Legend of the Female General

Unexpectantly Interesting... with minor drawbacks

'Legend of the Female General' is a series I was genuinely excited about, especially given the strong potential of the leads. Ryan Cheng, cast as the male lead, had already impressed me with his performance in 'My Journey to You'. Zhou Ye, playing the female lead, is a personal favorite of mine thanks to her notable acting in 'Back from the Brink'.

Zhou Ye as the FL, He Yan is a girl who has to pretend to be her family's son to protect their title. She meets Xiao Jue (Ryan Cheng as the ML) while studying at an academy; instead, she leaves to fight in the army.
The FL fights her way to become a general, she returns as a war hero, only to be betrayed by her family when her real brother suddenly comes back. After surviving stabs, blindness, and poison, she takes on a new identity and disguises herself as a man to join the army in Yezhou.

First impression: Positives:
#1: Strong potential with a strong FL and Eye-candy ML, surprisingly a great casting choice. They both fit their corresponding roles pretty well. Good expressions!
#2: Chemistry is as interesting as the storyline itself?? In the first few episodes, I am absolutely hooked on the chemistry between the cast! (probably because of Ml's expressions) FL is able to guess everything the ML thinks. ML is initially cold to her, thinking she is a spy. After finding out that the FL is actually a girl, he goes soft on her.
#3: Great cinematography, nothing groundbreaking, but really good visuals. The camera really makes ML a great military general fit, especially during horse riding.
#4: Storyline is interesting, despite the ML's suspicion of the FL as a spy, he still helps her prove her abilities.

Negative Drawbacks: plotholes and crazy plot armor
#1 The FL's Voice. The ML had known He Rufei (FL version) ever since their time in the academy, yet when the FL's brother took He Rufei's identity, his voice was completely different. How did the ML fail to recognize that? Even the figure?
#2 The FL is shown as someone super clever who is able to depict whatever the ML is thinking. But she was not able to think through her family's schemes and was poisoned.
#3 Her being poisoned was way too sudden. After she was chased and stabbed, she fell off the cliff. How was her master able to cure all her severe injuries and even the blindness?? Maybe there will be context in the future; this part was rushed and thus a bit confusing.
#4 I just feel like the FL's build is sort of feminine for a military series.. it could've been a bit more towards the 'hardened' side.. being a general with that beauty is unrealistic..

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Superb viewing - don’t let the logic gaps put you off!

Legend of the Female General is superb viewing. The show has very high production values, great aesthetics, superb acting and logic gaps aplenty but they don’t matter. This show is top notch entertainment.

Our OTP is great together. From the initial moments of subterfuge, through to relationship challenges, flashbacks, sweet moments and side by side on the battlefield. In fact, the final battle scene to this series is top notch. He Yan is superb on her white charger shooting arrows in an effort to rescue her beloved. The best horse scene since Jeremy Tsui.

There is the full range of villains and one in particular who really doesn’t seem that bad but lets his romantic attachment cloud his judgement. He tends to interfere more than he should.

There are many other highlights: He Yan’s indomitable spirit as she rejoins the army and makes her way back to the top, her increasing affection for the ML, typical tropes that are dealt with quickly (yay) and Huai Jin who, as the perfect male general, has a hard exterior but a soft heart.

Viki does have the bad habit of only releasing one episode per day towards the end of a series. Although frustrating, Legend carried itself very well at one episode per day.

So, what is the show’s message? It would seem to be: stay true to yourself, even if you have to hide who you are from time to time.

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Not your typical historical drama

Keeping it brief — I really enjoyed this drama. It had me hooked episode after episode, always wanting to see what happens next.

The chemistry between the leads isn’t your typical sweet, romantic kind — it’s more subtle and layered. There’s a deep sense of understanding between them, and their shared gazes (especially from Cheng Lei) say so much without needing words. I feel this changes near the end, FL should notice something is off when ML comes back from talking to emperor.

That said, there were a few plot points that felt unclear or unexplained — maybe I missed something? For example, how did he realize she was the girl he once saved at the temple and gave the candy to? Or how did he figure out she was faking her blindness when he brought in the doctor?

Despite those small gaps, I loved the story of her fighting to reclaim her place and the way the drama touched on gender equality. It showed that even if women can’t go to war, they still have powerful roles to play. The last 3 episodes though, I felt the insanity was not needed.

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"I like the moon, but the moon doesn't know."

Zhou Ye and Cheng Lei worked super hard and did super well in their roles as He Yan/General Feihong and Xiao Jue/General Fengyun. This drama is full of beautiful character work, nice cinematography, and some touching full-circle moments and parallels.
In terms of the plot, I liked the pace, it barely dragged and kept me interested throughout every episode. There was something so satisfying about seeing He Yan who lost everything beginning from the bottom again and working hard to achieve her goals. That is what's so refreshing about this drama; usually the female leads tend to be naturally talented at fighting and work for recognition of their talents, but in this drama, He Yan is actually not talented at fighting and rises to the top through hard work and dedication, which is such a beautiful message. Skill and dedication truly matters more than natural talent.
I loved the main characters and Zhou Ye and Cheng Lei were absolutely amazing. There were widespread complaints that He Yan didn't have the general aura at the start, but as the drama progresses, the audience gets to experience her growth and reassumption of her position. I find it kind of funny that everyone was expecting a newbie soldier to be super imposing and emotionless, when that's not how it was written in the novel. One of the biggest downsides of the drama is simply the viewers' own expectations of what the drama should be like without regarding trying to understand what it is.
I thought Zhou Ye portrayed He Yan amazingly, her curiosity, playfulness, dedication and intelligence was on full display, and her struggles with finding herself and her own identity was also executed very well by Zhou Ye in terms of the limitations of the script. He Yan as a character is truly very engaging and the viewer can't help but root for her success and happiness in this new chance at life.
Meanwhile, Cheng Lei lived and breathed Xiao Jue, such an amazing character. Unexpectedly, the part that I enjoyed the most were all of the comedic moments, but the emotional and cool moments were also really great. A lot of male leads have the archetype of cold on the outside and soft on the inside, but I feel with Xiao Jue it was done incredibly well. He's commanding, skilled, but also sweet and dedicated to the one he loves.
The chemistry between Zhou Ye and Xiao Jue was also a huge highlight of the drama, their moments held so much tension, whether emotional, romantic or comedic.
In terms of Chu Zhao, I've seen that other viewers pity him but I think he's just the generic "I'm entitled to the female lead because I 'love' her" type of second male lead, and people who said that he should've been the male lead are absolutely wrong in my opinion. His role as a person who strictly follows his own morals was pretty interesting in the story, there were times when he was united or against the leads, and it all flowed very naturally. Zhang Kangle does have an iPhone face to me, though.
Cheng Lisu and Song Taotao were pretty interesting characters, especially as their romantic relationship is a feature unique to the drama. I wish that they had gotten more screen time, but obviously because of the face swap, it was not possible. Zhang Miaoyi was still very cute in her role, and I honestly could not tell that Li Qing was the replacement for Cheng Lisu's previous actor.
The villains, namely Xu Jingfu and He Rufei, really annoyed me, especially He Rufei's extraordinary delusion. I can't even elaborate more on that because it makes me so angry. He spends all of his screentime acting like an entitled child throwing a tantrum. I wish that the viewers could've received some context for Xu Jingfu's actions.
Last but not least, the male lead's subordinate Feinu and all of He Yan's army buddies survived to the end of the drama, which is an absolute miracle. I have to thank the drama writers for that one.
Honestly, the biggest downside of the drama is its runtime. It would've been so beneficial to have 40 (45 minute long) episodes to give the story breathing space and time to elaborate on other aspects of the plot or characters. I think that the audience could've really benefitted from a deeper exploration into He Yan's psyche and journey of self-discovery outside of He Rufei. The storyline was still present, but it could've been even more impactful and emotional to see He Yan's numerous struggles with her identity highlighted. However, for the time they ended up with and the amount that they had to cut, I think the people behind the drama did an excellent job at crafting a captivating and engaging drama.
I truly commend Zhou Ye and Cheng Lei on their amazing performances, and recommend this drama to anyone wanting to watch a touching story of romance, fulfillment, and growth with excellent acting and fight scenes.

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A Recipe for Delight

While I was in the middle of watching Shadow Love, my husband kept telling me to watch this drama and I never once looked at the cover. I kept skipping it because I wasn’t much into the female disguised as a man trope. Like, she’s so pretty, how can you not see that she’s a woman?? I can’t. But anyway, as I was near the last episodes of Shadow Love, I went ahead and looked at the synopsis of LOTFG. I was surprised that the main male lead was Cheng Lei from Shadow Love. So, I was like, okay, I’m in. I got really excited because Cheng Lei did an awesome job in My Journey to You and Shadow Love, and characters who are generals are up my alley. I know there would be so much action involved. When Xiao Jue and He Yan went to visit He RuFei, he blamed He Yan bc she was the one that stole his identity and earned glory and now he has ended up in prison. Boy, no. YOU are the reason you’re in this predicament now. You deserved what happened to you. Xiao Jue reminded He Rufei that He Yan earned her glory by enlisting twice and it was due to relentless training. He didn’t do sh-t. Anyway, the actor Bai Shu delivered a great performance as the real He Rufei. I’ve only seen him play as a good, funny supporting character in past dramas. But here? He was despicable. The way he schemed around with the prime minister. When Chu Zhao paid a visit to his master in prison, Xu Jingfu guilt tripped him saying he wholeheartedly guided him and then he gets betrayed in the end. The most heartbreaking thing is when Chu Zhao planted seeds of doubt in the emperor’s mind. Poor Xiao Jue had no choice but to deliver the marriage decree to He Yan. He couldn’t abandon the Xiao Army which was his father’s life’s work. I love how He Yan told the emperor that if she can’t marry the man she loves, then she’d rather be alone. Xiao Jue said the same thing. I’m glad the emperor let her have her choice just like what Xiao Jue asked him to do. Stupid emperor asked himself if he was mistaken. Yes, fool, you’re a stupid incompetent ruler. I swear, I had so much respect for Chu Zhao, right until he meddled with He Yan and Xiao Jue’s marriage. All respect flew right out the window. Chu Zhao is a ticking time bomb. He Yan was right. He was definitely becoming another Xu Jingfu, and he doesn’t realize that. Epic fight side to side against the Wutuo army! Chu Zhao got dismissed from his position and got exiled to the borderlands and is unable to return. Sucks for him. Oh well. I’m so happy our couple got an imperial edict that they can finally marry! Yay a Happy ending. *sniff* I really thought that the emperor was going to be the one of the villains, thankfully he realized the two love birds are inseparable. I highly recommend this drama. Never got bored with it. ML and FL were just so cute together. No toxic ML or FL leads. Great cinematography. Wonderful heart tugging music. Suspenseful and exciting fight scenes. Those were my favorites. Especially when they fought side to side. They were amazing! Not only that, the kisses were oh so *chef’s kiss* ooh-lala. Perfect. No dead fish kisses here.

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I recommend to skip the last episodes.

I recommend to skip the last episodes- 33,34,35,36. They make no sense at all.

The drama was ok, but I expected more. I had really looked forward to it and imagined a stronger female lead. It had good ideas that could have been developed further. What was also disturbing is that the female lead had less and less to say the closer her relationship with the male lead became. The last episodes could have been left out entirely. They added an extra storyline that distorted the characters and was also illogical. I don’t understand why they even made those last episodes.

Beautiful cinematography, beautiful fight scenes, beautiful costumes. The actors are fine as well.

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Great chemistry but a not-so-legendary historical drama

I quite enjoyed Legend of the Female General overall, especially because of the undeniable chemistry between the two leads.
Their interactions are engaging to watch and their scenes give the drama a certain charm that keeps it from being dull.
However, despite these strengths, there are aspects of the story that left me disappointed.
The biggest issue for me lies in the way the female lead is written and portrayed. Considering her backstory, I expected a character who carried a sense of gravity, intensity and inner strength. Instead, the drama often presents her in a much lighter, almost playful manner, more fitting for a romantic comedy heroine than a legendary general.
The overall tone of the story also misses the epic, larger-than-life atmosphere I was hoping for.
The drama isn’t without its redeeming qualities. The chemistry between the leads genuinely carries the show, making their relationship a delight to follow and perhaps even overshadowing some of the weaker elements in the script.
For viewers who enjoy light romance wrapped in a historical setting, this drama can still be an enjoyable watch.
While it may not live up to its full potential or the expectations but it has enough charm to keep you watching until the end.

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I can't!!!!!

Okay, first of all, I know that I should be reviewing the plot and cast and be unbiased. But let me fangirl first, like Ryan Cheng's attractiveness since MJTY is off the charts! And on this drama, I screamed and my heart jump every time he is on the screen, like he's seducing me with those eyes and the aristocratic nose! His charm is that of a bad boy that you want to tame and hog for yourself! Yep, I think he is a red flag that you chose to die for! Okay that is an exaggeration but you know what I mean!

Alright enough of my fangirling! On a serious note, even though I only watched the first 4 episodes, I can say that I love the plot. I always gravitate towards a revenge plot story, but of course with a nicely done storytelling! And I can say as early as now that it is nicely done! The pacing so far is good, the action sequence is great and the cinematography so far is nicely done! It's like they are walking you through the drama at a nice pace. I am not bored but definitely anticipating the next episodes. For now, it gives you a sense of wanting to know what's next and gives you just the right amount of excitement! Can't wait for the intense fighting and cunningness of Ryan Cheng and Zhou Ye. I am also waiting for Bai Shu's intense villain act, I don't want to typecast him and put him in a box but I like him more portraying as a villain. Maybe, in the future he can be cast as antihero, coz he knows how to act as a docile, goody main character and a splendid villain!

This is my take for now! Happy watching!

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