This review may contain spoilers
My Journey to Plot Armor
I came for Tian Jiarui (because of “Fangs of Fortune”) and Esther Yu (THE9), but stayed for Ryan Cheng and Tian Jiarui.
Unless you’re a big fan of Zhang Linghe and/or Esther, it’s almost impossible NOT to be Team Gong Shangjue from start to finish. The series revolves around Gong Ziyu, our male lead (ML), passing the three trials and attaining his official position as the Sword Wielder after the assassination of his father (former Sword Wielder) and adopted older brother. Meanwhile, Gong Shangjue, who checks all the boxes of a great Sword Wielder, is continuously neglected because of plot armor. The Gong men work to make Gong Ziyu worthy of his newly inherited position while navigating assassins waiting to use their weakness against them and obtain their island’s treasure, the Infinite Heat. The plot is interesting, but the execution was not.
The show has a master’s degree in making the Gong Brothers the villains. Right out of the gate, Shangjue and his younger brother, Gong Yuanzhi, prove themselves loyal to the Gong Family, but because the Elders favored our ML, Ziyu was supported and given multiple chances to prove his worth. The series tries to convince us over and over again, and fails miserably, that Ziyu is capable of leading and protecting the Gong Family and that Yun Weishan is an innocent assassin. Endlessly, Ziyu is glorified as a talented and foolishly good man with a photogenic memory. But Ziyu only cares and has mercy for people on his side. Meanwhile, Shangjue is the opposite and puts everyone in the Gong family and village before him. When Elder Yue (the Elder who shows Ziyu the most bias) was assassinated, Ziyu left the first round of the Three Trials and was hailed as someone who “cares about everyone”. The Elders broke years-old regulations for Ziyu, but when highly intelligent Shangjue clocked it and used it against them immediately (which was hella satisfying) he’s made the bad guy. Because the Elders favor Ziyu, they often give Ziyu and his party leverage over Shangjue and Yuanzhi. The last time anyone acknowledged Shangjue’s abilities was the last Sword Wielder (Ziyu’s father) and the assassin group Wufeng. From smarts to looks, Shangjue doesn’t lack anything but the desire to convert the position of Sword Wielder.
One can argue that it was thanks to Ziyu that a lot was uncovered later on, but remember, Shangjue had already suspected everything and everyone accurately and without bias. He just didn’t have all the hard evidence because he’s not Ziyu and was constantly challenged by Ziyu and his side (Jin Fan, Lady Wuji, Young Master Elder Yue, Young Master Xue Chong Zi, Xue Gong Zi, etc).
While the story and plot are interesting and simple, it was predictable and poorly executed. Lady Wuji being Anonymous (because of her age and gender), Ziyu’s brother being a villain, Shangguan Qian being with child, these were predictable. What the show did well was the revelation that Gong Ziyu and Gong Shangjue have actually been working together for a while to fool Wufeng and the viewers. Sadly, that came too late, and the best three episodes are the last three episodes, and at that point I was beat. From episodes 5-20, I debated if I should even complete the series because Ziyu was too ridiculous and Yun Weishan too boring for my taste. But I’m glad I watched til the end; however, the initial excitement and investment were gone by then. I personally would have re-organized a lot of the scenes for ‘shock value’ and eliminate dragginess, but that’s just me. Examples would be Xue Chong Zi and Xue Gong Zi’s last moment together. It came so late after all the “death” scenes in the second-to-last episode that it no longer mattered. Yun Weishan’s twin is a good twist, but also nonsensical because it came up in the remaining five minutes of the show. For some reason, Edward Guo has a habit of glossing over death scenes, and characters don’t end up mourning naturally. The news of Ziyu’s father and brother's assassination didn’t hit him quite as hard as I’d imagine, given that his main sob story is that his parents weren’t affectionate enough.
My biggest gripe is how Ziyu would leave after completing a round of the Three Trials. I understand not leaving during the rounds, but I thought the three rounds were supposed to be done continuously. Because Ziyu has to keep running to the Back Hill to complete these trials, the series suffers from major drags. Had the show dedicated the middle episodes to Ziyu's trials, then the last episodes plotting and fighting the enemies one by one, it would have been a much better show.
The action is a mix of both good and bad. Some angles and moments were creative, but there was a lot of unnecessary flying.
The music was hardly memorable and mostly background noise. The one time they did really well with the sound is Yuanzhi’s introduction scene on the roof. Since “Fangs of Fortune” 2024 has all the best OSTs, it’s a relief to know that the music has improved since “My Journey to You” 2023.
Acting-wise, I believe they should have chosen someone else to play “Yun Weishan”. I love Esther and was an Esther apologist during her idol days, but she’s yet to impress me as an actress. Weishan has about three faces: always in pain, resting, and gently smiling. Zhang Linghe is undoubtedly good-looking, but he doesn’t have as much range as I felt the character “Gong Ziyu” should have. Ziyu is supposed to be childish and a playboy with cheesy jokes, but he always looks constipated. Ryan Cheng, on the other hand, did amazing as Shangjue and overshadowed a lot of the other characters and actors. His side eyes are lethal. Lu Yuxiao did Shangguan Qian justice. Ryan Cheng and Lu Yuxiao’s chemistry was a lot stronger than Zhang Linghe and Esther's. Jolin Jin (Gong Zishang) was both fun and hard to watch. She masks her craftsmanship with theatrics to cope with her hardass father, and is man-crazed to the point of sexually harassing them. I wasn’t a fan of Jin Fan, but even I felt bad for the guy. The Wufeng Assassins did well; sadly, we didn’t get to see how and if the undefeated assassin Bei Xu did make it out since his death was never shown on screen. But viewers are to assume he’s lost because of Young Master Hua’s sacrifice. I like Ai Mi; she did well for Yun Que, but am I the only one who doesn’t care for her arc at all?
The final battle was…dare I say both satisfying and unsatisfying? For a lot of powerful figures, the battles were all very short. So short that they fit in half an episode, and we didn’t even see how Elder Yue defeated Han Yaqi. Ziyu, who’s been working so hard to live up to Sword Wielder, fought one person, Ziyi, in the final big battle, fled after being "poisoned", wasn't even the one who killed her, and never reappeared to save or help his people. How a whole family could rely on him to keep them safe is beyond me when he’s yet to prove he’s capable. Shangjue was also knocked out cold before he could see Yuanzhi drive the killing knife into the assassin who killed his biological mother and brother, Lang, so that was unsatisfying.
I don’t have a problem with open endings and actually prefer them because then I can draw my own conclusions. I’d imagine Ziyu handing “Sword Wielder” to Shangjue temporarily so he could go into the martial world to look for Weishan while Shangjue protects the village, because otherwise, Ziyu can’t leave, and the position can never be vacant even if the Sword Wielder is alive. Whether Shangjue keeps the position depends entirely on whether Ziyu has a desire to be free with Weishan. We never got to see how and what the Infinite Heat can do, so maybe Shangjue can use that to help Ziyu and Weishan in the martial world, even if it’ll cost him his life.
If I were to rewatch this show, it’d be for the Gong Brothers. Can’t stand anyone else.
On a scale of 1-10, I’d rate this series as a 6 for a “first-time must-watch”.
Unless you’re a big fan of Zhang Linghe and/or Esther, it’s almost impossible NOT to be Team Gong Shangjue from start to finish. The series revolves around Gong Ziyu, our male lead (ML), passing the three trials and attaining his official position as the Sword Wielder after the assassination of his father (former Sword Wielder) and adopted older brother. Meanwhile, Gong Shangjue, who checks all the boxes of a great Sword Wielder, is continuously neglected because of plot armor. The Gong men work to make Gong Ziyu worthy of his newly inherited position while navigating assassins waiting to use their weakness against them and obtain their island’s treasure, the Infinite Heat. The plot is interesting, but the execution was not.
The show has a master’s degree in making the Gong Brothers the villains. Right out of the gate, Shangjue and his younger brother, Gong Yuanzhi, prove themselves loyal to the Gong Family, but because the Elders favored our ML, Ziyu was supported and given multiple chances to prove his worth. The series tries to convince us over and over again, and fails miserably, that Ziyu is capable of leading and protecting the Gong Family and that Yun Weishan is an innocent assassin. Endlessly, Ziyu is glorified as a talented and foolishly good man with a photogenic memory. But Ziyu only cares and has mercy for people on his side. Meanwhile, Shangjue is the opposite and puts everyone in the Gong family and village before him. When Elder Yue (the Elder who shows Ziyu the most bias) was assassinated, Ziyu left the first round of the Three Trials and was hailed as someone who “cares about everyone”. The Elders broke years-old regulations for Ziyu, but when highly intelligent Shangjue clocked it and used it against them immediately (which was hella satisfying) he’s made the bad guy. Because the Elders favor Ziyu, they often give Ziyu and his party leverage over Shangjue and Yuanzhi. The last time anyone acknowledged Shangjue’s abilities was the last Sword Wielder (Ziyu’s father) and the assassin group Wufeng. From smarts to looks, Shangjue doesn’t lack anything but the desire to convert the position of Sword Wielder.
One can argue that it was thanks to Ziyu that a lot was uncovered later on, but remember, Shangjue had already suspected everything and everyone accurately and without bias. He just didn’t have all the hard evidence because he’s not Ziyu and was constantly challenged by Ziyu and his side (Jin Fan, Lady Wuji, Young Master Elder Yue, Young Master Xue Chong Zi, Xue Gong Zi, etc).
While the story and plot are interesting and simple, it was predictable and poorly executed. Lady Wuji being Anonymous (because of her age and gender), Ziyu’s brother being a villain, Shangguan Qian being with child, these were predictable. What the show did well was the revelation that Gong Ziyu and Gong Shangjue have actually been working together for a while to fool Wufeng and the viewers. Sadly, that came too late, and the best three episodes are the last three episodes, and at that point I was beat. From episodes 5-20, I debated if I should even complete the series because Ziyu was too ridiculous and Yun Weishan too boring for my taste. But I’m glad I watched til the end; however, the initial excitement and investment were gone by then. I personally would have re-organized a lot of the scenes for ‘shock value’ and eliminate dragginess, but that’s just me. Examples would be Xue Chong Zi and Xue Gong Zi’s last moment together. It came so late after all the “death” scenes in the second-to-last episode that it no longer mattered. Yun Weishan’s twin is a good twist, but also nonsensical because it came up in the remaining five minutes of the show. For some reason, Edward Guo has a habit of glossing over death scenes, and characters don’t end up mourning naturally. The news of Ziyu’s father and brother's assassination didn’t hit him quite as hard as I’d imagine, given that his main sob story is that his parents weren’t affectionate enough.
My biggest gripe is how Ziyu would leave after completing a round of the Three Trials. I understand not leaving during the rounds, but I thought the three rounds were supposed to be done continuously. Because Ziyu has to keep running to the Back Hill to complete these trials, the series suffers from major drags. Had the show dedicated the middle episodes to Ziyu's trials, then the last episodes plotting and fighting the enemies one by one, it would have been a much better show.
The action is a mix of both good and bad. Some angles and moments were creative, but there was a lot of unnecessary flying.
The music was hardly memorable and mostly background noise. The one time they did really well with the sound is Yuanzhi’s introduction scene on the roof. Since “Fangs of Fortune” 2024 has all the best OSTs, it’s a relief to know that the music has improved since “My Journey to You” 2023.
Acting-wise, I believe they should have chosen someone else to play “Yun Weishan”. I love Esther and was an Esther apologist during her idol days, but she’s yet to impress me as an actress. Weishan has about three faces: always in pain, resting, and gently smiling. Zhang Linghe is undoubtedly good-looking, but he doesn’t have as much range as I felt the character “Gong Ziyu” should have. Ziyu is supposed to be childish and a playboy with cheesy jokes, but he always looks constipated. Ryan Cheng, on the other hand, did amazing as Shangjue and overshadowed a lot of the other characters and actors. His side eyes are lethal. Lu Yuxiao did Shangguan Qian justice. Ryan Cheng and Lu Yuxiao’s chemistry was a lot stronger than Zhang Linghe and Esther's. Jolin Jin (Gong Zishang) was both fun and hard to watch. She masks her craftsmanship with theatrics to cope with her hardass father, and is man-crazed to the point of sexually harassing them. I wasn’t a fan of Jin Fan, but even I felt bad for the guy. The Wufeng Assassins did well; sadly, we didn’t get to see how and if the undefeated assassin Bei Xu did make it out since his death was never shown on screen. But viewers are to assume he’s lost because of Young Master Hua’s sacrifice. I like Ai Mi; she did well for Yun Que, but am I the only one who doesn’t care for her arc at all?
The final battle was…dare I say both satisfying and unsatisfying? For a lot of powerful figures, the battles were all very short. So short that they fit in half an episode, and we didn’t even see how Elder Yue defeated Han Yaqi. Ziyu, who’s been working so hard to live up to Sword Wielder, fought one person, Ziyi, in the final big battle, fled after being "poisoned", wasn't even the one who killed her, and never reappeared to save or help his people. How a whole family could rely on him to keep them safe is beyond me when he’s yet to prove he’s capable. Shangjue was also knocked out cold before he could see Yuanzhi drive the killing knife into the assassin who killed his biological mother and brother, Lang, so that was unsatisfying.
I don’t have a problem with open endings and actually prefer them because then I can draw my own conclusions. I’d imagine Ziyu handing “Sword Wielder” to Shangjue temporarily so he could go into the martial world to look for Weishan while Shangjue protects the village, because otherwise, Ziyu can’t leave, and the position can never be vacant even if the Sword Wielder is alive. Whether Shangjue keeps the position depends entirely on whether Ziyu has a desire to be free with Weishan. We never got to see how and what the Infinite Heat can do, so maybe Shangjue can use that to help Ziyu and Weishan in the martial world, even if it’ll cost him his life.
If I were to rewatch this show, it’d be for the Gong Brothers. Can’t stand anyone else.
On a scale of 1-10, I’d rate this series as a 6 for a “first-time must-watch”.
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