The Legend Of Anle Review

With 2 of the most popular stars in C dramaland being the leads in The Legend Of Anle (安乐传), it is only natural that it will garner high viewership and publicity. But the hype also comes with a certain level of expectation. I went into this without knowing anything about the story. I didn’t bother to find out as I expected the quality to be there whatever the story or genre it may be given the cast. To a certain extent, I think I’m right. But the drama also has some weak points which I would elaborate on in The Legend Of Anle review below.

My rating: 7.5/10
Episodes: 39
Type: Historical Romance
Aired: July 2023
Images Credit: Douban Movie

The Cast Of The Legend Of Anle

• Dilraba Dilmurat as Ren An Le / Di Zi Yuan
• Simon Gong Jun as Han Ye
• Liu Yu Ning as Luo Ming Xi
• Xia Nan as An Ning
• Tim Pei Zi Tian as Leng Bei
• Chen Tao as Wen Shuo
• Li Shu Ting as Di Cheng En / Di Zi Yuan
• Qin Xiao Xuan as Mu Qing
• Wang Yi Ting as Lin Lang
• Long Shui Ting as Yuan Shu
• Shang Xin Yue as Yuan Qin
• Kong Lin as Sun Yu Jun / Empress Dowager
• Zong Feng Yan as Han Zhong Yuan / Emperor
• Bai Bing Ke as Mo Shuang
• Sun Xin Hong as Gu Yun Nian
• He Bin as Jiang Yu
• Gao Yi as Wei Jian
• Zhan Xiao Nan as Di Sheng Tian

Main Characters

Ren An Le / Di Zi Yuan

An Le is a free-spirited and playful woman who owns a fleet of ships with 30,000 pirates at her disposal. She is smart and strategic in her quest to achieve her goal. While An Le appears as flirtatious and carefree, she has a secret aim to avenge those who massacred her family a decade ago. An Le is her assumed identity while Zi Yuan is her real name. Her father was the Marquis of Jing’an, Di Yong Ning.

Han Ye

Han Ye is the Crown Prince of Jing. He is a serious and highly principled man who cares about the country and people. While he is smart, he is not as wily as An Le. Instead, he is a person with strong self-discipline and self-restrained. Han Le has a betrothal agreement with Zi Yuan which he intends to keep.

Supporting Characters

Luo Ming Xi

Ming Xi is the Minister of Justice. He used to be An Le’s bodyguard before her family was massacred. The Luo family has always been loyal to the Di family. Hence, Ming Xi has a close relationship with An Le and is quietly helping her to avenge her family’s death. He is a reserved man and a strategic thinker but has a weak constitution health-wise.

An Ning

An Ning is the Princess of Jing and Han Ye’s younger sister. She is a general who chose to go to the border to fight against Northern Qin when she was young. An Ning is tough and stoic but shoulders immense guilt in her heart for what happened to An Le’s family.

Leng Bei

Leng Bei is An Ning’s personal bodyguard. He is a serious and unsmiling man. Leng Bei has been working for An Ning for a few years after she saved his life in a battle at the border.

Wen Shuo

Wen Shuo is Han Ye’s page. He is a playful young man with a great memory.

Di Cheng En / Di Zi Yuan

Cheng En was a beggar when she was a kid and chosen to assume Zi Yuan’s identity. She is trained from young to be Zi Yuan to fool those in power. Cheng En is naive about the dangers of palace politics but ambitious and greedy for power to escape humiliation.

Mu Qing

Mu Qing is Cheng En’s bodyguard and has been by her side for 10 years. He is sincere towards Cheng En but also has to report to Ming Xi who is his master.

Lin Lang

Lin Lang is a popular and beautiful courtesan at Ling Xiang Pleasure House in the capital. But in actual fact, she works for Ming Xi to gather intel and carry out secret missions. Lin Lang is obedient and loyal to her master.

Yuan Shu & Yuan Qin

Yuan Shu and Yuan Qin are An Le’s assistants. They know her real identity and secret mission. Yuan Shu is good at martial arts while Yuan Qin is the more cultured and brainy one. Both of them complement each other in supporting An Le with their different skills.

Sun Yu Jun / Empress Dowager

Sun Yu Jun is the Empress Dowager of Jing. She is Han Ye and An Ning’s grandmother. She is a narrow-minded and spiteful woman who hates An Le’s family for being a traitor.

Han Zhong Yuan / Emperor

Han Zhong Yuan is the Emperor of Jing. He is also Han Ye and An Ning’s father. The Emperor is a cautious and calculative man. While he doesn’t appear evil, he is not all righteous either as he will consider the political implications of each action.

Mo Shuang

Mo Shuang is a Princess of Northern Qin. She is a young lady who likes to eat, enjoy life, and partake in revelry. She neither understand nor interested in politics. Mo Shuang is friendly and innocent.

Gu Yun Nian

Gu Yun Nian is the Marquis of Zhong Yi. He is a senior court official who has vast influence in the administration. He also has direct control over the Court of Judicial Review through its minister, Pei Zhan. Gu Yun Nian is a cruel and greedy corrupt official. He has a son, Gu Qi Shan, who is a spoilt brat.

Jiang Yu & Wei Jian

Jiang Yu and Wei Jian are the Grand Chancellors of Jing with the latter being regarded as an upright official.

Di Sheng Tian

Di Sheng Tian was the head of the Di family and An Le’s grandaunt. She had a close relationship with Han Ye’s grandfather, the late Han Zi An, and both of them cooperated in the founding of Jing. Di Sheng Tian is a reclusive figure whose whereabouts is often unknown.

Synopsis

10 years ago, Di Yong Ning was framed for being a traitor who colluded with Northern Qin against Jing. His entire family was ordered to be killed by the Emperor except for his daughter, Zi Yuan, who was saved by Crown Prince Han Ye. The Di Army was also branded a traitor and massacred with a loss of 80,000 lives. Han Ye used his late grandfather’s edict that Zi Yuan is to be his official wife to save her life. Both Han Ye and Zi Yuan were childhood friends as the Han and Di family were close associates who cooperated in the founding of Jing. Although Zi Yuan’s life was spared, she was ordered by the Emperor to spend her life in the Dai Mountains.

10 years later, a woman named An Le appears as a pirate leader with a huge fleet of ships. An Le is actually Zi Yuan as she puts in motion the plan to clear her family’s name and seek revenge while someone else has been arranged to take her place in Dai Mountains. At the same time, Han Ye is still pining for Zi Yuan partly due to guilt for what happened to her family. He has continued to insist that he will only marry Zi Yuan in accordance to his late grandfather’s decree.

To fulfill her mission, An Le has to get close to Han Ye. So, she pretends to be infatuated with him while he has no idea she is Zi Yuan after 10 years have passed since they last met as kids. Although both of them end up falling for each other, An Le’s quest for revenge and Han Ye’s promise to Zi Yuan means they have to let go of their hidden feelings.

The Legend Of Anle Ending & Recap (Spoilers Alert!)

The Legend Of Anle has a happy ending. Han Ye regains his sight after being blinded by Leng Bei during a fight. The rare flowers from their hometown that Ming Xi has carefully cultivated for An Le finally blooms. But instead of giving it to her, he hands it over to cure Han Ye’s eyes as it is one of the ingredients needed in the medicine. Although Han Ye still thinks there is too big a barrier between him and An Le given their families’ feud, he changes his mind after listening to An Le’s grandaunt. He is also moved that An Le’s hair has turned white because of him.

Han Ye rushes to see An Le thereafter as she is about to marry Ming Xi. He states his intention to make her his Crown Princess only to learn that he has been tricked to confess his feelings. The wedding was actually arranged for Wen Shuo and Yuan Qin. But that confession leads to the couple’s marriage. 7 years later, Han Ye and brings An Le to see a field of the rare flowers in the capital that he has secretly sowed years ago. They have magically bloomed which remind them of Ming Xi.

The drama ends with a short narration that Han Ye and An Le got through hardship together to rule Jing for 50 years to give the people a prosperous and peaceful nation.

When Did The Leads Get Together?

Han Ye already voiced out to An Le that she is important to him when he got drunk in Episode 7. In Episode 9, he again tells her in a drunken state that he has fallen for someone else, i.e. An Le, although he will only marry Cheng En. Han Ye admits to Ming Xi in Episode 14 that he has developed feelings for An Le but will have to accede to Cheng En’s request and do as she wishes as Crown Prince.

Similarly, An Le also acknowledges to Ming Xi that she fancies Han Ye in Episode 15 and 17 but is determined to put her feelings aside to fulfill her mission to clear her family’s name. She even sets up a performance that pushes the ignorant Han Ye to choose Cheng En as the Crown Princess in Episode 17.

After Han Ye finds out that An Le is Zi Yuan, he confesses to her in Episode 22. He kisses her forehead and says that he will always keep Zi Yuan safe. This is during a private time together when they could momentarily forget about their duties in the outside world.

But circumstances still keep them apart until Episode 33 when they need to defend Jing against Northern Qin in a war. An Le realizes how much Han Ye loved her when he goes missing and is presumed dead after a fight with Leng Bei who injures his eyes in Episode 35. Her hair turns white from grief in Episode 36. Han Ye returns to the capital in Episode 37. They finally got married in Episode 39 after he regains his eyesight and realizes he should not let the feud of the previous generations to burden him in his relationship with An Le.

Is There A Breakup?

An Le and Han Ye are destined to be on opposing camps as she is resolute in her aim to seek justice for her family and the Di Army. Although they are not officially a couple, their relationship inevitably deteriorates after she exposes that her family was framed and Han Ye’s grandmother is the culprit responsible in Episode 25. The exposure then pushes the Empress Dowager to commit suicide in Episode 26 as the people and officials are pressuring the Emperor to give the Di family justice. Thus, An Le and Han Ye are burdened by responsibility and loyalty to their respective family to have any hope of being together.

The couple part ways in Episode 31 as An Le decides to return to her hometown. She tells Han Ye that too much has happened between them and the fate of their relationship should be clear. They meet again in Episode 33 in the war against Northern Qin but An Le is still cold towards Han Ye. She only learns that Han Ye has secretly protected her after he jumped off a cliff and presumed dead in Episode 35.

When Han Ye returns to the capital, he refuses to see An Le in Episode 37. Besides being blind, he feels that he couldn’t protect her and the feud between their families is too big a gap to overcome with all the political uncertainties. He even pretends to be unperturbed when he finds out that An Le and Ming Xi will be getting married in Episode 38 which is An Le’s plan to get him triggered. Han Ye only makes a move in Episode 39 after listening to An Le’s grandaunt’s advice.

Is There A Love Triangle?

Ming Xi is also in love with An Le but has kept his feelings hidden all the way to the end. For 10 years, he has protected her and paved the way for her to seek justice for her family. But An Le has always regarded her as a brother and nothing more. In Episode 36, viewers will be told that An Le’s father had chosen Ming Xi to be his daughter’s future husband when she was born. This is through a conversation between Ming Xi and Lin Lang. But the betrothal was automatically cancelled when the founding Emperor, i.e. Han Ye’s grandfather, chose An Le to be Han Ye’s future wife in his last edict.

Ming Xi also knows that he doesn’t have long to live with his weak health. Hence, he willingly helps An Le and Han Ye to be together towards the end. Although An Le knows what he has done for her, Ming Xi still tries to hide it in Episode 39. He lies to An Le that her father had requested him to protect her and treat her as his younger sister the day she was born. Ming Xi dies peacefully from his illness with no regrets for all that he has done for An Le as as been entrusted to him by her father.

Lin Lang also has secret feelings for Ming Xi but knows that he only has eyes for An Le. Her father and brother were part of the Di Army who perished during the ambush. She serves Ming Xi loyally all the way and dies in his arms in Episode 38. She is killed by Leng Bei when she shields Ming Xi from Leng Bei’s attack.

When Did An Le’s Identity Get Exposed?

Han Ye suspects Cheng En is not who she claims to be in Episode 17 when he notices that her shoulder doesn’t have a scar that Zi Yuan should have. Hence, he orders an investigation into Cheng En’s life. An Ning and Han Ye have further reason to suspect An Le’s identity when an ex-member of Di Army surfaces to accuse Gu Yun Nian’s son of murdering his employer’s daughter in Episode 19. An Le’s interest in this ex-soldier raises their suspicion.

In Episode 20, An Ning realizes An Le is Zi Yuan when she trails her to her late brother’s grave. An Le purposely lets her do so so that An Ning can make her own decision whether to approach An Le and reveal what she knows.

Han Ye confirms An Le is Zi Yuan in Episode 21 when he checks for her scar after she fell asleep from exhaustion. They have fallen off a cliff into the waters below due to an ambush. In Episode 23, An Ning and Han Ye meet An Le separately and talk about her plans as they open up about her identity. Both are adamant that An Le should not risk her life to pursue justice for her family and army. But An Le refuses to stop her mission.

An Le exposes her own identity as Zi Yuan in Episode 25 during a double celebration of the Empress Dowager’s birthday and Cheng En’s conferment as Crown Princess. Ming Xi helps her to arrange for witnesses and state their case during the banquet that the Di family and army are not traitors but were tricked.

Who Framed An Le’s Father?

An Ning’s nightmare in Episode 15 reveals that the Empress Dowager was involved in the framing of the Di family. She saw her grandmother passing a letter to an eunuch who subsequently died. That is why An Ning is very bitter and guilty over what happened to her best friend and her family. Ming Xi suspects An Ning has knowledge over the incident and confronts her in Episode 18. He plays on her guilt and she reveals that Di Yong Ning was tricked into deploying troops after receiving a letter purportedly written by the Emperor. However, An Ning refuses to reveal who wrote and sent the letter.

Ming Xi and An Le then set up a plan to force the issue. In Episode 24, witnesses are arranged to provide testimony to the Emperor during a banquet with officials in attendance. They claimed that the Di Army was tricked to be deployed to fight Norther Qin invaders but they ended up being ambushed. As they retreated to a narrow mountain pass, they were attacked and few survived. The person who gave the orders to attack the Di Army was Gu Yun Nian and the latter did so after receiving a letter from the Emperor.

An Le produced the letter which bore the Emperor’s handwriting and seal. But the Emperor denies writing the letter. With the Emperor being implicated, An Ning has no choice but to reveal that the letter was written and sent by the Empress Dowager in Episode 25. The Empress Dowager admits to the crime but refuses to acknowledge that she was wrong. She did it to protect the Emperor from the Di family whom she saw as a threat due to their military power.

Wen Shuo’s Background

Wen Shuo is actually An Le’s younger brother, Di Jin Yan. He has lost his memories as a young kid due to an illness. When the Di family was accused of treason and killed, Jin Yan was reported to have died from his illness. It was Han Ye’s ruse to keep Jin Yan alive. Han Ye then plotted another scheme to admit Jin Yan into his household by claiming that Jin Yan has saved him from hooligans. He gave him the name Wen Shuo to hide his identity.

Han Ye only reveals to Wen Shuo that he is An Le’s brother in Episode 35. He does so as he foresees that he might die in the war with the Northern Qin army. He also wants to keep Wen Shuo safe by sending him away to be with An Le. Wen Shuo then tells An Le that he is Jin Yan after Han Ye jumped off the cliff and is presumed dead after Leng Bei’s attack. In other words, Han Ye has done a lot for An Le at great risk without her knowing.

Other Key Events

• Gu Qi Shan betrays his father and rats on him in Episode 20 after a set up makes him think that his father wants to kill him to save his own skin.
• Gu Yun Nian is set up by Jiang Yu and framed for trying to kill Han Ye and An Le in Episode 21.
• The Empress Dowager commits suicide in Episode 26 after her crime of framing the Di family and killing their soldiers was exposed by An Le.
• Cheng En’s identity as a fake Zi Yuan is exposed in Episode 25 when An Le pleads her case to seek justice for her family. Mu Qing consoles Cheng En and promises to stay by her side in Episode 26. She decides to leave the capital to return to her hometown with Mu Qing and makes peace with An Le in Episode 31.
• The Emperor agrees to let Han Ye to pray for the souls of the dead Di soldiers on his behalf in Episode 28. He issues a decree to reinstate the Di family’s and Di Army’s reputation in Episode 29.
• Han Ye kills Jiang Yu when the latter threatens to reveal Wen Shuo’s identity as An Le’s brother in Episode 29.
• An Ning realizes Leng Bei is a Northern Qin spy in Episode 31. She dies defending an important city in Episode 33.
• The Emperor apologizes to An Le for his mistakes in Episode 37. This is after he met Di Sheng Tian in Episode 36. He learns that Di Sheng Tian and his father had never planned to strip him of his position as heir to the throne as he has mistakenly believed.
• An Le and Ming Xi capture Leng Bei in Episode 38.

The Legend Of Anle Review – Peaked Too Early

Personally, I don’t see The Legend Of Anle as a great drama but a decent one. It is watchable for the most part with a good story although the script and plot execution are somewhat lame. I think the problem lies in the drama peaking too early. The start is interesting enough to get you hooked with a female pirate having the audacity to flirt with a Crown Prince. Then the story switches to investigation mode which is enjoyable up to a point. This is because the female pirate is playing pretend and that pretense of being carefree gets stale after a while.

Nevertheless, the main plot of seeking justice is still tightly woven together which helps to move the story forward. The female lead’s quest to clear her family’s name and seek revenge is ingrained into viewers’ mind from the very beginning. You would expect this to run all the way to the end before justice is served. But that is not the case here which is why I feel that the drama peaked too early.

The subsequent part talks about war with a neighboring state which is just a roundabout way to try to patch things up between the protagonists. While there is justification for the war, the romance just feels lackluster towards the end when it is supposed to be the main attraction of the whole drama.

Unfulfilling Romance (Spoilers Alert!)

The Legend Of Anle is a romance drama with only one kiss on the forehead. That’s it! So, this is not a passionate and intense kind of romance. The protagonists have to restrain themselves as they are on opposing sides. Therefore, feelings are suppressed for the most part to give priority to duty and mission. Inner conflict and yearning for the one you can’t have perhaps best describe the love in this drama. So, if you like sweet and fluffy romance, this is not the one to watch.

While the angsty nature of the love is understandable and supposed to move you, the way it is handled towards the end is a letdown. As I watched, I have no clear understanding why the male lead initially rejects the girl in the last 2 to 3 episodes. They obviously love each other. It just feels unnecessary to add more drama into the romance when we are already nearing the finish line. To make matters worse, the excuse of not wanting to be together is vague and/or flimsy.

In addition, to resort to triggering the guy with a planned wedding with another man just seems so cliche. So, after sitting through so many episodes of seeing the couple on opposite ends, the way they are put together to close off the drama feels bland. I can’t feel the excitement and sweetness of seeing them together at last because the lead up to it is poorly written.

Poor Scriptwriting

While having revenge in a plot is nothing new from Love Like The Galaxy to The Long Ballad, The Legend Of Anle starts off the justice quest with investigations and strategic plays. Therefore, it will be interesting if you like to watch schemings and entrapments. If you don’t, then this part of the drama might be a tad boring. It also doesn’t have the same level of intensity and suspense as Nirvana In Fire. Think of it as a light version of that classic to keep your expectations in line.

Anyhow, the investigative aspect doesn’t last long as the drama will switch direction once the quest for justice is done with. This is when things start to degenerate for me. The falling off a cliff and surviving trope, and the shallow backstory of a spy and his ending are some examples of lazy scriptwriting. Just like Snow Eagle Lord, the main story may be watchable but the production suffers from a poor script which drags down the enjoyability.

The saving grace is that the poor script is not at a disastrous level yet to turn you off totally. The overall drama remains a decent watch but certainly not a masterpiece. The start is interesting at the very least which will draw you in. As some of the supporting characters’ stories develop, they also add to the plot intrigue. This in turn helps to keep the drama from being mediocre.

Acting & Chemistry

I think the quality of the acting will be a controversial issue given the cast. As they are popular celebrities, there are bound to be both fans and anti-fans who will offer totally contrasting opinions. Personally, I’m okay with both Dilraba Dilmurat’s and Simon Gong’s works so far. In The Legend Of Anle, their acting is acceptable but nothing great.

Dilraba Dilmurat is better at playing the carefree and flirtatious version of An Le than the stoic and serious version in the later part of the drama. She has a more relaxed demeanor with more expressions playing the carefree An Le. Hence, she is more natural in that role to me. Once the character turns serious and reserved, there should be a lot of inner turmoil and pain within. But I can’t detect them in the cold and impassive look she often gives the male lead.

Simon Gong’s character is also a complex one. He is trained to be restrained and regal which the actor did well for that bit. But his facial expressions end up being too bland at times that the character becomes a little boring. The emotional display in the heartfelt scenes also becomes underdone.

Perhaps this is because the leads’ chemistry is not fiery enough. Just like Dilraba Dilmurat’s partnership with Allen Ren in The Blue Whisper, her cooperation with Simon Gong in this drama also fails to produce sufficient heat and tension for a more sizzling romance to me. They are competent enough to make it work as an onscreen couple. But if you expect fireworks, it seems to be missing.

My Verdict – A Decent Watch

The Legend Of Anle does have a certain quality to it with the nice costumes, settings, and cinematography. The story is fine as well although seeking revenge isn’t really a unique plot. The lead up to the reveal of who framed the female lead’s father and the exposure of her identity is gripping enough. To me, that is the climax of the story and it happens way before the drama ends which is a weird way to write a script. So, I find the first half to be better than the second.

Unlike Destined, there is no character growth in The Legend Of Anle. You don’t see them maturing and becoming better people except perhaps for one or two supporting characters. Instead, it is all about seeking justice, unfulfilled love, and duty to nation. The main characters are sad souls as they hide their feelings and can’t be with the one they love. Hence, the drama has this unfulfilled love vibe that isn’t very pleasurable to watch especially for the second male lead. I guess if you don’t mind yearning and sacrifice as a sign of love instead of a full-blown romance, then this drama might still be your cup of tea.

For this review of The Legend Of Anle, I would give it a score of 7.5/10. It is nothing great but neither is it bad. The last few episodes is probably its weakest link in terms of screenwriting. But with the plot moving along at a good pace, chances are you will still follow the story to its conclusion. So, I would say give it a go. Just don’t expect a sweet romance from the drama.