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"Liking someone has nothing to do with killing them"
The Vendetta of On was a fairly standard drama featuring a strategic genius bent on revenge after the murders of his loved ones. As always, when doing a familiar story, the execution is key and Vendetta acquitted itself well. Much like Mei Chang Su in Nirvana in Fire, Xie Huai An rocked his fur lined costume and stayed at least one step ahead of the bad guys…most of the time.
Xie Huai An aka Liu Zhi has spent the last 15 years since escaping a massacre at his family residence plotting how to bring down the people responsible. The capital has changed ownership a couple of times and Xie is put to work by the new owner in finding the deposed previous owner as well as bringing down the traitorous and sly general of the Huben Army. Spies and sleeper cells abound, with layers upon layers of deceit and deception. Xie will have to count on his wits and friend circle to attain his goals and survive long enough enact his vengeance.
🟢What I liked:
It promised on revenge with the bodies stacking up early and often.
The tenacious and loyal General Gu. Despite being unable to walk he was still respected by his men. Was happy to see a wheelchair bound character written and portrayed so well.
Ye Zheng. I’m a bodyguard girl and was thrilled for Tong Meng Shi to play the role.
I wasn’t initially crazy about Faux Mo, but he grew on me and I was actually relieved his mask wasn’t removed later on as it helped my brain keep the continuity going.
The writers attempted to provide roles for women, even though most of the female guards were cookie cutter characters. I’m always astonished when these kinds of dramas all but omit women from the cast so I’m counting it as a win. Oddly, the casting director chose women who all looked quite similar despite the wide range of variety for the men.
The sets, wigs (important in these dramas!), acting, and fight choreography were all high quality. The drama also showed the cost of "othering" people.
Cheng Yi did a solid job as the obsessive Xie who had only one purpose in life. Even though Xie was usually ahead of everyone else, he did stumble on occasion without completely face-planting. I also enjoyed Wang Jin Song’s equally obsessive take on Wu Zhong Heng. There were numerous single-minded people in this drama who were in dire need of a trip to a bouncy house park.
❌What didn’t work as well for me:
Xie was an expert in nearly everything despite spending 15 years in the reeds. He left his home penniless, but somehow through the years acquired wealth and an extensive spy network. He was privy to secrets only a fly on a wall would know. He always seemed to have a change of clothes on him as well. Lol Pretty sure he had a Megamind “frequent kidnapping” card that was nearly punched full. He also had James Bond plot armor. Despite falling into his enemies’ hands time and again, no one immediately cut off his head, rather letting him hang around until he either escaped or killed them.
🤔Things that made me go hmmm….
The guards who defended the walls were in desperate need of remedial training. It was painfully funny how easily the enemy could scale the walls without anyone knowing on numerous occasions.
Characters were often gut stabbed with no lingering effects. I don’t care how good their medicine was or how tough they were, peritonitis is deadly.
The most chilling thing said in the whole drama for me was, “Everyone is a shadow guard. That’s the price of protection.” Yep, nothing makes me feel more secure than knowing my neighbors and co-workers are spying on me 24/7, ready to turn on me at a moment’s notice.
Overall, I found The Vendetta of An entertaining. The fights were fast and furious and we were weren’t forced to wait until the last quarter of the drama to witness Xie’s enemies begin to pay for their betrayals. The stakes were high and good guy losses hurt as much as I cheered the heads of the bad guys rolling.
18 January 2026
Trigger Warnings: A snake in episode 22. Decapitations, spurting blood, numerous stabbings, suicide.
~~Very Spoilery thoughts below~~
Does everyone keep a perfectly preserved identical head in their junk drawer?
I didn’t care for the sister’s story. She was ill developed and only served to add to Xie's man pain of which he already had enough. It was literally overkill. Not sure why she’s listed as a main character given her limited amount of screen time.
One of the more interesting duos raised a lot of questions for me. Cen Pickles and Wu were slaves of the lowest order in Tiemo. As slaves they murdered a number of people. Did I miss their story arc? How did they escape punishment in Tiemo and then both become highly educated? Was Tiemo advanced enough to have universal schooling for everyone? Cen ended up working in the Chang'an palace and Wu had been a teacher at the academy where the Chang'an noble children attended. No background checks from the secret police? I could see Wu murdering his way to being king if the Tiemo just wanted the baddest dude to be the leader, but Tiemo nobility were mentioned often which was quite a social leap for a wolf killing slave. I actually found Cen and Wu's relationship intriguing mostly because of the actors' abilities. Wu might have had nefarious plans for the people he intended to conquer, but the actor was fascinating to watch.
I don’t have access to the special episode. My guess is, just like soap opera rules, without a body, Xie aka Liu survived. His death, mirroring Zhou Mo’s in episode 1, kept him from being killed by the Huben Army. Though I don’t see him making daisy chains and hanging out at a pub. I’m not invested enough in the ruling class to care who took over the throne…for now. That throne room had a revolving door on it.
Xie Huai An aka Liu Zhi has spent the last 15 years since escaping a massacre at his family residence plotting how to bring down the people responsible. The capital has changed ownership a couple of times and Xie is put to work by the new owner in finding the deposed previous owner as well as bringing down the traitorous and sly general of the Huben Army. Spies and sleeper cells abound, with layers upon layers of deceit and deception. Xie will have to count on his wits and friend circle to attain his goals and survive long enough enact his vengeance.
🟢What I liked:
It promised on revenge with the bodies stacking up early and often.
The tenacious and loyal General Gu. Despite being unable to walk he was still respected by his men. Was happy to see a wheelchair bound character written and portrayed so well.
Ye Zheng. I’m a bodyguard girl and was thrilled for Tong Meng Shi to play the role.
I wasn’t initially crazy about Faux Mo, but he grew on me and I was actually relieved his mask wasn’t removed later on as it helped my brain keep the continuity going.
The writers attempted to provide roles for women, even though most of the female guards were cookie cutter characters. I’m always astonished when these kinds of dramas all but omit women from the cast so I’m counting it as a win. Oddly, the casting director chose women who all looked quite similar despite the wide range of variety for the men.
The sets, wigs (important in these dramas!), acting, and fight choreography were all high quality. The drama also showed the cost of "othering" people.
Cheng Yi did a solid job as the obsessive Xie who had only one purpose in life. Even though Xie was usually ahead of everyone else, he did stumble on occasion without completely face-planting. I also enjoyed Wang Jin Song’s equally obsessive take on Wu Zhong Heng. There were numerous single-minded people in this drama who were in dire need of a trip to a bouncy house park.
❌What didn’t work as well for me:
Xie was an expert in nearly everything despite spending 15 years in the reeds. He left his home penniless, but somehow through the years acquired wealth and an extensive spy network. He was privy to secrets only a fly on a wall would know. He always seemed to have a change of clothes on him as well. Lol Pretty sure he had a Megamind “frequent kidnapping” card that was nearly punched full. He also had James Bond plot armor. Despite falling into his enemies’ hands time and again, no one immediately cut off his head, rather letting him hang around until he either escaped or killed them.
🤔Things that made me go hmmm….
The guards who defended the walls were in desperate need of remedial training. It was painfully funny how easily the enemy could scale the walls without anyone knowing on numerous occasions.
Characters were often gut stabbed with no lingering effects. I don’t care how good their medicine was or how tough they were, peritonitis is deadly.
The most chilling thing said in the whole drama for me was, “Everyone is a shadow guard. That’s the price of protection.” Yep, nothing makes me feel more secure than knowing my neighbors and co-workers are spying on me 24/7, ready to turn on me at a moment’s notice.
Overall, I found The Vendetta of An entertaining. The fights were fast and furious and we were weren’t forced to wait until the last quarter of the drama to witness Xie’s enemies begin to pay for their betrayals. The stakes were high and good guy losses hurt as much as I cheered the heads of the bad guys rolling.
18 January 2026
Trigger Warnings: A snake in episode 22. Decapitations, spurting blood, numerous stabbings, suicide.
~~Very Spoilery thoughts below~~
Does everyone keep a perfectly preserved identical head in their junk drawer?
I didn’t care for the sister’s story. She was ill developed and only served to add to Xie's man pain of which he already had enough. It was literally overkill. Not sure why she’s listed as a main character given her limited amount of screen time.
One of the more interesting duos raised a lot of questions for me. Cen Pickles and Wu were slaves of the lowest order in Tiemo. As slaves they murdered a number of people. Did I miss their story arc? How did they escape punishment in Tiemo and then both become highly educated? Was Tiemo advanced enough to have universal schooling for everyone? Cen ended up working in the Chang'an palace and Wu had been a teacher at the academy where the Chang'an noble children attended. No background checks from the secret police? I could see Wu murdering his way to being king if the Tiemo just wanted the baddest dude to be the leader, but Tiemo nobility were mentioned often which was quite a social leap for a wolf killing slave. I actually found Cen and Wu's relationship intriguing mostly because of the actors' abilities. Wu might have had nefarious plans for the people he intended to conquer, but the actor was fascinating to watch.
I don’t have access to the special episode. My guess is, just like soap opera rules, without a body, Xie aka Liu survived. His death, mirroring Zhou Mo’s in episode 1, kept him from being killed by the Huben Army. Though I don’t see him making daisy chains and hanging out at a pub. I’m not invested enough in the ruling class to care who took over the throne…for now. That throne room had a revolving door on it.
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