1Beyond All That Drama
An unexpected joy to watch
In a nutshell:
Oh My General is an adaptation of the novel “General on top, I am below”. The drama is set in the Song Dynasty, where our main female character, Ye Zhao, is a General of the Imperial Army who has dedicated most of her life defending the borders from neighbouring hostile Kingdoms. She is fiercely loyal to her Country and does not take crap from anyone. When she returns victorious from battle, the Emperor rewards her with a military promotion and much to her surprise - a husband! Her arranged beau is Zhao Yujin, a pampered playboy Prince, who is well known for his hedonistic lifestyle. After a turbulent and rocky start to their marriage, Yujin and Ye Zhao’s love and admiration of each other blossom as they uncover political schemes and defend the Song Dynasty from its enemies, both externally and from within.
The Highlights:
Oh My General is an addictive drama that hooks you right from the start with overall good pacing in the storytelling. It has the right blend of lighthearted romantic comedy, political intrigue, and action, all served with a dollop of quirkiness. The on-screen chemistry between the Prince and the General, played by Peter Sheng and Sandra Ma, is electrifyingly good, and all their scenes together are pure gold. The character of Ye Zhao is a terrific but tricky one to play, and the wrong actor could have easily portrayed her as a boring one-dimensional butch Mary Sue. Thankfully, Sandra Ma is perfectly cast in this role as she effortlessly peels back the many layers of the General’s personality and backstory with each episode. Her charismatic performance strikes a nuance balance between the General’s physical and mental toughness in battle, with her softer feminine side, charming sense of humour, and genuine desire to support her husband in all his endeavours. There are some impressive battle sequences and the fight choreography was executed well enough to keep me entertained. The cinematography is breath-taking in some episodes with judicious use of panoramic camerawork and slow-motion capture to absorb you into this beautiful but chaotic world of kingdoms at war. The soundtrack and theme songs are sublime and gave me earworms for weeks.
The Lowlights:
The double-edged sword of having such interesting and well played main characters, is that secondary plotlines involving other characters felt more like filler episodes. Coming in at a whooping 60 episodes, the scenes involving palace politics were particularly long-winded and could have been more succinctly written. The villains were also cliched, cringey and largely forgettable. The drama also suffers from terrible sound dubbing and low production quality in some episodes.
The Verdict:
Sandra Ma and Peter Sheng’s synergistic on-screen chemistry and delightful performances perfectly encapsulate the evolution of their characters love story. The General and the Prince, share many funny and adorable moments, but also experience multiple setbacks and challenges. The actors ability to immerse you into the growth of their characters both as individuals, and as husband and wife, is a real treat to watch. Oh My General is an overall enjoyable and unique drama that doesn’t take itself too seriously.
FAQs:
1. How many episodes? 60. Each around 45 mins long
2. Where can I watch? All 60 episodes with English subtitles free on Youtube - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IlmsVQcsOS4&t=257s
Oh My General is an adaptation of the novel “General on top, I am below”. The drama is set in the Song Dynasty, where our main female character, Ye Zhao, is a General of the Imperial Army who has dedicated most of her life defending the borders from neighbouring hostile Kingdoms. She is fiercely loyal to her Country and does not take crap from anyone. When she returns victorious from battle, the Emperor rewards her with a military promotion and much to her surprise - a husband! Her arranged beau is Zhao Yujin, a pampered playboy Prince, who is well known for his hedonistic lifestyle. After a turbulent and rocky start to their marriage, Yujin and Ye Zhao’s love and admiration of each other blossom as they uncover political schemes and defend the Song Dynasty from its enemies, both externally and from within.
The Highlights:
Oh My General is an addictive drama that hooks you right from the start with overall good pacing in the storytelling. It has the right blend of lighthearted romantic comedy, political intrigue, and action, all served with a dollop of quirkiness. The on-screen chemistry between the Prince and the General, played by Peter Sheng and Sandra Ma, is electrifyingly good, and all their scenes together are pure gold. The character of Ye Zhao is a terrific but tricky one to play, and the wrong actor could have easily portrayed her as a boring one-dimensional butch Mary Sue. Thankfully, Sandra Ma is perfectly cast in this role as she effortlessly peels back the many layers of the General’s personality and backstory with each episode. Her charismatic performance strikes a nuance balance between the General’s physical and mental toughness in battle, with her softer feminine side, charming sense of humour, and genuine desire to support her husband in all his endeavours. There are some impressive battle sequences and the fight choreography was executed well enough to keep me entertained. The cinematography is breath-taking in some episodes with judicious use of panoramic camerawork and slow-motion capture to absorb you into this beautiful but chaotic world of kingdoms at war. The soundtrack and theme songs are sublime and gave me earworms for weeks.
The Lowlights:
The double-edged sword of having such interesting and well played main characters, is that secondary plotlines involving other characters felt more like filler episodes. Coming in at a whooping 60 episodes, the scenes involving palace politics were particularly long-winded and could have been more succinctly written. The villains were also cliched, cringey and largely forgettable. The drama also suffers from terrible sound dubbing and low production quality in some episodes.
The Verdict:
Sandra Ma and Peter Sheng’s synergistic on-screen chemistry and delightful performances perfectly encapsulate the evolution of their characters love story. The General and the Prince, share many funny and adorable moments, but also experience multiple setbacks and challenges. The actors ability to immerse you into the growth of their characters both as individuals, and as husband and wife, is a real treat to watch. Oh My General is an overall enjoyable and unique drama that doesn’t take itself too seriously.
FAQs:
1. How many episodes? 60. Each around 45 mins long
2. Where can I watch? All 60 episodes with English subtitles free on Youtube - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IlmsVQcsOS4&t=257s
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