oh my god it is literally so funny how terrible this show is i am just here to add another bad review to even out this score because it is baffling to me why anyone would rate this show a 10/10 unless of course their brains are fully rotted by the bl juice.

u cannot say this show is like cql/the untamed because truly the only thing they have in common besides being bl adaptations is the god awful cg. for me, cql is like a nutritious protein that also tastes good. word of honor is like if they force fed you the most saccharine cloyingly sweet candy until u threw up. it is literally just forcing constant flirting, romantic/cute moments that often have NO basis or development so everything just feels so completely cheap. like they have no interaction beyond flirting and they're already using the big Z J words (zhiji) in the very beginning. all the romantic and cute moments feel unearned and worthless, pure fanservice for bl brainrot fangirls so that they can make more bank off of them. i can feel that the writer DOES care about the story and the characters but she does an absolute shit job of showing it for a majority of the series.

i'll start with what i did like. i think the premise is really fun, i like the IDEA of a retired assassin and the leader of the ghost sect, neither of them are good people but they find each other and connect. the story had so much potential. it is VERYYY wuxia in a way that can be really really fun and nostalgic for anyone who grew up watching classic campy wuxia. chengling the classic tropey protagonist, the corruption of the righteous sects, the beggar gang, the scorpion gang, the big heroes conference, the old guy chained up in a cave for like 80 years, the big revenge plot?? all very fun. the ghost sect members designs are soooo fun, i mean come on the green lipstick?? so good please give me more shows with this degree of campy fun designs!!!!

i also like sooome bits of the relationship between the two main characters. there IS some level of substance, i think the scene where wen kexing is just happily calling his name is good and reflects where both characters are, happy to be able to find each other after everything they've been through. i like that even tho it appears that wen kexing is the one relentlessly chasing zhou zhishu, the reality is that zhou zhishu is into it p much from the beginning, and flirts back/teases him in his own way. zhou zhishu is then the one who is emotionally vulnerable w wen kexing first in an attempt to get him to also open up with him and build a real relationship. he actually pushes the most in the emotional/real way beyond just flirting to understand and connect with wen kexing. i also actually like that the key to the armory was the hairpin that wen kexing is always wearing and gives to zhou zhishu because he trusted him and knew with absolute certainty that he would take care of it.

ok thats it for pros. the rest is pretty much a giant mess that is truly a dumpster fire. despite zhou zhishu being the main character it feels like the writers gave him absolutely NO attention or development whatsoever... he is just guilty and hell bent on punishing himself until he gets himself a bf and a son and is like jk. like why not write a narrative in which they actually explore his inaction and self punishment as actually only harmful to not only himself but those who love him? punishing oneself as retribution for past wrongdoing doesn't undo anything or make up for it, the only thing that helps is productive action. i'm not saying he has to be redeemed for what he did, he doesn't have to become a good person, but if that's the case, then why is he so sad and guilty that he has to punish himself to such a degree and kill himself in the worst way? he spends the entire series with so little focus on his storyline, instead he is single mindedly devoted to wen kexing for reasons i absolutely cannot fathom. i genuinely cannot understand why he loves him so much and is SO patient every time wen kexing flies off the handle and does bad shit or runs away and violently pushes everyone away again, when frankly wen kexing does not deserve it LMFAOO. other than pure pity because wen kexing is an absolute traumatized trainwreck and zhou zhishu wants to help him because he feels bad? but needless to say that is not love... that means that something is going on with zhou zhishu's own character where maybe he wants to fix other people to redeem himself or some shit (though that would've actually been interesting but is 100% not the writer's intention because they were going for romantic, loving, supportive partner.)

as a clarification, i think that sticking with and supporting your partner through their trauma, mental illness, and even some toxic behavior is good, and that it's important to be what they need (obviously not at the expense of one's own needs and boundaries), but i need to be able to see that there is something reciprocal here?? all they have to do is show me why wen kexing means so much to him, and it CAN'T be that he's his long lost shidi because that's plot information reveal and does not count. show me that wen kexing was anything at all to zhou zhishu other than just a relentless and annoying flirt and an evenly matched partner in martial arts. like wen kexing has not given zhou zhishu a single reason to love him or warrant his devotion, like he never encouraged zhou zhishu to forgive himself for his past actions, or to move on and become a better person?? he never taught him anything, or gave him something he had never had before, or changed his life other than just physically always being there. everything wen kexing does for him is fanservice shit like sucking out his poisoned blood, instead of something meaningful. even when he found out about the nails wen kexing doesnt stick w zhou zhishu and try to help him emotionally, instead he loses his shit, throws a tantrum, runs away and screams at gu xiang whilst ppl in HIS sect are being murdered.... literally WHYY does zhou zhishu love this guy WHYY LFMAO. it's like the writers are so focused on showing us that they DO love each other, instead of building the character arcs and relationship arc that explain why and how, this is what gives the show a 'cheap' feeling. (like... compare this to cql where lan zhan's devotion to wei wuxian had a clear REASON, where he loved him because wei wuxian changed his entire life and viewpoint, and even then lan zhan's way of caring for the very traumatized wwx was flawed and only pushed him away further, and he had to Learn how to love him the way he needed..... compare them.... you CANT!!! you just CANT!!!)

wen kexing, despite getting all the love and care and attention from the writer has an absolute mess of a character arc. like i like the idea of a chaotic guy who is just super hell bent on revenge, hates the righteous sects and has a shit ton of trauma, who views himself as unlovable and plays the role of the 'bad guy' and slowly learns to let people in, and reclaim who he really is. instead wen kexing is just not really evil or bad from the beginning? he's just inconsistent?? the whole thing w gao chong was just him feeling bad for being schemed against more than anything else. he shows immediate remorse once the polycule zhiji die, but also kills people indiscriminately, he feels bad about misjudging who his enemy is, he clearly cares for chengling, but also none of the other women in his sect who are all there because they have been rejected by society?? he literally doesnt give a fuck abt his sect and is happily able to leave them all to be w zhou zhishu and chengling and not take responsibility for any of them. literally why cant he get a consistent arc that allows him to heal and work on his issues instead of him just realizing he hurt more 'good' people because he was shortsighted and ignorant, not a BAD person!! (like he learned that already w the polycule deaths why do they have to kill han ying too and drive him into absolute hysterics).... why can't his relationship w the righteous sects and his own ghost sect be informed by his past and his trauma in a way that might eventually become productive?? like that he specifically cares for his sect of outcasts as a reaction to the corruption and oppression of righteous sects? the writer just doesnt seem to be able to commit and instead is waffling around on the trajectory of his character arc. gu xiang basically has a very similar character arc as him, she's also stubborn, violent, traumatized and pushes people away and refuses to show vulnerability, but her storyline is soooo much more straightforward and follows a trajectory that actually makes sense?? this shows me that it is possible they were just an absolute mess when it came to the main characters.

the plot of the entire show is a bit of a mess, but the ending........... the last like 5 episodes..... i dont think i've ever felt such a clear fever dream where i was literally fighting for my life while i was a watching. it goes OFF THE RAILS. the closest experience was watching bubujinxin 2... like the editing and pacing make NO SENSE whatsoever, the show has absolutely no semblance of a rational structure, like are we living in wen kexing's chaos trauma mind??? it flies through a bunch of BIG CLIMACTIC events, wen kexing flies off a cliff and is dead for HALF an episode but not before this results in zhou zhishu and him romeoing and julieting themselves by the finale??? random fluff scenes when bad shit is still happening?? AND gu xiang and cao weining and their sect get MASSACRED by basically a rando after they were like some righteous ppl are ok actually JK thEY ARE STILL BAD AND the armory shit is still going on?? AND then theyre IMMORTAL??? it's batshit, ive never seen a more senseless and near incomprehensible ending that had no semblance of adhering to character arcs and themes that have been set up from the beginning. the fact that the main issue between zhou zhishu and wen kexing that literally causes them both to DIE if not for some deux ex machina shit is a MISCOMMUNICATION...because wen kexing just DIDNT TELL him his plan??? this is the laziest fucking writing ever. like instead of writing a genuine conflict between the main leads they had to resort to fucking miscommunication to up the stakes.... absolute garbage writing. also just the whole armory bit.... like isnt the point that all these ppl fighting over it and ruining each other and their own lives are senseless in their greed for power??? and whats in the armory doesnt matter??? why is it now PIVOTAL to both main character's survival.. and now they are both immortal and STUCK w each other for eternity eating only ice and snow on a mountain forever.... im sorry but i cant think of a more horrible ending. i literally wish they just died and just got reincarnated or smth. this is fucking bleak idc how much u love someone it is deeply unhealthy to only be with one person and interact w no one else and be isolated like that forever. it is the kind of unrealistic i cant live without you, we live together forever that is the ultimate romance that i absolutely HATE.

other notes and final thoughts: also the whole uh... weird grooming thing between xie wang and zhao jing....i dont even know what to make of it other than that they did a pretty bad job of talking abt grooming and incestuous familial abuse if that was their intention. im also crying at having the two leads sing a romantic song and playing it during all their romantic moments but the guy who plays wen kexing can NOT sing for the life of him so we just have to listen to this horrible out of tune warbling during EVERY serious romantic moment. basically this show is an absolute embarrassing mess with shit writing but it's so bad to a level that it became really funny for me and was generally still fun to watch. the main couple are at the very least not the same level of toxicity ive come to expect from bl and there's no clear gong/shou situation so that's a plus. basically i dont think the show is evil but it is absolutely very bad.