This review may contain spoilers
IM CRYING
omg this drama is nuts in the beging it's cute all sweet then in the middle we it's funny and the last eps I'm bawling my eyes I don't know if this drama is a ctrama but it felt like it I Loved it tho but my rumu died bro he was like my favorite charcter I wish it had a better ending though but the acting the music the costume were amazing and I like how some if the eps are really funny or like the opposite and are really sad bro I Fucking hate rumors dad he's a fuckung batch I'm so happy he died broWas this review helpful to you?
Best Drama
Cheng Yi portrayed Wangquan Fugui exceptionally well, allowing us to see and feel the different phases of the character. All the actions are perfect as well as the emotion's that he portrayed. Two thumb's up for Cheng Yi’s effort.One thing I didn’t like about this drama is that some episodes gave Cheng Yi’s less screen time. I’m just wondering why that happened, where suppose to be his the main lead. Aside from that , everything else was great. I really love Cheng Yi’s acting!
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Compelling acting and highly entertaining
This drama is an engaging and entertaining watch, boasting a solid narrative and impressive performances. The criticism directed towards the lack of romance between the lead characters is unwarranted, and viewers should make an effort to appreciate the series in its entirety. While some episodes could have been trimmed, such as the storyline involving the female lead and her brother, should have been the relationship between the male lead and his father is a more deserving focus, particularly in the series' later stages. Overall, this is a highly enjoyable series that deserves more positive reviews.Pay no attention to the negative comments and enjoy this outstanding series for pure entertainment.
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“Sword and Beloved: Gorgeous but Emotionally Empty”
I jumped into Sword and Beloved without watching the previous dramas in the Fox Spirit Matchmaker universe, so I went in completely fresh 😅. I don’t watch many xianxia dramas these days, so my expectations were moderate… yet the first half pleasantly surprised me ✨. The writing was solid, the world-building elegant 🌸, and Cheng Yi once again nailed the calm yet tragic hero type 💫. The story felt layered, pacing smooth, and the family + romance dynamics were charming 💖. At that point, I even rated it 9/10 🌟.But as the episodes went on… my excitement slowly turned into confusion and disappointment 😞. The second half lost its soul — events happened, but I didn’t feel anything 😵💫. All the beauty and charm of the first half seemed to vanish 💔, leaving me frustrated and unable to fully enjoy the drama 😢.
It’s such a shame because the opening episodes showed real potential 🌿. By the end, it felt like the drama forgot what it wanted to be, leaving a hollow experience despite strong performances and a captivating first half 🎭💥.
⚔️ Story & Script — A Promising Beginning That Fell Apart
The writing in Sword and Beloved is where everything goes wrong. The first half built a world of tension and emotion — humans and demons caught between duty, fate, and forbidden love. It was poetic, full of promise 🌙. But halfway through, the entire story lost its soul.
The pacing fell apart. The emotional threads between the characters were cut off. The story jumped from one subplot to another with no clear direction. It’s like the scriptwriters had no idea what they wanted to tell — was it a tragic romance, a war epic, or a political fantasy? They tried to do everything and ended up doing nothing well 😩.
The second half felt like someone tore out the heart of the script and replaced it with random scenes. Plot twists appeared out of nowhere, emotional buildups vanished, and dialogue turned into empty poetry — lines that sounded deep but meant absolutely nothing. The characters stopped evolving and started existing only to push the story forward.
🌀 The Vanishing Male Lead
One of the biggest disasters was how they handled the male lead, Fugui. Cheng Yi started the drama as the emotional center — burdened by duty, torn by destiny. But suddenly, he began to disappear. Entire episodes passed with barely a trace of him. Instead, side characters and secondary couples took over the screen.
By the time Fugui returned in the final stretch, the emotional bond between him and Qingtong was already gone. The audience couldn’t reconnect because the writers had already replaced the heart of the show with filler content. It’s honestly shocking that a drama built around Cheng Yi’s character managed to push him out of his own story 😤.
💔 Empty Drama Disguised as Depth
The writing tried to appear profound but ended up being hollow. Every big scene was heavy with “important” lines about destiny, love, and sacrifice — yet none of them felt real. The characters didn’t act like humans anymore; they acted like puppets performing someone else’s bad poetry 🎭.
Even the emotional peaks — deaths, sacrifices, heartbreaks — were meaningless because they weren’t earned. You can’t just throw in tragic moments and expect the audience to cry when there’s no emotional buildup. Everything was happening, but nothing hit.
🎭 How the Cast and Production Tried to Save a Dying Script
The most heartbreaking part is that everyone else tried so hard to make it work. Cheng Yi and Li Yitong gave far more emotion than the script deserved 💔. Cheng Yi carried pain and restraint in his eyes even when the dialogue was nonsense. You could see him trying to turn broken lines into feelings. Li Yitong brought warmth, humor, and grace, even though her character’s motivations kept changing every few episodes.
The production team also did their best — the visuals were breathtaking, the sword fights beautifully shot, and the lighting was cinematic 🌌. Every scene screamed effort: “We know the story is dying, but look how beautiful we can make it!”
But sadly, no amount of beauty or talent can save a hollow core. The cast and crew were fighting to keep the drama alive, yet the script had already bled out. You could feel their effort, but you couldn’t feel the story.
🔥 The Finale — Beautiful but Soulless
By the final episodes, the drama became an empty shell. The plot rushed to its ending, throwing in every cliché it could find. The visuals were stunning — glowing swords, elegant costumes, emotional music — but everything felt fake. It was like watching a puppet show with no soul behind it.
I finished the finale completely numb 🫥. Not happy, not sad, just empty. The ending wasn’t tragic — it was meaningless. That’s far worse.
💭 Final Thoughts
Sword and Beloved had the foundation to be an incredible xianxia drama — strong actors, emotional potential, and visual brilliance 🌙. But the writing destroyed it. The story lost its rhythm, wasted its leads, and traded emotional truth for dramatic chaos.
If I had to describe it in one line:
“A beautiful sword, dulled by a broken script.” ⚔️word, dulled by a broken script.” ⚔️
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This review may contain spoilers
“Sword and Beloved” is the story of a boy who grows up resented by his father. He lives a very quiet life and sometimes helps the needy in disguise. His life changes when a girl enters his life, and many secrets are revealed. Throughout his journey, he meets wonderful people, fights against injustice, confronts evil, and eventually wins.This is the story.
What I felt missing in the drama was the romantic chemistry between the main leads, which I waited for until the last episode. Although I enjoyed watching the chemistry between Chang Hua Sen and Zhang Kai Ying, and one more love story was there but their love story was also incomplete.
I liked Wang Hong Yi’s performance too—he was very good at expressing all kinds of emotions. I hope he gets a main role in a drama someday.
Now, my views about the drama: I was really not into it. Maybe the story was too long, had some unnecessary scenes, and yes, it was devoid of a proper lead love story.
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A Poetic Tale of Love, Duty, and Destiny
The ending of the drama was deeply meaningful and perfectly aligned with its overall theme.Cheng Yi’s performance deserves special praise. At the beginning, his acting is intentionally restrained and understated, perfectly matching the calm tone of the story. As the narrative unfolds, he gradually reveals deeper layers of emotion, culminating in a finale filled with breathtaking intensity. Every scene carries its own rhythm and feeling — a true showcase of his range and mastery.
Chemistry with the ML/FL was sweet and heartfelt. how ML respected her choices and gave her the freedom to follow her own path added great emotional weight, especially as ML prioritized the greater good over personal desires.
Kudos to the entire team for staying true to the drama’s profound life philosophy.
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Great acting, but horrible characters and unfitting story
Cheng Yi did an amazing job being the cold, unfeeling Wangquan Fu Gui the story writers forced him to be. How could he not be cold when he wasn't given any lines to say goodbye to Qing Tong as she is crying in his arms and they both know he is about to kill her? Qing Tong said goodbye properly to Wangquan Fu Gui, but Wangquan Fu Gui only confirmed she was about to die by not denying her asking if she was next to die. He never asked Qing Tong; can I take the seed of love, knowing it will kill her because he later states he knew she was willing to sacrafice. Wangquan Fu Gui stated he knew Qing Tong knew he wanted the seed of love from her. He knew she was a good person, so why didn't he ask if she would give him the seed of love to him to save the world? His character doesn't love Qing Tong based off of his lack of asking her to take the seed or say goodbye to her or pat her head or show any love in the end. Regardless of this, somehow Wangquan Fu Gui is somehow able to wield the power of the love seed, not Qing Tong, who was the living embodiment of love. It doesn't make sense. Why is Wangquan Fu Gui the only one who can wield the power of love against the tree of hate? He doesn't love the so-called beloved. Overall, I would not recommend watching this show solely because of the character flaws in Wangquan Fu Gui.Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
Dear writters, please stop using chengyi for ur worst plot stories . I'm a fan of chengyi waited years for this damn ,he's a best sword man those who watched mysterious lotus casebook know about his acting . Terrible plot by the way and FL I hate her from warm on cold night acting childish too really disgusting to watch please don't try to be Esther yu and I hate her too why can't they act without being super foolish? Childish? Please remove romance tag they don't have it any, FL is the third wheel even second leads as a best romance chemistry, and i hate ending instead of dying the black fox talking endlessly and explaining the procedure , finally she died so I can be at peace not looking forward to this sequels.
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Started off as a banger but fizzled half way through
The first 20 episodes were chef's kiss but as soon as the fox arc began everything went downhill. The plot focused more on the side characters and the main leads started doing cameo scenes in their own drama!!!😤 This was so disappointing! Cheng Yi and Li Yitong did a fantastic job! All the other actors did great too. A shame because this drama had the potential of being the best drama of 2025 but they dropped the ball midwayWas this review helpful to you?
Worth WATCHING esp for the THOUSAND SWORDS SCENE ! Forego Hatred.
Overall, i enjoyed myself for the first part till epi. 17 or so and then the last bit from 32 to 36. The thousand swords scene is one of the best i have ever watched on c-drama. My honest opinion is that the acting and cgi are top notch even from the supporting cast but i do not know what happened in between till they dragged so much into the spider story. They suddenly focused on Li Yitong's beautiful outfits with her awful brother rather than sticking to the meaningful story. Bad planning indeed from the production team. But the final bit from epi 33 onwards were epic. Made me cry and understand the whole idea is that the goods willl always prevail against the bad. The good intention will always prevail against the hatred in people which is exactly what is happening the today's society. We stay true to our good intentions togetherWas this review helpful to you?
Episodes 1–13: Legendary. Fugui the heart
Episodes 1–13 are highly recommended — a rare gem that still resonates within my soul and across the world.After that, abandon ship. The two leads — the very heart of the story — vanish, leaving only empty echoes in their place.
I’m just trying to save you all a therapy bill 😅👻
--Episodes 14–30 became a void — hollow, directionless, and stripped of its soul. The director and scriptwriters lost their compass, spiraling into maniacal chaos — even spawning an unnecessary character that most likely broke the original manhua author’s heart. Because of this, Episodes 30–36 lost their soul entirely, and any heartfelt moments between the leads were erased, leaving me in desperate need of emotional therapy afterwards.
Episode 12 just Brilliant, and 13 the Sweetest Epilogue — a final flicker of grandeur before everything unraveled. Up to then, it was perfection, a rare diamond in the rough, 100/10.
14-36
The ending of Sword and Beloved felt less like a conclusion and more like another chain fastened around Fugui’s life. After thirteen episodes of watching him slowly break free from the cage his parents built—learning kindness, forming bonds, discovering his own heart—the finale forced him right back into the destiny he never chose. Instead of living for himself, he died fulfilling everyone else’s wishes except his own: his parents’ wishes , the prophecy, the sect’s expectations, the world’s demands. It wasn’t heroic, or poetic, or inevitable—it was a reversal of all his growth. The boy who fought so hard to escape the weight of fate ended the story still bound by it, proving not freedom, but surrender. In the end, Fugui didn’t break the cycle; the script chained him to it one last time.
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A light hearted drama
The score should be higher if the director and screen writer didn’t mess it up so bad. If they could keep the pace like the first 5 episodes, it would be an excellent show.The music is so good when it’s the fight scene.
The father actor did an excellent job although he is just 15 years older than main lead.
Cheng Yi’s acting is excellent. He fulfilled his role well. This production team really did him dirty.
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