Sword Dynasty (2019)

Sword Dynasty began promising but is ultimately bogged down by a myriad of problems.

The basic premise is centered a young man and his adoptive aunt seeking revenge against a king who had annihilated their entire sect over a decade earlier. The story is set in a world with multiple magic/cultivation systems with the main kingdom's cultivation being centered on sword technique. The setting seems to be inspired by pre-Qin China with multiple warring kingdoms seeking to conquer each other.

Sounds cool?

The show doesn't execute on most of it.

First off, the story and writing are both mediocre. The story unfolds pretty much as one would expect from the premise but the pacing is extremely irregular. The first half of the series is reasonable but the last 10+ episodes especially fly by in a blur. They characters zip from plot point to plot point and important events just kind of happen. Along with the weak pacing is weak characterization. Most of the characters begin and end as stock characters. Everybody has simple, singular motivations and very few develop complexity. Even the main character isn't significantly development other then slowly revealing his backstory. This world is also full of macguffins that just kind of appear and chaperone the plot along without anticipation or buildup. I think the story really needed more episodes for proper character and world-building.

The acting isn't bad but it is unexceptional. Li Yi Tong is fine but her character is written as reserved and cold which doesn't give her much to work with. Li Xian is a bit weaker but again, does not get many emotional or powerful scenes so it's hard to say. The supporting class pretty much all play archetypal characters and none really stand out.

The production is also fairly weak. The sword fights are fine and a bit flashy but they weren't anything spectacular. Since 90% of people fight with swords there is also limited creativity and variety in the fights. The sets, costumes, and props generally look good but there is a severe lack of extras, to the point where scenes seem to include exactly the characters that are plot relevant without any minor characters or random soldiers/functionaries around to give the scene a sense of realism. There's a dearth of scenes set among common people and scenes seem to happen in the same locations over and over and over. Battles are shot in close-up with a couple people running around tents. Basically, everything looks decent but it all feels like sets and scenes--not real places and real events.

And more then anything, there are just so many missed opportunities and things left unexplored. The MC supposedly has a super-move involving spider-threads but it's used exactly twice and left unexplored. The main character reaches the final realm of cultivation in the final episode but... he fights exactly like anybody else and it's super unclear what's so special about that realm. The other kingdoms all supposedly have their own fields of cultivation they are experts in, including one kingdom that specializes in some sort of dark/black magic but we see exactly two people from outside the main kingdom fight and we never see any techniques that are different from sword techniques. There is supposedly a climactic war in the final episodes but it pretty much all happens off screen.

Basically, this drama writes a lot of checks that it was then unwilling or unable to fulfill. The premise is ripe for an indulgent power spiral drama like Fight Breaks Spheres or Ever Night, exploring multiple cultivation fighting techniques and with the MC growing steadily more OP. It promises emotional drama between MC and the man who murdered his master, culminating in a final battle. It promises scenes of battle between nations. And what it ultimately delivers is... disappointing.

Lees verder