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Wow! Wow! Wow! Thank goodness for the special episode, was that a shock or what? This was one of the best I have seen that kept it so well laid out. Everything so meticulous. Well done!

It feels so good reading so many comments praising Cheng Yi and TVOA on Weibo these couple of days, posted by big bloggers, drama/movie critics and medias.

The one below is from a Member of Weibo Entertainment Criticism Team, with 3 millions followers

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"The Twenty-Four Strategies of Chang'an" is truly a shining example of Chinese drama, and it's incredibly authoritative! 🙏
It received unanimous praise from authoritative official media outlets including China.com, Xinhua Daily, China Daily, Xinhua.net, China.com.cn, China Youth Daily, Global Times, and CCTV.com!
"The Twenty-Four Strategies of Chang'an" became a phenomenal hit at the end of the year, breaking through the costume drama market with its original content and considered a revolutionary work in the male-oriented political intrigue genre.
Breaking away from traditional formulas, it pioneered a new style for male-oriented dramas with its high-density narrative of "one strategy per episode, one plot twist per strategy." The realistically constructed Chang'an scenery and the ingenious integration of intangible cultural heritage elements create a high-quality and touching experience. The emotional narrative balances national righteousness with human warmth, elevating the overall perspective from personal revenge to the peace and prosperity of the world, thus building deep trust among viewers.
Cheng Yi, in his leading role, delivers a nuanced performance, showcasing Xie Huai'an's restrained ruthlessness and tender courage with his subtle eye acting and solid delivery of lines. His scenes with veteran actors are full of tension, propelling this critically acclaimed and commercially successful production to new heights. With social media buzz and record-breaking viewership, it's undoubtedly a phenomenal work that has ignited cultural discussion this year! #ChengYiXieHuai'an#
https://m.weibo.cn/detail/5248215759723187

As the plot thickens and HA seems to be at a losing end, i am not so patiently waiting for how this will end up. I just need a proper closure, no matter who survives or not 🤣😂

Definitely a restrained, elegant Chinese version of the Game of Thrones vibe, but no dragons.
Even the settings are from the same era --7th Century plus.

Before Xiao Wu Yang started fighting, Xia Huai An stabbed one of the spy and then all the spies came at him with weapon drawl... this is to allow XWY to fight against all of them and let the civilians run away.

At first, I thought he found one of the knife that XWY hidden earlier but apparently, the weapon was a wooden stick. XHA not only used the umbrella to hide a message to XWY to warn him, he also broken a piece of the wood from the red umbrella to use as a weapon... gosh, he is soooo smart.

Truly amazing with the detail of this drama!!!

I love the scene between the Xiao brothers even though Xiao Wenjing stabbed his brother. Xiao Wuyang is too good, even after being stabbed once, he couldn't bear to retaliate against his younger brother which led to him being stabbed another time 😭. He also understood Xiao Wenjing's difficulties, gave him advice, and not blame him. To Xiao Wenjing, it was either the Tiemo people forcefully invading with the country and people getting destroyed in the process or surrendering to the Tiemo people as a puppet emperor. Both ways are terrible but Xiao Wenjing chose the one that may be less physically damaging to the country/people. But I hope that there's a bigger plan behind his actions.

Also, I can't help but wonder if Xiao Wuyang and Xiao Wenjing weren't born into the royal family, would they be able to live like normal brothers in a happy family? The scene where Xiao Wuyang stared at the happy family eating and smiled at the little baby made me think that he does really want to be in a normal, happy family 🥺. The baby probably reminded him of Xiao Wenjing since the brothers have a big age gap.

I'm only on episode 14, but I'm realizng its best not to get emotinally attached to any of these characters. One moment you're smiling and loving a character and in the next moment they're killed.

I really hope An will not die at the end.

Even the latest combo of photos and caption says a lot, so I think we're going to be in for a hell of a twist and finally find out who the dude in the black cloak is. I mean I have an idea, but I'm not saying it here as I already did in my theory spoiler tag post.

The emotional rollercoaster in this series just never lets up. The production team and actors really outdid themselves. I may not be able to re-watch it (very raw emotions) but I have enjoyed every single minute of it. Well done again.

I like the screenwriter keeping the emotions raw about the crime of fake Zhang Mo murdering the real one. Although his character development towards redemption was well played, the repeated reflection, guilt and regret is very nice to see. Used to hate plots where the past just gets forgotten.

The people I really hope survive till the end:
- Xue Huai’an
- Ye Zheng and his sister
- The Xiao Emperor brothers (Wasn’t sure about the younger before)
- Real Zhang Mo’s father
I am fervently praying to the gods of writing. Please do not kill them all.

You will but not for much longer. Persevere a while more and you will be rewarded. 😆

This drama is truly a masterpiece. The dark horse of 2025.
(TVOA topped the National IPTV on-demand programs from 15 to 21 December 🔥)

The plot never gets boring from the start and the story telling is extraordinary. The protagonist & villain are grey characters.

Someone who was born into the imperial family, brave, courageous & intelligent like Xiao Wuyang might not last long as an emperor but someone born a slave, cunning, deceitful and a coward like Wu Zhongheng could hold his power longer, because he was seen by his desperate people as the hope for a better life.
Yan Fengshan might look like a better villain than WZH but he fell into the trap without knowing it.
Xiao Wenjing might not be the brightest mind in this story and looked more of a troublemaker than a monarch but he was just trying to keep those he cared alive.

And there was someone special like Xie Huaian who would let one keep the throne if he was worthy of it and be the reaper for the evil ones.

I felt so many emotions at once watching episode 24. Excited, worry, sad, and very upset that I wanted to kill some characters, and then it was over, leaving me so frustrated to know more and screaming at my tablet.

Finale tomorrow, and I am not ready to say goodbye.

Regarding YFS's death, I thought it was really well done because it showed that XHA ended up killing him using psychological tactics and schemes, rather than a glorious battle or some grand plan. Probably nobody expected YFS to die like this, not even YFS himself. XHA understood YFS very well. He knew that YFS won't kill him immediately because he liked control and liked XHA submitting to him. He knew that Wang Pu's death was a regret of YFS. His conversations with YFS were all to make YFS lower his guard and actually believe (for a moment) that he was really seeing Wang Pu.

Although sort of anticlimatic, I ended up appreciating how YFS's death was executed. He deserved dying to a scheme that he never expected.