Phuong
An all-around excellent BL wuxia drama
As a wuxia, it really cares and pays close attention to detail, which helps to bring forth that jianghu feel that has been missing in CDramas nowadays. As a BL and a love story, it is incredibly heartfelt and compelling. Word of Honor has one of the best overall quality we've seen in CDramaland recently.
WOH is the story of an encounter between people who have been hurt, cast out, damaged and let down, people who have given up on the world. That chance encounter then leads them to find the way back to trusting the goodness in others and themselves, and the belief to live and love. The idea is excellent, and the execution left little to be desired.
+ Story/Writing - 8/10
Most of what was left to be desired lies in the plot. Adapted from one of the lesser-known works by Priest, the story is solid but not too strong. It has both jianghu adventures and political intrigue, but to me the politics and scheming are not really interesting or convincing. The whole thing regarding that LiuLi jia is not particularly exciting either. A lot of the time, we see our male leads stand aside watching things happen. Albeit, there are enough happenings to hold my attention and they hold together well enough. They make a nice background overall.
The pull of this story is found in the many relationships between our characters: the manic, troubled master of the "ghosts" ready to set the world on fire, the disillusioned former assassin who does not want to care but care anyway, whose conviction is so steadfast it's immovable, two pure-hearted, conflicted yet determined boys, a wild "ghost" girl who's never known much sweetness or that she wants it, and more. I love how they could not help but reach out to save each other and found that they saved themselves in the process, how they helped each other see and believe the goodness in themselves. My heart aches in the best way watching this drama.
Unfortunately, there are many characters that feel unnecessary or uninteresting, even the more important ones. Here and there I can find the storytelling crumble or does not delve deep enough. I wish the scheming, some of the setups and unravelings were done and explored better (ex: the founding of the two main love stories, the sects' gatherings, the way they tell their past, the remorse of the two leads, the weird halfway Romeo-Juliet thing near the end, the everyone-dies ending...) but I guess there is a limit on what they could do with their budget.
Overall, I really appreciate the writer's commitment to telling a story that they obviously really love. The plot is cohesive and intriguing enough. The witty, poetic and idiomatic dialogue is a nice touch.
+ Production - 9.5
Seriously, this story was executed so well. The pace is really good and consistent throughout. The camera work and editing were done neatly and carefully. And the fight scenes, gosh they are so good; incredibly well-choreographed, they really feel wuxia. The way our two leads keep exchanging strikes and blows is both reminiscent of the golden-day wuxia and heart-racing. WOH's team repeatedly used a few same sets but I barely noticed. I'm not really impressed by the voice dubbing but it is fine. I wish they toned down a bit of the qinggong, those scenes look too much like flying in xianxia. (To me, Nirvana in Fire had the right amount of it).
+ Cast/Acting - 9.5
The level of acting is good and quite consistent throughout. GJ left a strong impression, Wen Kexing's animated flirtiness and manic anger are intriguing, compelling and sexy. ZZH snuck up on you with his subtle portrayal of the steadfast Zhou Zishu. The chemistry is lovely and when they looked at each other, their eyes were so full of love it was almost unbearably sweet.
The shiny sincere lovesick eyes of CWN's actor are heart-melting too. Later on I really felt Gu Xiang's sadness, pain and yearning, but I wish they did not go too hard in the cutesy direction for her earlier. I guess it makes a nice contrast so you'll see the character development, but I would prefer more of an edge and wildness. The acting of these four kept getting better and better later on, and their stories just broke your heart in the best way.
Overall, I don't have much to complain about the cast. Ye Baiyi and Gao Xiaolian, though, could be casted better, I think. However, I really wish there were one or two displays of emotions that hit me especially hard. There are plenty of compelling scenes, but somehow I keep feeling there could be more.
+ Music - 8
The songs sound good and they suit the drama nicely, nothing really hit hard for me though.
All in all, WOH is really worth watching. You'll laugh and cry and lose sleep and have your heart broken for the characters. And you'll feel healed by the love. They really did the best they could do with the story they had. For people who are not very familiar with wuxia, I think this is an amazing introduction to the genre. For fans of BL, this is a must-watch.
WOH is the story of an encounter between people who have been hurt, cast out, damaged and let down, people who have given up on the world. That chance encounter then leads them to find the way back to trusting the goodness in others and themselves, and the belief to live and love. The idea is excellent, and the execution left little to be desired.
+ Story/Writing - 8/10
Most of what was left to be desired lies in the plot. Adapted from one of the lesser-known works by Priest, the story is solid but not too strong. It has both jianghu adventures and political intrigue, but to me the politics and scheming are not really interesting or convincing. The whole thing regarding that LiuLi jia is not particularly exciting either. A lot of the time, we see our male leads stand aside watching things happen. Albeit, there are enough happenings to hold my attention and they hold together well enough. They make a nice background overall.
The pull of this story is found in the many relationships between our characters: the manic, troubled master of the "ghosts" ready to set the world on fire, the disillusioned former assassin who does not want to care but care anyway, whose conviction is so steadfast it's immovable, two pure-hearted, conflicted yet determined boys, a wild "ghost" girl who's never known much sweetness or that she wants it, and more. I love how they could not help but reach out to save each other and found that they saved themselves in the process, how they helped each other see and believe the goodness in themselves. My heart aches in the best way watching this drama.
Unfortunately, there are many characters that feel unnecessary or uninteresting, even the more important ones. Here and there I can find the storytelling crumble or does not delve deep enough. I wish the scheming, some of the setups and unravelings were done and explored better (ex: the founding of the two main love stories, the sects' gatherings, the way they tell their past, the remorse of the two leads, the weird halfway Romeo-Juliet thing near the end, the everyone-dies ending...) but I guess there is a limit on what they could do with their budget.
Overall, I really appreciate the writer's commitment to telling a story that they obviously really love. The plot is cohesive and intriguing enough. The witty, poetic and idiomatic dialogue is a nice touch.
+ Production - 9.5
Seriously, this story was executed so well. The pace is really good and consistent throughout. The camera work and editing were done neatly and carefully. And the fight scenes, gosh they are so good; incredibly well-choreographed, they really feel wuxia. The way our two leads keep exchanging strikes and blows is both reminiscent of the golden-day wuxia and heart-racing. WOH's team repeatedly used a few same sets but I barely noticed. I'm not really impressed by the voice dubbing but it is fine. I wish they toned down a bit of the qinggong, those scenes look too much like flying in xianxia. (To me, Nirvana in Fire had the right amount of it).
+ Cast/Acting - 9.5
The level of acting is good and quite consistent throughout. GJ left a strong impression, Wen Kexing's animated flirtiness and manic anger are intriguing, compelling and sexy. ZZH snuck up on you with his subtle portrayal of the steadfast Zhou Zishu. The chemistry is lovely and when they looked at each other, their eyes were so full of love it was almost unbearably sweet.
The shiny sincere lovesick eyes of CWN's actor are heart-melting too. Later on I really felt Gu Xiang's sadness, pain and yearning, but I wish they did not go too hard in the cutesy direction for her earlier. I guess it makes a nice contrast so you'll see the character development, but I would prefer more of an edge and wildness. The acting of these four kept getting better and better later on, and their stories just broke your heart in the best way.
Overall, I don't have much to complain about the cast. Ye Baiyi and Gao Xiaolian, though, could be casted better, I think. However, I really wish there were one or two displays of emotions that hit me especially hard. There are plenty of compelling scenes, but somehow I keep feeling there could be more.
+ Music - 8
The songs sound good and they suit the drama nicely, nothing really hit hard for me though.
All in all, WOH is really worth watching. You'll laugh and cry and lose sleep and have your heart broken for the characters. And you'll feel healed by the love. They really did the best they could do with the story they had. For people who are not very familiar with wuxia, I think this is an amazing introduction to the genre. For fans of BL, this is a must-watch.
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