Sword and Fairy 4 | Open Thread

A legendary sword enmeshes a group of orphans to embark on a journey for their families.

Notable Actors/Actresses

Chen Zhe Yuan: Yun Tian He

Ju Jing Yi: Han Ling Sha

Director

Yang Xuan, Huang Ye

Chinese Title

仙剑四

Genres: Xianxia, Romance

Network: iQIYI

Year: 2024
Episodes: 36 

Jump to Remarks | Reviews | Recs | Comments

Cast

Chen Zhe Yuan: Yun Tian He	Ju Jing Yi: Han Ling Sha
Mao Zi Jun: Murong Zi Ying	Wang Duo: Xuan Xiao / Xuan Ying
Mao Xiao Hui: Liu Meng Li	Wang Yuan Ke: Su Yao

Romcom/Romance Checklist

How much of the plot is angst/romance?

0 / 1.5 / 2.5 / 3 / 4 / 5

The ML: 

Cold–Lukewarm–Warm / Timid / Falls in Love First / Noble Idiot / CEO / General /

The FL: 

Bold / Cute / Cool & Independent / Falls in Love First / Better than ML / Noble Idiot / 

Describe the Relationship (the tropes):

Bickering Start / Childhood Connection / Cohabitation / Contract Marriage or Fake Couple / Enemies to Lovers / Hidden Identity / School to Adulthood / Love Triangle / Married Couple (Real) / Secretly in Love (F/ML) / Star-Crossed Lovers / 

Relationship Progress (officially together; first (official) kiss; breakup*):

Ep 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7 / 8 / 9 / 10 / 11 / 12 / 13 / 14 / 15 / 16 / 17 / 18 / 19 / 20 / 21 / 22 / 23 / 24 / 25 / 26 / 27 / 28 / 29 / 30 / 31 / 32 / 33 / 34 / 35 / 36

# of CPs (including main CP):
0 / 1 / 2 / 3

Ending:

Happy & Sad / Open Happy / Open Sad / Bad

Screencaps

[Ep1]

Love at First Sight Arrow!

What a cute pig (that farts too).

Chen Zhe Yuan got a really good perverted look in this part, hahaha

[Ep2]

His gullible face.

[Ep3]

Pigs have mohwaks. 

[Ep4]

[Ep5]

[Ep6]

"Can we be a threesome throuple?"

Sir, I don't think you understand what you're saying xD

"[Not two], it's us three"

[Ep7]

[Ep8]

The throuple!

[Ep9]

I was so into this, but then the visuals are hilarious 

↓↓

You save me, I save you. 

[Ep10]

You die, I die

[Ep11]

This beautiful scenery...

Tian He is thinking of Ling Sha

Meng Li is thinking of him and Ling Sha

Zi Ying is thinking of Ling Sha

Ling Sha is thinking of...Ling Sha

Ling Sha doesn't look up because she will be sad if she watches this beautiful scenery disappear (and "die"). If she doesn't know how beautiful it was, maybe it'd hurt less. As for Tian He, his companion makes the scenery beautiful.)

[Ep12]

Zi Ying?! Haha!

He's touched. 

Sword's touched. 

She's touched (from her friends)

Look at Tian He holding the porridge the whole time xD

[Ep13]

[Ep14]

[Ep15]

[Ep16]

I think we're supposed to ship these tw o_o

[Ep17]

[Ep18]

[Ep19]

[Ep20]

[Ep21]

Stare

Stare

Stare

Huff Puff

[Ep22]

Zi Ying is flustered. Ling Sha asks if he's tired. Ngl, he does look tired, haha. 

[Ep23]

[Ep24]

[Ep25]

[Ep26]

Zi Ying will be a sheath because Ling Sha wants to be a sword. Aw!

But Ling Sha wants to be Tian He's sword.

Does he know his wife reincarnated 5 times to repay him and risk being reborn forever?

Together 4ever!

[Ep27]

[Ep28]

Li Xin Ze doesn't prematurely die in this drama, but looking overly ripe here xD

[Ep29]

[Ep30]

Meng Li loves...

him ↓...

and not him ↓

[Ep31]

[Ep32]

[Ep33]

Girlfriend

Boyfriend

Pylon

[Ep34]

[Ep35]

Girlfriend

Boyfriend

Pylon

[Ep36]

What's up with his face?

Dead wife

Dead husband

Pylon again in the forefront.

Just how long did Tian He live all by himself without Ling Sha? 

Happily ever after 😭

Remarks

[Drama Info] Sword and Fairy (or Chinese Paladin) is based on a Chinese video game that has multiple seasons/instalments. You don't have to watch any of them in order. 

Billing fights. The drama production signed different (and contradicting) contracts with Chen Zhe Yuan and Ju Jing Yi. Hers places her name first and she is the main lead. His says both are main leads and places their names equally (e.g. they’ll alternate 1st/2nd order + include a “order doesn’t matter” notation). Drama dishonoured JJY’s side by listing the actors equally, and so now they’re avoiding mentioning (@) any actors.

This is airing simultaneously with Sword and Fairy 6 (starring Xu Kai and Yu Shu Xin).

[Behind the Scenes] Because cynlynn is lazy, if there are BTS, it'l be reposted in the 2nd comment. 

[Ending] Bitter because of the main couple, but sweet because they’re reunited forever on the other side.

Reviews

Submit Your Review | Rating Guide

Five (5/5)

Four (4/5)

Three (3/5)

Two (2/5)

Reviewer: cynylnn

Date: February 2024

Hearts: ♥♥♥

What a unique drama this is to be hated by its own FL’s fans, ML’s fans, and game fans. Anti-fans have never been so jobless.

The drama is both less than and more than what I expected. There's less cute adventures, and less cute romances. Boo. But there's one of the most beautiful friendships that could ever exist between four people tangled in love. The girls love the same guy and the guys love the same girl, but beyond romance our F4 cherish one another more than anything. I kept swooning for the friendship. Within this group, the bond between girls was the most touching. They love each other so much. Meng Li is the 2FL I want more of in every drama with 2FLs.

There's nothing to sing about anyone's acting.

• As much as I love Chen Zhe Yuan's sentimental eyes, he overacted. I grimaced at his "angry" acting when Xuan Xiao took over his feelings, but he's still miles ahead of the others. 
• Watching Mao Zi Jun act as Murong Zi Ying makes me understand why this good looking guy never got too popular. Zi Ying has the perfect recipe for 2ML syndrome, but his presence in the main couple’s romance was as emotional as watching a pylon act. I was fed up with Show’s choice to include his gloominess for every moment that belonged to the main couple. 
• My other Mao – Mao Xiao Hui – has the same issue: a pretty face that doesn’t move much. I actually wasn’t sure if 2FL was (still) in love with the ML for the longest time and I seriously have no idea if that was the intention of the show or if the 2FL lacked those acting skills. 
• Ju Jing Yi is so consistent. Some say she improved but I think she’s the same. In her next drama, I’d like her to skip less. I think that’s all I can ask of her, hahaha. Love you, girl. 
• (Pst, Li Xin Ze is also so consistent in his period dramas, haha)

Ultimately what brought this down from a 3 to a 2 isn’t the acting, but the lack of gravitas when Show needed them (e.g. the highlight of their friendship in Ep26, the life and death moments in the final two episodes, etc). Chinese Paladin series – as I now understand – is a lore of grand and tragic romances, friends to risk everything for, and heroes on adventures to save the world. Sword and Fairy 4 gave me a lighthearted briefing of the core story, but not the emotional depth that it teased me with.

Drama Politics (unrelated to plot)

Billing Fights. I understand top-billing isn’t always about the story, but it should at least be somewhat proportional to the story, right? It’s such a joke to me that the FL actress is even offered top-billing when this drama is ML-centred. This is about Tian He’s parents, his parents' friends, and him saving/changing the world with his power and his purity. Then it is about their friendship between the four of them. Ranking third in plot is the romance between Han Ling Sh and Yin Tian He..

Network Fights. The three networks engage in the pettiest of fights. The one who has the last laugh imho is iQIYI with this drama. SF4 is one of its worse cards (converting its audiences from fans to anti-fans), and it was actually a worthy opponent for Tencent’s Sword and Fairy (6) and Youku’s Love Endures. These three are comparable because of their premiere timeframe and their projected star power (i.e. traffic actors/idols). Love Endures pulled out to be on top, while SF6 dropped way below. But hold up, why are these two even compared to iQIYI’s “doomed” drama? IQIYI should be smug. 

There were bad players (e.g. the ones who lied to JJY’s team), but it’s really unfair that the whole crew had to suffer. I genuinely believe this drama came from someone who knew and loved CP4 in order to make this flow so well. The approach was just a bit amateurish.

One (1/5)

Recommendations

Genre List: 

Xianxia

Ending Feels	Group	Xianxia