Legend of Fu Yao (2018)

2 months of my life I've invested in this show. From the day it aired till now, I've been following along, watching some episodes with subs, but being too pulled in to wait for the rest of the series to be subbed. There were parts of it that were a bit lacking (which I'll mention), some characters were a bit too much, others there wasn't enough. Overall, I can't be upset about the time I've put towards this drama. Even if there are some problems with it, overall it's still become one of my favorite new dramas, and possibly of all time.

STORY: 8/10

I will agree with most people that the story was much better in the first half of the drama than in the final arcs. Overall, I think the progression of the story seemed steady and flowed fairly well, albeit having a few less exciting parts at various times. Watching Fu Yao really grow as a person from the young, bubbly and bit stubborn slave girl to growing her martial arts and becoming more powerful for herself to finding out her true origins and setting everything back to the way it should have been - it felt like a very natural progression for her and you really get to see her change and grow as a person - not just being told from the get go that she's a badass for whatever reasons.

The Xuan Yuan Sect arc began a bit slow, but overall I think it was a great opener to meeting these main characters. I think this was the area where I most enjoyed Fu Yao and Wu Ji's relationship because it was the most playful part. They had a somewhat common bottom line when it came to morality and making decisions, but overall they had their own views on things and were able to help each other out along the way. LOFY did a very good job in my opinion on setting up and progressing the relationship between the main couple because you really understood why they came to love each other as much as they do, whereas many dramas it just feels like they're together because someone wrote it that way, and you don't really understand how they got to that level of relationship.

Tai Yuan arc was probably the most entertaining for me - and most people as I've read. My favorite genre for C-dramas is more imperial settings, so having that in combination with the background story of Fu Yao just made things more entertaining. At this point, the only thing that really bothered me was Yan Jing Chen and Pei Yuan story line. I could tell from the beginning that Pei Yuan was going to be one of the enemies, which is fine, but it got a bit stereotypical for me at times - blaming everything on the main girl just because the guy she likes has feelings for the other person/everything is the main lead's fault/etc. Sam with Yan Jing Chen, he made his decision over and over, but obviously regretted it every time, though still had no issues betraying Fu Yao and making the wrong choices. Everything else was great for me though. The story did well tying in the other side characters and giving them a place in the overall story.

Tian Quan arc was pretty short, so not too much bad here. The introduction of Fo Lian took me by surprise honestly, and then the crazy amazing episode with Fu Yao and Zhang Sun Ping Rong (you know which one I'm talking about). Even ? of the way into the story, there was still a good amount of rollercoastering for me - super exciting scenes and a few more subdued ones.

Tian Sha arc is probably my least favorite (and I figured it would be honestly). This was the arc where I knew that the main leads would be more support characters, but I still think that it wasn't as bad as people are making it seem. There were still important bits happening, and the relationship development for more side characters.

Xuan Ji arc brought the story full circle at this point. I think at this point it was fairly predictable what was going to happen, but at the same time, it was still fun seeing how the female run kingdom worked and bringing Fu Yao into the next high point in her life.

Final arc (Tian Quan/Qiong Sang) - I will admit that it kind of amazes me that with 66 episodes, there were still parts of the ending that felt a bit rushed. I wouldn't necessarily say it needed to be longer, but just that they needed to balance out the story a bit more. So much is going on by the final few episodes that it feels a bit like a whirlwind. But again, I'm not an expert on screenwriting so I honestly don't know which parts of the overall show they should've cut down to make things seem more balanced.

ACTING:9/10

Yang Mi - for those who've read my other reviews of Yang Mi's acting, I think she's a very hit or miss actress. TMOPB I think she excelled probably because the writing of her character was good, but still overall there were times when Bai Qian felt kind of one note to me. I think Yang Mi's portrayal of Fu Yao outshined her character in TMOPB and others - if only for the fact you get to see more personality out of her and you really see this overarching journey of Fu Yao's life. YM pulled of the mischievous, young slave at Xuan Yuan, to the more matured concubine at Tai Yuan, to really coming into her own character by the end of the first half of the drama. Overall good job.

Ethan Ruan - Normally I'd say that these types of dramas, unless the male character is the ACTUAL lead lead character, they normally get overshadowed by the female. LOFY was NOT that case. I hadn't seen anything from Ethan Ruan since Fated to Love You, but I remember loving his acting from there, so I had fairly good expectations. Ethan Ruan knocked this out of the park for me. From his first introduction, I was hooked. He was playful and flirty, but mischievous and mysterious. His character was strong and powerful, merciless when he wanted to, but kind and loving when he needed to. I'd honestly say that I'd wish he had some kind of fault to him because his character was overall too perfect in that sense (being supposedly ruthless could be a downfall, but I don't think they really showed that side of him as much as they just talked about it). But overall I think that Ethan Ruan definitely outshined Yang Mi. He had good comedic timing, he wasn't afraid to get ugly when he was angry or sad. Legit he was so into it that there are times when Fu Yao and Wu Ji are having emotional scenes, and you can see a tear drop from his face (even when the camera is just filming from behind him). I'm honestly hoping that LOFY opens up some more doorways for him in mainland China because I really wanna watch more stuff from him ASAP.

Everyone else - this review is already super long, so just quickly, overall everyone else was very good. Qi Zhen (Liu Yi Jun) was definitely a standout bad guy, just as he was in Nirvana in Fire. Superb acting and super believable villainous qualities.

OVERALL/REWATCH: 9/10

I honestly loved this drama. It's not perfect by any means, but it was memorable and exciting for the most part. It's definitely one of my new top favorite dramas. It had just enough relationship storylines along with political plots and general human growth stories. It's definitely going to be one I watch again and again. I really never got bored with it to the point of wanting to drop it. The storyline made much more sense and had much better flow than others of its type (looking at you Princess Agents) and I think that the directing and cinematography was great. Acting overall was a huge plus - especially with such a large cast, but I think everyone did a pretty solid job overall.

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THE STORY
First of all, this drama should not be called ‘Legend of Fuyao’ because didn’t focus enough on Fuyao. It should not be called ‘Legend of Wuji’ either because Wuji was willing the risk the safety of all the people in the 5 kingdoms for his love interest. Though his love and devotion to Fuyao was admirable and touching, this is not what a good ruler should be doing. So, no, Wuji does not deserve to be called a legend either.

I think a more appropriate title for this drama would be ‘The story of Fuyao, the woman who changed Wuji’s life’, because Fuyao turned Wuji’s life upside-down and brought his arrogance down a few notches the moment she entered his life. It is also a coming-of-age story of both Fuyao and Wuji as it shows how they change as a result of knowing each other and going through the trials in their lives.

The story takes us through 5 kingdoms (Taiyuan, Tianquan, Tiansha, Xuanji and Qiongcang) and has a lot going for it – court intrigue, action, adventures in strange lands, long lost identities and an epic love story. However, the focus, development and pacing of the script was inconsistent. . The drama’s title and first 8 episodes in Xuanyuan Mt. had us anticipating Fuyao embarking on a quest to find her true identity and remove her 5 seals. However, after she left Xuanyuan Mt, the focus changed all to Wuji and Fuyao became an accidental follower in his schemes instead of leading the story as the main character. Too many episodes were devoted to the court intrigue in Taiyuan which did not move Fuyao’s quest along one bit. The result of this was that everything else had to be squeezed into the remaining half of the drama and so there was no time for proper development of the stories in the remaining kingdoms. The story in Xuanji kingdom - where Fuyao’s childhood story and true identity were revealed - was especially short and rushed (only 6 episodes). Wasn’t this drama supposed to be about Fuyao? I would have loved to see more time devoted to Fuyao’s backstory (because it was just so tragic) and how it shaped her strong character.

ACTING

(1) Yang Mi as Fuyao
I liked Yang Mi since TMOPB, but after Fuyao, I have become a fan. Her performance was simply PHENOMENAL! I love actors who can emote with their eyes and Yang Mi did this superbly here. Her eyes are so gorgeous and expressive, I found myself drawn to them every time she appears on screen. She had a lot of epic scenes that had no dialog – the attempted rape scene, Yao City battle, rain scene, when she regained her memory, when she turned evil). She relied only on her eyes to convey Fuyao’s emotions and slayed every scene. Just a simple change in the expression in her eyes could convey so much, especially when she teared or cried – my heart just went out to Fuyao and I could really feel her pain. I particularly love her scenes with Uncle Zhou as the surrogate father-daughter bond was just so heart-warming and touching. And despite all the heart-break and hardships Fuyao endured, there was always strength and fire in her eyes.

I feel a lot of viewers do not give Yang Mi enough credit. I guess this is because majority of viewers are female and prefer to focus and swoon over the male lead. When a male lead cries, it is hailed as good acting whereas the female lead can cry buckets and no one takes notice. Is it because females are expected to cry, so that no one thinks much of it anymore? I vividly remember 3 scenes - just before Fuyao passed out after her fight with Zhangsun Ping Rong, right after she regained her memory and just before she stabbed herself. In each of these scenes, Yang Mi dropped a tear that totally broke my heart. It’s sad no viewers bother to mention her great acting in these, as well as many other scenes, whereas when the male lead drops a tear, viewers shout about it.

So, I do wish to give special mention to Yang Mi here because her exquisite and excellent performance was one of the main reasons I enjoyed this drama. At the end of the drama, I realise the character I remember most is Fuyao. Yang Mi made Fuyao come alive. She made me care for Fuyao and want to continue watching the drama to find out her fate. I only wish she had more screen time. She lights up the screen every time she appears and stole the show.

(2) Ethan Ruan as Wuji
This is the first time I have ever seen Ethan Ruan acting and so I did not know what to expect from him. His performance as Wuji was both a hit and miss for me. It was a hit because he looks handsome as Wuji, had great chemistry with Yang Mi and was good as the cheeky and flirty prince. But it was also a miss because some of his facial expressions, especially his smiles/smirks, come across as sleazy and goofy instead of suave or endearing. There were several OTP scenes where he suddenly gave a goofy smile that just totally spoiled the tender moment. And he tends to overact, such as crunching his face into an unrecognisable mess to express pain or angst. It made the last few episodes, when Wuji was crying over his parents’ betrayal and when he was chained to the ice on the mountain, very difficult to watch. I cringed more than I felt touched. I just wish he had used more of his eyes to emote (like the senior actors and Yang Mi) instead of such exaggerated acting, because some of his emotional scenes were good.

OTP’S LOVE STORY
Fuyao and Wuji’s love story has got to be one of the most well-written and best developed I have ever seen in a Chinese historical drama. Their epic love story is one of the things that really draws you in to this drama. It was wonderful seeing their relationship grow from the initial fighting and flirting to trust, support and finally self-sacrifice for each other. And Yang Mi and Ethan’s chemistry was simply sizzling! They looked so natural and comfortable around each other and their scenes together were a joy to watch.

MUSIC & CINEMATOGRAPHY
I absolutely love the OST and BGM. Every piece of music suited the mood of every scene so well. I daresay I prefer Fuyao’s OST/BGM to TMOPB’s. Cinematography, sets and costumes were also very good and gave the drama a grandeur more common to movies than a TV drama.

FIGHT SCENES
One of my favourite are the fight scenes. There are more fight scenes here than the average Chinese historical drama and you could tell a lot of effort was put into these as they were all very well-choreographed and visually stunning. Fuyao had the best fight scenes and Yang Mi just looked soooo freaking COOL fighting and flirting!

FINAL THOUGHTS
As someone who read the novel before watching the drama, I was very frustrated over how the drama scriptwriter had changed and butchered Fuyao’s character. Drama Fuyao was a victim of circumstances. In contrast, novel Fuyao was a dictator of events. All the schemes that Wuji planned in the drama were actually plotted by Fuyao. She single-handled plotted and helped put all 5 male leads on the thrones in their own kingdoms. So, I didn’t like the fact that the drama made Wuji more like the lead character and accredited all of novel Fuyao’s achievements to him.

When writing this review, I had to treat the drama as being NOT RELATED to the novel at all. Otherwise, it would not have been fair to all the cast and crew who put up such a fine production. Other than the inconsistent script, everything else about the drama was very good – from acting to music to cinematography and fight sequences. Putting my drama vs novel bias aside, this is still an entertaining drama with lots of action, adventure and intrigue to keep you engaged. If nothing else, Yang Mi’s and Ethan’s superb chemistry and love story will keep you invested and wanting more.

If you are debating whether to read the novel or watch the drama first, do yourself a favour and watch the drama first. You will enjoy the drama a lot more this way. Then go read the novel to understand what a truly awesome character Fuyao is and why she is a legend. The drama totally does not do any justice to Fuyao and the novel.

REWATCH VALUE
I will definitely rewatch this drama for my favourites scenes, action sequences and Yang Mi’s superb acting.

* ENDING SPOILER ALERT *
In case anyone is still confused about the ending, Fuyao and Wuji did not die. In the last scene, they are alive and well on a bridge (probably in Tianquan), not in heaven. The words spoken by Wuji in that scene (ie. follow her to the mortal realm etc. etc.) are actually lines from the novel that novel fans love. The scriptwriter probably put it in thinking that it would please novel fans but instead, it ended up confusing everyone about whether they lived or died.

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