This review may contain spoilers
"Dark River" didn't have a strong start. It took me about 10 episodes to really get drawn into the story. You might ask, why did I continue watching the series then? Because the character development of Changhe and the friendly (read: romantic) relationship between Su Muyu and Su Changhe is incredibly captivating!
It was genuinely surprising to me that on the cast list, the second main role was given to the character Mu YuMo / "Rabbit". Until the middle of the series, this character had very little presence. Don't get me wrong, I loved this actress and I really liked her character in Blood River. I guess maybe they didn't want two male actors to be the main roles of the series!
The romance between Su Muyu and the Miracle Doctor progressed in a way that felt like the writer was forcing this love into the story...
Many small but significant questions and plot points were left unanswered in the series. For example, did Mu Xuewei and Mu Qingyang really die? What happened to Mu Ciling ? Or, what was the real goal of Master of Su Muyu and Su Changhe in hiding the Miracle Doctor?
Of course, I don't know if the answers to these questions are in the series "The Blood of Youth" because I haven't watched it yet.
I heard a rumor that they might make a second season. I don't know if it's true or not, but I'll be waiting for it!
Request¹: Please give us more moments of Su Muyu and Su Changhe.
Request²: Please don't show the ending you showed in "The Blood of Youth" . I'm pretending that what happened to Su Muyu and Su Changhe in TBOY has no relation to the Su Muyu and Su Changhe in the "Blood River" series.
P.S. Is it obvious how obsessed I am with Muyu and Changhe? Or should I say more?
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Would love to rewatch it.
Loved Blood River from start to finish. I love how the story began and unfolded to the very end. It was pleasing, at times bittersweet. The perfect portrayal of such complex characters, who can be described as morally grey I guess , is very difficult to achieve but it was done so beautifully, couldn't have picked better actors for both Su Muyu and Su Changhe. They really embodied the roles.I love the balance of themes and genres in Blood River, there was romance though it was tragic in some ways, but it didn't overpower the theme of friendship, brotherhood, family, justice, and I love that because it happens a lot in dramas, romance takes over and the plot and characters get lost in it. It's not like that in Blood River, the main focus is always clear. There were minor gaps in the story but these did not take away from the drama, the story flowed really well and kep you wanting to watch more.
As someone who struggles to actually complete a drama, because I become bored very easily and have a low attention span, I really enjoyed this show and was excited to click next episode until the end. The character portrayals were captivating and the story was interesting and enjoyable. I would love to rewatch it in a few months. I'd say this is my number one drama of 2025. Highly recommend it.
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For Youth series Fans..
I loved this.. as much as the previous two stories from the series. I love the friendships and bonds the characters had.. no backstabbing or schemes.. just you got my back i got yours no matter what.. ride or die.. It made me want to give my bestie a hug lol But seriously this was a great show to watch.. kept me on my toes and excited for the next episode. Couldn't really find a character that annoyed me or wondered their existence. Each character.. mains and support were wonderful in their own unique ways and personalities. Dont expect too much romance or kissing or any of that kind of thing since this is a martial arts story and not a love story.. Highly recommended if you are into these types of shows which i am so i loved it 💜Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
Through the dark river into the light of the other shore
The show kicks off with stunning cinematography introducing the world and our main protagonist Su Muyu, the enigmatic assassin that turns out to be an introverted extroverted and whose brotherhood with his best friend the extroverted introvert Su Changhe is a driving heart of the story within the many relationships that Muyu forms. He's really the one makes friends with ease and even getting a girlfriend despite Changhe seeming the more outgoing one. Muyu is meticulous in negotiations, while Changhe is cunning in manipulation, Muyu is played wonderfully by Gong Jun with the expressive eye acting that he's known for, especially with the more understated character like Muyu compared to the more outspoken personality of all the other characters. Though Muyu has his girlfriend and Changhe has his blood younger brother, Muyu and Changhe definitely has the strongest bond in the entire series with the most moving decisions, their collective will shaking the martial arts world.People are born or fall into a cycle of poverty and violence and it's immensely difficult to extract themselves from it. A otherwise normal person can be trapped into joining gangs because that is the only support system available to them. This is how a lot of the characters in this drama are. Many of them being orphans who had to join to survive or die. Muyu and Changhe were both orphans that share a similar background of their families and cities being annihilated and both have goals to change the circumstances of themselves and all their peers. To annihilate the gerontocracy of Blood River as a start and break all the chains that keep them as pawns for other's political struggles and bring Blood River into the light, to the Other Shore. Both are equally fierce and goes all out for their ideals and for each other. Since they children, Muyu would save Changhe, and Change would put himself in harms way for Muyu, Muyu would catch a sword with his bare hands for Changhe, and Changhe would plunge a dagger into himself so Muyu could be the lone survivor. Muyu tells him "Those who are strong, have the right to be naive/idealistic." They will find a third option together.
I really enjoy how the characters to the minor characters have personalities and lives that seem to go on off screen. It's something that James Gunn does well and it's always enjoyable to see in a drama. The costumes design is absolutely stunning from the different layers, fabrics, and designs of all the robes to the detailed hair pieces and make up as well. The martial arts battles is actually a feast for the ideas with creative visualizations, choreography, and stunt work that makes fight scenes that are usually a chore to watch in other shows very fun to watch. Muyu's humble umbrella sword alternatingly giving him a ghostly visage at times and an elegant ethereal spirit in others. Yumo's boyfriend's Phoenix that he promises to pick up her up with. Giant demons, swords, etc. The weather, plants, blood, anything that can be formed and manipulated with the will of the inner force. A force that can also form in otherwise inanimate objects like a sword. The music is also really good and some are even unconventional picks for dramas like this that add even more dynamic feeling to the fight scenes. There are still a lot of story that can be told for the main characters and the world that the story takes place in, I wonder if there will be a sequel, if so I hope it's made by the same team, starring the same actors.
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ateeee
honestly, this drama had me hooked from the very first eps. it's kinda wild how good it is. like, the editing, the cgi, the whole visual atmosphere, everything just feels top tier. u can tell the production team really went all out cs the fights look smooth, the transitions slap, and the world building feels alive. n the storyline? bro, it flows so nicely most of the time that u barely realize u’ve been watching for hours. it's the kind of show that makes u say, “aight, one more eps" n then suddenly it’s 3 am n u’re still sitting there like a clown invested in fictional people. nut in the best way.even with all that praise, though, there r still a few things that lowkey bugged me. not enough to ruin the drama, but enough to make me go, “Hah? Kok tiba-tiba gitu?” one of the biggest examples is mu ciling. if i remember correctly, he literally risked his life trying to hold off the enemies just so the others could get medical treatment. that moment felt like setup for something big like some payoff, a follow up arc, or at least a mention. but nah, bro just evaporated from the script. he disappeared like wifi signal during a rainstorm. no explanation, no closure, no flashback, nothing. u expect him to return later or at least get a proper send off, but the drama just moves on like he never existed. it's kinda insane bcs he wasn’t even a minor background character. he actually had relevance. so having his storyline cut off like that feels like a missing puzzle piece.
another thing that confused me is the whole situation with su changhe and su muyu’s teacher. like… why didn’t the teacher step in when things were getting real bad? it was literally life or death for the main characters, n u’d think someone with that level of skill and authority would at least try to help. but nope, we never get an explanation. not even a half baked reason like “oh, she was injured,” or “she had to protect something else,” or “she made a vow not to interfere.” nothin. the teacher just dips out of the narrative like a ghost. it makes the whole thing feel a bit unbalanced, because u keep wondering why she’s even introduced if she won’t play any meaningful role when the plot gets heavy. they could’ve easily added a line or a scene to justify his absence, but instead we’re left guessing like it’s some mystery we were supposed to solve on our own.
what annoys me is that the drama clearly has the potential to be airtight. the plot is already strong, the characters have depth, and the emotional beats hit hard. that’s why these missing details stick out so much. they don’t match the level of quality the show already has. the world of the drama feels detailed and well crafted, so when there are gaps like these, it feels like the writers either ran out of time or just forgot to clean up some storylines.
don’t get me wrong though. i still think the drama is fire. the vibe, the intensity, the character arcs, all of it is chef’s kiss. but i kinda wish they spent a little more time tying up the loose ends, especially for characters who actually mattered to the plot. if they had explained mu ciling disappearance and given us a proper reason why the teacher didn’t step in, the narrative would’ve felt way more complete.
in the end, it’s still one of those dramas u can binge like crazy because the highs are so damn good. The flaws don’t ruin it. they just make you wish the show had gone that one extra step to become truly perfect.
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Blood River master piece drama on Wuxia genre
This drama really master piece on this year Wuxia genre. All actor and actress and the production crew is performed very good. Because their CGI is really best. Even is dark theme but the lighting control very well. Really can see the production effort on this drama.Gong Jun crying scene on last episode is really is amazing and touching. When he know that his lover is died his tears on his eyes and crying so sadly, this made feel his expression is so real. When he kill the 1st prince really can feel his hate and revenge must do it, because he know when this choice is made this will made all his team effort become square. Blood river hard to get to off the shore but at least not pawn like previous.
Because this drama also made to pay express to watch all episode. I think is worth it. This drama really deserve more rating. Hope all the platform rating will up and up.
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Welcome to Dark River's Gritty Universe
Truth to be told, I’m pretty lazy to create reviews nowadays as my schedule is super-duper tight, deadlines looming ahead, with my fragile health condition added to the chaos. However, since I love Dark River so much that I badly want to become its member, I’ve decided to take this job once again. I guess I’m going to ramble a lot, so please bear with me…“Tales of Dark River” aka “Blood River” (暗河传) is a spinoff story of Zhou Munan’s much-loved wuxia universe including “The Blood of Youth” and “Dashing Youth”, two of which excel in their own way in terms of storytelling, acting, stellar CGI, and many more (despite some drawbacks in the latter). There had been numerous proposals of bringing “Tales of Dark River” into a live-action series, but it only got into the way last year, which excited the hell out of me. Previously, I did do some digging into the OG source and also watched its donghua (thank God they didn’t make much deviation from the original story or else, I’m going to be so disappointed).
So, what is Dark River? Basically, it’s a dark organization composed of elite assassins from the three families – Su, Xie, and Mu respectively. In “The Blood of Youth”, it is mentioned once that the Su excels in swordsmanship, the Mu in poison and mechanism alike, and the Xie in blade technique (we only see this part in this show, but not TBOY) and fistfights (perhaps). At the beginning of the first emperor’s reign, there was no Dark River at all. However, three of Dark River’s ancestors escaped from the Shadow Sect (which used to protect Tianqi City from the dangers lurking behind) and set up a new organization for themselves. Their surnames, of course, became the three main families. The three families are led by each family master, with a main leader on their top. On the other hand, there’s also Soul Reaper Hall above the main leader, who controls the whole organization from behind the curtain and receives assassination orders from all sorts of clients.
In the Dark River, there has never been a rebellious spirit and everyone is more of submissive blades rather than getting themselves killed, until it produces two hot-blooded souls, which is none other than Su Muyu and Su Changhe. Su Muyu, previously named Zhuo Yue’an (the young master of Swordless City), was abducted to Dark River after his hometown was massacred by the Dark River (out of 93 assassins dispatched, only 18 came back alive). In the Dark River, he had no one to rely on and had to learn killing arts as well as multiple skills to survive in this hellish underworld (well, you know how Dark River works). There, he met a fellow assassin-in-train, Su Changhe, who had always been in Dark River as far as he could remember. The two quickly formed a strong brotherhood and always protected each other’s back despite being threatened not to do so. Another fun fact that I want to tell you is their contrasting personality. Su Muyu is more of a cool-headed rationalist with a tinge of thrifty vibes and frequently concocts plans in their mission to bring Dark River out of the darkness within (despite so, he claims he needs to do it in order to keep Su Changhe in check) while Su Changhe is more silver-tongued, flamboyant, a bit of reckless, bloodthirsty, and exceptional in acting skills (shown in the latter part of the show). This unlikely pair turn out to be complimenting each other’s weakness and together, they can bring down an expert martial artist in just one fell swoop. Later, Su Changhe will become the main leader as Su Muyu declines that position and takes up Su family’s leader instead. As they lead the Dark River towards the light, they will face numerous challenges from the society and imperial courts alike as Dark River has been imprinted to the stereotype that all of its members are bloodthirsty killers even when they are not.
Joining their comrades are Bai Hehuai (Medicine King Valley’s physician and Su Muyu’s love interest), Su Zhe aka Uncle Zhe (Hehuai’s goofy father), Mu Yumo (Spider Woman of the Mu Family and Tang Lianyue’s love interest), Mu Qingyang (Master of the Mu Family and loves to pose as a fake diviner), Mu Xuewei (Poison Flower of the Mu Family), Tang Lianyue (Black Tortoise of Tianqi City and Tang Clan’s most treasured disciple), and many more.
So far, I’m invested in their acting skills and it’s no doubt that Gong Jun and Chang Huasen create the best bromance chemistry ever. This is one of Gong Jun’s breakout roles other than “Word of Honor” and he really nails the role of assassin pretty well as if he had embodied this character before (FYI, if you’re curious, you can also check out WHO where he plays an unhinged psycho-like lunatic – it’s also a great watch. Just feel kind of sorry for him when “The Legend of Anle” and “Fox Spirit Matchmaker: Red-Moon Pact” flopped. He deserves better in the future). Meanwhile, Chang Huasen continues his streak in his male lead roles and I must say he’s such an eye-candy even with that dangerous smirk of his (I’m sorry that I can’t watch “Whisper of Fates” and “Fox Spirit Matchmaker: Sword and Beloved” in one go. If not, I could’ve met him three times lol). Peng Xiaoran surprisingly does well as the feisty Yumo and she has a considerable amount of chemistry with Zhang Shi’an, who plays Tang Lianyue. Meanwhile, Bai Hehuai is my least favorite character and I don’t really know how to explain it aloud (as usual, romance sucks in Zhou Munan’s universe, so don’t expect much of it). Special mention to Qiao Zhenyu, who portrays the humorous Uncle Zhe in a fun way and his dialect is pleasant to hear too. Another special mention is to Geng Le (who plays Mu Mingce, the former patriarch) and Li Daikun as Mu Ciling, the wacky expert in King Yan Palm.
OSTs, costumes, background, and CGI are well done and deserves a thumbs-up. Of all the places, I think I love Jiuxiao City the most, especially the intricate Spider Nest.
Overall, it’s a great watch and a 10/10 for me. I don’t how the rating can plunge down to 8.1, but do give a shot because it’s worth your time for all of the episodes. Also, I don’t expect you to give me like on my review anymore since it’s been very late given how long “Tales of Dark River” had ended. That’s all I’ve got to say. Good luck and happy watching!!!
P.S.
A quote by Su Changhe
“Who’s the real patriarch here? Me or him? Why does he always make the decisions the whole time?”
Me: Ending up in endless laughter
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What happened to su muyu and su changhe
So i wached cdrama dashing youth then the donghua version of it then blood of youth donghua shao nian ge xing but i want to know what happened to su muyu because i completely don't understand even i watched all franchise like first dashing youth then young brew masters adventure then blood of youth donghua version great journey of teenagers but i don't know how su muyu got evil thrre and in the dark tales of blood river he's good i know that allot happened like lei mengsha died xiao rulofeng died xiao se is actually a royal in blood of youth and lei mengsha is lei wujie son but in the donghua it's longer because in great journey of teenagers is 4 season long but i need some help because i can't constantly watch it again to understand it better now I'm watching blood river i guess i watched it all together that is why I'm extremely confused but i have problems with remembering can someone explain what happened to su muyu and su changhe i know that in the end su changhe gets evil in the end but this feels different from them in blood of youth and great journey of teenagers but i didn't read the novel but only saw cdrama versions and donghua version
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Time for a BoY rewatch me-thinks
A bit confused by the ending, but I'm trying to piece together what I can remember from the Blood of Youth. There's obviously a gap of time between the two, so maybe that's where the confusion lies lol, I imagine the books would shed some light on the loose ends. Still, this calls for a Blood of Youth rewatch and of course Dashing Youth is still on the docket.Fight scenes -> epic🗡
Wardrobe->on point🔥
Scheming -> is there an uno reverse card here somewhere? XD🔄
ThE PoWer oF FRiEnDShiP 🥰😂👌, but like..for assassins.
It's like watching a live action anime(or whatever the Chinese version is called), but far more entertaining ;P
Side note: I was a bit skeptical about Gong Jun portraying my beloved Umbrella Ghost, and I can't speak for anyone else, but I genuinely enjoyed his performance! ^-^
Chang He-> Chang Huasen really embodies this character--would not be the same without him 😍😍😍👏👏👏😊😊😊 show stealer
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So many shuai gessss
Finished this maybe ?last week and glad to say, series like this slowly reined me back towards cdramas from thai series and variety shows. Lol.Gong jun as usual, served in his main role. I’ve always like his acting and charisma, and the loyal and to-the-point character of Su Muyu really suits him, down to the straight-faced humor he had. And to my surprise, i really like the character of Su Changhe, the actor made it lovable despite its ambiguous grey character. SCH’s loyalty to SMY, the bromance, the protectiveness, the power he wields, made the SCH character even more lovable to me. I enjoyed their bickering, so much so that I was praying so hard SCH did not betrayed SMY during the time he came out from his seclusion after regaining the 9th level Palm Hell.
The story is fine, it builds up from one problem and as they solved one, moving up to apparently another bigger mess lol. I love the fact that theres so much of whump scenes in this (yeah, thats me, a whump scene lover. Lol) The fighting choreo is superb, and the cgi is also nice enough not to appear clumsy and cheap. The characters being introduced are aplenty, as with the other two in the series, but i think it was more doable this time around (i had a headache trying to keep track of characters in DY and TBOY) The costumes were all awesome and I’m in love with all of them, especially Su Muyu’s and Su Chang He’s ones. BHH’s costumes were all flattering as well. I’ve just recently watched a short drama of the actor who played Xie Zaiye (Min Xing Han) and he was so pretty in that, but here, his hairdo made his appeal less and if I didnt watch Realm’s Night Rain Dreamlike, I’m sure I will not found him to be able to be that handsome and pretty based on his character in BR. This proves how the way the production clothed and giving suitable hairdo for a character played so much roles in making a character appealing to fans.
All in all, this is worth renewing my subscription of Youku vip pass. Hope to see more of Gong Jun and Chang Hua Sen in the future!
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Spilling Blood In Search for the Light
Blood River is an assassin organization that is reknowned throughout the realm and feared by many. Su Muyu, a quiet, reserved man under the codename Umbrella Ghost, is the head of guards of Blood River’s Patriarch and also one of most formidable assassins in Blood River. Even so, he is not your average violent assassin. He is compassionate and kind, never taking up missions against the innocent. Meanwhile, Su Changhe, with codename Undertaker, is known to be a violent, greedy and unhinged person, a total opposite of Su Muyu. These two polar opposite, however, made up an unseparable pair of brotherhood, comrade-in-arms, a relationship so strong that it is unrivalled by others, and their main goal was to lead the youngsters of Blood River towards the light, towards humanity, stripping away their identity as assassins. An opportunity emerges as the Partriach Mu Cingge was poisoned during his duel and a bloodbath of power struggle occured within Blood River’s 3 main families, Su, Mu and Xie, with each family head vying for the position of Partriach. Su Muyu, as the Partriach’s head bodyguard, found himself fighting against his own people, and his own brother Su Changhe, raising question of the viability of their dream to head into the light.I am surprised to see Gong Jun’s excellent performance here as opposed to his bland acting in Legend of Anle. His second work ‘wow’ed me and changed my perspective completely. He was good as the aloof and quiet assassin, only speaking when necessary, but instead spoke with his eyes. Su Muyu is formidable and feared by all, but even so Blood River’s enemies are even fiercer. His fightings, although some he could not win, still made him look magnificient and mighty. I really love his formations and skills, they definitely towered above others despite him narrowly escaping. And when i said spilling blood, blood is definitely spilling though more from vomit than actual gory wounds. ML (and other fighters too) constantly gets poisoned and injured, vomitting large amount of blood at the end of almost every battle. They definitely used up quite a lot of red fluid in this one.
Chang Hua Sen’s Su Changhe is very likable despite being depicted as a grey character, someone who kills without batting an eye. His character however, is almost happy go lucky, the cheerful one between the duo. Boy, I thought i could not like the character as I truly hated Chang Hua Sen’s short fused role in A Journey to Love, but apparently he proved me otherwise. Su Changhe owed his life to Su Muyu in more than one occasion during their childhood in Blood River, hence the bond between them was as firm as a concrete, literally set in stone, way surpassing the famed bromance of The Untamed’s Wei Wuxian and Lan Zhan. They trusted each other to the core, even when one had not disclosed their decisions (and actions for that matter) to the other. Basically the world could topple and tear apart one person and the other would always come through for the other with absolute trust. Definitely a rare kind of bromance.
The romance here is very mild, but because it did not go deep for one main couple but scatter around the numerous supporting couples, it felt kind of repetitive and boring (yea I sure thanked my ff button for its existence). And because there were more than 3 couple’s love story, it felt rather suffocating. Although they were mild romance with only one kissing scene of supporting couple, i honestly feel it was taking too much screentime. I would prefer they scrapped it altogether and focus entirely on the jianghu fights and court’s power struggle instead.
I really love the plot twists of strategies taken up by the duo in outsmarting their enemies while reigning in support for Blood River. Although longwinded and much of a hassle, they served their purpose and worked out towards its goal.
The show is fast paced except during romantic scenes. Man those really botched up the plot. Basically if youre not a romance fan, and more of an action lover, youre going to like this very much, the romance is still much less the those titles with ‘romance’ tag.
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Amazing Fight scenes with a Long-Awaited Payoff
The fight scenes were a definite highlight, they were well-choreographed, intense, and consistently engaging. Action lovers will not be disappointed.That said, I found Su MuYu too kind for his own good. Time and time again, he spared characters who went on to cause him even more trouble, and while this fits his moral code, it became frustrating to watch. His mercy often felt like a weakness rather than a strength.
Su Changhe, however, completely stole the show. The actor delivered an outstanding performance, chaotic, unhinged, and unpredictable, yet fiercely loyal as a friend. He brought so much energy and depth to every scene he was in.
Watching this right after Dashing Youth made the imperial family’s actions even more irritating, as it felt like they constantly escaped consequences. That’s why the ending especially what happened to the First Prince was incredibly satisfying. It finally felt like justice was served. Thanks Su MuYu!
Overall, this drama delivers strong action, memorable characters, and a rewarding conclusion that makes the journey worthwhile.
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