Legend of the Phoenix (2019)

Why is this drama not more loved??

I never write reviews but I just finished this drama for the second time and I loved (almost) every minute of it and the bits I hated were because of intentionally hateable characters. Re-watching and remembering the character progressions to come just made it even better! The characters are all complex, nuanced, and interesting. Everyone has their true self hidden by the appearance they carefully aim for, except for our FL Ningzhi who has no mask. She is all sincerity, compassion, and kindness, but she ends up in a place full of façade, ruthlessness, and hunger for power - the royal palace. She's honestly stupidly selfless at times but it's her complete lack of hidden motives and devotion to helping people that makes her the titular phoenix.

I think part of the low reviews are because people expect more conventional romance plots. The ML, Wei Guang, feels much older than and more "above" Ningzhi when they first meet but they grow together to become true partners as equals. There isn't much "romance" after the first few story arcs. Their relationship is loyal, committed, and full of a deep understanding of each other. Due to Ningzhi's consort status they spend most of the drama in a platonic relationship and eventually become part of a group with 2 others who share their loyalty and beliefs, and can I just say - squad goals! I love all the main characters (except the emperor he can choke). All the "good guys" are running around trying to save the country and its people from the incompetent fool in charge, which is a little too real... The main 4's friendship may be my favourite part, especially Ningzhi and the Empress. They all bring out the best in each other and fight for what they believe in together.

The only big issue I had was with the pacing. Years fly by without much explanation and no one visibly ages so it's hard to tell how much time has passed. Maybe it's due to budget or episode cuts, but there is also a lot of big events like battles happening off screen but since our main characters are usually separated for some reason or another, it doesn't feel like exposition dumping when we are caught up on off screen shenanigans since everyone is always getting reports on what the others are up to.

Overall I just really enjoyed this drama. The characters grow or regress so naturally, and feel like real people, even the bad ones except for maybe some of the explicit villains who we don't learn much by way of motivation. but I think they are meant to act as a plot device for the real villain which is power for the sake of power and seeking a good reputation for the sake of your ego. The show focusses on the dangers and responsibility of power, and the importance of true compassion and devotion to the common good. It also sees loving someone as support for what that person values and wants to do. And it focuses on more than just romantic love in this sense. It's also just really engrossing to watch for the story, acting, and costumes, and there are lots of varied fight choreographies to enjoy as well. Ningzhi and the Empress have some seriously beautiful outfits and accessories!

This is definitely a unique take on romantic/harem/political intrigue/historical dramas. The relationship is definitely more of silent longing and yearning. Think Mr Darcy eyes, but without explicit confessions because the emperor has just gotta marry everyone...

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This drama started off so hilarous/funny. I loved the way Ningzhi played the typical damsel-in-love in the beginning chasing around Wei Guang. But as you can see from the comments/spoilers that things will get serious, and I thought I would hate this drama as it seemed to be going in the direction of Yanxi Palace, but nope. The plot twist at the end left me satisfied.

I love this cast, I think they were all cast well. The story flowed, and as mentioned I thought it was pretty good. There were a lot of plot twists and scenes that gave me anxiety. I haven't binged watch a drama like this in a while, where I was not skipping scenes.

Overall, I likeable drama.

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Great until not so great

The drama lost me completely when they added another unnecessary love story with two episodes that added no value to the plot. The second part of the drama was a complete waste of time, with the same villains unpunished and the same old baddies. The main female protagonist kept getting hurt by the male lead over and over again, and when a villain died, another one showed up. The old sage who initially hated her did so many nasty things to her, and we received no satisfaction from his death.

However, I will say that the actors were great and had fantastic chemistry, despite the significant age gap, which made total sense. I was hooked on the drama because the male lead was a man, not a boy. Hugo and I could have been older, though. Senior Mu, aka Demon Thian, was my favorite character alongside the male lead. The main female actress did a good job of playing the innocent, naive follower, but I much prefer sassy heroines. However, after a few dozen episodes, watching her bullied and emotionally hurt became too much for me, and they lost me again.

I enjoyed the first 15 episodes, but when she turned into a demon, they lost me again. I had to start skipping ahead from episode 30. The storyline could have been better, even though it was a low-budget series. The background, construction, and props were well done, but as usual, there were inconsistencies with the wounds, blood, and lack of budget to hire more people for crowded demon places. The hate at first sight was exaggerated.

The drama has a happy ending but not the kind I like. They reunited after 10 years and all they do is stare at each other, smiled and play both music. ML cried. She didn't. No hug. No kiss. Completely a miss from the director here.

To be honest, when I reread this review, I noticed that I only mentioned negative comments. But despite everything, the drama is still worthy of watching as it had many cute moments that made me teary-eyed.

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Uma Jornada Fantástica: O Brilho Técnico e a Busca Pela Conexão Emocional

"Legend of the Phoenix" é uma série verdadeiramente fantástica em muitos aspectos. Ela apresenta atuações excepcionais, uma direção impecável, um enredo bem elaborado e um figurino espetacular. Além disso, o roteiro é muito bem construído, oferecendo uma experiência de visualização de alta qualidade.

A série é praticamente impecável em termos técnicos, com cada detalhe cuidadosamente elaborado para cativar o público. A atuação do elenco é envolvente e convincente, dando vida aos personagens de forma notável. A direção habilidosa aprimora a narrativa, criando cenas cativantes e emocionantes.

O enredo é rico em intriga, drama e romance, mantendo o espectador ansioso por mais a cada episódio. Além disso, o figurino é deslumbrante e contribui para a ambientação histórica do drama.

No entanto, apesar de todos esses aspectos impressionantes, "Legend of the Phoenix" não conseguiu me cativar profundamente a ponto de ser minha favorita. Essa avaliação é inteiramente baseada em minhas próprias emoções e preferências pessoais. Enquanto reconheço a excelência técnica da série, sinto que falta algo que a conecte profundamente comigo, algo que vá além da perfeição técnica.

Embora "Legend of the Phoenix" esteja na categoria "Fantástica" por suas qualidades indiscutíveis, sinto que falta algo emocionalmente envolvente com a história em si. A conexão com os personagens é profunda, porém, para entrar nas minhas favoritas, procuro uma experiência que abrace intensamente tanto os personagens quanto a trama.

Portanto, recomendo totalmente "Legend of the Phoenix" para quem procura um drama de alta qualidade em termos técnicos, com ótima atuação, direção, enredo e figurino. É uma série que merece ser apreciada por sua excelência, mesmo que não tenha se tornado minha favorita pessoalmente.

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Je l'avais débuté lors de sa sortie avant de le délaisser aux alentours du 15ème épisode (sûrement avais-je trouvé l'herbe plus verte ailleurs à un moment donné) tout en me disant que je le reprendrais plus tard. On connaît tous la chanson. Plus tard devient des semaines, des mois et même des années. En me lançant dans « The Autumn Ballad », j'ai réalisé n'avoir jamais terminé Legend of the Phoenix. Motivée, manches retroussées, j'ai recommencé du début (j'aurai pu regarder les 15 premiers épisodes en avance rapide, mais je ne me rappelais plus de tous les connecteurs, c'était donc plus prudent de repartir du début). Dans l'idée, ce n'était pas plus mal, cela m'a seulement rappelé l'effort à fournir pour passer le cap des dix premiers épisodes. Parce qu'ils sont longs et peuvent s'avérer pénible le temps que tout se mette réellement en place.

Cependant, sans Xu Zheng Xi en tête d'affiche, je n'aurai pas autant persévéré - oui, il était un de mes principaux arguments pour continuer le visionnage. Les premiers épisodes sont chaotiques au point qu'on ne sait tout simplement pas quel portrait le réalisateur souhaite lui donner. Avec son regard de méchant complotiste, mêlé à son regard de braise, qui est-il ? Fort heureusement, une fois les premiers épisodes passés, on commence à comprendre le personnage. Je n'ai pas besoin de m'étaler sur l'acteur. Il avait éclipsé le duo principal dans Legend of Dugu et c'était un immense plaisir de le retrouver en personnage principal ici. Il tient son rôle jusqu'au bout.
En revanche, He Hong Shan donnera parfois (souvent) l'impression de manquer d'expérience aux côtés de Xu Zheng Xi. J'ignore si cela est à cause de son personnage ou de l'actrice elle-même (je n'ai pas le souvenir de l'avoir vu ailleurs et si c'est le cas, elle ne m'aura pas marqué). Son personnage est intelligent, mais souffre d'une très grande immaturité ce qui donne l'impression d'avoir un personnage écrit par deux personnes différentes. Les choses ne collent pas et elle peut sembler indigner de ses titres (consort etc.) à cause de cela.
Mention particulière à Cao Xi Wen qui était incroyable dans son rôle. Belle comme une impératrice (et oui) et franchement captivante à suivre. Idem pour Wayne Lai qui aura tenu bon jusqu'au bout.

Côté histoire, on reste sur les mêmes intrigues : des complots. Cependant, la politique prend une énorme place - si vous avez une aversion pour ça, vous n'aimerez sûrement pas. C'était assez entraînant bien que de temps en temps on pique du nez (mais j'imagine qu'enchaîner les épisodes n'est pas non plus la meilleure chose à faire). Autrement, l'histoire est simple et se révèle bien amenée et tournée.

Pour parler rapidement de la romance et de la fin. La romance est torturée, mais sans raison. On fait souffrir les personnages dans l'unique but de leur en faire baver. Par contre, on ne pourra qu'admirer la fidélité des personnages. Leur amour était puissant et malgré les barrières, ils n'ont jamais cessé de s'aimer. Encore une fois, le seul reproche est qu'il n'y avait pas vraiment de but concret en les faisant souffrir. Quant à la fin. Elle est satisfaisante dans ses grandes lignes, mais extrêmement décevante sur la façon dont elle est amenée et montrée. Les choses arrivent juste comme ça et... Point final. J'ai eu l'impression de me faire avoir par le scénariste sur ce point, mais bon. D'une certaine façon, cela fini mieux que d'autres drames ou c'est portes ouvertes à volonté.

Sur des drames de 25 épisodes, cela ne me gêne pas de donner autant de temps. En revanche, une fois le cap des 25 passé, c'est plus compliqué - surtout si la diffusion est terminée. Bien que le drame rencontre pas mal de défauts en cours de route, j'ai aimé mon moment et je me suis rappelé que Xu Zheng Xi est brillant dans les drames historiques.

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wasted lead

Story/Directing: The most disappointing factor of this drama is the very weak script writing and keeping the entertainment. There are way too many bugs and loop holes, which couldn't be explained and even making a hardcore historical drama fan unable to hold it anymore.

Cast: To me the cast was average even though I knew that the male lead had so much potential. Jeremy Xu shined so much during the Legend of Dugu, here you can see that you should rather play in a good production as a side character than the male in a under average one imo. The other cast were doing their job, but I couldn't feel the captivation.

Overall: Got some potential with the male lead, but it was pretty much an underaverage drama with annoying script writing to me.

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So-so, but was hoping for better!

When it comes to Chinese historical/period dramas I like to give my review 10 episodes at a time, because they tend to be 40+ episodes long, and I don't want to forget my thoughts about the drama when I finally reach to the last episode.

Review for episodes 1-10
•This drama had little to no character development in the first episode, and it didn't captivate me because the pacing was way too fast. When I watch historical/period dramas, if there's romance, I like for it to be realistic, and to also have a good ongoing development between both characters. I didn't know until almost episode 3 that in episode 1, the female lead character "fell in love at first sight," it was not obvious to me, it came off as bad writing/script.
•Originally, I did not like the dubbed voice for the female character in this drama, although it's the same dubbed voice that I've heard in a lot of other dramas. I think it could have something to do with the body movement of the female lead actress. IDK.
•I like the storyline, but thus far the execution is a bit sloppy and rushed.
•In episode 2 at the 30:00-33:00 minute mark the leads joke about rape. I'm not sure if I will continue after this episode.
•Towards the end of episode 2 I start to like the female lead character. If you reason that she's probably 15 years old, and not a modern day 15 year old but a 15 year old living during ancient times (w/o technology and social media), then you would understand her behavior. Additionally, there's an intentional playfulness/humor in this drama that eventually I caught onto, but I wish they made it more obvious because at first I just thought it was bad acting. For example episode 2 at the 40-43 minute mark. I nearly spit the oatmeal that I was eating, out of my mouth due to laughing so much LOL.

I DECIDED TO DROP THIS WHILE WATCHING EPISODE 7

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Another one bites the dust

What is it with Chinese dramas and female leads who can’t think their way out of a paper bag. Like, who on earth would fall for an airhead, immature heroine who isn’t even that pretty? As much as I detest the viciousness of some Korean palace dramas at least they give me us beautiful female leads, striking male leads, and a tightly paced story. All that to say there are way too many issues with this drama that I must have rolled my eyes a hundred times.

Additionally, the ML and FL had no chemistry and I couldn't understand what made the FL fall in love with the hero at first sight. I mean, their interactions were painful to watch.

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