So, after Rise of Phoenixes, I got sucked into another Chinese wuxia epic on Netflix, Word of Honor. There are several similar shows right now on Netflix themed around an epic bromance and/or love triangle (see also Untamed, Handsome Siblings, My Country), and I’d tried watching a couple of them and gotten all of 10 minutes in before I was like, no thanks.
I honestly can’t fully explain why Word of Honor was different, even after pondering the question in preparation for writing this post. On the surface, the show seemed quite similar to the ones I had turned off: confusing start that introduces like 20 characters and 3 timelines I can’t keep track of, check; melodrama, check; stilted and/or cheesy dialogue, check; quest or fight over some magical object I don’t care about, check. But I was hooked on Word of Honor from the first episode. Why?
I think it boils down to two things. Well, maybe three. First and foremost is the AMAZING Gong Jun. True, he’s gorgeous and has great outfits (I couldn’t walk down the street in that much hair and brocade, much less fight in it), but more importantly he’s a really great actor. He’s one of a couple of actors in WoH who work together to lift the story out of its melodramatic rut. The acting he does with his face alone is incredible; it’s like Benedict Cumberbatch’s acting in Power of the Dog. Second is the relationship between Wen Kexing (Jun’s character) and Zhou Zishu (played by Zhang Zhehan). Without giving too much away, they both have some pretty major skeletons in their respective closets (one of them somewhat literally), but they bet everything they’ve got on the friendship as their path to redemption. And throughout the entire 36-episode arc, you’re not sure it’s going to work. That’s the third thing that got me into the show: even though the story is driven by just two characters, I never felt sure I had their number. Just when I thought I did, a new plot twist or faction would cast my latest theory into doubt. And there are a couple of neat twists around the main plot arc, which is a pretty straightforward quest narrative about the Glazed Armor, basically a glass combination lock (see Magical Objects No One Cares About, above), and the armory of wushu secrets it opens. There’s some great supporting acting to boot, better in several cases than the lead acting: standouts include Wang Ruo Lin as Zhao Jing and Li Dai Kun as the Scorpion King.
In the end, whether or not I can fully justify why, I just loved WoH. I’m actually rewatching it right now and enjoying it as much as the first time through. And when I’m done I’ll just be slightly over the time it took me to watch Rise of Phoenixes once. Two for the price of one–hard to beat that bargain.
The Rookery 