Word of Honor (2021)

The Most Daring Costume BL Drama China Has To Offer

Needless to say, I really really really liked Word of Honor, and it's probably the best BL drama (including the Japanese and Thai series) I've seen thus far. Among the C-dramas I've seen, it definitely has one of the highest rewatchability percentages because I actually wanted to rewatch it the moment I finished it! I loved it so much that I felt compelled to read the book version written by the popular danmei author, Priest. But despite my obvious bias, I cannot ignore the fact that it is not a perfect series.

The positives:
This series has the best male leads in any BL drama I've seen, period! They are utterly perfect! Some would most likely disagree, but for me, their onscreen chemistry is so palpable I can taste it! Hahahaha. Don't get me wrong, I do not ship the actors, I don't do that sort of thing, but their portrayals of Zhou Zishu and Wen Kexing are undeniably spot on. I feel that they really understood what they needed to do to bring these characters to life and just had a blast doing it. I was so shocked to see so much touchy-feely scenes and the sexual innuendos in the dialogues are so blatantly obvious that even if you were as pure as Mama Mary herself, you wouldn't be able to brush them aside and just say, “Oh, they must be really close.” But for someone like me whose brain is practically living in the gutter, I almost choked on my own saliva from laughing so hard and giggling like a maniac. I'm surprised they were able to escape the proverbial axe of China's censorship board. I am still wondering how they were able to make it work. But BL stuff aside, I found these two characters incredibly interesting. Both have questionable morals and tragic pasts, and they go through redemption arcs. I love that most of the characters in this series are gray and they could go either way. I was sometimes confused whether to despise or sympathize with particular characters because of it.

Zhang Zhehan as Zhou Zishu is captivatingly gorgeous. I have to admit, there were times when I would just stare at him and not understand what was going on. Hahahaha. But he brings a certain depth to the character that I didn't expect. You'd think he's just another pretty face, but the subtlety of his micro-expressions effectively convey the self-loathing, guilt, sadness, and remorse of Zhou Zishu. As the founder and leader of a massive private army of assassins and spies working for an ambitious Prince, he projects a cold and ruthless front. But the weight of that responsibility and the guilt of working for a megalomaniac bears down on him, so he chooses the most brutal of means to buy his own freedom. He starts out as a more stoic character but slowly becomes more playful and even cheeky as the series goes on, especially when he meets Wen Kexing and Cheng Ling.

Wen Kexing is played by Gong Jun, who is also frustratingly attractive I kept screaming at him to stop being so cute. Hahahaha! Wen Kexing is the leader of a notorious group of criminals who are so terrible and repulsive that society no longer sees them as humans but ghosts or devils. He, too, has a painful past that drove him into the deepest pits of hell and made him obsessed with revenge. Gong Jun plays him to a tee, animatedly displaying Wen Kexing's flamboyance and flirtiness, but also showing his more sinister, volatile, and melancholic side. And his interactions with Zhehan's Zhou Zishu are some of the most touching and humorous moments in the series.

Apart from the main actors, I would also like to mention, Zhou Ye, and her character, Gu Xiang. I gotta hand it to her for making me initially annoyed at her silliness, but eventually loving her character that I cried because of her and her suffering.

As for the plot, I suppose I could sum it up to a power struggle between warmongers and ambitious politicians all racing to find a vault that is supposely filled with all the ancient martial arts secrets known to man. Knowledge is power, after all. But it's actually more than that. In fact, it appealed to me more than some of the C-dramas I've seen because it reminded me so much of the kung fu films I saw as a kid. It just has that same vibe to it.

The fight choreography is one of the best I've seen in any wuxia film or series. It's so poetically beautiful that I almost forgot how bad the CGI could be sometimes and that some of the backdrops didn't quite suit the scenes. But for a wuxia drama that only had half of the budget of The Untamed, I'd say they did remarkably well with what they got.

The musical score is surprisingly good, too. I don't normally like musical scores in C-dramas as they don't usually stand out to me. But I actually liked the soundtrack almost as much as I liked the soundtrack of Mysterious Lotus Casebook.

The negatives:
First off, this drama was supposedly made with just 50 million RMB, which was considered cheap for an epic costume drama. So suffice to say, the production value of this drama is nothing to write home about. There are parts when the CGI is just plain awful and the sets are obviously reused again and again. Not to mention, the costumes and props look plasticky and inexpensive. I don't think it will hinder people from enjoying the drama, though. It certainly didn't take me out of it.

Second, the editing is a little clunky, inhibiting the smooth transition between scenes and affecting the pacing. But I guess it's because they had to cut down the number of episodes due to budget restraints and move the plot around to fit the planned scenes. I thought the last few episodes were rushed and would've benefitted from more episodes to flesh things out better.

And last, the fact that the supporting characters are mostly morally ambiguous, as perfectly imperfect as they are, they are unlikable to say the least. Aside from Ye Baiyi, I couldn't bring myself to really care about the others. Even though I found Qianqiao's misguided love for the wrong man heartbreaking, I can't say I cared about her enough to empathize with her. And that has something to do with the writing, I think. And probably with the acting as well.

Overall, this series led me down a rabbit hole for weeks on end. I couldn't make myself watch anything else and that doesn't happen to me very often. It was a very entertaining 36-episode ride!

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When a lunatic psychopath and a former assassin form an unlikely duo

So, how am I going to start my review? For your information, I've dropped this on ep 5 before I picked up where I left off. As I continued further, the story became more and more interesting. So, let's just begin!!!

Alright, let me explain the plot first. It revolved around the former head of the Window of Heaven who stepped down from his position due to his own reasons - Zhou Zishu and the head of the Ghost Valley - Wen Kexing. As you can see, the both of them had very different personalities and it would be too UNLIKELY for the both of them becoming soul mates. After experiencing the ups and downs amidst the chaos in the martial arts world, they became more attached and decided to trust each other for this lifetime (just like those sworn brothers did, but I guess soul mates are on a more intense relationship, considering this is a censored BL).

I also want to specially mention a very important property which contributes to the story - the Glazed Armor. The Glazed Armor was made by the 5 righteous sects in the martial arts world. It was rumored to be keeping all sorts of martial arts techniques and manuals which have been hunted by lots of people. However, the actual KEY is the jade hairpin that Wen Kexing always wore - not the Glazed Armor.

I just can't help it, but I really root on Wen Kexing also known as the Lunatic Wen. He's a real psychopath and had deep hatred engraved in his heart. The last thing he wanted to do was to destroy the world and then pay for the sins he had committed. However, after he encountered Zhou Zishu, he changed his perspective and tried to cherish his life as possible.

Adding the depth of the story are Gu Xiang (Wen Kexing's loyal subordinate), Cao Weining (Gu Xiang's lover), and Zhang Chengling (an orphan who was defected by the Ghost Valley's ambush which killed his family in the process and also Zhou Zishu's beloved disciple). By the way, the sad ending for Gu Xiang and Cao Weining was unnecessary at all. Why should you kill them off and causing bloodshed again? That double-faced master of Cao Weining - he shouldn't have trusted him or this kind of accident wouldn't happen at all.

The acting is... WOW!!! Sometimes, I just can feel the main leads' bromance. I'm not a great fan of BL, but this drama has made into one. Shout out to Gong Jun who portrayed Wen Kexing flawlessly. I hope he will get more psychopathic roles in the future. Zhou Ye did marvellously too and it is where she showcased and utilized her full acting skills which helped her gaining popularity. Not a great fan of Zhang Zhehan, but his acting is commendable, I would say.

The set, CGI, and cinematography is quite nice to me. I don't understand why people said everything was fake and cheap-made. Overall, a ten out of ten and will probably rewatch when I'm in the drama slump.

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The love story of Wen KeXing and Zhao Zi Shu

I would not pass this drama, it's addictive! I mean who can you not fall in love with Zhao Xu, Lao Wen, Gu Xiang, Cao WeiNing, little idiot Zhang ChengLing, and Ye BaiYi. The story is around this character and the actors delivers in the best way. You can't find Zhao Xu character from other actor better than Zhang Zhe Han or flirtatious Wen KeXing other than Simon Gong because these two main leads are reminiscence of Zhao Xu and Wen KeXing. Iam not into BL, don't like Untamed, but I love this one. Zhang Zhe Han is so gorgeously beautiful man, and flirtatious Simon Gong is so dang handsome. . . when Ah Xu started to warm up with Lao Wen and understood how much love and devotion Lao Wen has toward him, they're soft gazing to each other, smiles, barbs back forth, and helping each other to overcome emotional and traumatic past, co-parenting ChengLing. Sad ending for Gu Xiang and Cao WeiNing, too much love between Ah Xu and Lao Wen - they want to give the best life and health to the other man. I would give credit to Simon Gong I think he's the best in here, he's flirtatious in minute and cruel to people he hates in next. His chilling laugh, cold stares, tight lips, killing and revenge mood, his fan was deadly more so than BaiYi sword. The next scenes he'll be laugh happily, sparkling in his eyes, sweet smile, proud uncle master to ChengLing, concern and loving soulmate to Zhao Xu and kind master to Gu Xiang. That's why I love Simon Gong....he embodied all. Lately I realized Zhao Zi Shu seems to have a good and spoil life. His master/wife adored him and treated him like their own son. All members of the sect respected and adored him, 81 of original members died in his watch including his dear junior. He's been so much in power since 'naive and knew nothing' young man who brought the sect to serve Prince Jin and yet remaining member still loved him (in case of Han Jing) to the end. There where his guilty conscience played important role as he redirected his mind set into totally different perspective...change his life for the better but dying...this is where 'Word of Honor' story started. Where our love story and obsession began with the character of Wen KeXing, Gu Xiang, Zhang ChengLing, Cao WeiNing and Ye BaiYi. This drama will become a classic..one of the most memorable drama to many of us.

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BEST PLOT EVER! (explaining some scenes that are hard to get for English speakers)

Only watched this drama because there were no good dramas at that point of time. I didn't have any prior expectations for this drama. But BOYYYYY was it a pleasant surprise!!! I ended up watching this drama 4 times, watching their behind-the-scenes, their concert+variety shows+interviews+fan-made videos. I totally regret watching this drama coz my whole life literally revolves around it right now!!!
As a Mandarin speaker, I feel that you will understand and appreciate the plot and relationships between the characters more if you understand Mandarin. Due to censorship in China, the "romance" of the two male leads has to be displayed subtly through ancient Chinese poetry (romance poetry in particular) and inside jokes. For example, when Ah-Xiang smacked two hot cakes together it's called “贴烧饼” which means a romantic relationship between two men or when ZZS blew WKX's flute and said "sorry I dirtied your flute". Mind you, in the novel, WKX blows a horizontal flute (笛子 which is somewhat like the western flute) but in the drama, he blows a xiao (a vertical flute). “Blowing a xiao" in Mandarin means giving someone a BJ ahem so idk how can ZZH not laugh when he said "I dirtied your xiao". These are just two of many inside jokes XD

Okay. Back to reviewing on their acting. Those who are ZZH's fans would have known that he's a sporty man and all his previous roles are very manly. Fans of the novel were originally unhappy when they saw the cast in 2020 because they felt that ZZH would be too manly to portray ZZS. Hence, I was blown away when ZZH managed to not only bring ZZS to life but even incorporated his own interpretation of ZZS into the character, giving this character flesh and blood. ZZH once said that he originally wanted to play the role of WKX because WKX has more lines and is able to use words to describe his emotions, thus, less difficult for him to portray this character. On the other hand, ZZS is a character with "two thousand layers of dust" (quoted frm the scriptwriter) ie. ZZS is a complicated character with a complicated life. Nonetheless, being an actor for 10 years, ZZH was able to live up to expectations and blew our minds away with his beautiful, gentle, tragic yet powerful A-Xu.

If you can find fault in his acting, it really means that you have yet to understand the drama or the novel :'). There have been some criticisms regarding ZZH's acting (esp in the first ep), claiming that his acting is too bland and stoic. Okay, think about it, ZZS has seen 81 of his SJSZ's brothers died in front of him, it's no brainer that he's gg to be hopeless and helpless and borderline desensitized at that point of time. Furthermore, ZZS only had 2/3 years to live, which means he was basically waiting for death to arrive. For someone who is gg to die anytime soon, how emotional do you expect him to be??? ZZH said in an interview that he knew that there will be ppl criticising his acting, but he would still act out ZZS in a way that he thinks is closer to reality. ZZH is a man of morals. When he stabbed himself with the nails, it wasn't to punish himself. He was seeking death and would like to live 3 years of freedom before dying and he was also abiding by the rules that he had laid out (consistency in his character here). Till the very end, he still thought that the rules laid out by King Jin and Tian Chuang were right because he said that if he had knew that Wu Xi was able to remove the nails, he would have thought of a more fool-proof and more reliable punishment. Some might criticise, saying that "ZZS is a man of morals so why would he even befriend WKX and even become his bosom friend? There is inconsistency in the character!!!" ZZS is a person who doesn't really care abt the wealth and status of a person, what's important to him is the inside of a person. As a master of disguise, ZZS is highly skilled in looking beyond the exterior facade of a person and would not easily belief what's before his eyes. That was why he was so guarded against WKX in the beginning because he was unsure of what WKX was up to. But after being with WKX for quite some time, he saw that WKX wasn't someone with an evil heart. Inferring from when he heard WKX blew the xiao, he said "听这乐声，清正坚韧，百转无悔，非心性无邪者不可得，想不到，这人竟吹得出这等箫声" (basically means that a sound with such clarity and resolute cannot be blown by someone with evil at heart). It was only after befriending WKX did ZZS felt that there is something for him to live for in his life, hence, he wants to live (unlike him previously seeking death).

After watching the BTS, it was obvious that ZZH had given loads of advice on acting to GJ, which helped GJ's acting improve a lot as compared to his previous dramas. This was unsurprising given that GJ only entered the acting industry in 2015/2016 and is a comparatively new actor. I felt that GJ's facial features are outstanding but interesting -- He has puppy eyes but a chiselled jawline. Though extremely good looking, it's hard to find a suitable acting role for him (Chiselled jawline makes him suitable to play characters that are cold, arrogant, powerful etc, but his puppy eyes would clash with such character. Puppy eyes would make him suitable to play characters that are like a sunshine puffball, but his jawline and sharp nose and towering built would be weird), especially when he's a newbie in the industry. Hence, Wen Ke Xing is the perfect PERFECT character for GJ. It's literally tailored for him. Because WKX is a cute, innocent golden retriever with puppy eyes in front of ZZS who is curious abt the mortal realm but he is also the dark, cold-blooded, powerful lunatic leader of the Ghost Valley. When WKX first appeared in the drama, my heart stopped, my breathing stopped, the time stopped, everything stopped. My eyes were glued onto him. And when ZZS and WKX made their first eye contact, BOOM!!!!! Fireworks exploded!!!!!!

WKX is actually quite a complicated character hence some ppl may say that there is a lack of consistency. However, I think that this adds flesh to his character, making him more human and hence, more relatable to the audience. He is like a lotus flower in a muddy pond. Two things that moulded his character: his parents died tragically in front of him hence he wants to get revenge, and he has to endure the abuse and harsh environment in the Ghost Valley where he may get killed anytime. The only things that were keeping him alive before meeting ZZS are to live and get revenge. Despite being a dangerous and difficult to understand person, he isn't a monster. All these are just a shell that he uses to protect himself while growing up in a dark and dangerous Ghost Valley without any warmth and care. Inside him is still an innocent and extremely kind-hearted young boy who has yet to mature. The reason why he hates the evil of the "righteous sects" so much is due to his strong desire and pursuit for "kindness".

To me, if you really understand the plot and characters, it's no surprise why WKX and ZZS would attract each other and become each other's light. They both lost their loved ones at a young age, and had to shoulder responsibilities that boys their age shouldn't be shouldering--ZZS had to shoulder the responsibility of ensuring that his brothers of SJSZ live while WKX has to avenge his parents' deaths. They are both lone wolves seeking warmth in a world that doesn't understand them. They are each other's saviour and light.

I love all the other character too!!! There isn't a single character that I hate, except for Cao Wei Ning's shifu. I cried like a baby and will never ever watch ep 32/33 again. My heart can't take the tragedy.

I love the whole crew, from the director and costume designer to the supporting characters and Xiaoyu (ZZH's childhood friend and personal assistant) HAHAHAH!!! The fans of Word of Honor are like the cutest bunch of people ever, extremely supportive and adorable. 山人们最棒了！！！萌萌哒~

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Haven't seen a good Chinese ancient drama for quite some time, at least not for 2021. I would say, this is the best of 2021 so far :)

I was surprised coming to know that it was a low production drama as the scenes to me, besides the post-editing of CGI that weren't that perfect, others were pretty well filmed (especially fighting scenes). Unlike the usual big production that went on to 50 episodes, they only had 36 episodes (you will feel it is too short because you love them so much and wanted to see more!!) Well, TBH I felt it can actually be filmed into a 50-episode drama too as the last 6 or 7 episodes are pretty rushed when so many climax going on, but as they are budgeted, totally understandable for them to do it that way, they really made the best out of it!

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I loved this sooo much

When I started watching this masterpiece I had no idea how much I would end up loving it. I’m definitely going to watch it again. Who would have thought that these boys would grab my heart squeeze in a tiny little bit then pull it out then squeeze it again and then put it back. Ohhhh I’m sure that this was the best historical bl drama this year and one of the best I’ve ever seen.(and I have seen a lot trust me) I’ve accidentally seen some spoilers before I finished the series but to be honest it actually didn’t tell me anything at all. For that I’m grateful because I kinda hate spoilers. Anyways for the costumes… dear that was something. My eyes died from happiness and beauty.

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The story telling was wonderful

A really beautiful and wonderful plot of romance with reason and agst, still this formes a beautiful story all together. The side character were very intruging and reasonable, but not all was as interesting as the other. The drama will have you questioning principles that was suppose to be generally held. For me the scorpion leader was a wonderfully sculpted and written villain, he might be unreasonable as most villanous character but he's complex, diverse and has multiple dimension, that get's you stuck in a love hate relationship.

For me the cast were wonderful and amazingly picked because they brought every character to life, the acting is top tier and their expressions says more than thousands of words, especially Zhang Zihan' character as well as Gong Jun their eyes speaks a volumes. My favourite character has to be Zhou Zishu, he's character may appear cold and self destructing but he's more complex yet simple, understandable yet complicated. He was really mesmerizing. Then there's Wen Kengxin who was brutal and often cold blooded but he was also lonely and softhearted in ways you'd learn as the show progress his character for me was really close to my being.

I appreciated that every single character added to the making and continuation of the plot as well as the climax, my only issue was the death and killing off of so many. The CGI was also wonderful not flamboyant but definitely pleasing. I'll recommend watching this series really. Did i forget to mention the suspence and the second couple will have you loving the watch even more, the character A'xian gives you a glance at reality' harshness, more so than ideal and contrary to that of Cao Weining gives you the ideal that can be acheives if we could listen and sense rather than judge and the combination of the rwo as a couple made me bloom and bleed.

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The good and bad

I must not deny that this is probably the best BL drama I have watched so far. There are positive and negative sides to this drama but overall I really enjoyed it.

The Bad:
-The drama was on a low budget so some of the scene and background looked fake. It can make you snap away from the story/drama. Not a big problem though since the story was good enough for me to ignore it haha.
-Voice acting was a problem for me. Especially in some key moments of the drama the voice acting was very off. (They actually re-edited some episodes because everyone was complaining).
-The story at the start: If you’re watching from the start the only thing you probably enjoy was the interaction of the two main characters. The plot was tightly compacted and complicated at the start. You were introduced to many groups/characters and they only seemed to be there for moving the story further.
-Lastly, episode 31-32 kind of crumbled the identity of some characters. Still, not a big problem.

The Good:
-Low budget but you know they tried their best. They give in their best effort in terms of props, costume and etc. Not a single moment in the drama is truly meaningless. If you miss one episode then you probably missed on so much.
-The Acting was actually good (especially the two main characters) you won’t feel off from their acting. Though, the girl at the start can seem “off” but her development throughout story will change the way she act so not a big problem.
-The characters: Towards the end, every character have their own plot line. The side characters felt real and not a tool which I really appreciate.
-After watching this drama, you might get crazy. Yes, like me haha.
-OF COURSE, the sweet interaction ?. Playing around censorship, I must say that this drama is very adventurous. (Confession in the poems)

Recommend?
Yes, go and watch it before it’s too late. I’m really scared that it might be taken down since it got popular.

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BEST BL DRAMA ADAPTATION OF CHINA UP TO THIS DATE

Af first, i really do not want to watch it because it is not the drama ive waiting and im still stuck at The Untamed but when is see stills from a certain facebook page and twitter,i really want to give it a try so i tried watching it then im ao hook on to it. The storyline is so superb and the actors are enjoyable to watch especially the leads. I do not expect Gong Jun can act like that because i've see his past dramas and it was just like a preety boy who knows how to kiss properly with wooden acting but in this drama he really shows his potential to act a character with various emotions as he can change his emotions in a split second in every timeframe they shoot and i'm so amaze with him. He finally found the character that gives him the opportunity to shows his acting skills properly. He really exceed my expectation about About Zhang Zhehan, i know a little about him and the only drama i watch is The Blooms at Ruyi Pavillion with Jingyi and i know that he can act well but i really do not expect that he and Gong Jun will have a superb chemistry and his acting is good. The way he looks on Wen Kei Xing is so sweet hehehe. This two really bring the drama where its stand right now and definitely deserve its popularity. I know that this drama has its downside because its a low budget drama and despite of being a low budget, they really did their very best to stay close to the novel and creates a new era for BL drama adaptation in China. BL adaptation does not need a big budget to be popular. The screenwriter did a splendid job staying close to the original novel and im so thankful for that. The producer and directors shows scenes that i never seen from any bl adaptations hahaha especially the hug scenes, holding hands and many more and also they are very clever hahahaha. They deserve all the recognitions hahahaha. Meeting your Soulmate is the best thing to happen during our life, just wait for the right time for this to happened because everything has its own time. I really hope that the two actors do not ket the popularity goes to their head and completely changed their whole attitude. Fans should also know the limits of the action they will do. I am looking forward for more collabiration between the two and i hope more blessings come to them. Highly suggested to watch and you will definitely not going to regret it.

Last: Stop comparing The Untamed and Word of Honor. Stop accusing Word of Honor copied The Untamed because it is clearly different. The only same about them is they are both adapted from a BL Novels and have two male main leads. Thats all. Thank you

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Another best adaptation.

Though it's only 8 episodes I have watched till now, I have to say yes, it's really a pretty good adaptation of Priest's works. The story is good and the flow of drama is smooth.. And Simon Gong's acting skill totally shocked me. Specially his expressions. Even his flirting expression are on the mark. There are a lot of fun elements. The audiance will eventually laugh and get along with it. Wen Ke Xing's character is the one of the most sensitive ones. Zhang Zehan nailed his character as Zhou Zi Shu really well, like he is cold but he is not boring.

I'm loving it. They are updating 1 episode per day with sub which is really satisfying though my greedy mind wants more. Hope every thing will go like this till the 36th episode.

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