Word of Honor

Beautiful

The story is very compelling. You find yourself caring about pretty much all the characters' stories because they were all just so real and complex. The screenwriters, director and producers did a fantastic job translating this from book to screen. I think a lot of the changes they made actually enriched the show a great deal. All the actors/actresses were amazing in their roles, especially the main leads. Kudos to all the musicians involved in this too because the OST was beautiful. The costumes were top-notch as well.

Finally the icing on the cake: This show has some of the best martial arts scenes I've seen in a loooong time. The choreographer is a genius. They didn't sacrifice the fighting for special effects or extra drama, which is actually kind of rare now.

My only criticism would be that it was too short, and I wish it were a bit longer! Definitely one with a lot of re-watch value.

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it had so much potential..

(before we start, keep in mind that this is copypasted from my twitter rant! )

(THIS ALSO CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR EPISODE 37 (EPILOGUE))

ending wise i feel its anti climatic but its not that bad??? bc the series makes it up for it and it did it GOOD hello i love wkx and zzs' relationship so much they did a good job on writing it

i just wish there would be another episode that actually explains how wkx lived

but ok thats it for the biased review heres the non biased one bc i have a lot to say

starting it off, i dont get why zzs' character sometimes feel stagnant?? like yeahh baby go youre punishing yourself bc all the shit u did but at the same time why dont u learn how punishing yourself isnt the way to go?? ik wkx has told him this many times but i feel like zzs didnt improve at all and he was still doing the same thing even in the last episode like bestie !!!! u can die yes but what about others!!!! what about chengling!!! stop punishing yourself, theres so many other ways!!!!!

n then about wkx's character, i love how they wrote him n how hes a ghost chief and shit and i feel like he's the only character, who i could see, got major developments n i love him for it

anw abt the last 5 or so episodes what the hell.

no bc like i feel like they rushed the ending so much that it turns anti climatic in the end?? we saw wkx 'die' for like half an episode and suddenly hes back? it makes sense but the explanation for said death happens so quickly and i barely got any feelings after watching it like like??? i feel like the director couldve added a bit more jazz that could make it work? cause instead of feeling happy or relieved, i just felt robbed in that episode

THEN my biggest beef is on the last episode.

gx and cwn literally got k/lled, your whole sect just got destroyed, and you didnt do anything abt it??? what about the scorpion king???? zhao jing???? prince fucking jin????? what happened to them????!?? how did it end on such a cliffhanger?? why did u take the easy route and say that xie er and zhao jing died in the avalanche????????? WHAT ABOUT OTHER RIGHTEOUS SECTS THAT MURDERED THE GHOST VALLEY???????

theres so many unfinished questions like wtfff they rushed the last episode so much i was genuinely waiting to see what would happen to prince jin and his lackeys, esp now that hes crippled bc of zzs

idk maybe itll be a great seed for zzs to make amends with his past??!????? AND THEN SUDDENLY THE ENDING??????????? WKX WAS SUPPOSED TO DIE AT THE ENDING BC OF THEM MISCOMMUNICATING W EACH OTHER SINCE THEY BOTH WANTED TO SAVE ONE ANOTHER THATS GOOD BUT??!??!??! WKX LIVES???? SOMEHOW???????

and they didnt explain either how wkx lives ohmygod im still so hellbent on that

it wouldve been better ngl if they both died at the armory with all the mess finished and they both reincarnate and meet cwn and gx again since they have that red tie bracelet thing

bc if they both died!!!! it would actually make sense for the story!!????!?

i mean im not aganst them becoming immortals and living a life together forever but I JUST THINK. MAYBE IF YOU HAD EXPLAINED HOW WKX LIVED N SHIT. so anyways yes im still not over how they just let go the main villains that easily because i actually want to see a finish line to it????????????

tldr i just feel like they skipped too many plot points and scenes n making the ending feel. empty.

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I just completed this drama, and I’m telling y’all’s everything about this drama is on point, from the plot to character , the custom the music...it’s definitely something you shouldn’t miss.

I would like to thanks the crew and the actors for making this drama and character come to life, omg I just love this drama soooo much, the actors were amazing at portraying their role, The way they convey their emotion through their eyes had me sobbing and crying many times, the ending left me feeling mixed of emotions, although wkx did many bad things in his life but he deserves a happy ending and for that I’m sooo very thankful and grateful for giving us a Satisfying ending.

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amazing romance, must watch

Honestly kind of crazy that this was released given how strict censorship can be for CDramas and this is just so unmistakably gay. I give the story 7/10 because I honestly thought the whole armory plot was kind of boring and I think the final 2 episodes turn unnecessarily tragic so I felt like the ending was fumbled, but WenZhou is EVERYTHING and I love their little family unit with Chengling, like those are his dads 🥹🥹🥹🥹. Wen Kexing and Zhou Zishu have been through The Horrors™️and still remain kind and just... the way they are devoted to each other. I am so unwell if I think about them for too long. The character arcs are incredibly satisfying and moving, watching WKX and ZZS discover love and find things worth fighting for and rediscover their passion for being alive. Also Gong Jun is just so so so so so good as Wen Kexing like I am so obsessed with him, easily near the top of my favorite characters list.

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Fun to watch

This will be a VERY quick review. I’ll start at the ending and say that there’s no good reason for the epilogue not being the ending of episode 36. Not that I’d believe that Word of Honor would kill either of the protagonists, but still. Besides that, I feel like the last episode was very rushed. All the villains are wiped out or disappear after the avalanche and the world is at peace.

I think the first third of the show had a good pace. But, towards the middle point, things started to slow down on the main plot to focus a lot on the side stories. It’s not that I don like to see Xiang and Wei Ning, but it’s a lot of time on their plot and on Scorpion. Thankfully, towards the last 10 episodes the show took better again.

The cast was great and most of the characters were fun to watch. It’s my second BL with Gong Jun, after watching Advance Bravely. I think him and Zhang Zhe Han worked very well together. I understand the constant comparisons with The Untamed, but I think the shows feel very different from the start.

PS: It’s more of a commentary, since it’s neither a good or bad thing, but I feel like this show is very light handed on the double meanings and “suggestions” about the relationship between the two main characters. Of course, the show says multiple times that they’re soulmates and from the epilogue it’s clear that they’ll live together “forever” in the mountain. But I think they didn't wanna risk much censorship.

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EXPLORE THE BEAUTY OF CENSORED ROMANCE TO THE LARGEST EXTENT

I would like to warn the readers that this is a totally biased review of why I feel the need to make all drama lovers watch this extremely poignant and beautiful series.

To start off with, let me point out the obvious - The characters. Wen Ke Xing is a man who's of a dual nature, mostly visible when he's away from the ML. WKX's character is so intricately written and has so much story to back up his actions, that his counterpart, Zhou Zi Shu, comes off as a little bland in the first half of the show. As a reader of the book, I knew more than to just judge his character in the first ten to fifteen episodes and knew there would be a lot of character development, which did happen later. The supporting characters were equally brilliantly portrayed, which was totally unexpected because the novel itself was a bit shallow when it came to the depiction of the other characters.

The romantic aspect of this show is obviously the highlight of Word Of Honor because of how explicitly evident the bond between WKX and ZZS is. In the drama, their bond is much deeper than like and love. It is so great, it will warm your heart and make you feel fluffy. Unlike BL's, there's a beauty in a censored BL adaption, The Untamed being one of the best, with Word Of Honor joining the list.

The plot of the drama is very different from that of the book but in a good way. I really like what they did with the story in the drama and as a reader of the original work, I have absolutely no complaints. The storyline got slow-paced in between, but it was needed as it is what led to what happened after.

The fights in this drama were very pleasing to watch and you could see the hard work that went into directing them. I heard that the drama's length was shortened due to the lack of resources and even not considering the obstacles it faced, WOH turned out to be a great watch. It was both engaging and entertaining and hooks the viewer from the very beginning.

Most people wouldn't regret watching this, so please give it a try!! It's such a breath of fresh air and you might never know, this is the drama you have been looking for!

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A drama with a lot more ‘oomph’ than most

I admit I decided to watch this drama after finishing The Untamed. I was very impressed by the wuxia genre and the potential for deep storytelling. However, and my western worldview might cause this, the series falls into the same pitfalls that I also experienced in The Untamed.

For one, I felt that the series could have been somewhat shorter or at least used some of its scenes for other things. It's also very tiring in the long run. There's this paradox where heavy, informational scenes are drawn out so much that I'm begging for a break, and then when we do get some relief, the scenes feel empty or out of place. There is so much exposition that they tend to drown out each other. There's a sweet semi-plot twist near the end that I didn't even notice until the timed comments pointed it out. I'm just so busy getting caught up in everyone's relations and agendas that I get confused or miss things outright. However, this is probably more of a genre than a specific problem with the series.

What this drama is excellent at, though, is making all the characters very interesting. I'm very picky about b-plots, but honestly had not much of a problem with those in WoH - disregarding the extreme info-dumping.

I won't move into spoiler territory, but I feel that this is a reasonable warning: if there are certain tropes you hate, especially when it comes to endings, you might want to prepare yourself during the last five episodes. It is overall a bittersweet experience, and I was honestly angry at some points because who wants to be disappointed after spending several days on this series?

These are all of my major complaints. However, I do have a lot of praise. This drama has some of the best costuming so far. I cannot help but look at Wen Kexing's outfit in every scene. The costumers spent a lot of time was spent of designing his costumes. The series has a lot of CGIs that are pretty obvious, but it's used to create some gorgeous landscapes and special effects. One thing that blew me away was the fighting scenes! They're so much better than other dramas I've seen. I'm afraid that I won't find anything nearly as good in the future.

If you can dedicate the time needed to watch this drama in its entirety, I think it would be a gratifying watch.

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An honourable friendship

Zhou Zi Shu,the leader of Window of Heaven,decides to pull out himself from the assassin organisation and roam around the martial world.He meets Wen Ke Xing,a mysterious man,with hidden and painful past.
Both the actors,Zhang Zhehan and Gong Jun,did an excellent job in portraying their roles.
The development of characters,friendship between the leads,the stories of different people from different sects,how all of them are entangled with each other really make the drama much interesting.
All the mysteries and hidden conspiracies are u folded at avery good pace along with developing emotions and relations.
The cast,premise,plot,screenplay,costumes,pace,actors,sets, everything is good.
A good wuxia mysterious thriller indeed!!

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I thought that no C-drama that would rival my fave, The Untamed, but WOH is giving The Untamed a run for its money. The world building may not be as complex as The Untamed, but there's no shortage of duplicitious and intricate plot twists. Secondary characters are also well-fleshed out and are important figures in their own right. Fighting scenes and cinematography are also breath-taking. But I think what pushes this drama to the top are our Male leads.Soulmates Zhou Zi Shu and Wen Ke Xing have an adorable push-and-pull kind of relationship, and magnified by the flirtatious gestures of Gong Jun and the stoic expressions of Zhang Zhe Han. I am amazed at these productions adapted from same-sex works, how they were able to skirt Chinese censorship but yet manage to drop hints, whether by slight touches, lingering eye contact or subtle references to source material. But also because of the censorship, tension between two characters needed to be nuanced and left to the imagination. It is a great way to bring mainstream and BL viewers under one roof.

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It is becoming addicting!

UPDATE after EP 13: I'm obsessed! Highly recommend you START WATCHING NOW :D

Earlier review after Ep 6: I did not have a lot of expectation knowing that most BL dramas had to be straight up bromance so that it'll pass screening. But boy was I so surprised with the first 6 episodes! Boldness aside, I love the humor so far. I know that set or over-all drama might have limited budget vs other wuxia dramas, but the colors and cinematography is making up for any lack of whatever CG I'm used to with magical wuxias. with CASTING gahd! I never thought GJ would be this good in such role. He's on fireee as WKX! Also, if you have ZZH in a wuxia, you're pretty set and sold. ZZH is made for wuxia and for martial arts. I think having ZZH in this BL drama would be a very big advantage compared to past or upcoming BL adaptations- primarily because his fighting scenes look naturally good and he's probably one of the very few who can proudly flaunt and show multiple times his abs and good body and then still look pretty- like how!? Anyways, I'm so excited to see more of this drama. I hope it won't go downhill from here. I'm really really tempted to read the novel now just to know wth is really up with WKX but I'll stop myself cause I want to enjoy this as it goes.

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