I really wanted to continue watching but other shows caught my eye and I kinda just procrastinate to watch this. Didn’t know I would procrastinate a whole year to watch it and still not even finish half the show. It just doesn’t interest me and I only watched it because of the untamed.
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This review may contain spoilers
A Classic Wuxia Drama
I started watching the drama around the time it first started airing, and within the first few episodes, it seemed quite interesting. Nevertheless, it fell a bit from my expectations but was definitely a good watch.~ THE STORY ~
As the headline mentioned, this drama is a classic wuxia drama, where there is the whole righteous vs evil, and the good never ends up being good. We eventually see the person who was the most calm become the plotter behind the whole martial arts conspiracy. In general, if you have watched enough c-dramas, the plot is honestly quite predictable, and I am a person who is all for unpredictable plots, so in this aspect, Word of Honor met what I expected but was not was I was looking for. A good side to this predictability is all the foreshadowing. Word of Honor had a lot of foreshadowing; perhaps the most I have seen in any drama; and the foreshadowing was pretty nice too!
A lot of people mention about the BL (boy love) in the drama, and yes, compared to a lot of other c-dramas, this is a drama that comes off as flirty. However, if you have read the novel, the scenes are a downplay. I really enjoy those scenes in the drama, but at times, I did not really see the connection even though I absolutely love how protective and the trust they have around each other (especially in episode 28). In general, I like their relationship, but I expected a bit more.
Now about the 'gray' areas and antihero aspect. Yes, it is true that both of the male leads have killed their fair share of people and have a different perspective on death compared to other people. However, perhaps it is because I have watched quite some dramas that have these type of protagonist that I just am not as attracted to this aspect of the characters; I expected a more dark and dangerous side of them.
Unlike the dramas where we have this one villain that turned to have another villain that backed him/her/they up, and then the whole mess, we have a clear villain within the first 15 episodes though the villain was quite predictable by episode 5. (It's always the good guys) To be honest, I like this villain because he has a clear reason for wanting to have the power: he wants to have the thrill of plotting and succeeding. It's all about the plotting rather than the final power.
Now, the good aspect that I enjoyed! The hurt and past. I love character development, and I prefer dramas that start of low and build up. In this drama, we have two characters that are both torn over their own pasts and in need to move on from it. Each of them are able to understand the other without any words. On a side note, (spoiler) I am not a childhood troope person, and although I get that the drama might have made the male leads from the same sect to pass the censorship of hugging, the idea did ruin the drama a bit for me because instead of Zi Shu supporting Kexing due to his understanding of him, we kind of get the vibe that he partially supported him because of him becoming his Shidi.
Slightly unnecessary death. *huge spoilers for those who have not read the novel (please do not read this paragraph if you do not want any major spoilers)* In the novel, Gu Xiang and Cao Weining both die, and true to its adaptation, the drama also has it that both of them also die. While I like that the drama followed the novel quite closely in this aspect, their death honestly feels quite unnecessary, so not a huge fan of this scenario that happened.
Some more unnecessary characters. The Seventh Lord and the Great Shaman. Originally, in the novel, the two of them were the ones that came up with the method to cure Zi Shu, and it would have been alright that the drama did not follow the actions, but for the last episodes that they were present in, they honestly did not even do much. These two characters only seemed to be here because the novel had them.
~ THE ACTING ~
I spent a lot of time thinking about the acting because sometimes it is hard to distinguish between the acting and our dislikes and likes of the character itself, and after much thought, I decided to give it a 9/10 though I personally think that if it were some other actors, they would have done pretty well, too. Zhe Han did a good job portraying Zi Xu, but I am a bit iffy on Simon Gong's acting of Kexing. The supporting characters did amazing, so if I were to rate them together as a group of actors/actresses, I would give a 9.5/10.
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This review may contain spoilers
An enjoyable watch
I really don't like stories or series that copy others and while the settings and story are different to The Untamed, some of the sayings and scenes just plain outright copy The Untamed. It's only one or two scenes and lines but considering it is same premise, I think even one is too much.Having said that, evaluating the series on its own, it is an enjoyable watch. The most captivating character is Wen Ke Xing, I think the actor who played this role did an amazing job to bring out the manic, sad, tortured and happy sides of the character.
The plot is okay, nothing grand, I think the focus of the show was more on the dynamics of the characters and their relationships. I enjoyed the show but I must admit I did fall asleep for one of the episodes.
I think it did fall short on execution of some scenes. The last few episodes just didn't feel right and could have been done better.
Overall, it was enjoyable.
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Is BL, not BL adaption!!!
General surprised how they don’t give a fork and went crazy with the romantic (M*M) aspect of this drama. I’m pretty dense and even I got the gay vibe from the two main leads. I mean with in 4 episode one of the main male leads literally called the other male lead pretty 5 or 6 times and says that he has a “small waist and long legs”. Guess they learn from Untamed and made it five times as gay (lol). At least they know what we’re here for and is not for the bromance!!!Ps- To my understanding and research this drama is doing really well at all fronts and topping the charts at number one in many Chinese websites. Surprise given how little advertisement it was given before release.
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Lack of Chemistry and Weak Plot
I watched the trailer on Youtube and people said it's better than the The Untamed and I was like 'woah I should watch it, they said it's better' so I give it a try. I expected a lot in this series however at first episode, it already didn't give me an impression except the action scenes, I consider it. The acting is okay yeah? Zhang Zhehan is the only one gave justice when it comes to this and the chemistry between these two leads is a bit off. Anyway, I just gave it a pass, I think maybe because it was only the first episode so well let's where this series will take us. However, well, as the story goes by, the chemistry is really a bit off and it irritates me as well as the plot. Yes it has more skinship between the two leads but yeah that's it. The plot is weak and well a bit confusing. The chemistry is really off I don't know what is lacking, I can't explain it. Lastly, maybe that's why many people like it because it is more daring and it shows more the bl side than the TU despite the censorship but no chemistry at all. It's a shame that they said it's better than the TU. The cgi and action scenes are the only thing it's better than TU but the story and plot is really didn't captured my interest at all so I dropped it. I'll just wait to the Immortality and Eternal Faith to be aired.Was this review helpful to you?
50% adventures, 50% martial arts politics, 100% BL
For all the hoops that this production has went through to become what it is today, major props to everyone involved. It deserves all the adoration and love. It's a low budget drama but, with the love of the script writer (who is an actual fan of the original novel and cares about the work deeply), the hard work of the crew and the actors, this drama pulled off some amazing chemistry, good acting, and beautiful props and designs. Not to mention that all of the actors are eye candy.I don't need to talk about the love between zhou zishu and wen kexing since I'm sure other reviewers have done a great job of that, but I'd like to give TWO WARNINGS for folks in case they came into this drama thinking it's ONLY about those two.
1) SET YOUR EXPECTATIONS ACCORDINGLY. Please note that although the adventures of Zhou Zishu and Wen Kexing (and by extension: Zhang Chengling, Gu Xiang, and Cao Weining) is a major part of the show, a big part of the show is also dedicated to a lot of the supporting characters and the politics of the martial arts world. You'll either get bored of it or you'll bear through it for your love of the supporting characters (like the Scorpion King).
2) Around episode 29-30, there is a major disruption of the pacing of the drama and pretty much continues on to the end of the drama. I've been told that this happened because of the low budget of the drama (and also, I heard it was supposed to have 45 episodes? But then, due to money reasons, they could only do 36.) Whatever it is, you can really feel the change around those episodes and can feel some of the impact on the characters' arcs and growths. Unfortunately, it is what it is.
Fortunately, despite some of these shortcomings, the ending is good enough and, considering everything we've been given throughout the show, it's been very enjoyable. I didn't have as much passion for the show as I first started since I was waiting for the YouTube releases, but I found myself still unexpectedly smiling at some of the later episodes. The main cast--all five of them--are so critical to the success to this show. Their chemistry and relationship are fantastic.
Ultimately, you can enjoy this BL drama because the love and chemistry between Zhou Zishu and Wen Kexing is quite obvious, but if you want to understand the full depth of some of the metaphors and literature, then you'll have to do more digging around Tumblr and Twitter and whatnot.
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In Par with The Untamed
This chinese drama series is really one of the best I've watched. At first, I expected this drama will not be as amazing as The Untamed but I was wrong. This is actually in par with The Untamed.When we talk about the FIGHTING SCENES - it is the best I've seen so far especially scenes involving either WEXING or SHU or both of them. The CGI is not that good but not that bad. The STORY is really interesting too. The CASTS did their roles perfectly individually. The COSTUMES are nice too. The MUSIC is very nice too. The SETTINGS are really nice too. Overall, it's perfect for me!
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Those who are hesitant to watch like me coz of that reason.... No... No ... NO.... watch it.. its a nice story of how U can give & sacrifice ur life for ur so-called-brother...how to be selfless..
At the beginning i find it boring hehehe, it was talk & talk & talk... but given its Simon & Zhe Han i believe on the project they choose so i continue to watch... & indeed its good as it continues... good fighting scene, good GC, good Cinematography and ofcourse, good acting of the 2 main lead... hoping for Season 2
Worth to watch... trust me :-)
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When People allowed Greed to rule over them, this is what will happen.
"The evil world is in people's hearts. You can eradicate the Ghost Valley, but can you eradicate the greed and filth in their hearts?" - Zhuo Zi Shu to Ye Bai YiI was surprised that I enjoyed watching this series, I thought it was another hyped series and wouldn't lived up with it's "reputation" but then again, I realized it is worth the time, and tears to watched it. I loved it!
It was easy to watched it, amidst with all the side characters which most of them I forgot their names, and I just describe them to remind myself who they are, unless they're important., I remember them.
I love ZZS's moral yardstick in life, how he knew that what he did was wrong, and tried to correct it. As well as I valued how they give importance to brotherhood, camaraderie and just simply if you love and support a person, you understand and accept about him /her in spite of what he/she did in the past or present time.
I also love Gu Xiang, I didn't find her annoying and I am entertained with her character and how she and WKX loves and support each other, like a father/daughter, older brother/younger sister tandem.
I also enjoy and loved ZZS and WKX's bantering on screen and how they simply flirt with each other. The subtle hints, which shows they're noticing that they act as husband and wife in the long run.
Overall, this is worthy of your time, watching it. You'll have many take away from this drama, from showing how greed affects one's life, how wrong to be self-righteous without putting one's self from the shoes of other people, how important it is to be non-judgmental, whether that person did wrong things/acts without knowing what drives him to do it. And that revenge is a never ending circle if you don't know how to break it. It'll just lead you to a life full of pain, struggle and bitterness.
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This review may contain spoilers
I AM NEVER COMING DOWN FROM THE MOUNTAIN
The Chinese BL drama race of 2021 is off to an *incredible* start with "Word of Honor"/SHL.Story/Production - Majority of the episodes were pretty good in terms of costumes and set design, though the CG was a bit of a letdown at times. I do wish we had gotten more episodes overall, like another big battle and more exposition towards the end (it felt like the last few eps were a bit rushed and I swear I thought I skipped an episode between 30 and 31 because the plot just jumps off from nothing), but this was possibly due to budget constraints (supposedly there were originally plans for 45 episodes instead of the final lineup of 36). Fair warning, episodes 32 and 35 broke my heart. Like, A LOT. I'm really glad Youku released that special episode 37 (yes we get a Happy Ever After), or else the official ending would have left me sobbing for hours. A huge round of applause for the scriptwriter and directors/producers and staff for their hard work—it definitely paid off!
Acting - The chemistry between the main leads AND the second couple pairing were incredibly well done: Zhou Zishu and Wen Kexing's flirt game was off the roof, and Gu Xiang and Cao Weining were so adorable together. Zhang Zhehan really brought his A-game and showed his industry experience in Zhou Zishu's more subtle emotional moments (that drunk confession scene in episode 34 kills me every single time), while Gong Jun's raw talent and ability to pull of multiple personalities (crazy chief? flirtatious philanthropist? loyal subordinate? bloodthirsty warrior? check, check, check, and CHECK).
Music - I absolutely love the opening theme song "Tian Wen" and the ending theme song "Tian Ya Ke" (sung by Zhang Zhehan and Gong Jun!!!), they're both incredibly emotional, and so meaningful after I looked up the english lyrics translations. My other favorites would have to be "Gu Meng" sung by Zhang Zhehan, an absolute masterpiece especially when he performs it live; and "Wu Ti" by Hu Xia, the OST that prepares me for heartbreaking moments every time I hear the first notes being played in a scene.
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I think I just found my new favourite series
I don't even know where to start. Some other reviewers here were able to perfectly summarize Word of Honor: it may not really be a 9.5 rate if you want to be super rational about it BUT you just fall in love with the series and its characters: it's funny, warm, full of charm, intriguing, dramatic (without falling to much on the melodramatic), swoon-worthy (as my Netflix likes to say) and yeah, you just want to spend time with those characters and know more about them.I have not read the novel by Priest (yet!) so I can’t really say what was on the source material and what was brought to the story by the screenwriter, but I find that the product that we got has a great balance between tender moments and action, plot and character development.
I am a huge fan fantasy/wuxia and BL and I find that these two genres separately tend to sometimes be a bit flawed on either the building of the relationships between characters (and I don’t just mean romantic relationships, specially not the romantic ones actually), character development or plot development… It always feel we need to sacrifice one of the three for some reason… Word of Honor did not suffer from this problem, it delivered a well-constructed world and tight storyline with multi-faceted characters and evolving relationships (Wen Ke Xing and Gu Xiang, Zhou Zi Shu and Cheng Ling, Gu Xiang and Cao Wei Ning and, of course, Wen Ke Xing and Zhou Zi Shu).
The plot itself was conventional in terms that it was one of those ‘we need to get and/or destroy a magical item’ but I felt that Wen Ke Xing and Zhou Zi Shu views towards the martial arts world and the quest for more power made the story seem different from the Wuxia I watched in the past.
I found the last five or so episodes felt a bit rushed and some plot points and developments could have been more thoroughly explained (they wanted to keep some information from the audience and I thought that they ended up cutting scenes that were important to the plot).
About characters (the most important factor in any story in my humble opinion):
I just loved all the dynamics (because, yes in this kind of story we do need the characters we love to hate too) and I loved our protagonists, especially Wen Ke Xing. He was my personal favourite, his tones of grey, his charm and personality. Everything about him was just the right amount, definitely one of my favourite characters of all time (and the reasons I really want to read Faraway Wanderers so badly).
I also loved Gu Xiang, Zhou Zi Shu, Cao Wei Ning and the Scorpion King.
Zhou Zi Shu was the perfect match to Wen Ke Xing, a contrast and yet a complement to his personality. I loved the way he dealt with his past and how his character developed through the series, rediscovering reasons to live.
Gu Xiang was adorable and funny and innocent and loyal… A great character especially considering what we normally get in the BL world. Hers and Cao Wei Ning relationship made me go ‘ownnnnnn’ many, many times.
As for the scorpion king… that unpredictable bast***… I kept wanting him to be happy in spite all… yet, got invested in his story.
And, of course, my favourite of all things was Zhou Zi Shu and Wen Ke Xing’s relationship. Just the right amount of banter, tenderness, companionship and understanding. I like the way their relationship evolved, how they learned to cherish and trust one another…
I really love when we get a couple that is equal in all senses, that one helps the other, that there is no side that seems ‘dominant’, both stand on equal footing and have a life, a backstory and interest outside the relationship… When one character does not need to change for the other, it is the other that has to learn to accept their lovers faults and flaws. So, yeah, I love this couple!
Did I want a kiss? Yeah, I did (even knowing that we would not get it… but, admit it, we were all pretty amazed to how many tender moments we were able to get!) but I was genuinely happy with the portrait of their relationship as a whole.
I do hope we get more series like this ?
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BEST SHOW EVER FR
where do i start??? literally EVERYTHING about word of honor is amazing!! the casting is perfect, the sound track is so good and easy to listen to for days, and the plot is extremely entertaining, the characters have lots of depth to them and there's actually zero boring scenes! i definitely recommend this show to everyone, even if you've never watched historical dramas before i think you'll like this one. i've rewatched this show so many times even though it barely came out a few months ago but seriously i can not stress how good this show is.Was this review helpful to you?
