Legend of the Female General

Actors did great job.

I know some people complain about many details are left out from the novel but overall I thought it was a very good adaptation and production. Some characters were combined, some storyline eliminated entirely. I feel happy there wasn't a 2FL that spoil the mood on top of the psycho 2ML. Very few annoyance which can easily be fast forward , the story was rather logical. Leads chemistry was great, side characters were fun. Annoying characters were very annoying. I wish there has been more scenes showing HY cleverness but I would say they did capture most of the elements from the novel.

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The Female General's Story or What the Title Should Have Been.

This was an entertaining story of a strong, resilient, hardworking military woman and how after going through life made to disguise as her "brother" to bring the family fame she was ultimately betrayed and thought to have been killed. While quite a lot to deal with, none of it was Legendary. I added this story to my watchlist because though I knew CL could handle his own, ZY was a wild card. I knew several of the supporting characters as well. But this series should have been called the female general's story because anything else was plain overhype.

Pros: Again my favorite part of this series were the battles. The choreography, the synchronization, just fantastic! Honestly, if this show just had them and the leads romance plus the comradeship of the soldiers in their garrison, I would have been happy. Probably would have gotten a higher score too. But that's not possible. ML or XJ was a powerhouse, whether as a commander in his army or pleading for his soul at the end; the man showed and acted every emotion suited for his character. He had to clear his father's name along with those 30k troops that were killed and framed when a corrupt chancellor and several lackeys made deals with an enemy state. So that was when his path crossed our FL's or HY who had to start from scratch after surviving everything her disgusting and pathetic brother threw at her. Just as a lowly soldier in XJ's camp she quickly caught his eye, first as possibly a spy and than as that was disproven, she became the most dedicated soldier in his garrison, slowly climbing that ladder step by step. Also turned out the two of them were in school together when they were younger but she always wore a mask since she was young and couldn't even see her own mother. She, however, no matter what was thrown at her obstacle or even a royal decree if she didn't want to live that way, she didn't care if the person telling her what to do was a general, an emperor, or a God. She was going to live her life only the way she wanted everyone else be damned and I really appreciated that about her, giving other women the same message of empowerment. Others saw her frame, small stature, and voice not commanding enough, and I thought that was the whole point; because of these limitations, she had to prove herself more than a larger woman would have with the same qualifications. I would have to disagree with some points that I read that HY was too much of a clown or too cutesy in the barracks to be believable; but that's actually what happens in the barracks if she was a dude, ppl would not be complaining about it. When it was time for serious training, she was spot on, number one serious but when it was time off why couldn't she have some fun? Even in the current military, you see military women doing TikTok dances, and all sorts of things people are allowed to let off steam when they are not on active duty.

Once all of the fog is cleared away and they realize they're on the same team, they start working together, closer and closer until ice cold ML melts and love built on trust sets it. The second couple, originally annoying and foolhardy, became great sources of help as well as his guard, her 4 friends from the garrison, YH, the remaining general after the other 7 were ambushed and killed by the real NRF, her disgusting brother that never did a thing in his life and yet wanted all the glory and accolades for himself. He's relegated to the cons, don't worry. They had quite a group of great friends and ML's brother and his wife as support. If the series had ended in episode 33 or beginning of 34 by just marrying off both sets of couples (really wanted a spicy wedding night for the leads); I think it would have been great but we would have missed that great battle sequence in 36. The rest of it was better to be left in the trash because those people were all trash, emperor included. Also FL finally getting her General's name back and ML's father's name and those warriors cleared, was also a great I believe episodes 32 and some of 33; other than the bipolar emperor (in the cons). The only believable antagonist was the chancellor and that's because this particular actor has played an antagonist before, so there was no mistaking his treachery. And he played him well; a little too well because at the end, when all of his crimes were exposed, he still didn't get he did anything wrong. I think that's whatever is in the water in that city that caused people to have delusion. Costumes, sets, battle scenes, and OSTs, were all on point.

Cons: Oh boy; where to start? I will start with the FL because of the whole legendary thing. I think it was just a title to slap on in English for the production company. When you think of someone who is legendary it is someone who has had to have a career in any industry or in anything else for decades and help hundreds of thousands of not millions of people. On another note, it's like saying a movie or a TV series is a cult classic; this means this particular work of film has captured the hearts and minds of many generations. Examples would be Gone With The Wind, Saving Private Ryan, Band of Brothers, Titanic, The Crow, or actors like Marilyn Monroe, Jackie Chen, Kara Wei, Clint Eastwood, etc. So calling her a legendary General just did not fit. Someone who had only been doing it for a few decades at best and not even as herself, but someone constantly covered by a mask like the man behind the mask, played by Leonardo DiCaprio because he was forced in there. It was also very unrealistic that even from the get-go when she was in school in the mask that it was completely obvious that she was really a woman. Forget the fact that she had a chest that she bound; she was short, she was slim, and she had curves. Common sense doesn't apply here. I also have to agree with a few other people that wrote in their reviews saying that HY did have hardship, but it wasn't shown so we as viewers couldn't experience that hardship with her. It was like all this happened to her; she was poisoned, blinded, stabbed, and thrown into the river off a cliff, but we all know cliff diving people always survive; her master saved her which of course we don't see, but that's OK and gave her medicine to help her see again as well as clear the poison, and recover at his place so though she went through all this hardship that was spoken about, it was never actually shown to the audience and I think that would've made us feel the depth of HY's character more.

Moving on to prune face aka NRF. Lord help me, I never thought I'd see the day, I'd put Bai Shu in the cons! But it had happened and all because he took on his first antagonist role and that scrunched up face made me laugh like why lord almighty? Dude wasn't cut out to play an antagonist and one that lived off of others awards never having done a single thing himself but the arrogance was sky high. They couldn't have killed him fast enough but I'm glad it all happened as they exposed his and the chancellor's treason. I just hope he never plays an antagonist again. He too came down with bouts of delusion in prison later on though for the rest of the series he harbored full belief in his own grandeur, which literally amounted to nothing.

Delusion seemed to be the name of the game because the one who had it the most was CZ. This dude was like an undetectable mosquito throughout the series though that chancellor was his master and he was a very dutiful disciple. That said, he always had flashbacks of his dying mother which obviously shaped his unhealthy psyche. XJ pegged him as someone not to be trusted immediately but because HY was friends with him he was quietly cautious but none of them could have to go full throttle delusional psycho Warren Bates because he saw them kiss when they got engaged. So after he officially goes bananas and lets his brains run out of his ear, he runs to the emperor and tells him that even though ML and FL are in love they are generals of two armies, which, of course makes the paranoid, bipolar emperor scared for his throne (when both have shown him they were always loyal to him) make a decree that they cannot marry, but the FL has to marry CZ. Another thing about this character and the series that just didn't make sense was the fact that this guy other than maybe doing a good job on the imperial exam, had no real qualifications or experience, but kept getting promoted to higher positions. At first, perhaps it had to do with the fact that the chancellor was a corrupt official, but after the fact, it still didn't make any sense and why the emperor made him the director of the secretary of war when this POS had no knowledge of war, warfare, or what any of that entailed. And that when the war broke out and in fact invaded the most powerful two armies had to be split because CZ the complete and unqualified idiot made the advice to the emperor, but remember the emperor has to make the final decision which he did based on his new little buddy's advice. It was literally a time bomb, which ended up killing a lot of people including the unnecessary death of YH. I really wish HY had slapped him when she gave him that reality check. Because he deserved to be decked so hard that it knocked all the delusion out of his head. CZ's little voiceover after he realized his mistakes were crocodile tears, and when it was all said and done, I wish both he and the emperor were stripped of their positions and exiled to the borderlands for making such a asinine and stupid decision that cost so many lives and it was completely unnecessary. Let the Empress govern, she has more brains than her bipolar, nasty husband.

Would I recommend it? It's a good watch in the sense of, don't spend too much time nitpicking. Just enjoy the show.

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A Poetic Script and Top Tier Acting

First, I need to mention that the script was beautiful. He Yan’s moon line when they danced, Xiao Jue’s confession to He Yan when he found out how she feels about him, and Xiao Jue telling the royals and officials how he feels about He Yan.. beautiful and so well-written. I myself was swooned and repeated those scenes multiple times.

Unfortunately, if not for the poor execution, this drama could’ve been perfect. As a start, I don’t know why they named it Legend of the Female General. Throughout the story, the ‘female general’ was not spoken of, as everyone knew the General Feihong as He Rufei, a man. I guess, this title could’ve worked after it is known that General Feihong was He Yan, a woman, which does not get revealed to the world until later in the series.

Second, I wonder how He Yan managed to hide her identity as a woman back when she was General Feihong but have it be discovered easily and quickly when she entered Yezhou Garrison. Also, I love Zhou Ye for the role but her built was so feminine. The shoulders, waist, everything was definitely not a man’s. Not to mention, I question how there were times Xiao Jue saw He Yan in a mask yet did not seem to have any suspicion that she is He Rufei, or at least looked like him. I wish the producers and director could’ve executed this better.

Despite the poor execution, the actors did really well at portraying their roles, especially Cheng Lei. Cheng Lei stole the spotlight. His built is definitely made for general roles so in this sense, he was perfect to act as Xiao Jue. Moreover, his facial expressions are a masterpiece. His ability to act out emotions just through his gaze was amazing. We could clearly see whether he’s suspicious, concerned, jealous, in love, just through his eyes. We could also see the change in his feelings towards He Yan through his eyes. Also, his lowkey corner of the mouth smile towards He Yan.. lovely. I immediately fell in love and became his hardcore fan after watching him in this drama.

Zhou Ye also did a really great job at her role. Although the execution, could’ve been improved either through the story, makeup, etc, it’s a fact that Zhou Ye was great in acting out He Yan as an independent, tough, ambitious, patriotic, female general. Her chemistry and visuals were perfectly paired with Cheng Lei. I have to admit that I ship them so much proven by how I’ve rewatched this drama multiple times just to see their scenes and hear the lines in this drama. I hope they get to work on another project as main leads with a happy ending.

In terms of story, it was definitely entertaining to me. It mainly focuses on love, justice, and revenge, packed in a light tone so it was an ‘easy watch’. However, throughout the drama, we can obviously see scenes being cut that affected the flow of the story and taken away that extra ‘spice’. Furthermore, I was so annoyed by the last few episodes. They could've just given us more happy scenes instead of forcing that one crazy conflict, but on second thought, I guess it’s necessary to show the kind of love He Yan and Xiao Jue have for each other, as well as their responsibilities as Generals.

Despite the things that I think could be improved, this drama is definitely one of my favorites thanks to Cheng Lei and Zhou Ye, as well as the script.

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A story of rebirth of general Feihong and her moon accompanying her through the journey

I have been a fan of Zhou Ye since I watched her series Back from the Brink that came out in 2023. Have been following her since then. I still remember back in 2023, the first time I heard about this drama was because ZY was rumored to be the lead in this drama. The story line interested me and I started keeping tabs. Eventually, Zhou Ye and Ryan Cheng were confirmed to be the leads and the filming started which brought in some beautiful reuters. But then the third lead got into a scandal and the release kept on getting delayed. Fast forward to 2025 the drama finally confirmed its release date.
I have always been a fan of dramas with strong female leads. Personally for me this drama does have some flaws and some illogical scenes but overall I would say it is a good drama.
Here is my opinion and some advice for people contemplating to watch it.
1. If you are expecting a female lead who is scheming, ruthless and blood thirsty for revenge, then this will not be your cup of tea. The female lead has been wronged by her family and had her identity as a mighty general stolen. So she starts over again to gradually get back what she lost. Since she is starting from scratch, she is a carefree and bubbly soldier in the initial episodes who is no longer shouldering the responsibility of a general. But once, battle starts she is again back to her fierce fighter mode. I personally liked all the fight/battle scenes. Sometimes they felt short but other than that they were extremely well executed.
2. The chemistry between the leads was insane. This drama has some of the best romantic scenes especially the way they profess their love to each other. Our male lead is not someone who says a lot in general and appears cold, but he expresses everything through his actions. Need Ryan Cheng and Zhou Ye in a modern drama please.
3. The Overall storyline is good but then to me it felt like they failed to pay attention to details. Like in some scenes, it failed to deliver the emotion it intended to, just because the build up was not proper. To some extent, I would try to excuse that given all the scandal, delays and all the scenes they had to cut. Not to mention Chinese censorship banned a lot of things like rebirth to be shown in the drama.
4. One thing i would like to mention is how the second male lead, Chu Zhao could have been portrayed in a better way. Although I did not dislike him cause we got to see a few cute jealous moments , he was already very complex from the start but it took a darker side especially in the last 3 episodes.

Anyway in the end I would say since this drama had an insane hype, different people would have different expectation from the drama. But in the end it is hard to satisfy from every aspect. So if you like good fighting scenes, good chemistry and a strong yet bubbly female lead, I would recommend giving it a try.

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So boring that even Ryan Cheng can’t save it

I had high hopes for this drama. Two beautiful and not over exposed rising stars. The story started well but very quickly turned silly because the director is expecting us and every smart character in the drama to be so stupid to believe that

1) a person with super skinny female physique without a hint of workout / muscle to be a bad ass fighter and war hero- general who can best the physically stronger men. I am a very skinny and petite woman. Not disrespecting the physique for sure but I know the limitations of my size.

2) Just because FL wears a mask all her life when her identity was stolen everyone believed that her brother is her. How? This is a man’s physique, a deeper voice. It makes it sound like everyone only looks at a mask to identify a person. Can’t they at least try to work into the story for her to physically disguise herself with thicker clothes higher shoes etc to make the contrast less obvious?

On top of the above issues there is no real storyline except a stolen identify, the usual c drama corrupt Minister, and the FL going around a cold face ML. And of course a love triangle with a love sick 2nd ML. There is constant conflicts and wars that never lead to anything specific.

I tried very hard to keep going to see them getting together but even that desire can’t keep me committed. So what if they get together. They don’t seem to have much chemistry. They tried to act in love but it’s not convincing.

I still like Ryan Cheng Lei for his good looks and composure. But unfortunately this drama is not good for Zhou Ye. She has become annoying

Don’t recommend at all.

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A powerful, beautifully crafted historical drama with a fierce and unforgettable female lead!

Legend of the Female General is a sweeping historical drama that masterfully blends action, romance, and political intrigue — all centered around one of the most compelling female leads in recent television. From the very first episode, the show captivates with its strong storytelling, breathtaking cinematography, and emotionally resonant performances.

A Heroine Worth Remembering
At the heart of the series is the unforgettable female general — a bold, brilliant warrior who defies the rigid expectations of her time. Her journey from a misunderstood outcast to a respected military commander is both inspiring and emotionally powerful. The lead actress delivers a commanding performance, balancing strength and vulnerability with grace.

Storytelling & Characters
The writing is tight and engaging, weaving complex political plots with deeply personal stakes. Supporting characters are far from one-dimensional; allies and enemies alike are layered, and their evolving relationships keep you emotionally invested. The drama doesn’t shy away from tough moral questions, making it all the more gripping.

Action & Aesthetics
The battle scenes are choreographed with precision and realism — intense without being overdone. The costumes and set design reflect a high level of historical authenticity and attention to detail, immersing viewers in the era without ever distracting from the plot.

Romance with Depth
Rather than relying on clichéd tropes, the romantic subplot is slow-burning, genuine, and built on mutual respect and shared struggle. It adds emotional richness to the drama without overshadowing the central narrative of empowerment and honor.

Final Verdict
Legend of the Female General is more than just a war drama — it’s a story of resilience, courage, and breaking barriers. It’s a must-watch for anyone who loves strong female leads, historical depth, and stories that stay with you long after the final episode. Whether you're here for the battles, the romance, or the political intrigue, this drama delivers on all fronts.

Highly recommended!

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it had potential, but...

Well, the story had potential. If you disregard the utter sht of the 2nd "half", and if you get rid of all that useless stuff (thats almost half of it :) ) from the rest.... maybe. So basically good idea, poor execution. The first couple of episodes really looked like something ok, but then : plot devices, plot contrivances, plot holes. Yeah, yeah, its a drama, I shouldn't expect much. I didn't and it still disappointed. Even the fact that the character has inner monologues got replaced with the annoying trope of talking outloud for themselves. Actually there are lots of tropes (even the one where the dying characters get a 1min "last breath" so that they hate time to say something "meaningful". *sigh*
Moving on, the acting is meh. Yeah, sure, there's chemistry between some of the characters and thats making it feel more "real", but most of the times is just meh. Also, the continuously expo-dump didn't help in making them more "natural".
Long story short: its a meh drama. You might enjoy it for a bit, but it is overly long when it didn't needed to be. And it feels even longer because of the non-sense fluff inserted. And then it gets boring.
It gets a rating of 4 for the tiny pieces of good story, some good acting, some decent cinematography.
Have a nice evening.

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It all comes down to one issue - Writing

Classic case of things happening because of the plot, not plot happening because of the things.
It's still very addicting watch, but not in "savor every minut" but more like "being strung along" kind of way.
Even the most tolerant of viewers would have trouble to suspense their disbelief all the way through.
Feeling a bit disappointed I grabbed the book it's based on, and wow, now I'm really disappointed. It was an amazing read. I couldn't put it down.
I was thinking of picking this drama back again after I finish the book, just for the romance and battles parts, but I can't make myself watch it now.
Now everything seams wrong. Casting, scenes, lines, everything looks like the worst possible choice.
They removed part where she died and woke up in the body of a different girl. Because of that, the story in drama makes unfathomable leaps to patch itself up. I cannot understand why some of the mediocre scenes were copied 1:1 but the very powerful ones, like their meeting at the temple on the mountain, where she tries to hung herself, was change beyond recognition and personally for me didn't have any impact. And it was placed at the beginning, when I didn't even understood what it was about. Before reading the book it was confusing, now it feels like such a waste.
This sentiment applies to the entire production. Before reading the book - confusing and cringy, after reading it - well, just a waste of amazing reading material. More so with such an amazing fighting scenes in drama. I would love to see them all, if only I could bare to taint my reading experience with the rest of it.
Shame.

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The Cringe Romance of A Self Proclaimed Female General (Can't Be A Legend With Such Poor Skills)

The title of the drama itself is misleading. The title promised to be a dark military drama promoting women empowerment, but instead it delivered an underwhelming romance drama of the suppossed to be Female General. The story is lacking in many senses, and even the excuse of the scene cut by censors cannot save it. The entire cast seemed to have delivered the worst performance of their entire career. None of them was convincing at all. All of their emotion seemed superficial. The biggest negative point is the FL herself, who can't act. Sorry to say, the FL did not look like a general to me from any angle. She is supposed to be a general, but she was only doing stunts in fancy costumes while delivering empty, big speeches about women's empowerment. There is no coherence in the character of the FL. As a general who is well-versed in warfare, FL should be proficient in making strategies that show her brilliance. But all those nice scenes from the novel were NOT in the drama. Nor is there any character development of both the ML & FL. While it gets a bit better in the middle but gets completely ruined at the end due to the writer's obsession with the 2ML. The 2ML had better character growth in the drama. The overdose of the 2ML ruined the drama for me. The original novel was so nice and beautiful, which was utterly ruined by poor script, acting and direction. As a viewer, I could not connect emotionally to any of the cheracters especially the FL's. The show is seriously overhyped in my opinion.

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Strong Leads Saves a Flawed Story

This historical romance starts with great promise but doesn't quite reach its full potential. Our female lead begins as a fierce warrior with an interesting backstory, but her character development gets overshadowed by convenient plot devices and rescue scenarios that undermine her strength.

The romance between the leads is the true highlight. Their chemistry lights up the screen, and their journey from reluctant allies to devoted lovers provides the most enjoyable moments. The actors deliver their emotional scenes perfectly, making you truly care about their relationship.

However, you should know that the story can be a little messy. Some parts don't make perfect sense, and you might find yourself thinking, "Wait, how did that happen?" a few times. The ending also feels a bit rushed, and some side characters don’t get enough screen time to feel important.

Where the drama falters is in its uneven pacing and plot structure. Early episodes build an exciting foundation, but later ones rush through important developments while lingering on less significant ones. Some characters appear and disappear without proper development, while others face sudden fate changes that feel more shocking than meaningful.

The production values deserve praise - beautiful costumes, impressive battle choreography, and a lovely soundtrack enhance the viewing experience.

For fans of historical romance with court intrigue and military elements, this is still worth watching for the central love story and strong performances, even if the overall narrative could have been tighter.

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Disappointed

Legend of the Female General is a competent wuxia drama that does a great job utilizing the cross dressing trope.

The FL of this story is a resilient and tenacious juggernaut who really does an amazing job of holding this drama together.

Zhou Ye was a phenomenal casting choice who brought an arresting androgynous vibe to her role as a man and subtle but unyielding femininity as a woman. I can't think of anyone taking her place. She along with Bai Shu were definitely my favorite to watch on screen. I don't care how rotten his role may be, Bai Shu can do no wrong.

I really liked all of the cast, most of the characters were distinct and memorable. I really cared for everyone, even the side characters.

All of the technical aspects were mostly on point. The music was great, both the sung tracks and the bg ost did a lot to add to the ambiance.

I LOVED the costumes, I don't know much about historical accuracy, but everything fit so well and looked good! There were multiple times that I paused to look at the way a sleeve fell, or the crisp layers of a collar… I can tell that the costumes were made to fit each main actor pretty well.

Though I wasn't always a fan of the cinematography, I did quite enjoy the martial arts choreography. The way that moves would be executed and filmed were absolutely amazing! There were so many cool moments that I found myself replaying over and over. I don't think I've liked fight choreography this much since I watched Blood of Youth.

Okay so the plot…

This show is good (just good) for the first 20ish episodes. Things start going downhill fast after that. Once we reach that point the pacing gets thrown off even more and moves at a breakneck speed just so it can tie things up.

The beginning tested the limits of my suspension of disbelief, but it was still fun and engaging. There were multiple points of tension that had the potential to pay off in a satisfactory way. Once we get to the parts that should relieve our tension and resolve our expectations, they're dealt with in the most nonchalant way.

This show hinges basically on one villain who looms over every evil happening like a curse. If something bad happened then it's his fault, and even if it wasn't his fault he still has something to do with it and benefited from it. I felt that this conflict was boring and predictable at times. Characters blame him so often that he might as well be the devil… Yet the show resolves his tension point before the final episodes and instead decided to add another villain to raise the stakes.

Because of this switch we have multiple stupid things happen because multiple characters lose their brains.

I think that the 40 episode limit is one of the worst things to happen to costume dramas, the length limits have some people speed running the story. I imagine that if this show had 50-60 episodes then we could have dedicated more time to seeing how our FL became who she was and invested more time into her struggle to survive and excel. We don't know about her connections to anyone other than a quick catch up at the START of the show.

At the start of the show they had flashbacks to her younger years that tried to give you more backstory but they are abruptly dropped after only a handful of episodes. It was frustrating to basically watch the show blind with no investment in her past struggles and connections.

It's not a deal breaker but I never felt that this show was a real political drama, the one note villains and the ease with which everything is resolved is baffling. Everything felt a little shallow, the conflict, the social commentary, and even the comedy at times.

I genuinely started laughing when they started speed running the entire point of My Dearest's drama during the Rundu arc. That drama had 21 1+ hour episodes and STILL couldn't fully get its message across but this show attempts the same in 3 30 min episodes. 😭

The romance was a good slow burn that did a lot of lifting to keep me engaged. Zhou Ye and Cheng Lei are true talents who build up their love in a steady and satisfying way… Until the end.

I would recommend this, and I do see myself watching this show again. Still not LLTG, I need someone to save me.

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