《云之羽》My Journey to You – Review of a dark martial arts Chinese drama

TV shows with darker aesthetics are not usually something I’m particularly drawn to but due to Edward Guo’s involvement, I decided to give 《云之羽》 “My Journey to You” a chance.

I had previously watched his movie《晴雅集》 ”The Yin-Yang Master: Dream of Eternity” and his short productions 《无量》 and 《画皮》 and found them to be enjoyable.

《云之羽》 “My Journey to You” was captivating and enjoyable for most parts but unfortunately, it wasn’t satisfying enough and I was pretty frustrated by the end of the show.

How can it be captivating but frustrating at the same time?

Let me explain in this drama review of 《云之羽》 “My Journey to You”.

Synopsis

A 无锋 (wú fēng) assassin infiltrates the Gong clan (宫氏 – gōng shì) by taking on the identity of 云为衫 (yún wèi shān) who is set to participate in their bride selection at their residence. After her successful infiltration, she meets 宫子羽 (gōng zi yǔ), the future leader of the Gong clan. Together they embark on a journey of self-discovery, love, and companionship while discovering the hidden secrets within the Gong residence’s mountain ranges.

The Watching Experience

The series starts with the introduction of the main leads, the WuFeng and the Gong Clan, and the rival relationship between the two clans.

The first few episodes contain a large amount of information and world-building, which are critical in understanding the relationships and dynamics between the various groups of people. I had to watch these few episodes carefully, often rewinding to ensure I captured all the information.

After the introduction of the characters and world, the plot is generally easy to follow until the last 5 episodes, where there are a few time skips. The reasons for these time skips are clarified later, but at the time, they were confusing.

Two other clans are mentioned, which may seem insignificant at the time they are mentioned, but do pay attention to their backstory, as it’ll come in handy later in the plot.

The episodes’ length is longer than usual, 60 minutes instead of the usual 45 minutes. Several times, I had to break these episodes up and watch them over two sittings.

The pacing is good and balanced, and I didn’t feel any sections were dragged or unnecessary.

Production Quality

The overall quality is very good, with decent and convincing acting, beautiful costumes, a lovely unique set and good music.

I didn’t like the fight scenes in this drama because they felt overly choreographed. There were far too many slow-mo shots in these scenes and too much usage of wire-flying, leading to unnatural-looking fights. In the end, I fast-forwarded quite a few of them.

The majority of scenes in 《云之羽》 “My Journey to You” feature dark aesthetics. The plot centres around the Gong residence (constructed with dark wood), the Gong residence’s mountain ranges and hidden caves, and the dark shadowy headquarters of WuFeng. The colour scheme of most of the characters’ attire is on the darker side, with blacks and dark reds.

Character development

There’s a huge focus on the character developments of the lead characters and several side characters. This was done very well and with a good amount of focus on each character.

《云之羽》 “My Journey to You” does heavily focus on the two pairs of female and male leads, so they had the most amount of character development and screentime.

Unfortunately, I wasn’t particularly interested in one of the pairs and would have preferred more screen time on some of the other side characters.

I liked the eldest female of the Gong family; she’s weird and quirky. Her character added some lightheartedness and comedy to this dark and serious story. I liked her backstory and wished there was more on her character.

Romance

《云之羽》 “My Journey to You” places a strong emphasis on the development of the three couples’ relationships. The development takes on a serious and mature approach, and there are not many fluffy, sweet and cute romantic scenes.

The characters’ relationship and character development comprise a large portion of the show.

The Mysteries

《云之羽》 “My Journey to You” is filled with mysteries, including several murders, the mysteries of the Gong resistance, the mysterious leader of WuFeng, and the relationship between WuFeng and the Gong clan.

I absolutely love mysteries …when they get answered! These are the parts that frustrated me the most.

As the plot progresses, more mysteries and questions are presented, which is one of the most captivating aspects of 《云之羽》 “My Journey to You. ” It had me completely hooked because I love reveals!

The last few episodes started hinting at a much bigger reveal that could turn the female lead’s backstory upside down. I was glued to the screen!

And then, it ended …with almost none of those questions answered! I couldn’t have been any more annoyed!

The Ending

When the drama pretty much abruptly ended without answering a large portion of the questions presented throughout the show, I thought there was an error on the iQiyi platform, and it was missing one episode.

《云之羽》 “My Journey to You” ended with far too many unanswered questions and untied loose ends. I’m not against an open ending that allows for a potential second season, but this ending was not satisfying enough for me.

I know that shows with several seasons are common in American and British dramas, but this isn’t common in Chinese dramas. Often, there won’t be another season, and the project is dropped and forgotten very quickly.

So, seeing an ending with so many loose ends dampened the whole experience for me. I hope there will be a second season, but there’s currently no confirmation of one.

Difficulty for a Chinese learner

The general language used in most of the dialogue has a medium amount of historical flavour.

The difficulty of this drama lies in the worldbuilding, the characters’ relationships, and the intricacies of their martial arts system. The language used in these areas is quite technical. These are very important aspects of the plot; therefore, high comprehension is recommended.

I would recommend this show to a Chinese learner with high proficiency in Chinese and lots of experience watching historical dramas, particularly those involving martial arts clans.

This isn’t an easy show, so subtitles are recommended for those who are not able to comprehend most of the dialogue.

My Final Thoughts

Overall, I enjoyed the show, particularly the world, as it’s really, really interesting. It’s one of the most interesting and intricate worlds I’ve seen in a drama. There is so much potential…if there will be a season two.

I really disliked the ending; there were far too many loose ends. By the end of the drama, I was still unclear about WuFeng’s motives and the missions of the assassins sent into the Gong resistance. In order to hide their identities, the WuFeng assassins lied about their past, but with the reveals they threw in at the end, I really questioned if any of what they said were lies or truths. Very confusing to me.

I will recommend this show to anyone who wants to watch something with an interesting setting, some decent martial arts fight scenes, and lots of character development. But for those who enjoy mysteries and want answers, then stay away from this show!