I started watching Legend of Fei in late December 2020. The first episode was intriguing, and I highly missed watching this kind of martial arts show set in Ancient China that used to be aired on TV on weekends decades ago. I was so happy that WeTV promoted it – that’s how I learned about it, and why I decided to try at least one episode (and then I was hooked) ?
This was a highly anticipated series that is free to watch on WeTV (except for the last few episodes, where you need to be a VIP member to watch, but it’s only P59/month to be a VIP member).
Plot Summary (No Spoilers):
Zhou Fei is the granddaughter of the founder of the “48 Fortress” and to whom the South Blade style martial art was passed on to. The 48 Fortress is a secure compound in the mountains that houses some martial arts masters and their followers. It is well-known and respected for being a protector of the people and keeping the peace. It is a very safe place surrounded by many defenses to prevent attacks from outside. However, it has been attacked by the demon army several times in the past.
Zhou Fei’s mother is the current leader of the 48 Fortress. As youngsters living inside the 48 Fortress, Zhou Fei and her cousins were sheltered and were not allowed to leave the compound until they have proven their capability.
Xie Yun is a wanderer with a connection to the Anping Army, the army of the previous dynasty that is still fighting against the new dynasty. The Anping Army has also been keeping the peace and protecting the people from bandits and other bad people. The leader general of the Anping Army knew he was about to die in battle, he knew Xie Yun had great footwork, so he asked Xie Yun to contact Zhou Fei’s father to be the new leader of the Anping Army. Apparently, Zhou Fei’s father has a past in the Anping Army. That’s how Xie Yun ended up going to the 48 Fortress.
There is a lot of impressive wirework, “flying” and “jumping” and martial arts in the first episode!
The series follows Zhou Fei as she hones her skills, leaves the Fortress, and meets different martial arts masters, some who teach her to improve her martial arts, some of whom she has to fight against. She also meets other people of her age group and the merry band of friends go through different adventures thwarting the “demon” army until they finally figure out the secret that their parents and grandparents were protecting.
The “demon” army is not really demonic. They are just regular people. I don’t know why they are referred to as demons, maybe figuratively, because they don’t mind killing people to get what they want. They are more like an organized army led by very bad people who want to rule the world.
Legend of Fei Review
The series is 51 episodes long of around 45-minute episodes, but it was a fun ride. Don’t worry, there is nothing too deep or heartbreaking. There is a bit of comedy, too. Supporting characters also get some romance, not just the main leads.
The romance is not the center of this series, so don’t expect a purely romantic storyline. But yes, you will cry with the leads, too, when they go through so much to protect each other.
It is actually more about the older generation giving way and entrusting the future to the younger generation.
There is a mystery that they must figure out, and is the reason why the demons keep attacking them.
Legend of Fei is light & fun, you will enjoy it if you love watching wuxia martial arts, flying, spinning, jumping, sword play, poison needle throwing, pressing acupressure points to make people fall asleep, etc…
Ignore the sometimes obvious fake trees and leaps of logic and just go with it 🙂 Don’t take it too seriously, just have fun watching.
Rating: 4/5
Why only 4/5? Although I never found myself bored throughout the whole 51 episodes, there were some things I wished they had shown more of, like Xie Yun’s fighting skills. There were also back stories I wish they had elaborated more on.
***SPOILERS BELOW***
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Happy ending? Yes. Although for me, I wished they had somehow overthrown the new dynasty and put Xie Yun back as the new emperor. But then again, he really did not want to be emperor (emphasized several times in the show), so I guess the ending they gave was his best happy ending.
The Hidden Fortress of Qi towards the end and the guy who lived there was not really explained very well. I wish they had elaborated more about the place and the items they found, and how it was handled was kind of a letdown, like they forgot to emphasize why this was worth so many people dying for. I also don’t understand the point of giving Zhou Fei the Green & Yellow Palm?
The casting was also… er… Xie Yun is supposed to be at least 10 years older than Zhou Fei, but is played by 22-year old Wang Yibo. Zhou Fei is supposed to be around 16 years old when the series starts, but is played by 33-year old Zhao Liying.
Anyway, I still enjoyed watching Legend of Fei.
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***END SPOILERS***
The Unbeatable
This was recently released (January 26, 2021). This movie is a spin-off of the Legend of Fei series and is about the story of Zhou Fei’s mother, Li Jin Rong.
I was so excited to watch it since I enjoyed Legend of Fei, but I wish they had used the same actors /actresses for consistency.
The movie is nothing like the series, though. I felt like the flashbacks shown in the series of the same events conveyed things better than the movie. I don’t know if it’s because the series was longer, so I felt that the characters there were more fleshed out somehow, but the movie seemed shallow and didn’t make me empathize with any of the characters. The fight scenes in the movie were also minimal. The series was definitely more bongga (more the bomb) than the movie. I expected the same quality and storytelling from the series and the movie just did not live up to expectations. There were also some inconsistencies with the series.
