Gods, Demons, And Romance: What To Watch After "Lovers Of The Red Sky"
A new Monday dawns without “Lovers of the Red Sky,” but fear not as we have your next drama addiction ready! Every drama really is its own beast, but the following suggestions contain many of the same elements: young lovers, the gods that want to bring them together, and the villains who tear them apart. Political intrigue generally comes on the side. Without further ado, here are our recommendations for fantastical sageuks!
“Scholar Who Walks the Night”
Kim Sung Yeol (Lee Joon Gi) is a scholar of repute and best buddies with Crown Prince Junghyun (Lee Hyun Woo). The story opens with the two realizing that something is very wrong in the land of Joseon. The vampire Gwi (Lee Soo Hyuk at his best) controls the royal palace virtue of a dangerous deal made by the Crown Prince’s father. The deal? That Gwi rules in the shadows in return for the royal family retaining their power (among other things). When Sung Yeol’s attempt to take down Gwi results in devastating consequences, he disappears, turned into a vampire against his will. With only a magical black cloak that allows him to withstand sunlight, he spends the ensuing century determined to find the Crown Prince’s book that holds the key to defeating Gwi.
A hundred years later, a new Crown Prince Lee Yoon (TVXQ’s Changmin) is on the throne. Sung Yeol works from the shadows still trying to find that book. His quest takes him to the bookseller Jo Yang Sun (Lee Yoo Bi), a girl masquerading as a man because of the patriarchal attitude towards women. Just Hong Chun Gi (Kim Yoo Jung), Yang Sun understands what it means to face discrimination due to gender. An expert at finding rare books, she agrees to hunt for the book. But Gwi hasn’t been doing nothing these past hundred years either, and he’s just found a juicy new target.
Why you’ll love it: For everyone who secretly loved Prince Juhyang (Kwak Si Yang) in “Lovers of the Red Sky,” Gwi is similarly magnificent. He makes for a fantastic, layered villain, and his chemistry with Hye Ryung (Kim So Eun) is incredible. His look is also pretty reminiscent of Ha Ram’s (Ahn Hyo Seop).
But the main couple is pretty cute too!
Check out the drama below!
“Arang and the Magistrate”
Gods, ghosts, and vanished mothers collide in this spooky tale of love. Arang (Shin Min Ah) is an amnesiac ghost who spends her days hiding from Moo Young, the Grim Reaper (Han Jung Soo), and stealing food from memorials to survive. This changes when she runs into Eun Oh (Lee Joon Gi), the hotheaded illegitimate child of a noble who’s hunting for his missing mother. Eun Oh forges an unlikely alliance with Arang after discovering that her binyeo (hairpin) is the same one he gave to his mother. Realizing that the truth of Arang’s death is tied to his mother’s disappearance, the two hunt down her killer in a sleepy town where girls vanish every month and the murderer is undoubtedly supernatural.
Why you’ll love it: Arang is no shrinking violet. This girl is feisty, opinionated, and has a sharp tongue to boot. It’s equal parts hilarious and heartwarming to watch these two bicker their way into romance. Shin Min Ah’s performance really shines here, and Lee Joon Gi plays the straight man to her wild, spunky ghost.
If you wished that Chun Gi and Ha Ram could have had more interaction with the gods, then look no further! Arang equally frustrates and charms her way into the gods’ hearts: the sunny, foppish Jade Emperor (Yoo Seung Ho) and the eternally irritated King Yeomna (Park Joon Gyu). Their banter influences everything in the drama’s universe. They crack deals over the main characters’ fates while perhaps betting a little more than they should.
This may be an older show, but it’s definitely a fun one!
Check out the drama below!
“The Great Doctor”
“The Great Doctor” takes in a fantasy version of Goryeo where everyone has superpowers (really). King Gongmin (Ryu Deok Hwan) sits upon the throne and laments his inability to help his people because his evil advisor (Yoo Oh Sung) holds all the strings.
The king has a love-hate relationship with his wife Princess Nogook (Park Se Young), whom he loves but is also his political enemy because she’s a Yuan princess. However, when his wife is injured in a political assassination, King Gongmin sends his best general Choi Young (Lee Min Ho) to find a doctor who can save her. Through a twist of fate, Choi Young goes through a portal to the modern world and finds Yoo Eun Soo (the amazing Kim Hee Sun), a plastic surgeon. He thinks he’s in heaven (haha). He drags poor Eunsoo to Goryeo, where she’s thrown into this world of political intrigue where everyone thinks she’s a divine healer!
Why you’ll love it: This drama sports a truly epic cast. In addition to the heavyweights mentioned, we have Yoon Kyun Sang, Sung Hoon, and the always wonderful Kim Mi Kyung who really bring this world to life. And we have Lee Min Ho, who turns in one of his best performances as a very restrained general who feels deeply. And who also has insane fighting skills.
As for his superpower? He quite literally can shoot lightning out of him, which comes in handy because the bad guys have a few powers of their own. But best of all is the romance between the very modern Eun Soo and the extremely stoic Choi Young. It’s deep and enduring and the sort sonnets are written of. So much to love here!
Check out the drama below!
“Gu Family Book”
Crossdressing seems to be a common theme here. Choi Kang Chi (Lee Seung Gi) is a gumiho but doesn’t know it or the tragic circumstances that led to his birth (a starmaking turn by Choi Jin Hyuk and Lee Yeon Hee). All he knows is that he shouldn’t remove the beaded bracelet around his wrist. When tragedy befalls Kang Chi’s family at the hands of the vicious Jo Gwan Woong (Lee Sung Jae), Kang Chi’s bracelet is sliced off as he escapes, revealing his powers to him.
Meanwhile, Dam Yeo Wool (Suzy), a swordsman (or swordswoman rather), who comes to Kang Chi’s village to investigate a series of murders. Witnessing what happens to Kang Chi’s family, she impulsively rescues him, and the two embark on a journey of love and revenge as Kang Chi struggles to contend with who he is and control his powers. But there’s more. Yeo Wool knows that she is fated to die if she stays by the side of a man she meets beneath a blossoming peach tree under a crescent moon. Guess who that man turns out to be?
Why you’ll love it: Lee Seung Gi’s eyes change in gumiho form in the same manner Ha Ram’s did.
Plus, this was Lee Seung Gi and Suzy’s first drama together before “Vagabond,” and the chemistry is all sorts of cute.
It should definitely be mentioned that the ending isn’t what one would expect, so don’t go into this expecting that everything works out! However, the journey there is poignant enough to merit a watch. Plus the ending also ends up being the perfect segue to “Vagabond”!
Check out the drama below!
Hey, Soompiers! Which of these shows interest you the most? Which ones have you already seen? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!
Shalini_A is a long time Asian-drama addict. When not watching dramas, she works as a lawyer, fangirls over Ji Sung, and attempts to finish up the greatest fantasy romance of all time. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram, and feel free to ask her anything!
Currently Watching: “Chimera,” “Jirisan,” “The King’s Affection,” “Dr. Brain,” “Dali and Cocky Prince,” “One the Woman”
Looking Forward to: “Melancholia,” “Happiness,” “Secret Royal Inspector & Joy,” “Hellbound,” Ji Sung’s next drama
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