General And I Review

I watched General And I (孤芳不自赏) on a whim after catching Angelababy again in the more recent Love The Way You Are. This is an old drama which was released back in 2017. I think many C-drama fans are still watching this since it is freely available on YouTube with English subtitles. Furthermore, Wallace Chung is also a big draw with his large fan base. Despite being an old production, this historical drama is not that bad overall to me. The General And I review below will have my take on this title with both its good and bad points.

My rating: 7.5/10
Episodes: 62
Type: Historical romance
Aired: January 2017
Images Credit: Croton Media Facebook

The Cast Of General And I

• Wallace Chung Hon Leung as Chu Bei Jie
• Angelababy as Bai Ping Ting
• Sean Sun Yi Zhou as He Xia
• Gan Ting Ting as Princess Yao Tian
• Yu Bo as Sima Hong / Jin Emperor
• Deng Sha as Noble Consort Zhang
• Owen Cheng Hao Feng as Zhang Wen Zheng / Prime Minister Zhang
• Wei Bing Hua as Chu Mo Ran
• Madina Mehmet as Yang Feng
• Qi Hang as Ze Yi
• Zou Yang as Zui Ju
• Hu Wen Zhe as Dong Zhuo
• Wang Tian Chen as Fan Lu
• Li Hao Han as Gui Chang Qing
• Song Wen Zuo as Gui Yan
• Liu Meng Meng as 13th Lady Yan
• Li Xiao Ning as Murong Su / Yan Emperor

Main Characters

Chu Bei Jie

Bei Jie is a powerful general of Jin. He is loyal to the Jin Emperor and has been helping him to win wars with neighboring states. Bei Jie is a very strong and capable military commander and strategist who is respected and feared by his enemies. He is also the Empress Dowager’s foster son.

Bai Ping Ting

Ping Ting is a maidservant at Jing An Manor on paper but actually serves the family as their military strategist and advisor. She was taken in by He Sheng and his wife after the death of her father when she was a kid. Thus, Ping Ting grew up with the couple’s son, He Xia, and they are regarded as a couple. Ping Ting is a very smart and observant young lady who can think strategically to win wars. She is also a beauty with a calm and elegant look.

Supporting Characters

He Xia

He Xia is a general of Yan. His family controls a powerful army in Yan with his father being a military commander and his mother a princess. He Xia is a capable officer on his own with a strong will and determination. Ping Ting is his childhood sweetheart who also serves as his strategist.

Princess Yao Tian

Princess Yao Tian is the only surviving member of the Bai Lan royal family. She has just returned to Bai Lan to take up the state’s governance after being confined in Liang as a hostage. She is astute and smart but lacks real power.

Sima Hong / Jin Emperor

Sima Hong is the Emperor of Jin which is a powerful state. He is an ambitious ruler who is keen to expand his territories. Sima Hong is a cunning and cautious man who would resort to underhanded tactics as long as it serves his state’s and the royal family’s interests. He has 2 sons with the Empress who is his most beloved.

Noble Consort Zhang

Noble Consort Zhang is Sima Hong’s sole official consort. She was married off to Sima Hong against her wishes as she has feelings for Bei Jie whom she has known since their childhood days. Noble Consort Zhang is a jealous and vindictive woman.

Zhang Wen Zheng / Prime Minister Zhang

Prime Minister Zhang is a trusted official of the Jin royal court. He wields great influence behind the scene and has his own personal agenda. Noble Consort Zhang is his daughter.

Chu Mo Ran

Mo Ran is Bei Jie’s subordinate. He is a military officer with fierce loyalty towards Bei Jie.

Yang Feng

Yang Feng is Ping Ting’s best friend from their childhood days. She is a timid and simple-minded woman who is contented being a wife after marrying a Liang general.

Ze Yi

Ze Yi is Yang Feng’s husband. He is the Chief General of Liang but has gradually scaled down his military activities following his marriage. He is a loving husband and a righteous man.

Zui Ju

Zui Ju is a disciple of an eccentric doctor. She has good medical skills despite her young age. Zui Ju is expressive and a little childish. She looks up to Bei Jie.

Dong Zhuo

Dong Zhuo is He Xia’s personal assistant. He also grew up in Jing An Manor alongside Ping Ting and regards her as his sister. Dong Zhuo is loyal to He Xia and has been by his side for a long time. He is also a sentimental person.

Fan Lu

Fan Lu is a Bai Lan garrison commander who serves Prime Minister Gui. He is an easy-going guy who likes to fool around.

Gui Chang Qing / Prime Minister Gui

Prime Minister Gui is a senior official of Bai Lan. He has wide influence in the Bai Lan administration and likes to exert his authority. However, he is loyal to Princess Yao Tian despite his domineering ways.

Gui Yan

Gui Yan is Prime Minister Gui’s son. He is also a general and has feelings for Princess Yao Tian. Although he is ambitious, he lacks wits and capability.

13th Lady Yan

13th Lady Yan is the face of Jiao Yan Casino which is a gambling ship famous for its auctions of rare items. She has feelings for Bei Jie and makes no secret about it.

Murong Su / Yan Emperor

Murong Su is the new Emperor of Yan. He is a selfish man who wants to cement his position on the throne. He is distrustful of his Empress who is the Prime Minister’s daughter as well as He Xia’s family for their military power.

Synopsis

4 states, Jin, Yan, Liang, and Bai Lan, are constantly fighting or undermining each other for domination. Bai Lan is the weakest among the 4. When Yan went back on its peace agreement with Jin, another war seems to be in the making. The Yan general responsible for trying to start another war is He Xia’s father of Jing An Manor. Bei Jie, a Jin general, decides to bring down Jing An Manor with the intention to stop another war.

Jing An Manor’s downfall results in the death of He Xia’s parents. He Xia is forced to flee together with his aide, Dong Zhuo, and his military strategist, Ping Ting, who is also his childhood sweetheart. He Xia and Ping Ting separated during the escape. To find out He Xia’s whereabouts and exact revenge against the Jin state, Ping Ting confronts Bei Jie.

Bei Jie immediately finds the beautiful Ping Ting alluring and falls in love with her. She is also moved by his sincerity. However, they belong to opposing camps and Ping Ting is torn between her feelings for Bei Jie and her loyalty as well as gratitude towards He Xia and his family.

General And I Ending (Spoilers Alert!)

General And I has a happy ending. The last scene is of Bei Jie and Ping Ting being crowned as the Emperor and Empress of Jin with flashbacks of their relationship journey. Half of the final episode is basically taken up by war and fighting scenes between He Xia’s Bai Lan army and an alliance of forces led by Bei Jie. He Xia was encircled by soldiers commanded by Mo Ran, Ze Yi, and Fan Lu. Even He Xia’s own general rebelled over his complicity in Princess Yao Tian’s death.

With his defeat looming, He Xia switched his attention to the defenseless Ping Ting while Bei Jie is in the main battlefield. 13th Lady Yan appeared and helped Ping Ting to fend off He Xia. As the fight continued, Bei Jie got to Ping Ting just in time before He Xia could kill her. The 2 men fought ferociously. Ping Ting sacrificed herself and pushed He Xia down the tower to stop him from kiling Bei Jie at the last moment. She fell off the tower together with He Xia.

Ping Ting’s action to save Bei Jie caused He Xia to have a flashback of Princess Yao Tian’s sacrifice and devotion towards him. Hence, he pushed Ping Ting back up to the tower as he fell. As a result, Ping Ting was saved while He Xia died when he plummeted to the ground.

When Did The Main Couple Got Together?

Bei Jie and Ping Ting got together in Episode 13 whereby they promised not to betray each other. But events forced them apart before they reunited in Episode 20. Ping Ting insisted on remaining by Bei Jie’s side then when he wanted to send her away to keep her safe. They had their wedding in Episode 28 and she got pregnant in Episode 30. She subsequently gave birth to a boy, Chang Xiao, who appeared in Episode 46.

Is There Any Breakup?

Ping Ting requested for a breakup via a letter to Bei Jie in Episode 40. This is because she knew he has a duty to his people and country. While Bei Jie is willing to give up everything and even go to war for her, she didn’t want him to do so especially when she has brought enough troubles to him time and again. With various enemies in pursuit while trying to escape through the mountains to Liang, Ping Ting was mistakenly thought to be dead in Episode 43. She allowed everyone to presume so to lead a quiet life away from worldly affairs.

Ping Ting decided to end the separation with Bei Jie in Episode 53 after a few years. She did so because both of them were still yearning for each other after so long. Furthermore, they needed to support each other to stop He Xia’s brutality in his wars against neighboring states as well as personal enemies.

Love Triangle

He Xia had plans to marry Ping Ting as they grew up together. But once Bei Jie appeared in her life, she fell for him. So, Ping Ting turned down He Xia’s offer of marriage and chose to leave him in Episode 9. She cut off ties with He Xia in Episode 14 after he had a hand in killing Sima Hong’s sons and she ended up being the suspect. He Xia was still nostalgic about their relationship and successfully schemed to bring her back to Bai Lan in Episode 34. But Ping Ting couldn’t care less about his overtures since she only has Bei Jie in her heart. She left Bai Lan in Episode 39 after striking a deal with Princess Yao Tian.

13th Lady Yan was rescued by Bei Jie from slave traders and started working for him to quietly build up a war chest to help Jin. She loves Bei Jie and was open about her feelings. But Bei Jie has no romantic feelings for her. He was still pining for Ping Ting although he thought she had died. 13th Lady Yan was envious of Ping Ting initially and tried to stop them from meeting in Episode 52. But she eventually did what was right and encouraged Ping Ting to reunite with Bei Jie in Episode 53. 13th Lady Yan knew Bei Jie has no room in his heart for her. So, she chose to leave after helping Bei Jie and Ping Ting to defeat He Xia in Episode 62.

Bei Jie’s Background

Bei Jie is actually a son of the late Jin Emperor. His mother was a concubine and was pregnant when the Emperor died. She ran away from the palace to escape being buried together with the late Emperor. Sima Hong’s mother who was the Empress then knew about the pregnancy and consented to her escape.

However, life was hard outside the palace. Bei Jie’s mother decided to bring her son back to the palace after she was forced out by her tribe due to her sickness. With nowhere to go, she pleaded with Sima Hong’s mother to take in Bei Jie. Sima Hong’s mother agreed and made Bei Jie his foster son. But the condition is Bei Jie’s identity must be kept a secret. This is to ensure that Sima Hong’s position as the Emperor would not be challenged. Bei Jie’s mother committed suicide as part of the deal to keep the secret safe. This is revealed in Episode 15.

Bei Jie only knew that he is a prince in Episode 45 when Sima Hong told him the truth. Sima Hong wanted Bei Jie to take over the throne as the former has no heir.

Princess Yao Tian’s Fate

Princess Yao Tian met He Xia in Episode 7 and fell in love with him. He Xia proposed and they got married in Episode 18. They got along well initially but He Xia’s fixation on revenge over his parents’ death fuels his ambition to dominate the world. His rose to power worried the officials and put him at odds with Prime Minister Gui who was afraid that He Xia was using Bai Lan for his own personal agenda.

As He Xia increasingly usurped Princess Yao Tian’s powers, she was pressured to rein him in. But she has no heart to kill him despite his ambition to take her place and rule Bai Lan as king. Instead, she sacrificed herself by drinking poisoned wine during a meal with him in Episode 56. She died to help him to fulfill his ambition. He Xia was tormented by her sacrifice and death. His own selfishness to let her die instead of saving her added to the regret. Only with her death, he could be Bai Lan’s legitimate ruler. Hence, he chose not to save her when he could have done so.

Noble Consort Zhang’s Ending

Noble Consort Zhang was never happy being married to Sima Hong. She was close to Bei Jie during their growing up years and has feelings for him. Her father was the Prime Minister while Bei Jie was a powerful general. Hence, a marriage between her and Bei Jie could spell trouble for Sima Hong. Therefore, Sima Hong made her his consort instead to avert a possible threat to his position.

Although Noble Consort Zhang was treated well in the palace, the marriage was against her wishes. She secretly resented the marriage especially when Bei Jie continuously spurned her advances. This led to be vindictive. Together with her father, she plotted to frame Bei Jie as revenge for his rejection and bring down Sima Hong. She had a hand in the killing of Sima Hong and the Empress’ sons through a collusion with He Xia. She then killed the Empress in Episode 16 by smothering her to death.

Noble Consort Zhang then pretended to be pregnant in a plot to be the Empress and overthrown Sima Hong. But Sima Hong knew all along about her scheme and outed her in Episode 33. He didn’t kill her like she wanted but kept her to alive to make her rue over her mistake of assuming she succeeded in cutting off the Sima bloodline with the death of his sons. Thus, she was horrified when told that Bei Jie was in fact his blood brother. Sima Hong subsequently forgave her in Episode 44 and allowed her to commit suicide when he knew he didn’t have long to live due to his illness. Hence, Noble Consort Zhang died in Episode 45 by hanging herself to death.

Other Key Events

• Prime Minister Zhang committed suicide on Noble Consort Zhang’s prompting in Episode 27. She wanted her father to take sole blame for the plot to overthrow Sima Hong so that she could save herself when the rebellion failed.
• Fan Lu mistakenly thought Zui Ju to be Ping Ting and captured her in Episode 43. But he eventually fell for her and they ended up as a couple.
• Gui Yan was killed during a battle in Episode 49 through He Xia’s evil scheming to clip the Gui family’s power.
• Prime Minister Gui was jailed by He Xia in Episode 50 by accusing him of embezzlement. He committed suicide in his cell in Episode 55 after He Xia sent him his goddaughter’s severed finger.
• He Xia conquered Liang in Episode 50.
• Ze Yi was thought to have died during a fight with He Xia in Episode 51. He was in fact locked up and saved by Bei Jie and Fan Lu in Episode 60.
• Sima Hong was forced to flee the palace in Episode 53 when He Xia attacked Jin. He was stabbed while on the run in Episode 55. He pleaded with Ping Ting to help Bei Jie to rule Jin in Episode 56 and decreed Bei Jie as his successor before dying of his injuries and frail health.
• Murong Su surrendered to He Xia in Episode 58. He Xia subsequently killed him and his Empress in a fit of anger.
• Dong Zhuo was captured during the final battle between Bai Lan and the allied forces in Episode 62.

General And I Review – Could Be Better

At 62 episodes, General And I is indeed a tad too long. It could have been a much more compelling story if it has been shortened by at least 10 episodes. As it is, I watched some parts of it by scanning and skipping because it just got too draggy with all the yearning. I think if you like the couple a lot, this would be a great drama to watch. But if you find faults with them and their actions, then it would be reduced to a very average production.

Bearing in mind that this is a 2017 drama, some scenes do end up being very amateurish in its execution such as those horse riding and war scenes. Perhaps the technology is not as advanced back then to give us better CGIs and more realistic imageries. Some have also commented that Angelababy was pregnant back then and there were limitations to what she could do for some scenes and a stunt double was used. Thus, General And I does have its flaws and may not live up to its billing as a big budget production. Watch it instead for the story although it would take a little time for it to grow on you.

Childhood Link In The Plot

There is this cliche of a childhood link in the main couple’s relationship. Bei Jie met Ping Ting when they were kids and she showed him kindness in his hostile world then which he has never forgotten. When they meet again years later, he falls for her immediately although they are on opposing sides. Hence, there is a lot of push and pull going on in the first dozen episodes or so. He keeps saving her while she keeps scheming against him. Basically, you have to get past that before the story becomes more interesting to watch.

The other glaring point to me is Bei Jie’s wholehearted love for Ping Ting. He is willing to go to war and risk sacrificing his soldiers’ lives just to get her back from his enemy at one point. If you find his devotion towards Ping Ting to be utterly romantic, then he would be the perfect lover. But if you feel that his action is kind of irresponsible, then the story becomes a little exaggerated.

Overall, the story is still watchable though. It doesn’t have a complex plot unlike Sword Snow Stride and Luoyang. So, you can just sit through it and enjoy the romance without having to figure out any intricate power struggles and schemings.

Separations And Yearnings (Spoilers Alert!)

A lot of the drama’s time focuses on the couple’s separations and subsequent yearnings for each other. Bei Jie and Ping Ting obviously love one another. But circumstances often crop up which force them apart. The longest separation between them lasts more than 10 episodes. It just gets dragged out unnecessarily to me.

However, General And I is not exactly a heart-wrenching watch like One And Only despite the separations and the call of duty. It fails to stir the deepest emotions in a viewer which more successful romance dramas could do such as Ten Miles Of Peach Blossoms which is also a 2017 production. I don’t find General And I to be particularly touching. Perhaps the romance lacks a little more depth with a cliche childhood link and breaking up for the good of all. The male protagonist’s love for his woman also borders on obsession at times which makes the drama less compelling than it should.

Acting And Chemistry

Wallace Chung has been a leading actor in many drama series including both modern and historical. His acting has always been consistent with his ability to deliver on his roles. In General And I, he plays a commanding general quite convincingly with the right aura displayed. However, his co-star, Angelababy, got a lot of flak for her acting skills in her role as Ping Ting. Some even got turned off watching her “horrible” performance.

To be fair to her, Ping Ting is not a very expressive character to me. She is calm and elegant with both brains and beauty. So, it is unrealistic to expect her to show more emotions as that is not who Ping Ting is. But I do sense that her acting is stiff and needs improvement in the drama. The upside is she is gorgeous and her beauty fits the character perfectly.

As for the chemistry for this pair, I don’t see it as really great. Wallace Chung has better chemistry with Seven Tan in The Sword And The Brocade than Angelababy in General And I. It is passable and the kisses help to spice things up a little. It is like The Blue Whisper whereby the chemistry is present to a certain extent but falls short of being great. Suffice to say that the story drives the romance for me rather than the acting and chemistry.

My Verdict – Not Too Bad But Not Great Either!

Overall, General And I is not that bad as some reviews have made it out to be. The downside is the length of 62 episodes. Therefore, the drama better be good to warrant spending so much time on it. Personally, I don’t mind watching it despite the heavy time investment. Whether it is really worth it for you will depend on your tolerance for Angelababy’s acting and patience for the story to pick up. So, the first 10 to 12 episodes could be a turn off for some. But the good thing with such a lengthy drama is a more elaborate ending unlike Who Rules The World which seems so rushed.

At the same time, I can’t describe General And I as great either. This is a love story in essence but the romance doesn’t move me deeply enough to make it really unforgettable. The story does have its draw and you would be curious as to how the plot will unfold as you watched. But the execution fails to transform the story into a really gripping saga and the romance into something more captivating for the audience.

For this General And I review, I would give it a score of 7.5/10. Not everyone will like it but I think it deserves a try. If you like power couples with a commanding male and intelligent female protagonist, then this may suit your taste. There will be noticeable flaws and questionable decisions by the characters along the way which will need to be overlooked for better enjoyment. These weaknesses do not kill the drama to me which is why I still think people should give it a go and check it out for themselves.