Believing that the BL would be transformed into bromance and that the story would focus so much on the (b)romance that it would not be a good wuxia, I did not expect much of this series at first. Surprisingly, the series fares well in both aspects. In the first few episodes, with Wen Kexing blatantly flirting with Zhou Zishu, the wuxia does take a backseat. Similarly, when the story focused a bit more on the wuxia aspects of the story, the BL took a backseat. Nevertheless, give it a bit of time and the series brings both aspects of the series together very nicely.

The BL

The BL was what I started watching the series for, and it did not disappoint. This wasn't simply because I wasn't having high expectations in the first place. It is a pleasant surprise that the series manages to portray what is quite obviously beyond bromance or friendship between the main characters. The way they gaze at each other, dialogue (with them basically referring to each other as family and basically wanting to just live with each other happily ever after) and the body language when they hug quite explicitly portray a romantic relationship.

A lot of the BL is rather sneakily done, of course. For instance, when Kexing and Zishu move to the Four Seasons Manor (a large place that used to house many disciples), they sleep in the same room though I would assume there are lots of rooms available. The other characters sometimes speak to them teasingly, like the way one might tease a married couple (like threatening to complete about one of them to the other).

The BL does eventually integrate well with the rest of the story, showing the transformative power of the characters' love. Zishu, who is guilt-ridden about the things he has done as an assassin, is at first just waiting to die after injuring himself severely so that he can leave his job. Kexing, who is so obsessed with vengeance that he suppresses his innately kind nature, also finds a reason to live besides taking revenge.

There are some moments when the series seem to disavow the gay relationship through apparent hints of heterosexuality, such as when Zishu says he does not mind having a beautiful lady like Gu Xiang tag along and when Zishu tells his disciple, Cheng Ling, that Kexing bought a whole lot of decorative stuff for their manor because they are sold by a beautiful lady. There is something cunning about these scenes for while they may seem to disavow the homosexual relationship between the characters at first, they also hint at jealousy or an attempt to make the other party jealous in a romantic relationship.

To be sure, I do think that the BL would have been even better if the characters can be openly portrayed as having a romantic relationship. But we do not really lose anything significant, which is an admirable feat.

The Wuxia

I couldn't believe it when I first read that this is a low-budget production. It doesn't look low-budget to me though the production could have run into sponsorship problems at some point. Maybe there are those who expect more of the CG, but not being a fan of CG, I'm actually fine with the execution.--nothing stood out to me as being badly done.

What impressed me early on is the choreography of the fighting sequences. There's nothing exceptional about it, but it is very competently done and made it convincing that the makers of the series are taking the wuxia aspects of the series very seriously instead of relying on the BL elements to attract eyeballs.

The range of sects and characters are also typical of the genre, and the series does manage to develop on several of these characters quite well. As with many wuxia stories, the characters from the so-called respectable sects are often hypocrites, bullies or simply unscrupulous villains. On the other hand, those from the unorthodox "evil" sect are not necessarily bad people and can be surprisingly humane. The back stories of characters like the Glamorous Ghost and the Tragicomic Ghost are interesting even if not strikingly original.

The rather perverse relationship between the villains, Zhao Jing and his foster son, the Scorpion King, is rather unique in the genre of wuxia. Despite supposedly having a father-son type of relationship, the Scorpion King's affections towards his foster father appears more like those of a lover. The parallels drawn between his predicament and that of the Glamorous Ghost (a woman betrayed by her lover despite her devotion) reinforces the idea. Yet, instead of being demonized, the Scorpion King's affections with homosexual undertones give a glimpse of the more humane side of an otherwise vicious and ruthless character. We can sympathize with him insofar as the way Zhao Jing treats him is concerned, and he seems to be able to genuinely identify with Glamorous Ghost and wants to help her.

As a wuxia series, Word of Honor displays a very good grasp of genre conventions. It would have been a very good watch even if the BL relationship had been toned down, and I think the makers of the series deserve respect for daring to take the risk of portraying such a close relationship between the main characters. Even if one fails to recognize it as BL, the portrayal of the male characters go beyond conventions of masculine behavior, which is in itself already laudable.