I really love this drama (watched this 4 times and planning to watch this the 5th time)
The thing that I love about this drama is the superb cast. The actress who played Banshu is not a very popular actress but I must say, she exceeded by expectations! Banshu is a very rash and cheerful girl, and the actress played the character really well. Really love it. The actor who played Wei Ying is also not a popular actor but I am charmed but him. He has the looks, the charisma...and his daily outfit in the drama is a white robe (prince charming), I am not surprise that his character managed to charm so many female characters in the show coz I am here being separated by a screen and could still get charmed. His acting skills are just bonuses.
Banshu's character can be a little rash at times and her actions are often exaggerated but I love her so much! She doesn't really know the palace etiquette and doesn't act like the normal gentle female teacher (????teacher who tutors the female students), but this is what make her special. She often does not care abt her image and behaves how she wants to behave. But what makes her so likeable is that she is so selfless. She cares a lot abt Wei Ying although he always reprimand her, places people before herself, saves her students' lives more than once despite them not liking her, and so on. Although she is very strict with her students and punishes them even though they are all daughters of high ranking officials, she is actually doing them good. For example, she makes them run around the court yard after seeing them all skinny and frail and she even gave the child emperor a good beating after the males students from ?? (an imperial all boys school)played a prank on her. It's very heartening to see her managing to earn the utmost respect of all students in the end.
The empress dowager in the story is not your typical evil old lady. She is actually quite young. She's the one who instructed Banshu to tutor the female students and gave her the permission to change the way the girls behave. After that, she ordered Banshu to teach the males form ?? coz she's disappointed that only 2 students signed up for the imperial exams and that all professors in charge of teaching the male students are all on sick leave (including Wei Ying) because of the palace fire. She sent Banshu coz she knows that Banshu fears nothing, not even high ranking officials' sons or daughters, and Banshu's duty is not only to teach poems blabla, but also instill the students of both schools good moral values.
Wei Ying is a ??? teaching the students of ??? He is very loyal to Liu Xuan (??, his lover whom he could not save. Hence, he is always stuck in the past and could not forget abt Liu Xuan. He even waters the plants that Liu Xuan had planted for 3 years straight without fail. In the end, he realizes that his love for Xuan has reduced to friendship and the one he loves is actually Banshu.
There are some characters who are there for some comedic effect, such as Huo Heng and Yao Juan. Yao Juan is another female teacher who is always taken advantage of by the students coz she is short-sighted and timid. She often walks into things because of her bad eyesight but that's okay, she's also very loveable.

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Nothing impressive but it's okay

I am quite picky when it comes to dramas, especially historical dramas. I feel that this storyline is cute but has been ridiculously overused. Furthermore, I used to like zhao lusi after watching her earlier dramas, but recently, she has been acting in roles that are extremely similar. I mean, sure, it fits her image. But I see no improvements in her acting and neither do I see a desire in her to try other types of roles. I think this is a disgrace as an actress especially when there is potential in her but she's just wasting it. From the number of dramas that she's been in, I can infer that her company is willing to provide her with more than enough resources and opportunities, but she's just not improving at all!!!
And for the male lead.......I can firmly say that he doesn't look good in historical outfits. He looks dashing in modern day clothings, but he looks like a bloated pufferfish in this outfit. I have seen his face plastered all over posts that are titled "ugliest men in historical dramas 2021" on my social media, and I am not surprised to say the v least. Okay. But historical outfits are just not meant for everyone.
If you are looking for cute and light-hearted historical drama. This drama is for you. But if you are picky and likes good plots, good lines and good outfits, then don't watch this.

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This is such an underrated drama.
What I liked about this drama: The storyline and the chemistry between the characters. Unlike other medical dramas which place more focus on the surgeries and the illnesses, this drama focuses more on the relationships between patients and doctors and the politics in the medical field (which is not a bad thing). Through this drama, one could see how the medical students slowly grow up from naive and rash students to doctors who know how to handle patients-doctors relationships while retaining their passion to save lives.
Though Zhou Ming has always been strict with Chun Meng since the very first day, but he knows that this is the only way that she can be a more competent doctor and a more confident person. Zhou Ming also sacrificed a lot for Chun Meng, not only because he loves her, but also because he believes that she has the potential to be an outstanding doctor.
On the other hand, Chun Meng helped Zhou Ming walked out of his past with her patience and love.
What touched my heart the most was how the two leads helped each other grow in their own way.
What i disliked: The first thing that caught my eye was the fashion......neon coloured ties and pants......

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Boring

I am a big fan of military dramas/movies and I really liked the Chinese military movie 'The Eight Hundred'. Hence, I felt that this movie would be worth a shot. WRONG!!! Although the idea of a movie centring around test pilots is novel and refreshing, the execution was below average.
The pace of the movie could be faster. There were many scenes that I felt were redundant or overly propagandistic and were of no help in moving the story forward. These redundant scenes only made the movie seem draggy and boring. 20 minutes into the movie and a man sitting a row behind me in the movie theatre was already snoring in his seat. I was also starting to get a little fidgety in my seat but decided to persevere thinking that the movie would get better. ANOTHER WRONG!!! The CGI in the movie was just giving me 2000s (or even earlier) Hollywood CGI vibes - looks fake and hilarious, especially when I had just watched Topgun Maverick so there was naturally some comparison going on in my brain. Okay, but the bad CGI was not as bad as how fake or unprofessional some scenes looked. There was a scene where a flock of birds crashed into the plane of the ML and Second ML. While the SML had to be stretchered down the plane looking battered, the ML walked out looking almost completely unscathed - no cuts, no bruises, nothing. There was also a scene where a metal pole stabbed through the ML's chest like a skewered kebab and borderline cookie-cuttered his chest. But in the next couple of scenes featuring the ML, the wound on his chest has completely healed, not even a scab.
1) The movie would have been more exciting if there were an antagonist or antagonists, rather than having some English-speaking faceless pilot as the 'enemy'.
2) The propaganda could be better incorporated into the movie plot
3) The CGI quality was not able to 'carry' the supposed high-tech and advanced air force scenes.

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Impressed at how much the actors have improved

I won't say that I'm a fan of Yang Yang or Dilreba, but I have watched almost all of their dramas. I came to know about Yang Yang after watching The Four but I liked him after watching his variety shows. To make things better, he's from the People's Liberation Army Academy of Art (I have a soft spot for artists that came from this school coz they are the epitome of discipline, skills and talent). But I was a little hesitant on praising Yang Yang's acting in the past, as his past roles were too similar to one another and he doesn't have many dramas under his belt. I thought that he was too reserved as an actor. But his role as Yu Tu proved me wrong. Yang Yang is really a great actor and I look forward to seeing his military movie!!!
Dilreba suits her role. She's basically the exact fit. When I read this novel a few years back, I was already thinking about Reba in my head. So I'm glad that she had taken on this role and Jing Jing.
I hope that there can be more dramas on Engineers and Researchers. I am bored of seeing dramas about CEOs, doctors, lawyers etc. We need more dramas to change the public opinion about Engineers and Researchers (or Mathematicians etc the stereotypical dry and mundane occupations).

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Watched for Kuan Hung, but stayed for the other cast members!!!!!!

I am particularly picky about my dramas so bear with me if my review sounds a little harsh. Anyways, let's begin......
I only decided to watch this drama after seeing clips of Kuan Hung cross-dressing on social media (XHS). Ironically, Kuan Hung's character turned out to be underdeveloped and inconsistent throughout the drama. But the other characters and plot kept me captivated. In the novel, Tang Fan is supposed to be intelligent and quick-thinking, but in the drama, Tang Fan kept on bouncing to and fro between intelligent and dumb (or naive). Sui Zhou and Wang Zhi, are from 锦衣卫 （Jin Yi Wei) and 西厂 （Xi Chang) respectively. If you are not very sure of what they are, they are basically spy organisations that report back directly to the empower during the Ming Dynasty ie. very powerful organisations. Sui Zhou's Taiwanese accent makes me confused from time to time but it's okay once I've gotten used to it. Sui Zhou's character is outright righteous and patriotic. Wang Zhi, on the other hand, is more complicated. He's manipulative, cold-blooded and ruthless to the bad officials, but he's extremely loyal to the Emporer and Royal Consort Wan. What makes him captivating is that he has a cute, fluffy and soft side.
The plot is pretty good. I like how each conspiracy leads to another conspiracy.
Overall, it's a good watch!

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BEST PLOT EVER! (explaining some scenes that are hard to get for English speakers)

Only watched this drama because there were no good dramas at that point of time. I didn't have any prior expectations for this drama. But BOYYYYY was it a pleasant surprise!!! I ended up watching this drama 4 times, watching their behind-the-scenes, their concert+variety shows+interviews+fan-made videos. I totally regret watching this drama coz my whole life literally revolves around it right now!!!
As a Mandarin speaker, I feel that you will understand and appreciate the plot and relationships between the characters more if you understand Mandarin. Due to censorship in China, the "romance" of the two male leads has to be displayed subtly through ancient Chinese poetry (romance poetry in particular) and inside jokes. For example, when Ah-Xiang smacked two hot cakes together it's called “贴烧饼” which means a romantic relationship between two men or when ZZS blew WKX's flute and said "sorry I dirtied your flute". Mind you, in the novel, WKX blows a horizontal flute (笛子 which is somewhat like the western flute) but in the drama, he blows a xiao (a vertical flute). “Blowing a xiao" in Mandarin means giving someone a BJ ahem so idk how can ZZH not laugh when he said "I dirtied your xiao". These are just two of many inside jokes XD

Okay. Back to reviewing on their acting. Those who are ZZH's fans would have known that he's a sporty man and all his previous roles are very manly. Fans of the novel were originally unhappy when they saw the cast in 2020 because they felt that ZZH would be too manly to portray ZZS. Hence, I was blown away when ZZH managed to not only bring ZZS to life but even incorporated his own interpretation of ZZS into the character, giving this character flesh and blood. ZZH once said that he originally wanted to play the role of WKX because WKX has more lines and is able to use words to describe his emotions, thus, less difficult for him to portray this character. On the other hand, ZZS is a character with "two thousand layers of dust" (quoted frm the scriptwriter) ie. ZZS is a complicated character with a complicated life. Nonetheless, being an actor for 10 years, ZZH was able to live up to expectations and blew our minds away with his beautiful, gentle, tragic yet powerful A-Xu.

If you can find fault in his acting, it really means that you have yet to understand the drama or the novel :'). There have been some criticisms regarding ZZH's acting (esp in the first ep), claiming that his acting is too bland and stoic. Okay, think about it, ZZS has seen 81 of his SJSZ's brothers died in front of him, it's no brainer that he's gg to be hopeless and helpless and borderline desensitized at that point of time. Furthermore, ZZS only had 2/3 years to live, which means he was basically waiting for death to arrive. For someone who is gg to die anytime soon, how emotional do you expect him to be??? ZZH said in an interview that he knew that there will be ppl criticising his acting, but he would still act out ZZS in a way that he thinks is closer to reality. ZZH is a man of morals. When he stabbed himself with the nails, it wasn't to punish himself. He was seeking death and would like to live 3 years of freedom before dying and he was also abiding by the rules that he had laid out (consistency in his character here). Till the very end, he still thought that the rules laid out by King Jin and Tian Chuang were right because he said that if he had knew that Wu Xi was able to remove the nails, he would have thought of a more fool-proof and more reliable punishment. Some might criticise, saying that "ZZS is a man of morals so why would he even befriend WKX and even become his bosom friend? There is inconsistency in the character!!!" ZZS is a person who doesn't really care abt the wealth and status of a person, what's important to him is the inside of a person. As a master of disguise, ZZS is highly skilled in looking beyond the exterior facade of a person and would not easily belief what's before his eyes. That was why he was so guarded against WKX in the beginning because he was unsure of what WKX was up to. But after being with WKX for quite some time, he saw that WKX wasn't someone with an evil heart. Inferring from when he heard WKX blew the xiao, he said "听这乐声，清正坚韧，百转无悔，非心性无邪者不可得，想不到，这人竟吹得出这等箫声" (basically means that a sound with such clarity and resolute cannot be blown by someone with evil at heart). It was only after befriending WKX did ZZS felt that there is something for him to live for in his life, hence, he wants to live (unlike him previously seeking death).

After watching the BTS, it was obvious that ZZH had given loads of advice on acting to GJ, which helped GJ's acting improve a lot as compared to his previous dramas. This was unsurprising given that GJ only entered the acting industry in 2015/2016 and is a comparatively new actor. I felt that GJ's facial features are outstanding but interesting -- He has puppy eyes but a chiselled jawline. Though extremely good looking, it's hard to find a suitable acting role for him (Chiselled jawline makes him suitable to play characters that are cold, arrogant, powerful etc, but his puppy eyes would clash with such character. Puppy eyes would make him suitable to play characters that are like a sunshine puffball, but his jawline and sharp nose and towering built would be weird), especially when he's a newbie in the industry. Hence, Wen Ke Xing is the perfect PERFECT character for GJ. It's literally tailored for him. Because WKX is a cute, innocent golden retriever with puppy eyes in front of ZZS who is curious abt the mortal realm but he is also the dark, cold-blooded, powerful lunatic leader of the Ghost Valley. When WKX first appeared in the drama, my heart stopped, my breathing stopped, the time stopped, everything stopped. My eyes were glued onto him. And when ZZS and WKX made their first eye contact, BOOM!!!!! Fireworks exploded!!!!!!

WKX is actually quite a complicated character hence some ppl may say that there is a lack of consistency. However, I think that this adds flesh to his character, making him more human and hence, more relatable to the audience. He is like a lotus flower in a muddy pond. Two things that moulded his character: his parents died tragically in front of him hence he wants to get revenge, and he has to endure the abuse and harsh environment in the Ghost Valley where he may get killed anytime. The only things that were keeping him alive before meeting ZZS are to live and get revenge. Despite being a dangerous and difficult to understand person, he isn't a monster. All these are just a shell that he uses to protect himself while growing up in a dark and dangerous Ghost Valley without any warmth and care. Inside him is still an innocent and extremely kind-hearted young boy who has yet to mature. The reason why he hates the evil of the "righteous sects" so much is due to his strong desire and pursuit for "kindness".

To me, if you really understand the plot and characters, it's no surprise why WKX and ZZS would attract each other and become each other's light. They both lost their loved ones at a young age, and had to shoulder responsibilities that boys their age shouldn't be shouldering--ZZS had to shoulder the responsibility of ensuring that his brothers of SJSZ live while WKX has to avenge his parents' deaths. They are both lone wolves seeking warmth in a world that doesn't understand them. They are each other's saviour and light.

I love all the other character too!!! There isn't a single character that I hate, except for Cao Wei Ning's shifu. I cried like a baby and will never ever watch ep 32/33 again. My heart can't take the tragedy.

I love the whole crew, from the director and costume designer to the supporting characters and Xiaoyu (ZZH's childhood friend and personal assistant) HAHAHAH!!! The fans of Word of Honor are like the cutest bunch of people ever, extremely supportive and adorable. 山人们最棒了！！！萌萌哒~

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