A Tale of the Wanderers (2021)

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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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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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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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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Theatrical romance that lacks genuineness

I can understand why BL drama fans love this drama. As a BL costume drama, this drama gets an A but overall as a drama its pretty average. BL dramas are usually pretty poorly done with very poor story and acting so this drama is definitely a step up from all those crappy dramas.

Lot of BL interactions and scenes which I am sure BL fans loved. Sometimes it was fun and cute but most times felt forced and not very natural. The b/romance felt pushed in to our faces a bit. Wen Ke Xing's character is fun and flirty, showing his dark side and his playful side when with Zhou Xu. I don't see the appeal of Zhou Xu, seems very boring. Did not seem menacing enough to be a leader of a ruthless group. Very forgettable and bland character. I failed to connect with either characters.

Nothing comes to my mind when I think of an scene that I could see true feeling expressed by these characters towards each other. There are lots of over the top dramatic, flirty, forced romantic moments but just lacks genuineness and sincerity. Chinese costume dramas always have many theatrical scenes, but in this drama there was something very theatrical and fake about the couple, which really disappointed me.

The story was very decent/average. I can similarities with Legend of Fei since its the same author, characters with hidden pasts, old characters who think they know better than anyone else, some powerful book/ object every one wants, mazes, royalty making appearances for no reason. I often felt that our BL pair was a side story just watching the drama unfold around them. I really didn't care for the main plot with the sects and sect wars and leaders. There are so many characters just talking, talking, talking. This drama believes in telling not showing. The whole childhood friends plot is so overused.

The acting was ok, Gong Jun's character was so overdubbed at the start, it was painful to watch. Though it did improve tremendously. Zhang Zhe Han was very average . I think Gong Jun acted better than I expected whereas Zhang Zhe Han did not meet expectations that I had for him. They can do flirty, cold and concerned but can't convey true emotions. The little boy was adorable but overall tolerable level of acting from the rest of the cast.

I conclude that this is a good BL drama but average drama.

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Best C-drama of 2021! Never get enough with the brotherhood scenes!

Haven't seen a good Chinese ancient drama for quite some time, at least not for 2021. I would say, this is the best of 2021 so far :)

I was surprised coming to know that it was a low production drama as the scenes to me, besides the post-editing of CGI that weren't that perfect, others were pretty well filmed (especially fighting scenes). Unlike the usual big production that went on to 50 episodes, they only had 36 episodes (you will feel it is too short because you love them so much and wanted to see more!!) Well, TBH I felt it can actually be filmed into a 50-episode drama too as the last 6 or 7 episodes are pretty rushed when so many climax going on, but as they are budgeted, totally understandable for them to do it that way, they really made the best out of it!

I never read the novel before, but by watching it as a brand-new series, I really got hooked on with the bromance of the two male leads, so genuine and warm. You shouldn't be comparing it with the famous 'Untamed' drama. Yes, it does share some similarities off and on, where the two were always standing together to fight villains whilst being hunt down by different tribes, but the story is different and their characters too. Untamed brothers started off with stories when they were teenage but WOH brothers were already grownups with much tragedies in life, so they are not as innocent but they were matured too. If you enjoyed watching bromance like Untamed, you should give this a try, it is a very good piece as a standalone:)

I love both Simon and Zhang Zhe Han, great acting skills with on-screen chemistry; although I prefer Wen Ke Xing's character more :) He really shines with the half-villain and half-hero charisma, soft-hearted whenever he is with someone that cares of him but ruthless when people let him down, not too say he's a bit flirty with Zi Shu that makes you chuckle, especially when he teases him, you smell some romance in there! Also bittersweet among the brotherhood have made the relationship grows stronger. I love how they never give up on each other no matter who they were in the past and what they had come through; they accepted each other's awful past and strive towards creating a bright future together! By all means, even if that means killing someone for revenge or die together, they also stand by each other while risking their lives to protect from the back, always being the support for one another.

I mean, how can you not fall for this relationship? I love it, A LOT! It has been a great BL piece after so long! Now I know I can never get enough with the charm of bromance! I hope this trend goes on and look forward to future BL masterpieces!
Side note, not spoiling the ending but remember to look out for Easter Egg after the last episode! :)

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Awesome BL Adaptation-Can rewatch over! Team WenZhou♥️

First of all, I read the novel prior to the series coming out, so when I heard about the adaptation I was excited to see if the BL moments will be included since I know of how censorship works in some countries.

I’ll say, Word of Honor was more than I expected. It made me tear, feel butterflies, and gave me giggles. Although, I watched about half into the drama (ep28/36), my review speaks only to what I have seen.

The production team, scriptwriters, costumes/makes up (behind the scenes workers) and cast did an awesome job and bringing the story, setting and each character to life. It was much better than I expected since this is one of the novels from Priest that I enjoy next to another one. The scriptwriter really knows how to add the romance and confessions in the the spoken poetries from KX.

Now, I am a fan of ZZh for awhile and the character he chose to play, ZZS was perfectly portrayed. He conveyed as much emotions of who ZZS is. - A person wanting to enjoy their last moments of life since he lost everything that he couldn’t save and always felt caged, but now he spends his last few years exploring and doing what he wants, while putting his past behind him. He feels deeply, but can’t convey how he feels in words, but he does in his actions. He has a soft spot, although his exterior image is always cold and gives a unfriendly vibe. But when he meets these strangers along the way, and they earned his trust, the soft side of him shows. ZZH executed this well, especially how the ‘nails’ affects his body. Definitely one of his best works that I’ve seen. I’m happy to see he has been improving through every work.

For KX, GJ, he definitely gain a new fan. I watched a few of his works before but wasn’t a huge fan of his. Just thought he was okay, but after this role, I have high respect for him. KX was well express and GJ had a way in which he made me feel that he is KX, the person who has been hurt and lives for revenge. His life was always shrouded in unhappy moments and death because of his parents death and the life he live after his deceased parent, however, after meeting his fated person he starts to feel alive and human when he is with his fated person.

With both actors, they did so well! I can continue to praise but I won’t anymore <3

The drama is slightly different from the novel but it doesn’t take away the characters’s personalities or their intent and the main plot of the story that’s a plus! I love the relationship between the leads and their adopted child. It’s adorable. A family of 3, soon to be a family of 5. ;)

The music is good. It goes well with the drama, especially the lyrics. I really like it.

Done with my review! Hope yah enjoy the show as much as I did.

———

Edit: - Finished

I completed the drama when the last episode aired XXMar2021....I wished they extended souvenirs for the international fans to buy. I’ll be honest, I lost sleep over this drama and cried my eyes out for hours, even felt depression for days, not that the ending was sad or terrible, but the last few episodes does draws you in for an emotional roller coaster ride. That’s just how invested I was in the drama emotionally.
The novel didn’t drawn me in this much but the drama did. Tells you how good the drama is itself.
In general, I did enjoy every last bit of it.
To the folks who plans to give it a try or thinking about watching it, you wouldn’t regret it, but give it the first 2-3 eps before you make any decisions to drop. For those who decided to watch and/or finished, I hope you enjoy and love WenZhou, CaoXiang, CL, BY and 7th&GS as much as I did. ♥️
Anywho, thanks for reading this essay!

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My new comfort show:)

For how short of money this series was, I didn't expect such an explosion of beauty on screen. I don't just mean the actors^^, but the overall cinematography, color schemes, dance-like fight sequences, flowy vibrant clothing... The main director said in an interview that to him this story was about two desperate people, who come from very dark places, finding light in each other. And this motif of seeking light and hope, sun and warmth is one of my favourite visual and storytelling themes in this series. But there is so much more to unpack here with foreshadowing, hidden clues, overdubbed lines as well as poetry, culture and classic Wuxia references galore!

I couldn't be happier that the entire team seemingly embraced the danmei origins of this story and didn't try to twist it into something else. WOH remains first and foremost a love story told in a very poetic and emotional way, with heaps of flirting, play fighting, sarcasm, sparkling banter and smouldering chemistry. Though the last six episodes are very rushed and a bit of an illogical mess, all in all, the witty and insighful script is definitely one of the series' strongest points. The other is quality of acting, which is good overall and outstanding when it comes to the main leads! I love the subtleties in Zhang Zhehan's acting, turning from stone-faced to mischievous, with the long, fond looks and small teasing smiles. Gong Jun was brilliant in the high-impact emotional scenes (he does vulnerability so well!), and had this charisma on screen as Wen Kexing that was very compelling.

Altogether, this is a beautifully shot Wuxia tale brimming with humour and feels, made with a lot of careful thought and effort, worth many rewatches.

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It had potential, but... (ENG / ITA)

First of all I’d like to apologize for my English, it’s my third language and this review may contains several errors. Secondly, I haven’t read the original novel and my judgement is entirely based on the series.

I really appreciate the colors used for this serie: they’re bright and pleasant to watch. The clothes color palette is magnificent – Chen Sha Sha is gorgeous in those red robes. Another good point according to me is the music; it’s engaging and I especially love the opening theme sung by Liu Yu Ning, “Heavenly question” (天问).
On the contrary, the CG is pretty bad and it’s clear that many sets have been reused multiple times, which I think is due to the laughable budget invested in the production. Those terribile cherry blossoms and the underwater scene will live rent free in my nightmares for a long time.
The main plot is hard to follow and not very linear due to the presence of a huge amount of characters. Each character has a more or less clear motivation that gets less and less coherent because of the lazy and confusing writing.
The main characters have potential but their development is sometimes held back by the narrative needs of the screenplay and as a result they’re incosistent.
On a narrative level, the series has several critical points.
Many episodes have the same structure repeated countless times: a plotting scene between two villains, a flirting scene between the two leads and so on until the plot knocks on the door and the episode ends with a cliffhanger. You can see last minute rescues, changing side between good and bad guys, characters who pop up from nowhere and choices explained rather than shown on these episodes, if you like.
There are also numerous long theatrical scenes where characters do monologues to inanimate objects such as tombs, votive tablets, swords or to people who can’t reply. The ending is a bit rushed but overall is enjoyable.
The script is full of fanservice scenes that BL fans will surely appreciate; they don’t add anything to the plot or the characterization but the two ML flirt like there’s no tomorrow and the viewer keeps asking himself HOW this show passed the censorship.
Although this series is classified as WuXia, the fight scenes are few and short.
The acting is as theatrical as the script: the result is not very homogeneous because some actors perform very naturally while others overact or are unable to convey any emotion. On the other hand, the actors who play elder roles are convincing.
I recommend watching this series if you like BL with more explicit content and appreciate works with a large amount of characters.

SPOILERS START HERE
I’d like to use this part of the review to discuss in detail the critical issues that upset me the most while watching the drama and convinced me to give it a bad rating.
First of all, the characters: they’re too many and they’re built and developed in an incosistent way, in particular the two main leads, Wen KeXing and Zhou ZiShu, who should carry on the plot.
WKX at first is a mysterious man with ambigous morality but soon the do-goodism takes over and the character has an unclear redemption arc… but he’s never been bad for real, so what’s the point? Was it a joke? If so, it was a waste to give him dubious moral connotations, they just confuse the viewer. Gong Jun is quite good in his role, in some scenes he manages to effectively portray WKX’s duality.
ZZS is treated even worse. In the first episode he’s a man with strict morality, strong will, fond of his ideals and even ruthless. His personality turns upside down immediately after meeting WKX and deciding to start a family with him and ZCL; he’s also the only person on this planet to be stalked without getting too upset and indeed, he’s almost amused by it. Throughout the drama, ZZS is the character with the most mood swings ever, although WKX’s writing is more suited for the “moody” role. Zhang Zhe Han is mostly unable to convey any emotion during the episodes and can portray three expressions: bored, smiling and moderatly angry.
Zhang Cheng Ling is another unrealist character. Although ZCL is a teenage whose family is exterminated he barely shows any emotion and then immediately follows two strangers because a dying old man tells him so, he follows their orders, he trustes them and becomes their puppy without asking any questions and indeed, acting as a peacemaker in their continous quarrels. Among all the actors, Sun Xi Lun is the worst and he fails to convince the audience most of the time.
Finally, A-Xiang and Wei Ning. Zhou Ye acts in a really exaggerated way, she has a nagging dubbing and in the emotional scenes her theatricality doesn’t help the viewer to identify with and feel pity for her at all. The result is an annoying character who – despite being raised in a hostile environment – dies after engaging in the first real fight of the series. Her death is forgotten by literally everyone in the following episode.
Wei Ning is a shy and sincere character, tied to the pugilist world’s rules but he is completely forgettable until he becomes a ploy to give a twist to the plot. Ma Wen Yuan plays the CWN with a surprised expression in almost every scene, even when dead.
The exaggerated acting sometimes gives a forcing feelings that makes the affection between the two MLs unrealistic and not believable. The very few enjoyable everyday scenes are not enough to satisfy the previous frustration.
Consistency is missing not only in writing the characters as individuals but also in as a couple.
WKX is the feared leader of the Ghost Valley but he always needs ZZS’s help in every situation and vice versa. From a certain point on in the drama it becomes mandatory for them to be together to be able to do anything and win any battle (maybe).
Even the Ghost Valley’s writing is incosistent. It’s an institution feared by the entire pugilist world for decades and it’s teared down in less than an episode (an event triggered by ZZS who insists to be addressed as ‘brother’ from A-Xiang to help her intercede with WKX).
Finally, I’d like to focus on two aspects that bothered me a lot about the series: A-Xiang’s death scene and the misleading use they make of the term “知己” in the drama.
A-Xiang’s death scene is visually structured in a way too similar to a female character’s death from another drama. There are many TikTok videos where the two scenes are compared so I’m not the only who thinks they look almost the same. Plagiarism is a crime and it should be punished.
Regarding their use of “知己” (zhījǐ), I’m sure many c-drama viewers are familiar with this word despite not speaking Chinese language. Its meaning is so deeply romantic and all-encompassing that leaves any western viewer speechless. In this drama the word “知己” is used at will by the script to satisfy the desire for BL content. ZZS and WKX define their relationship using that word even before knowing each other’s real names and intentions. I’m a huge BL fan but it drives me crazy when the writers try to make fun of me like that.
Unfortunately this series’ potential has been wasted.


ITA


La storia segue le vicende di Zhou ZiShu, deciso ad abbandonare la sua vita passata, e Wen KeXing, un uomo dalle intenzioni misteriose. I due diventano presto amici e affrontano diverse avventure legate a un tesoro leggendario che, si dice, doni il potere sul mondo delle arti marziali.
I colori della serie sono molto vivaci e gradevoli, così anche la palette degli abiti è magnifica – Chen Sha Sha è stupenda in quegli abiti rossi – e la musica molto coinvolgente. Ho amato in particolare la opening cantata da Liu Yu Ning, Heavenly question (天问).
Al contrario, la cg è piuttosto brutta ed è chiaro che molti set siano stati riutilizzati più volte, cosa che penso sia dovuta al risibile budget investito nella produzione della serie. Quei terribili ciliegi e la scena sott’acqua popoleranno i miei incubi per molto tempo.
La trama è molto intricata da seguire e poco scorrevole a causa dell’enorme quantità di personaggi, ognuno con una motivazione più o meno chiara che si dipana in maniera sempre meno coerente a causa della scrittura inefficace e, spesso, pigra. I personaggi principali hanno potenzialità ma il loro percorso evolutivo è talvolta frenato da esigenze narrative della sceneggiatura e pertanto risultano caratterizzati in maniera incostante.
A livello narrativo, la serie ha parecchi punti a suo svantaggio.
In diversi episodi la struttura è ripetitiva, con dialoghi a due che talvolta reiterano i medesimi concetti: prima una scena coi cattivi complottano, poi una coi buoni che flirtano e così via fino a quando la trama bussa alla porta e l’episodio si conclude con un colpo di scena per il successivo. I salvataggi all’ultimo minuto abbondano, i cambi di fazione e opinione sono repentini e troppo spesso spiegati anziché mostrati.
Sono inoltre presenti lunghe e numerose scene dal sapore teatrale, con personaggi impegnati in monologhi di fronte a oggetti inanimati - quali tombe, tavolette votive, spade - o di fronte a persone impossibilitate a creare un confronto.
Vi sono parecchie scene filler che i fan dei BL apprezzano sicuramente; non aggiungono infatti pressoché nulla alla trama e alla caratterizzazione dei personaggi ma veicolano il messaggio amoroso tra i due protagonisti principali lasciando lo spettatore sconvolto che un tale prodotto abbia passato la censura.
Sebbene infine questa serie sia classificata come WuXia, le scene di combattimento sono poche e brevi.
La recitazione subisce lo stesso trattamento della sceneggiatura ed è pertanto molto teatrale: il risultato è tuttavia poco omogeneo perché vi sono alcuni componenti del cast a loro agio mentre altri esagerano o, viceversa, sono incapaci di trasmettere alcuna emozione. Gli attori che interpretano i ruoli anziani sono invece notevoli.
La visione della serie è consigliata a chi ama i BL con contenuti espliciti e a chi apprezza in maniera particolare le opere con una grande quantità di personaggi.

SPOILER
In questa parte della recensione vorrei disquisire in maniera dettagliata delle criticità che mi hanno indisposta maggiormente nel corso della visione e mi hanno convinta a dare un voto insufficiente al drama.
Innanzitutto i personaggi: sono troppi, costruiti e sviluppati in maniera incoerente, in particolare Wen KeXing e Zhou ZiShu che dovrebbero essere i motori della narrazione.
WKX è presentato come misterioso e dalla moralità ambigua ma ben presto il buonismo prende il sopravvento e il personaggio ha un poco chiaro arco di redenzione fine a se stesso perché non è mai stato cattivo per davvero. Era una burla? Se sì, è stato uno spreco dargli connotazioni morali dubbie perché confondono inutilmente lo spettatore. Gong Jun è piuttosto bravo nel suo ruolo, in alcune scene riesce a interpretare con efficacia la dualità di WKX.
ZZS è trattato anche peggio poiché nel primo episodio viene presentato come un uomo dalla moralità severa e rigida, convinto dei suoi ideali e persino spietato. La sua personalità viene stravolta subito dopo aver incontrato WKX e aver deciso di formare una famiglia con lui e ZCL; è inoltre l’unica persona a subire lo stalking senza scomporsi troppo e anzi, ne è quasi divertito. Per tutto il drama ZZS è il personaggio che mostra più sbalzi d’umore in assoluto, sebbene la scrittura di WKX si addica di più al ruolo di “lunatico”. Zhang Zhe Han è perlopiù incapace di trasmettere qualsiasi emozione del personaggio e regala tre tipi di espressioni nel corso del drama: annoiato, sorridente, moderatamente arrabbiato.
Il realismo non si percepisce affatto neanche in Zhang Cheng Ling. È un adolescente cui viene sterminata la famiglia e segue due sconosciuti perché glielo dice un anziano morente, che esegue i loro ordini, si fida e si affeziona a loro come un cagnolino senza mai porre delle domande e anzi, facendo da paciere nelle loro continue schermaglie. Del cast principale, Sun Xi Lun è l’attore peggiore e risulta convincente in pochissime scene.
Infine, A-Xiang e Wei Ning. Zhou Ye recita in maniera davvero esagerata, ha un doppiaggio petulante e nelle scene emotive la sua teatralità non aiuta affatto lo spettatore ad immedesimarsi e provare pietà per lei. Scaturisce così un personaggio fastidioso che, sebbene cresciuto in un ambiente ostile fatto di morte e distruzione, muore dopo aver ingaggiato la prima vera lotta della serie. La sua morte scatena peraltro una serie di eventi nefasti ma viene dimenticata da chi l’amava nell’episodio successivo.
Wei Ning è un personaggio timido e sincero, legato ai vincoli del mondo delle arti marziali ma poco approfondito e percepito come sorvolabile ai fini della trama principale finché non si rivela un mezzo per dare l’ennesima svolta finale. Ma Wen Yuan inoltre lo interpreta in quasi ogni scena con l’espressione sorpresa, persino da morto.
La recitazione esagerata dei personaggi in parecchie scene crea l’effetto di un’eccessiva forzatura che rende poco credibile e realistico l’affetto che i due ML provano l’uno per l’altro. Nelle poche scene di quotidianità godibili, la frustrazione ha ormai raggiunto il limite di sopportazione ed è impossibile immedesimarsi.
La coerenza manca non solo alla scrittura dei personaggi come singoli ma anche a loro come coppia.
WKX è il temutissimo capo della Valle Fantasma ma ha sempre bisogno dell’aiuto di ZZS per districarsi in ogni situazione. Stesso discorso si può fare anche al contrario, da un certo punto in poi del drama per loro diventa obbligatorio essere insieme per riuscire a vincere qualunque scontro (forse).
Persino la scrittura di istituzioni come la Valle Fantasma, così temuta da tutto il mondo delle arti marziali per gran parte del drama, è incoerente perché viene praticamente rasa al suolo in meno di un episodio (evento peraltro scatenato dal fatto che ZZS pretende di essere chiamato “fratello” da A-Xiang e aiutarla così a intercedere presso WKX).
Vorrei infine porre l’attenzione su due aspetti che mi hanno parecchio infastidita della serie: la scena della morte di A-Xiang e l’uso improprio che fanno della parola 知己 nel drama.
La morte di A-Xiang è visivamente strutturata in maniera così simile alla morte di un personaggio femminile in un’altra serie da farmi temere che si tratti di un plagio più o meno volontario e il fatto che internet abbondi di TikTok dove le due scene vengono messe a confronto è sintomo che non le ho percepite molto simili solo io. Il plagio è un crimine e, come tale, andrebbe punito.
Per quanto riguarda l’uso della parola 知己(zhījǐ), sono convinta che molti spettatori di c-drama siano avvezzi al termine nonostante non parlino la lingua cinese. Il suo significato è così profondo e totale da lasciare qualunque spettatore occidentale senza parole per l’estremo romanticismo e la dolcezza del suo significato. Ebbene, qui la parola 知己 viene sfruttata a piacimento dalla sceneggiatura al solo scopo di accontentare il desiderio di contenuti BL nella serie, poiché ZZS e WKZ si definiscono 知己 ancora prima di sapere i rispettivi nomi e senza conoscere minimamente le intenzioni l’uno dell’altro. Sono una fan dei BL ma non mi piace quando gli sceneggiatori cercano di prendermi in giro.
Mi dispiace che il potenziale di questa serie sia stato sprecato, peccato.

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You know that feeling when a show starts of great then ends terribly.

I really enjoyed the first 30 episodes of this show. Around episode 30 it got a bit confusing. Certain events happened that were not fully explained. I wont go into details to avoid spoilers. I actually wondered if the writers hand been changed ?, the show went from funny to what the hell is this. And the ending was abysmal. Not because it didnt have a happy ending where everyone got thier happy ending but simply because it was terrible.

I would still recommend for people to watch but maybe advice them to quit at 30 and avoid disappointment. I wish I had read some of the spoiler reviews before watching so I could have done the same.

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