Im on ep 34 and this show is amazing., however im still trying to figure out a few things. Like in the beginning…
- they had to burn all evidence of Zang Haiās previous identity as Zhi Nu, which includes the place he trained at and was raised for 10 years, so that even if his enemies wanted to do a background check on him in future, they wouldnāt find anything suspicious. leaving the building there untouched would be a huge risk should someone with bad intentions stumble upon it and discover his true identity and motives
- imo the reason why Ping Jin Hou (marquis) did that was for his ego, he wanted to display his proudest āachievementā and also remind himself of the time he had such prowess to kill an entire family; it is implied many times in the show that the marquis longs and reminisces about the times he was younger and could fight victoriously. perhaps flaying Zang Haiās parents and displaying them was his way of reminding himself of that time
binged in a week+ and loved it. i went in with some expectations due to the good reviews and hype, and this show didnāt disappoint. what a rollercoaster from start to end. loved all the characters, the details in the story and the relationships too. admittedly didnāt like the FL that much at first but she really grew on me as the story progressed and by the end of the show i loved her. this show knows how to write and portray characters well - realistic ones with grey areas, weaknesses and strengths. the villains were great too, and i like how Zanghai never lost sight of his main focus of revenge. will be giving this a rewatch for sure! thereās just so many details one could miss on the first watch.
itās been a while since iāve watched something that actually takes the audience seriously. Xiao Zhanās portrayal of Zang Hai is no doubt his best work yet - i can tell the amount of effort he put into bringing the character to life. this show is one for the history books.
this is more political and less on action, there is action but if you are watching it only for action, you may be disappointed. this show is very much character driven
binged it in 4 days. overall i agree with most comments here, there was a strong start but started to drag out 2/3 through. i appreciated that the plot was rather well explained, the only part i donāt understand was how Gao Xuan was different from the rest when they first entered the game ā the rest first entered because of the accident, but he wasnāt involved and only fell asleep. so was there any specific reason why he was chosen to participate or tied into all this? maybe they did explain but i missed it
a worthy watch, with strong performances from everyone. i love the revenge theme and how the plot was tightly knitted for most parts and i like the themes it explored. ep 25 was a delightful extra for me and i didnāt mind it at all.
finished ep2 and am really loving it so far! sooooo heartwarming and refreshing
binged in 3 days and iām absolutely blown away by how amazing and inspiring this was. i loved the characters and how everyone had their own journey of growth - finding our own happiness and not being afraid to start. if you love slice of life, this is a must watch!
binged it in a week. iāll leave some thoughts here
- acting was good throughout, the only weak link was the FL. everyone outshone her in terms of acting, but then again i think Tong Yao did the best she could with her script, which brings me to my next point - FL is under utilised, especially in the last quarter of the show, and her role is also not very impactful to the plot except at critical times - i particularly loved the acting from Wang Shi Anās character. heās the classic underdog turned main villain and somehow i still canāt bring myself to hate him - sames goes for Chen Mo Qun. heās more of a grey character than a straight out villain that was pushed by circumstances to do what he did. - there are a few plot holes here and there but if you turn your brain off you will not notice them - the first few episodes were fast paced and great, but after that it slows down, then picks up again - idk why i kept comparing this to Fearless Whispers, but im really glad that they didnāt make Zuo Qiu Ming to be like (spoilers for FW ahead if you havenāt watched) Zhao Zhi Yong, considering they were both close and good friends of the MLs of each show respectively. everytime Zuo Qiu Ming came onscreen he stole the show. wish we couldāve seen more of him - Zhu Yi Longās acting doesnāt disappoint + he looks sooo good in uniform - the ending was a bit rushed, too much information revealed at once and some plot holes again - the poster is VERY misleading (imo) because ML doesnāt even officially become a spy/CCP member until the last 10 eps of the show, and he doesnāt even work together with FL on a mission at all (only in the last episode at best) - overall, still worth a watch if you like spy thrillers or republican era shows
- imo the reason why Ping Jin Hou (marquis) did that was for his ego, he wanted to display his proudest āachievementā and also remind himself of the time he had such prowess to kill an entire family; it is implied many times in the show that the marquis longs and reminisces about the times he was younger and could fight victoriously. perhaps flaying Zang Haiās parents and displaying them was his way of reminding himself of that time
itās been a while since iāve watched something that actually takes the audience seriously. Xiao Zhanās portrayal of Zang Hai is no doubt his best work yet - i can tell the amount of effort he put into bringing the character to life. this show is one for the history books.
- FL is under utilised, especially in the last quarter of the show, and her role is also not very impactful to the plot except at critical times
- i particularly loved the acting from Wang Shi Anās character. heās the classic underdog turned main villain and somehow i still canāt bring myself to hate him
- sames goes for Chen Mo Qun. heās more of a grey character than a straight out villain that was pushed by circumstances to do what he did.
- there are a few plot holes here and there but if you turn your brain off you will not notice them
- the first few episodes were fast paced and great, but after that it slows down, then picks up again
- idk why i kept comparing this to Fearless Whispers, but im really glad that they didnāt make Zuo Qiu Ming to be like (spoilers for FW ahead if you havenāt watched) Zhao Zhi Yong, considering they were both close and good friends of the MLs of each show respectively. everytime Zuo Qiu Ming came onscreen he stole the show. wish we couldāve seen more of him
- Zhu Yi Longās acting doesnāt disappoint + he looks sooo good in uniform
- the ending was a bit rushed, too much information revealed at once and some plot holes again
- the poster is VERY misleading (imo) because ML doesnāt even officially become a spy/CCP member until the last 10 eps of the show, and he doesnāt even work together with FL on a mission at all (only in the last episode at best)
- overall, still worth a watch if you like spy thrillers or republican era shows