Sound of the Desert (2014)

One of the greatest romance stories

As the title suggests, this drama will go in top romance dramas with crazy chemistry and skinship. I would love to express my personal feelings for story and characters. Remember my views can differ from popular opinion.

Story is simple, we have a girl who was abandoned in the desert living with wolves, later picked up by a man who adopted her. After her dad was killed she returned to roam with her wolf pack. One day she meets two men. First one is very handsome guy with leg disability and other one is a charismatic guy. Both falls for her at 1st sight. Though, the 1st guy doesn't show it. Then she meets both the guys again in the same dynasty. She first meets the handsome guy and she falls hard for him. She tried to express her feelings for him but the guy pushes her away every time they get close. This goes on for few years. After repeated rejection , she leaves for the desert again where upon spending a lot of time with the charismatic guy(2nd guy) , who is very open about his feelings , she falls for him too.
Then we follow this love triangle.
Let's go to the characters
1. Handsome guy(1st guy): his character arc is very much tragic. He had heavy responsibilities from childhood and along with disability and infertility. So, understandably he is very reserved and hides his feelings. I had no problem with his character until the last 3rd portion of the show. 1st portion is his repeated rejection and noble idiocy. 2nd half is his regret for treating FL as child and not being honest with her. In the 3rd portion, he goes full on sacrifice mode. I pity his 2 followers.. I will be very honest here, I was never on board with his romance line. It felt too much one sided. More of father - daughter relationship.
I have personal grudge against him for taking liberties with fl too times. One time was, she was sleeping. I believe that Love should not come from pity. But that's what I feel about him most of the time .
2. Charismatic guy: Now we have the potentially pathetic character who did not seem pathetic with the amazing acting by the actor. He was brought up pretty well and has sense patriotism, very loyal to the kingdom and his uncle and not a fool with muscles. I love this concept of randomness in the romance lines here . I am very much sure that she would have fallen in love with any of the two guys who met her 1st. His character could have been very simp type if not acted properly. He has his moments of sadness from unrequited love. The scene of him standing under the tree abandoned was very effective. He can be little unlikable at 1st with his not so " gentlemenly" ways to get physical with her. But she allows it and seemingly falls for him without even knowing. That's what most sad about him . The girl was pretty much happy with him and she knew how he feels for her and yet she never forbids him seriously while seemingly in deep love with the other guy. So when she goes full on crazy after coming back to the city and knowing " how much and why the 1st guy did" . I will talk more about this on our heroine's section. Other than romance part, he is pretty much typical war hero character who wins every battle. I don't mind that because I was totally rooting for him due the crazy chemistry and zero noble idiocy from his part.
3 FL : Here comes the character whome I love and hate. Her character was very entertaining until the angst kicks in with the 1st guy trying to win her over.
1st of all her instant fall in love with the 1st guy, didn't make much sense to me. Specially when the guy didn't give any positive signal. It may to pointed out that 2nd ml also fell hard for her and always looking for opportunities to be with her. But here is the difference, in his case she responded. Just look at their interactions. Do they seem like without any romantic feelings. She seemed like she was just keeping the 2nd ml for spare part. When she accepts the 2nd guy and starts completely disregarding his feelings but physically intimate with the 1st guy(hugs, bites, kiss) , I was very annoyed with her selfishness. Her feelings very vague about the two guys throughout the show. Actually, there is no " I love u" from her to the 2nd guy. I can tell from her actions that she deeply loves the 2nd guy even though she has feelings for the 1st. Only scene where she confronts her feelings are at the field scene where she breaks down saying that her actions are hurting both the guys , but she also extremely conflicted and in pain. But I don't think that's enough. I was seriously interested in know her feelings for the guys.
As for the ending, very satisfying happy ending for the main couple but the ending was not earned by the couple . They mostly got it because of noble idiocy sacrifice from the 1st ml.

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Unique Story Plot that Keeps Drawing Me Back

I watched this when it first aired and have rewatched it so many times to count. It’s always that one drama that’s just stuck on my mind. So I’ve decided to write the review and recommend others to watch too. You will not regret it!

In this drama we have a good number of big name actors FL(Liu Shi Shi), 2 MLs(Eddie Peng and Hu Ge), this should have been high budget drama, but don’t know why it was filmed with the quality that made it seem like it aired in the early 2000s.

The premise of the story is that we start off with love triangle between the FL and 2 ML where FL (Xin Yue) likes ML (Mo Xun) and didn’t like the other ML (Wei WuJi). Now why I don’t refer to them as ML and 2ML is because they are both equally tied in screen time and as ML quality like neither of them are trash which makes us wonder who FL will choose in the end. The drama showcase both their personalities and qualities as a man that FL would choose from and as a viewer it was interesting to see what qualities of these MLs that drew FL in. I will try not to spoil too much.

FL (Xin Yue) acted by Liu Shi Shi:
She was raised by wolves and so she developed a more eccentric personality is not prone to following etiquette set by society. She is carefree, smart, and bold which made her stand out from other FL. She is daring and makes risky decisions which allowed her to become a successful boss in the capital. She has a past which she has let go and moved on to the 2 ML. When she is in love she chases wholeheartedly and she falls deeply. Some may find her annoying when choosing between the 2ML, but that’s also cause we don’t really see the inner dialogue as compared to the novel, so it really relies on the actress to portray certain emotions and Liu Shi Shi definitely did not fail in that aspect. There are some struggles between her decisions, but she is a person who knows what she wants in life, the things really conflicting her are external factors. Once she moves on, she moves on, the only reason why the love triangle thing came into conflict is for political reasons and her own gratitude and sympathy. Even when she was having internal conflict it wasn’t for long, and the drama didn’t drag it.


Mo Xun acted by Hu Ge:
He is of royalty descent and has hold immense power over merchants. While he was born sickly, he is smart, kind, empathetic, and more soft compared to Wei WuJi. FL falls for him first, as he was the first she met when she came to Capital and he also helped her a lot during her business ventures. He also came to love FL, as her eccentric and carefree attitude brought life into him. He was born sickly and so he instinctively pushes people away from him as he does not want to have too much impact on their life when he might die any day. People it’s Hu Ge, you cannot expect a bad acting out of this guy. If yall don’t know who he is, I suggested watching Chinese paladin remember to carry a box of tissue with you.

Wei WuJi acted by Eddie Peng:
My favorite character to date and the most realistic General out of all actors that acted as generals in drama. Born in a family of generals and illegitimate son to his father, he started out as a stable boy and slowly climbed his way up to the position of general. His uncle is Hero General, aunt is elder Princess, aunt is Empress and the emperor is his uncle. With this kind of connection, he is always embroiled in political matters, because he is part of Wan Family which is the Empress Natal family. We are first introduced to him, when he becomes recognized by his general uncle and emperor and given an opportunity to go on the battle field. He is a person who knows what he wants and willing to make efforts to get what he wants. He is childish, strong, shameless, and *patient*. FL liked Mo Xun first and he knew it, but he likes FL a lot and until they were together he was never gonna give up. He used military tactics to chase a wife and understood, while he is using military tactics, this was the woman to become his wife and he was never gonna do anything that she didn’t like. He understood FL and knows she’s the type to love wholeheartedly, so he established his presence to FL and slowly wiggled his way into her heart. All the other actors should take note, this is how a general should be like, tanned and brusely, refined because he’s a noble but has an air of murderous intent around him that scares people away accumulated from the time he was on the battlefield. Eddie Peng Brought a general character to life!!! After so many years, I don’t think I’ve seen a proper general character besides his. His one glare/look can kill someone.

In the beginning of the drama, you may lean towards Mo Xun, after all who wouldn’t. He’s nice to FL and refined/noble, and a caring person overall. He was an ideal that some girls want from men. While Wei Wuji is what we call a bad boy, seemly bad boy, but actually very caring someone that loves with his whole being. He could be your friend, someone you confide in and someone you could call home. So it becomes a very difficult decision XD! Ngl, if I was in FL spot I have a difficult decision too. They are both strong contenders and neither over shadows another, they each have their pros/cons. So it really came down to chances, the MLs efforts and what FL really needed from her significant others.

What I also really liked from this drama is how well established the other characters are. We have the Wan Family, emperor and Qin Xiang. The drama established their story backgrounds and how their personalities came to be. What influences their decisions and the political turmoils that embroils between them. Some don’t really like political dramas and also me, but this is definitely a well explained political battle going on. This doesn’t even touch surface of some political dramas, but it is well set up stage and not confusing compared to others. This drama also really establishes some interesting points about what being a general means, a subordinate and how does an emperor keep balance between officials and generals. I will never forget a quote from this drama something along the lines of “Military books teaches generals how to win wars, but it doesn’t teach a general how to survive the emperors suspicion from the immense political power they have gained after winning a battle”.

This drama would have been a 10/10 for me if not for the ending, the ending is fine, but what led up to the ending definitely felt a bit rushed. I wish it was longer and well written out like the rest of the drama, but there was probably some issue that went on that led to that decision. I remember how I was waiting for this drama to release for so long, so it might have been censorship that came into play. I was actually surprised this drama didn’t gain the popularity I expected, this drama is really a lot better than a lot of dramas I watch. It doesn’t have the usual damsel in distress saving stuff or extra women coming out of nowhere to want to fight for the guy, those extra acted drama stuff that would have drew peoples attention. But something about this drama just keeps drawing me back to it. It is definitely unique story out of all the dramas and I highly Recommend.

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I first found out about this drama from a music video by Ding Dang - You Yi Zhong Yong Qi Jiao Fang Qi (Courage of Giving Up). This song was just beautiful to listen to and it showed clips from the drama which made me want to watch it. I was wondering where I've seen the main actress (Liu Shi Shi) before and it was from another drama called The Young Warriors (2006). Eddie Peng and Hu Ge were also in that drama so I guess the trio ended up in another drama together! I also enjoy historic period dramas much more than modern period dramas so that may be a factor for you to decide if you want to watch this.

After I finished watching this drama, my only thought was: Wow, this was great and that song fits the drama perfectly! I am pleasantly surprised by the acting from Liu Shi Shi (Xin Yue). There were so many feelings going on and it just somehow pulls you into the drama, rooting for one character to be with Xin Yue. There are also some life lessons about life and love from this drama. One of the main points about love was if you do not take the opportunity at that one moment, you will continue to regret it for the rest of your life.

Highly recommend watching this drama as well as listening to the music on YouTube!
Check out the song! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sGsCc34EgeI

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If you want to watch a drama with not only a love story, but also interesting political plots, amazing martial art scenes and beautiful clothing, do not watch this drama.
Only the romance was interesting, but it left me frustrated and bitter. Seems like I am the only one since, after reading all the reviews, everyone seemed to be satisfied with the ending.
This drama has one of the most convincing love triangle. Xin Yue is loved by two amazing but very different men :
- Mo Xun (aka Ninth Lord). He is an intellectual and has a weak body. In order to cure himself, he becomes a very talented doctor but runs a wealthy business. This man is nice, quiet and elegant.
- General Wei (Wei Wu Ji) is ambitious and a great fighter. He leads the Nan dinasty's army against the Tartar to the victory. He is not afraid of anything, is a man of word and is strong.
Both are willing to sacrifice their life and happiness in order to protect the one they love.
I honestly loved them both. How can I hate one of them ? However, I did like one better. I shed so many tears for this particular couple, the chemistry was well to me. I saw them suffer so much and I felt so bad for them, I couldn't stay neutral. But Xin Yue does not choose him at the ending and leaves me unsatisfied...

Some of the second leads were nice, just like Aunt Hond or Madam Xiang, but they were not outstanding and the rest was complitely insipide.

It was tough not to skip some scenes from the episode 30 until the last episode.

Really, only the love story between Xin Yue/Ninth Lord and Xin Yue/General Wei worthed watching.
I particularly liked watching the drama from the first episode until the 18th.

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Very disappointing from a promising start.

The title intrigued me, and it was a promising start. A strong independent woman who lived alone in the desert with a pack of wolves, and survived. Great start, the actors are mostly terrific, especially Ninth Lord, the actor played his part brilliantly. Now i am wondering how to write a review of 500 words that can express my disappointment in how the story panned out. I did watch until the 19th episode but the last few were painful to watch. Then we have the other ML Wu Ji the actor was good however the written character was not. The story starts to go down hill from there. The FL goes to the city to build her life which she does very successfully with the help of the Ninth Lord in the back ground. Though she is not aware of this. She professes her love for him but he turns her down even though he loves her, because he is disabled. She then decides to return to the desert, Wu ji kidnaps her naked from the inn and takes her to his military barracks and restricts her movements. Ninth lord is sending scouts all over the desert looking for her, with no success. She has her homing pigeons but doesn't think to use them to let Ninth lord she is safe. Then in the 19th episode Wu Ji asks her if she has any feeling for him, she said i don't know. They drink too much and he takes advantage of her, she is horrified and runs out to the desert and screams. Wu Ji turns up and says i am sorry, she said it her fault, he said will you marry me and she smiled and says yes, i mean what sort of story is that. He an abuser and a bully, and potentially a violent man, she turns into a weak, simpering woman with not a brain cell in her head. The story line was so bad i almost cried with frustration. i skipped from the 19 episode to the last one and gave up. What an utter waste of good actors with an possible good story to write. I have watched some very good C dramas this was definately not one of them. i thought i was generous with my ratings. the cast did the best they could with what they were given.

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This was a great series. When I first watched this series I didn't think I'd like it because of LSS, but it turned out to be one of my favorites and the series that made me want to watch more of LSS in period/ancient dramas. The cast's compatibility was very likeable and enjoyable. I love the pairings, and all the plot twists with their relationships. LSS and Eddie Peng had such great chemistry, especially with all their romantic scenes.

The ending was also great, it wasn't terrible as some other drama's I've seen.  I also enjoyed the side arc/story of Fala Chan, who did a fantastic job. She looked great in this series.

The costumes in this drama are also very beautiful. I love all the outfits the ladies of our drama on.

LASTLY, the reason I cannot get ENOUGH of this drama is because of Eddie Peng. He is so handsome! Just having in him in the drama is enough for me.

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