In what could have been a female-empowering action saga became a simple romance
Overall, the problem with the show is that it was billed as a Mulan-style epic with a grand, slow-burning romance on the side, so much of the audience started watching with the expectation that it was just that. Romance-wise, the chemistry between the leads, Cheng Lei and Zhou Ye was immaculate—as a matter of fact, as a love story, a lot of LOTFG is great! Yearning, decent angst (without the frustrating dragging), the lovestruck gazes, the kisses, the list goes on.
But a female-empowering action saga, the show was not. Other than the typical idol drama repetoire, like the pale/immaculate skin on the battlefield with a small dab of blood, lack of gritty visuals, and Zhou Ye looking very clearly like a girl (all which I can usually let slide), I feel like the main issue was the editing, as I could sometimese sense how the producers hurriedly cut whatever number of episodes the show originally had to 36 episodes, ~35 minutes each. I haven't read the original novel, but I felt that much of the "fluff" in between major plot points was cut, resulting in disconnected moments, like He Yan and her master's bond, not being translated properly on the screen. Oh, and also the fact that the show made Xiao Jue look like a fool right from the get-go for not recognizing that He Yan had been switched out by the real He Rufei.
But onto the specifics about the show...
The good:
The action scenes were amazing! A few select shots with wirework felt awkward, but the battle/war atmosphere felt immersive and dramatic. The music—both the OSTs and the instrumental background music—was great too (I added them all to my music playlist, haha). The casting for the characters was immaculate as well, which is why I feel like this cast was wasted on the script (and maybe the directing could have been better tbh). Although I saw Cheng Lei catch some flak for his acting, I feel like he plays the hardened, reserved general type of character so perfectly. Even with just his, you can feel all his emotions. Zhou Ye was amazing too!
The bad:
For Zhou Ye, I really feel like she could have pulled off HY better with her own, deeper voice without a separate dubber. Also, I think the script ruined HY's character, because for all those "cutesy/ditsy" moments, it undermined the believability that she was a so-called strong general. It painted the image that for a woman to be a strong general, she needs to be unbelievably/unrealistically physically strong (e.g., defeating 10 men at once), not emotionally and mentally mature. And in my heart, I feel like Zhou Ye could have pulled off that fully hardened character too... Also, for the dubbing in general, I feel like the breathing noises were awkwardly loud in some parts for absolutely no reason, and sometimes the emotions didn't match the face perfectly. The only cast member I have a bone to pick with is Zhang Kang Le—I haven't seen him in past works, but he was so emotionless, I felt like he had one emotion on his face during the entire show. Even his face card couldn't save his acting. And Chu Zhao as a character, too—he fell into a stereotypical jealous 2ML mold, and although they tried to make him complex, it felt very surface level.
But anyway, like I said, I think the reason why people have been reviewing this drama so negatively is that everyone had high expectations. If you want to give it a watch, I'd say go ahead, if you're looking for enjoyable visuals, badass vibes, and romance. If you're looking for something deeper and more meaningful, then maybe pass.
But a female-empowering action saga, the show was not. Other than the typical idol drama repetoire, like the pale/immaculate skin on the battlefield with a small dab of blood, lack of gritty visuals, and Zhou Ye looking very clearly like a girl (all which I can usually let slide), I feel like the main issue was the editing, as I could sometimese sense how the producers hurriedly cut whatever number of episodes the show originally had to 36 episodes, ~35 minutes each. I haven't read the original novel, but I felt that much of the "fluff" in between major plot points was cut, resulting in disconnected moments, like He Yan and her master's bond, not being translated properly on the screen. Oh, and also the fact that the show made Xiao Jue look like a fool right from the get-go for not recognizing that He Yan had been switched out by the real He Rufei.
But onto the specifics about the show...
The good:
The action scenes were amazing! A few select shots with wirework felt awkward, but the battle/war atmosphere felt immersive and dramatic. The music—both the OSTs and the instrumental background music—was great too (I added them all to my music playlist, haha). The casting for the characters was immaculate as well, which is why I feel like this cast was wasted on the script (and maybe the directing could have been better tbh). Although I saw Cheng Lei catch some flak for his acting, I feel like he plays the hardened, reserved general type of character so perfectly. Even with just his, you can feel all his emotions. Zhou Ye was amazing too!
The bad:
For Zhou Ye, I really feel like she could have pulled off HY better with her own, deeper voice without a separate dubber. Also, I think the script ruined HY's character, because for all those "cutesy/ditsy" moments, it undermined the believability that she was a so-called strong general. It painted the image that for a woman to be a strong general, she needs to be unbelievably/unrealistically physically strong (e.g., defeating 10 men at once), not emotionally and mentally mature. And in my heart, I feel like Zhou Ye could have pulled off that fully hardened character too... Also, for the dubbing in general, I feel like the breathing noises were awkwardly loud in some parts for absolutely no reason, and sometimes the emotions didn't match the face perfectly. The only cast member I have a bone to pick with is Zhang Kang Le—I haven't seen him in past works, but he was so emotionless, I felt like he had one emotion on his face during the entire show. Even his face card couldn't save his acting. And Chu Zhao as a character, too—he fell into a stereotypical jealous 2ML mold, and although they tried to make him complex, it felt very surface level.
But anyway, like I said, I think the reason why people have been reviewing this drama so negatively is that everyone had high expectations. If you want to give it a watch, I'd say go ahead, if you're looking for enjoyable visuals, badass vibes, and romance. If you're looking for something deeper and more meaningful, then maybe pass.
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