This review may contain spoilers
Ignore the poor Editing and sequence for the last few episodes, it's a good drama
I first encountered this drama while I was waiting for episode 23 to Ancient Love Poetry to air (the torture of the delayed schedule for that drama lol), so I was clicking into 'Mydramalist' in here under the 'Xianxia' category and came across this drama 'The Legends 2019' by accident. And watched the trailer first before seeing the cast, and noticed there's Xu Kai and Bai Lu in this one. I have seen both these actors (Xu Kai) and actress (Bai Lu) in their respective dramas, Xu Kai in Ancient Love Poetry, and Bai Lu in Love is Sweet, so yeah, I decided to watch this, while waiting for more episodes to air for Ancient Love Poetry before resuming (like I said the wait was a torture).At first I watched this in Youtube, until I was up to episode 18-19, episode 19 started off out of place to me, and I was like "What the heck is going on??? Did I missed an episode or something??" And turned out that there was a portion that was cut out from episode 19... So I have to result to watching this in Viki instead. And then there was another time where the whole episode was NOT included in the Youtube version, I was like "What the heck????" So honestly, fans, just go with watching from the Viki version. That is at least better sequenced and have UNCUT scenes.
I didn't know what fans or viewers was complaining about the editing and poorly sequenced, each scene meshed everywhere... But now I know...And I agree....
Well, like, like I said, ignore the poor editing, if you can get past that and use your braincells to put the scenes together yourself (even some scenes don't make sense and felt out of place), then you will enjoy this drama.
For me, like everyone else who does, really love Bai Lu and Xu Kai's chemistry, they're just so natural and they definitely have chemistry, and I LOVE the character Mo Qing (Li Chen Lan), I do felt sorry for him for being possessed, but I still love him though.
I DON'T like Jiang Wu at all, would have liked him if he didn't provoke Mo Qing on his end to push him further to his insanity when Mo Qing was doing fine, and his best to control his inner demons, and I hate the fact that the death of Jiang Wu's 'Xiong Di' died, Jiang Wu blamed it on Mo Qing', and I'm like "Well, yeah, Mo Qing did it, but he LOST CONTROL, and why did he lost control? Because YOU(Jiang Wu) freaking provoked him, not once but twice!" -__- and then later he killed Ah-Da just to get back at Mo Qing... AND THEN further later, he sealed him in the same place that his father sealed him, which forced him to fall into darkness when he needed to break free to save/protect Zhao Yao, honestly at that point, I don't like Jiang Wu so much so I said to myself, that, even if he died, I am not going to feel sad for him...
I did feel sad though when Han Guang died T_T. His death, thanks to the the hypocrite of the Gold Diety...How he survived makes NO sense to me... But the fact that Han Guang died because of that b*stard, god, I want to tear him to pieces!!!
If I have to say something that disappointed me is that.... I can't believe that Zhi Yan and Cang Ling didn't end up together... And we even saw Cang Ling married someone else, I was like "Wow, your love for Zhi Yan can have you fall in love with someone else??? While she's still single??? -_- (not true love there)" But oh well...
I also hate the whip girl (don't remember her name lol), glad she's finally dead in the end, took her long enough...
The ending, ah, the ending, I've just finished watching the ending.... but it was confusing >.<
At first, from my understanding to the pairing ending is a tragic and a happy ending (that is based on one's choice's that lead to that outcome).
(1) Tragic ending - Is when Zhao Yao made the decision to fight against him and stop his madness, that's how they ended up in that same cave where the demonic sword was sealed, and in the end, Mo Qing decided to sacrifice himself to end the madness
(2) Happy ending - Is when Zhao Yao didn't want to fight against Mo Qing so she tried to calm him down and take him back to the Wan Lu (their) sect (home) and he was able to regain control.
I am saying its two ending because when Mo Qing was stabbed and fell down the abyss, Zhao Yao was looking for his body, and then......
The next moment the scene got transitioned "back to" where the scene was originally cut after they killed that bastard (the golden diety), and Mo Qing darkness was emitting from him but he's trying to maintain in control.... which with what follows after lead to their happy ending.
But then omg it is still confusing lol, I told myself to treat this as two alternate endings for them based on what I grasp in the 2nd last to the last episode, but then in one of the sequence that shows "5 years later"(the writer sure have a thing for doing a "5" year time skip lol, since this is the third time), Zhao Yao retired from being the sect leader because she want to wait for Mo Qing to come out from seclusion, at that time, she wears white and changed her hair style and her scar on her forehead is gone..... but then when its shown that Mo Qing sealed the sword and came out of seclusion, she's back to wearing red and her original hair style AND the scar is back, and I am like "????????? What happened????" But well in the end, they are implied married because we see their son and daughter that looks like them lol.
I think what the writers did is trying to let the viewers see two alternate endings based on a choice that you go with, because in the first ending (tragic one) when Mo Qing was stabbed, and Zhao Yao didn't want to push further in, but he did it for her T^T he told her that "this isn't my destiny, but is my choice", telling her to not blame herself for being the one to kill him *cries*(literally did cried in that ending though)
But like I said, at first that's what I got from my first watch, and then someone sent me a link to a Youtube video explaining the ending, which made sense to me so I was like "Oh okay"... Honestly, if there's anything I critic about this is the poor editing and placement of scenes towards the end, because its such a mess and some scenes didn't transitioned smoothly that made me go " HUH??" when it happened. But ignoring that part, I did enjoy this drama on my end, and I don't regret watching it, because I love the main pair, and I love Mo Qing's hair colour (in the present time), where it's navy blue, he's good looking hahaha, even at the beginning with the marking on his side cheek, I DON'T think he's ugly or looks ugly, because it reminds me to another character I love (*cough* Jellal *cough*). It has it's charm point, but yeah with that all said, I will rewatch this again on my end when I have the time, or but this time, with another perspective to that ending. There's also another thing I wish was done better is that I wish they didn't make Mo Qing weak when that idiot (Jiang Wu) came to crashed their wedding, because I don't understand why he's weak??? And I was like "???" he should be stronger than that, and I was like "Did I miss something again".
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This would have been great if.....
the Ending was not botched up.I thoroughly enjoyed The Legend from the start. I enjoyed the story premise, the acting, especially Xiao Yan who played two roles. (I think she is someone I will look into on other series) The acting of the leads, Xu Kai and Bai Lu were amazing. They had great chemistry together. Good enough that I watched Arsenal Military Academy just to watch them together again which was a much better series.
Even tho the series already took a dive after the thing between Zhao Yao and Qing Zhi Yan. Due to the interesting plot, I stuck with it till the end. It appeared as if they changed an editor or producer. The continuity of the series took a bad turn. I can forgive some scenes cut to another scene lacking explanation. But, I can't forgive the producers for insulting the viewer's intelligence. The series should have ended at Episode 53 as an open ending.. I usually hate open endings, but this one would save the series. The ending was so bad that the producers underestimated the viewers that we have memories of scenes they used before. They montaged over not as a memory but as a totally new scene. That to me is very lame. I felt I got played. I felt angry and betrayed. But the chemistry between Xu Kai and Bai Lu was so good that I want to watch more of them!
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Story/Plot: Amazing concept, and it stuck to it till the end. It really changesones view of good and bad, demon and deity. And how deceptive these things can pose to be. It was really good throughout except for the fact that the side couples were given a pretty good screen time(which is a positive point) but none of them(other than main couple) end up together. since it was a battle, bloodshed was invietable but i still wished some characters to actually live. Everything is really to the point except for some scenes which like are kind of jumbled in between, especially those played in the beginning.
Acting and Music: Both the actors did fab job onscreen with making every seen seem so surreal. On one side where the screenplay seen catch ur senses, its music really hit you. I especiallly liked the ending song pretty much.
Rewatch value, i can rewatch it n number of times. I strongly recommend this one.
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Good story, horrible editing
I was hesitant at first to watch this drama because 55 episodes is pretty daunting. But I was glad I gave it a chance.I loved how unpredictable this drama was. There were a lot of things and arcs that I did not expect. Most characters were very well developed, with motivations pretty much understood. The actors had chemistry. The scenes gave the other worldly vibe that this xanxia needed. The music was good enough. Overall this should have been one of those great epic dramas. But and there's a big BUT, it suffered from bad editing. There were inset scenes before the opening song that you might not understand but still need to watch because sometimes these were key scenes that should have been placed in the middle of the episodes. I was often disoriented because I felt some scenes were missing. Sometimes you will think that a scene is happening when in reality it only happens in a character's subconsciousness. Also, there were some inconsistencies in the lighting and sometimes confused me whether it was a daytime or a night time scene. This really affected the flow of the story. But still it is understandable enough.
ZaYao and ChenLan had swapped places in a typical romance. ZaYao is the cold, disillusioned antiheroine who was changed by the gentle love of ChenLan. It was really amazing to see how ChenLan's eyes becomes adoring everytime he remembers ZaYao. And then there's JiangMu, he's actually my favorite character in this whole drama. I didn't expect it because he was a very deplorable character at the start of the drama. But his development was amazing. I had tears in my ears when he was was giving ZaYao his sword before that last battle.
There were a lot of unexpected deaths in this drama that you will wish did not happen but I guess that's just the reality in the pugilistic world.
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As dragged as my life
I love the multifacetedness of Bai Lu as an actress. She is never boring to watch. The plot has got a lot going on and there are some interesting layers and symbols for which I love this genre. Other than that the show should have been cut half of its episodes, because 50+ is an annoying length. The struggle of the male lead is good. I liked that part. The main reason I survived through the whole length of this drama is Li Zi Feng, a real sex symbol for me. The show may be a waste of time for many of you though.Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
Be patient and wait till the details are revealed via flashbacks
9/15/2021It pains me that I have to give this drama a 7.5 rating and not higher. I am a big fan of Xu Kai and Bai Lu and LOVE them in "Arsenal Military Academy". However, I am disappointed in how the story was told and their supposedly amazing chemistry. When I review the notes I wrote down about this drama, I wrote down mostly negative things. *sigh* I like the overall story of the drama, even though it sounds like I hate it. I had high hopes since it got a 8.3 rating on MDL and it's pretty decent for a historical/wuxia/fantasy drama. Unfortunately, the visuals of Xu Kai and Bai Lu are not enough.
What I don't like:
1. Plot and explanation - Throughout the drama, I scratch my head and wonder what just happened to a certain scene. Why is it cut and immediately transitions to something else. Then I realize, after half/one episode later, they went back to the initial plot and explain what happened via a flashback. This happens ALL the time!! The drama is slow to reveal details and if you fast forward and miss a dialog or flashback, you will be completely lost and wonder why there are so many plot holes. You need to be very patient and then your questions will be answered. I am not sure I've seen a drama that uses this technique to tell a story, and personally, I am not a fan of this style. Oh, there are still plot holes e.g. *spoiler* in Ep 53 - I thought FL's lightning sword was stolen by the Captain of the Guard and given to the Golden Immortal. How come FL found it in her chest and was able to use it to kill ML's demon essence? Also, if they can all teleport, why don't they do it more often esp. when they are in danger?
2. Editing - Editing is a little wonky. Scenes have awkward and abrupt transitions, including background music cut off suddenly.
3. Female leads in the 2nd half - In the first half, we have a strong and sassy anti-heroine. In the second half when Lu Zhao Yao is reincarnated, she lost that feistiness and ended being just a regular FL who is in love with her man. Where is that badass Lu Zhao Yao? Where are her amazing fighting skills? Same goes to the other FL, Qin Zhi Yan. Where did she go in the second half? The two FLs had so much fun and chemistry when they are sharing the same identity. Once everything goes back to normal, Qin Zhi Yan becomes a character that just looms in the background.
4. Daytime or Night time - There are so many scenes that I don't even know if it's daytime or night time. When Lu Zhao Yao is visible again, you would think the sky should be dark. But no, it's quite sunny out there! I am confused!
5. Main Romance - Everyone said the leads chemistry is amazing. Unfortunately, I don't feel it. It's not bad, but just OK. Just because the kisses were amazing, doesn't mean the chemistry is good throughout the show. I do love Xu Kai's eyes. I understand why Mo Qing is in love with Lu Zhao Yao. But Lu Zhao Yao suddenly falls head over heels after realizing Mo Qing is in love with her is a little too fast and not explained well. I was hoping for more development, a slow realization and then falling in love. But because the romance took a while to enter the main storyline, I feel that the writers were rushing it a little.
6. Slow-Motion scenes: There are so many close-up slow-mo scenes that totally drags down the pacing of the drama. I am also very disappointed in the fight choreography and slow fight scenes. I know this is not a traditional wuxia drama, but still. In the last few episodes in the big battle with the Golden Immortal, the fight could have finished in 15-20 minutes. But all these slow-motion and awkward transition of scenes prolonged the battle for to 1-2 episodes.
What I Like:
1. Kisses - Xu Kai and Bai Lu don't disappoint. Those kisses by the gate are amazing. Mo Qin was so shy in the beginning but just couldn't resist Zhao Yao. *sizzles*
2. Bromance - I love the bromance between Mo Qing and SiMa Rong, and also the love/hate friendship with Gu Hang Guang. The scenes when they were coming up with proposal ideas are hilarious.
3. Loyal, Undying love - I am a fan of ML who is super loyal to FL, and will do anything for FL. Love is shown through actions and not just cheesy lines. There are other side romances where the male supporting characters are in love with their women, and just couldn't let go and move on. It might be a little much for others, but I love it.
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From serious to comedic synopsis with 3 eps already watch, I’m like that’s great! My first impression of the 3 eps: the female leads was naive and full of hope at first. Totally maniser (instead of womaniser), saw the first beautiful looking dude (golden fairy) and had a major crush. Following the fairy’s advice, she tried to do good deeds, unfortunately her first good deed goes against the wishes of the “supposingly good” clans, she rescued the rumoured son of the demon king, with the reason that “just because you are born evil, but if you haven’t done anything bad, you are not evil, and killing such person is just bad and against what good should be”. Because of this, the whole of Jiangho turned against her. But she sticks by him (Mo Qing), after got him to a safe place so no one can find him, she went to meet her crush without knowing he’s the one that put out the order to kill MQ. He captured her and tortured her, during the torture, she was true to herself, and wouldn’t say the whereabouts of MQ, while trying to tell him he was at fault and not her. In the end, her grandfather die protecting her. She’s then vowed to be as evil as one can be xD
Pro so far:
The story moves quite fast, the pacing is great, lots of stuffs going on. Quite a number of characters, however, it’s not hard to follow.
Refreshing female lead, which I will describe in a few words: sassy, badass, smart, caring, totally maniser lol (in a sense that she loves beautiful looking man, and this is what cause a major problem later on!) but don’t worry, apart from the male lead, she doesn’t do anything inappropriate to other guys xD!
Strong male lead that is gentle and caring, smart and let the female lead has her ways of revenges, sad knowing the sweet things she does for him is for revenges but couldn’t help be happy and all puppy about it!
Their chemistry is just believable, from a one sided crush, and one hate-you-so-much-that-I-want-to-kill-you, to remember that tenderness of love and being cared for, and actually think for the other person. I can’t wait to the point where they are openly in love with one another as it will be a love of smouldering moments xD! Their interactions and moments are enough to propel you to love them, and wanting to see more and more of them!
The fight scenes: growing up watching a lot of wuxia drama, I always look down on fantasy drama as their fight scenes are always cheap and heavily CGI, literally 1-2 kicks then boom here and boom there, and smoke everywhere. But this series actually has longer fight scenes, and when the CGI comes in, it makes sense and it has great effects and looks. One thing is they don’t show much how the female lead fight when she was evil, which I guess to not truly show how “evil and ruthless” she could be, in case haters are gonna hate, and people will use that to not try to understand her character. (You will also later on find out more the reason why this is done so).
The side characters are all different and interesting, and given just enough time, not overly filler like a lot of series out there.
Acting: everyone is spot on for their roles, I love the casting, though apart from the female lead who I’ve seen in untouchable lovers, I haven’t seen others, and they all did a great job! Minus the second female lead sometimes (she just can’t do strong and sexy role lol)
Mystery: because I haven’t read the book, figuring out what and who and why so and so happening is great for me. I was able to guess everything, and while I got it correctly, I love how they leave enough clues for me to do so :) but not many that I felt like a kids being spoon fed (maybe for the book readers it will be :) )
Con:
The second female lead’s acting is so weak, that she couldn’t demonstrate the same ranges as the female lead, and that make her character weak sometimes (like not sassy enough, not angry enough, etc). So while I get they tried to show how other see the female lead’s character, they could have use her more instead of the secondary female lead. Though this is improved as the story goes on, as more and more people see who she really is, and that lesser usage shows the difference.
Only 6 eps a week is killing me! I have waited for 1 month and I’m only at 26 eps!!! And now I have to wait 4days for new eps!
The beginning of each ep could be confusing. Initially I was like WTH, did I get the wrong episodes. Because they are 3 mins of random scenes that doesn’t connect to the end of the last episode, however, after a while, I started to like how it was done. It is to give you information to clarify an event that might happen/already happen, that if told in a traditional sense, require a lot of filler to connect it into the story. This way, it helps explaining, and condense the story. Which is a rare thing to see in c-drama!
Would I recommend this series? Definitely! It’s one of this rare drama with great different storyline and strong female lead that everyone is looking for. One reason why it isn’t as popular as it should be because the actress is relatively unknown, same as the male lead (both most noticeable work is as secondary lead for 1 well known series, hers being untouchable lovers, and his being the story of Yanxi)
For now: 10/10 for me!
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This review may contain spoilers
Ending was a legendary fail
Although it started off well, the ending unfortunately spoiled this drama for me. I'm giving it a 7 instead of <5 though because I enjoyed the 1st half.I watched this drama because I liked Bai Lu in Love is Sweet and Xu Kai in Ancient Love Poetry. They were pretty much the only reason why I finished this drama. I've heard good things about Arsenal Military Academy, so will try that next, but am sad I didn't watch that first and spent so much time trying to get through the last half of this drama.
The Good:
- Leads were good
- Story got off to a good and exciting start
- Funny moments when FL (LZY) is resurrected in 2nd FL's (QZY) body
- Dr GHG was hilarious
The Bad:
- Too long and re-used a lot of flashbacks as filler
- Story deteriorated as it progressed...with a weak, messy, poorly developed ending
- Lots of plot holes... (Liu He Sword kept appearing everywhere after ep 52 with no explanation of why different people had it, ML mysteriously loses demon essence then gets it back then tries to lose it again, ML father somehow is able to leave world of rest and enter mortal world then just disappears after attacking the gold diety, etc.)
- Relationship between ML and FL (though the actors were good) was not developed enough, especially after 1/2 way through
- Dr GHG died :(
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STORY
I thought the story was so unique and the plot flowed well, I was never bored and I didn’t fast-forward through anything, everything seemed important. And events had so much build up and foreshadowing, nothing seemed to come out of nowhere.
ACTING/CAST
The acting was AMAZING! Bai Lu was perfect as Zhao Yao, I feel like she was born to play this role!! Same with Xu Kai, he made Mo Qing so warm and loving!! Bai Lu and Xu Kai have such great chemistry, all their scenes together didn’t feel forced or staged, everything seemed so natural.
Xiao Yan did such a good job playing both Zhi Yan AND Zhao Yao. She copied Bai Lu’s facial expressions really well. Dai Xu was really good too as Jiang Wu, he could be both hilarious and terrifying!!
MUSIC
I really love the music, especially the main song "Zhao Yao" by Chen Chu Sheng & Hu Sha Sha.
OTHER POINTS
The romance was done so perfectly with so many beautifully filmed OTP scenes, and the angst got you right in the heart! This show was also hilarious!! That whole "love letters by messenger crow" sequence still cracks me up! And all Zhao Yao’s failed attempts at murdering Mo Qing are so funny, especially when he knows what she’s up to! I think they balanced the humour with the angsty romance really well.
The director did such a good job and the fights scenes were amazingly choreographed. The CGI was really good too, especially in the scene were Mo Qing and Zhao Yao join forces to break that Demon Suppressor Formation.
The costumes and hair were beautiful, they were unique but not overdone. I really loved Zhao Yao’s superhero outfit and Mo Qing’s sect leader clothes all suited him really well! I love his blue hair so much!
The sets and props (especially the swords) were nice too, and the Red Stone Forest made for an interesting backdrop.
It was also great to see such strong female characters!! Zhao Yao and Shi Qi/Seventeen were such badass ladies and Zhao Yao helped Zhi Yan become stronger too. They had a woman in charge of the Secret Guard and some of the guards were also women. Even the villain Liu Su Ruo was calling a lot of the shots with the people in the Immortal Sects.
I also thought that all the advertising posters etc. that they released were really well done and it was clear that a lot of work and love had gone into them. I think the people who were in charge of the marketing and the running of the official Weibo page were definitely fans of the show too!
I guess my main little issues with the drama were the occasional bad editing and the over darkening of some “night scenes” (which had been filmed during the day hence the darkening), but those issues can be fixed with video editing software so I forgive you show!
REWATCH VALUE
I’ve re-watched so many scenes so many times from this show already. They weren’t even just the OTP scenes either, so many other scenes are so re-watchable as well, especially the fight scenes!
The best thing about this drama has to be Zhao Yao and Mo Qing’s love story. His devotion to her is just so beautiful and I love how he was always there for her no matter what, and eventually she was always there for him too. Watching Zhao Yao fall in love with him was so amazing, their relationship became so loving and supportive, I don’t even have a favourite OTP scene because all their scenes were so perfect!
If you like well written angsty romance dramas with a lot of humour then I would highly recommend you give this drama a try and maybe you’ll become as addicted to it as I am!! I’ve started reading the book too and I would highly recommend it as well, the (ongoing) English translation is here: https://www.novelupdates.com/series/ostentatious-zhao-yao/.
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Powerful Cast Duality
Came from Arsenal Military Academy because both leads have such great duality and chemistry. Surprisingly, it was a lot less cringy than I had imagined, editing isn't as horrid as some of the reviews state. There could be improvements and a lot more focus on the couple's development, but overall, this is a pretty great drama to watch if you love Bai Lu and Xu Kai and enjoy action/romance.Bai Lu's acting is 10/10 no matter what genre she's acting in (same with Xu Kai) so there's not much to say about the characters. The supporting characters are equally interesting and I'm glad they included side-stories and back stories that involve the relationships of the other characters. Not really a huge complaint but I wish there were more scenes with Qin Qian Xuan and Si Qi (they did not have to do them dirty like that;; literally the most wholesome characters).
This was a good mix of romance, action, and comedy, and lots of angst o.o the female lead literally hates him to death for the first 20 some episodes so be patient :')
overall, pretty top notch acting and even though the plot has some holes, it's worth the watch ^~^
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Best cdrama of 2019
I think this will be the best c-drama for 2019 for me. First I have to say that the first 45 episodes este very good,but everything became confusing for me at the end. I didn't understand if he died or not because it seemed sudden. I don't complaint the fact that they changed the ending because I didn't read the novel but the way it was taken it seemed poorly. But this time the ending will not change my opinion about this drama because till the end everything was very beautiful to see. The female lead who was strong and didn't need anyone,of couse till she lost her powers,the male lead who loved her unbelievably and their chemistry was awesome and the support cast was extremely good. From the supporting cast I loved especially Seventeen for her power and I don't know the fact that she was a little imature bur at the same time mature. I almost cried at the end when I thought she died and I was extremely happy that she didn't. Besides her,I loved everyone equally. I cannot wait a new drama where I can see Xu Kai and Bai Lu together again. I recommend to everyone to watch this drama even if the ending wasn't very good,because their chemistry,the acting,the script,the action were the best. I'll give to this drama 100000000000 out of 10 stars.Was this review helpful to you?
Evil is just the Absence of Good
Sometimes I really need some hardcore romance besides the rom-coms I usually watch with their tongue-in-cheek love. This is one of those moments, and I am really satisfied with The Legends. This series has it all, outstanding headstrong characters, their own private history, High Fantasy, the Great Battle between Good & Evil, and last but not least the beautiful chemistry between the main couple, that starts unconsciously, shy, sweet and fizzes on the screen at times.Summary
This drama has been adapted from a popular novel about divine sects who fight for the power in the pugilistic world.
The main story is about Lu Zhao Yao. Her grandfather’s sect is responsible for the guarding of the demon king’s son. This mystic person, later called Li Chen Lan, is unkept, covered with magic runes on his face. He lives chained, hidden and abandoned in the mountain because of his incredible evil powers he hasn’t mastered yet. No one is allowed to see him.
One time Zhao Yao meets, and saves, the good looking Luo Ming Xuan, the divine leader of the immortal ten sects. He becomes her shining example in life. She adores him and promises to live and fight for the good cause, using her powers to protect the defenseless.
Later she’s really shocked to find out Luo Ming Xuan is behind the nearing execution of the demon king’s son. True to her word she comes to the rescue of the demon king’s son, because he is defenseless and hasn’t done anything wrong (yet). So after a huge fight, that kills her own grandfather, she instantly becomes the arch enemy of the whole Good Sect Alliance, swearing she will be evil henceforth, if those hypocritical leaders call themselves good.
She hides away in the mountains, together with the very shy demon king’s son who adores her from now on, giving him the nicknames Mo Qing/Little Monkey-Monster.
They set up their own sect, the Wanlu sect, that leans towards unconventional sorcery and devilry to make it possible for common people to live a happy life without the bigotry of the so-called Good Sects. An all consuming war is the result, with many events that lead to wrong assumptions about love, good and evil for everyone involved.
The Good
One big plus of this series is the achievement of the cast. Not only the main actors, but also the other actors act very naturally with the exception of Zhang Xin. She plays the role of the lively Lu Shi Qi who has a crush on the aloof, holy Qin Qian Xian (Li Zi Feng) tending too much towards the archetype frolic Chinese girl, but I forgive her because she’s a funny sidekick.
Bai Lu shines as the kick ass heroine with all her moods and flaws. Never did she outplay her co actor Xu Kai. He skillfully navigates between the shyness and anger of his character Mo Qing/Li Chen Lan who sees Zhao Yao as the anchor and moral compass of his life.
I also liked the music and the scenery of hidden places like the snowy mountain, and the Feng Shui hideout of the main couple.
The Bad
I wonder how great Chinese drama truly can be, this series in particular, if the makers could change their style of writing and editing. Can somebody please explain what is wrong with the Chinese filming industry? I know there's censure, but the novels are okay, why don't they use the original storylines for a change? Honestly, the Chinese filming industry could use the Hollywood Closure as a model. Whether the ending is good or bad, I don't care... as long as there's a sound and fulfilling ending.
The Verdict
Sorry for my rant, but my frustration runs deep. In short: the end of this series isn’t as good as its beginning. Nevertheless I strongly recommend The Legends. This series has many interesting characters, an interesting Yin &Yang theory about the concept of Good & Evil, and heart fluttering moments. Enjoy!
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