Completed - 7/13/2022 - 7.75 (rounding up instead of down because of Ady An and Jeremy Tsui)

*warning - hard to write this review without spoilers - so read at your own risk*

“The Legend of Dugu” centers around the three Dugu sisters and the Dugu prophecy. This drama spans about 30-40 years, from when the sisters were only teenage daughters of the Minister of Northern Zhou to become mothers and empresses. Each sister feels differently about this prophecy and chooses different ways of life because of it. My biggest warning to future watchers is that, if you have a LOW tolerance for annoying, pretentious, pouty, despicable villains as main characters, you might not have a pleasant time watching this. I am OK with such a character in a supporting role, but as one of the main leads, I have to endure such hatred that I almost quit this show.

What I Like:

1. Dugu Ban Ruo/Ady An - The eldest sister of the Dugu clan, Ban Ruo is a badass. She’s smart, independent, harsh, ruthless, and scheming. She took the Dugu prophecy at heart and will do anything to be the Dugu to rule the world. She’s such an interesting gray character and I can’t help but admire her. Her goal never changes, even when against the love of her life and the road that led her demise. Despite her ruthlessness, the sismance between Ban Ruo and Jia Luo and how she puts family first were central to the plot. This is my first time watching Ady An and she was amazing as Ban Ruo. Out of the three sisters, she’s the only one that makes it believable to portray a teenager/young adult all the way to being a mother and empress. She carries herself with such grace that she reminded me of Qin Lan

2. Yuwen Hu/Jeremy Tsui - Playing against Ban Ruo is the handsome Yuwen Hu played by Jeremy Tsui. Unfortunately, his voice is dubbed so we can’t listen to his deep and sexy voice. But, we can still stare at his handsome face and expressive big eyes. He’s so good as our villain that you can't help but love him instead of hate him. His undying and obsessive love for Ban Ruo is one of the best things about this drama.

3. Romance: Ban Ruo + Yuwen Hu - They are not meant to be, given their family backgrounds and political positions. But their chemistry is sizzling. Whether it’s a good or bad thing, they are two peas in a pod and are so similar. Even though they are so in love with each other, nothing stands between them and their hunger for power. Ban Ruo’s wedding night was ‘WOW’. The way she stood up to Yuwen Hu and put him in his right place was well-acted by both. Ban Ruo is a badass and she keeps me guessing whether she still loves Yuwen Hu at the end.

4. Jia Luo’s Wedding night - Without giving too much away, the story behind the masked groom and all that happened inside and outside the tent was so touching.

5. Costumes - Such beautiful and patterned costumes for both men and women. For some reason, I think all the clothes the women wear seem to be too big, but beautiful nonetheless. I also really like the black/gold court official uniforms. They reminded me of my favorite red/black ones in “The Rebel Princess”. There are four weddings in this drama, and each bride has bright red and/or green wedding gowns and golden headdresses. The headdresses are intricately designed and royal/grand. I also see some of the tallest hairstyles and elaborate hair accessories on the women.


What I have Mixed Feelings about:

1. Pacing - I am not sure if I should categorize the pace to be slow or just OK. I think the first 25 episodes have pretty good pacing. A lot happened and my favorite romance also takes center stage here. Then it seems to have slowed down a little but it might be due to the fact that my least favorite character is taking up too much screen time. Then the last 5 episodes seem to be too fast and I wanted more episodes.

2. Romance: Jia Luo + Yang Jian - The chemistry is a little iffy. I waited for a long time for their romance to officially start and for some good push and pull. But things are resolved too quickly and they fall in love too fast. They actually seem more like friends or siblings but not lovers or romantic partners.

3. Different ages: Jia Luo and Mantuo - Hu Bing Qing has such a young face that I believe her when she plays the 15-year old Jia Luo. However, it’s hard to believe her as the empress and a mother of a teenager. Towards the last few episodes when she’s in the same scenes with her daughter, I think her daughter looks like an older sister. She’s quite petite, and she doesn’t carry herself with as much grace as Ady An as the empress. On the opposite end, Li Yi Xiao looks a little too old to be a teenager in the beginning episodes. She is a lot more believable after she’s married and scheming against the concubines.


What I Don’t Like:
1. Dugu Man Tuo - This is very personal, as I really can’t stand her fake pouty and innocent face. As Man Tuo is a main character being one of the three sisters, there is a significant amount of screen time devoted to her journey. Her scheming becomes repetitive as she uses almost the same method to get rid of people she doesn’t like or in her way. The worst thing is that she lasted throughout the drama and didn’t really die until the very last episode. It seems so unfair sometimes when I had wished Ban Ruo would have lasted that long. I guess I should credit Lil Yi Xiao’s acting for making me hate her so much!

2. Yang Jian - It’s rare for me to not like the main male lead of a historical drama. He’s OK at first, but then he loses his charms. This is my first Andy Zhang’s drama and he’s a veteran, so I am not sure if it’s because I don’t like his acting or the writing of his character. Yang Jian is not charismatic or charming enough for me to like him.

3. Kisses - ALL the kisses are bad in this drama. It doesn’t matter if it’s a kiss on the cheek, forehead or lips, they all make me feel uncomfortable watching. Very disappointing.

4. Dubbing - Another reason why I dislike Man Tuo so much is the voice actor that dubs her voice. That voice is annoying!! Moreover, I actually don’t like much of the voices of many of the characters. How I wish they didn’t dub Jeremy Tsui.

5. Bad CGI - The CGI of animals is one of the worst I’ve seen, esp when the drama is only 4 years old. The green screen scenes are also not believable and you can totally see how fake they are.


Other Random Observations:
1. There’s such a big contrast between Ban Ruo + Yuwen Hu’s romance and Jia Luo + Yuwen Yun’s romance, and each couple’s last scenes together. The circumstances and the feelings are so different, yet so memorable.
2. Also a big contrast of their wedding night scenes.
3. A drama full of lovebirds who can’t marry who they want.
4. The last conflict between Jia Luo and Yang Jian broke my heart. It’s not because of the incident, but how Yang Jian reacted afterwards.
5. Yang Jian is supposedly smart but he falls for Man Tuo’s tricks so many times.
6. Who does Man Tuo love more in the end - Yuwen Hu or Yuwen Wei?
7. Who does Jia Luo love more in the end - Yang Jiang or Yuwen Yun?
8. Power can make you lose your mind and forget promises….which you will regret later on.


Wow… this is a long review. Thank you for reading if you made it to the end.