Actor Kim Se-jeong perfectly absorbed the soul-switching premise in Moon River and showcased multilayered acting skills.
In episodes 5 and 6 of the MBC Friday-Saturday drama Moon River (writer Jo Seung-hee, director Lee Dong-hyun), which aired on the 21st and 22nd, Kim Se-jeong fully realized the challenging performance of portraying Lee Kang (Kang Tae-oh) whose soul had swapped, expressed from Dal-yi's body, through delicate changes in expression and speech, driving the drama's immersion to a peak.
In that broadcast, Dal-yi encountered an unexpected situation in which her soul and Crown Prince Lee Kang swapped after she fell into the water and became entangled with Hong-yeon's energy. Dal-yi, entering the palace as an eunuch, tried to recreate the moment she fell into the water to restore her soul amid the confusing reality; ultimately she ended up kissing Lee Kang, portraying a heart mixed with excitement and tension. Dal-yi lives Lee Kang's life, and in the process faces the wounds and pain Lee Kang carried, gradually building a flow in which their emotional lines slowly change.
Dal-yi also strongly expressed the realistic desire of a character who wants to wear flower shoes instead of straw sandals and put down roots in one place. She stood firm against the head palace attendant's threat of infertility medicine, and in the scene where she takes the flower shoes out of the brazier thrown by the head palace attendant, Dal-yi's distinctive strong dignity and autonomous attitude stood out.
Kim Se-jeong delicately realized the complex situation of Lee Kang entering Dal-yi's body and showed an acting shift that went beyond simple comedy. The Dal-yi who spoke in the Chungcheong dialect disappeared without a trace, and through acting that replicated Lee Kang's neat speech, restrained expressions and even breathing, the soul-switching premise was made believable.
In particular, Kim Se-jeong displayed a wide spectrum by perfectly acting not only the detailed physical expressions but also Lee Kang's intense emotions and meticulous personality. The 180-degree shift in emotional expression to the Lee Kang version created a flow that allowed focus on acting rather than imitation, earning praise that "Kim Se-jeong is a genre."
Moon River, which highlights Kim Se-jeong's intense soul-switching performance, airs every Friday and Saturday at 9:40 p.m.
[Photo] MBC broadcast screen capture.
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