Moon River- Episodes 5-6
Walking in Each Other’s Lives
Episode 5 begins right where fate left off, with Yi Kang and Dal-i plunging into the water after falling from the bridge, their glowing red threads of destiny once again colliding. When morning comes, the real shock sets in, they wake up in each other’s bodies. Confused, panicked, and completely unprepared, they slowly realize the impossible has happened.
Yi Kang tries to explain the body swap to Je-woon, but of course, no one believes him. Meanwhile at the palace, Dal-i, now in Yi Kang’s body, orders Se-dol and Shin-won to find “Dal-i” and bring her in safely. She doesn’t realize that repeatedly saying Dal-i’s name is dangerous, especially when Minister Han-chul is always listening. Se-dol and Shin-won warn her that if Han-chul learns the truth, Dal-i will be killed for resembling the late crown princess.
As palace tensions rise, Han-chul summons Woo-hee to the palace as a bissi, one of the women eligible to become Yi Kang’s future wife during the royal selection in just two days.
Out in town, Yi Kang, now in Dal-i’s body, desperately tries to gain access to the palace. Cha Eun-woo refuses to help him, and even sneaking into a supply cart fails. Instead, Yi Kang is taken before Queen Dowager Han. Thinking quickly, he proposes using Dal-i’s resemblance to the crown princess to emotionally sway Yi Kang and stop his marriage to Han-chul’s daughter. The dowager queen is intrigued but knows Dal-i would be recognized immediately if brought in openly. The solution is unexpected but effective: Yi Kang will enter the palace disguised as a eunuch.
Thus, “Eunuch Lee Gang-dol” arrives at the palace, and Yi Kang finally reunites with Dal-i. Because Dal-i has been acting strangely, the king has ordered his son confined, so Yi Kang’s first priority is convincing the dowager queen to lift the restriction.
Hoping to reignite emotions and possibly reverse the body swap, the queen orders Yi Kang to bathe with “Dal-i.” Awkward, tense, and strangely intimate, the scene leads Yi Kang to suggest recreating the moment that caused the swap, the kiss. They try once, then again underwater, but nothing changes except Yi Kang’s rising panic due to his fear of water.
Back in the prince’s quarters, Dal-i wonders if they must fall off the bridge again. The next day, they attempt exactly that, with Cha Eun-woo distracting the guards. Dal-i gently reassures Yi Kang, telling him to close his eyes and promising to protect him, but even that doesn’t work.
Accepting their situation for now, Yi Kang tells Dal-i she must pretend to be him. He gives her strict instructions on how to act like a crown prince, but Dal-i does nearly everything wrong. She openly talks back, ignores protocol, and even starts eating meals with the king, shocking everyone around her.
Outside the palace, Hong-nan grows increasingly worried about Dal-i. A flashback reveals her tragic past, she once loved the crown princess’s brother, who was falsely accused of trying to assassinate the late queen.
Back at court, whispers spread about a eunuch who looks eerily like the late crown princess. The rumors reach Woo-hee, who summons Yi Kang and reveals her plan to use Dal-i’s resemblance to influence the crown prince.
Yi Kang’s disguise is further tested when he’s forced to endure the harsh eunuch training he himself ordered long ago. Han-chul nearly recognizes his face, but Se-dol cleverly drops a bag of flour over Yi Kang just in time, hiding the resemblance.
That night, Dal-i experiences Yi Kang’s nightmares for the first time. Realizing she’s seeing his pain, Yi Kang takes her on a quiet midnight walk. He apologizes for the cruel things he said before, and the distance between them finally softens.
Dal-i shares her simple dream, living a life where she can wear flower shoes, a life of comfort and peace. In response, Yi Kang leads her to a courtyard and gently shakes a tree, creating a rain of blossoms just for her. It’s a small, sincere gesture that means everything.
As they grow closer, Yi Kang leans in to kiss her.
The episode ends with the two of them waking up tangled in each other’s arms, surrounded by shocked palace staff, proof that fate, no matter how chaotic, is far from done with them.
Feelings in Bloom, Danger in the Shadows
Episode 6 opens on a tense note as a masked man attacks Je-woon. In the struggle, Je-woon realizes the attacker is the son of a Zhen bird merchant from Qing, hinting that forces beyond the palace are beginning to move.
Elsewhere, the mood is far gentler. Yi Kang and Dal-i spend a quiet, romantic evening beneath falling spring petals. When Yi Kang leans toward Dal-i, it looks like a kiss is finally coming, but instead, he’s only shooing away a bee. Still, the tenderness lingers. That night, as they sleep, Yi Kang unconsciously pulls the blanket toward himself, and Dal-i follows. By morning, they’re completely entangled, a peaceful moment that feels earned after all the chaos.
That peace shatters quickly. Woo-hee encounters Je-woon in the palace, and he firmly tells her to focus on marrying Yi Kang. Brushing aside protocol, Woo-hee storms into Yi Kang’s chambers and freezes. Se-dol, court ladies, and attendants all witness Yi Kang and Dal-i asleep in each other’s arms. Though they separate instantly, the damage is done. The situation is twisted into something scandalous, exactly as Woo-hee anticipated.
Jo Mi-geum, the chief court lady’s niece, eagerly spreads rumors about what she saw. Je-woon, believing Woo-hee is behind it, lashes out cruelly, threatening to burn the garden where they once met and cutting ties with her. In her fury and heartbreak, Woo-hee makes a chilling declaration, she’ll kill the king and the prince and place Je-woon on the throne.
To protect Dal-i, Yi Kang leaves the palace and heads toward Boryeong. As the king and Minister Han-chul launch a search for the “eunuch” who caused the scandal, Yi Kang goes into hiding while Dal-i remains trapped at court. With guards closing in, Yi Kang turns to Mr. Heo for help. Grateful that Dal-i once saved his daughter, Mr. Heo agrees to hide him.
Mr. Heo confides in Hong-nan, who immediately grasps how dire things have become. She urges Dal-i’s parents to flee with money she provides, insisting she’ll take Dal-i out of the country herself. They refuse, choosing to stand by her as her parents regardless of blood ties.
Back at the palace, Jo Mi-geum is imprisoned for spreading rumors. Her aunt, the chief court lady, berates her, only to reveal her own bitterness toward the royal family. Desperate, she bargains with Han-chul, offering information about Dal-i’s identity. This confirms Han-chul’s suspicion that Dal-i resembles the late crown princess, and he uses this knowledge to openly challenge Yi Kang before the king.
Meanwhile, Yi Kang hides at Je-woon’s residence. Unaware of the body swap, Je-woon proposes marriage to Dal-i, believing it would protect her and allow Yi Kang to focus on revenge. Yi Kang, speaking as Dal-i, firmly refuses.
Darkness gathers elsewhere. Han-chul visits a cave and throws food toward the shadow of a bird. At Woo-hee’s home, she catches a masked man searching for her gun and realizes her father has sent him.
The king advises Dal-i to surrender the eunuch to Han-chul, insisting their revenge matters more. He promises Dal-i survival, though only as a government slave. Dal-i goes to Yi Kang and urges him to give himself up, believing they can swap bodies back and endure whatever follows. Yi Kang reassures her, he has a plan.
When Shin-won attempts to drag Yi Kang back to the palace, Se-dol intervenes, urging Yi Kang to seek the dowager queen’s protection instead. This gamble pays off. Back at court, Yi Kang accuses the Minister of Personnel of harassment. Dal-i stands as a witness, and suddenly the ministers begin exposing one another’s crimes, turning the court into chaos.
Still, Han-chul demands Dal-i receive 100 lashes. Instead, Dal-i requests that Dal-i be sent to Jeju Island as a government slave. Han-chul agrees, until Dowager Queen Han storms in and claims Dal-i under her authority.
A flashback reveals how Yi Kang secured the queen’s support: he presented her with the poison once used to try to kill the king, not as blackmail, but as proof of his usefulness. Convinced, the queen chose to protect him.
Afterward, Dal-i tries to lift Yi Kang’s spirits with a bubble blower. Yi Kang admits that when convincing the queen, he said the prince liked Dal-i, but insists he didn’t truly mean it. Dal-i quietly promises to help him with his revenge anyway.
Regret ripples elsewhere. Je-woon learns Woo-hee wasn’t behind the rumors and is immediately consumed by remorse. Meanwhile, Han-chul learns that Mr. Heo helped Dal-i’s family escape. Though Mr. Heo claims Dal-i is his wife’s orphaned niece, Han-chul remembers how Mr. Heo once saved his own family. Still, suspicion lingers, and Han-chul orders Dal-i to be found.
The next day, Yi Kang and Dal-i spend rare, precious hours in town. Yi Kang buys Dal-i flower shoes and carefully puts them on her feet, showing her how beautiful she looks. They even have a portrait drawn. When Dal-i repeats a phrase once spoken by the crown princess about spring petals, Yi Kang’s expression darkens. He abruptly tells her to return to the palace.
Left alone, Yi Kang is ambushed, drugged, and kidnapped.
He wakes tied to a chair, facing the chief court lady, who plans to test her suspicions for Han-chul. Worse, she intends to force medicine on him that would render Dal-i infertile. When she cruelly throws the flower shoes into the fire, something snaps. Fueled by rage and desperation, Yi Kang fights back and frees himself.
Weak and still drugged, he stumbles through the palace grounds, passing the cave with the bird’s shadow. At last, Dal-i finds him. He collapses against her shoulder, the weight of fear, affection, and fate pressing heavily between them.
DramaZen's Opinion
Episodes 5 and 6 are where Moon River really leans into both its heart and its chaos, and somehow makes the combination work beautifully.
The body swap brings a playful, almost whimsical energy at first, but what makes it special is how it’s used to deepen Yi Kang and Dal-i’s connection. Watching them navigate each other’s fears, habits, and vulnerabilities feels intimate rather than gimmicky. Episode 5 is full of awkward humor and quiet tenderness, especially as they begin to understand one another in ways they never could before.
Episode 6 shifts the tone, letting the sweetness linger just long enough before the danger creeps back in. The palace rumors, political threats, and betrayals raise the stakes quickly, but the emotional core stays grounded. Yi Kang’s attempts to protect Dal-i, even at great personal risk, and Dal-i’s steady loyalty make their bond feel genuine and earned. Small moments: shared glances, unspoken promises, simple acts of care, end up hitting harder than the big twists.
Together, these episodes strike a lovely balance between romance, tension, and character growth. They remind us that Moon River isn’t just about fate or power struggles, but about two people choosing each other again and again, even when everything around them is falling apart.
