After The Untamed (Chen Qing Ling) in 2019, it can be safe to say that there was a dry period for Chinese bls. Word of Honor or ‘Shan he Ling’ in 2021 offers a pleasant viewing experience after this period. Inspite of the low budget, the series did a pretty good job on delivery of performance. The story is adapted from the novel Tian Ya Ke (Faraway Wanderer) by Priest, a famous web novelist of China. As an avid bl viewer the series is quite satisfactory so much so that it is the best Cdrama so far in 2021 for me.
Story: A dying ex-assassin trying to seek redemption meets another crazy guy and eventually they end up travelling together (because the crazy one won’t leave the ‘sick dude’ alone). In between all these they are entrusted with a child who has poor martial arts skills but strives to be better. Other than this found family there are a lot of royal politics and revenge plottings. I also recommend some tissues because there are a number of character deaths.
Negative points: Owing to the low budget, the series faced a lot of limitations. The CGI was not up to the mark. In lot of parts it seemed pretty unrealistic. In some other it looked quite poor. The set designings were okayish but a number of them got repeated. They used the same set with little difference in decorations for multiple scenes. Another negative point is the pacing of the show. The dramas started as nice and slow but by the end of it, it seemed quite rushed. If the series had a little more episode length or there were 2 or 3 more episodes then it wouldn’t feel as much of a problem. The editing of certain scenes could have been better. Other than the technical part the show did a good job in other aspects.
Positive points: First thing that I absolutely love about the drama are the male leads (fangirls over the CP!!!!!!). The chemistry between them can make butterfly erupt in your stomach. The flirting was the first thing that got me hooked to this show. The flirtatious gestures and the relationship between them are more explicit than previous shows (like Guardian and The Untamed). Even with the censorship you will be able to call them a couple. The lead actors i.e. Zhang Zhehan and Simon Gong Jun did a pretty good job bringing the characters to life, especially Gong Jun. I was a little sceptical about his acting but after watching the show I have no doubt about how good his skills are. The supporting cast was also fantastic and had many famous faces. I have become an absolute fan of the character ‘Scorpion King’ and the actor who played the role. Next is the music. The opening theme will boost up your enthusiasm for the drama and the ending theme will leave you sad about how quickly 42 minutes have passed. The background scores also suit the scenes good.
The script and the story didn’t disappoint the viewers. After Guardian and Legend of Fei, Priest really deserved a good adaptation of her work. The original story was really short for a 36 episodes drama. The script writer did a good job of adding material while sticking to the original work. I love the back stories of a number of side characters which were added by the scriptwriter.
An additional thing I absolutely love is Wen Ke Xing’s wardrobe collection. His makeup and costume as the Ghost valley Master are my favourite. I also love the way the leads’ costume reflect their current emotions.
My verdict: Inspite of being low on money, the production team worked really hard for the drama and achieved what many high budgeted drama can’t. The off screen friendships between the actors are also lovely to see. Our flirty Wen Ke Xing raised the standard for a lot of future dramas (Half of the times I was like “HOW DID IT GET PAST CENSORSHIP!!”). Also if anyone is wondering it is not a sad ending drama. Believe me, it has a happy ending. Anyways I love this series a lot and be sure to check it out.