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138
6
1
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4
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4
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5
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5
Action-packed and Exciting, except for the unsatisfying romances and Gong Jun
**edited to increase rating from 8.5 to 8.75 after watching Dashing Youth. Blood River is so much better**
Subjective Gut Rating: 8.75
The title of this review sums up how I feel about “Blood River”. Going into this, I really have low/no expectations. This drama aired while a few other costume dramas were airing, and it didn’t seem to have a lot of buzz. But the plot sounded interesting and different, and I didn’t hear too many complaints. I ended up really liking it. You can watch “Blood River” as a standalone drama, even if you haven’t seen “Blood of Youth” or “Dashing Youth”. I dropped “Dashing Youth” and even though I watched “Blood of Youth”, I forgot everything except for a funny and bald monk.
Plot/Pacing
The introduction of the assassin organization and its hierarchy could be confusing at first. It introduces many characters, fighting moves, sects and specialties right from the start. But as we’ve seen in similar drama setups, most of these characters are unimportant and will disappear soon. So, if you can’t remember them all, it’s all good as the ones that you should remember will show up again and again. “Blood River” could be divided into 3 big arcs. I enjoyed the first 2 tremendously, as they really focus on the fall of the old and the rise of the new Dark River (the assassins). It’s full of exciting events, interesting twists and excellent action scenes. The last arc is more political and the pacing is slower comparatively, but not draggy slow. The drama really kept my attention for all 38 episodes. The pacing was great and I kept on saying to myself how much I am enjoying this and that it’s such a pleasant surprise. Because it has a huge cast, I feel that the drama is unable to fully develop each supporting character’s personal stories to make me love them. Therefore, I am not as invested in their stories as much as I have wanted to be.
Acting
Oh, Gong Jun. Where do I start? He’s just not good. I haven’t seen him since “Word of Honor” because none of his dramas after that hit were interesting to me. I finally get to see him again and it’s such a disappointment. His character is stoic and a little standoff-ish, and Gong Jun gives me a blank face. I look at his big unexpressive eyes, and they are dead. What's worse was his voice. I applaud him for dubbing, but he seems to be intentionally lowering his voice for this ‘serious’ character, and he sounded like a monotone robot. With poor acting and poor voice dubbing, he was the weakest link. The other disappointment was Peng Xiao Ran. She’s so underutilized in this drama and she should NOT be listed as a main character. Not only was her acting so average, her voice acting/dubbing was just as bad as Gong Jun’s (ok, maybe a little better). She’s not monotone, luckily, but her voice and her character don’t match well. Chang Hua Sen (which so many viewers are in love with) did fine, though not excellent. But I think his character gives him more to play with compared to Gong Jun’s. My favorite acting in this drama goes to Bai Shu (Prince Langya) and Li Dai Kun (madman Mu Ci Ling). Bai Shu’s voice matches his character’s charisma. He doesn’t have too many scenes but he has screen presence. He definitely shows up to be THE Prince, not like the First Prince and the laughable young-looking emperor with a beard. Li Dai Kun is such a scene stealer as the madman. His looks, overdramatic hysterics and crazy laughs are all so fun to watch. Each time he shows up, I wonder what kind of chaos he is going to bring.
Romance
Ahhh.. another disappointment. I don’t mind the slow burn romance between Su Yu Yu and Doc Bai He Huai. I actually like that they started off as acquaintances, then friends and then something more. Unfortunately, the development is lacking. There’s no spark and no chemistry between the two. The drama just did not spend any time on this romance. On the other hand, Mu Yu Mo and Tan Liang Yuen had such excellent chemistry in episode 1 during their first encounter. A flirty girl trying to lure, seduce and trick a stoic guy. What a great setup! Unfortunately, after a couple episodes with very few scenes, they disappear for another 20+ episodes. Also barely any development of this romance. The beginning and the ending conversation are memorable, but due to the lack of development, it couldn’t deliver an emotional impact on me. What a wasted opportunity! I really wonder if this is due to the screenwriter's inability to adapt the novel well, or if the novelist is incapable of writing a decent romance storyline.
Production
I already complained about Gong Jun and Peng Xiao Ran’s voices and dubbing above. The dubbing in this drama is only average as a whole. The costumes, sets, accessories, hairstyling are all good enough for me to enjoy the drama. You can tell this is not a big budget S+ production. I think the money goes into all the action scenes. I LOVE this about “Blood River”. It not only relies on CGI fighting, but also actual sword fighting scenes that WOW me. I was so pleasantly surprised! There are also many fight scenes throughout the drama. So, if you don’t like fights, this is not the drama for you. Most of these fights are exciting and fast-paced. In fact, I think they intentionally sped up the fights in the first episode, but they slowed down later on. The last big fight with the eunuch might be my least favorite, because there’s a lot of talking and preaching during the fights.
Despite some of my complaints, I have a really good time watching “Blood River”. I like it so much that I am tempted to pick back up the dropped “Dashing Youth” and watch that again. I would definitely recommend this drama, especially because I think some of my complaints are pretty personal and subjective. The journey of the rise of the new Dark River is well-written and exciting. But if you are watching this for romance, then you better skip this one.
Series Watch Order
1) Dashing Youth
2) Blood River
3) The Blood of Youth
Completed: 11/12/2025 Review #641
Subjective Gut Rating: 8.75
The title of this review sums up how I feel about “Blood River”. Going into this, I really have low/no expectations. This drama aired while a few other costume dramas were airing, and it didn’t seem to have a lot of buzz. But the plot sounded interesting and different, and I didn’t hear too many complaints. I ended up really liking it. You can watch “Blood River” as a standalone drama, even if you haven’t seen “Blood of Youth” or “Dashing Youth”. I dropped “Dashing Youth” and even though I watched “Blood of Youth”, I forgot everything except for a funny and bald monk.
Plot/Pacing
The introduction of the assassin organization and its hierarchy could be confusing at first. It introduces many characters, fighting moves, sects and specialties right from the start. But as we’ve seen in similar drama setups, most of these characters are unimportant and will disappear soon. So, if you can’t remember them all, it’s all good as the ones that you should remember will show up again and again. “Blood River” could be divided into 3 big arcs. I enjoyed the first 2 tremendously, as they really focus on the fall of the old and the rise of the new Dark River (the assassins). It’s full of exciting events, interesting twists and excellent action scenes. The last arc is more political and the pacing is slower comparatively, but not draggy slow. The drama really kept my attention for all 38 episodes. The pacing was great and I kept on saying to myself how much I am enjoying this and that it’s such a pleasant surprise. Because it has a huge cast, I feel that the drama is unable to fully develop each supporting character’s personal stories to make me love them. Therefore, I am not as invested in their stories as much as I have wanted to be.
Acting
Oh, Gong Jun. Where do I start? He’s just not good. I haven’t seen him since “Word of Honor” because none of his dramas after that hit were interesting to me. I finally get to see him again and it’s such a disappointment. His character is stoic and a little standoff-ish, and Gong Jun gives me a blank face. I look at his big unexpressive eyes, and they are dead. What's worse was his voice. I applaud him for dubbing, but he seems to be intentionally lowering his voice for this ‘serious’ character, and he sounded like a monotone robot. With poor acting and poor voice dubbing, he was the weakest link. The other disappointment was Peng Xiao Ran. She’s so underutilized in this drama and she should NOT be listed as a main character. Not only was her acting so average, her voice acting/dubbing was just as bad as Gong Jun’s (ok, maybe a little better). She’s not monotone, luckily, but her voice and her character don’t match well. Chang Hua Sen (which so many viewers are in love with) did fine, though not excellent. But I think his character gives him more to play with compared to Gong Jun’s. My favorite acting in this drama goes to Bai Shu (Prince Langya) and Li Dai Kun (madman Mu Ci Ling). Bai Shu’s voice matches his character’s charisma. He doesn’t have too many scenes but he has screen presence. He definitely shows up to be THE Prince, not like the First Prince and the laughable young-looking emperor with a beard. Li Dai Kun is such a scene stealer as the madman. His looks, overdramatic hysterics and crazy laughs are all so fun to watch. Each time he shows up, I wonder what kind of chaos he is going to bring.
Romance
Ahhh.. another disappointment. I don’t mind the slow burn romance between Su Yu Yu and Doc Bai He Huai. I actually like that they started off as acquaintances, then friends and then something more. Unfortunately, the development is lacking. There’s no spark and no chemistry between the two. The drama just did not spend any time on this romance. On the other hand, Mu Yu Mo and Tan Liang Yuen had such excellent chemistry in episode 1 during their first encounter. A flirty girl trying to lure, seduce and trick a stoic guy. What a great setup! Unfortunately, after a couple episodes with very few scenes, they disappear for another 20+ episodes. Also barely any development of this romance. The beginning and the ending conversation are memorable, but due to the lack of development, it couldn’t deliver an emotional impact on me. What a wasted opportunity! I really wonder if this is due to the screenwriter's inability to adapt the novel well, or if the novelist is incapable of writing a decent romance storyline.
Production
I already complained about Gong Jun and Peng Xiao Ran’s voices and dubbing above. The dubbing in this drama is only average as a whole. The costumes, sets, accessories, hairstyling are all good enough for me to enjoy the drama. You can tell this is not a big budget S+ production. I think the money goes into all the action scenes. I LOVE this about “Blood River”. It not only relies on CGI fighting, but also actual sword fighting scenes that WOW me. I was so pleasantly surprised! There are also many fight scenes throughout the drama. So, if you don’t like fights, this is not the drama for you. Most of these fights are exciting and fast-paced. In fact, I think they intentionally sped up the fights in the first episode, but they slowed down later on. The last big fight with the eunuch might be my least favorite, because there’s a lot of talking and preaching during the fights.
Despite some of my complaints, I have a really good time watching “Blood River”. I like it so much that I am tempted to pick back up the dropped “Dashing Youth” and watch that again. I would definitely recommend this drama, especially because I think some of my complaints are pretty personal and subjective. The journey of the rise of the new Dark River is well-written and exciting. But if you are watching this for romance, then you better skip this one.
Series Watch Order
1) Dashing Youth
2) Blood River
3) The Blood of Youth
Completed: 11/12/2025 Review #641
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