Le Loup (2020)

Who is the real monster?

This is a beautiful and tragic love story between a boy, who was raised by wolves then had to live as a weapon of war after being abused and manipulated by cruel people, and a girl with a kind heart ( whose fate was also twisted by the same people). The main question of this drama is simple and clear as shown in the last episode: who is the real monster?

To understand the plot, you have to imagine a wolf-boy who never properly learned about what it is like to be a human, as he tries to find his own way to love the only girl who believed in him.

I am not a big fan of C-drama. But this was a pleasant surprise. To all fantasy lovers, strongly recommended.

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roller coaster of emotions

I had very mixed feelings about this drama. The plotline centres wolf boy (darren) and his romance with (Li Qin ) i expected there to be some background knowledge told on his background how he got that way etc? the drama gives nothing about his background except one comment of him being left in the forest cause both his parents died? main guys arc was very questionable because they tried to push the he is still nice wolfie but he was so cold even the aura he gave off was completely different. the plot had a lot of potential but really didn’t fulfill what I thought it would and the main guy acted like he had a mood disorder. The scenes where he was tryna make her lose her love for him were very awkward and so toxic. When they first met and starting liking each other it was actually pretty good and their chemistry was great! but as we progressed .. I’ve seen many people comment that it’s cause he’s a complex character which is true but the way they laid down the plot did not address it whatsoever so it feels like a waste :/ Main girl was kinda annoying and really didn’t have much character arc (as for most characters in the show). However, I still did grow a fondness towards this show because the good scenes were still so good i wish it followed a differnt direction (especially with male leads treatment of female lead to make her leave which was unnecessarily crude) but overall it was a well done show and could’ve been way better had they followed a better direction but the story was wrapped up very well and was still really saddening :( could’ve been a 10/10 show if it were executed properly but it still was pretty good. The ost was so goood like every song fit very well. Not sure if i’d recommend someone to watch this but it’s definitely something you’ll remember if you do decide on watching lmao.

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An inevitable tragedy

OST:
I LOVED the OST of this drama so much. One of the few dramas with an OST that makes me feel like crying. The music always came up at the perfect time and you know exactly what kind of scene will be coming just by the music. All the characters had their own distinct music. The theme song was the OST for Wolfie and Xing'er. Ji Chong had his own one that came up whenever he was his 'bad boy' self.

Acting:
Darren Wang:
Darren did a truly amazing job portraying Lord Bo and Wolfie. They both had very distinct characteristics and you could actually see when one becomes the other through Darren's expressions alone. He has this adorable smile and puppy dog eyes when he's Wolfie, and a cruel smirk with a cold expression when he's Lord Bo. I loved Wolfie and grew to dislike Lord Bo. They were both one in the same as Wolfie was always in the heart of Lord Bo, but towards the end, he finally became his true self as Wolfie again.
Li Xing:
Li Xing also did a really good job portraying her character, especially in emotional scenes. When her charecter finds out the truth of all the deception she lived in, she expressed her heartbreak so well.
Sean Xiao:
He did a really good job portraying his character who started off as a vagabond bounty hunter and ended up being a Prince. I was really surprised by the turn of his character.

All the actors had amazing chemistry with each other. Whether it be the main leads with each other or the second leads with the main leads. You can see the love between the main characters as well as the love the second leads had for the main characters.
Everyone did such an amazing job portraying their characters.

Princess Ma/ Xing'er:
Ma Zhai Xing lived in the past for half this drama. She loved Wolfie and was full of guilt for his "death", though I don't think she believed he was dead. She fell in love with Lord Bo because she saw the Wolfie in him and would have done anything for him, she both bet her life in him and risked her life to save him. I can't dislike her for growing to hate him because he was the one who forced her to hate him. But when she loved him, she gave him her all and you really see that at the end.

Lord Bo/ Wolfie:
Lord Bo didn't put Princesses Ma first, even if he did love her. He was always willing to betray her for the King and his dead brother. It was only after he found out the truth of his brothers death that he truly put Princess Ma first and at this point it was too late. It was so painful watching him hurt her to save and protect her, but at the end it was his fault that they were both in pain. He could have done everything in a different way that was beneficial to both him and Princess Ma. He was always sacrificing himself for those he loved, even if it did annoy me how he went about it, he out of all the characters deserved a happy ending.

Ji Chong/ Prince of Jin:
Ji Chong was one of my favourite characters from beginning to end. He truly loved Princess Ma and had a great bond with Lord Bo. I also loved his relationship with his father.
I LOVED the friendship between Princess Ma and Ji Chong and they seemed like they'd make a good romantic pair. But, Princess Ma really annoyed me when it came to Ji Chong's feeling for her. For a persons who experienced an epic love (even if she grew to hate their ex lover), how could she downplay Ji Chong's genuine love for her. I wanted her to at least try considering that they were really good friends and he was clearly dear to her considering the fact that she took an arrow for him. Their relationship went downhill when it was suppose to get romantic.

Yao Ji:
She is the villain everyone loves. She was never actually a bad person and at the end she became one of my favourites. You don't really know where she stands throughout this drama until the end. But she always stood by Lord Bo and really loved him the way Ji Chong loved Princess Ma. She just wanted the best for Lord Bo and for Lord Bo to live, she didn't care what he thought of her, or that he saw her as an enemy at first, similar to how Lord Bo loved Princess Ma. Her unrequited and silent love for him was so sweet and genuine. I also loved her hillarious assistant who was always there for her as well as he very late friendship with Princess Ma.

Bao Na:
At first I didn't like her. Thought she'd be a spoilt, bratty princess that had to get her way, which she was at first. But then I immediately fell in love with her. The more I saw her character, the more I loved her. She really did a 180 where Lord Bo and Primcess Ma was concerned.

Pacing of the drama:
I really loved the pace of this drama and how all the characters were introduced. I love how Ji Chong came in after 11 episodes and how Yao Ji cam in after 20. The turning point developed around halfway through the drama and by episode 30 all the characters completely changed.
Towards the end after around 40 episodes the drama got a bit annoying and boring and I had to skim through the episodes but I cried through episode 49 and watched the entire episode.
After watching this drama, I have no desire to watch a drama over 40 episodes for a while.

The Ending:
I cried throughout the last episode. I had a box of tissues and ugly cried especially in the last few scenes. This drama was a tragedy worse then Romeo and Juliet, so much heartbreak and pain. The only time Wolfie and Xing'er were able to be together peacefully and be truly happy together with no other thoughts, was in the past on Wolf Mountain. It's so sad that neither character found any true happiness after Wolf Mountain. The tragedy started when Xing'er took Wolfie down the mountain to make him human only for all the monsters to be the humans below the mountain.

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THE BEST SHOW I HAVE LAID MY EYES ON

I have always and only watched Korean historical dramas and never really thought to give Chinese historical dramas a chance. However, when my friend strongly suggested this, it was the best decision I have ever made. To this day, it legit set the standard of all Chinese historical dramas for me.

The plot is not at all boring and really has you on your toes as you are always curious what is to come next. Honestly, the ML really leads the plot through his character's strategic ways of dealing with situations within the drama. Which is why I am so attached to his character. The character's have a really good development and I remember reading one review about how the leads 'silently sacrifice' themselves for one another. Which till the end they truly do. Which is why the ending may be tragic to some but to have it end any way else wouldn't make the drama it is today. This drama is very worth your time because I have watched so many dramas and this one really surpasses all of them.

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Unending Sacrifice, Torment, Agony and Selflessness.

Whooah! This drama's so much for my heart. ><"

- Naive ZhaiXing who infuriates me the most throughout this drama for being gullible, stupid and blind for love.

- Stubborn Prince Bo for being the most stubborn and heartless to her 'supposed' only love. Like how? How can you treat a woman like that given any circumstances, his reasons just didn't sit well to me.

- Selfless Ji Chong whom I hoped to be more selfish at times. I pity his loving and quirky character the most. He deserved better treatment but his ending with Bao Na wasn't bad at all and that unexpectedly satisfies me.

- Mischievous Bao Na. I've got so much to say about this character but one thing is for sure and most of them are me singing infinite praises.

First and foremost, I wanna say that this drama is epic and is truly blessed with such great actors and good budget.

Lemme go all over these informations one by one cause I wanna emphasize and point out a lot of things. So, shall we get started?

First are the Actors. Like WOW! I'm totally impressed on how good the acting was specially with Xiao Zhan, Shu Yao and Li Qin. The immense portrayal of their characters made the show even more entertaining and lively to watch. Hmm, In terms of Darren Wang's acting... I don't know why but during his 'Wolf Boy' scenes I can vividly appreciate and see his pure and peaceful yet strong acting aura but most of his 'Prince Bo' scenes made me felt like he didn't know how to express it well or something. I know that the character was made to be like that but he just look dead/soulless to me 90% of his time playing that character.

Second is Kissing Scenes, God! One of the most terrible kissing shots I've watched eversince. I don't know if they received restrictions with it or what but all of their kissing scenes made me disappointed.

Third is Budget, This drama managed to shoot using the same location as Nirvana in Fire and that alone speaks volume. Anyways, I wanna commend a lot of things about this and one of them is the Great CGI that truly impressed me and even made me believe that they were for real. Followed by the set of costume that totally complements each of the artists.

Fourth is Fighting Scenes. I never intend to include this here but Zhai Xing's amazing fight scenes on the Final Episode made me go insane. It was so good and that really awakened my adrenaline from possible slumber. Hahaha~! P.S. Darren Wang and Xiaon Zhan's fighting scenes were totally insane!!

This is a good and entertaining drama overall but I must warn people that they might get irritated with the Main Leads at times. Hehe

Story - 8.5, Wanna give it a higher rating than this but I just don't know where the hell should I get them. This is most probably one of the greatest let down of this entire production. Everything was doing great but suddenly the story decided not to fully cooperate.

Acting/Cast - 10, Well Deserved! Although I was quite indifferent towards Darren Wang's acting but I simply can't overlook how incredible the other actors are. They supported and made this drama reach a completely different level.

Music - 10, I'm speechless. Everything about this dramas Music is PERFECTION! Probably the BEST OST/BGMs out of all the dramas I've watched so far.

Rewatch Value - 9.5, It's a worth watch overall but I would never forget the frustrations this drama gave me whenever the ML is mistreating and hurting the FL. That's unjustifiable for me no matter which view I try to look at.

Overall - 9.0, This drama may not have the best Story but the production covered most of its flaws &mishaps and replaced them with such satisfying results.

IF you find my Review helpful please let me know.

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MUST WATCH TILL THE END!!!

The acting on this drama is AMAZING. I'm so picky with dramas but Talu Wang did such a amazing job. The chemistry and heart break will linger with you even after it ends. I really don't know why it took 3 years for The Wolf to come out. I wished it came out sooner to showcase all 3 main lead their skills and would of landed them more hits.

The only critique I have was I wished the director would of kept some information out and would keep us guessing. Like the identity of Lord Bo and who really killed the Ma Family?

LOVE IT would give it a 11/10 if I can lol!

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Is justified revenge more important than love?

"The Wolf" starts off with a fairytale-esque story of a girl falling in love with a beastly orphan in the wild who was raised by wolves. The story becomes complex quickly as the boy falls to what would be his death, yet is rescued and nursed to health by a power-hungry Emperor who desires to exploit his beastly strength for military conquest. Acknowledging his debt of gratitude to the Emperor for saving his life, he commits many atrocities in the Emperor's name, even to the point of betraying those close to him. Love is challenged over and over again as miscommunications are either unintentional or intentional. The intersection between love and revenge is constantly being explored as characters try to figure out the most righteous way to treat someone that you have betrayed. If revenge is justified and therefore the most righteous path forward, yet treating someone with love and honesty weakens their resolve to take revenge on you, then perhaps kindness is an obstacle to righteousness. Consequently, perhaps treating your loved one with cruelty and lies is the only way you can help them fulfil the righteous path of revenge against you. In the end, which path is truly the most righteous one? Do the ends justify the means? Or was the premise wrong to begin with?

More reviews: https://transcendentphilos.wixsite.com/website/post/the-philosophy-of-chinese-dramas

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A series that will stay with me forever

This is my first time writing a review, so bear with me :)

GENERAL TLDR
+ Great cast
+ Wonderful music
+ Well written characters and background stories
+ Amazing Chemnistry between the main cast
+ A story that keeps you hooked
+ Great ending, it is tragic, but not rushed. I feel like, story wise, its a great ending.
+ Nearly everything that happens addds something to the story

- cliche misunderstandings
- relatively weak villains (The reasons why they do things are kind of meh)
- Tragic
- For some things, the reasons the characters have for doing certain things are kind of random. Especially in the first half its a lot of pingpong between love and hate and I feel like it was sometimes more than nessecary.

STORY
The story of The Wolf had me in its grip the whole time, but especially from episode 36 and onwards. In the beginning I had a difficult time getting into the story since it seemed about about a spoiled girl who wants to take her wolf friend to the human world. When she betrayed wolf boy, I was just constantly watching, waiting for the now cruel prince of Bo to realise what really happened. And this is one of the reasons I rate the story a 9. Even though some things were cliche or done with a dumb reason, The Wolf kept me hooked and I kept watching without skipping because (I'll get here later) the chemnistry between the main OTP and overall cast kept me hooked. When Bo Wang en Zhaixing finally make up, it became a painfull watch for me, because it was just a matter of time for their romance to make a 180 and have a part of the truth come to light, from which a whole chain of misunderstandings starts to roll. But still, it kept me intrigued and then, after episode 36, truth finally comes to light and the story unfolds in a very tragic, heartwrenching but beautiful way where I laughed and cried about choices our characters made. Where I saw the beautiful sacrificies they made for eachother and even though I thought 'just stop lying' I understood their reasoning. The ending is so tragical, yet it was satisfying.

CAST
I initially, like many, started watching this drama for Xiao Zhan, and waited patiently till our character Ji Chong (played by Xiao Zhan) made his appearance, but I was already in love with Darren Wang and Li Qin their chemnistry and acting. I love how each character fit their role well. Some said they wanted to see XZ play the role of Bo wang, but honestly I think he would not have been able to portray Bo Wang as well as Darren Wang did. DW his sly smile, his resolute eyes but also his innocence were so well done. The pain in his eyes when he turns his back on Zhaixing is so well done! I am also a great fan of Li Qin now. I love how she portrayed the character growth of Ma Zhaixing, from innocent and spoiled to a strong and resolute woman. Even though I don't always liked the way Ma Zhaixing her character was written, I feel like Li Qin portrayed the emotions and inner strength so well. XZ as Ji Chong was great too, Ji Chong is one of the few 2nd leads I don't hate. Maybe it is because I like XZ, but maybe because Ji Chong was written in a way that wasnt annoying or competetive and XZ portrayed those struggles, love and selflessnes really well.

I also love all the 'side characters' we met. Bao Na, Hai Die, Wen Yan, Mo Xiao en Ma Jing. They all showed such a wide array of emotions and choices. The actors that played them have done an increadibly well done job. Even though they were not written as main characters, they all made me feel like I know them and made me understand why they made certain choices. I also love Yao Ji, so ruthless yet she aswell carries reasons for why she does certain things.

MUSIC
The music is so wel done. I like how the music isn't like most Wuxia/Xianxia kind of drama's with a more traditional feel. The Wolf has a more pop? (Forgive me, I am not good with music terms haha) or modern kind of feel and I love how we heard several versions of the main OST songs. A rithmic one, a slow one, or a soft melody hidden in another song. Each version carrying another emotion that fit perfectly with the scene.

OVERALL
I would highly recommend The wolf to anyone who wants to go on an emotional ride of many different stories and beliefs. It might not immediately get you hooked but after a while you'll grow on the characters and go with them on a journey of betrayal, companionship and love.

Lire davantage

Synopsis was great, execution was poor.

TLDR: I did not like it.

I decided to start on this drama after looking for a drama with a strong female lead. After reading reviews and recommendations on different sites I decided to give this a shot. The first episodes started off okay. But simply watching the poor CGI of the wolves, already put me slightly off continuing.

As another side note, seeing how many actually rates this at 8.5+/10 leaves me a bit baffled. But I reckon that I might not be in the demographic this was produced for. (or maybe thats just how I excuse how poorly I rated it)

I watched this drama in the course of about 4 days. Admittedly, I had to fast forward a lot of here and there, because otherwise I'd never be able to finish it. It simply made me frustrated most of the time. I expected the FL to grow into becoming a strong female lead, but I was sorely disappointed. Even by the last episode, FL seemed like a different person all together, but you were given no context as to how it happened. Coindentally, the last episode was also the episode I liked the most.

If you pay attention to the music, you'll notice that the main song will probably be played a minimum of 4 times each episode, sometimes more. It becomes so repetitive that whenever I heard it I had to fast forward. Its the cue for "some dialog which will go back and forth between MCs".

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I won't write a really serious review for this. I had great expectations from this buuuuuut... The story has nothing unique. In historical series especially. Long lost princesses, love triangle with one good and one anti-hero male leads, beautiful tragic female lead etc etc... We have seen it before. A lot. And this drama doesn't give it nothing new and fresh (fortunately, wolf boy is not a long lost prince too, i would bag my head). I am conscious of chinese dramas, for two reasons; many, unnescessary episodes and obvious dialogues that gives nothing the plot development. But like all the chinese dramas, it has nice scenery (the costums was obviously modernized in an annoying level).

And I loved Xiao Zhan. He is really talented. However, this role was cute but a lot similar to Wei Wuxian. I think is a problem of the script, sometimes writers write roles with specific characteristics because they have a really specific idea how an actor/actress is and what role made them famous. He's character is important but not so much, in my opinion, to be listed as a main character. I believe they did it because of his fame. I realized this is just his 2nd drama after the Untamed... Like Wang Yi Bo (whoever watched My Strange Friend will understand me) deserves a really better role.

In the end, it was interesting and easy to watch. I love historical dramas a lot, but I don't think this is an interesting example of the genre. I finished it just because I wanted to see the end (a bit dissapointing and predictable).

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(´･ - ･｀) an emotional rollercoaster

unlike others, i didn't wait for the wolf for three years with high anticipation, so i picked the drama up without any expectations. if you're interested in a plot-driven drama with a complex story, you might want to skip because the wolf mainly focuses on the characters & a lot of back and forth drama.

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story + production: 8.0/10

a bittersweet and tragic love story between our main characters, lang zai (wolfie) played by wang talu/darren wang, and xing'er, played by li qin, that takes us on a journey of heartbreak, betrayal, and sacrifice. note that this isn't a drama that centers around an intricate plot but more on the relationships and interactions between the characters. while the plot was unique in its own way, it wasn't extraordinary and without flaws. due to china's censorship, deleted scenes and poor writing, there are some points of inconsistency in the story and within the characters themselves.

there are weak villians with prolonged misunderstandings and the drama shouldn't have relied on them to carry the show. for some viewers, this may become frustrating and redundant if you aren't already invested in the lead's relationship. however, the general pacing of the story was not bad! it slows down at the middle (roughly around episodes 30 - 36) but picks up again. i personally wasn't bothered too much by any of the above and thought the last 12 episodes began to make up for the mess. despite its flaws, i enjoyed it for what it was.

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acting: 9.0/10

the cast really did the best they could with what they were given... i don't know where to begin, lol. as much as i enjoyed it, objectively, the writing was just not good,,, this is what created inconsistency and stunted much of the character development in this series.

☆ chu youwen/ lang zai (darren wang): darren was undeniably the perfect choice for the role of wolf boy + prince bo. i was impressed by his acting and thought he did a good job at portraying the complexity of his character (which people may disagree with) and i think his appearance helped embody his character, lol. hes very expressive, especially in showing emotions through his eyes. you could feel the hostility from him as prince bo and the inner turmoil he had in his loyalty to the emperor and how he struggled to hold onto his humanity, but also the kind-hearted & pure person he was as wolf boy. one of my favorite scenes of darren's "eye-acting" was in episode 19! i wanted more wolf boy tbh lol

☆ ma zhaixing (li qin): theres a lot to say about xing'er as a character and you either love or hate her, but i think i'm in the minority here because i liked her... first, li qin is really talented and beautiful (´･ᴗ･`♡) and has a way of portraying naive characters who don't feel overbearing. as the drama progresses, her acting definitely gets better! its understandable that people thought she was frustrating but tbh i kind of liked that she was very human and made mistakes and had her flaws. also, she was forced to change, traumatized, constantly lied to from the people around her, and had everything taken from her. i don't blame her for desperately holding on. for many reasons, whether it was their stubbornness and flaws, wolf boy and mzx were a good match for each other. the final couple episodes had me crying & i wish we could have seen them happy together on wolf hunt mountain. you too start to wish that they could just live the simple life they've always wanted to together without all the agony (´･_･｀)

☆ ji chong (xiao zhan): second lead syndrome for many and a lovable character although i'll admit that i didn't get sls this time since i felt prince bo & xing'er had stronger chemistry! this and the untamed weren't the first dramas i saw him in, it was actually o!me (2017 was the year of xz never getting the fl lol) but he did great in his first big role as ji chong. you can definitely see how much he has progressed from the wolf to the untamed.

and honorable mention for yao ji (xin zhi lei) because she was a great character, if only they didn't (so obviously) cut out so much of her storyline.

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music: 9.0/10

i really enjoyed the ost for this drama, although some might think the opening may be out of place for a historical drama, i thought it was fitting considering its meant to be historical fantasy (the scenes of him with red eyes, turning into a wolf, the warrior wolves, etc were basically cut) the instrumental tracks were good and set the mood for the series, imo. the only song i felt neutral about and skipped was the ending.

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rewatch value: 8.5/10

to be honest, i rarely rewatch things but i found myself going back to watch certain clips and episodes pretty often. i would rewatch this in full because there are a lot of touching/captivating scenes, especially the ones that built tension with silence (i.e: the bridge scene where he catches the perfume satchet!)

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overall: 9.0/10 (but its really an 8.5 lol)

tbh ..... i've seen way worse dramas rated higher than the wolf, and to me i think its a fair 8.0 - 8.5 but i have emotional attachment/bias lol if you are put off by what may be a constant push and pull situation, it definitely may not be for you. however i liked this messy sacrificial romance and was invested in their relationship so i enjoyed it. there are plenty of mixed reviews, but viewers should decide for themselves. overall, i'm glad i gave this a watch and the acting is what made me pull through even though the execution of the story is average.

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Binge Worthy

This drama is definitely binge worthy. I have lost sleep watching this drama and it’s well worth it! I love the characters and the actors and actresses who play them. My emotions have gone from excitement to sadness to anger then absolute joy with this one! Every emotion is felt with The Wolf and that’s why I love it! I am eagerly awaiting episode 49 which should be available later today. I don’t typically re watch dramas but this one will be watched more than once for sure. I think my favorite thing to watch are all the facial expressions made by Darren Wang. He is the absolute best at expressing emotion!

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