throughthenight11

I know XHA said the Tiemo folks had something to do with his father's death so he still has something to settle with them, but boy am I glad that the bigger picture towards the end is now looking like XHA protecting and defending ChangAn from hostile external forces. 20 episodes of emotional trauma from everyone (and I mean EVERYONE!!!!!) is kinda enough I need a break!!!!!

Zhang Hanyu did amazing in his portrayal too. That arrogance, the wise gait of a man who knows he can win, staring down Xie Huai An, his amusement at Xie Huai An's words.....The only other performance that I can liken it to in dramas is Chen Daoming as the emperor in Joy Of Life. Simply next level actors.

I like that he's growing without the writer completely taking away his entire previous personality. Like it's not a 180 degree transformation. And whenever he has interactions with Ye Zheng I melt a little bit lol.

On another note, that entire interaction between Cheng Yi and Han Tongsheng is a lesson in acting! An acting clinic! Acting 101! Get moving! Sometimes actors forget to move and just stand all still and motionless while delivering their lines, or while their on-screen partners are delivering their lines, and it makes the entire character unbelievable. Movement, when done right, builds your character, and it builds the scene! Use your your props around you! Carry your bowl of soup! Then bring it back down! Eat your food if possible! Dust off your clothes! Observe your surroundings! That was a masterful scene by both actors. They both understood the importance of good movement and the result is a tense connection between Xie Huai An and Yang Chuhao. Truly bravo. I can't get over it.

Han Tongsheng is an uncle whose acting I have come to love in The Knockout, and his very believable look of fear in his scenes with Cheng Yi sold the idea that Yang Chuhao still cowered under Xie Huai An. He sold the personality of a man who is caught in between two forces locking heads, and who doesn't want to die in either of their hands. Just let him make money in peace! Lol.

Cheng Yi's eyes though.....I first knew that he could have sharp eyes in MLC when Li Lianhua talked to Shan Gudao for the first time. Those three "I've been looking for you for 10 years" were what made me sure that he CAN act, and those sharp eyes were fully in display in his scenes with Han Tongsheng. He completely embodied the emotions of a man who is disdainful of a......familiar acquaintance who jumped ship. His playfully condescending smile when XHA met YCH again for the first time, when he dared YCH to try him, when he laughed mockingly bc YCH thought he was in a place where he could bargain.....wonderful, beautiful, amazing, brilliant! He truly deserves an award for his performance in this drama! Xie Huai An is arguably his best performance yet but Li Lianhua is still making his own case (mostly bc of LLH's characterization in general) so we will see once the series ends where he stands lol.

That interaction between Xie Huai An and Yang Chu Hao really cements how unhinged Xie Huai An can be omg. Before ep 16, I knew he harbored a lot of hatred inside him; he is angry and vengeful, but I still couldn't feel that he was unhinged. Yes, there was that shovel scene, but that was more about his short temper than anything to me, and while having someone buried for years and then burned to death showed his ruthlesness, it wasn't him doing the act himself so I couldn't feel it narratively. There was a hint of it when he said he had wanted to humiliate that official in episode 2, but the way he talked to Yang Chuhao really was something else. When Xie Huai An said "Try it.", and then let out that crazy laugh, I was completely done in. This man is unhinged! I have never before felt sorry for the antagonists lf a show, but for the first time ever, for a brief moment, I genuinely wanted to console Yang Chuhao lmfao.

Also it's quite fascinating how Xie Huai An can still pull strings even when he's in hiding. For the past month we thought he's only been hiding, but he still knows people, can survey his enemies and can get people to do things for him. That's probably why Yan Fengshan considers him in his shortlist of worthy enemies and someone even he couldn't beat when it comes to strategies lol. Even Wang Pu, who used to regard Xie Huai An with animosity whenever he thought about him, looked so lost and conflicted in front of Xie Huai An. It's pretty wild.

There was also a comment on reddit that said this show uses the working class as the background to tell its story, and I now understand what made this revenge drama so different from others. It's not the most politically centered. Meetings are done in quaint little shops, we see merchants and commonfolk, we see paper making shops, we see trash collectors and ordinary soldiers. How many high ranking officials have we seen so far, and how many scenes could we even see where the palace is the background? The main issue isn't even about "politics" and "corrupt politicians", but it's matters of national security. They are at war, where victors like Yan Fengshan get to keep ChangAn and Gu Yu and Chancellor Gao are left to be humiliated and alone. It's a beautiful way to tell a story, and a beautiful way to blend revenge and explorations of human nature. Maybe that's why I felt the vibe of The Longest Day In ChangAn and not Nirvana In Fire.

He is the guy who is being kept prison. Wang Pu cooked for him during his introduction. XHA's uncle used to serve him and it is said he tried to kill wu zhong heng for years.

He was able to hold his ground and bounce off of the energy of the veteran supporting cast too, and that contributed a lot to the beautiful worldbuilding because their acting made the relationships among the characters believable, layered and something that we could get attached to as the plot unfolds.

I agree. For spoilers, the first half started with Xiao Wuyang as the reigning emperor and his throne being usurped by Yan Fengshan. I suppose the next half is one where Yan Fengshan holds the reins and Xie Huai An will strike back.

Can't believe it....the day that I've been waiting for has finally come.....Cheng Yi and Zhang Hanyu finally together on my screen....and it was a scene of Cheng Yi staring daggers at Zhang Hanyu lmaoooooo.....more of them together please thank you!!!!!

I've been pleasantly surprised by it! As a CY fan I don't want to compare it much to MLC because that drama will always have a special and unshakeable place in my heart, but I believe that if MLC could get a screenplay nomination in a mainstream award show, then TVOA definitely HAS to get one as well. Not only does it have a non-linear storytelling style, I feel like the writer genuinely treats screenplay as an art form in their own unscrupulous way and I appreciate that a lot as a fan of productions that emphasize the plot. It's aided by the camerawork and musical score of course, but it's rare to have a style of writing like this in the cent industry so for Cheng Yi to have one in his portfolio is amazing! The last one that I watched that had this kind of vibe was The Longest Day In ChangAn and maybe The Hope starring Zhang Ruoyun (though this one isn't as prominently creative as The Vendetta Of An).

CY doesn't even cry as much in his dramas imo.....it's just that his crying scenes are extremely impactful. Meanwhile he's already played like 10,000 hurt/broken/in pain/throwing up blood scenes in his entire career 💀

XHA is allowed to cry as often as he wants imo. One can only be tormented with so much anger and hatred in their chest for so long without breaking down. Especially for someone like him who feels so deeply, loves so deeply and hates just as deeply. The reasons he's hellbent on revenge are the same reasons that make him cry and I think that's beautiful!

On a side note maybe we need to have Cheng Yi's tear ducts insured. And his nose. He needs to take care of his beautiful face. We need him in more dramas lol

Also on a more personal note, am I the only one who finds Xie Huai An terrifyingly dashing? Not because of his styling (which is beautiful by the way. This is CY's best white hair style so far), but because of the idea that he may not be the character with the highest rank in the drama, but his sheer brilliance has allowed him to become the man that quite literally everyone is hunting, both as an ally and an enemy. His name alone is already enough to warrant anyone's interest - both to keep him by their side and to kill him. If he's on your side then you're lucky, and if he is not on your side, you want him dead ASAP.

My god does this drama just know how to TELL a story! It's a huge part of why I'm enjoying it so much. Also a part of the reason why we couldn't always tell what would happen next was because of the way bits and pieces of it are woven in the most.....creative way possible. It's unfolding as if it's a mystery drama dressed as a revenge drama.

The deaths and character arcs, more importantly, are presented in the most poetic ways possible. Pu Nichuan died trying to settle his score with Liu Ziyan. Liu Ziyan died in a moving carriage, stabbed repeatedly by the son of the man he had repeatedly stabbed all those years ago, Di Lu died in irony, as what he had previously said about his feelings having nothing to do with needing to kill someone eventually applied to him. And now Han Ziling decided to die in that same place where they had originally buried Di Lu at the Hidden Soldier Alley, bringing things full circle between them. Kudos to the writer!

The last moments of EP 12 where Han Ziling didn't give Xie Huai An a choice and moved forward with the plan to lure the Huben Army away, up to the moment where Xie Huai An escaped, was done so beautifully I was crying the whole time. That OST just did it for me. And Xie Huai An's expressions when Han Ziling was stabbed were heartbreaking, but it showed us that he felt emotions very, very deeply. He feels pain, anger, happiness, amusement and sadness all very deeply. That's probably also why he has also been feeling worn down. But at the same time, Han Ziling's arc told us a lesson that Xie Huai An had to learn: he has to move forward. If he is readily carrying the burden of killing people to take revenge, then he also has to readily carry the spirit of the people who sacrifice themselves for him, and let them push him ahead. General Gu Yu understood that. I'm glad that Xie Huai An did too in the end. And Cheng Yi did amazing portraying that. I could definitely see that brief moment where he broke down, but he had no choice but to steel himself and step over that fence and escape. So amazing!

He definitely has a lot of potential especially compared to his peers. But he is young and has a lot of room for growth. What he needs now is to keep challenging himself and be allowed to take on roles that aren't the usual, scripts that have a unique theme, and gain experience from them. Hopefully this drama will show producers, screenwriters and directors that he is a capable actor!

Me too! I started looking forward to her when she was showed last in the wrap up video earlier this year. I didn't even expect much screen time from her either given her industry recognition and position; i expected her initial appearance to be it but I was pleasantly surprised to have been treated to a scene with her and CY 🥹

He truly did well! I know kind of a lot of traffic actors and actresses' fans most of the time use a supporting cast for bragging rights but it can't be stressed enough how much a good cast can elevate a drama. Especially for this specific drama that is more ambitious and creative in its narration, and one that wants to approach the plot in a more mature manner, I feel like the cast needed an acting level that's not too flashy but never stiff, only natural and layered, and with the state of the industry there aren't a lot of actors who know that besides the veterans. And for Cheng Yi to have been able to not only hold his own BUT ALSO comfortably bounce off of their energy is a feat in itself. His scenes with Zhou Mo, Pu Nichuan, Liu Ziyan and Ai Li Ya's character were so good! I especially liked his scenes with Pu Nichuan. I feel like they blended together really well, especially since Pu Nichuan's arc was layered with a life lesson.

Guys do not google Ai Li Ya and what she has accomplished in her career omg. I can't believe that we got to see her and CY together on the screen even if it wasn't for that long. I kinda geeked out on that part lol.

Exactly. There is no "right" or "wrong" side. What matters is what the characters stand for and how firmly they stand by their convictions. May the best psycho win.

They want to ruin the vibes in here because it looks like a lot of people find the drama genuinely good so far and they don't want other people to end up discovering it and giving it a chance lol

Just finished the most recent episode and I'm going through it again so I hope nobody minds the way I dump my thoughts on here lmao

This time I wanted to focus on the creative liberties that the post-prod crew and the screenwriter have taken to present the storyline for this drama. They have a way of storytelling that simply elevates the way a subplot is introduced - Pu Nichuan performing a funeral ritual to introduce him and his own subplot, Wang Pu shopping at the market that leads to highlighting the mystery of Wu Zhongheng's role (or still lack thereof), and the soldiers telling a story during the evening to kickstart the arc of General Gu Yu's kidnapping. Perhaps it's the way they were all performing such normal, mundane and everyday acts as they were gradually tied to the main plot that made it all the more captivating. They weren't simple filler scenes, but they were clever narrative devices that added depth to the plot and therefore made it a better immersive experience for the audience. Again - it reminds me of The Longest Day in ChangAn - it also has those piecemeal scenes at the start of every episode that I'm not sure can be called cold opens, but I appreciate the effort all the same. More often than not, some dramas tend to want to pander to the audience so they add scenes that they think they would want, especially in idol dramas whose viewers have a lot of fans of traffic. So kudos to the crew for (so far) not giving in to said temptation and making every scene serve a purpose. Sometimes you just need a drama like that. They contribute to the entire drama having a cinematic feeling!

I love love loooooove the open field scenes! I believe they shot those scenes in real fields and I'm glad that they did, because real life backgrounds just hit differently haha. I love the color grading too - the muted, not too bright colors match the dark vibe of the plot but aren't too dark to the point where I'm already unable to see a thing during the night scenes. I hope it keeps up the good work after such a strong start.

Lastly, this is like only the millionth time I've said this, but I truly love the way the music is played with in this show. The score is amazing, the use of drums is on another level, and they know when a scene needs toning down to let the cast's acting shine through.

Pretty sure it's still too early to judge but at least I can feel the entire crew's desire to put out a good drama, and I can at least appreciate their hard work for the mean time!