‘Ruler’ is On Its Way to Repeat the Success of ‘Moonlight Drawn by Clouds’
The latest episode of MBC’s Wednesday-Thursday drama, ‘Ruler – Master of the Mask’, which was aired on May 24th, scored 11.9% rating for the 9th episode and 13.8% for the 10th. Within a week, ‘Ruler’ broke its own top-level record while retaining the first place of viewership rating at the same time.
The reaction and the response from audience of ‘Ruler’ reminds us a lot of another historical drama, ‘Moonlight Drawn by Clouds’, which was very popular last summer. ‘Moonlight Drawn by Clouds’ recorded an audience rating of 8% on the first week of broadcast, then increased to 10% from the second week, and continued to rise sharply afterwards.
However, that is not the only reason why ‘Ruler’ reminds many people of ‘Moonlight Drawn by Clouds’. The love story of the crown prince and the female lead in ‘Ruler’ is also similar to ‘Moonlight’. In ‘Moonlight Drawn by Clouds’, the crown prince Lee Yeong (Park Bo Gum) loves Hong Ra On (Kim Yoo Jung), the only child of Hong Kyung Rae, someone who betrayed him. Meanwhile in ‘Ruler’, crown prince Lee Seon (Yoo Seung Ho)’s love interest is Han Gaeun (Kim So Hyun), a girl who wants to take revenge on the government that has killed her father.
The male lead’s visual and convincing performance is another aspect that makes these two dramas highly similar. In ‘Ruler’, Lee Seon played by Yoo Seung Hoo, who captivates women audience with his acting in every episode. In ‘Moonlight Drawn by Clouds’ Park Bo Gum brought the image of someone who’s full of love, something that he had never showed off in his previous works.
The same goes for the female lead. In ‘Ruler’ Kim So Hyun shows a nice and positive charm through her role as lady Han Ga Eun. She’s smart, strong, and brave, characteristics that are often linked to male characters. In ‘Moonlight’, Kim Yoo Jung played the role of Hong Ra On, who disguised himself as a strong young man with a soft-looking appearance.
Source: (1)