This review may contain spoilers
Surprisingly Good Wuxia Short
Spoilers on the ending on at the end!It's 5 years after the country of Xia lost the city of QingChuan (also our FL's namesake) to the country of Chu. The ML, son of the Xia Emperor's brother, finds himself apprenticed to our FL as his father leaves the Xia capital to take on governing a far off fief. Events occur that drive our FL and ML to work together on their path to vengeance, and along they way, they uncover the lies and deception leadings to the loss of QingChuan; as well as love and respect for one another.
Watch it for
The acting especially by our FL and ML
The well rounded supporting characters
The cinematography
The consistent and tight plot
Stuff that can be improved
The music/OST
The camera work in some scenes (Shaky cam)
The somewhat rushed ending
!Ending Spoilers Ahead!
It's a happy ending in the post credits scene! :)
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This review may contain spoilers
A Gripping Wuxia Revenge Drama with Strong Performances
Story & Plot:The drama delivers a compelling revenge arc with a focus on character development and political intrigue. Each episode builds on the central mystery of Mo Qingchuan's fall and the political machinations behind it, praised for its depth and consistency. felt that the ending was slightly rushed, leaving a few plot points underexplored, such as the resolution of certain political alliances.
Acting & Cast:
Cristy Guo Xiaoting shines as Mo Qingchuan, portraying a complex, stoic, and physically capable female lead, often described as "commanding and emotionally unreadable" in user reviews. Zhou Lijie's performance as Xia Qiguang is equally strong, with his earnestness and growth providing a perfect counterbalance to Qingchuan's hardened demeanor. The supporting cast, including characters like the Mo Family Army members, adds depth and emotional weight to the story. some minor roles, particularly villains, were occasionally criticized for feeling underdeveloped.
Cinematography & CGI:
Despite a low budget, the drama achieves visually striking scenes with well-crafted sets, costumes, and lighting that enhance the historical wuxia atmosphere. The action sequences are well-choreographed, and the use of color and framing is noted for its beauty in user discussions. mention minor issues with camera work, such as shaky cam, which occasionally detracted from the viewing experience.
Music:
The original soundtrack, including tracks by Liu Yuning, effectively complements the drama's mood, with haunting melodies for suspenseful scenes and uplifting tunes for emotional moments. While generally well-received, felt it could have been more memorable or impactful.
Themes & Character Dynamics:
The drama excels in exploring themes of revenge, loyalty, and redemption, with a strong focus on the master-disciple relationship between Mo Qingchuan and Xia Qiguang. Their evolving bond, built on mutual trust and protection, is a highlight, as are the themes of trauma healing and political intrigue. The subtle romance is tastefully handled, avoiding overshadowing the main plot.
Rewatch Value:
With its short length and engaging plot, the drama has good rewatch value, especially for fans of wuxia and revenge stories. The well-rounded characters and emotional depth make it a rewarding experience for repeated viewings.
Pros: Strong, complex female lead with a compelling backstory, as highlighted in multiple reviews. Well-paced, character-driven plot with political intrigue, noted for its consistency and depth. Excellent performances, particularly from Cristy Guo and Zhou Lijie, praised across platforms. Beautiful cinematography and costumes despite a low budget, enhancing the historical setting. Engaging character dynamics and subtle romance, appreciated for its tasteful execution.
Cons: Slightly rushed ending with some unresolved plot points, mentioned in several user reviews. Music/OST could have been more impactful, with some feeling it lacked memorability. Minor issues with camera work in certain scenes, such as shaky cam.
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Badass heroine, but kind of a dark show
This is a lesser-known show about a fallen hero’s quest for revenge. It’s rather dark and heavy, which isn’t usually my preference, but short (18 ep) and well-executed.What I really like about this show is its casual female empowerment. Even aside from the FL, there are multiple strong female characters, including some where gender is irrelevant (eg Jiang Kui, the doctor)- they just happen to be female. This is how it should be!
Mo Qingchuan, the FL, is the strongest of them all. She is truly badass. Even better, she is also deep and complex. She is a heroine, but not idealized. She seems so all-knowing and in control most of the time, yet her trauma is very real, and you can see how it affects her. She is angry and hurt.
Cristy Guo really did a great job with this role. I just watched three female generals in a row (Legend of the Female General, Shadow Love, and this), and Cristy’s is the most convincing. I think it’s her gravitas and aura. Her commanding presence feels natural, not just acting cool.
…well, it’s hard not to compare between the shows, released so close together, but maybe not fair. All the characters are different. Mo Qingchuan has already been to hell and back, so the cold, lethal feel is perhaps more fitting than for a general building rapport with her soldiers. I will say, though, that I’ve seen Cristy in two other roles, both (at least partly) sifu-type characters, and I liked her each time. Maybe it is or will be her niche.
Turning around traditional gender roles, the ML is her disciple who has a little puppy crush on her. I dismissed him for most of the show, but he kind of grew on me. I think his crush is appropriate, and I could see where it’s coming from. There is room to interpret it as somewhat reciprocated, if you so choose, which I did not.
Overall, I like that the romance is minimal. I could relate to how the ML felt, even if I didn’t think anything should come out of it, as it would be out of character for Qingchuan. And Zhou Zhan did a great job with his ML role, which might have been lame with less sincerity.
The plot covers two blocks of revenge. As they play out, the relevant background is revealed as memories. The first block I felt pretty good about; the second, less so. It wasn’t poorly done, it was just making me unhappy (more in spoilers section). But one of the benefits of a short show is that it’s easy to finish.
The short length also means tight pacing. At the beginning I had to rewind a few times to figure out the background, but afterwards I found I enjoyed not watching filler. Minimal drawn-out cheesy scenes, minimal pontifications about saving the common people, etc. Just story.
In terms of production, the budget seems lower, but I find that often results in diligent execution. The cast is small, but everyone did a good job. There aren’t that many songs, but I liked them, as well as the BGM. Costumes were fine, and I especially liked Jiang Kui’s fun costume to match her fun personality. The fighting is… also lower budget; some of it looks a little fake and there isn't that much, but the few choreographed duels or sword forms look pretty good.
Overall, I think this show is well done, and I appreciate the strong and complex female lead. It's just a little too dark and heavy for me. On merits I might give it an 8, but it’s probably just my personal preference that I was left with a slightly sour taste, resulting in the 7.5.
ENDING – READ AHEAD ONLY IF YOU WANT TO KNOW, CONTAINS SPOILERS
At first it seems like an open ending- she gets all her revenge and closure, but she may or may not have sacrificed herself to defend her hometown. That would be sad but fitting. She kind of had that suicide bomber aura, especially towards the end.
But then, in an after-credit epilogue, she comes back and all is good. …ok, I like happy endings and all, but is this maybe just a little anticlimactic?
And no, we don’t find out what happens to anyone. Unusually, I was ok with this. It would have made it even more anticlimactic.
MORE MAJOR SPOILER AHEAD
I mentioned the second block of revenge (episode 13 on) left me with a slightly sour taste, and here’s why.
Empress Dowager:
There is some moral complexity because deposing her would destabilize the nation. Qingchuan at one point is ready to choose hatred first; I loved how real this is, rather than some idealized cartoon heroine.
…but nope, it turns out she was working with the kid emperor all along, and it’s all self-sacrifice for the good of the country. Right, back to cartoon heroine. Well, I was a little disappointed but ok with this. The show is so dark, it was nice to see something go right.
Feng Shiye:
This was the one that made me feel sour. Ok, so this guy legit did some awful stuff. But I also felt bad for him because he seemed to genuinely like and care for her.
His defeat was supposed to be the final triumphant closing arc, but I just couldn’t feel good about it. I guess I just don’t really like a story where somebody’s love is used against them. Regardless of what else he’s done, I still find it sad.
At the same time, taking a step back… not that I’d understand what’s going on in a twisted mind, but I am Confused. Their history together is so horrible (sidebar: also weird, that we end up here from there), and she’s never hidden her hatred for him. How in the world would he ever think anything could work out between them? He doesn’t even try to resolve or work through those things, he just glosses right over it.
His love seems genuine, but some of his actions are bizarre for a person in love. Don’t you usually, I dunno, try to make the other person like you?
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Small, Simple but WOW
I surf to see is there any short drama that worth my time, and luckyly this drama become the first pick.No need intricate plot just story about well adorn and praise female general that being thrown and blacken after her services. Many despise short drama but they sure forget few actors and actresses being known to public now using this route like our sad and comedy slapstick Queen Bai Lu, Zhu Yutong, Song Weilong and many more.
The design charcters maybe full of flaws but it well reason, why they moves, thinking and aura they ouze at certain point it become their characteristic like our Shifu, Mo Wang, Mo Qingchuan aka Mo General. She is crippled by enemy that need her to moves slowly but embodied a graceful of a teacher, advisor and general.
Our Jing Wang, Xia Qiguang; a teenager that must face harsh world suddenly because his parent being hunted and hurt by the opposing side, which we can gradually watch his growth and last our Jiang Kui. The actress made me worry because past roles she took resulted to death like in The Double Wu Jingyan. Jiang Kui potray as a naive and bright teen but has awesome Wugong and Qingong because she being hurt at childhood by Xia kingdom enemy by capture and torture her. To retain her sanity she masked it as we can see through our lense.
The costume they pick maybe not much but each colours represent their personality. Mo Qingchuan the General wear a bright colours like white and red because she still has hope to the world, meanwhile she as Mo Wang wear mostly grey, white and black because she no longer optimistic and despise the world injustice. The Queen Dowager heavyly implied to real Empress Wu Zetian. Her family hold power in court and rot the foundation of Xia kingdome. Her Gold attires not only represent that she is royals but greed.
The camera work good despite a low budget drama. The actors and actresses pull their weight to build the plot so we dont feel the acting weird. Their eyes can act even the druged assasin an empty and childlike can be see trough by us. No need a dramatic 360 or 180 degree rotate like other project to tell us, but a straight and play on pan out pan it between scene, it more than enough.
For the OST and BGM yeah you cant expect it will be grande but placement quiet good for me. It help retain the climatic story to us.
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This review may contain spoilers
Top-Notch Acting and Action Sequence.
Being a fan of several C-dramas and C-movies, there is always that obvious anticipation in the flow of stories. This has made me drop a lot of shows and movies. However, this mini-drama is on point in almost every aspect. The story might be slow and somehow predictable, but the sequence in action and dialogue alongside character encounters is just lit.The show lacks that very annoying character (antagonist or protagonist).
I like Kui and how Xia is developed so far! No need to say more about the master; she is my crush at first sight.
The show is not so draggy on storylines and episode minutes.
Verdict: go for it.
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This review may contain spoilers
La FL desde muy joven se vio en una vida de luchas, practicando con espadas, era su forma de vida estando envuelta en luchas, lo que la llevo a enfrentar enemigos por la causa que seguía, a su vez tenía motivos porque vengarse, desarrollando paso a paso un plan que incluso arriesgaría su vida pero es cuando conoce al ML que produce cambios en su perspectiva de vida. Son 18 episodios llenos de luchas y artes marciales, muy atrapantes ♡
Es un Wuxia en todo sentido, lo tienen que ver y no se pierdan las escenas post créditos ♡
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