This review may contain spoilers
Epic Drama, Funny, Witty, A little Bit of Everything.
I've enjoyed this drama so much even though youlose some things in translation. I've watched this in three
different translations. I've watched a few times since
I liked it so much. The music is great, the lead actor
has a beautiful mesmerizing voice, you hear it in the Ost.
I loved the opening song, I don't need the translation to
be swept away by the sweet melancholy tone.
There are beautiful dance scenes and epic war scenes.
I laughed when I saw the King ruling as a joke, he is the
puppet. His momma got the pants. Making this drama
even funnier. His nephew the "Prince" is "Living La Vida
Loca" with his crazy friends. He is a gorgeous mamma's
boy that gets away with all his pranks and mischief.
He is basically a happy go lucky kid in a man's body.
Until one day....
I loved it.
Come and see.
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This review may contain spoilers
The X-factor for this drama is definitely the unique pairing of a masculine female lead and a feminine male lead. Both of them are not overreacting in portraying both characters and the progress of their relationship is so beautiful to watch. Story.
The pace of the story worked well with the story telling and in showing how the main leads bonded. Instead of a whirlwind romance, they started out as friends (even though they are married) solving crimes together which evolve into partnership and finally evolve into love. This steady pace in story telling makes it very much believe-able on the extent of the sacrifices they are willing to make for each other towards the end of the drama.
Another thing that this drama did well is the development arc of the characters. Not only main roles, but the supporting roles such as the Qiu sisters were also developed to some extent.
Acting/Cast.
The team did well by casting Ma Sichun and Shang Yi Lun for this drama. At first, I am not sure about the casting but after episode 4, their chemistry went off the roof. They really carried the drama on their backs.
Ma Sichun plays a general that does not only need to uphold the name of her household but also the country as her army guards the border. Any other actress would probably play the role as a tomboy but she managed to balance between the roughness needed for a general and the internal femininity of a woman. Her range is amazing in this drama and it shows.
Opposite her is Shang Yi Lun who plays a good-for-nothing nobleman famed for his beauty. I watched him in Pretty Li Huizen and are not impressed but he totally nailed this drama. He too managed to balance the act between a good- for -nothing pretty boy and a guy who is trying his best to protect the people he loves. My favorite scene of this drama is where he himself petitioned for his wife to be sent to war because he understands the responsibility she holds. That is the peak character development of any drama I've seen.
I repeated this drama more than three times because I can't get over it. It is definitely a different flavour of love story compared to common themes in c-drama. It is a story about accepting the person we love as they are and improving ourselves to protect them.
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This review may contain spoilers
Do not hesitate, go watch this drama!
This is one gem of a drama that I almost missed out, because I did not intend to watch it at first, thinking that I wouldn't like the story. But as fate would have it, after watching some video clips in YouTube and reading well-written and positive reviews, my interest was piqued so I decided to give it a shot. And I'm so glad I did!This drama has romance, comedy, action, themes of loyalty, courage and justice, political intrigue and heart-touching moments – all set against the backdrop of the Song dynasty. I thoroughly enjoyed this drama that the 60-episode length did not feel daunting. Most of the story arcs are really good and engaging, but a few are just so-so for me. I like their execution of the gender role reversal theme - it's not a complete role reversal, because the ML (Zhao Yu Jin) and FL (Ye Zhao) still retained some masculine and feminine qualities, respectively. It's not over the top, which I think is important, because going overboard will make it cringey. Other things this drama did really well are character growth and relationship development. Many characters grow throughout the drama, especially Zhao Yu Jin and Ye Zhao. You can also see the relationship change and develop between the different characters: Zhao Yu Jin and Ye Zhao, Ye Zhao and her mother-in-law, Zhao Yu Jin and the Emperor, Ye Zhao and Hu Qing, among others. And since this drama is in a historical setting with political intrigue and wars, there were battle and fight scenes, which were well choreographed and executed.
Overall, the cast delivered very good performances. And since this show has a big cast of characters, I will mention only some of them:
• On the OTP: I love the chemistry between Sandra Ma and Peter Sheng and their portrayal of Ye Zhao and Zhao Yu Jin, respectively. They nailed their roles! Ye Zhao and Zhao Yu Jin are a power couple – they complement each other perfectly. They have many sweet and funny moments, and I like how they both grow and develop throughout the series ❤️.
• Sandra Ma is very fitting as General Ye Zhao. I like Ye Zhao’s character – she’s smart, brave, loyal and cool! Sandra Ma gave a very good performance. She was able to show the more masculine, mischievous, no-nonsense and stronger sides of Ye Zhao, but still retained a sense of femininity and aura of beauty. She commanded the respect of her troops and was admired by many. It’s funny that Yu Jin’s concubines seemed to admire her more than him! In one of her conversations with Hu Qing, she said that after marrying Yu Jin, she grew from being reckless, impulsive and stubborn, to being more responsible, mature and sensible (my paraphrase). I think that’s a good summary of her character growth.
• Peter Sheng is convincing as Zhao Yu Jin/Duke of Nanping. True, his character was sometimes childish and annoying, especially at the start, but he grew as the story progresses, and became a very devoted husband. Despite his notorious reputation, he was actually very smart and talented, and just needed more push and encouragement to realize his full potential. Peter Sheng was able to portray the different sides of Yu Jin very well. What Ye Zhao told Prince Yinuo aptly describes Yu Jin: "Some birds don't fly for 3 years, but once they fly, they soar high into the sky. Some birds don't make a sound for 3 years, but once they do, they surprise everyone." (有鸟三年不飞，一飞冲天。 三年不鸣， 一鸣惊人。)
• Ding Chuan as Hu Qing/Fox – Known as the military strategist, he was one step ahead most of the time, with a keen sense of noticing things that others did not immediately see. Sometimes, he would inject a sense of humor in seemingly serious situations. It’s hard to imagine another actor playing this role.
• Lu Fang Sheng as Emperor Ren Zong – I like his portrayal of Ren Zong – shrewd, merciful, humorous yet also serious, he is a good emperor who cared for the welfare of his people. He had to consider many things and make hard decisions.
• Xiao Han as Noble Consort Zhang – Sensible and understanding, she was the emperor’s favorite consort and close confidante.
• Zhang Yao as Royal Consort of Zhao – As Ye Zhao’s mother-in-law who didn’t like her at first, she was sometimes annoying but oftentimes funny, especially with the exaggerated acting on some scenes. Her character grew and she eventually accepted and loved Ye Zhao as a daughter-in-law.
• Zhang Wen as Princess Consort of Zhao – Hats off to Yu Jin’s sister-in-law! From the start, she was one of Ye Zhao’s strongest advocates, especially to their mother-in-law. There were no traces of jealousy or competition on her part.
• Wang Chu Ran as Liu Xi Yin – She’s not my favorite character, although I can understand how broken-hearted she felt after finding out that the man she loves since she was young was actually a woman. However, the things she did while staying at the duke’s manor were out of line. She did have her strong moments in the latter part of the story.
• Qiu Shui (Sookie Pan) and Qiu Hua (Wang Xuan) – I love that Ye Zhao has these two sisters as loyal deputies and trusted friends.
• Mei Niang (Jamie Zhang), Xuan Er (Zheng Shu Huan) and Xiao Xia Zi (Zhang Zhi Lu) – They were a funny trio, all loyal to Zhao Yu Jin and Ye Zhao.
As a whole, the costumes were beautiful! I like Ye Zhao's clothes. They may look similar at first because most of them are blue in color (occasionally, she would wear other colors). But if you look further, the designs were beautiful, and the embroideries were meticulously done. The same can be said for Zhao Yu Jin's clothes, and his wardrobe had more color variety! As for the army's uniform, at first, I wasn't used to all the blue color. But it grew on me, and I came to appreciate it in one of the battle scenes, because they clearly stood out from their enemies, who were mostly wearing black, so it's easier to follow the fight scenes. This is in contrast to another battle scene where both sides were wearing black armor, with only some shades of color to distinguish them from each other.
On the OST: I love the soundtrack! I have 2 words to describe the opening theme, “Love is Above” (愛在上) – grand and epic! It's the grand entrance to the drama. Queena Cui and Peter Sheng's duet is captivating! The ending theme, “Loyalty” (忠貞), is sweet and romantic - just like how the couple's relationship grew and matured in the story. The other songs in the OST were played at the right moments, thus complementing the drama at different points ❤️.
I'm so glad that the story ended on a happy note. I do have some wish list for the ending though (spoilers):
1) When I started this drama, I already knew that the ending will show them as grandparents. I was hoping/expecting that Sandra Ma and Peter Sheng will still play the old Ye Zhao and Zhao Yu Jin (made to look older, of course). Turns out that Sandra Ma's grandparents were the ones who played their older versions. How sweet!
2) It would be good if they had shown the family's reactions to her pregnancy, especially her mother-in-law.
3) I wish they showed the couple during their early years of parenthood, how they raised their kids, their family interactions, etc.
But that's Ok. This is a very good drama overall, a very fun and enjoyable ride! It's worth watching (and rewatching) the 60 episodes. So don’t hesitate, go watch it ❤️!
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Finally a strong female character
Well, this was an interesting and refreshing story. Although I love seeing strong female leads I guess I also want to see an equally strong male lead but in this drama the roles were reversed. Although I loved the female lead, and how courageous she was , the ML was no match for her and was the cringy femal-ish character but guess what, I enjoyed this series.Things that I loved;
The Female Lead was awesome. I liked her body language too. You know how in Legend of Fu Yao, Yang Mi acts all tough, but then she didn't quite convince me that she was tough and I felt like she was showing off overly male gestures and body language, but Sandra Ma was just perfect. She was tough and yet at the same time there was something feminine about her. She fit the role to a T and I honestly enjoyed watching her.
The Story was good too. I didn't notice many plot holes and everything finished up neatly at the end. Oops, I think that is a spoiler! The story was a perfect blend of romance and comedy with a little bit of politics thrown into it, and the main leads had a good, healthy relationship and didn't break up, even toward the end which is a cliché in most C and K Dramas. (The MLs separating for a bit at the end I mean).
The Romance was so swoon-worthy. I think the FL was so confident in her strength that she willingly submitted to the weaker ML instead of being like I am stronger than you, I wont submit to you. And although the ML was weaker than the FL, physically, I think they complemented each other because he is very shrewd and cunning, helping the FL overcome challenges.
The OST was so beautiful and catchy. It still rings in my head and like you would probably know if you have read my previous reviews, any OSTs with the leads of the drama singing, makes it that much more endearing for me and well the ML sang the OST so there.
The costumes and set were so nice, well not always (they sometimes over did it) but the colour palettes were nice. And there are so many scenes with a wind fan :D At first you enjoy those scenes and then they became a tad bit annoying and then it's hilarious.
And a final thing, just because the FL is tough doesn't make her a lesbian and just because the ML is feminine doesn't make him gay, and yes while he put me off in the beginning and wore a bright shade of pink lipstick throughout the drama, he grew on me and I enjoyed the drama and yes the drama does get a bit draggy sometimes but it was so hilarious to watch them debunk so many clichés.
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This review may contain spoilers
This is probably my first historical Chinese drama in a long time. The first I think was the Chinese adaptation of Scarlet Heart which I only watched because I've seen the Korean drama adaptation (and I'm still bitter but that's another story)STORY:
60 episodes might be too long for anyone when watching a drama but there's this special rule of making it slide when the drama is a historical drama. Ye Zhao (Sandra Ma) is a popular, powerful general who is favored by the king, enemies shiver at her name that is how a powerful strategist she is. Unfortunately, the king had to let her retire because some of the ministers were afraid that she would gain so much power. Plus those ministers are misogynist sons of....(okay). They are afraid of powerful women. So the king had no choice but to let her marry his nephew Zhao Yu Jin (Peter Sheng) who is apparently a good for nothing duke of Nanping. She agrees since there they knew each other from childhood but yep, that's how their marriage starts. What I liked about this drama is that even though this is obviously kind of a low budget drama, the story made for it. The plot was unconventional. The female lead was a strong willed alpha female general who reminds me for some reason of Mulan while the male lead is a dainty prince-ish character. This is kind of like a reverse couple and their scenes together is always a riot. Of course since this is a historical drama, there will always be arcs added in about families in war due to the pursuit of power. It was typical and I liked the part of the plot where her cousin thought she was male and wanted to marry her someday only to find out that it wasn't possible since she was a woman. Though the cousin still was loyal to her, it was funny that she tried to sabotage the leads' marriage. It was too much in a way since it came to the point where she wanted to kill her cousin's husband. There were many intersting plots in those 60 episodes that it didn't feel like it was too much. It was like the story was told in arcs kind of like the book. Plus, the most important thing is that there was character development.
ACTING/CAST:
I liked the leads very much. They had the chemistry and it was funny seeing both in reverse roles. And they played out the characters so well. The other casts were also interesting that it wasn't a bore.
MUSIC:
Finally an opening song that has a recall. The type where if I listen to the song, I would be reminded of this drama. That for me is the most important thing with OSTs. It adds color to the scenes and you will always remember the drama when you listen to the song.
REWATCH VALUE:
Definitely. Though 60 episodes is too much, I wouldn't mind re-watching some of my favorite scenes.
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Amusing and funny
I can't say that I really enjoyed this series, however it was very entertaining.You have a very strong FL who acted extremely well, and knew her place, however the ML was just way amusing and often very childish, to the put it did put off wanting to watch it, there was no real story line behind it i feel, she was general who led a strong army and was married off to very a fragile looking man, (where at times you wondered if he was manly enough), his childish behavior in the beginning was extremely laughable.
This series i found was more comical than anything and for 60 episodes I think was too long for no real life story.
He did come through in the end, but was still immature, I like the FL lead and her strong personality and they way handled things including her husband, which at times she treated like spoilt child.
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GREAT SERIES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! JUST WATCH!!!!!!!!!!!!!
This drama popped up on my feed on YouTube and so I decided to try it. Let me tell you, it was the best decision of my life. I fell in love with this series. I loved the gender role reversal. It was a nice twist to the norm.This drama had me laughing from as early as the first episode. At first, the leads didn't particularly like each other (or rather the male lead didn't like the female lead because she didn't fit the standard mold) but their relationship grew throughout the series and we could see where they learnt to appreciate the differences in their spouse. I especially loved the fact that the female lead was so strong. Both mentally and physically. There aren't a lot of dramas out there with female leads like her.
There's the saying that she fell first but he fell harder... this exemplifies the characters in this series. The male lead falls so in love with the female lead that he would literally put his life on the line for his wife.
Give this drama a watch, it's more than worth it. I watched it twice in a month... and that says something.
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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
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This review may contain spoilers
Try to look past the eyesore, low budget wardrobe, props, and settings, because the story is worth the watch. Sandra Ma is excellent as the highly decorated female general. With her reputation as a fearsome warrior, everyone in the palace and city thought her looks would match her reputation. Although far from being an ogre, the general is still considered plain and not a beauty. The irony is that Sandra Ma is the most beautiful in the drama. With the royal arranged marriage between the fearsome general and the weak and indolent, albeit handsome, nephew of the emperor, the stage is set. What I love about this drama is seeing the blossoming love, trust, and respect between the FL and ML, and the personal growth that each experienced. Once they learn to love and respect each other, it is wonderful to see them work together towards a common goal, to defend one and another, and to make sacrifices for each other. The role reversal where the FL acts and behaves more masculine, while the ML takes on the more feminine characteristics work well in this drama with many funny and sweet moments. I love the ending because I am a sucker for a happily ever after. Was this review helpful to you?
An unconventional and unique historical drama.
I have more or less watched everything but bear in mind I didn’t watch it in full detail so it can possibly be a factor of my the outcome of my review.First of all, 60 episodes. Is a lot. And don’t get me wrong if it is a show where it’s filled with all the different things I am looking for in a drama then it would more or less be something that I would enjoy watching and wouldn’t want it to end too soon. But I didn’t felt like I wasn’t enjoying watching this drama as much I would have hoped. But it is still a good show just not so much for me right now. It’s more of a lighthearted watch I would say for myself.
So 60 episodes is an overkill. Especially if it is has a complicated plot story then it would be hard to follow along for all the episodes and it would be impossible not to get bored or lightheaded.
I think the plot of the story wasn’t too complicated. It has the vibes of Mulan for the female lead which is something I always appreciate because seeing a female just kicking butt and being all badass like the female warrior Mulan is. It’s very empowering and just touching to see. As a woman naturally one would be to touched by this.
However the romance part is abit confusing I would say. There is passionate scenes more or less which is great of course makes the whole thing more exciting to watch. But, I believe that there is a bit of LGBT element in this show. It’s not subtle, it’s pretty obvious. Like for a second love interest for the female is a female. And even when this female found out that the female lead is a woman she was heartbroken cos like she thought it was a guy but even so she went ahead and tried to show her sincerity towards the lead and tried to hurt the male lead which then was the husband to the female lead.
There was no jealousy element in the female lead which is great but I have to say a little jealousy makes it more entertaining doesn’t it? Is it just me?
There are times where the female lead is completely fine with the male lead getting more concubines as though four women is never enough. Like she too want to partake in that. It’s a subtle flirting with the females but you can’t be too sure. Also, she was confused whether she was a guy or a girl in the very beginning but I figured it was because of the cross dress.
So I thought all this while the female lead might be bisexual also for the male there are times where males would flirt with him but he kinda stood his ground there but still LGBT element is still present.
Overall, it’s a very open minded show. With elements that I have never seen in other historical dramas. So if this intrigued you and your okay with the fact that you have to open your mind to the presence of additional elements here then you ll more or less enjoyed it.
I guess the whole thing took my by surprise so I was just confused due to the LGBT element kinda contradicts the romance element between the leads. But nothing wrong with that. I m all for the something new and different but this was a lot to take in.
But knowing that I might still rewatch this just not now.
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Oh how close to being great
Oh how I wanted to give this show 10/10 but it just can't stick to the fun stuff that was the initial promise. For the first 20 or so episodes, it is a funny, happy gender bending rom-com but then in the middle stretch, it become a darker melodrama filled with court intrigues (2 kingdoms' worth!) and endless scheming and plotting. Not saying that it was bad writing per se but it totally sidelined the OTP and you only get the occasional scenes with them. I can understand that the writers needed to fill 60 episodes but that is so typical a problem with c-dramas, the mid show drag is real when the original story line runs out of steam and new plots are grafted on to keep things moving. The show does pick up towards the end but you can't recapture the earlier vibes. I would have much preferred the show to focus on the OTP and take them on more adventures and allow them to form a partnership that was always hinted at but never fully realised. If they did that, I can easily sit through 60 episodes, no problem. On the plus side, the acting is great all round and the fight scenes are good. The OTP is terrific. There were some issues with the OST earlier on but it was ok towards the end. I would definitely recommend it but if the exposition and cliché scheming gets too much then the fast forward button is recommended.Was this review helpful to you?
Role Reversal at its Comedic Zenith
I'll keep this short since many other reviews have already hit high points and plot elements. Oh My General very, very silly at times and doesn't take itself very seriously (even makes fun of its own product placements by giving them an almost QVC feel), but there's just something so good about this show. I think it's Sandra Ma and Peter Sheng's performances. They both play the caricaturesque elements of their role (military meat-head and dandy) well but always there's enough there to support the idea that, despite their limitations - her lack of education and his lack of bravery and strength - they're not stupid. When depended on, they're both great at what they do. Even the brattier moments that I normally cringe at have me laughing instead, and I don't know if that's because of the role reversal or because the show consistently has them showing growth in both their personalities and the relationship - probably both. Either way, one of my favorite C Dramas. If I had to cite a flaw, it's not to do with the plot or acting but the sound quality. At many points, the background music is much, much louder than the dialogue, making it impossible to hear or just fluctuating so wildly that I had to toggle the volume up and down at various points. Doesn't detract from my enjoyment of the show, and I've rewatched this now many, many times.Was this review helpful to you?
