Honest Review
Basic Summary: The story, casting, chemistry, music and rewatch levels are all 10/10 and they are deserving of that title.Story: The story in the first episode was a little draggy, but considering it was the first episode, it doesn't really count. The story was very beautiful. The scriptwriter really did the original novel justice. The ending is bittersweet and a HE. You can really see the trust and the love that WKX and ZZS have for each other even if it is not said out loud.
Acting/Cast: The casting was spot on. Gong Jun captures WKX's soft and hard nature. The scene in the rain was very good. Zhang Zhehan also captured ZZS very well. Zhou Ye was also very good at playing Gu Xiang. Overall, all the actors did very well.
Music: The music is beautiful. That's all I really have to say. I saved all of them to my Soundcloud playlist cuz I couldn't find it on Spotify
Rewatch Value: I've already watched all episodes but I am going back to watch it again already. You will notice a lot of hidden easter eggs and things that you didn't notice the first time, and that just makes it even more interesting. Things will make more sense. Even though I am rewatching, the emotion that I had the first time around is still there. Shows how good the drama is.
Overall: Really great. I don't have many complaints. The production value is low, but that the drama makes you forget about it completely. The costumes are really good actually, and the looks are great as well. Chemistry is great, and I love the wordplay that is used in the drama. Subtle, but you can catch it. There are many posts on what was really said in the drama under the dubbing. The chemistry is just great. I loved the side couple, Gu Xiang and Cao Wei Ning. They were adorable.
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A very limited adaptation
This drama benefits a lot from the plot of the source material in the beginning and from the eye catching performance of Wei Kexing (newbie actor Gong Jun). However it ultimately falls short due to the budget level acting of most of the cast and most importantly, the adaptation lacking necessary plot points from the book.It's very clear that the budget is limited here. Firstly they don't have a single good big name actor. Gong Jun is charismatic but his inexperience shows when he is trying to portray more complex emotions.. Huang Youming as Ye Baiyi was fine and well suited to his role. The wheelchair kid was the best villain in the story. Almost everyone else had noticeable flaws. For a veteran actor, Zhang Zehan is better when he's not trying to depict any emotion however this is the case for most of his roles. The general acting level was hard to tolerate as the series went on because the story stopped being supported by the level of the plot.
In general the way the screenwriters chose to begin the series was promising, revealing a good trail of clues up to around the point when Wen Kexing and Zhou Zishu reveal their true identities to each other. However by that point a lot was changed in the source material and the logic of the plot fell apart as a torrent of characters was introduced in quick succession. Wen Kexing's new backstory is ok but a lot of the background of the ghosts, background of Tian Chuang and so on were omitted making it hard to follow the motives of such a large cast. The writers tried to make up for this by majorly playing up fan service between the leads but this lowered the quality by taking away necessary plot development time.
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A Heartfelt Drama
There are some dramas where the story is needed to keep the viewer watching or the relationships fall short of the mark. WoH is not one of those dramas.WoH starts as your basic wuxia drama that follows different sects who are for fighting for some coveted item. It is nothing to the wuxia/xianxia world hasn't done before nor is it particularly exciting (for me at least) but the basis plotline is not the whole picture. Viewer beware, there will be a lot of information thrown at you very quickly so be ready. There are a lot of sects and many (many) side stories we follow along the thirty-six episodes. Out of the many side characters, only one was (however necessary) rather bland but the others were absolute perfection. This is a drama that is going to make you angry, smile, and cry often.
Although the story lacks individualism, the relationships and characters shine bright. The acting was wonderful, with obvious character development brought through in micro-expressions and interactions. The romance depicted between the various couples are sweet, built on good foundations and pure. I honestly loved the wholesome aspects between the non-romantic and the romantic relationships as toxicity was scarce. WoH is all about the simple things like learning to rely on someone and the happiness that loved ones can bring you. The chemistry between the cast was engaging no matter the scene and I was delighted and heartbroken throughout the course of the watch. The costumes and choreographed fight scenes are only an add-on to the growing list of reasons to watch this. They are respectively flawless, vibrant and eye-catching. The detail in the fight scenes and the costumes really brought me a lot of joy while watching. The OST is stunning, heartfelt, and follows the tone of the drama perfectly.
My only complaint with this is obviously the basis for the storyline felt a little bland but the pros outweighed the cons in this case and it hardly impacted my viewing experience. The pacing at times felt a little fast in some places and a little slow in others, with the ending feeling a tad rushed. It might have benefitted from a couple more episodes to iron out some storylines but I will say the drama rarely felt draggy. There are A LOT of side stories in this so be prepared to devote your full attention. It's very easy to miss important information and then get a little lost.
All in all though, WoH is a wonderful drama with heartfelt relationships that result in a rewarding watching experience. It has wuxia and romance as well (or bromance if that's your thing) which are both flawless pulled off. I highly recommend.
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This review may contain spoilers
Make sure you watch extra episode 37
I have to say had there not been the "extra" episode 37 I'm not sure my final overall score would have been this high. The show ending was the worst ending since Princess Agents (actually worse).As a recap, Zhou Zi Shu in an effort to end his life in peace and repentance reforms the seven nails torture on himself to leave The Window of Heaven, basically a gout of assassins for the Prince of Jin. He only has a few years to live but at least he would be free. While traveling he meets Wen Ke Xing a mysterious man. It turns out Wen Ke Xing is the leader of Ghost valley and at odds with the martial arts world and "heroes" , After the murder of the Zhang family, the only surviving son, Chen Ling, is entrusted to Zhou Zi Shu. The three become a family and travel together, unraveling the secrets and corruption on the martial arts world and their tragic histories on the road to redemption. Of course the "heroes" are not that heroic and the "ghosts" are not all evil. Eventually the tragedy that was Wen Ke Xing's life unfolds and how he is related to Zhou Zi Shu and all of the "heroes" . Unfortunately the plan he put in place to right the wrongs of the past have consequences.
To start with the story is a little confusing and a lot of characters are brought in and not fully developed. I admit I was lost with the back story from 20 years early and who all the people were. I had to re-watch a few times to get the idea of how the current leaders were integrated with Rong Zuan, the immortal Ye Bai Yi and Wen Ke Xing's family, Plus some of the heroes come and go and I forgot who they were by the time they reappeared. Also, somehow the Prince of Jin was involved (that was never really explained) and there were other "princes" but not sure if this was an effort to get to the throne, The story line with the 3 main leads was very good, a long with the second couple Gu Xiang and Cao Wei Ning was very well written.
The music was just alright. Nothing spectacular. I look forward to music and not just songs and since the composer was the same as for The Untamed I was hoping from some really amazing music but have to say even during emotional scenes the music didn't really leave an impression or add to the scene, so that was disappointing,
Finally, the ending was not my favorite thing, WARNING this is the spoiler part. The last 2 episodes were horrible, I mean stop when everyone is happy. I get the that Zhou Zi Shu removed the nails after he thought Wen Ke Xing died, and therefore had a short time, but the second last episode killing Gu Xiang and Cao Wie Ning was just heart wrenching. I mean they were so happy for their wedding and then it was just a blood bath, and they way Cao Wei Ning died from his master was awful. Then you have the end with Wen Ke Xing basically using all of his body and soul to save Zhou Zi Shu. The show "ends" with all of Wen Ke Xing's meridians destroyed, his hair all white, and he hands limp losing Zhou Zi Shu grip as he collapses. I mean I was so depressed and annoyed, but then I found there was a special episode 37 and that made it better. Although not for Gu Xiang and Cao Wei Ning!
So what I did like, was the story line between Zhou Zi Shu and Wen Ke Xing with their "son" Cheng Ling. I Loved Wen Ke Xing's relationship with Gu Xiang. I felt the main 5 characters were well developed, all likable even if not perfect, and you really felt and understood their relationship.
The best thing about the show was Gong Jun and his portrayal of Wen Ke Xing. To say the least he was a complex character. Not really bad but he did bad things to get revenge / justice for his parents and the child that we was. Raised in a cruel world he assumed he was not worth saving and he would take the world down with him. Then when he meets Zhou Zi Shu and realizes that someone does care and that there is something fro him to care about and live for, it is bittersweet as he is concerned that if Zhou Zi She and Chen Ling know who he is the he would lose everything. Gong Jun managed to convey all of that, the edge of madness, the bitterness, the silly and playfulness, in the portrayal. This is right up there with Mark Chao as Ye Hua in TMOPB and Xiao Zhan in The Untamed. He makes this show well worth the watch.
Just make sure you stop before episode 35 or find a copy of the extra (and short) episode 37.
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BEST WUXIA BL IN CHINA IT'S A MASTERPIECE
This is my 1st BL Wuxia in China. I'm happy watching this. I love the two characters ZhangZhehan and Gongjun they really played their characters very well. I love their actings and expressions throughout the whole episodes. I love the actions, ost, and cinematography. I love the side characters Gu Xiang, Yi Ba Ye, and also the Scorpion king. I watch this while quarantine I'm happy to discovered this wuxia drama. It deserved the recognition. Highly recommended. WATCH! WATCH! WATCH! WATCH! WENZHOU WENZHOU WENZHOU WENZHOU WENZHOU WENZHOU WENZHOU WENZHOU WENZHOU WENZHOU WENZHOU WENZHOU WENZHOU WENZHOU WENZHOU WENZHOU WENZHOU WENZHOU WENZHOU WENZHOU WENZHOU WENZHOU WENZHOU WENZHOU WENZHOU WENZHOU WENZHOU WENZHOU WENZHOU WENZHOU WENZHOU WENZHOU WENZHOU WENZHOU WENZHOU WENZHOU WENZHOUWas this review helpful to you?
Beautifully Series
This series is beautiful in every way. the characters and storyline are perfectly set. The actor's chemistry is amazing. This is close to the book and was a great action, character growth, and chemistry. There are two only down parts for me, one the ending was left open-ended which I hate they needed to do a better job with the ending, and two that it was censored without the real beauty of it being BL. It is sad that China is still living in the dark ages and censored anything of BL. This would be a 10 easily if they allowed for it to be fully shown and shown the right way with the beauty of BL. The bromance was nice, but you always felt you were missing the true BL of even a tender kiss would have made all the difference. The two main actors were amazing playing the characters and you felt the growth and development of their love. The books are even better. Please China grow up and stop censoring the BL world and welcome it.Was this review helpful to you?
the untamed walk so word of honor could run
Watching this because people recommended this after watching the untamed, and boy oh boy, I ENJOYED THIS DRAMA SO MUCH. I also am very pleasantly shocked by how... Lax... The censorship for this drama went, compared to the Untamed? Dont get me wrong, things that are too much (with chinese national tv standard) will still be censured. People said it's because the marketing was so low key and the untamed hog all the attention so this got away with barely a scratch.WoH has all the elements i want in a drama; romance, found family, soulmate etc. I adored all the characters, from the leads to the extras. But I find the back and forth between the leads a little bit stilted(?). One day they are lovey-dovey, the next they are having big fight, lao wen went berserk, and then he went back as if nothing happened. The pattern is like a husband who left the house with a fuming wife inside! That is SO CUTE. And dont make me start on cao weining and gu xiang. They are THE BEST BEST PAIR OF CUTE CP.
The chemistry between gong jun and zhang zhehan is also top notch. zzs as the aloof but soft-hearted assassin with wkx as the clingy psycho... They are match made in heaven.
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One of 2021 Best C-Drama
I enjoy it so much watching WOH. For me 1st episode almost average but luckily after that the storyline was develop. You will enjoy more after episode 5.Appraise more for Gong Jun acting who played Wen Ke Xing very good 🤩. His flirt, smile and devil side etc for me he execute that with good.
ZZH also good, but i feel his face emotional look so flat on mostly episode 😄. But in the next episode, his acting more & more good, and match/ blend with GJ.
I'm glad that WOH really popular and get so many attention especially inter fans. If you like The Untamed series, you'll enjoy this series 👌
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Love the relationship dynamics but plot is boring
I'm saying this at the start because it's important: make sure to watch episode 37 which is a few minutes of epilogue to the story because in most websites you will only find till episode 36. I was drawn to watch this because it's a BL drama and I've never seen one before.WHAT I LOVED:
I absolutely loved the relationship dynamic between the two male leads. One is a grumpy introvert with his love for bombastic side eye while the other is a flirty extrovert with his love for crazy eyes (with his loved ones he is a ray of sunshine, with his enemies his looks can kill you). At first glance it does seem like they are the total opposites but later down the story we are revealed a lot of things and see how similar and connected the two are. I love how they were able to portray their love and care for each other even though the drama is censored. Their relationship is the definition of actions that speak louder than words. They also call each other soulmates which is just the sweetest thing. There are also two young characters that are disciples of each male lead - one girl and one guy. The four of them have such a fun and crazy family dynamic that for me is the best part of the drama.
The fight scenes and setting are worth mentioning because they look very beautiful. In typical wuxia style you have people flying around but what is quite different in this drama is that they incorporate parts of the settings to the fighting. You see really cool fights on a bridge, river boat, around pink trees. One of the male leads has his signature belt sword while the other uses a super cool fan. I especially loved seeing how the young girl fought like a true badass.
WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE:
My rating went down because unfortunately I didn't like the plot. There are tons of sects and names which I couldn't remember. The backstory is done as a mystery but the reveal is quite confusing because of all the names/places etc and honestly quite underwhelming. None of the other characters interested me and I skipped most of the scenes with the villains and sect talk because it was just boring. The whole plot is about opening an armoury to gain some secrets which does sound realistic but it was just not interesting to me. It is a shame because I love the main characters, if the plot was different I probably would have liked it a lot more.
FINAL THOUGHTS:
Overall I think it's a great BL drama and I'd still recommend it because of the relationship dynamics. One of the male leads has become now a favourite character so because of him, the drama is worth a watch.
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Beautiful
The story is very compelling. You find yourself caring about pretty much all the characters' stories because they were all just so real and complex. The screenwriters, director and producers did a fantastic job translating this from book to screen. I think a lot of the changes they made actually enriched the show a great deal. All the actors/actresses were amazing in their roles, especially the main leads. Kudos to all the musicians involved in this too because the OST was beautiful. The costumes were top-notch as well.Finally the icing on the cake: This show has some of the best martial arts scenes I've seen in a loooong time. The choreographer is a genius. They didn't sacrifice the fighting for special effects or extra drama, which is actually kind of rare now.
My only criticism would be that it was too short, and I wish it were a bit longer! Definitely one with a lot of re-watch value.
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This review may contain spoilers
it had so much potential..
(before we start, keep in mind that this is copypasted from my twitter rant! )(THIS ALSO CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR EPISODE 37 (EPILOGUE))
ending wise i feel its anti climatic but its not that bad??? bc the series makes it up for it and it did it GOOD hello i love wkx and zzs' relationship so much they did a good job on writing it
i just wish there would be another episode that actually explains how wkx lived
but ok thats it for the biased review heres the non biased one bc i have a lot to say
starting it off, i dont get why zzs' character sometimes feel stagnant?? like yeahh baby go youre punishing yourself bc all the shit u did but at the same time why dont u learn how punishing yourself isnt the way to go?? ik wkx has told him this many times but i feel like zzs didnt improve at all and he was still doing the same thing even in the last episode like bestie !!!! u can die yes but what about others!!!! what about chengling!!! stop punishing yourself, theres so many other ways!!!!!
n then about wkx's character, i love how they wrote him n how hes a ghost chief and shit and i feel like he's the only character, who i could see, got major developments n i love him for it
anw abt the last 5 or so episodes what the hell.
no bc like i feel like they rushed the ending so much that it turns anti climatic in the end?? we saw wkx 'die' for like half an episode and suddenly hes back? it makes sense but the explanation for said death happens so quickly and i barely got any feelings after watching it like like??? i feel like the director couldve added a bit more jazz that could make it work? cause instead of feeling happy or relieved, i just felt robbed in that episode
THEN my biggest beef is on the last episode.
gx and cwn literally got k/lled, your whole sect just got destroyed, and you didnt do anything abt it??? what about the scorpion king???? zhao jing???? prince fucking jin????? what happened to them????!?? how did it end on such a cliffhanger?? why did u take the easy route and say that xie er and zhao jing died in the avalanche????????? WHAT ABOUT OTHER RIGHTEOUS SECTS THAT MURDERED THE GHOST VALLEY???????
theres so many unfinished questions like wtfff they rushed the last episode so much i was genuinely waiting to see what would happen to prince jin and his lackeys, esp now that hes crippled bc of zzs
idk maybe itll be a great seed for zzs to make amends with his past??!????? AND THEN SUDDENLY THE ENDING??????????? WKX WAS SUPPOSED TO DIE AT THE ENDING BC OF THEM MISCOMMUNICATING W EACH OTHER SINCE THEY BOTH WANTED TO SAVE ONE ANOTHER THATS GOOD BUT??!??!??! WKX LIVES???? SOMEHOW???????
and they didnt explain either how wkx lives ohmygod im still so hellbent on that
it wouldve been better ngl if they both died at the armory with all the mess finished and they both reincarnate and meet cwn and gx again since they have that red tie bracelet thing
bc if they both died!!!! it would actually make sense for the story!!????!?
i mean im not aganst them becoming immortals and living a life together forever but I JUST THINK. MAYBE IF YOU HAD EXPLAINED HOW WKX LIVED N SHIT. so anyways yes im still not over how they just let go the main villains that easily because i actually want to see a finish line to it????????????
tldr i just feel like they skipped too many plot points and scenes n making the ending feel. empty.
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