4
KingC
"Not all those who wander are lost."
I have to warn, despite my rating, I've also covered the parts that I didn't find appealing and gave the reason for my score in detail.
It is no surprise that everybody expected Word of Honor to flop, particularly when it was a Youku production. 2018's Guardian was Priest's first censored adaptation under them that drew in a huge crowd of fans and rocketed the actors to fame, but made major changes and failed to capture the beauty of the novel. However, it gave other cleverer Video Platforms like Tencent the strength to go for more popular adaptations, starting the domino effect, particularly after The Untamed's (2019) success. After Legend of Fei, fans gave up all hope, coming to the conclusion that Priest would never get a decent adaptation. Word of Honor is the first drama I've completed, based on a Priest Novel, Tian Ya Ke (Faraway Wanderers). This jumble of thoughts is coming from a person who began reading the novel while waiting for new episodes.
A short introduction common for both the book and drama:
"The founder of a deadly assasin organization takes extreme measures to leave his past life behind, choosing death as a form of his redemption. He spends his days disguised as a beggar, wandering and drinking his last days away to glory. However, fate has more in store for him and he soon finds himself tasked with protecting the last remaining survivor of a prominent sect who was involved in a conspiracy regarding a famed armory that lead to the death of many. Much to his displeasure, he is closely followed by a suspicious man and his maid, who may not be whom he claims to be."
+++ No good actor can save a drama if it has a bad script. And the Script is one of the strongest fields in Word of Honor. The scriptwriter Xiao Chu, who is a fan of Priest did an excellent job, bringing the characters and story to life. Her love and respect for the source material can be seen during several instances in the story. Many events have been jumbled up for TV, but any reader will be quickly able to recognize several scenes scattered all over. The changes for the drama almost make the novel lacklustre in comparison. Expanding on various sects, their backstories and Zhou Zi Shu's past, we are led on a thrilling edge of your seat storyline that left me craving the next episodes. (Episode one in particular will always remain one of my favorites. Unlike the book, it showed the human side of Zhou Zi Shu in detail.)
The basic plot is the same as in most of the wuxia dramas. What makes the story excellent for me is the perfect balance between the episodes, the interesting storyline with multiple characters, each with their own motives. No episode focused 100% on the leads and it was a pleasant surprise. It increased the anticipation each week and the thrill I experienced can't be put into words. I rewatched all the episodes while waiting for the others. Its clearly visible that even with the limit of 36 episodes, and a meagre budget, the production team toiled to portray what they loved in the best way possible, something that can put big budget IP dramas to shame. I could ask for no more from them for that.
Every character has a task or a promise to keep. This is the very thing that moves the plot forward. May it be Wen Ke Xing's facade hiding his true plan or Zhou Zi Shu's word of honor. Even Gu Xiang, who starts out as a servant who experiences life outside the Ghost Valley for the first time, begins to voice her own thoughts, opinions and feels for others. Cheng Ling, poor boy, ends up hanging onto Zi Shu and Lao Wen, the only people he could trust. Their tragic pasts, brotherhood and regrets are slowly revealed as the episodes move by, keeping us glued to the screen with baited breaths.
+++ The Cast, both young and old, played their roles really well. Both Zhang Zhe Han and Gong Jun were popular for their works, but definitely not huge traffic makers that can bring in enough hype. I was familiar with Gong Jun's works previously. It was nice seeing him do a different, more animated role for a change, one that could actually showcase his range. From switching from funny mode to murder within seconds, going all out psycho, he did not disappoint. The flirty Wen Ke Xing may be asking a simple question to Ah-Xu, but we can clearly see that he is being very subtle about it. He shamelessly follows him around, but never forgets his hatred and anger.
"Three days later, I will come to get my goods... or burn your shop."
(Wen Ke Xing, EP6)
His moments of vulnerability, acceptance of his doomed path and some of the plans he concocted made him a very anti-hero character. Especially in the first half of the drama, where we get to see past his innocent mask.
"I wanted to wander the world till I die. But, it seems like God has other plans for my destiny."
(Zhou Zi Shu - EP11)
The title of my review is from a poem about Aragorn written by Gandalf from Lord of the Rings. In a twisted way, Zhou Zi Shu is a wanderer, but he has never forgotten who he was. While still in disguise, he was described as someone who travels a long way to keep his promises - a Ranger. (By both Cheng Ling and Lao Wen.)
(Many beautiful quotes from LOTR can be used to describe several feelings in WOH.)
It was my first time seeing Zhang Zhe Han in a full on main character role as I had only seen clips before and in Nirvana in Fire. He completely blew my mind in WoH.
Starting from his painful past in the first episode, getting disguised as a pathetic beggar (a hilarious transformation that you shouldn't miss) to putting up with Wen Ke Xing's flirting and finally accepting his fate, he portrayed the emotions with such depth that we audience can't help but sympathize and fall for the lost man who had been shattered by life's harsh experiences. I've seen several comments poking at his acting skills right from the start. But, I'll defend him at all costs for this role. Zhou Zi Shu in the book is 80% of the time just moving along with the flow, easily irritated with Cheng Ling, and doesn't respond much to emotions. Had they got any other inexperienced actor for this role, it would have been a total disaster. It's sad to see that no one notices the slight emotions skittering across his face. His improvisations on set and the love he gave to Zhou Zi Shu can be easily seen in the way he brought him to life.
I'd seen Zhou Ye in Better Days, and though it appears as if she is annoying, the character Gu Xiang is very impulsive, and I personally think she did a good job. Another surprise was Xie Wang played by Li Daikun.
Ye Bai Yi was one unsuspecting character whom I absolutely adore. His constant bickering and general disdain for the ongoings on the jianghu and his love for food all hide his true nature and regret. I wished that he had more screen time. And his scenes and voice over in the last few episodes were really emotional.
+++ Bear with me if you are reading this cause I suck at descriptions of feelings.
Right from the end of the first episode, sparks begin to fly and the drama was subtle in its portrayal, using poetry and idioms from various forms of Chinese literature to convey the emotions. This in turn, had me and fellow viewers scrambling for hours through tumblr for translations and meanings that give the story a new depth. I badly wished that I'd learnt Mandarin cause there were several lines that no translation could do justice. A particular phrase in EP17 had such depth that no English subtitle can capture its hidden beauty. We see their relationships grow from skirting around each other to final acceptance. And with this comes the hint of fear that they are not good enough for the ones they cherish. The inner struggles that the characters undergo, the mature way they deal with their troubles and the lengths they go to protect them would make anyone root for their happiness. While Lao Wen and Cao Wei Ning are almost blatantly open about their feelings, both Gu Xiang and Ah' Xu struggle with their internal dilemmas. One pair, a stark contrast from the other, pure and innocent whereas the other sought redemption through each other.
The brotherhood between Shen Shen, Gao Chong and his disciples; the relationship between Cheng Ling and Ah' Xu + Gu Xiang and Lao Wen were heartwarming. Even the little known Qian Qiao story arc was something I found really interesting. It showed several sides of the characters and gave the story a realistic vibe.
++The fight scenes had a mixed effect for me - they were either way too fast or too slow. (They were thrilling and beautiful to watch though.) But, I was glad that they used slow motion for certain scenes otherwise the beauty of the movements would've been lost, particularly for Zhou Zi Shu.
++ The OST: I admit, the opening song didn't catch my attention at first. But, now I have it on repeat in my head. Even some of the BGMs were just so "fitting", particularly the one that played during Zhou Zi Shu's first fight in Mirror Lake Sect in EP2. They have a strangely haunting feeling.
+++ The villain... was a weakling from start to finish. And he strangely had a strong sleazeball effect that I had not felt with many others before. I just hated him. That was a down point for me. Even the other evil fellow had redeeming points. I couldn't hate him till the very end. I pitied him.
This review is already long enough, so I'll head straight for the points that make me wish that I'd never started this drama in the first place. *MILD SPOILERS*
+++ The script, which was going really, really well takes a sharp turn down a rocky road, particularly after EP30. It is known that the budget constraints had reduced the number of EPs to 36, but the way it was handled was unbelievable. Changes were made from the novel, but the transition from one scene to another made very little to no sense at all, unless we come up with theories ourselves. The obvious plothole sort of ruined the watching experience for me. I can now see that several things that happened in EP32-33 were a set up for the ultimate finale, but I really wished they'd taken a more simpler, meaningful path. It made several characters who claimed to be intelligent look stupid. Seeing Zhou Zi Shu during those episodes was like twisting a knife through your heart and that's something I will never forgive this drama for. It's been more than a week since I completed it and I still can't forget those moments. But, EP35 and EP36 saved the drama, even though it felt a bit too rushed.
+++++ I can see why it has an 8.6 rating in Douban. The "wuxia" aspect is pretty serious and strong in this one. Several of the recent releases have all come closer to the "candy wuxia" category, from my observation.
There are several backstories and characters to keep up with, which some people might find annoying. I needed three rewatches to remember everyone. But, all three were absolutely worth it.
+++ The finale, I admit, was heart crushing. Anyone who thought they should film it or write it were pure evil. The concert was like a balm to my soul and so was the epilogue, but I find that several foreshadowings in EP36 give the ending epilogue a real meaning. I couldn't be happier.
----------
I debated several times how to rate Word of Honor, considering all ranges from 7.5 to 10. Cruel, but in a website such as this, where personal enjoyment and hype elevates the scores of several dramas, it is fair.
With that being said, why did I give this drama such a rating, when it obviously had faults? Because in the end I couldn't. Judging by the amount of absolutely bland stuff I've watched/forced myself through to the end/dropped/ended up forgetting, this is by far one of the best dramas I've ever seen. It was my best friend for three months straight. I put every single drama I was watching on hold for it, keeping all my bets on the scriptwriter's promise to keep going till the end despite the absolutely slow subtitles. I felt like I was going through a winner's curse while watching the last few episodes. I rooted for the characters' happiness. When they were hurt, I felt the same. I was enraged with the plot in the finale. But, that shows how deeply it had impressed me and that's solely because the people behind this adaptation knew how to capture viewers and knew what exactly to do with what they had in their hands. This drama has an unexpectedly huge number of characters and scenes with them that would require more time and budget, so its understandable that its not perfect. (It got released really quickly: five months after shooting had completed.)
Even with the last bit of staggering plot in the end, it spun arpund my feelings like a washing machine. And it was 100% worth it. Zhou Zi Shu is right up there with Aragorn as a favorite character of mine. (Wen Ke Xing would come along anyway - they are a pair of wings.)
If Zhang Zhe Han worries that people might forget Zhou Zi Shu or Wen Ke Xing, it is unnecessary.
There are plenty of us who still needs to be forcefully pushed off the mountain or those who still keep peeking or visiting. Pretty sure that Lao Wen would eventually kick us off one day.
It is no surprise that everybody expected Word of Honor to flop, particularly when it was a Youku production. 2018's Guardian was Priest's first censored adaptation under them that drew in a huge crowd of fans and rocketed the actors to fame, but made major changes and failed to capture the beauty of the novel. However, it gave other cleverer Video Platforms like Tencent the strength to go for more popular adaptations, starting the domino effect, particularly after The Untamed's (2019) success. After Legend of Fei, fans gave up all hope, coming to the conclusion that Priest would never get a decent adaptation. Word of Honor is the first drama I've completed, based on a Priest Novel, Tian Ya Ke (Faraway Wanderers). This jumble of thoughts is coming from a person who began reading the novel while waiting for new episodes.
A short introduction common for both the book and drama:
"The founder of a deadly assasin organization takes extreme measures to leave his past life behind, choosing death as a form of his redemption. He spends his days disguised as a beggar, wandering and drinking his last days away to glory. However, fate has more in store for him and he soon finds himself tasked with protecting the last remaining survivor of a prominent sect who was involved in a conspiracy regarding a famed armory that lead to the death of many. Much to his displeasure, he is closely followed by a suspicious man and his maid, who may not be whom he claims to be."
+++ No good actor can save a drama if it has a bad script. And the Script is one of the strongest fields in Word of Honor. The scriptwriter Xiao Chu, who is a fan of Priest did an excellent job, bringing the characters and story to life. Her love and respect for the source material can be seen during several instances in the story. Many events have been jumbled up for TV, but any reader will be quickly able to recognize several scenes scattered all over. The changes for the drama almost make the novel lacklustre in comparison. Expanding on various sects, their backstories and Zhou Zi Shu's past, we are led on a thrilling edge of your seat storyline that left me craving the next episodes. (Episode one in particular will always remain one of my favorites. Unlike the book, it showed the human side of Zhou Zi Shu in detail.)
The basic plot is the same as in most of the wuxia dramas. What makes the story excellent for me is the perfect balance between the episodes, the interesting storyline with multiple characters, each with their own motives. No episode focused 100% on the leads and it was a pleasant surprise. It increased the anticipation each week and the thrill I experienced can't be put into words. I rewatched all the episodes while waiting for the others. Its clearly visible that even with the limit of 36 episodes, and a meagre budget, the production team toiled to portray what they loved in the best way possible, something that can put big budget IP dramas to shame. I could ask for no more from them for that.
Every character has a task or a promise to keep. This is the very thing that moves the plot forward. May it be Wen Ke Xing's facade hiding his true plan or Zhou Zi Shu's word of honor. Even Gu Xiang, who starts out as a servant who experiences life outside the Ghost Valley for the first time, begins to voice her own thoughts, opinions and feels for others. Cheng Ling, poor boy, ends up hanging onto Zi Shu and Lao Wen, the only people he could trust. Their tragic pasts, brotherhood and regrets are slowly revealed as the episodes move by, keeping us glued to the screen with baited breaths.
+++ The Cast, both young and old, played their roles really well. Both Zhang Zhe Han and Gong Jun were popular for their works, but definitely not huge traffic makers that can bring in enough hype. I was familiar with Gong Jun's works previously. It was nice seeing him do a different, more animated role for a change, one that could actually showcase his range. From switching from funny mode to murder within seconds, going all out psycho, he did not disappoint. The flirty Wen Ke Xing may be asking a simple question to Ah-Xu, but we can clearly see that he is being very subtle about it. He shamelessly follows him around, but never forgets his hatred and anger.
"Three days later, I will come to get my goods... or burn your shop."
(Wen Ke Xing, EP6)
His moments of vulnerability, acceptance of his doomed path and some of the plans he concocted made him a very anti-hero character. Especially in the first half of the drama, where we get to see past his innocent mask.
"I wanted to wander the world till I die. But, it seems like God has other plans for my destiny."
(Zhou Zi Shu - EP11)
The title of my review is from a poem about Aragorn written by Gandalf from Lord of the Rings. In a twisted way, Zhou Zi Shu is a wanderer, but he has never forgotten who he was. While still in disguise, he was described as someone who travels a long way to keep his promises - a Ranger. (By both Cheng Ling and Lao Wen.)
(Many beautiful quotes from LOTR can be used to describe several feelings in WOH.)
It was my first time seeing Zhang Zhe Han in a full on main character role as I had only seen clips before and in Nirvana in Fire. He completely blew my mind in WoH.
Starting from his painful past in the first episode, getting disguised as a pathetic beggar (a hilarious transformation that you shouldn't miss) to putting up with Wen Ke Xing's flirting and finally accepting his fate, he portrayed the emotions with such depth that we audience can't help but sympathize and fall for the lost man who had been shattered by life's harsh experiences. I've seen several comments poking at his acting skills right from the start. But, I'll defend him at all costs for this role. Zhou Zi Shu in the book is 80% of the time just moving along with the flow, easily irritated with Cheng Ling, and doesn't respond much to emotions. Had they got any other inexperienced actor for this role, it would have been a total disaster. It's sad to see that no one notices the slight emotions skittering across his face. His improvisations on set and the love he gave to Zhou Zi Shu can be easily seen in the way he brought him to life.
I'd seen Zhou Ye in Better Days, and though it appears as if she is annoying, the character Gu Xiang is very impulsive, and I personally think she did a good job. Another surprise was Xie Wang played by Li Daikun.
Ye Bai Yi was one unsuspecting character whom I absolutely adore. His constant bickering and general disdain for the ongoings on the jianghu and his love for food all hide his true nature and regret. I wished that he had more screen time. And his scenes and voice over in the last few episodes were really emotional.
+++ Bear with me if you are reading this cause I suck at descriptions of feelings.
Right from the end of the first episode, sparks begin to fly and the drama was subtle in its portrayal, using poetry and idioms from various forms of Chinese literature to convey the emotions. This in turn, had me and fellow viewers scrambling for hours through tumblr for translations and meanings that give the story a new depth. I badly wished that I'd learnt Mandarin cause there were several lines that no translation could do justice. A particular phrase in EP17 had such depth that no English subtitle can capture its hidden beauty. We see their relationships grow from skirting around each other to final acceptance. And with this comes the hint of fear that they are not good enough for the ones they cherish. The inner struggles that the characters undergo, the mature way they deal with their troubles and the lengths they go to protect them would make anyone root for their happiness. While Lao Wen and Cao Wei Ning are almost blatantly open about their feelings, both Gu Xiang and Ah' Xu struggle with their internal dilemmas. One pair, a stark contrast from the other, pure and innocent whereas the other sought redemption through each other.
The brotherhood between Shen Shen, Gao Chong and his disciples; the relationship between Cheng Ling and Ah' Xu + Gu Xiang and Lao Wen were heartwarming. Even the little known Qian Qiao story arc was something I found really interesting. It showed several sides of the characters and gave the story a realistic vibe.
++The fight scenes had a mixed effect for me - they were either way too fast or too slow. (They were thrilling and beautiful to watch though.) But, I was glad that they used slow motion for certain scenes otherwise the beauty of the movements would've been lost, particularly for Zhou Zi Shu.
++ The OST: I admit, the opening song didn't catch my attention at first. But, now I have it on repeat in my head. Even some of the BGMs were just so "fitting", particularly the one that played during Zhou Zi Shu's first fight in Mirror Lake Sect in EP2. They have a strangely haunting feeling.
+++ The villain... was a weakling from start to finish. And he strangely had a strong sleazeball effect that I had not felt with many others before. I just hated him. That was a down point for me. Even the other evil fellow had redeeming points. I couldn't hate him till the very end. I pitied him.
This review is already long enough, so I'll head straight for the points that make me wish that I'd never started this drama in the first place. *MILD SPOILERS*
+++ The script, which was going really, really well takes a sharp turn down a rocky road, particularly after EP30. It is known that the budget constraints had reduced the number of EPs to 36, but the way it was handled was unbelievable. Changes were made from the novel, but the transition from one scene to another made very little to no sense at all, unless we come up with theories ourselves. The obvious plothole sort of ruined the watching experience for me. I can now see that several things that happened in EP32-33 were a set up for the ultimate finale, but I really wished they'd taken a more simpler, meaningful path. It made several characters who claimed to be intelligent look stupid. Seeing Zhou Zi Shu during those episodes was like twisting a knife through your heart and that's something I will never forgive this drama for. It's been more than a week since I completed it and I still can't forget those moments. But, EP35 and EP36 saved the drama, even though it felt a bit too rushed.
+++++ I can see why it has an 8.6 rating in Douban. The "wuxia" aspect is pretty serious and strong in this one. Several of the recent releases have all come closer to the "candy wuxia" category, from my observation.
There are several backstories and characters to keep up with, which some people might find annoying. I needed three rewatches to remember everyone. But, all three were absolutely worth it.
+++ The finale, I admit, was heart crushing. Anyone who thought they should film it or write it were pure evil. The concert was like a balm to my soul and so was the epilogue, but I find that several foreshadowings in EP36 give the ending epilogue a real meaning. I couldn't be happier.
----------
I debated several times how to rate Word of Honor, considering all ranges from 7.5 to 10. Cruel, but in a website such as this, where personal enjoyment and hype elevates the scores of several dramas, it is fair.
With that being said, why did I give this drama such a rating, when it obviously had faults? Because in the end I couldn't. Judging by the amount of absolutely bland stuff I've watched/forced myself through to the end/dropped/ended up forgetting, this is by far one of the best dramas I've ever seen. It was my best friend for three months straight. I put every single drama I was watching on hold for it, keeping all my bets on the scriptwriter's promise to keep going till the end despite the absolutely slow subtitles. I felt like I was going through a winner's curse while watching the last few episodes. I rooted for the characters' happiness. When they were hurt, I felt the same. I was enraged with the plot in the finale. But, that shows how deeply it had impressed me and that's solely because the people behind this adaptation knew how to capture viewers and knew what exactly to do with what they had in their hands. This drama has an unexpectedly huge number of characters and scenes with them that would require more time and budget, so its understandable that its not perfect. (It got released really quickly: five months after shooting had completed.)
Even with the last bit of staggering plot in the end, it spun arpund my feelings like a washing machine. And it was 100% worth it. Zhou Zi Shu is right up there with Aragorn as a favorite character of mine. (Wen Ke Xing would come along anyway - they are a pair of wings.)
If Zhang Zhe Han worries that people might forget Zhou Zi Shu or Wen Ke Xing, it is unnecessary.
There are plenty of us who still needs to be forcefully pushed off the mountain or those who still keep peeking or visiting. Pretty sure that Lao Wen would eventually kick us off one day.
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