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?
My Peter Sheng Binge Era
Looking back, I don’t remember this being 60 episodes! It aired before the new regulations, so I’m not sure how I’d feel about it now that I’m used to shorter content. That said, I really enjoyed watching it at the time. It was during a phase when I wanted to watch everything with Peter Sheng—I had just devoured Go Princess Go and immediately searched for more of his work, which led me to Oh, My General.While some of his other dramas differ in tone and style, Oh, My General feels very much in line with Go Princess Go. It’s highly comedic, farcical in places, and centers on a storyline involving war and rival kingdoms. There’s strong character development, especially in the way the lead relationship evolves and how the male lead matures. It was also the first time I came across a harem setup where the first wife is favored and admired—by the harem—more than the husband himself, which was a fun twist.
If you enjoy military-driven plots, fierce female leads, or arranged marriage tropes, this might be a good one to add to your list.
Was this review helpful to you?
Series gave me a person to crush on
Oh My General (OMG), to me is a series which turned me into a true C-Drama Fan. I was fortunate to discover it after wasting time on the absolutely disappointing Live action Mulan Movie. Someone suggested OMG and thank them for that!.The story is pretty straightforward, well paced and well defined, the world building is minimal; We are introduced to each character and story beat organically, the chemistry between the actors is very apparent, the mains are definitely comfortable with each other.
The VFX are well crafted and the music was perfect, except the opening that is just exceptional, I added it to my playlist.
If there is a complaint its that some points in the middle are slow and politics heavy, these are needed to establish the family dynamics and later points of the story but for a new C-Drama fan unexpected. Other than that its a great series, I love Ma Sichun! she plays such a fierce character.
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
Charming but too long
I'm giving this a higher score than I would because compared to many other "female general" series, this one is so much more deserving than other over-hyped ones like Legend of the Female General. The concept of female general being disguised as a male makes so much more sense here and is far more believable.If it weren't for some hiccups in the plot flow and a sloppy ending, it would have deserved an even higher rating for its uniqueness. Our female lead is the brawn and the brains while our male lead is squishy but cultured and also intellectual. The first quarter of the series is humorous, entertaining, and an added layer of cringe. Some reviews praise how they appreciate the strength of the FL but bash on the ML for weak and incapable but I would like to differ. The FL has very obvious traits to be respected but the ML was raised in a very male-dominated, wealthy, and noble background. Sure, the ML is chauvinistic, spoiled, and spends his time not doing anything really productive. But his personality is what makes him believable as a character in the series. He grew up with a weak body, a mother who imprisoned him at home to protect him, and he grew up feeling like he could never be a "man"... so why not just enjoy life the way he is privileged to? No one ever expected anything out of him and no one ever challenged him. But his core is kind and he has the capacity to be successful. So despite his cringe ways and treatment towards the FL in the beginning, he had the most character growth out of everyone and I really appreciate this. And only when you get to the end, do you understand why the FL has been so tolerant.
The plot flow is a bit choppy because it focuses heavily on the lives of the main couple and would suddenly switch over to palace drama, then suddenly switch to another character's situation, etc. But it all ties to one another so this didn't bother me too much. The humor from the first quarter of the series dissolve into a grimmer environment with lesser sprinkles of lighthearted moments. My biggest disappointment is the last quarter of the series when the palace politics and war politics starts to get really messy. They spent way too many episodes dragging the scenarios on and the final battle was pretty cheesy. The ending was also not very fulfilling for a 60-episode series because it was super abrupt and despite all the effort to build up great relationships, they show pretty much nothing about what happened to anyone after that final battle.
I wouldn't consider this a binge show and the acting was a hit or miss at times, but I still really enjoyed the couple's development because it's quite unique. You also get a bit of mystery/detective work, political drama, war scenes, harem drama, some spicy moments, etc. It's like they blended a bunch of different genres into one series and none of which are really exceptional, but it was nice to have some variation and still have a common base to the overall plot.
Was this review helpful to you?
A Quite Funny and Pleasant Experience
This was very enjoyable to watch, and a quite nice introduction to the genre (this was my very c-drama and Asian drama). The comedy is spot on, the acting and chemistry among the characters is great. It was nice to see a role reversal that did not feel forced, and was not quickly forgotten, as the female lead's role has a very big effect on the plot and her relation to other characters. Romance and plot between supporting characters was also very well-written and memorable.The costuming and music was absolutely stunning sometimes. I'm usually not a fan of dragged out slow-motion scenes, but there were some moments where these were well-warranted.
However, this has a tendency to drag out its episodes. While a lot of the drama surrounding the royal palace is very exciting, I feel that it took them way too long to resolve everything - not in the series time, but in the amount of episodes they made dedicated to that.
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
Viewers deserved a better final episode
After investing time on 60 episodes of what was a pretty good story with great acting, likeable (and hateable) characters, the most disappointing thing about this drama was the way they ended the series. Whether they ran out of time, ran out of good ideas, or just plain didn't care about how it would affect the loyal viewers, that last scene was ridiculous and senseless and grossly unsatisfying.That being said, the ML & FL rocked in their roles. Loved the FL - very loveable (not so much in the first few episodes though). I started watching this series and dropped it, then came back after my sister highly recommended it. Loved the chemistry between the military characters, some of the royal family, and even though there was more tragedy than I liked throughout, I think the actors all did a phenomenal job of work. Enjoyed the humor, the familial bonds, and the side romances - although I think they deserved a little more screen time and development.
A lot of time was wasted on the politics - the petty bickering in the court, and on the immature frivolity of some of the male characters in particular. The writers tried to tie up all the stories, but there were still a lot of holes and storylines left hanging. The segments were choppy and did not flow well. Maybe if I rewatch I might see something(s) I might have missed.
The crappy way they ended the story really spoiled an otherwise entertaining series. The viewer is left to imagine their own series of events and guess what might or might not have happened. Assuming everybody ended up with who we wanted them to end up, it would have been nice to actually see what transpired through flashbacks or narrative, instead on two old geezers we don't know with two kids we don't know, making vague chatter.
Was this review helpful to you?
My new favorite drama!
This drama was so refreshing to watch. It not only flips every trope on it's head but also has a great plot and characters that you fall in love with. When I saw the summary I thought it sounded different but thought it wouldn't be a serious show. However it delivered a plot that was not repetitive or boring while also kept the main characters relationship developing all throughout the 60 episodes. It was a perfect balance between plot and romance. The non-lead characters were also amazing and not 2 dimensional. There are so many I loved and thought were so funny and interesting. I could truly tell this drama was made with care and I'm excited to recommend it to others and to rewatch it in the future.Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
Pure entertainment: for easy/relaxed viewing.
Love this one. At first, the love hate relationship of the ML and FL was mildly annoying. But as the story unfolds, with all the character development and plot twists and turns, it became really endearing.Liked that these was written with a strong FL and a pretty ML for a change. FL was a well respected and feared general, while ML was a bit of a scoundrel and a parasite of the royal family. She love him anyway. Even with ML's shallow personality, he learned to understand the hard exterior of FL and love her anyway.
Pure entertainment: easy/relaxed viewing, RomCom with a right dose of political intrigues, heart tugging moments and action packed fight scenes.
Love the onscreen chemistry of the cast. Good OST too. Although the series is a bit too long, I wouldn't mind rewatching this one.
Was this review helpful to you?
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
Ughhh...
I am not a fan of Peter Sheng full stop. His acting at best is 4; wooden, expressionless, monotone, fake beta male, and not interesting at all. Meanwhile, Sandra Ma character was a famous strong general that gathered admiration, loyalty, love, powerful, and smart. How could a beta male Zhao YuJin could compete with that Alpha female General Ye Zhao? Married by arrangement, 2 concubines, mother, sister in-law, brother all in the same premises giving this poor general how to be a good wife (and daughter in law) to a spoil-rotten weak Zhao YuJin. All things considered, scene where Zhao YuJin danced in female garments was scarier than bloody-gut wrenching fighting scene, worst than a drag queen...with clothing disarray with other beta male friends...not that he wasn't pretty enough...because he didn't know to act. He looked like having great time orgies. I stayed until episode 14, long enough to endured Peter Sheng, finally drop it. Not worth to watch...I move on to something else better.Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious
This was freaking Awesome! The first half of ML acting childish was hard to watch but the growth was amazing. I enjoyed every bit, especially the Grandfather and FL's Nephew scenes. Give it a try, and you won't regret it. I will say they could have changed some parts in the ending.FL's cousin (Wang Churan) could have chosen not to drink the poison and instead escape. Qiu Shui wouldn't have been killed and would have lived a nice life with Hu Qing. I would have paid to see the Qiu sisters and Fl all with their kids having fun reminiscing the past. Sadly most dramas have to end with a few characters' misfortunes. Oh and I forgot to mention ML's Tongfang were amazing they actually for the first time showcased harmony in a harem. ML's concubine, the only one he had turned out to be evil ( might be a strong word) died too quickly and I wanted to see some exchange of arguments or repentance from her.
Was this review helpful to you?
