Generally good but with a few dull moments and some unrealistic human emotions
I suspect this drama relies mainly on Xiao Zhan and his popularity to be rated highly. Generally, this series is entertaining and dramatic with some dark scenes. The male lead and female leads are good-looking as well. The initial few episodes, especially the first, were somewhat dull but momentum picked up when the wolf boy appeared again as Prince Bo killing an erroneous general - this episode was dramatic. But the momentum dwindled in the last few episodes and became a bit haphazard - suddenly the Princess was drugged to become super-powerful - that sudden change did not bite - my reaction was - yah, sure - it did not give me that dramatic feeling.Some episodes are quite dramatic but there are also some dull moments. The director must have been trying to evoke some romantic feelings with some lovey-dovey scenes but did not work with me - I just wanted the dramatic to move on. (The scene I could remember that evoke this sad romantic feeling in me was the pavilion re-union in Nirvana in Fire.)
This drama lacks realism. Not because it is centred around a boy brought up by wolves but the flip-flopping of human emotions. The male and female lead characters became sworn enemies. The hero was treating the heroine like a doormat in some episodes. But once the misunderstanding was cleared, they became lovey-dovey again. Life does not happen like this - when the hurt has driven deep, there is no turning back. It would have been much better if the story teller let each got on with their lives, especially since there were others waiting for them. (In the same way as Bai Qian and Li Jing in Ten Mile Peach Blossom - when Bai Qian told Li Jing: in the whole wide world, there is no turning back.)
But Chinese dramas like to stick on the theme of a lead character hurting someone they loved and drove them away in order to help them. And when they found out the truth, they made up and became more loving then before - so cliche. No, dearie, it does not happen this way and women have the memory of an elephant - be real.
Was this review helpful to you?
I had watched so many Chinese drama that I believe I am very desensitised and could hardly cry at emotional scenes. But no, I was wrong, I actually did cry when watching one of the characters died in the arms of his love - the emotion was very well built up and the actor acted it well.
There were a lot of flirting scenes between the male and female leads. Luo Yun Xi (Leo) acted the flirting male lead well. I am sure guys could learn a lesson or two on flirting from this. :) I must say Luo Yun Xi did not quite get the chance to display those emotions he did in Ashes of Love. If you are expecting this, you are likely to be disappointed with this drama.
But I cannot say the same of Yukee Chen - she was good but did not manage to stir up much emotions - we had to bear in mind that the female lead character was very young, so all she could do was to act shy but pleased.
The badass in the story was a psychopath. While he was probably right in expecting the pugilistic world to submit to the law and order of the country, but the way he went about it was absolutely psychopathic.
There were also illogical parts. How could the intelligent Shuangguan Tuo think that he could get away as someone else in front of people who knew him well when all that he did was changed the colour of his clothes? At least spot a moustache and bun up his hair for goodness sake. For this, I blame the make-up artists - they need a bit more creativity.
Also, I have seen this happens in Chinese dramas very often. The girl dressed up and then the guy/s started orgling. But when I looked at her, there was not much difference - should have been a bit more lavish with the hairpins, earrings, make-up and clothes to really transform her - again, make-up artists work harder.
About music, the starting theme song was a wrong choice and I dare say contribute to the lower rating of the drama. The theme songs are very important in helping to build the emotions before the start of the episodes but I felt it failed to do that. The starting theme song was a little of neither here nor there - not quite dramatic enough and not sentimental either. If the ending theme song was used at the beginning instead, it could help set the scene, especially with a title like 'The Winner is Love'.
Also the bland of the music was bad. At some points, the background theme music was clashing with the instrumental music that the character was supposedly playing, with two independent pieces running at the same time. It sounded real bad - I wonder whether the music editor had fallen asleep.
The overall drama was good but lacking in a lot of finer touches, some of which I had highlighted above. Nevertheless, it was entertaining.
Was this review helpful to you?
The murder plots had each their own twists, so it was difficult to guess who the real murderer was. It is not quite as dramatic as Bones or one of those major Hollywood crime stories. I attribute it to the less dramatic music. But I like the ending theme song and it seem Zhang Ruo-Yun wrote the lyrics and sang it - very talented.
Each episodes is only about 30 minutes and there are only 20 episodes - it easy to complete it.
However, the images are blurred off whenever gory parts of the bodies of the victims were removed - perhaps to overcome the broadcast ratings.
Was this review helpful to you?
And of course, those of you who had watched Xu Kai in Yanxi Palace and liked him would enjoy watching him again in this drama. I must say there are a lot of excellent acting talents in China and good-looking as well. Every Chinese drama I watched, which was rated above 8 on mydramalist did well on this point. This is no exception.
Music was not highly impressive. A theme song was consistently muted in the drama whenever it was played - I could only suspect that it was awful or had copyright issues.
The ending was a little sad as of all the couples in love in the story, only 1 couple eventually live happy ever after. But it could hardly be rated as a tragedy and I should not say the reason so as not to be a spoiler alert.
Was this review helpful to you?
To enjoy this drama, do not read any spoiler.
This is a fantasy romance and power-fight story. If you are to enjoy this, do not read any spoiler. There are some interesting twists in the story. You might be able to guess that some people were not what they seemed to be but you would have to wait until later in the story to find out.It has all the nice elements of Chinese dramas of recent years - good looking cast, excellent acting skills, nice costumes, good cinematography, interesting story line. The story line is interesting and it would keep you wondering what is going to happen at the end. Unfortunately for me, I read the Wikipedia write-up which was a spoiler and it spoiled some of the suspense and surprises.
But it has also the same weaknesses with parts of it illogical (or sometime I think it's cultural). There is always these male or female characters who refuse to see that their love is not reciprocated but continue to harass and stalk to the detriment of either themselves or their love. As usual, the ending may not be entirely all you wish for, although it is not a tragedy.
Also, may I say that the title should be 'Fighter of Destiny'. Destiny is not countable nor is it definite. There the extra 'the' is not appropriate. There are often all these small errors in English in titles and subtitles which do not look professional.
Gülnezer is very pretty but there does not seem much on-screen chemistry with Lu Han. The 'intimate' scene between them does not invoke any romantic feeling watching them (quite unlike Ten Mile Peach Blossom, Pillow Story, Journey of Flower, Nirvana in Fire, Sound of Desert, Ashes of Love, Princess Agent or any of those in their league). Instead, you might find that the hero and second lead were more loving. Or perhaps, I am desensitized after watching so many romance story.
Was this review helpful to you?
All the romantic save the damsel-in-distress scenes by the lead actor did not work as it should. Strangely the crippled prince in the story seemed to have more chemistry with the actress instead. The chemistry between the lead actor and actress often play a major part in the success of the drama and this had fallen through miserably. Some parts where the lead actor tried to flirt with the lead actress were quite cheesy.
The ending is rather poorly developed and explained. Mysteriously the hero of the story returned with the heroine waiting for him in this place of a different time dimension.
Was this review helpful to you?
A very interesting story
This is an drama is excellent on most measures: story, acting, computer graphics, costumes, fighting scenes etc. The story is very interesting as the drama keeps you wondering who is the Prince of Hell and is darkness going to overcome the world.But as with a lot of long dramas, there are a lot of time fillers to lengthen the story, which spoiled the excitement and suspense as parts of it becomes boring and dull. Trim 5 episodes of these off and the momentum of the story would have been very exciting.
Synopsis of the sequel however spoiled the ending for me as I know whether the hero and heroine would die. However, I look forward to the sequel as there are still a lot of unanswered questions.
It is one of those generally good pieces - you enjoy it but it leaves very little recollection of any impressive scenes where you may wish to re-watch and re-capture, or music pieces you want to listen again. The actors and actresses did well but there were no intense expressive moments like those you see in Nirvana in Fire, Journey of Flower or The Untamed.
Was this review helpful to you?
The best Chinese war drama I had watched.
I do not usually watch dramas of the second world war as they are too painful. I watched this drama because I was mesmerised by Wallace Huo and the drama was very well rated. I must say it is a very well produced drama. Wallace Huo had very good chemistry with the lady counterparts in the dramas he had acted. He was terrific in the Journey of Flower and Chinese Paladin 3 which I had watched as well.The plot and character development was fantastic. We see the different facets of the characters - the rascal died a hero, the immature grew up, etc.
The fire of ChangSha happened but ChangSha never fell into the hands of the Japs - but I can condone the inaccuracy. :) Some of the running and shooting scenes were not realistic although that of the war looks pretty well filmed.
Probably after watching this, I am not going to buy Japanese products as far as I can for a long while, in addition to not buying American products - half of Americans voted for Trump.
Was this review helpful to you?
The young may enjoy this.
This drama was produced over a decade ago. It is high quality for its time. I think young people would love this story as it is highly idealistic and portrait a bunch of young high-spirited lovely people setting on a journey to discover the world, and finding the love of their lives.This is the first drama Hu Ge acted in. I must say he was good but he has got better over time. His acting in later years was outstanding as shown in Nirvana in Fire and Sound of the Desert - his portrayal of emotions was heart-wrenching. By comparison to his later Chinese dramas, this is more of the older wuxia story and style - entertaining but does not show much depth.
I think a young cast set it back as the expression of emotions is rather superficial and does not bring out the emotional reaction in me. However, young viewers may like it more as the young good-looking heartthrobs (at that time) are definitely appealing.
However, if you have not watched the newer epic Chinese drama production, you may still appreciate and enjoy this, and be less critical.
Was this review helpful to you?
If you are into romance stories, this is a must-watch.
Wow... An amazing combination of romance, wuxia and fantasy, this is a must-watch. I place this drama in the same league as Ten Mile Peach Blossom.The story development was filled with twists, turns and revelations throughout. The double twists in the ending were both heart-wrenching and beautiful. The script writer did an excellent job with the ending. I am a sucker for the underdog - for the couple who had gone through so much denial and trials... I shall not reveal too much of it. I felt really good after watching it and highly recommend it.
I love the music pieces especially the ending theme song, and the instrument pieces written for the zither and harp. The instrument music is very calming and the ending theme song is very sentimental.
And of course, the dashingly handsome Wallace Huo definitely mesmerises. He looked so cold throughout the drama until towards the ending when he broke down and a torrent of other emotions emerged. Zhao Liying was great too - you see her character develop from a playful silly young girl into a mature smart woman. MaKe was also very outstanding with his portrayal of the demon king.
Was this review helpful to you?
Following the footstep of 'The Untamed'
This drama follows very much in the footsteps of 'The Untamed' - a bromance, a cheeky 'fallen' hero, 2 gorgeous male leads, theme songs co-performed by the male leads, and the list goes on. And in a lot of pre-broadcast reviews, it has been marketed as its parallel. So I cannot help but make the comparison.Although I enjoyed this drama, I still think 'The Untamed' is much better produced - who could beat a combination of Wang Yibo and Xiao Zhan? Also, the dark scenes were a lot better crafted - the death valley Wei Ying (Xiao Zhan) fell into was eerie. The entire production was much better edited with the mystery and suspense very well built up. Wei Ying's fall off the cliff was dramatic - the Wei Ying's heartbreak at the death of his 'sister' and Lan Zhan's desperate attempt to save him. I must also say the theme song was very well sang.
In some of the early episodes in Word of Honor, I was about to write it off as just another average wuxia drama. But it got better. There were some humor in the drama, and some of the plots actually got me really mad. And the story was interesting.
Gong Jun's (Simon) acting was really good. One of the greatest skills of an outstanding actor is in his facial expression and Gong Jun is excellent in this. Mischief, anger, evil, caring, flirting - he did all of these remarkably.
Although I am not homophobic, I really do not appreciate romantic scene between same genders in dramas or movies - do not work up any sentiments in me. I respect the rainbow community but I do not share their romances. This drama was a little bolder in this regard but it did nothing for me. Any production of such dramas must make up for this lack of empathy with the general audience (other than the rainbow community) with good story, cast, scenery, cinematography and editing.
Considering all of these, I rated it a 9 overall.
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
Who is the Dark Lord - the hero or the villian?
I watched this drama because of Joe Xu, after encountering him in Journey of Flower and Lost Love in Times. He acted really well in all these 3 dramas, besides being good-looking. He brought out the mischievous yet scheming character of the hero in this drama. This drama was entertaining and I burst into loud laughter during the comic scenes although some were quite slapstick. It captivated me to keep 'chasing' episode after episode. Overall, as with a lot of well produced Chinese drama, acting was excellent, story was interesting and scene setting was great. It is interesting to see how the hero of the story tricked the bad guys and upheld justice. The final episode was somewhat disappointing and more of an introduction to a sequel. Until the final episode, I still could not figure out who is the dark lord - the hero or the villain - since both were cunning and underhanded.To give some feedback to the production team if they were to read this, some areas could be improved. Music was not that great - the attempt to reproduce music of the south was dismal - it was neither opera nor folk music.
The tricks of the hero were quite underhanded and somewhat brutal. For example, he killed the five serial rapists - while I agree that since they were so unrepentant and arrogant, they might as well be dead - it is a little harsh by western standards - even though I am not a fan of western standards. I am highlighting this out of concern about the influence of such dramas on the moral values of young impressionable generations. Working in a university, I have seen some bad behaviours and questionable moral values. Themes of successful dramas tend to be emulated by later dramas and the consistent re-enforcement of this value is not necessarily good. I can tolerate the occasional drama for entertainment value, I am not keen on seeing a perpetuation of such production.
Was this review helpful to you?
A Bold Gamble
Hmmm… This is one of those dramas that is tricky to review.It feels designed for a very niche audience within the rainbow community who would truly appreciate this genre. For a Chinese production, that is a bold gamble. Given the subject matter, the drama is highly unlikely to be broadcast or streamed openly in China . That is a massive domestic market lost at the starting line. Unless you have a VPN, good luck finding it. Well on this matter, I cannot find it streamed anywhere outside of China, except on YouTube.
I cannot help but wonder if the actors knew from day one that this was a BL drama. If they did, hats off for their courage—because the career risks are real. If they did not, well… surprise. Either way, they could face their future projects being blocked in China. Hopefully, they were paid handsomely for taking the plunge, though I doubt anyone is retiring early off this.
On the bright side, the drama does have some strong points. The male lead is exceptionally handsome and delivers a solid performance—his talent deserves much bigger stages. The ending theme song is melodic and the costumes are visually stunning (as Chinese costume dramas rarely fail in this department). The sets look authentic, and the cinematography is commendable.
But now for the less flattering parts.
Firstly, while I am not homophobic, the extended same-gender kisses and sugary displays of affection just did not work for me. Honestly, I would have preferred if Duan Zi-Ang had been written as a female character. That would have made the romance far more convincing in my eyes, being not in the target niche.
Secondly, the story is painfully simplistic. Who would really risk starting a war for a same-gender lover?
Thirdly, the background music was poorly balanced—rather than softening during dialogue, it often competed with their lines.
Lastly, the stiff, awkward acting from much of the supporting cast makes it all falls a little flat. Then again, I have seen Luo YunXi in a much worse drama before (not BL, simply a very poorly produced show with weak co-leads and support cast). Thankfully, he has since risen to become a well-established name, and I remain a fervent fan of his work.
Compared with The Untamed or Word of Honor, which handled BL themes with subtlety and finesse, this one is like a sledgehammer where a paintbrush would have sufficed. The production quality cannot compete either, which only makes the comparison starker.
As for its origins, this drama was produced in China, even if it was distributed in Singapore to dodge the censors. Some fan insists it is “Singaporean” because of the investment. But that is like saying Teslas made in Shanghai are American cars just because Elon Musk is American - by this logic, Trump should have taxed them twice.
If Singapore is indeed becoming the safe harbour for dramas that cannot pass Chinese censors, then please—by all means—give us Immortality next. Fans have been waiting far too long for its release.
Was this review helpful to you?
A far-cry from series 1
This sequel is a far cry from its prequel, not only because of a change in some of the cast but in the tempo and ending. The first 15 episodes were filled with time fillers as Ning Que and Sang Sang tried to escape persecution as her identity was uncovered. The new lead actor is good looking and acted well but does not make up for the lack of other elements. The last couple of episodes were a drag - with me hanging on just to find out the conclusion.There were intense moments as the battle against the Tang and the academy were underway and possibly the best part of the story. The story very much climaxed at this battle and then went downhill again. The ending was unimpressed.
The only thing that I am happy with this sequel is that the story is a continuation from the prequel, unlike a lot of other sequel where the sequel is an attempt to leverage on the name of its predecessor.
To make it worse, I was watching the Pillow Book along with this as they were released around the same time. I was glued to YouTube for the Pillow Book and watched this only to fill in the time in-between the releases of the Pillow Book. The contrast was immense. Although the Pillow Book had its occasional slow moments but it held my attention to the very end.
The script for all dramas should be carefully reviewed before production. This script did not keep up with the grandeur of the set and investment, and not worth the time of the audience.
Was this review helpful to you?
Backed into a corner and desperate to remain in Wei to protect herself and her hostage brother, Cheng Ping boldly schemes and offers herself as Shen’s concubine. Shen, however, wants nothing to do with her. He leaves her to survive the tangled web of jealousy, competition, and simmering hostility inside his household—his wife and existing concubines are no easy company. At the same time, Shen must fend off the Crown Prince’s political traps, all while navigating the enigmatic Third Prince, whose charm masks motives that are not immediately clear. Friend? Foe? Or something far more dangerous?
The plot is engaging and full of intrigue, although it does falter at times. Some plots feel cliche—the classic arc of two suspicious, reluctant individuals who slowly uncover each other’s hidden strengths and fall in love - the convenient loss of memory - and the use of poisons to secure someone's obedience. Yet if you stick with the narrative, it rewards you with emotional tension and a solid payoff. Cheng Ping’s stubborn independence is both admirable and exasperating. Her refusal to rely on anyone, including Shen once he begins to care for her, creates trouble for them both. More than once, you might find yourself wanting to knock some sense into her.
The latter half of the drama dips a little, especially when a few supporting actors begin to sound like they are reading lines rather than inhabiting their roles. Thankfully, there are standout performances to balance this. Gao Han’s Third Prince is a highlight—handsome, unsettling, and utterly convincing as a love-struck sociopath whose loyalties are never straightforward.
Still, the true anchor of the series is Liu Xue Yi. His versatility, emotional depth, and commanding presence carry the drama through its weaker moments. At times, it feels as though he is single-handedly holding the entire story together—and doing it with impressive finesse.
If you can forgive its occasional stumbles, you will find a story that grips you with political intrigue, emotional depth, and characters whose flaws make them all the more fascinating to watch.
Was this review helpful to you?
