Who Rules the World (2022)

This show wouldn’t have been anything without the leads chemistry and popularity.

Like the title says, this show wouldn’t have been anything without the leads chemistry and popularity….and I’m saying this as a big fan of Yang Yang and Lu Si’s works.

Now don’t get me wrong, I didn’t hate this show and I did enjoy it…well at least until the last few episodes but if I’m being honest, the plot itself was mediocre at best.
I came for the fighting, the Wuxia, the martial arts and was served politics. At best this show should be labelled political not Wuxia. I can count on my fingers the amount of times they ACTUALLY used their martial arts.

I’m so pissed at the fact that the title of the show suggests we’d be getting some epic war/battles but all we got was bad CGI fights and covered up battle scenes (if you’ve watched it you know what I mean). I wanted some epic fight scenes with both leads fighting together and using their martial arts against others but unfortunately we weren’t served that.
Hei-Bai Fengxi was goals. Loved their unfailing trust and love they had for each other. Loved the way they both silently supported the other.
Loved their aides especially Qi Wu and Feng Chang.

So many things were so inconsistent in this show, like the search of that token that started the whole show, the sacred moon technique they acquired from Old Man Taiyin that ended up not being used, the fountain abode that was suddenly forgotten to be used in the last few episodes, the smarts of our leads that were thrown into the wind to fit in the plot in the last 3 ish episodes…

I don’t want to go too into depth with this review because then I’d have to put some massive spoilers so I’ll just leave you with this checklist, do as you may with it.

Self sacrificing love ✅
Smart ass and bad ass FL ✅
Loyal af aides ✅
Epic Sismance ✅
No love triangles ✅
Amazing chemistry ✅

Inconsistencies ✔️
Rushed ending ✔️
Plot with holes ✔️
Smart ass leads who somehow lost their brains in the last episodes ✔️
Loss of loved ones whose deaths became a joke with how easily the villain died ✔️



So in other words, Watch this if you’re looking for Fine ass Yang Yang and pretty af Lu Si with amazing chemistry together and a pretty good romance.

Don’t watch this if you’re looking for well…Wuxia”

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Rushed Ending!

Who Rules The World (且试天下) is one of the most anticipated Chinese historical dramas for the first half of 2022. Starring Yang Yang and Zhao Lu Si, it is a given that this production will attract a lot of attention as the 2 leads have a big following among fans. The general expectation is this should be a great drama and it is directed by Yin Tao whose projects include Ancient Love Poetry and Love And Redemption. But does the drama match up to the hype or is it a disappointment for the viewers? Let’s take a look at my review of Who Rules The World below.

Who Rules The World starts quite well with good and consistent pacing throughout… until you hit the last few episodes. This is where you will get time jumps and rapid events that culminate in a rushed ending. It gives you the feeling that they should be more scenes but they are snipped off to wrap this up in 40 episodes. The choppy editing is also highly noticeable now and then which is very uncharacteristic of a high-budget production. Fortunately, the story still flows coherently despite the poor scene transition at times. At most, they are annoying but you will still be able to follow the plot as it moves along.

The ending also may not be satisfying to everyone. It is understandable but certainly not ideal. To me, it could have been better written since they have decided not to stick to the novel’s version anyway. The ending leaves me perplexed because of the way the person becomes the new Emperor. It renders all the wars fought and soldiers lost meaningless when both camps know the other will also be a good ruler. It is like a gaping plot hole to me when both sides don’t see each other as evil. So, why fight in the first place, right?

Is It A Great Wuxia Drama?
I don’t see Who Rules The World as a particularly great wuxia drama. The fighting scenes are watchable at the beginning but the over-reliance on CGI towards the end is laughable. The wuxia element is not on par with dramas like Heaven Sword and Dragon Sabre 2019 whereby the fighting moves are better choreographed with a classic scene that is worth re-watching.

In contrast, Who Rules The World is also peppered with fighting scenes but none stands out and compels you to rewatch. However, it is still better than Legend Of Fei, with a slightly more powerful performance by Zhao Lu Si. I think if the producer has largely kept to the standards at the beginning, this drama would leave a more lasting impression in the wuxia genre. Unfortunately, what sticks in my mind when the drama ends is the last fighting scene between the protagonists and the villain in Episode 40. It is anti-climatic and simplistic with superman-like flying scenes resembling a Western superhero movie rather than a wuxia drama. Hence, I doubt if Who Rules The World could satisfy serious wuxia drama fans. You will probably be disappointed if you expect more powerfully orchestrated fights. But if you want romance and court politics, this might be your cup of tea.

Romance Plus Politics Plot
Who Rules The World doesn’t have a tightly focused plot. It starts with a missing token that gives legitimacy to the ruler. Just when you think the story is about the fight for the token, it leaves that aside and starts straying heavily into court politics, war, and romance which have nothing to do with the token. The whole plot is more about the protagonists’ journey as they handle one problem after another in the male lead’s fight for succession against his younger brother and stepmother. And in the process, they naturally fall in love which is where a large part of the focus is as well.

So, I think this should delight romance drama fans. The political side of things may become a bore to some though with the typical schemings of a half-sibling and his mother in the quest to become the heir which I guess you could skip if you want to. This production is not a detailed strategy drama like Nirvana In Fire Season 1. Neither does it have the excitement of flushing out the villain as The Wind Blows From Longxi. Instead, it is just a story of a couple who is thrown together by circumstances with court politics interwoven into their adventure.

Chemistry
Is the chemistry between Zhao Lu Si and Yang Yang good? Yes, definitely! But is it superb? Well, not exactly to me. Suffice to say that they do look like a pair of lovers who are deeply in love with each other which gives credence to their on-screen romance. So, chances are you will find their interactions pleasurable. While there is enough chemistry for viewers to feel the romantic vibes, I don’t think it is sizzling enough for me to replay their scenes either. They lack that extra degree of love and passion in their body language to make their scenes together truly engaging.

In terms of acting, I think Rosy Zhao Lu Si shines in her role in Who Rules The World. She is certainly getting better with each subsequent drama and taking on more challenging projects like the one in The Long Ballad. In a way, the role of Bai Feng Xi suits her well as she is a free-spirited character with a bit of badass attitude which is akin to the one she played in The Romance Of Tiger And Rose.

As for Yang Yang, he gives Hei Feng Xi an elegant and graceful personality. He has also shown much improvement since the days of Love 020. Although he appears a little stiff at times in Who Rules The World, the emotional scenes are still well done and hit the right spots to make viewers root for him.

My Verdict – Deserves A Watch
Who Rules The World has a few noticeable flaws but the great first half makes you hooked to the story. Therefore, you will sit through it to the end anyhow. I just get the feeling that the first half is better executed with a higher production quality compared to the second which seems to degenerate into an average drama. This includes the CGI effects as well as the martial arts choreography. Perhaps this is the consequence of having different people being involved in the production as there were news reports that the director and screenwriter quit halfway through the project.

The cast did a great job despite the production problems and this helped to overshadow the choppy editing and plot holes. As such, the drama becomes watchable and engaging and deserves our support especially if you are a fan of the leads. The story itself is easy to follow and coherent. It is a pretty relaxing watch for a historical drama with court politics as part of the plot unlike Sword Snow Stride and Stands By Me which require much closer attention.

For this Who Rules The World review, I would give it a score of 8/10. It falls short with an underwhelming and anti-climatic ending. With the big budget which can be seen from the costumes, location settings, and the number of extras, I think they could have done a better job overall to make the story more compelling. Watch it for the romance rather than the wuxia elements. I think that is the main selling point of this drama and it succeeds in that aspect to make it a satisfying watch for the viewers despite the weaknesses.

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Who cares who rules the world give me more romance

Well this was long... And had something, old, something new and a whole lot of stuff that were borrowed from other dramas like it. Which is fine, but did get draggy at times.

The leads and their friendships are lovely from start to finish, even the hints of love geometry are dealt with in a nice way as our female lead is just so cool. There is however quite a bit that is left unexplored and other parts that seem to be never ending. There are a lot of conspiracies and metal sounding fighting scenes that just got to be to much. So honestly I could not care lees who would actually rule the world by the end of it.

The romance has some interesting twits as well as some really sweet dynamics. To be honest I would have wanted more bickering and more screen time for the process, and more sweetness between the two. So what I got of the two was a pleasure for the ear and eye. But honestly the romance as lovely as it may be was pushed aside for a mediocre political story instead.

Do I recommend it, sure as I said the leads are lovely, and those who love this type of power-struggle dramas this is as good a pick as any other one of these.

I may write more here tomorrow but that will be all for now.

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The dream duo

Is it just me or you can never go wrong with Lu Si and Yang Yang. I've aways loved watching their dramas and putting them together in one drama is like a dream come true. Love the story, love the acting and definitely the costume.

As per usual, I'll list down the things I love and the things I wish could have been done differently.

Things I love:
1. The chemistry between the main characters. It's as though they are written for each other. Both have double identities, both are from royalty, both great with martial arts, both have the same perspective when it comes to people of their country and both have a loyal group of people, willing to die for them. Their personalities, though slightly different, perfectly match each other.

2. Yu Wu Yuan. If you're looking for a villain that is extremely smart, good looking, skilled and pure evil, here's your perfect villain. I see a lot of comments about how Bai-Hei Feng Xi couldn't figure out that he's evil until late into the story, but that's exactly YWY's plan and he executed it perfectly. To be honest, put yourself in their shoes. You have a gazillion things on your plate - fire in your own backyard, enemies from other states - would you have the time to suspect the reputable, number 1 gentleman of the world? Besides, Feng Lanxi has always been suspicious of YWY and had people checking into his background. Would it be fun though, if he had found out so easily?

3. Gender equality. I like that element in this drama. Despite being based in ancient times, I like how they put a spotlight on women and their capabilities in politics. Starting from Feng Qiwu being an important minister in Yongzhou to Bai-Hei Fengxi being kings of their respective states, equal in power. This drama proves that there is no need to weaken men while glorifying women - both genders can be equal.


Things I wish can be done differently:
1. The one element that annoyed me most in the drama is Tianshuang, especially the sifu and Lang Hua. Honestly, other than Han Pu, I find the rest of them very pointless. Multiple times, you see plans spoilt because of the lack of trust. The sifu did not trust that Bai-Hei Fengxi are smart enough to get themselves out of their predicament in Yongzhou, ending up in Lanxi losing his internal power. Lang Hua did not trust Bai Fengxi when she said she did not kill the sifu despite growing up with her and stabbed her, which AGAIN ended up in Lanxi losing his internal power in order to save Bai Fengxi.

2. The ending is somewhat rushed to me. I mean, compared to many dramas I've been watching lately, it is kind of complete. I just wish there is more of the Bai-Hei Fengxi scenes and how their day to day lives turned out after giving up the throne.


BONUS
Satisfying scenes I would replay and replay:
1. The three most satisfying slaps ever shown on drama. When Lanxi slapped Feng Ju in the face three times, while scolding him for being stupid. Couldn't find a better way to execute Feng Ju's humiliation.

2. When Lanxi got pissed after seeing Bai Fengxi injured in the battlefield and went alone to attack Huang Chao. Even when he is being impulsive, he can still get away with it because he seems untouchable with his martial arts.

Would I rewatch this drama? Hell yes. Would I recommend to other people? It's on Netflix, it's not difficult to find places to watch.

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It's a good drama to pass time

** caution: large spoilers ahead

It makes you want to watch on, but it wasn't one of those works that really engulfs you into the story until it's over. It wasn't anything special or extraordinary; it really follows the tropes of this genre and the story makes sense, albeit it didn't flow as well as I'd like it to in some places.

I really liked both leads. There were some gorgeous martial arts scenes in the beginning.

The only thing I really have qualms with was some of the important plot points and the ending.

Key reveals I think were handled poorly:
1. Han family murder, Xieyun's death-- essentially characters recovering extremely fast from grief.
2. Xiyun's identity reveal-- it was extremely anticlimactic after all the build up.
3. They really just took away Lanxi's power & then gave it back in the span of like 3 episodes.

The problem with the ending:

The last few episodes were really rushed-- the final showdown starts in the middle of the last episode. There just wasn't enough time to make everything feel realistic or for anything to sink in. All those years of preparation, and Yu Wuyuan just loses like that? Within 20 minutes of screen time? In the final battle, it felt like there weren't really any real losses or turning points / consequences to war.

Why are others so quick to letting Huang Chao rule a world that was previously divided into six nations? Is Hua Chunran a good person? A good empress?

Although the main characters got their happy ending, I feel that it was extremely out-of-character for them to go and live off on their own. They clearly have talent ruling, and our ML spent the entire drama going for the throne. They're people who can't stand by idly and watch injustice. Essentially the ending is pointing to a world so perfect that they would never need to interfere-- and I just can't imagine that happening.

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Awesomesauce!

What can i say, this drama is a pot full of good stuffs! Lol

As usual, such a brilliant drama, had to binge it in 2 days! I just cant help myself from letting the wetv play the next episode time and time again. I applaud the scriptwriter for such a good writing and plot (and the novel writer too!) This is my first time watching a drama able to mix both the jianghu and the imperial court so well as the main story line. Usually, we only see one of them being a major theme, and the other as a side theme only, but not this one. The fact that both the FL and ML are well known and important figures from both worlds and the writers able to flawlessly intertwined this in the plot really makes this drama one of the best for me.

Beware, this review is going to be one of the longest i will probably ever write personally. Lets start with the ML. This is my first drama of yang yang (yes i know!) and i would gladly say he is now currently probably one of my favourites. His acting here is engaging. Witty. He can change persona so fluidly. Witty and playful sneaky hei fengxi, the regal and authoritative er tianxia and of course the head over heels feng langxi. He nails all of them. His facial expression was good, his crying scenes broke my heart to pieces and of course his smile and honest to god flirt melt me to a puddle of goo. I love how Feng Langxi is a regal prince, but also a powerful martial artist as well. I mean, it was so satisfying to see him blast his court enemy/army with his martial arts, rather than just using ol’ single sword like in other imperial dramas. Lol. How cool is that! When he lost his inner force, he is still powerful, but like he said, it was nice being protected instead, rather than being the one always gruesomely protecting others. Honestly, i was snickering over that unexpected comment of his when it comes up.But enough of gushing over him now. Lol

And tbh, lusi did a spectacular job here. I feel that her acting is very mature and natural here. I’ve seen her before in a female student arrives in imperial college and the romance of tiger and hero, it was ok, but nothing to talk about, her Li Le Yan in long ballad is better despite not being the main lead, but her as bai fengxi is endearingly witty instead of annoying witty, and her as feng xiyun is calm collected and strong, instead of just someone playing pretend. Lol. She has improved a lot here and of course im very much impressed with her action scenes in this drama. The chemistry between the ML and FL is thru the roof, which i likee lol. Another thing that impressed me that how bai fengxi character said, “if you want to help a lot of people, it must be done through politics. Fighting in jianghu might solve small feud, but you can do more in the court” -something along that line. I feel how mature her character is at that time, because, despite her free-spirited wanderer martial artist self, she still can see how a well meant and upright power figure can change the world to a better place if done properly. She roams freely, but she never forget her roots and responsibility as a royal, which i am very much respected.

May i gush next about the costumes and set? Lol. Having to portray 7 different palaces with multiple other noble mansions must be a daunting experiences for the crew, but they did well and they are all suitably rich looking and well set up. And of course, the costumes for all characters are really well made, not only just the leads’. But i must say, the costumes for the ML and FL are plentiful and very beautiful, making them look regal and fairy like. The makeup and hair is nice too. All in all, it was a feast for the eyes.

Ost: at first, i do not notice the ost that much since wetv app usually skipped the opening and ending credit and goes straight to the story, but towards second half of it, it is incorporated more in the story and i must say, the ost was beautiful. I especially like the ‘half-half song’ (lol, havent found out whats the name of the song yet, need to lurk in youtube pronto! But its the song that always played during the emotional family scene). The ending song is nice too! Especially during the wedding parade. Oh did i mention how satisfying the wedding scenes are? Especially coupled with the prewedding goodness. Lol

And lastly, i think i need to gush about the well done job on the fighting and war scenes. *clap
Not too many dramas can portray the big scale war scene to a satisfactory level, and i am very much impressed that this drama can deliver this. Not only it does not feel that fake (nobody fought a war with an obvious 15people which usually happened in other dramas *roll eyes), but the war formation etc is nicely elaborated and portrayed. And if they can do that well on the big scale war scene, of course they satisfactorily able to deliver a onetoone and small scale fighting scenes better! The fighting choreography are applaudable and looking suave. The long ballad may be the only one which come close enough to this drama’s level (from my recent list of watched drama) but of course in long ballad, they can cheat around their big scale battle scene with the donghua insert scenes.

And second lastly (lol), what makes this drama endearing to me is how both ML and FL was given their own time to shine equally. There is no need to make the heroine becomes meek so that the hero can shine as knight in shining armour and no need to bring down the hero so that the heroine can be hoisted up as ‘strong female lead’. When feng langxi was going thru hell fighting for his place in his court, i like how the writer made bai fengxi such a sturdy support beside him, equally smoothing his way ahead. And of course, when feng xiyun needs to step up suddenly and take her old place, i like that feng langxi once again was shown to be such an admirable support to her without taking her limelight away. They fit together like a puzzle and i really equally admired and envied them both. Lol. It’s a perfect show of a relationship, a rare gem in period drama. There is also no sorry excuse of jealousy scene/useless third party/unnecessary sacrifice trope as well, which is refreshing. And i like how they just made it that female officials/generals are easily accepted as norm in the storyline, i was getting quite bored with the ‘female fight for equality’ trope in period dramas tbh. Lol.

I think i can safely said that i’ll be rewatching this again and again in the future. Just like the untamed. There are sooo many scenes worth rewinding and rewatching imho

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Best drama ever

The story is awesome with both interesting storyline and amazing actors and actresses. I really like the chemistry of Yang Yang and Lu Si on - and off- cam and this is one of the many reasons why this drama so well loved. The drama is a combination of wuxia and political/ court-ish elements where both the male and female lead have 2 identities and that makes it extremely interesting to follow their journey where they solve multiple problems while concealing their real identities at the same time. I honestly love all the amazing camera work as well as special effects during the many fighting scenes that occurred in this drama. Despite the many controversies this drama had faced, it does not change the fact that the drama is really well made and I really appreciate all actors and actresses' efforts to deliver an impressive and entertaining performance to the audience.


I 10000% recommend this drama if you are looking for something new and are too tired of the usual fight for the throne/ search for powerful object/ romance that are too cringy to describe plotlines!

And on top of this, if you are a big music lover like me, you did be glad to know that the theme songs in this drama are sang by awesome singers like Liu Yu Ning and Wang Su Long!

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A wuxia that feels more like a historical-political drama.

I went into this drama expecting a classic wuxia, maybe something along the lines of Handsome Siblings, but that wasn't what I got. I felt like this drama was confused in it's ideas, (I haven't read the original novel so this is purely based on the show) almost like it was trying to be Legend of the Condor Heroes and Six Flying Dragons at the same time. I personally don't think it worked because politics is all based around logic so it was strange when they were discussing tactics and then all of a sudden a marital artist could take out 100 soldiers alone. And also the feud between the brothers wasn't very interesting, easily predictable and one of the brothers is completely forgotten by the end.

On the plus side though, Hei-Bei Fengxi have amazing chemistry and their slow burn romance makes the whole show worth watching. At the end of every episode I found myself wanting to watch another to see how they would work through problems together and how their relationship would grow. The world it's set in is so beautiful as well and the consumes are wonderfully designed. So despite some inconsistencies in the plot it is definitely worth a watch.

The ending is the biggest cause for debate I've seen, while I don't think it's a fantastic ending I definitely don't think it's as bad as people are making it out to be. His white hair is hilariously unnecessary but apart from that the show ends with the world being at peace, Hei-Bei Fengxi living happily together despite him only having ten years left to live, and all the evil exposed.

Overall a good watch but nothing exceptional. The romance is what makes it likeable so if you're not into that then you probably won't enjoy it.

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Not sure if it really deserves the hype

I literally forced myself to complete it, partly because of Yang Yang looking good in traditional Chinese costumes and partly because Lusi is my favourite. But even these two couldn't save the series. Firstly, I always have a problem with Yang Yang not showing enough expressions. Like, show me that you're happy/sad/angry/h**ny. Anything! Secondly, I felt like something's missing in Lusi's character. Bai Fengxi is undoubtedly strong and elegant but she didn't look promising as a martial artist as much as Feng Qiwu did. Guess Lusi is not made for martial arts characters. The martial sister of Xiyun, Bai Langhua, was annoying as hell. Like she was unsure of what she wants or thinks. Has some confusing and ridiculous trust issues with Bai Fengxi even after being her martial sister. And how come every living woman in the drama (other than the Queen) is in love with Lanxi. Even that maid of his mansion has a crush on him, like?????? I get that Yang is super handsome and pretty irresistible but this is just some kind of mindless fangirling dumped in the drama. Honestly, Feng Chang really raised my expectations of what he initially bestowed upon me. He was the most genuinely created character. Overall I think the drama had a promising potential but was ruined by casting teenagers and dry actors.

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Breathtaking masterpiece!

Such an amazing series. Th production was incredible with incredible cinematography. Everything from the costumes, fight choreographies, music, etc. were done to almost perfection. The story was good with not a lot of slow draggy moments often plaguing long Chinese dramas. Having said that, there are a few things that would have made the series a lot better in my opinion (my personal preferences):
- I wish there were more kiss scenes. Yes I know kisses are considered rare to begin with, but it would have conveyed more passion between the leads instead of just romantic gazes. Compared to Eternal (10 miles of peach blossoms), the passion was lacking here.
- The part with Lang Hua stabbing was a bit odd to me. Like they were like sisters but that scene just felt out of place somehow. And then the aftermath was also felt rushed like she just apologized and forgiven like she didn’t almost killed her.
- Han Pu didn’t die in the novel and I didn’t understand why he had to die in the series. I would preferred he didn’t die considering he’s the last member of the Han family.
- Although it was considered a happy ending, the fact that there’s a 10-year limit was kind of depressing to me.

Overall, a near perfect masterpiece with high re-watch value.

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