Who Rules the World (2022)

A genre hotpot that tastes like disappointment

I'm probably not the only victim to Netflix's annoying trailer that always plays when you hover over a show or movie. The one they showed for this drama was of a quirky Zhao Lusi beating up a bunch of men and haughtily flaunting her martial arts prowess. Ok, cool. Badass female lead with skills. Hook, line and sinker.

The first few episodes were promising. There was a cool animation and everything giving us the backstory of Hei-Feng Bai-Xi and how they were the most powerful duo in jianghu. That was my expectation going in. That they'd be this powerful couple having lots of adventures and solving mysteries together.

And then the court drama started happening.

And then it's revealed that he's the prince and has all of this baggage and has an evil stepmother who wants to kill him, which just eerily reminds me of the Legend of Lu Zhen.

And then I just slowly started losing my interest because all of this has been done to death and done so much better in other shows.

WHAT I HATED

We are given such a rich backstory with these 7 kingdoms and sects and an overarching conspiracy over the fake token but none of that gets expanded on and for nearly half the show Feng Lanxi's story hijacks everyone else's. Powerful couple Hei-Feng Bai-Xi is really just the Feng Lanxi epic with his gluttonous bff/gf Bai Fengxi who's there to reinforce his Main Character status and make some cute jokes at his expense to show that he's really not as serious as he looks. Cue my eyes rolling into the back of my head.

Not only does Feng Lanxi have a secret identity but so does Bai Fengxi! But why did she also have a secret identity? Oh because she's a carefree girl. Yeah, they say that a million times throughout the show and her brother and father just happen to be so supportive of that, but it doesn't really explain anything!!!

We get no backstory for our FL, no character development, no plot development. NOTHING. She's the same in the end as she was in the beginning. In the same vein, all the male characters, including the ML, are just annoyingly ambitious with no other facet to them. The only outlier would probably be Feng Chang but he's kind of pathetic and actually a psychopath for murdering a bunch of people who know about his epilepsy and the show just conveniently glosses over it because he's such a loving brother to Feng Lanxi and *LOOK* tragic childhood! *WAVES ARMS DISTRACTINGLY* Like hello??!? How is this ok? You've got a FL who swears to kill all corrupt and evil officials and this prince here is abusing his power but he gets a free pass because something something plot reasons.

The show doesn't follow its own logic and makes such contrivances for the sake of its nonsensical plot. The main villain and side villains are also comical. Poor Carman Lee. You went from being my favorite Xiao Longnu to a cartoon evil concubine plotting and killing for power. The only thing missing is some moustache twirling. It's all so very typical and cliched. We don't need to discuss the Third Prince here. He's an idiot and has a punchable face.

The father, the Lord of Yongzhou, seems to be like some sort of all-seeing dumbo who knows how evil his wife and son are but just turns a blind eye and then is shocked when they force him to abdicate. If you hadn't been waffling for over 30 episodes about who your heir was maybe you shouldn't be so surprised that something like this would happen. Worst Father of the Year Award also goes to this loser. With all the resources at his disposal to investigate he still punishes the wrong people and gets swayed so easily.

And then there's the Tianshuang Sect who might be the most useless sect in all of existence. They literally cannot do anything right, get caught ALL the time and have the weakest disciples I've ever seen. How in the world did Bai Fengxi become one of the strongest fighters in jianghu by training with them?? How many licks does it take to get to the center of a Tootsie pop? The world may never know.

Bai Langhua is insufferable and fits the annoying, bratty sect sister trope to a T. This chick gets sick from being on a boat to the point that she's near death, begrudges Bai Fengxi for the littlest things and then literally stabs her in the back accusing her of murder. If you shake her, you'll probably hear a few screws rattling in that empty head. Nothing she does makes sense. She's a throwaway character whose circumstances are established to fit the plot and to push it along when it's needed. They could literally replace her with a teapot and it wouldn't make any difference to how much depth she has as a character.

WHAT I TOLERATED

The fight scenes were just ok. It's a bit overdone and far too showy for what is supposed to be a wuxia. Like, people have the strength of 50 full sized leaf blowers coming out of the palm of their hands. Everyone is always flying from some internal tornado force. There isn't much intricate choreography here, just sped up sword waving to try and enhance the feeling of a chaotic fight scene.

WHAT I LIKED

Feng Qiwu is BEST GIRL and her relationship with Bai Fengxi is so amazingly wholesome and cute and I could gush about it all day. Dare I say the chemistry between them was much more natural than between the main leads? How I wished this was a GL drama instead but that's never going to happen in our lifetime.

The costumes and cinematography is what I always come for in Cdramas and this doesn't disappoint. I love the clean look, lighting and beautiful sets. The female head pieces are also understated and don't look ridiculous. The male robes, especially for the princes, all look so elegant and cuts a very hourglass figure, funnily enough.

CLOSING THOUGHTS

This drama overpromises and underdelivers. The FL's story is sacrificed for the sake of the ML's boring backstory and side villains. Too many plotlines are introduced and then just dropped. Character motivations and actions are not consistent or sensible but everything is very pretty looking. Have you seen all the pretty actors? Keep looking over there, don't mind all the mess and duct tape that's keeping everything together. If you're bored, go for it. If you want some quality with your entertainment, look elsewhere.

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Great show

- production set up is great, love their outfits and the interior of their palace/mansions.

- pacing is alright for me since I binged watch the episodes. No room to speculate different scenarios.

- YangYang's look is so fitting for costume drama. His acting is appropriate with his character. He's closed off and disciplined the way a prince and a martial artist should behave. He's emotional when a scene needs for him to be vulnerable.

- ZLS is lovely and badass on this show. I respect her hardwork with the stunts. Her youthful looks does not affect her overall appeal to takeover as a queen on her state.

- As a casual watcher, BFX's character exposure is just in line with the way the story progressed. Overall story revolves around power struggle where ML's family is more peoblematic, so I expected the setting will rely more on ML's side.

- I enjoy palace politics with a mix of action so this is just right for me.



If you are one of those who will now start watching this series , you can try to set aside the narrative between the novel and the drama. Immerse yourself on the show's settings and not for the actor/actress' bias. Also, you can try to not be engrossed with the production crew's personal issue. I just noticed these factors affected the viewing experience of some viewers.

more cdramas to enjoy this year :)

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WHO RULES THE WORLD - WORTH YOUR TIME OR NOT ? READ BELOW TO KNOW!

who rules the world is currently one of the best dramas with a very gripping plot. The characters of this drama each have their own storyline and progress with each episode. The story is not dragged and the scenes related to the martial arts are very well filmed and portrayed by the actors and actresses of the drama. This drama has given an equal level of excitement and strength of character to both the male and female leads. The drama is yet to complete its episode but each and every episode leaves a feeling of suspense, excitement, and thrill to watch the next one as soon as possible. I am a person who watches only selective shows after a lot of checking and reviewing, due to which I hardly watch more than 2 episodes if the drama is not up to the mark; but this drama has me completely hooked. I would recommend this strongly to people who like historical, martial arts drama with a little romance on the side. The chemistry of the cast, especially the male lead and female lead is incredible. a must-watch...

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the best storyline

I wait for this drama for so long but its come now I starting to watch with my fingers crossed but it didn't disappoint me from the every begging it's getting interesting the strong and confident female lead the elegant and intelligent male lead and another casting is too good if you want to watch a drama with the great chemistry and storyline I totally recommended this it's amazing and have everything that a drama need of course first yang yang he looks so good in his character just like this role is made for him intelligent smart handsome good with fighting and a little hint of naughtiness and how anyone forgot zhao lu si she is one of the best actresses in china she fights so well in her scenes like wowwwww surely I am gonna watch more episode now I just come to write a review so if anyone waiting go and watch ... I am editing this again cause i am done watching it what a storyline need claps what a brilliant acting of everyone

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The Novel Is Better, But Still A Good Wuxia Romance

The drama's pilot week is one of the best I've seen in cdramaland.
As a wuxia, the fl is strong, smart and a heroine that dislikes being second to anyone. She is as strong as (at some point even stronger than) the ml and other male characters that can fight. She also has a good background, the same high status as the ml and the first among her peers to be promoted to the highest rank. Most fl's aren't as priveleged.

As a romance, there is more romance than in the novel. Bai Feng Hei Xi also has a healthy relationship with trust, support and no misunderstandings. It can be seen as either ideal or too good to be true considering the environment of the world they live in.
And even though the fl's love lines with other male characters are toned down compared to the novel in favor of Yang Yang, Zhao Lusi still has good chemistry with He Kailang, Zhang Haowei and Lai Yi.

But as a novel fan, I did not like how the fl centered novel was completely changed into ml centered drama. At some point the fl just became a love interest who only appears to be rescued by ml and make sure the cp falls in love, instead of ml's equal like first introduced.
There is also more palace politics and scheming midway that got repetitive and predictable. And the ending was unsatisfying. A bittersweet one compared to the novel's proper HE.

Overall, it had a great start, repetitive middle and rushed ending. It could've been better.
As an adaptation, it was dissappointing. It did not make me feel the emotions that the novel made me feel. But as a standalone, it was still a good watch.

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Beautiful drama with amazing chemistry

good points :
- the CHEMISTRY .... man you can see how good they look together from episode one only. They are already very famous actor for a reason.
- cute but super strong FML. Best thing is that she is almost as strong as the male lead or any other character in the drama. she really has an aura around her. If you are into strong FML go for it.
- The flute music is beautiful and the set and costume is so good. they have spend hell bent money and you can see it.
* some demerit
-romance is not given much time overall( something like vincenzo ...having good actor chemistry but less scene time)
- no prominent OST other than the some good background music.
- irritating stepmom.
-ending was EXTREMELY bad and rushed. It was just so unfair and unreasonable. The whole point of 39 episodes was in vain because of the last one. One of main reason behind me not giving it a 10.


overall... good and a binge worth ;)

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Must watch

I am enjoying this series. The last one I enjoyed was Sword Snow Stride. I can wait for each episode. Just too bad it's not free and I have to subscribe. Never hear of yang yang till now. But love zhao lusi from The Long Ballad. She is a good actress. I like the subtle romance between ML/FL and it's good that there are no other interfering with their romance/

It's funny that there are comment about how you can't rate a show because it's not over. For example, Joe Biden's approval rating is low and he isn't even done with his presidency. haha. So there, you can review anything. It is the opinion of the reviewer. You can have your own opinion. Review it till the end.

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two very capable colosal couple

this is the first c-drama that I followed that actually made me finish the whole 40 episodes.

characters of these drama are very engaging. I'm so hooked by bai fengxi's first appearance when she perched on the edge of bamboo tree, looking almighty and carefree. another fans favorite, of course, hei fengxi's first appearance, where he appeared like good samaritan to smooth things over with Han partriarch for bai fengxi. I THINK IT'S SO ROMANTIC HOW HE WATCHED HER OVER SILENTLY. IT'S SO ATTRACTIVE. also everyone in this drama, especially the four gentry, are all soooo ahead of their games. hfx/flx played a very accomplished mastermind, that every layered traps laid in front of him, he got to dodge it all. every characters are so likeable, it's hard to hate even the villain.

the acting, MAN, the acting... im so impressed by YY's eyes and microexpression. he might be my favorite actor now. How can he looks naughty, scolding, angry, sad, anguished, even without saying ANY lines???? same goes to ZL, but i already know how great her acting is, after i watched the tiger and rose romance. honorable mention is LAI YI, Huang Chao prince, he really embodies a cool yet confident prince.

im not mad at all by this drama. in fact, this drama opened a whole new ordeal to me. now i find myself wanting to search more wuxia dramas.

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A review based on personal enjoyment

So first of all beware, there will be a few minor spoilers below and that this review is only based on my personal enjoyment of the show without me analyzing to much.

Story: As a reader of the novel I had a clue of what the basics would be, even if this is vastly different. We start out with an epic opener in the martial arts world with our heroine Bai Feng Xi on adventure. The first episode is a very good introduction to her character and there are some really fun fight scenes. Our male lead Hei Feng Xi looks very dashing and lets the viewers know that he is intelligent and likes to plan ahead.
Soon enough we will find out that Hei Feng Xi is actually a prince of one of the states, YongZhou, and has been leading a double life. After this revelation a lot of the drama will focus on our prince Feng Lanxi and his struggles amongst his own treacherous family. Bai Feng Xi will be around of course but she does not do a lot of meaningful things in the first half of the drama, as she has no place in the politics in Yongzhou.
There will be a few episodes they venture out of Yongzhou but most of the plot takes place there. There are quite a few palace schemes, but they are solved fast and not the long game kind of schemes.
So who will rule the world? That is the question that you will not have the answer to until the end of the show.
Is this the best script ever and the most well written plot? Not really but I as an individual did not find any time spent watching the show boring, I was engaged all the way through even though I was sometimes impatient for Bai Feng Xi to do more things.

Cast: First of all if you are here for Yang Yang, chances are you will not be disappointed as he is the central character of this show. Most of the plot is about his struggles which gives him ample opportunity to showcase his abilities. Yang Yang is a very good fit for Hei Feng Xi as he is a very good looking man. As I have only watched one other show with Yang Yang fully I cannot say if he is better in this drama compared to others, but I feel that he did a very good job.
Zhao Lusi who plays our lovely Bai Feng Xi was the reason why I started watching this drama. When I learned that she would finally play a kick ass woman who was equal to the men I was really happy for her. She portrays the easy going BFX very well and her fight scenes were a lot of fun to watch as she looked really cool doing them. When we finally get to the emotional parts of the drama we are will into 3/4 of it and I think Lusi did a fantastic job with all her emotional scenes. When she cried I cried. I felt her pain.
The supporting cast were in my opinion very well cast. We have Feng Chang, who at first I was not sure if I liked his character made me really impressed with his acting. Zhong Li was a good aide for Lanxi and he did a good job. Kid Han Pu was very cute but did not have a lot of development as his character was not present for most of the drama. Lai Yi was an excellent Huang Chao, I feel that finding someone who fit better would be hard.

Music: I adore most of the music in this drama. The opening song by dear Liu Yu Ning, the ending song plus a song that is played very late on by Tan Wei Wei were all fantastic and I have listened to these three many times over and will continue to do so.

Rewatch: So even if this show has it's faults in story telling, plotholes and other issues someone who likes to analyze what they are watching might not be up to your standards. But for me this is the series I have enjoyed the most in a long while. I will for sure rewatch this many time, though I might skip the scenes I found less fun. I will never forget the journey I made with Bai Feng Hei Xi.

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I love it ᰔᰔᰔ

I loved the material arts in this drama.Lusi acting was amazing.I loved how strong she was in this drama.It has to be one of my favorite drama from luis.

The story was really amazing,I loved all the scenes.It had really great twist which i love in historical drama.If you love some twist in your drama I think you might like this.If you like badass Fl and Ml i think this drama is for you.

Reason why I like the drama

1- the characters they we’re everything to me.Lusi is one of my favorite actress and i really loved her in this drama.I loved her hidden identity,how she was a famous material art person at that time.I loved Yang character in this drama too it was actually pretty amazing.I loved his material arts.The fighting scenes with these two were really good.The way they were helping each other made me love it more.There was some side character who i hated and did not like in this drama.I don’t want to say who because that would spoil the drama.

2-the plot of this drama was so good.I did not expect the ending and one of the characters that i thought i might like in the beginning was the whole problem for this.It had some twist that i liked very much.I love twist in historical drama i think that’s what makes the drama more enjoyable.I don’t just think twist could make more a drama enjoyable it could really be about anything like the romance and many reason,but if there is a twist part of the drama that has to be one of my favorite things about historical dramas.

3-The costume of the drama were really good, even though the costumes were really not that much and they were basic but i thought that it is one of the reasons that describes the character of the drama.One of my favorites was when lusi wore that gray costume when she became a queen that has to be one of my favorite it look really good on her.For yang it was in the beginning of the drama it was a navy blue costume i really loved that costume on him.

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