Klio

The Rise of Phoenixes, maybe. It's an "older" drama from 2018.

Okay, but ... I don’t know about you, but if someone told me my father was a psychopath who orchestrated the massacre of an entire family, and worse, I wouldn’t believe it right away. I’d have doubts and want to find out the truth for myself, even if it was a friend who told me.

Yes, I understand that, but I wish they had shown it on screen. In his interactions with his daughter, he came across as a kind man. He let her do whatever she wanted, and in one of their conversations, he even said they had relied on each other after her mother’s death. His daughter never showed any signs of resenting him, so her not standing up for him at all felt off. Their relationship had always been portrayed as good. That’s my only complaint. I get that she might’ve sensed something was wrong, but it’s different having to imagine that versus actually seeing it unfold on screen.

I actually think his relationship with his daughter should’ve been developed more. It seemed like they had a good bond, and then suddenly she just betrayed him. I would’ve liked to see more tension or friction leading up to that.

And yeah, he was a total psychopath. The moment he laid out his plan for the Gui Seal, I instantly thought, “Yep, that’s a psychopath.”

It's a subplot. Subtle, but nicely incorporated into the overall story of ML's revenge.

There’s one scene I keep thinking about. In episode 38, when Zang Hai lies down to be executed/suffocated. Zhao Bingwen is in the same room, completely still and cold, overseeing the whole thing without a word. He’s watching the death of the boy he once saved, trained (practically groomed) and sent to face his enemies, knowing full well the risks, and he just sits there as he silently twitches, and then finally 'dies' and goes still. The whole scene is so chilling. The quiet brutality of the situation, and the tragedy of Zang Hai’s life, used, deceived, and in the end discarded. I can’t stop thinking about it.

It's one of those scenes that will stay with me for a long time. It was just so tragic and masterfully done.

Zhao Bingwen’s death was poetic justice, he was ultimately destroyed by the very obsession that had caused so many others to die. That scene with the ghost soldiers, and ZH walking through them, was amazing!

This was such a beautiful ending! 🥺

I've already seen a few, but they are good spoilers. It's impossible to open X and see none. I basically scrolled through TL with my eyes half closed 🤣

Y'all, I'm traumatized by spoilers. No matter what I open, I can't escape them, and I won't be able to watch the last three episodes until tonight. I guess I'm going offline until then.

You can find all episodes on YouTube, most Chinese dramas are available there. You can also watch them on international version of Chinese streaming apps: WeTV (The Untamed is on this one), Youku and iQiyi, but you usually have to pay subscription. Then there are sites like kisskh, most things can be found there for free. I mostly use that one.

The fighting scene was so good!

One thing I like about the female characters in this drama is that they’re strong and capable, but the show doesn’t shove the whole 'women are strong' message in my face every other scene. They just are, and it feels normal. It's a male centric drama, but every female character, no matter how small their role is, is written so well. Love it!

Also, am I the only one who finds that emperor scary? He's creeping me out.

I'm not very familiar with Chinese history, but throughout history, it wasn’t uncommon for eunuchs to seize power during the reigns of weak emperors or regent queens. The Byzantine Empire comes to mind, eunuchs there held significant power. It’s probably a similar case in Chinese history, and it does make an interesting setting for a drama.

Okay, I'm glad the mother isn't the third person, because the way things were going, it seemed like Zang Hai would’ve chosen love over revenge if he had to make a choice, and that would’ve really pissed me off and ruined the entire drama. Now he doesn’t have to choose and can have both, which is great.

But yeah, his masters look even more suspicious now.

I don't particularly like her relationship with ZH either. She did act bratty and was annoying at times, but since she didn’t know his plans or what was really going on, and was just meddling unknowingly, I give her a pass. Aside from those moments where her behavior toward him irked me, I actually quite like her. She's capable and useful, which is nice. 😅

I haven’t watched The Lost Tomb movies, but from what I’ve read here, Zang Hai is the man who built the tombs and structures that appear in them. Aside from his name being mentioned, it’s not a direct continuation or anything like that.
Someone more familiar with the lore can feel free to correct me if I’m wrong.

I hope. It did seem like he was hit in the scene that was shown, but I seriously hope it won't be the last we see of him.

I agree! That prison scene where he revealed his identity to MPJ was so good! Just imagine being in MPJ's shoes; the shock, the sense of betrayal, and the realization that ZH had already cut off all your escape routes. ZH’s schemes are just masterfully done. At first, they don't seem very significant, but they snowball into something massive, and the payoff is so satisfying to watch. It makes me giddy every time.

One thing I don't like is how Eunuch Cao died (?) without knowing ZH's real identity. I wanted to see his reaction to ZH's identity and the knowledge that he has been outplayed. 😭

I have to say this; most of my MDL ratings are pretty high because I'm easy to please, but Legend of Zang Hai is one of those rare dramas that makes me question all my previous ratings and want to lower most of them, lol. The quality is just that noticeable when you look at it as a whole. I just hope it keeps the storyline consistent all the way to the end.

It only gets better the more you watch. Enjoy!