This review may contain spoilers
Watch for the production, watch out for the plot
THE GOOD: Production and ActingI started watching because I dropped Princess Agents and wanted to see more of Shawn Dou. I was delighted to see that he kept that same happy-go-lucky energy at the start of the show and continued to showcase his talents as it went on. The rest of the cast all played their roles really well - I have no complaints.
The production is absolutely spectacular. From the intricate costumes, to the refined jewelry, to the battle scenes and number of extras, the show is visually stunning from start to finish. Did a great job portraying both the Khitan and Southern cultures.
THE OKAY: Music
The music did its job - playing grandiose orchestral music when an Emperor ascended the throne, and sad ballads when Yanyan and Derang were torn apart. However, none of the tracks are remarkable aside from "A Soul Yearning for You" by Yu Jiwei (相思魂-《燕云台》电视剧插曲 on Spotify), which is why it falls into the Okay category.
THE BAD: Plot
I had no context of the history behind the real Xiao Chuo going in, so everything was new. Right from the start I was struggling to keep track of all the Kings, clans and branches/lines. And what the heck is an ordo?? How come military groups are referred to as Palaces?? I have seen other historical cdramas but this societal concept was unique and confusing to me.
Plotwise, the entire show can be summed up as a Series of Unreasonable People. Every major character aside from the FL/ML gets caught up in their own hypocrisy and delusion. Mingyi becoming obsessed with Yanyan after a single interaction because he's touch deprived, leading to him stealing his best friend's fiance away "for the good of the country". Wuguli refusing to accept Xiyin's evil scheming and blaming Yanyan when she...followed the law. Even Hunian becoming resentful for both Yansage and Talan Abo's deaths when they both committed serious crimes and faced the consequences of their actions. It was all very frustrating to watch and the happy ending of Yanyan and Derang finally getting married wasn't satisfying enough. I was crying nonstop during Eps 17-19, had to sit through Derang marrying Li Si, and endured Mingyi treating Yanyan like garbage after meeting Yuxiao, only to never even see a KISS between Yanyan and Derang!?!?
Overall, I give Legend of Xiao Chuo an 8.0/10 because it certainly had its moments and I enjoyed watching it. Would I rewatch it? Probably not - it was really hard to watch Yanyan and Derang being separated for so long, so at most I would only consider anything up until Ep17. I also rarely consider rewatching anything since there's just so much to watch out there. But it was refreshing seeing this time period and the combination of Khitan and Southern cultures!
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