Watch if: You like Yibo and have the patience to watch 51 episodes of him. Also, if you want the nostalgia that comes with seeing a production set that gives off Power Rangers vibes.
Skip if: You’re all about well-choreographed fight scenes, intense romance, or clean storylines.
I really wanted to like Legend of Fei 有翡 because of Wang Yibo 王一博 (what can I say – he has a face made for TV). Zhao Liying 赵丽颖 and him were a rather unusual pairing given their ten-year age gap, but Yibo’s huge following and success after The Untamed, guaranteed a high level of anticipation for the show. He turned out to be one of the main reasons I kept on watching (until I gave up at Ep 24) despite the slow plot progression.
Show revolves around the exploits of Zhou Fei and gang, who have to deal with drama that unfolds around Fortress 48 and a mysterious treasure called Colour of Ocean and Heaven 海天一色.
Because the plot is being unravelled at a very slow rate, there isn’t much of an impetus to binge through or uncover the various ambiguities sprinkled throughout. I found myself only looking forward to scenes with both Wang Yibo and Zhao Liying (which were not nearly enough to keep me going), and so turned to YouTube for entertaining clips of both leads instead.
What I liked
1. Zhou Fei and Xie Yun’s interactions
I like that Zhou Fei is different from the usual female protagonist. She’s tough, resolute, and doesn’t give up without a fight. Since the story is about her growth as a young and naive girl, we often see the brash and impulsive side of her. These traits, and her poor sense of direction, make her a flawed but realistic heroine. In the beginning, her first response to every situation was simply to fight her way out, not thinking much about the risks involved. Along the way, she learns to take Xie Yun’s perspectives into consideration.
Xie Yun makes up for his lack of physical strength and martial arts prowess with his wit, knowledge, and strategies. He acts as a counterbalance to Zhou Fei’s brashness and is always lending his support in various ways, content with letting her be in the spotlight. His cheeky banter makes him appear blithely indifferent to most things until we witness him saving and helping Zhou Fei repeatedly. In Ep 22, he showed his support by coaching her to rally the elders’ support against enemy attacks on Fortress 48.
Fans of Yibo will know that in real life, he’s quite the aloof and reserved guy. So I’m suitably impressed to see him transforming convincingly into the playful and carefree Xie Yun, who smirks and grins a lot.
2. Oops. There was nothing else I particularly liked.
Reasons for dropping
1. Secondary characters I didn’t care for
I find Chu Chu and Li Sheng limited in their ability to convey sadness or anything other than mild nervousness or concern. Li Sheng’s sudden switch from an impulsive, angsty boy to leader of a team defending Fortress 48 during the rebellion in Ep 22 seems incredible, and the loveline between him and Chu Chu felt forced.
Because the story runs along different paths before converging, other minor characters are introduced mid-way but then disappear just as quickly before you could even grasp their motivations and background.
2. Meandering plot
Ignoring other logic stretches throughout, there wasn’t much clarity on why the Colour Of Ocean And Heaven treasure is so highly sought after. I guess it was meant to be a mystery that keeps the audience guessing until the end but for yours truly, it felt like an object brandied about for its ability to move the story forward. Several subplots were draggy and neither relevant nor engaging.
3. Passable fight scenes
Most of the fight scenes were lacklustre and forgettable, considering that this is a wuxia drama centred around Zhou Fei’s growth in her martial arts skills. I had to suspend my disbelief whenever she gains new abilities at miraculous speeds or single-handedly defeats high-level opponents without breaking a sweat.
Overall, I enjoyed most of the scenes with Wang Yibo and Zhao Liying but nothing else compelled me to spend another thirty hours on this. Sorry Yibo, I really tried and will attempt to watch Being A Hero instead!
[Dropped at Ep 24]
Synopsis
Based on the novel Bandits by Priest, Legend of Fei is a female-centric story about Zhou Fei (played by Zhao Liying), the granddaughter of a well-known swordsman Li Zheng. She grew up in a highly guarded fort called Fortress 48, whose mission is to protect the vulnerable.
Crisis struck Fortress 48 and the villages under its protection. Zhou Fei forms an alliance with Xie Yun (played by Wang Yibo), a carefree and mysterious wanderer, and they both set out to take down malevolent forces behind the calamities. Along the way, they unearth other secrets, including Xie Yun’s real identity.