It’s Throwback Thursday, and I decided to dig up a drama just in time for Valentine’s Day. With a title like Moonlight and Valentine, I thought it was a great time to revisit this drama. Plus, the Maknae was polling for her next watch, which prompted me to remember this drama.
Do you ever start a drama and you are so excited because it’s fun and amazing, so you gush to everyone you know? Then as you watch it, you notice that it’s going downhill really fast, and you regret that you spoke before you finished it? Yeah, that’s me with Moonlight and Valentine. I loved it at first, and then it just…fizzled. Halfway through this drama, it just got lost, and nothing, not even hot actors, could save it. Read below to see why I was sucked in at first. If these are your favorite actors, go ahead and watch the first half, but know that it’s ok to back away when it gets squirrely!
5 Reasons to Watch Moonshine and Valentine
Lately, everyone is buzzing about the Chinese drama Moonshine and Valentine aka The Love Knot: His Excellency’s First Love. I’m eighteen episodes in and the storyline keeps grabbing my attention. So let’s look at five reasons why this drama should be on your watch list.
Synopsis: Guan Pi Pi is a reporter whose life seems to be falling apart. She’s having problems at work and in her personal life, not realizing that forces beyond her control are dictating her life. She meets Helan Jing Ting and discovers that her destiny is entwined with his. He’s no ordinary man, he is the Right Priest of the alien Fox Clan, half human, half blind, and they have loved and lost each other many times over the centuries.
#5 Destined but not love at first sight.
When our OTP meet, Helan Jing Ting recognizes Pi Pi immediately as the reincarnation of his first love and fully expects her to fall for him. Pi Pi isn’t the same as her predecessors though, she’s already got a career and a boyfriend, and she’s not interested in Helan outside of her interactions with him at work. This twist in the storyline is refreshing as he has to learn how to properly woo her as herself and not as a reincarnation of his previous love.
#4 Qian Hua-The Baddest Female
Qian Hua is an ice princess, she’s smart, successful, loyal, and so in love with our leading man, she will do anything to help him. She is his perfect match, but he’s in love with a human, so she makes herself indispensable as his right-hand woman. Check out the scene where she effectively shuts down the nosy reporter with a tube of lipstick.
#3 The younger versions of our OTP
The younger version of Helan is ethereally handsome and endearingly sweet. He is matched up with a cute and sassy human girl, Hui Yan, and they fall in love. The interactions between the younger couple make you cheer for the pairing of the older couple. The flashbacks provide ample evidence as to how Helan could love one woman for a thousand years.
#2 The Fox Brothers
I love these two so much. Their side story has really caught my attention, and I could honestly watch a drama devoted to them. I’m still not sure which of them will win Pi Pi’s friend from the coffee shop, but I love watching them chase her. The bromance between the fox brothers is strong; they share almost everything, which is why it’s so fun to see how they interact when romance is involved.
#1 Johnny Huang as Helan Jing Ting
Johnny Huang’s facial expressions are everything. While he is “blind” during the day, his facial expressions are a little over-exaggerated, which adds to his character. I’m honestly sticking with this show because of his character and the Fox brothers. He is handsome in a rugged kind of way, and I love his voice. I’ve noticed him in other dramas, and he does not disappoint when it comes to playing a role where he is both commanding and gentle.
There you have it. My solid reasons to check out Moonshine and Valentine (The Love Knot: His Excellency’s First Love) What do you think? Did I mention your favorite part? If not, let me know in the comments, and be sure to check out our other spoiler-free reviews of Chinese Dramas
Until Next Time,
Clkytta
Dramas With a Side of Kimchi
Ah, those foxes! So tempting but with many very large plot holes. That one where the local fox people can only have sex during a certain time of the moon cycle – AND if the right hand prince is in the mood as well? Well, he hasn’t been in the mood for like one hundred years so just how are there foxes? I think the script writer said, “Oooh, this is a cool idea. AND this is a cool idea, let’s combine them!”
I think this world building was a big fail when we wanted it to succeed.
I agree completely.