★★★★★
The 2017 Chinese drama, starring Wallace Chung as Chu Bei-Jie,
Angelababy as Bai Ping-Ting, Sun Yi-Zhou as He Xia, and Gan Ting-Ting as Yao
Tian. Written by Zhang Yong-Chen and directed by Ju Jue-Liang. Based on the novel
A Lonesome Fragrance Waiting to be Appreciated by Feng Nong. 62 episodes,
about 45 minutes apiece.
Brief summary: Bai Ping-Ting is extraordinarily gifted with
military strategies, but she’s only an attendant under Jing’An He Xia in the Yan
kingdom. When their home is suddenly attacked, Ping-Ting and He Xia are forced
to flee the country and separate. The commanding general of the Jin army, Chu
Bei-Jie, instantly recognizes the sojourning Bai Ping-Ting as someone he’s met
before. He tries to kindle a relationship, but Ping-Ting isn’t open to trusting
anybody, let alone an attentive general. Moreover, He Xia must surely be hiding
somewhere, plotting revenge for the destruction of his home and against Chu
Bei-Jie.
This drama is incredible for its acting talent, plot, and
character development. Most impressive are our main leads, Wallace Chung and
Sun Yi-Zhou. They really get into their roles to express the emotions that lead
us through the drama by the hand.
Like most historical C-dramas, the story that this drama
tells is a long one. But it is all a connected, intricate story. There’s not
one disjunct scene. It’s all sewn together beautifully to create a complete
journey of a plot, like a colorful tapestry with all its threads in place.
All characters have their own opportunities for development,
but none is more noted than He Xia’s. He’s the antagonist of our story, but he
doesn’t start out that way. In fact, it would too easy in the first few
episodes to believe that the drama is actually all his story, not Chu Bei-Jie’s.
He starts as the nice guy and somehow ends as our definition of a villain, but
really his progression is obvious and is one of the most drawing aspects of the
series.
Yao Tian might be the center of He Xia’s drastic
development. At first, we think she might just be a secondary character, a vain
and pretty little princess. Yet she proves to be not only the key to He Xia’s achievement
of his ambitions, but also the key to his humanity. Only after losing her does
He Xia realize that without her, he’s just a villain with only revenge as his
cause. Unfortunately, revenge is not as strong a reason to change the world as
He Xia thinks.
We would have liked the drama just a bit better if it did
not casually skim over parts that we actually would have liked to see. For the
sake of time and preserving an average number of episodes, the screenwriters
skipped over pieces of the story that could have been further developed and
entertaining in their own way. For example, the relationship between Zui Ju and
Fan Lu. They go from a kidnapping/hostage situation somehow to “I love you” three
time-lapsed years later. It’s too brief to offer any development-- we have to simply
accept it as we see it. Another example is how Bai Ping-Ting gets along after
leaving Chu Bei-Jie. Evidently, she gives birth to and rears their child on her
own. She and Yang Fend must have relied on Ze Yin heavily as they started
paving a way of life for themselves. During that time, Ping-Ting decided she
was going to be prosperous even as a single mother. Leaving out that progress
cheapens the plot as it jumps ahead to three years after Ping-Ting fakes her
death.
General and I is probably one of the best historical
C-dramas available. Overall, it’s very complete, emotional, and entertaining
for all that a drama should be. This drama is highly recommended if you’re in
the mood for a good plot, intense emotions, an OST that will get you humming in
your sleep, and one powerful love story! An impeccable must-see! 5/5 stars!
“As long as I have the beautiful scenery in my heart, anywhere is a paradise.”
- Bai Ping-Ting, episode 56
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