter at all, let alone a “divine” painter.
Crown Prince
Okay, I really don’t understand the point of the Crown Prince in this drama at all. We hear about him a few times and know that he is very ill. But we never see him once they all grow up, and his place in the overall story is pretty non-existent. The two younger princes would have been vying for the throne whether he was in the picture or not. Actually having Lee Yul named Crown Prince earlier would have only fueled Yi Hoo’s jealousy more. I just really hate unnecessary characters who we never really see anyway.
Blindness
The blindness element of this drama is not handled well at all. First of all, for someone who spent some of the formative years of her life blind, Chun Ki seems strangely clumsy at dealing with Ha Ram’s lack of sight. In both speech and actions, she seems to forget that sight isn’t something to be taken for granted. But maybe that is partly because Ha Ram didn’t really act like someone who couldn’t see. Wandering the town alone and moonlight horseback riding were treated as normal occurences. While he would have learned to live without sight, there should have still been times when certain tasks would have required some extra effort.
The Ending
“Lovers of the Red Sky” ends with a hard-fought happily ever after. Ha Ram shows up at the sealing ceremony but Ma Wang has managed to take full power over him. As Chun Ki rushes to put the finishing touches on the painting, the demon confronts her and takes back his eyes, leaving her blind once again. With the help of Hwacha and her father, she finishes the painting, but Ma Wang seems impossible to beat, now that he has his eyes again. In the end, the spirit is defeated, but it cost the lives of both Mi Soo the shaman and Sam Shin. Flash forward five years, to Ha Ram and Chun Ki’s birthday. They are living in the country with their young son. The Baekgyu artists and the now Crown Prince, Lee Yul, make the trip to visit. Everyone is pretty much the same with the exception of Lee Yul and Painter Jung’s promotions. Ha Ram and Chun Ki make a trip back to the peach orchard for a romantic birthday date, which ends once again with them running away from the angry owner. In a strange last scene, we see Prince Yi Hoo, who is still alive and in prison, leading a coup against Lee Yul and his supporters. The final credits roll as we see a bloody fight breaking out in the palace.
Should I Watch
“Lovers of the Red Sky” is a fantasy historical romance with a unique concept. This series leans heavily into the magical fairytale style elements, so if you like your historical dramas to be full of true historical events and famous figures, you may be looking in the wrong place. The plot is largely predictable, so don’t expect any huge surprises. The love story is sweet and the supporting cast is strong. As is often the case with fantasy dramas, there are points where the storyline defies logic or the rules suddenly change without explanation. Repetition and flashbacks also drag down the tempo at times. But if you are looking for a fun tale of good vs. evil and true love in a historical setting, this one is not without it’s charms. I give “Lovers of the Red Sky” a 7 out of 10 ramen.
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