Hotel Del Luna: A Scary Love Story
Hotel Del Luna is a tvN production starring Lee Jieun (IU) and Yeo Jingoo. The drama is a dark fantasy romantic comedy written by the Hong Sisters. Hotel Del Luna redefines romantic comedy and horror genres by blending them together to make a scary, but hilarious masterpiece. Each episode has its own enticing ghost story that leaves you in stitches or shaking in fear, or both.
Hotel Del Luna Synopsis
Hotel Del Luna follows the story of Jang Manwol (Lee Jieun), the owner of Guest House of the Moon. Manwol used to be a wandering rebel during the late Goryeo Era. She meets Goo Chungmyung (Lee Dohyun), a soldier in the Goryeo army whom she falls in love with. After an unfortunate incident, Manwol is distraught and heads out to look for the Guesthouse of the Moon. She inadvertently ends up becoming the owner of the guesthouse after taking a wine given to her by a deity. Manwol is therefore stuck between the land of the living and the dead as the owner of the Guesthouse. She is chained to the world by a Moon Tree, which sprouts wherever she goes. She will only be able to leave for the afterlife once the flowers of the Moon Tree bloom and fall. With pain and resentment filling Manwol’s heart, the Moon Tree’s flowers have not been able to blossom for 1,300 years.
Manwol needs a human to help run her guesthouse by taking care of all the legal matters. With her current manager soon retiring, she goes after a Harvard graduate named Gu Changseong (Yeo Jingoo). Changseong’s father previously made a deal with Manwol to save him from dying and in exchange, he sold Changseong to her. Manwol sends flowers to Changseong every year on his birthday, to remind him of the deal. Changseong is not willing to work at the Hotel Del Luna, especially after finding out that it is a hotel for the dead. Mangwol has a hard time convincing him but with enough persuasion, Changseong eventually becomes the General Manager at the hotel. This, however, does not seem like an ordinary appointment as Manwol’s cold-hearted nature slowly changes with Changseong’s arrival. The Moon Tree, which has stood bare for over a thousand years, also begins to show signs of change. This prompts Manwol, Changseong and everyone at the Hotel Del Luna to try to figure what these changes mean for them.
Review
Hotel Del Luna spans numerous generations to tell Manwol’s story from the Goryeo Era all the way up to the present day. The concept of the drama makes for a creative and fascinating plot that is quite intriguing. Fantasy dramas run the risk of confusing the viewers in trying to make the story make sense, but Hotel Del Luna tries its best to keep viewers within comprehension of what is happening.
Manwol has a harsh and cold personality stemming from her millennium old resentment, but she is a character that is impossible to dislike. IU portrays her in a most endearing manner, making her bursts of anger funnier than they are scary. Because of that, she makes you feel and understand her pain even before you know where those emotions come from.
Gu Changseong adds on to the show by countering Manwol’s indifference with his calm and understanding nature. Even with his fear of ghosts, he confronts every situation with a positive approach that guides Manwol to change her attitude. He becomes someone that Manwol can lean on and yearns to protect. Manwol’s affection for Changseong is what she needs to finally let go off the resentment she feels, making the flowers on the Moon Tree blossom. It is a lovely sight to see them fall for each other, and to try to grapple with the reality of losing each other once the Moon Tree starts to wither.
The build-up for the drama’s conflict is interesting and very exciting, as we see the pieces of Manwol’s past and present slowly come together. However, the disappointment comes in resolving this conflict, which is a bit lacking. Manwol has harbored and nursed a deep hatred in her heart for 1,300 years, waiting for the moment she will be able to face those who wronged her in the past. Though when the time comes, it feels as if it is resolved a little too fast and simple. Considering that this resentment is the reason Manwol ends up becoming the owner of Hotel Del Luna and is unable to go to the afterlife, we highly anticipated the moment she will have to her confront her past. I expect that it would take much more to resolve a 1,300-year-old misunderstanding and not a measly few words.
Although the conflict resolution leaves something to be desired, it remains satisfactory at least as we get to to see Manwol finally let go of her resentment and accept her fate. The drama is able to resolve conflicts for all the characters without leaving any loose ends. Through Manwol and Changseong, we are able to see what it means to fully love and know when it is time to let go.