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This review may contain spoilers
Finally A General that actually General-ed!!!
Tbh,even though I have become a fan of Hou Minghao, this drama caught me like a pendulum... Should I watch it or should I not? Cause I was actually bothered by all the age gap controversy. Everytime I tried to imagine Aimi and Minghao together, I just couldn’t imagine them as a couple and their irl meimei-gege dynamics wasn’t helping either.
What actually pushed me to give this drama a try was Minghao and his excitement about his role as Xiao Wuyi. He worked really hard for this one. As his first role a a general,the fact that all stunts done beautifully by himself,the plot and everything....i just decided to put my doubt aside and started to watch it. And my oh my, I am so surprised to say the least. It was so good,I just couldn’t stop watching.
The plot had some cliches. A fearsome General,a love triangle,some villains, palace politics, amnesia etc. But what made me hooked was the way they executed everything. Given it had only 28 epis,so there was no scope for dragging. So there were twists after twists,plots were unfloding pretty quickly. And surprisingly, they actually summed up pretty much everything within that 28 episodes,not leaving much scope to become bored.
Now if I come to the acting.... Hou Minghao deserves his crown. What a portrayal of a great hero Xiao Wuyi,known as Demon General, who is ruthless,cunning,always one step ahead of his enemy. His country,his fellow warriors and their safety are always his priority as a war general. For them,he was even ready to rebel against the corrupted imperial system.And then comes another part of his character, the lover Xiao wuyi. This Wuyi is not someone very expressive,he believes in action than words. His love for Xie Jiayu started as a protector....later transformed into mutual respect and then love.But it was never dominating over her. She was always his priority, but in a subtle, protective way. Xiao Wuyi was a great character...who knows what to do and what matters the most. His presence was extremely commanding,intimidating yet so assuring for someone who needs him the most.
Xie Jiayu was his great counterpart. Being only a teenager,her early childish antics were bothering me a lot,ngl. But as the plot progressed and she understood the seriousness in her surroundings and shaped her accordingly,was good to watch. As Aimi was a minor,of course there wasn’t any kissing or intense romance. But the subtle romatic scenes,only by hugging or holding hands was enough to show the strong bond,partnership and understanding between these two. And Aimi understood her assignment and delivered like a pro.
My main headache was Li Mao-Li Lejun siblings duo. Even though they were introduced as some hopeless, sympathieser siblings... Their later antics put them in a very grey zone. Li Mao was so confusing, he was like couldn’t decide whether to be good or bad. He was Xiao Wuyis bestie who even put his life in danger by pledging for him in front of Empress Dowager... But later in every scene,I couldn’t decide whether to trust him or not. Lejun was the most frustrating one. Even though the motivation behind her action was to keep her brother safeby any means....Don't know if she deserves the sympathy. But I was looking forward to her lovestory with the Eagle King,which ended up in a tragic way.
One of things I loved the most was the atmosphere of Prince Jingans house. Every lady was well respected,have their own motivation and life goals. Yuanzhi,Ruisheng,Jiayu all always respected each others,helped each other. All ladies in this drama are well suited and given proper storyline,not just a prop.
Ost's were all good. Pacing was good. Wardrobes were stunning.The palace politics was intriguing enough.And it was really good to see a General with actual action in war,bloodsoaked,ruthless,violent when necessary.
This one was a pleasure to watch. If it had enough budget (and maybe with a proper fml to avoid controversy), this could be on the same level a pursuit of jade.
What actually pushed me to give this drama a try was Minghao and his excitement about his role as Xiao Wuyi. He worked really hard for this one. As his first role a a general,the fact that all stunts done beautifully by himself,the plot and everything....i just decided to put my doubt aside and started to watch it. And my oh my, I am so surprised to say the least. It was so good,I just couldn’t stop watching.
The plot had some cliches. A fearsome General,a love triangle,some villains, palace politics, amnesia etc. But what made me hooked was the way they executed everything. Given it had only 28 epis,so there was no scope for dragging. So there were twists after twists,plots were unfloding pretty quickly. And surprisingly, they actually summed up pretty much everything within that 28 episodes,not leaving much scope to become bored.
Now if I come to the acting.... Hou Minghao deserves his crown. What a portrayal of a great hero Xiao Wuyi,known as Demon General, who is ruthless,cunning,always one step ahead of his enemy. His country,his fellow warriors and their safety are always his priority as a war general. For them,he was even ready to rebel against the corrupted imperial system.And then comes another part of his character, the lover Xiao wuyi. This Wuyi is not someone very expressive,he believes in action than words. His love for Xie Jiayu started as a protector....later transformed into mutual respect and then love.But it was never dominating over her. She was always his priority, but in a subtle, protective way. Xiao Wuyi was a great character...who knows what to do and what matters the most. His presence was extremely commanding,intimidating yet so assuring for someone who needs him the most.
Xie Jiayu was his great counterpart. Being only a teenager,her early childish antics were bothering me a lot,ngl. But as the plot progressed and she understood the seriousness in her surroundings and shaped her accordingly,was good to watch. As Aimi was a minor,of course there wasn’t any kissing or intense romance. But the subtle romatic scenes,only by hugging or holding hands was enough to show the strong bond,partnership and understanding between these two. And Aimi understood her assignment and delivered like a pro.
My main headache was Li Mao-Li Lejun siblings duo. Even though they were introduced as some hopeless, sympathieser siblings... Their later antics put them in a very grey zone. Li Mao was so confusing, he was like couldn’t decide whether to be good or bad. He was Xiao Wuyis bestie who even put his life in danger by pledging for him in front of Empress Dowager... But later in every scene,I couldn’t decide whether to trust him or not. Lejun was the most frustrating one. Even though the motivation behind her action was to keep her brother safeby any means....Don't know if she deserves the sympathy. But I was looking forward to her lovestory with the Eagle King,which ended up in a tragic way.
One of things I loved the most was the atmosphere of Prince Jingans house. Every lady was well respected,have their own motivation and life goals. Yuanzhi,Ruisheng,Jiayu all always respected each others,helped each other. All ladies in this drama are well suited and given proper storyline,not just a prop.
Ost's were all good. Pacing was good. Wardrobes were stunning.The palace politics was intriguing enough.And it was really good to see a General with actual action in war,bloodsoaked,ruthless,violent when necessary.
This one was a pleasure to watch. If it had enough budget (and maybe with a proper fml to avoid controversy), this could be on the same level a pursuit of jade.
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