[Mainland Chinese Drama 2020/2021] Legend of Fei 有翡

[frenchfan]

4 hours ago, whiteybao said:

Ok I finally marathon-ed over 2 weekends and finished it. I can now return to social media in peace. 

 

btw, episode 51 spoiler:

 

  Reveal hidden contents

 

Did they ever explain why Shen Tianshu lost his footing when he saw the name on the sword?

 

I'd give this an 8.5/10. Gave an extra 0.5 because I am a fan of both ZLY and WYB.

 

The positives:

I think the reason why most of here are because of Zhao Li Ying and Wang Yi Bo so as fans of them, I'd say you'd have to watch. They are cute together.

 

It is generally a very light and family-friendly show. Characters are likeable/lovable. Show is fun to watch because there are funny banters, action sword-fights and general all feel-good vibes. Would I recommend this? Yes. I would not classify this as a blockbuster series, but if you have the extra time then I'd say watch this. This is essentially Legend of the Condor Heroes female lead version where female lead literally takes on the entire lead role with noob kungfu at the beginning but progresses better as she meets martial arts masters and comes across many kungfu manuals along the way. That's not the main story, though - as there is a big bad organisation out to steal some treasure that she is also after. 

 

The negatives - I do apologise in advance because this is going to be a bit of a rant so I shall spoiler tag this section. Please don't hate me. 

 

  Reveal hidden contents

 

So, here's the rundown of Legend of Fei The Adventures of Zhou Fei and Friends.

 

I felt that the show fell flat starting from Xie Yun's bone-chilling arc. The pacing was rather off from this point on because trying to fit in so many characters and conspiracies in a 51-episode show was too much and all over the place. From this point up to about the late 40's, we had to slot in Yin Pei, Small Medicine Valley, Xie Yun's monk childhood, Yu Wenzhi and the occasional Anping Army which (facepalm) I still don't see what their role was in this show other than to take Lord Gantang away for 9/10th of the show. 

 

Plot hole 1 - Anping Army, Yu Wenzhi, Zichen and the previous dynasty. Seriously, after 51 episodes I'm clueless as to who and what these people are/were trying to do and their relationships with each other. Yu Wenzhi literally appeared out of nowhere during the big 48 Fortress battle and just appears on and off as a big bad with an army. Literally no background here. Zichen - don't get me started with this guy. He had one job which was to bring Poison Woman to 48 Fortress and that's it. This scene sums up how I feel whenever he comes on:

 

Plot hole 2 - Demons in general. Shen Tianshu's motives were never really clear from the start. Even his dumping of Poison Woman was rather quick? It felt like they just create his motives along the way and there was no real build-up. He's just a bad guy who goes around killing people even when he tells them that he won't.

 

I mentioned above that this was a light-hearted show and that is personally a problem to me but I suppose I have myself to blame for not checking what the book was all about. I expected heavier and more serious undertones like Princess Agents but this had none of that. The deaths barely impacted me (only Duan Jiuniang's death did) and I felt nothing when the few characters like Fisherman, Old Madam Wang, Master Qi, Yin Pei, General Wen Yu died. Which brings me to my next point;

 

ZLY's performance - I watched the show because I have been a big fan. I love her acting and I love her previous works but I felt that her talent was diminished in this show. She didn't have many memorable lines and scenes. Only these 3 scenes in the collage below moved me a little (even so, nowhere near to the effect of her previous works). Most of her focus were on the sword moves which I give credit for as she did the stunts herself. .. though I wished they described her South Blade swordsmanship a little more because it's supposed to be something technical. Instead, all they did was show flashbacks of her grandfather.

 

WYB's performance - I liked him from The Untamed but I personally think he's not suited to play Xie Yun. Not that he's doomed to play a serious introvert for life, but I could see that he's still a little amateur-ish in the way he played Xie Yun. I can't really put a pin to it but it's probably a mixture of the "exasperated" eyes he makes and generally just .. stiff-ness.

 

ZLY + WYB chemistry - ok no complaints here. I think they're fine! Not the best on-screen chemistry in history, but they have a lot of sweet and aww moments. Too many to list so I won't. I don't think ZLY is too old for WYB in this show simply because she looks so young.

 

CG and editing - bad. notice how the same forest gets recycled over and over? But I suppose I won't blame them since their filming schedule got delayed due to the pandemic.

 

Supporting characters I think we could have done without - these 3. I mean they added comic relief to the show but I tend to fast forward every scene with them.

 

Couples - I must say Li Sheng + Chu Chu were very close to overtaking ZF + XY for me. If they had more screen time, they just might.  I'm glad to see Li Sheng matured from a bratty, jealous cousin to a reliable and strategic leader. Luckily Chu Chu wasn't a damsel in distress either (though, I pity the fact they just forgot about her lil brother altogether)

 

Yay...at least you finished it.  It was an enjoyable watch though since I have not seen LY on screen for sooooo long so anything with her in, I am in.  True......the CGI was not great.  In any dramas, there'll always be good and bad right so we'll just have to accept it hahahahaha.  So long as we enjoy the drama and get entertained.  I would be interested to read the novel.  IS there one translated in English?  

Edited January 25, 2021 by Jillia
Please reply outside the quote, thanks!

[whiteybao]

Yeah overall still an enjoyable watch beyond the little flaws. 

 

One of my fav lines in the show that sent me lmao-ing:

 

[impoppies]

What were they thinking...

 

What was I thinking? I should have simply procrastinated. Forever.

 

That burger post by the leading actress was spot on. 

 

Oh well. I'm still glad for this opportunity to enjoy the two leads. The earlier half of the show was so good. 

 

All that potential. Oh well.

 

The music was good too. Especially that piece with “等我替你踏遍天涯” and “管他又是谁的天下”. Beautiful song.

[impoppies]

22 hours ago, whiteybao said:

Ok I finally marathon-ed over 2 weekends and finished it. I can now return to social media in peace. 

 

btw, episode 51 question:

  Reveal hidden contents

Did they ever explain why Shen Tianshu lost his footing when he saw the name on the sword?

 

 

No, they didn't. At least not that I can recall. Unfortunately by then I was drowning in disappointment and incredulity and no longer cared.

Edited January 26, 2021 by Jillia
Please do not quote pics! Thanks!

[frenchfan]

@whiteybaoThe sword that killed Shen Tian Shu in the end was the one that was made by XY and he gave it to ZF whilst the one crafted by the craftsman was given to STS.  I guess that since it was WY who has the real recipe, he must have done something "extra" because it cut through literally everyhing.  However, this is only my deduction because his eyes kind of opened wide when he saw the name on the sword. 

[backstreetboysfan]

I finished this a few days ago, It was good. would of love a little bit more of the love story thought.

[frenchfan]

They are launching The Legend of Fei in Korea soon.  On TenCent they broke 5,2 billion.  No promo nothing, only 1 platform so this is quite an amazing results.  Bravo to the whole casts and production team.

[frenchfan]

Edited May 6, 2021 by SC2019
Please write posts longer than 20 characters! (forum soompi rule)

[Yuui]

On 1/13/2021 at 10:35 PM, frenchfan said:

Mother-son relationship?  Honestly?  Hahahahaha  I don't think they watch the same drama as us.  In costume drama, WYB does not look that young and he played his role well.

They seem to be about the same age, even though WYB's character should be a few years older.  

 

Finally finished watching (have been moving and had a lot of problems with the internet) Although it isn't the best drama I ever seen, it did not have anything to do with the acting. The storyline is a bit inconsistent and the cinematography is the problems. But I am happy it didn't fall apart or ended with an "open-ending" like Princess Agents. 

[Tamakins]

I really enjoyed this show as a whole, but there were things they could've done better. That is my thought though. Overall it wasn't that bad it was cute, not to over the top and some really pretty scenes.

[frenchfan]

Legend of Fei will be aired in Japan in 2022 - despite all the critics and black fans, this has proven to be popular among foreign fans and veiwers!!!!!! BIG BRAVO to all the casts and production team.  Looks like their investment paid off.  Zero promotion, and only online viewings on one platform.  It is huge success in my opinion.

 

[frenchfan]

And despite all odds, sceptics and antis, they have won yet another award : The Siam drama series

 

 

 

[partyon]

Soompi Forums Awards (Poll #2): The best streaming dramas, c-dramas, daily/weekend dramas of 2021? Please vote!

 

Now you can also vote for your favorite 2021:

• Daily/weekend dramas
• C-dramas
• Streaming dramas (ie dramas that only appeared on streaming sites like Netflix)

 

Your Event Organizers,

@partyon @confusedheart @agenth @Sleepy Owl