Legend of the Female General

The problems with this drama

I won't repeat all the other reviews - I mostly agree with them - my big issues:

This is supposed to be a drama about a strong, independent female general who leads her life disguised as a man.

They have her doing all sorts of "cutesy" behaviors that are weak and dependent on the ML. Okay that isn't in itself terrible, but it is when you are supposedly portraying a female general... What the heck? And we go from wearing a mask constantly to disguise herself to no effort in disguising her female identity? Who is making these decisions and not seeing the absurdity?

Why have the Emperor who has seemed to make mostly decent decisions, decide to not only NOT allow the FL and ML to marry, but decides to marry her off to one of the villains? AND to add insult to injury, the FL hears it and blames it on the ML instantly instead of understanding that the Imperial Edict that he reads is NOT his words, but from the Emperor. That makes 0 sense. She is supposed to be strong and independent; not stupid and silly and weak. Why doesn't she IMMEDIATELY confront the ML and tell him she knows he doesn't want that - she doesn't believe it and they go together to fight for their right to be together. And how can the Emperor not think this will make his two strongest, most devoted, loyal subjects hate him now?

And the second ML is a villain and then he isn't and then he turns into the worst of the worst portrayed by a mental breakdown of evilness. Just stupid.

The last 3 episodes just ruin this drama.

I still watched it to the end and they throw us a crumb after a lot of ridiculousness in the last bit by letting our main couple be together, but it is hard to erase 3 episodes of just unnecessary, senseless dribble that didn't add anything, but make everyone dislike this drama.

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For me it was the best cdrama of 2025. The casting was on point. The chemistry between the leads was excellent. They support each other, love each other. They have a lot of heartfelt moments throughout the drama.
The action scenes are excellent. The aesthetics, costume, scenes were very pretty.
Also has a kind of clingy Side male, wars and palace politics.

Anyone who feels a woman general who doesn't need anyone, fights and defeats everyone throughout and just want to see her journey- This is not for you!

Anyone who wants love support between the leads, few wars, action scenes, a woman general who is determined and can fight her own battles, takes revenge- This is for you.

Novel readers- The drama did some changes, but 270 chapters into 36 episodes, is not a matter of joke. They did well.

Personally, I have never been so much emotionally invested in a drama before this while it was airing. Loved it and its a solid 10/10 as per me.

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Strong fl + enemies to lovers trope

The story is not as heavy as the other wuxia out there. The plot is very simple — no complicated political matters and all characters stick on their roles. This may not everyone's cup of tea, but how this story unfolds is truly an enticing and thrilling drama for those who only wants romance and simple tug of war.

But in deeper sense, it covers a lot of different important matters such as feminism, war, famine, and ignorance of equality in the era of men dominance. The character's dialogues were also well-crafted. And the fighting scenes were all satisfying. I love everything about this drama.

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Nice historical drama starring at a daughter from noble family distinguished herself as a son to protect and earn merit for her family but after that her family backstabbed her. Through thick and thin she’s come back to a new life with her real name earn everything back from her talents and skills. She’s a role model for women, to remind them they have their rights to do what they want, do business to support their life not trapped at home try to please husband, do needlework and learning about virtue of woman. Last but not least she’s found a partner who can pave a way for her, support her, care for her, love her, support her ambition to be a general. The chemistry between FL and ML looks so REAL, look forward to new project seeing them together again.

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Let’s Explain Everything to You Dear Audience!

This is an entertaining watch thanks to the actors. No permanently petrified wood faces is a plus. The story; however, is preachy, constantly lecturing about equality in a period costume drama. Instead of the female leads characters frequent and awkward lectures, they could have just shown the character through actions. In addition, the screenwriter should give up writing if the entire plot has to be explained through expository dialogue between the main characters.

Good OST. Zhou Shen theme song is much appreciated. Hard to say if I will finish this one or drop, because, as others have pointed out, it really began to go downhill starting with episode 25.

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Deserved a standing ovation in my room

This review is filled with ADHD brain fueled caffeine induced brainrot so best believe its not cohesive at all.

The characters in this adaptation were written so well. Chu Zhao’s development surprised me the most (until Ep. 33 happened) bc he wasn’t that deep imo in the novel. I am also extremely grateful that they kept He Yan’s buddies alive, I was clutching my pearls the whole Rundu Arc.

I was giddy every time Cheng Lei shows up on screen. It was like “Sexy Back” was playing whenever he shows up on screen. I couldn’t imagine other people playing their characters, he and Zhou Ye gave justice to Xiao Jue and He Yan!!! Their eye game and the subtle details make their chemistry work, it made me re-read the novel for the nth time fr.

Also, they gave depth to Song Taotao and Cheng Lisu’s characters. That they’re not just children running away from marriage, but also medics essential in the battlefield.

They removed most of my least-liked characters (except Lin Shuanghe hes my guy) and gave essential depth to side characters. The Jiyang Arc was so short and I thought Liu Buwang’s battle and divination prowess will be highlighted more, but he portrayed Buwang and Hongjin’s painful dynamics well.

I know most people might not have liked the “unnecessary” Chu Zhao - He Yan imperial marriage decree, BUT it was an essential plot to ME!!! It was the angst that I needed and GOD their delivery of lines, of desperation, pain, and contempt. Eventually, the emperor decreed another one for Xiao Jue and He Yan this time okay!

All in all, with multiple setbacks that occurred, they finally got this drama aired and it got a STANDING OVATION in my room. Imo, they gave the novel justice, the changes the drama made room for some audience to also read the novel to explore more. And it definitely deserves a high rewatch value (FOR ME).

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A flawed albeit watchable 'Hua Mulan' drama

The drama depicts the story of He Yan, He family’s daughter, who disguises herself as her brother, "He Ru Fei," by wearing a mask to protect their noble title. She meets Xiao Jue at Xianchang Academy, but leaves to change her fate by going to the battlefield. After returning home as the hero General Feihong, she is betrayed by her family when her brother reappears to ‘take over’ from her. He Yan then takes on the identity of a city gate officer's daughter and joins the military in Yezhou under Xiao Jue’s command, who initially suspects her of being a spy. There she befriends Chu Zhao, a protégé of Prime Minister Xu Jing Fu with an agenda, and proves her military prowess through several challenges thrown at her at the garrison and tribulations, i.e., the missions at Jiang and Rundu cities with Xua Jue, on the road to reclaiming her real identity. As He Yan and Xiao Jue face life-threatening encounters on the battlefield, their relationship grows stronger, and they gradually realize their true feelings for one another.

‘The Legend of the Female General’ was penned by Qian Shan Cha Ke, the author of ‘The Glory’ and ‘The Double,’ previously adapted to screen, successfully.

On paper the synopsis is a copy-paste Mulan reproduction with all the elements of a grand story. The multi-dimensional main characters: He Yan and Xiao Jue, contrast and balance each other out; they are the true yin and yang, the invisible ouroboros representation of true love. The solid supporting characters i.e. Chu Zhao and He Ru Fei advance the story, with their own Machiavellian actions adding layers of angst to the plot, rather than pointlessly existing; and the story’s silver-lining, a woman’s goal to be recognized as the great general that she is by the emperor, ‘society’ and the patriarchal universe where she lived in. Backed by her strong feelings of justice, her beliefs, motivations and honour, that has honed her body and her mind, both physically and emotionally, He Yan rises above fights and battles to fully embody her true self, a legendary female general with an imperfectly crafted journey; an inspiring story of female empowerment … on paper.

Fans have endured the endless wait for the drama’s release, the uncertainty, the longing, and the shattered illusions, so to watch He Yan’s story finally come to life on screen seems like ‘The Legend of the Female General for Dummies’. In short, an infantile script with a travesty of the production team, who had a higher budget to work with than The Glory’ and ‘The Double’ did, yet disastrously managed to release an inferior-quality drama with poor acting, amateurish dialogue and editing and inconsistent episode duration. It is wondered whether or not the producers of ‘Legend of the Female General’ genuinely believed that they held ‘the snitch’ in their hands or they just needed several pairs of glasses to see that they held fictional ‘blugers’ instead.

It's tragically surreal how He Yan was reduced to a one-dimensional woman on screen, obsessed with revenge and ‘dudu’, while Xiao Jue’s was ‘magically transformed’ into Prince Charming in a panoply, continuously rushing to save her from harm. He Yan didn’t need saving. The audience did, from this poorly executed series, from the standardized facial expressions that showed nothing, possibly in an attempt to cultivate wisdom and compassion, and from the absence of the invisible web tapestry that faultlessly connected all the story’s arcs to the overall plot. Adding insult to injury, the supporting cast’s narrative was substandard, with their uncreative, recycled plots, whose portrayal didn’t add value to the story, i.e., He Ru Fei ‘childish’ actions, tantrums and manipulations; Chu Zhao’s active passiveness for the majority of the drama; Xu Ping Ting’s frivolity, jealousy, and revenge attempt; and Commander Li’s misogyny, making the characters presence appear dull and lacklustre in the grand scheme of things, which was dismaying. They seemed to clutter the plot and distract audience. Cheng Li Su and Song Tao Tao’s subplot was pointless 90% of the time and didn’t support the drama’s narrative, feeling slightly out of place and unnecessary. The guest roles on the other hand, i.e., Peter Sheng’s Yan He, Ma Tian Yu’s Xiao Jing or Karina Zhao’s Song Wan, added a little bit of flair to the drama which was nice but didn’t remove its mantle of invisibility.

Zhou Ye and Cheng Lei’s stoic performances as leads didn’t stand out at all, perhaps a result of a lack of screen presence to command the audience’s attention to their roles. If they had more emotional depth and range and looked more authentic it might have been different. This is something that can be improved i.e., through non-verbal communication and acting technique workshops and/or courses… Despite that, both actors seemed to have connected with their characters and their technical skills were good. The battle sequences and the fighting were top notch but the overuse of the word ‘dudu’ was not.

Zhang Kang Le’s Chu Zhao meek period performance was prosaic, however when the character goes full on psychotic mode with his delusions, disorganized thinking and hallucinations about He Yan, particularly after seeing her and Xiao Jue kissing, the actor delivered. Chu Zhao should just be happy for them and be happy himself instead of going all the way cliché undiagnosed schizophrenia, Heathcliff mode when he knew that He Yan only had eyes for Xiao Jue. His emotions and actions were all over the place which was pointless but it did add a layer of angst to the story.

Bai Shu’s rendition of He Ru Fei was irritating to the point of wanting to advise the character to see a psychologist. In this way, Bai Shu’s performance was memorable, in spite of his forgettable acting. He Ru Fei needed help him heal his brattish behavioural issues, his inner child that has clearly suffered from abandonment, and his misplaced hatred for He Yan, who was forced to take over his identity. After his recovery, He Ru Fei might actually become a better human being and live a happy life with a partner, alone or as a monk. It would be interesting to see how Bai Shu would fare in his interpretation of these happier, lighter imaginary versions of the character.

All of this made the drama a disappointment, however, once all its shortcomings were ignored and all the preconceived thoughts of what it should have been were shed, including the ‘beautiful kiss scene’ that added a level of stupidity to the romance with an alternated focus on He Yan’s shoes, the series was extremely compelling to watch. It resembled a live-action of the 1998 animated film Mulan, bringing to consciousness the love for the Disney story and that was all that mattered, not the logic or the reason or the facts that mentally weakened the drama.

He Yan’s journey at Yezhou garrison with her motley crew, the challenges and the struggles, the determination to become stronger, to prove her worth in a masculine army world were poignant and truly a delight to watch. Her loyalty and love for Xiao Jue were unwavering and heartwarming and sweet as was her longing for the Qinglang sword, which Xiao Jue returned to her before her sparring match with He Ru Fei, in front of the emperor and his ministers at the palace. That scene was so captivating that had to be rewatched, particularly the part where He Yan pins He Ru Fei’s sword down with the tip of Qinglang. It was beautiful.

Xiao Jue, well Cheng Lei is handsome and visually serviceable in the drama. He’s not exactly Li Shang but the world is imperfect anyway, beauty is in the eyes of the beholder, and Xiao Jue and He Yan are great together, and the ending, despite being cliché, that is, showing their wedding, was satisfying.

Overall, the drama was extremely flawed but enjoyed for the most part.

To truly and fully appreciate the story… a suggestion: read the novel.

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Strong Plot and Action, but Awkward Romance Setup

Legend of the Female General starts off with a promising plot and an impressive female lead. The fight scenes are well-choreographed and one of the drama’s strongest points, showcasing both skill and style. I especially enjoyed how the FL was portrayed as capable, playful, and determined — she carried the story well.

The romance, however, may feel a bit awkward for some viewers. Since the ML initially sees the FL as male, certain “chemistry” moments come across as forced and less natural. To make it more distracting, the disguise isn’t entirely convincing — she looks clearly female, which makes the setup harder to buy into.

The pacing is another mixed point. While there are many exciting moments, some episodes drag on with filler and side plots, slowing down the momentum. That said, the drama shines when it leans into its strengths: action sequences, light comedy, and the developing chemistry between the leads.

Helpful Tips: If you enjoy historical fantasy dramas with a strong heroine, good action scenes, and romance at the forefront, this will likely be enjoyable. But if you’re expecting deep political intrigue or tight plotting, you might find it a bit stretched.

Overall, it’s an entertaining watch with a solid female lead and exciting fight scenes, though not without its weaknesses in pacing and romance setup.

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Ignore the negative reviews!

Don’t know why some reviewers are hating this so much? Maybe they were “hired” to spread bad reviews lol. I personally am enjoying it very much.

He Yan is the female lead- from young she had to grow up as a boy to so-called replace her stepbrother because he was sickly ? Not quite sure why, but she grew up strong and proved herself worthy and smart and became a renowned general. True the first episode was very quick to explain the background story- how she was “late” to help with the battle and her mentor was killed. She wanted to explain the situation to the palace but was poisoned and blinded, and eventually killed. However, she was saved by her master (I believe the one who taught her martial arts and how to fight) and now she wants to get revenge and start over, having to train and rise up to the ranks of General again.

I LIKE THE PLOT! It’s very good, and there’s a good balance of conspiracy, humour (amongst the other recruits in the training camp), romance (for sure!) and fight scenes. I must say, the unfolding of the plots are moving very fast, which I kinda like. Not like how Cdramas always dragggg it out till after 19 episodes before the big reveal. The ML is hot (not gonna lie haha) he has a death stare that will melt your heart! He accidentally finds out he is a she already in Ep 4. Their chemistry is sizzling!

It’s a definite highly recommended so far, and I’m wishing they release all the episodes now so I can BINGE WATCH!! :):):)

Update after completion:
The last two episodes were a tad disappointing after completing this. Too much screen time was given to Chu Zhao who tried to manipulate the king to marry He Yan to him. Instead, they shld have focused more on the final battle scenes, the strategies and the tragedies. Yeah, so the ending left a sort of unsatisfactory taste of what could be a great great drama!

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