After watching Dance Of The Phoenix (且听凤鸣), I think I can understand why viewers are frustrated about this drama. The main complaint is the ending. Nobody likes to watch a drama all the way to the end only to discover that it has a lousy conclusion. But I think there are still a few positive aspects about the drama that could make it worthwhile for some viewers. My Dance Of Phoenix review below will try to discuss both the good and bad about this production so that you can make your own judgement on whether it would be worth your time.
My rating: 6.5/10
Episodes: 30
Type: Romance, Costume
Aired: August 2020
Images Credit: Tencent
The Cast Of Dance Of The Phoenix
- Yang Chao Yue as Feng Wu
- Xu Kai Cheng as Jun Lin Yuan
- Jinna Fu Jing as Zuo Qing Luan
- Estelle Chen Yi Han as Yin Zhao Ge
- Wang Hao Xuan as Yu Ming Ye
- Caesar Guo Cheng as Feng Xun
- Gao Ji Cai as Xuan Yi
- Cheng Mo as Mu Yao
- Sun Ya Li as Qiu Ling
- Leon Li Chuan as Master Mu Jiu Chuan
- Zhong Wei Hua as Old Man Ba
- Chen Yu Tong as Lord Demon
- Zhang Hai Feng as Master Wu You Dao
- Yang Ming Na as Queen of Junwu
- Zhang Gong as King of Junwu
- Yao Shu Hao as Gao Wei
Main Characters
Feng Wu
Feng Wu is a witty and street-smart maiden who peddles drugs for a living. She is righteous and kind but can also be brash and arrogant towards bullies. Feng Wu used to be a top cultivator of her generation but has since lost her memory and power. She was once engaged to Lin Yuan. Feng Wu also has a loyal maid in Qiu Ling and a loving mother. Her father has passed away and the 3 of them live in Border City after having been banished by the Feng family from the capital. Old Man Ba is her medicine teacher in Border City.
Jun Lin Yuan
Lin Yuan is the handsome Crown Prince of Junwu. He is a cold and serious man but righteous. His father is the King who is into cultivation while his mother had died long ago. Lin Yuan has 2 good friends in Feng Xun and Xuan Yi.
Zuo Qing Luan
Qing Luan belongs to the Celestial Palace clan. She is one of the top cultivators and her master and leader of the clan has always had a high expectation of her. Qing Luan is an ambitious and jealous woman. She also has a younger disciple sister in Mu Yao who reports to her.
Yin Zhao Ge
Zhao Ge is a clumsy and fat cultivator with low skills. She loves to eat and is always hungry. Despite her condition, she is a very kind and gentle woman who loves to help others. Qing Luan is her elder disciple sister who cares a lot for her and this often invites jealousy from the spiteful Mu Yao.
Yu Ming Ye
Ming Ye is the young master of Darknight Court. His father is the Lord Demon. He appears as ruthless and wicked to others. Ming Ye sees Lin Yuan as a rival and is always thinking of being a better cultivator than him.
Feng Xun
Feng Xun is a fun and talkative guy. He is from the Penglai Pavilion clan but also a good friend of Lin Yuan and Xuan Yi. He shows interest in Feng Wu the moment he meets her.
Xuan Yi
Xuan Yi is from the Junwu clan. He is a very serious and reserved man who only seems to be interested in books. He doesn’t know how to express himself well especially towards girls. Xuan Yi is also a loyal friend to Lin Yuan.
Master Mu Jiu Chuan
Master Mu was the most powerful cultivator who defeated the Lord Demon and erected an energy barrier to keep out the demonic beasts from the people. He is also Feng Wu’s master but thought to have died while ascending to be an immortal.
Lord Demon
Lord Demon is the leader of the Darknight Court. He is a ruthless man and powerful cultivator who wish to dominate the world.
Master Wu You Dao
Master Wu is a teacher at Junwu Academy. He is a self-learned powerful cultivator. Master Wu is not affiliated with any clan. His ability to increase his cultivation through self-learning arouses interest from both camps.
Queen of Junwu
The Queen appears as a kind soul and seems to have the King’s interest at heart. She is a calm and patient person who has her own personal agenda. Her nephew is Gao Wei who does her bidding. The Queen also used to be a member of the Celestial Palace and the current leader of that clan is her younger disciple sister.
Synopsis
The Junwu clan is the leader of all the sects on Qianyuan Continent except for the Darknight Court which is deemed a demonic clan. 30 years ago, Master Mu defeated the demons and set up a barrier to keep the beasts from the people. But he disappeared thereafter while ascending to be an immortal. Everyone assumes that he has perished. However, he is only in deep slumber.
Feng Wu was born with the red phoenix blood in her which made her the second person to have it after Master Mu. When she was a kid, she found the spirit ring housing Master Mu’s spirit and became his disciple. When she grew up, Feng Wu was well-known for her cultivation. Qing Luan was envious of her and took away her phoenix blood before pushing her down a cliff.
When Feng Wu was found, she has lost her memory and cultivation. The Feng family banished her and her mother to Border City. Then, Feng Wu learns of a Celestial Fruit which can help her to regain her memory and enable her to cultivate again. But this valuable fruit is also sought after by Lin Yuan who is the Junwu Crown Prince and Ming Ye of the Darknight Court. Thus, Feng Wu’s adventure begins when she meets these 2 gentlemen and is drawn into their world while pursuing her own agenda of waking up her master from slumber.
Dance Of The Phoenix Ending (Spoilers Alert!)
Does the Dance Of The Phoenix have a happy or sad ending? Well, if you ask me, I would say neither. It has the feeling of being open-ended. So, if they do want to come up with a Season 2, they could literally set the new story anywhere they like and it would still fit.
In the last few scenes, we are shown that it is Lin Yuan and Feng Wu’s wedding day. The groom is on the way to the bride’s house with his procession. Then, Master Mu shows up at Feng Wu’s house. He tells her that he is there to take her away. Feng Wu’s voice can be heard telling the viewers that this is the story of her second life and what is important is not how it ends but the journey before the credits start to roll to end the drama. I have the Dance Of The Phoenix episode summary laid out if you are interested to know what happened in each episode.
Therefore, if you are wondering whether Lin Yuan and Feng Wu end up together, there is no definite answer provided. They love each other but we are not told if Feng Wu did or did not go back to her world. The inclination is to assume she did because Master Mu showed up. But I think it is really up to the viewers to imagine their own ending based on their own interpretation of the last scene.
Real Or Fake Feng Wu?
If you are wondering where is the real Feng Wu, she had actually died when Qing Luan pushed her down the cliff. The fake Feng Wu uses her body to lead her second life. Hence, the Feng Wu throughout the drama is not the real Feng Wu. That is why the personality of Feng Wu before and after she lost her memory and cultivation is totally different. Even her mother knew Feng Wu is not her biological daughter when she was found but kept quiet and accepted her as her own.
What Happened To Ming Ye?
There is no Ming Ye in the last few scenes of the Dance Of The Phoenix. From the conversations, he is supposed to show up for the wedding. However, there is no glimpse of him. His actions throughout the drama make it very clear that he deeply loves Feng Wu and sincerely wants her to be happy. But he also knows Feng Wu only has eyes for Lin Yuan despite all his sacrifices. He even lost an arm trying to save her from the thunder strikes punishment.
Basically, we are not told what happened to Ming Ye and where he went after the final battle with Lord Demon and the Queen. He simply faded away in the last quarter of the final episode.
Did Zhao Ge And Xuan Yi Die?
No, they didn’t die. They re-appear on Feng Wu’s wedding day. Zhao Ge is supposed to perish after activating the Red Sacred Bead in her body to keep Lord Demon at bay during the final battle. Xuan Yi chooses to accompany her and they are shown fading away. But viewers are told that Master Mu’s spirit ring secured their nascent souls and brought them back to life. How it is done and the details are not provided to the viewers. You would just have to take it that they are alive and well at the end of the drama. They are not married yet but make a sweet couple.
Who Killed Lord Demon And The Queen?
Lord Demon and the Queen are actually co-conspirators. You can say that Lord Demon has been in love with her all along and is willing to sacrifice everything for her. In the end, Feng Wu gets back her red phoenix blood through Ming Ye’s help at the critical moment. That increases her powers greatly and she could overcome Lord Demon easily. But she didn’t kill him for Ming Ye’s sake. It is Lin Yuan who bursts through the door and through Lord Demon’s body which killed him. He is rushing over to save Feng Wu after Master Mu transferred all his spirit energy to him.
When Lord Demon is killed, the Queen decides to die together with him. She commits suicide by using her cultivation power to crush her own heart.
Why Is The Queen So Evil?
The Queen was actually in love with Master Mu but the latter only had eyes for her disciple sister. Hence, she secretly killed her disciple sister and this is revealed in her conversation with Lord Demon. She thought that could make Master Mu hers but instead he preferred to cultivate and ensure peace in the Qianyuan Continent. The Queen’s obsession led her to destroy what she couldn’t have. So, she sabotaged Master Mu’s ascension to immortality at the most critical moment which resulted in him disappearing from the world.
Since Master Mu loved cultivation and Qianyuan Continent instead of her, the Queen also became obsessed with dominating over the cultivators and destroying the land.
Qing Luan’s Fate
Qing Luan died in the end because of her obsession to defeat Feng Wu. She started working for the Queen to take down Feng Wu and when that is not enough, she decided to practice demonic cultivation to increase her powers with Lord Demon’s help. After she killed Mu Yao who wanted to report her to their master, she recklessly absorbed a large amount of the demonic aura as she wanted to defeat Feng Wu at all costs. Thus, Qing Luan lost her way and was stabbed by Feng Wu in self-defense while they were trapped in the Illusion Mirror. She died thereafter.
Qing Luan had always hated Feng Wu not only because of the latter’s cultivation powers but also because of Zhao Ge whom she used to share a close bond. But when Zhao Ge was banished from Celestial Palace, she went to the capital and became very close to Feng Wu. Zhao Ge always sided with Feng Wu and didn’t want to be associated with Celestial Palace anymore which made Qing Luan jealous of her rival.
Dance Of The Phoenix Review – Confusions Abound!
I know some people love Dance Of The Phoenix and are clamoring for Season 2. But if they are thinking of producing another drama with the same wishy-washy storyline and ambiguous ending, I would prefer that they just drop the idea. If you have watched Love Of Thousand Years, Dance Of The Phoenix gives a similar confused feeling after completing the drama.
Needless Ambiguity For The Plot
I understand that this drama is based on a novel. I’m also sure the novel would have explained a lot of the details that are missing from the screen which simply leaves viewers confused about the main female character. We are not told where she comes from and how she ends up in her current state. Basically, the “Who is she?” question is not answered in the drama. But if you read the synopsis published by the network on YouTube, you could get an idea about Feng Wu in that short description. For some reason, that important detail is just not included in the drama when it could have made things much clearer to the viewers.
So, I don’t really understand the need for that ambiguity. If they are trying to make it into a suspense, it is not working for me. The reveal is anti-climatic and even towards the end, we are still left with lingering questions about her real identity.
However, the overall plot is interesting as long as you can tolerate jealous females as antagonists and a certain level of vagueness. There are some suspense and twists for a few of the characters to keep things moving along nicely rather than becoming a big bore. They may seem like a sidetrack at times but they do tie back to the main plot as the story progresses.
Loose Ends Mar The Ending (Spoilers Alert!)
Personally, I feel the last episode could have been more thoroughly thought out and presented. It feels a bit rushed when there is no proper accounting for a few main characters. It is like the screenwriters just want you to know that they are alive and that simply wraps out their story. The final battle with the Lord Demon and Queen is also an anti-climax. If you expect a Eternal Love Of Dream kind of final battle, you won’t find it in the Dance Of The Phoenix either.
As for the main couple, there is no satisfaction of knowing what happened to them on their wedding day. This is unlike many dramas that have a clear-cut conclusion of the couple being together such as And The Winner Is Love and Ashes Of Love. It is a confusing ending with its open-ended nature coupled with the lack of details of Feng Wu’s origin.
Having said that, it can also be an acceptable ending if you don’t mind a bit of realism in the story. Not everyone can have a happily ever after relationship. This is especially true for Feng Wu as she doesn’t belong there. If you look at it from that angle, then the ending would make sense.
Lin Yuan And Feng Wu’s Chemistry
For this main couple, I can only say that I don’t feel the sizzle between them. If you compare Xu Kai Cheng’s chemistry with Simona Wang in Well Intended Love and Yang Chao Yue in Dance Of The Phoenix, the difference is just obvious. Well, maybe the 2 dramas are completely different genres, but the interactions between the 2 leads just fall short in their ability to build up the romance to its full potential to make the viewers more invested in the couple. That is probably why many fans ship the female lead with the second male lead instead which is just like the case with The Twin Flower Legend.
Furthermore, Yang Chao Yue’s acting also looks a little stiff to me. Perhaps that takes away the sizzle for the main couple. Her reactions in some scenes don’t look natural enough because the expressions are not on point to convey the emotions needed to move viewers. It is understandable though given that she is a very young actress. It would certainly be interesting to catch her performance in the modern drama Midsummer Is Full of Love which is being aired very close to Dance Of The Phoenix.
My Verdict
Are there more bad points than good for Dance Of The Phoenix? Frankly speaking, I’m neutral on this drama. I won’t tell you to skip it because of the ending unless you absolutely hate ambiguity. The first part of the drama is good. I chased after it because the plot makes it highly watchable. Hence, if you have watched more than 20 episodes non-stop, it is only natural that you will continue and finish it. I think for many people the problem comes when that built-up is not carried through to the end. The drama kind of falters once it reaches the last quarter mark.
While the plot twists keep the story interesting rather than descending into boredom, they are also unconvincing. Hence, I see it as a double-edged sword. If you can accept the flimsy reasons of why some characters start doing bad things, then the drama will probably rank higher on your scale. Otherwise, the plot twists and characters can feel superficial and those start from Episode 21 onwards.
In conclusion, I think the drama has a good story to work with but the way it was adapted on screen fails to give a proper account of the important details. As a result, it feels less than satisfying as it leaves viewers guessing with an anti-climatic ending. Hence, I would give this Dance Of The Phoenix review a 6.5/10 score. The first 20 episodes will probably suck you in but lower your expectations as it inches towards the ending. That should take away some of the disappointment if you decide to invest your time on this drama.
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Just finished watching it and can’t agree more with your review. I loved you said it is “highly watchable” because that’s exactly what I wanted to highlight when I leave my review at Viki’s page for it. It is not a great drama, but it is something you can watch and get you entertained with, even with its flaws and annoying characters.
Agree a lot with the ambiguity issue. I understand they don’t waste time on explaning what transmigration means, so this is mainly targetted to an audience that is already culturally familiar with it, but they just don’t give much details about the transmigrated soul, so it is confusing even for viewers that know the theme. Also, it is confusing they don’t explain, because a lot of dramas get the transmigration theme censored for a reason, and it is barely the case of characters entering video-games or novels (or scripts) the ones that get the pass and don’t have to erase it from the plot, like they did with Minglan or most of the nowadays IP that are from reincarnation themes (Weiyang),
And another point I highly agree: everything was anti-climatic.
Zao’s death, without getting properly exposed, since she was vicious from the start, and the abuse she suffered from her master doesn’t justify her cheating, stealing someone else’s blood and killing her. She just died like that, only being discovered she had turned to the demonic sect, but people just kept questioning Feng Wu and not knowing or acknowledging the person they worshipped so much was a fake, white lotus.
And the whole ending episode. Mu Yao’s death too was anti-climatic and badly developed. Her worshipped Senior Sister’s image was destroyed in front of her eyes, but she barely got to see how nor trully understood the real bad things she had done. Honestly, for a character that was even more annoying than Zao’s, because she was too snobbish, too much of a boot-licker and had acted viciously (almost killing Feng Wu and Zhaoge) a few times in the name of her superiority and fake righteousness; she deserved the kind of ending when such a character gets to know all the things she believed where lies and that she’s been behaving like a true monster. Instead, she just died thinking her beloves Senior Sister had “lost her way” while she was still so “good”.
Same thing I can say about the two cousins that suddenly disappeared from the story.
These things always get white-washed into dramas adaptations, when in the novels, are usually a complete feast for the readers.
Has anyone read the book? Does it explain more? Have a better payoff at the end!
Seriously speaking the movie is not bad,but it was not explanatory at all, we did not see where the fake Feng wu came from , how she came and the most annoying aspect is the end
The essential and important details of the movie was skipped and I hope for a season 2 with a detailed storyline
I think Feng Wu came from the modern world, it would explain a lot if she did. She mentioned things like instant noodles in one episode and baba (father in modern times) in another. This clearly shows her sense of modern knowledge and how they mention she is from another world.
I think I know what happened. Feng Wu’s origin came from the modern world, explaining how she knew about modern stuff like instant noodles, and other modern things the ancient people didn’t understand. I also remember Feng Wu telling someone to say baba (which means dad, but in ancient times it was something else) this hints to her being of the modern world. I wonder if the sequel is in the modern world if there is ever going to be one.