Vai deixar muitas saudades
Terminei essa obra prima hoje e no meu coração só resta um vazio e saudade. Amei a série, sou suspeita pra falar, pois sou fã da Priest (autora da novel) e gosto muito do estilo das histórias dela. Particularmente eu não conhecia essa, mas acompanhei a série desde o lançamento e me apeguei a tudo desde o começo. Personagens muito cativantes, impossível não se conectar com o casal protagonista, com os personagens secundários, e até com os vilões, pois em diversos momentos eu me vi simpatizar com o Scorpion. A série é de baixo orçamento, mas eu não pude deixar de me impressionar com a belíssima fotografia e as cenas de luta foram bem feitas, sem falar nos figurinos incríveis e nas OSTs. Amei o trabalho do trio protagonista, principalmente do Zhang Zhehan, ele já ganhou uma fã, pois já vou atrás de acompanhar os outros trabalhos dele e o fato dele não usar peruca pode ser um detalhe bobo, mas me fez amar mais ainda o personagem kkkk. Algo que acho importante é a falta de sutileza do romance entre Zhou Zishu e Wen Kexing, o que realmente me impressionou, pois não é nem subentendido, eu achei explícito mesmo, e isso mostra a dedicação da produção em não descaracterizar a história e tentar fazer o melhor possível com as restrições que a censura impõe, e a isso eu só posso dizer "muito obrigada"! Enfim, foi uma jornada muito boa de acompanhar, eu ri, eu chorei até ficar com dor de cabeça, mas o final foi lindo e tudo valeu a pena. Espero que venham mais histórias nesse formato já que essa, merecidamente, foi um sucesso.Esta resenha foi útil para você?
Gostinho de quero mais
Entrei nesse dorama porque so ouvia falar bem dele. Sai feliz e tristonho porque queria mais. A atuação do elenco é facisnante, as lutinhas são visualmente bonitas, sem falar do visual em si, e o bromance principal é muito apaixonante, nem imaginava que eles iam se aceitar com um casal tão cedo, oque me concedeu cenas de esquentar o coração, da pra ver a paixão neles de longe! O segundo casal também é muito fofo, pena que não tiveram um final feliz... eu realmente me choquei com a cena onde o noivo... gente eles eram tão inocentes e uns amorzinhos juntos, queria muito que eles tivessem um final feliz. Enfim, minha unica queixa é que, como sempre né, final muito corrido, e tem um especialzinho, ep 37, 7min.. que eu fiquei procurando o resto dos 40 min sem achar, porque nossa aquela cena deles dois.. também queria mais explicações sobre, porque ficou muita coisa implícita. Mas talvez seja de propósito, pra gente imaginar mesmo.Esta resenha foi útil para você?
Grade 10...
Grade 10...Even without seeing the 37 ep. it couldn't be another note.
Of course, I will review there is no other possibility.
An interesting story with a lot of action, drama, comedy, and a lot of "Soul Mate".
I could see that Word of Honor had more freedom to demonstrate the feelings between the main characters, than another very famous Drama similar to this one.
Speaking of the main characters, I loved the rapport between the two actors.
Xu and Wen are "Soulmates", which was the keyword for this drama.
I hope that someday there will be some kind of continuation.
Nota 10...
Mesmo sem ver o 37 ep. não poderia ser outra nota.
Claro que vou rever não existe outra possibilidade.
A história interessante com muita acção, drama, comedia e como muita "Alma Gémea".
Deu para ver que Word of Honor teve mais liberdade para demonstrar os sentimentos entre os personagens principais, que outro Drama bem famoso e similar a este.
Por falar em personagens principais, adorei o entrosamento entre os dois actores.
As xu e Wen dedidamente são "Soulmates" que foi a palavra chave para este drama.
Espero que algum diaa haja algum tipo de continuação.
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Desafiando a censura
Word of Honor foi uma série que comecei a ver sem nenhuma expectativa e me cativou de uma maneira que fazia muito tempo que não acontecia, tanto que assisti os behind the scenes (recomendo que vejam), os episódios especiais, as resenhas, fan-videos e todo tipo de conteúdo que eu pude absorver via internet. Eu queria muito dar nota 10, mas a série tem alguns pontos que impactam na nota final, mas mesmo assim é uma das minhas favoritas!Pontos positivos:
Superando a censura
A série conseguiu driblar a censura chinesa de uma forma brilhante, o Wen Kexiang chega a ser descarado nos flertes com Zhou Zishu. Eu recomendo que assistam os vídeos da Avenue X no Youtube com a leitura labial das falas originais do drama. É um desafio para os produtores fazerem um BL na China.
História envolvente
A história é cativante, além dos personagens principais que foram bem construídos e conquistam o espectador com carisma e excelente atuação, os personagens secundários também despertam interesse com seus mistérios, conflitos e intrigas.
Trilha sonora
A música fica na sua cabeça e não sai mais! Na minha opinião existem dois tipos de boas trilhas sonoras: aquela que você quase não percebe, mas ela conduz as suas emoções e aquela que você consegue visualizar um flashback da série quando escuta, no caso de Word of Honor é esse segundo tipo e toda vez que eu escuto eu consigo rever os meus momentos favoritos na minha mente.
Pontos que poderiam melhorar
CG e low budget
Infelizmente Word of Honor não tinha muito orçamento e isso fica perceptível nas cenas que envolvem computação gráfica e também na repetição dos cenários. Eu acho que eles usaram a verba para as roupas, porque o figurino é muito bonito, porém, em alguns momentos fica claro como faltou orçamento para fazerem uma determinada cena (a debaixo água é um exemplo clássico).
Final apressado
A série foi construída com tantas histórias secundárias, mas no final parece que apressaram para encerrar e algumas coisas ficaram abertas e mal explicadas.
Minha opinião:
Eu costumo evitar C-dramas por serem muito longos, mas no caso de Word of Honor eu gostaria que tivesse mais episódios. A série tem alguns pontos que poderiam ser melhorados, mas isso não impacta tanto no resultado final e certamente vale a pena assistir. Seria tão bom se não tivesse censura, porque seria um BL maravilhoso, mas por causa da censura vira um bromance. De qualquer forma é uma das minhas favoritas no momento e eu fiquei simplesmente obcecada por ela (sofrendo depressão pós-série agora que terminou).
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Esta resenha pode conter spoilers
Geralmente os novel BL são “transformados” em bromance, aliás a meu ver continua um BL, mas censurado, porém aqui não, na verdade é quase escancarado. Claro que há trechos censurados, mas de alguma forma quase não se percebe, os olhares, falas, jeito de se tratarem, as coisas que a produção deixou subentendido, espero mais BL corajosos assim.Casal moderno é formado por um cara de pau soltinho e um sério que é no fundo é um amor. A forma como eles se entendem, é muito linda, Wen Ke Xing é realmente persistente por Zhou Zi Shu, mas não é de forma extrema ou invasiva. Nenhum dos dois é um herói, estão mais para anti-herói, na verdade quase ninguém é cem por cento bom em WoH.
Tanto Zhou como Wen têm muito em seus ombros, tragédias que poucos aguentariam, mas a forma que lidam com isso é diferente, um se revolta contra o mundo buscando vingança, enquanto ou se flagela assumindo tudo para si. Dois homens quebrados, vazios que se encontram e se reconhecem como almas gêmeas, que ganham um sentido na vida e formam uma família com a chegada de Chengling, sem contar com Gu xing e Cao Wei Ning.
Separei vários pontos que gostei comparados com o novel. O disfarce de Zhou, no caso a maquiagem, novel era descrito como pálido, mas colocaram como alguém queimado de sol, isso ficou mais natural para mim, os maquiadores estão de parabéns, um ponto interessante é que foi tirada mais rápido do que no novel e de forma diferente, bem mais poético. Fico muito feliz por decidirem levarem Zhou de volta para mansão mesmo que por pouco tempo, na novel ele vivia dizendo que sentia falta, mas nunca pode voltar. As mulheres fortes, na novel até eram, mas senti que não tinham tanto foco como no drama. não tem haver, mas quero muito dizer que amei a OST e as roupas, uma mais linda que a outra.
Algumas coisas foram trocadas de ordem e adicionadas, essas alterações são diferentes do novel, mas de algum jeito não mudaram o resultado, na verdade fico até feliz por dá momentos felizes como de Cao Wei Ning e Gu xiang, apesar de chorar tanto quanto li por esses dois. Sem contar que na novel o final foi muito corrido, já o daqui ao menos abriram o Arsenal e gostei da resolução, na verdade não entendi a parte sobre a família do Lorde Sétimo, depois lerei sua novel.
Imagino que alguns podem não ter gostado do final, eu de certa forma esperei mais, no novel é mais detalhado, porém não achei ruim, claro que seria melhor se não tivessem cortado essa cena deles extra, na minha cabeça este é o verdadeiro final. Bem, sentirei falta.
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Sandroluc
Com certeza, eu nunca fiquei tão ansioso por um próximo episódio como eu fiquei com Word of Honor. Essa obra é simplesmente magnifica. Comecei a assistir sem por ser mais um trabalho de Gong Jun e fui contemplado com um primor único. Tudo está na medida certa, nem de mais, nem de menos, os atores, os diálogos, as locações, tudo é muito prazeroso. A história, dizer que é envolvente, seria eufemismo. ela nada mais faz do que te aprisionar por inteiro, aguçando o teu querer de saber mais, ouvir mais, conhecer mais.Os combates foram muito bem feitos, dirigidos e executados, é um verdadeiro deleite para os fãs do gênero assim como eu. Este, sem duvida alguma, é para se assistir mais de uma vez.
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the BEST costumed BL from China ( THIS IS A BIASED REVIEW, SEE RATING FOR BETTER ASSESSMENT)
Does it really deserve 9.5, no; in a critical sense. But I can't be unbiased in this, because this drama has made me laugh out loud and cry like a baby.For a drama that is known to have a low budget and with two leads having not much a fan support before this drama, this drama has achieved way more than what other big budget production has not. I do think as fans of BL, especially from China with it's censorship, we need to reward productions who do not skew from the original story, who do non add random female characters, who do focus on story telling with intentions and a POV.
The story is adapted to television and flows through quickly and is evenly paced, the actors brings the life and blood to their characters (leads and side characters), For any viewers with keen sense, this is not a BL adaptation, it's BL. The chemistry between the two MLs are palpable in every scene, as they play back and forth with their words, their gazes, and their body language. They are playful and true to their characters, and I cannot praise enough of Gong Jun's acting in this. At first, I was hesitant to receive his "overt" "eye" acting, but it just conveys so much of his character as being the naive "cat" without it being overacting or farcical. He handles it just right. And ZZH is so good playing the reluctant role of the "mouse" with such subtlety and finesse, that you will find new hints of his intentions at every rewatch. Not to mention all the dynamic supporting roles, written with back stories and characteristic intent that supports this Wuxia JiangHu.
All in all, the script writer deserves the most praise, because for once it's handled by one lady Xiao Chu, who is a Wuxia fan and a fan of Priest. Her love and understanding of the Wuxia genre and the original text really shows how she organically expanded a what is considered a short story in Priest's world. Her adept handling of the subject and the challenges the topic of BL in her homeland is just so perfect, not to mention her knowledge of Chinese literary culture and history brings so much more to artistry to a laymen's entertainment such as tv drama.
After finishing the drama, I can say this drama has brought the standards of not just BL dramas, but all recent Chinese Wuxia drama standards, up, in terms of story telling. This production has told us you do not need big budget, main leads with rabid fans, all you need is good acting, good direction, and good script to capture the audiences' hearts.
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Despicable Me.
This sublime wuxia revolves around two atypical protagonists and their scorching, profound connection. A bold BL adaption that makes no attempt to suggest the relationship is just a bromance, the love story is so charismatically portrayed that it will captivate even mainstream viewers. Both protagonists are morally ambiguous and flawed characters with their own code of conduct. They fall far short of conventional da xia/大侠 or martial heroes but still manage to beguile us into caring and rooting for them.What elevates this drama is the scriptwriting , the writer put her heart into this and while I cannot compare it with the book, I couldn't be more satisfied with the drama's storytelling. Important plot and character points are planned and planted well in advance and the story unfolds in a way that pulls us into various the plot threads and the partial reveals. Many questions, including when Zhou Zishu recognizes Wen Kexing; are never clearly answered but can be surmised upon re-watch from hints in the dialogue and the characters' subsequent actions. The playful, flirtatious dialogue heavily laced with double entendre and layers of meaning with its facile parlance of idioms and ancient parables has won widespread praise from educators and broad audiences, inspiring young adults to dust off their classical texts with renewed enthusiasm. This winsome first work of a young scriptwriter sets a high bar for historical dramas going forward and puts the often lazy and tired works of more experienced writers to shame.
At surface, the backdrop and many characters are classic wuxia themes and anachronisms - various jianghu sects are vying to recover five shards of liulijia, a glazed artefact that can unlock a hidden repository of the most elite martial arts and miraculous medical manuscripts. Sound familiar? Its been done many times. But it scarcely matters because the two main protagonists, Zhou Zishu and Wen Kexing immediately sweep us away with their outrageous, titillating courtship. Gong Jun's shamelessly flirtatious Wen Kexing, is the most predatory, lecherous, and utterly delicious display of physical attraction I have seen since John Malkovich's iconic Valmont in Dangerous Liaisons. I am quite certain most of Zhang Zehan's eye rolls were not acting and I just love his improvised comment - even my fart smells good! Both actors deliver immersive resonating performances - Gong Jun with a wild vengeful ferocity behind flashes of vulnerability and Zhang Zhehan with a subtle nuanced complexity that hints at a multitude of emotions within micro expressions. Classic wuxia themes and archetypes are woven into an addictive tale of friendship, love, betrayal, loyalty, ambition, sacrifice and of course revenge.
While a bit heavy on the slow motion, the fight scenes are stunningly choreographed and delivers enough hairy, scary, dicey, slicey moments to have me at the edge of my seat. I was stunned by the raw ferocious rage and naked hatred that spilled out of Gu Xiang in the epic finale. The bloodthirsty, brutally lethal and absolutely berserk final mortal battle where the master of the Ghost Valley emits rage with the wild light of cruel insanity flashing in his eyes is without doubt the highlight of the action. This of course excludes Lao Wen and Ah Xu's exuberant fight scenes because everybody knows its really a mating dance where they are actually just ogling at each other. The story is well paced with a good balance of mystery, action and and ends spectacularly with enough twists, surprises and a breathless cruelty that pays homage to the true spirit of the genre. If I have to find fault, there are too many sects and side characters that don't advance the plot. The relationship between Zhao Jing and Scorpion King also feels off in a creepy way and even though the role is very well acted, Scorpion King's motives are not well developed. In general the villains feel rather two dimensional but perhaps this is unavoidable given how grey and complex both protagonists are.
Even though this is hands down one of the best wuxias I have seen in years, this is more of a character drama in the sense that the core characters are what really brings this story life in a differentiated way. I am going to discuss them in greater detail in the following paragraphs. Be warned there are mild spoilers so you may want to stop reading here and revisit after completing.
*Be warned - mild spoilers ahead!*
The narrator Zhou Zishu is a dark character and while he is not a villain, he is amoral and thus the story is told via the lens of a world view that is defined by personal loyalties and relationships rather than some over arching sense of morality. In Zhang Zhehan's own words, Zhou Zishu has thousands of layers and is thus the most fascinating and difficult character to both write and to portray. In this both writer and actor delivered brilliantly in striking that perfect balance of revealing not too much but just enough to create an enigmatic character with insidious lingering impact. Zishu is a cynical and disillusioned cold hearted assassin who is only bound to and motivated by his word of honor - yes for once we have an aptly titled c-drama. He doesn't blame Jin wang for his fall from grace nor does he try to avenge his fallen sect brothers because like himself, they all must live and die by their oath, their word of honor. By the time he encounters Zhang Chengling and Wen Kexing, he is resigned to his self inflicted fate and means to spend his remaining days wandering the world drinking himself into oblivion. He epitomizes despicable me, stricken by self loathing for his weaknesses, for his failings that led to the deaths of his sect brothers and Four Seasons Manor's downfall.
Zishu is pulled back into the world of the living by his promise to see Chengling to safety - his intent is to do no more than that and is indifferent to the boy's pleas to accept him as his disciple. Although he was attracted to Kexing, he dismisses his outrageous overtures and distrusts him but lets him stick around to keep an eye on him. It is only after Kexing hallucinates and calls him Zhou Zishu that his attitude changes. That must be when he suspects who Kexing is and for the first time, sees a path towards keeping his promise to his shifu by resurrecting Four Seasons Manor and thus he accepts Chengling as his disciple. But he is really only putting his affairs in order so to speak. Even though he acknowledges Kexing as his soul mate, he does not deem himself worthy of a long and happy life.
Wen Kexing on the other hand is innately a good person, who is driven by hate and vengeance into doing some terrible things. Unlike Zishu, he still longs to be a good person and deep down still believes he is indeed a good person. While Gong Jun brings the many facets of Wen Kexing from the terrifying to the vulnerable alive vividly with his expressive eyes, the character itself is a more easily understandable, angsty, revenge driven wuxia archetype. Zishu is a much darker character than Kexing and he does not save or redeem Kexing, it is actually the other way around. Although Kexing at surface gets more screen time, as the narrator that always seems to know more than he reveals, Zishu is omnipresent and invites the most mind share. As they change each other and extend their found family to include Chengling, Gu Xiang, Cao Weining and even the irascible and hilarious Ye Bai Yi, Zishu subtly comes to embrace life again.
This drama peaks spectacularly in the gorgeously shot penultimate episode that has everything - clever final reveals, plot twists, shocking, shattering losses, violent clashes and epic showdowns. I screamed, I jumped up and down, I cried, I couldn't believe my eyes! This is the way a drama should end, at its peak. Yes, there are small loose threads but overall, I am very happy with the ending. True, the final afterthought episode is a bit of a non sequitur but everything else was so spectacular I am willing to not look that hard at it. This is by far the best wuxia I have seen in many, many years and I can happily call this a perfect 9.5.
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A deeply romantic classic wuxia
This drama is actually very different from the original novel. The first fourteen episodes follow the novel, but then the rest diverge greatly and essentially becomes a very different story. There are significant changes to the character of Zhou Zishu, and there is a major show only plot-point that makes his dynamic with Wen Kexing completely different. The plot itself is also nothing like the one in the novel, and several side-characters were given bigger roles in the overall narrative and even different characterizations. Tian Ya Ke, the source material, is a fairly straight-forward story, while Word of Honor is more like those dramatic, old-timey classic wuxia stories.First off, kudos to the scriptwriter! The pacing is top-notch, not too fast nor too slow. Nearly every scene ties in to the overall narrative, not a single episode feels draggy or unnecessary. No fillers to be found here! And while non-mandarin speaking watchers may miss this, it is very clever how the script incorporates poetry into Wen Kexing's dialogues. Not only is it a very clever way to subtly showcase his flirting, it also adds a layer of depth to his character. Since he grew up in the Ghost Valley and did not have his parents to teach him, it implies that he taught himself literature and the fact that he always uses poetry to express himself shows how proud he is of it. The tiny details are also impressive, like the difference in Gu Xiang's character when we first meet her. She acts like an exaggerated version of a young girl, and slowly becomes more and more genuine as the story goes on. The director did confirm that this is because Gu Xiang hardly ever leaves the Ghost Valley, and so she was trying to copy how she thinks normal girls act. I really appreciate scriptwriting that incorporates characterizations into details like this, because it feels very natural. It also gives the show good rewatch value because after you watch all the episodes and see everything that happens, you suddenly notice the subtle details you missed when you watch the show again.
There are many, many details that allude to future events, and dialogues that seem almost flippant in the beginning end up steamrolling you once you realize its significance in later scenes. Wen Kexing's "as a wanderer in this world, all I need you" sounds like casual flirting at first, but then you see how much depth that sentence holds once you see how their story ends.
The fighting choreography is very good, and really embodies the "fighting" in the classic wuxia I grew up watching. It's not just fighting, but also a sort of dance that reflects the dynamics of the characters. Sparring is basically Zhou Zishu and Wen Kexing's love language, and you see the evolution of their relationship in their fights too. Their fighting scene in the pink forest, in the lake before Zhou Zishu takes his mask off and in the ending are very similar to each other, but with small changes that reflect the evolution of their relationship. The way the story uses tropes to show the romance between the two main leads is excellent. The sparring in the pink forest, for example, is a common romantic trope in classic wuxia, and so is the hairpin scene in the latter episodes. Another noteworthy detail is that in the first episode the romantic connotations of giving a person a hairpin is shown in the scene between Zhou Zishu and his shidi's lover.
I really want to express how happy I am with the casting choices, especially with Zhang Zhehan as Zhou Zishu. Most actors can show strong emotions convincingly enough, but with characters like Zhou Zishu it's important to cast actors that can nail scenes that require nuance and subtlety. It was wonderful watching him transform from cold and sarcastic to warm and playful, and it was all done so subtly I actually didn't realize how much he changed until I was watching a scene and realized that not only was he the one teasing Wen Kexing, he was also the one initiating skinship??? And there's this specific scene in episode 12 where they're drinking together outside and when Wen Kexing calls out to him, you can see how he frowns and mouths something briefly before responding. It was a small but significant detail, showing the gradual decline of Zhou Zishu's hearing. There are many more details like this scattered throughout the show, and I really appreciate this kind of subtle storytelling versus scripts that are too on the nose and obvious.
Gong Jun also played Wen Kexing very, very well. He really embodied Wen Kexing's many faces, and it was wonderful watching his character slowly unravel. And although it's not necessarily a requirement for me, I love how well they match the physical characteristics of their characters. Zhang Zhehan is very athletic and has a very good physique, which just makes him much more convincing (visually) as the powerful leader of an assassin organization. Zhou Ye was perfect as Gu Xiang, her acting in episode 35 was especially chilling.
Also, a more personal opinion, but I like how they stayed true to the novel and portrayed both Zhou Zishu and Wen Kexing just as "masculine" as they were in the novel. I strongly dislike it when danmei adaptations make a character too effeminate. Of course, if the character is portrayed that way in the novel, then I have no issues. The problem is when when adaptations take a canonically more "masculine" character and portray him too effeminately, even when it's not the case in the original novel. Luckily, that did not happen here. There is something refreshing about a danmei that does not limit the personality and characterization of its characters based solely on supposed bedroom dynamics, and Word of Honor's casting and overall portrayal really delivered on that front. They really stayed true to Priest's (the author) work in that aspect.
As much as I enjoyed this show and gush about the script, it does have its shortcomings. The usual issues in the continuity of themes and the pacing of the last five or so episodes. Regardless, for me, the things the show did right definitely outweighs its shortcomings. Those who are expecting a faithful adaptation of the novel may not be happy with the direction this show eventually took, but as a stand-alone it really holds its own. With the issue of censorship in danmei adaptations, I did not expect this show to be as deeply romantic as it turned out to be, and I am still in awe of how they managed to pull this off. They could have gone for the fanservice approach, where they just give us suggestive moments without any real payoff, and yet they chose to develop the relationship properly and give it a real sense of intimacy and depth.
And lastly, I love that the ending credits song is essentially a summary of their romance. It starts with Zhou Zishu talking about his melancholic life and wanting to roam the world as an aimless wanderer, then Wen Kexing responds by lamenting about his own struggles and how it's a shame that he didn't meet Zhou Zishu earlier, and that he wants to give up "the adventures on horseback for a quiet life". Zhou Zishu then responds by saying he agrees to spend the rest of his days with Wen Kexing and the song ends with both of them singing ''I will be with you forever" at the same time. So yeah, kudos to whoever wrote that song because it really fucked me up after the ending. This show is insane and I am thankful to everyone who worked on it.
I love this drama so much!
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Daring, Romantic, Beautiful
After CQL (“The Untamed”), many viewers called for more dramas like it, and are pleasantly rewarded with this drama. “Word of Honor” (WoH) is unexpectedly daring, romantic and visually beautiful. Adapted from a BL novel, “The Wanderers” by Priest, this drama was expected to have the BL elements toned down, if not totally eliminated, to pass censorship, To the surprise of many, here, the show of love is blatant and unabashed; according to readers, the adaptation is faithful and they are delighted.Story
One is guilt ridden, and seeks to redeem.
One is revenge ridden, and vows to avenge.
One is young with no skills, and promises to become better.
They all have one thing in common - they’ve lost everything. When they meet, they become a family, watching out for each other. Life becomes meaningful again.
Many viewers ask the question how this drama is compared to CQL (“The Untamed”). Though of different genre, CQL is xianxia and WoH is wuxia, there are many similar parts, such as the search for some relics that everyone kills to possess, the monsters/zombies, music therapy (to heal, Wen Ke Xing plays the flute, Lan Zhan plays the guqin), herd mentality, dark can be light, and white can be black etc. They even use the same composer Lin Hai to compose the music. The visual effect of both dramas is very beautiful with amazingly good-looking actors.
“Word of Honor” is a very typical wuxia story with various sects and alliances, emphasizing on chivalry, altruism and compassion as virtues. Compared with “The Untamed”, the relationship in this drama is more explicit. Within the first episode, one would know it's more than platonic - there're more skin-to-skin contacts, and admiration words are flying everywhere. Having said that by episode 22, the BL elements become more subdue and the dynamics somehow shift to more brotherly. Nonetheless, the undertone is still the vow of “till death we part”. There is not so much of the actual plot, but this drama dwells deep into the inner feelings of the main characters – their fears, their hatred, their guilt – and how they try to redeem themselves. A lot of feelings are channeled in an unspoken way, leaving room for interpretation.
With Wen Ke Xing (Gong Jun aka Simon Gong), Zhou Zi Shu (Zhang Zhe Han) is understanding and benevolent. He has great respect and patience for Wen Ke Xing who is a broken man. Wen Ke Xing continues to use flamboyant words to cover his own pains and feelings, and constantly test Zhou Zi Shu with unanswered questions to determine if the latter can understand him truly. They become each other's soul mate, and accompany each other wherever they may go; their constant bantering and teasing is fun to watch, and their CP chemistry is undeniable. Many of the dialogues have deep meaning using analogies and idioms. The use of poems in expressing love and admiration for the other is lavishly done, making the declaration direct and yet classy and meaningful.
Acting
The overall acting is good, in particular for Gong Jun (Simon Gong) as many viewers have pointed out. He has a playful and at the same time a devilish mysterious look which helps him fit perfectly as the gray Wen Ke Xing character. His ability to change from a dark side with devious hatred in his eyes instantly into a bright, cheeky and flirtatious character, or vice versa, is commendable. All this is done aesthetically and convincingly. I particularly love all his fighting scenes, beautifully executed.
I am normally critical of Zhang Zhe Han's acting, but here, he nails it, either as the dark face rugged looking Zhou Xu or the handsome somber Zhou Zi Shu.
As many emotions are expressed through few words but with the actors’ eyes, both main leads have given a rich performance here.
OSTs
As mentioned earlier, the OSTs are composed by Lin Hai who has also composed the OSTs for CQL (“The Untamed”). For me, the OSTs here are less memorable though I have enjoyed listening to the title theme song.
WoH or CQL
I’m not trying to compare apple to apple of the two dramas. I’m just trying to answer some questions new viewers may have. When viewers express that BL not their cup-of-tea, they are being labeled as homophobes and attacked en masse by fans. But attacking others doesn’t make one less bigot.
The Chinese title for WoH is Shan He Ling, which makes me think, just because Chen Qing Ling (CQL) is successful, did they also try to copy the naming style of the title to give WoH a similar feel for the Chinese audience? Shan He in this case has less relevancy than Chen Qing in CQL (The Untamed).
For me, WoH has not touched me as much as CQL has. I have been almost in control, apart from some burst out laughter, throughout the whole drama whereas CQL has made me cry a river. I like the lighting and colors here, and the CGIs are probably done better here too. The fighting scenes here are very beautifully executed, especially with Gong Jun’s scenes (I know I’m repeating, but his fighting scenes are really very good). But the story is not as rich as CQL, the super villains are not as mysterious, and the pains not as intense. The BL elements though are very explicit which may turn some viewers away whereas in CQL, they are very subtle, expressed in thousands of symbolisms, songs, and minute actions. Some viewers even find the relationship platonic in CQL.
My Verdict
There is great character contrast - one is active and the other passive. Both characters have unbeatable fighting skills. The lavish use of poems to describe feelings is brilliant and sophisticated. Great cinematography and great fighting scenes. Visually, like CQL (“The Untamed”), this drama is beautiful. There is a lot of actions, and at the same time, the drama spends a lot of time exploring the inner feelings of the characters.
If you love watching men ogling each other openly, this drama is for you. Else skip the first 20 episodes, but then there's nothing much left to watch and you may not follow the story. Of course, all this boils down to personal taste. Some people didn't like CQL but love WoH. Likewise for viewers who have loved CQL and found WoH not measuring up. And some love both, like myself.
Though there are flaws, I must applaud the courage in producing such a work of art that does not conform. Overall, I have enjoyed this drama.
Great watch!
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Stop saying it's a sad ending.
I've officially finished watching and I can surely say this is the novel adaptation that priest deserved.I was a bit skeptical at the beginning but the characters won me over. Even though the budget is super low (and it shows) they somewhat make up for it with other aspects. A huge thank you for whoever that made this gayer than the novel.
The story is good, but some might find the political sides a bit boring. It does lag sometimes. Somewhat different than the source material but not that drastic of a difference and it definitely helps. The hidden details just make it more interesting.
CG is definitely not the best. Music and bgm are also decent as well. Costumes are so pretty especially the ML's.
I do not have enough words to describe how much I love the main CP. Butterflies everytime they interact. Their relationship is so beautiful. Every episode is just ......chefs kiss*. The side characters are also decent. If you loved CQL you will definitely love this one too.
Even though it has its fair share of heart breaks the ending is happy and satisfying. They become immortals together. There is a short 37th episode & I would suggest everybody to watch that. It's a genuinely happy ending not open or ambiguous. They had to edit it out because we all know how BS Chinese censorship is.
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Convoluted plots and too many side characters take away from the plot.
This is a show that to preface my review could have easily been great, but was bogged down by too many characters and subplots and a pretty bland main story line with mediocre revelations and underwhelming scheming.The story centers around Zhou Zi Shu and Wen Ke Xing. The story is unapologetic about the relationship between these two leads who have a deep and profound connection. It does not make attempts to stray from trying to show their connection which surprised me as I watched the show.
Unfortunately, other than the relationship between the two leads, they don’t particularly captivate me. The story introduces multiple different characters, and different subplots that really make the plot not as cohesive. They don’t particularly drive the story and ultimately just make it unnecessarily convoluted. As different subplots fought for my attention, I found myself caring less and less about the leads. There are different people fighting for power and this leads to some glaring plot holes and just underwhelming revelations. The main plot line never really captures my interest as it’s got too many elements involved that on deeper reflection just don’t make sense.
If you’re not accustomed to wuxia/xianxia dramas, the bad CGI and mediocre fight scenes are glaring. The sets are not particularly good, and a lot of the scenes are not set in a way that immerses you into them. I’m accustomed to the genre in terms of both dramas and the novels, so I know what to expect, but for those who don’t, the mediocre production does stick out. The fight scenes for me are also bizarre in that the canon fodder characters have better choreographed fight scenes than the leads. There’s genuinely so much slow motion fighting one can take. To this day, the most memorable fight scene in this drama for me does not involve the leads.
Where this drama shines is in its power to strangely tug at your heart strings. It could have easily gotten a far better grade if I’d cared about the characters a little more, but because there were too many convoluted subplots, I felt strangely apathetic towards the main characters. However, even if you can predict the emotional scenes, they do a great job at biting at your heart. There were many times I was tempted to drop this but I hang on due to some stellar emotional scenes. The problem of course is the memorable scenes for me do not involve the leads who are what should be driving the story.
Overall, a drama that could have shined if it had ironed out the main plot better, focused on the leads more and erased some of the complicated subplots that don’t add anything to the actual storyline.
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